Chapter 128 – Episode 128. Battle of the Strongest (1)
Demon kings and heroes are beings that must exist in this world.
In this world established under such an absolute law, the hero in particular must be the subject of more attention than the demon lord.
Unlike the demon king, who has power that is absolute in itself and is not even allowed to go against it, the hero, who has potential but is weak at the start, is more familiar to mortals.
This applies to both the human side and the demon camp.
While everyone is watching her hero’s movements, someone relies on her or considers her an object of envy in itself, and someone agrees with her actions or moves the hero himself at will to achieve her secret wish. Also set up
And someone approaches with a distorted desire, targeting the hero’s very existence…
“I brought you what you said.”
A mysterious solver who received a request from a person with such a desire.
As Bardos asserted, the old man conducting the transaction began to look down at the woman lying on her floor.
“Okay. Are you saying that a woman sleeping without understanding the world is really a hero?”
“If I were the kind of person who would cheat with something like this, you wouldn’t have requested it in the first place.”
Like Bardos, she hides herself with a black hood, but on her wrinkled hands exposed under her sleeves, there are rings studded with precious stones every month.
An object that in itself allows us to guess his wealth and status.
However, Bardos did not bother to dig deep into that part.
Whether the opponent was a high-ranking aristocrat or a traitor who betrayed humanity, the only thing that mattered to him was whether he had the financial strength to pay for himself.
“It’s not that I’m particularly suspicious. It’s just that I can’t believe it. Really… The fact that the moment to truly acquire the hero has arrived.”
The old man laughed at Bardos’ sarcasm and looked down at Celica.
Sensing her presence before her wrinkled hands touched her face, she frowned and began to open her eyes gradually.
“… Ooh, uh?”
A groaning sound coming from just waking up from sleep.
Then she started tilting her head, staring at the old man in front of me with her blank eyes.
“Eh, oh…”
An old man who makes a puzzled expression at the babbling that comes out of his mouth.
Bardos, who was watching him, clicked his tongue and began gesturing to his men nearby.
“… I must have slept less. Let yourself be put to sleep.”
“All right.”
The men immediately approach Celica and bring her drugged towel to her mouth.
Celica smelled her incense and fell down again with a ‘heh…’ Sound.
“Looking at you like this, you are a very modest woman. To the point where I doubt that I was destined to become the center of the world…”
Be sober
What other word could describe this woman better than that?
Since she was an old man who had faced all kinds of attractive women, there was no choice but to be more confident in that evaluation. Even though she is objectively, her face can be called a beauty.
“… Hey.”
And apart from that, her evaluation by the customer was something that made Bardos feel quite uneasy.
“You’re not going to reject her because you don’t like her appearance, right?”
“Kuhhh~! Don’t worry too much I mean it in the sense that I seem to have little experience in taking care of my appearance.”
Saying that, the old man showed me the jewels of the ring on his hand.
The jewels, each one carefully processed by the artisan, highlighted their invaluable value just by reflecting the moonlight that leaked into the warehouse.
“Anyway, the jewel in this hand must have originally been nothing more than a rough stone. What do you think turned it into a valuable treasure?”
“…A customer?”
“A craftsman. No matter how much money you have, if you don’t have skills, even the rich have no choice but to display stones in their room.”
As he said, everything that exists in the world has its own potential, but in its original state, it cannot fully demonstrate its value.
In order to truly turn all of that into something called treasure, it needs to go through the hands of someone who can revive its value.
“And I’ve done many women’s work with my own hands. Even insignificant women, after passing through my hands, were transformed into attractive figures and flaunted their appearances all over the world.”
That’s how you paraphrase your perverted hobby.
It is a story known to those who know that all the women he cultivated became obsolete.
The old man did not care about such rumors and demanded sympathy for Bardos as if pushing his own convictions.
“Couldn’t a warrior who has just started growing be the best material needed to create such a treasure?”
“… If it were you, that would be it.”
Whatever it is, he is a body that is good enough as long as he gets paid.
Bardos was full of thoughts of wanting to quickly hand over the hero’s identity to him and get out of here.
Recently, in the shadows, the situation was in a state of confusion, saying it was a rebellion.
He was able to boldly carry out his plan to kidnap the hero by taking advantage of the confusion, but since there was still a risk of being caught if his tail was long, he planned to go into hiding for a while and then work quietly.
I decided to use the money I earned this time after the situation was over to some extent.
“By the way, wasn’t a hero a body that attracted quite a lot of attention? I don’t think I can keep a person of that level for a long time…”
But, is it because the subject of the abduction is also the subject?
When I asked the old lady a question, the old man smiled and showed me one of the rings on his hand.
Unlike rings that shine in various colors, a ring that feels particularly dark and ominous.
“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry. All I want to do is tinker with her mind just a little bit, a little bit.”
“… She says she’s messing with the mind?”
“Anything is possible if you use an object imbued with demonic power. It’s just a slight suggestion from her, but if I repeat the suggestion myself, one day she will come to my side on her own feet.”
I’ll release her right after going through her work, but even if she doesn’t look at her hands, the power in her mind will slowly start to eat away at her.
The process will be done slowly but surely, so no one will notice what happened to the hero and accept the decision.
The old man had that certainty. Because she had met such an end as many of the women she coaxed so far.
“… Well then, you don’t have to worry.”
I don’t know where they got those things, but if they’re going to release them soon, the Human Union, which is swayed by the rebels, won’t prolong the investigation.
The tail won’t be stepped on for a long time, so you can safely leave here too.
After hearing that affirmation, Bardos left the warehouse and stood at the entrance for the last time, listening to the voice coming from behind.
Hee hee! Finally, finally, the day has come when my earnest wish is finally fulfilled. Warrior, don’t worry. Just a little peek into your head…”
“… Like a damn old man.”
Do you want to relieve your perverted sexual desire for your young wife and children even at that age?
After all, Bardos swears and leaves with the thought that he is not a person to hang out with.
It was after they had left the shady warehouse area on the outskirts of the city for some time that his men who followed him spoke.
“Is this work over with this?”
“As expected, Captain! It is not enough to obtain the information of the hero hidden by the royal family, and to carry out a bold kidnapping. I admire your courage and skill!”
“… Don’t make a fuss over trivial matters. It’s not over yet, so prepare to leave as soon as you join the group.”
“Oh, yes, of course~”
“They will have everything ready when we arrive. The boss just needs to come back safely!”
My subordinates triumphantly despite my scolding and marched through the streets at dawn.
Even those immature fathers used to be considered good to hear, but now I was feeling quite annoyance.
‘I don’t think I was this numb when I just started doing this.’
A dark place where laws and ethics do not exist.
Customers who want to use it are not limited to outlaws.
On the contrary, the more a person becomes weary of discipline in the sun, the stronger his longing for an environment in which he can boldly undertake work.
And those who are most envied in such a place are those who have the most outstanding skills.
No matter what your position or previous record, if you have the ability here, all kinds of rewards and fame will follow.
Bardos was a person with skills to match.
The strongest of the shadows who reigned as the best solver for several years after coming down to the shadows.
‘… Maybe it’s because it’s so easy.’
However, now that he had finished kidnapping the hero, Bardos was feeling quite skeptical about himself.
After coming down from the shadows, things worked out so well that I didn’t feel any tension… Yes, it must be because I suffer from the so-called boredom.
See even now No one has been tracking them until they directly break into the warrior’s residence and complete the deal, right?
‘Well, it looks like Verdia joined the party, but I probably won’t be able to track him down.’
Even her own pursuers are barely able to follow her tracks, but how can a woman who can only be honest and hold her shield follow her?
It wouldn’t matter if there was a guy who was familiar with the ways of the shadows at the party.
At least, as long as ‘Melia’, who is known to be good at tracking among the members of the party, has gone missing, it would be virtually impossible for the remaining members to follow him.
The archmage who only looked at books and the sniper who had just become an adventurer.
And with a party made up of porters who aren’t even worth digging into…
“Boss, it’s arriving soon.”
“Oh yeah.”
Whatever it is, this quest has been successfully completed.
After that, all that was left was to lead my organization abroad and wait for the upcoming uprising in the country to end.
After that, it’s just a matter of doing business with the money you earned this time or just having fun.
While making such a smooth plan and chewing on boredom, Bardos suddenly stopped in his tracks at the strange sensation he felt around him.
“Boss? Why?”
“…”
“… Boss?”
“No, you guys go first. I have some work to do.”
“Yes? I’m leaving soon…”
“You bastard, you can’t fight what the boss says!”
Another subordinate who urged the questioning subordinate led the rest of the group and prepared to go to the place where they originally joined.
Looking back, Bardos sighed deeply.
After that, he stepped back from his seat and muttered while hiding himself in the darkness of the alleyway.
“Fuck you.”
The moment I felt the concentration of mana felt around here increasing at a terrifying speed.
-Quagagang!!!
Following this, the building where the confluence was scheduled exploded, and everything in its vicinity began to burn and crumble.
Debris flying in all directions, and people.
Bardos, who saw the shadows of his subordinates in his eyes, stared at the shadows of those escaping the flames.
“The guy who uses stealth over there. I noticed, so why don’t you come out right away?”
Waving a red cloak.
She’s a woman with wild hair coming right to where she is.
“… This is true.”
Bardos exhaled deeply and came out of the alleyway.
After recovering even the mana he used to hide her body, he said softly as he saw the woman running out of the street that had become a mess.
“… I’ve only heard of it through rumors, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it myself, but it’s truly terrifying magic.”
Ymir of the Black Crystal.
The youngest archmage and a member of the hero’s party.
“Looking at your magic level, you seem to be the boss… I don’t care who you are, I only ask one thing.”
Such a heavyweight with a fireball behind him.
I glared at Bardos, who had escaped from the darkness, and started collecting mana at my fingertips.
“Where did our little boy take you?”
– Chijik.
Bardos puts a cigarette in his mouth as if to answer.
After that, he spewed bluish smoke out of his mouth and answered quietly, raising his forged eyes.
“… If I had answered that right away, I would have lived on taxes even now.”
The renegade Bardos.
The man, who is said to be one of the 10 strongest men on the continent, felt the pounding that he forgot about after he descended into the shadows on his own feet.
