The pinnacle that ruled over all demons, an incarnation that had directly inherited a fragment of the Demon God itself.
A being that twisted even reason and laws to its whims.
The one called the Demon King.
"—Oh?"
The corners of its mouth curved into a soft arc for the being that had been writhing in deep, ancient boredom.
"Dare to seal a curse containing a part of me? Interesting. It shouldn't have been possible at the current level of humanity... I wonder what means they used?"
Its eyes, sparkling with intrigue, turned toward a distant land that rejected and denied demons.
"I hope it's at least enjoyable..."
The voice filled with anticipation and longing sank in chillingly and ominously.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Invitation of the Forgotten Ones.
A unique-grade relic in the form of a grotesque statue that distorted flames, and its effect was... entry to a hunting ground.
Yes, exactly the kind of place where you'd grind for levels in a game.
The problem was that it wasn't just one hunting ground, and the difficulty varied quite a bit... but compared to its utility, it wasn't worth worrying about.
Especially now that it had become reality.
"With this one thing, leveling up is a piece of cake."
This relic, extorted from the Church of the Goddess, was surprisingly one of the very few unique-grade relics obtainable from the early stages of the first playthrough.
Probably because the game Origin World prioritized adventure over levels, along with quests cleared during those adventures, and the various skills and romantic elements obtained as rewards.
In the end, it was a matter of playstyle choice.
For reference, I enjoyed both the munchkin style of powering up early and the steady growth nurturing style.
Anyway, naturally, the one who would use this was the protagonist, not me.
The issue was that since this was reality, it was questionable whether the level system would even apply... There wasn't even a status window, so it was frustrating.
In web novels, status windows were a dime a dozen, so why was I the only one suffering this unfairness?
...Well, whatever. He's the protagonist and hero, so if I work him to the bone, he'll manage somehow.
I put the "Invitation of the Forgotten Ones" into the drawer.
"Murel. Remember that I put this here instead of me. Oh, its name is 'Invitation of the Forgotten Ones'."
"Understood. I'll remember. Young Master."
I smiled satisfactorily at her as she bowed politely.
It was convenient having someone smart whom I could use so easily.
"Phew... Now I can finally move around comfortably."
I unwound the bandages and slowly rotated and stretched my body to check.
Just a few days ago, even slight movements sent sharp pains racing through me, but now it moved smoothly and flexibly.
"You could say you're fully recovered. Congratulations, Alzen."
"Good."
"Please don't do anything so reckless next time."
"..."
Honestly, I had nothing to say about that.
Pissing on the head of the Duke's Family Head, a human who had reached the realm of Demi God—it was insane even by my own standards.
"...But you know, thinking about it, shouldn't you have stepped in to protect me when Father hit me? You were my bodyguard."
"Hee-hee. Alzen, say something that makes sense."
She sidled up next to me on the sofa, pressing close and gently laughing as she straightened my hair.
"I couldn't possibly oppose that man. Not physically, nor mentally."
"Hmm, so if Father ordered you to kill me, you'd obey?"
"That... I'd have to think about it."
With a playful face, she pressed even closer, hugging my arm and pushing her chest against it.
"..."
For the past few days, her behavior had grown increasingly blatant.
It started with minor touches, the frequency gradually increasing until now she was escalating the intimacy.
From the way she gauged my reactions, it seemed like she was testing boundaries... but I couldn't figure out what she was thinking, and it was frustrating.
"I've asked several times already, but what exactly are you doing, Murel?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did Father tell you to wrap me in your skirt folds or something?"
"Do you think Urtega would give such an order?"
"Hmm... That guy doesn't seem like the type, but raising a Shadow Knight means I've already lost trust in that regard..."
Her smiling face hardened slightly at my words.
She placed a hand on my thigh and leaned in close.
"Alzen. You're misunderstanding."
"What?"
"Urtega is a rare man of integrity."
"Tsk tsk tsk... Properly brainwashed, huh?"
She shot me a slightly angry glare.
"The process of becoming a Shadow Knight was undoubtedly harsh, horrific, and brutal. But it was a necessary step to awaken the Shadow Arts that dominate darkness and shadows. Besides, it was what we all wanted."
"What you all wanted?"
I looked at her with interest and took a sip of alcohol.
She naturally picked up a snack and fed it to me, pressing her chest against me as she whispered slyly.
"Yes. That's right. The children gathered by Urtega were all prodigies... burning with their own thirst for revenge."
"Kukuku, so he gathered only kids burning with revenge... What if it was all a self-staged act by Father? That your true revenge target was actually the Duke himself."
As I chuckled, she gave a faintly sad smile.
"Alzen. You don't need to force such words."
"Huh...? What are you suddenly talking about?"
"The past where you were compared to your siblings must have been hard. You must have resented your talentless self. I know well the feeling of despair and frustration at an unchangeable reality. But please stop speaking in such self-abandonment. It will only rot your inner self further."
"..."
You're not that kind of character.
Weren't you supposed to be an emotionless robot, a slaughter machine that swung blades indifferently?
What was with the sudden concept change?
"Fine, shut up and back off first."
"Hee-hee. Yes. Aren't you curious about more of my past?"
"Tch, I have no interest in your backstory."
"Oh my... Ah, could it be you already know everything?"
Even as I deliberately spoke curtly, she smiled foxily with her eyes. I shook my head and sighed.
"Haa..."
This was my one and only current worry.
I couldn't understand why she was acting like this.
Was it really some order from Urtega, or another reason...? Surely not because she fell for Alzen's looks?
"..."
I involuntarily glanced at the mirror in the corner of the room.
Thanks to my bloodline, my face was handsome—actually, more than that, objectively speaking.
But Murel didn't seem the type to act like this just for a pretty face... Not knowing her intentions made me even more wary.
Oh, and for reference, I knew nothing about Murel.
She didn't appear in the game or the setting materials.
Gulp.
"Puhah... By the way, Murel. Nothing to do today, right?"
"No. Today, a total of 37 guests are scheduled to visit."
"What the fu—... Damn bastards, what do they have to eat that they keep crawling in here?"
It had been several days since the "Demon King's Fragment Extraction" requested by the Saintess herself had succeeded safely.
In those few days, I had grown sick to death of receiving one useless guest after another.
The anticipation of meeting game characters had long been tossed in the trash.
Because after the Saintess, not a single worthwhile one had shown up.
Even so, weren't the odds too low?
"Haa..."
"Shall I call the next one?"
"Yeah, do it."
But I couldn't refuse, so there was no choice.
Gulp!
As I drank and lounged on the sofa, my whole body relaxed languidly.
A few minutes in that state, the first visitor of the day hesitantly opened the door and entered.
"U-Um... Ex-Excuse me! I'm Albus!"
"Huh...?"
But this time, from the very first, a somewhat different guest entered compared to all before.
Suntanned dark skin, muscles honed by labor, shabby clothes forcibly mended and worn, and even a faint smell of manure.
The epitome of a farmer.
This was the first such guest.
Until now, only nobles, scholars, mages with some status, or decent-ranked adventurers and mercenaries had come.
"What is it... What's the scheme this time."
I recalled Urtega, who must have screened the visitors, and made an annoyed face.
"Y-Yes!? Did I do something wrong...?"
"Haa... No, whatever. Sit down first."
"Y-Yes!"
I stared blankly at him as he hurriedly sat, then spoke first.
This was rare.
Usually, I'd wait for the other to speak out of laziness.
"Commoner, huh."
"Yes!"
"Farmer."
"Gasp, how did you...! Y-Yes! I farm on the outskirts of Terravon!"
I chuckled at his startled reaction, as if I'd uncovered some huge secret.
Anyone could easily guess from his appearance.
'Manure smell, huh...'
After days of choking on nobles' nauseating perfumes, the musty, earthy smell wasn't unpleasant.
No, honestly, it was a bit welcoming.
It reminded me of the scent wafting in when I opened the window while driving country roads in my previous life.
As a kid, I'd freak out and laugh about it... Good memories.
"U-Um... Starnassila Alzen?"
"Hm? Oh, right. What brings you here?"
I snapped to attention and asked. He straightened up and gulped nervously.
"A-Actually... Our livestock in the barn started dying off one by one... I came to find out why!"
Maybe obvious, but medieval-era farmers weren't just farmers.
Farming was primary, but they raised livestock, made cloth, chopped wood... all sorts of odd jobs.
"What?"
I involuntarily frowned.
"Why ask me about that?"
"Huh? Well... They say Starnassila Alzen is an incarnation who knows everything..."
"No, not that. For livestock, there should be a department that handles it."
Everything in the territory belonged to the lord, without exaggeration.
Land, buildings, livestock—even people.
And this wasn't just any territory; it was the Duke's domain.
A sort of extraterritorial zone, practically a nation unto itself, and the Family Head was like a king.
Such a place would surely have departments for epidemics or natural disasters.
"Ah, well... Of course we asked them first, but they didn't know the cause either..."
"Haa... Isn't it just an epidemic?"
"No. Epidemics have precursor symptoms, but this time they're just dropping dead without any."
"..."
This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do about it?
Were they testing how far my knowledge extended?
"Haa... How the hell would I know some—"
Mid-sentence, a flash of insight hit me.
"Hey. You said you live on the outskirts of Terravon?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Must be damn noisy then?"
"Uh, well... Yeah, it is. But what can we do? We just endure it."
Come to think of it, my room was at quite a high elevation.
Overlooking the castle grounds, easily dozens of meters up.
Even up here, the massive noises from reconstruction work came clearly.
They even used powerful demolition magic for dismantling buildings, startling even me sometimes, making my shoulders twitch.
If it affected me like this, what about the farms and barns right next door?
Vaguely, I recalled from my previous life's internet news: investigating mass livestock deaths, turns out it was massive blasting noise.
"It's probably because it's too noisy."
"...Pardon?"
"Go home and stuff cotton in the livestock's ears or move them farther from the city."
"Uh, uh... That'll do it? Really...?"
"Don't believe me? Then don't. Next."
His face was full of disbelief as Murel chased him out, but I didn't care.
Honestly, it really wasn't my problem.
...However, starting exactly from that day, requests from commoners exploded like crazy.