0.0000001% Demon King - 0DK Chapter 31: The Village of the Sun God (3) (Part 2)
– That’s disgusting.
Irina’s voice was filled with deep disgust.
– I never liked the Sun God to begin with… This is just ridiculous. Is this the aspect of the Sun God you were talking about?
“No, you still don’t know anything.”
Karos denied her words.
“If you knew what kind of being the Sun God is, you wouldn’t even be able to feel disgusted.”
– What’s there, then?
“I’ll explain later.”
– You humans call us evil, but from our perspective, you’re no less troublesome.
Bathesia laughed mockingly.
– Not that we’re not evil. A hero being a child. I find it hard to accept, but this is an opportunity, Karos.
“I know.”
– We don’t have time to waste. I’ll end the communication here. Please take care of the rest.
The communication ended. Karos blankly stared at the ceiling.
As Bathesia said, this was an opportunity. The hero did not believe that others would lie. Even if told that there’s a deadly disease in the holy land, she would not doubt it. Getting away would be incredibly simple.
But his emotions were sticky, swirling inside him.
The hero, after all, was a child. A child endowed with power, conveniently crafted by adults.
This child was being used by those called righteous, by those who claim to be just, as a convenient tool.
“Damn it.”
Karos cursed as unpleasant memories surfaced. Emotions tried to engulf him violently.
Hehe.
Something seemed to mock him as if saying he had no right to be angry.
“Shut up.”
Karos spat out irritably and opened the door.
“You finally came out.”
The village chief greeted him as if he had been waiting.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go to the hero.”
The chief gave a slimy smile and gestured behind him. The villagers had gathered around, seemingly trying to block his way.
Karos looked at them quietly. To them, he was an outsider who threatened the hero’s fairy tale. They wanted to exclude him somehow. He just hadn’t expected them to act this quickly.
“The hero has had an urgent matter and had to leave, we’ll tell her. Don’t worry. We won’t harm you. We’re just following the will of the god.”
The chief slowly approached and grabbed Karos’s shoulder.
“Let go.”
Karos’s voice was low, barely more than an irritated murmur without any force.
However, the chief quickly released his grip.
“…You?”
“You… are filthy.”
Karos gave a self-mocking smile.
“But I’m no different.”
The villagers hesitated as Karos laughed quietly. A tangible emotion began to press down on the space. Karos opened his mouth with a smile.
“Move aside.”
The path cleared.
**** ****
“Have you arrived?”
Outside the village, on the path leading to the mountains, Sinclair greeted Karos as she had been waiting.
“You took a while. I was getting bored, almost started fortune-telling with flowers.”
“I’d like to see that sometime. It’s nothing serious. Just had some thoughts.”
“Good. Let’s get moving then.”
Sinclair confidently moved towards the mountains. Karos followed and asked.
“Miss Sinclair, you’ve defeated bandits quite a few times, haven’t you? How have you handled it until now?”
“I killed them all.”
Sinclair said with a calm face.
“Bandits are the enemies of civilians; there’s no need to spare them.”
“Is that what you were taught in the holy land?”
“Ah, what?”
Sinclair was taken aback by Karos’s question.
“How did you know that?”
“Just a guess. Miss Sinclair, I have a suggestion.”
To awaken a child trapped in a fairy tale, there was only one way.
“Why don’t you leave it to me from here?”
Showing her the reality, not a fairy tale.
**** ****
“One, two, three, four, five…”
A rugged-looking man gazed fondly at the gold coins before him.
“My lovely little ones.”
“Don’t call gold coins ‘my little ones.’ It’s embarrassing to listen to.”
“So what! They’re my little ones now!”
“Sure thing.”
The man who protested cringed as the other, a slender man, frowned. Despite his somewhat delicate appearance, his face twisted as if made of paper.
“Brother, don’t you think this is strange, no matter how you look at it?”
“Oh, come on. You worry too much. It’s fine, isn’t it? Don’t you trust me?”
The rugged man thumped his chest confidently, but the slender man’s face twisted even more.
“Remember the last time you said it was fine? That treasure hunt. After dodging countless traps and nearly dying, we found nothing but a mummy. And that ‘sure thing’ mission you assured was solid? Escorting the rebel leader, which got us chased by the empire for a month. Shall I continue?”
“No.”
The rugged man’s face fell, defeated.
“…But this time it’s different, look!”
His face brightened again as he caressed the gold coins.
“Twenty gold coins! We’ve been mercenaries for ten years, and the most we got was two coins, but now, for such an easy job, ten times that!”
“That’s exactly why it’s suspicious. Ugh, this fool.”
The slender man gritted his teeth. His leader might have the strength of a monster, but his brain was equally monstrous in its stupidity.
“Think about it. We’re mercenaries. Low-grade mercenaries at that.”
“Hey! We’ve got skills, you know! We’re not the lowest of the low!”
“Yes, yes. If it weren’t for your trashy decision-making, we might’ve made a name for ourselves. But regardless, we’re still low-grade mercenaries. The kind that could get stabbed in a street alley and no one would bat an eye.”
Mercenary work might sound grand, but at the end of the day, they were just errand runners. Mid and high-tier mercenaries had some level of status and authority, but the low-tier ones were barely distinguishable from common thieves.
“And now we’re offered a job worth twenty gold coins. Plus, it’s an incredibly simple task of just waiting around in the nearby mountains for a few days. Anyone could do it, not just us. And yet, they’re willing to pay twenty coins. Does that make any sense to you?”