0.0000001% Demon King - 0DK Chapter 31: The Village of the Sun God (3) (Part 1)
0DK Chapter 31: The Village of the Sun God (3) (Part 1)
“Wait here. I’ll take care of it quickly.”
Sinclair prepared her equipment, ready to deal with the bandits at any moment.
“Miss Sinclair.”
Karos asked her.
“Don’t you find it strange?”
“Strange? What do you mean?”
“This village. And the things I’ve told you about.”
A play so full of holes, with no intention of hiding anything. He continued.
“The village chief said they resisted the bandits. But there was no one who was wounded or sick.”
Everyone’s complexion was too healthy, and their bodies too well. They did not look like people who had just fought a battle.
“The village was also intact.”
Not even a small fence that a cat could jump over was damaged.
“And not a single weapon was in sight. How could a village without any arms have driven off the bandits?”
“…Perhaps they were hiding something, and the bandits were cautious?”
“Maybe.”
Karos smirked bitterly.
“This is the basin of the Sun God. Attacking this place is tantamount to provoking the apostles of the Sun God. Only a madman would do such a thing. If they thought the village was hiding something and were cautious, they wouldn’t have attacked in the first place.”
“Is that so?”
Sinclair scratched her cheek. Karos continued.
“Moreover, they know too much about the bandits.”
Where they are located, how many there are, what their armament is like, and even their escape routes. They knew it all.
“As if they had heard it directly from them.”
“…Hmm.”
Sinclair opened her mouth with a puzzled look.
“Isn’t that strange?”
Karos couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.
Pure curiosity. There was no caution or enlightenment. She genuinely did not understand why that was a problem.
“Miss Sinclair, how many times have you driven off bandits?”
There were occasional stories of Sinclair protecting the people by driving off bandits.
“Was it similar to now?”
“Yes.”
Sinclair affirmed.
“Every time I came to the basin of the Sun God, bandits occasionally attacked. I helped out each time.”
“Is that so.”
Karos covered his face with his hands.
“…Then I will accompany you.”
“Eh? There’s no need…”
“Think of it as repaying the grace I received from the hero. I will follow shortly, so if you could wait at the path, I would be grateful.”
“If you insist… Alright. I’ll be waiting.”
Sinclair left briskly. Karos stayed still for a few minutes after she was gone.
“…Then.”
He slowly straightened up.
“Let’s do this, Bathesia.”
—
– Here.
A calm voice rang in his ears. Karos pressed his forehead with his fingers.
“Did you hear everything just now?”
– Clearly.
– Yes.
– That’s really absurd.
Irina muttered as if she was taken aback.
– So that’s what a hero is.
“How funny.”
Now, he seemed to understand what a hero was. Why she had not shown a normal reaction until now.
“Lillis, you said you had something to say about the hero?”
– Yes.
“Go ahead.”
– But it’s not certain…
“In this situation, it seems quite certain.”
At Karos’s teasing remark, Lillis fell silent. Eventually, she slowly said:
– It’s my speculation about the hero. She is, well…
Lillis trailed off.
– …like a child.
– What does that mean?
Bathesia asked, sounding perplexed.
– That monster, the demon slayer who has killed dozens of demon lords. How can such a being be a child?
– Listen to me, Lord Bathesia. The village chief’s story about the bandits was full of holes. An adult, no, anyone with a moderate experience of the world would have noticed. But she did not.
– So, she’s a child?
– A child does not pay attention to the finer details. They see things in a straightforward manner, caring only about the direct impact. Even Soccu did the same.
Soccu thought the reaction of someone being pickpocketed was a greeting. She did not judge the wrong as wrong.
– It was a matter of ignorance. The current hero also takes it for granted due to ignorance, not much different.
– But she’s different from Soccu.
Bathesia strongly denied it, seemingly uncomfortable with the idea that a powerful hero could be a child.
– She was born human and grew up as one. It’s impossible not to know that by her age.
– That’s why I hesitated to speak. Because it’s impossible.
“She was raised in the holy land.”
Listening to their conversation, Karos spoke.
“She was taken in by the pope at birth and lived her life in the holy land. She hardly ever went outside, except when demons appeared.”
Sinclair’s world was isolated.
“Irina, you also had something to say.”
– Yes.
“Go ahead.”
– It’s about the origin of the hero.
Heroes. Each one of them possesses a power that could rival rulers. They were a disaster in themselves.
– The Sun God’s hero appears over generations. According to my research, the Sun God’s church cannot choose the hero. The hero is determined at birth, and there have been cases where a hero was born in a family unrelated to the Sun God.
– Oh. Then how do they find her?
– The moment a hero is born, the Sun God sends an oracle to reveal her location.
Irina spoke quietly, her voice tinged with annoyance.
– And the church, by any means necessary, always brings the child of the oracle to the holy land. Only when they become adults do they finally show themselves outside.
Sinclair believed the pope had taken her in out of compassion and brought her to the holy land.
“If the church can’t choose their own hero, the first thing they’d do is correct her mindset.”
When they first arrived in this village, they were excessively welcomed. A welcome that covered the ground with petals.
Sinclair took such a fairy-tale welcome for granted.
“Can a child who has lived in a fairy tale ever grow up?”