I’m a Hero, but I Gave Up Saving the World

53 – Will you meet the Demon King?

“Unbelievable… !! Unbelievable!!! Could it be that you deliberately chose such trash as your hero? How many people are living their lives believing only in warriors! What was the enormous amount of capital consumed in the dimension summoning circle!! Are you saying that all those damn high taxes to support the warriors were cheating and exploitation! Tell me, Your Highness the King!”

“Oh, Gerena. You seem to have figured it out. This is why overly smart people can’t do it. Your promotion to the sage should be something that never happened.”

“Even promotion is fine! Please explain, Your Highness! What will the people say if they know this… !!”

「Explanation? why should i do that? Know your subject, Gerena. You say you have talent, but you’re just a wizard, and I’m the king. It’s common sense in the kingdom that no one should go against the king, don’t you know that?”

“Tell me why you chose that bastard as a hero!!”

「Oh, are you talking half now? I went as far as I could. Alright Gerena. Duchess of a foolish ducal family, let me tell you the reason. As you know, warriors have tremendous power, don’t they? Even if he just wants to reap the blessing, the whole country has to come out and lick the soles of his feet. A guy with such great power must be smart and ambitious. Do you think that I, the king, will be able to comfortably enjoy my heavenly life?”

“Only… for that reason. just for yourself… Then, who the hell will kill the demon lord?」

「Heh heh heh. Where is the need to kill the demon king? It’s not like the demon king invades the palace anyway.”

“Even if the palace is not invaded, private houses are being destroyed every day!”

「After all, the people are nothing more than domestic animals such as dogs and pigs. It would be beneficial if the country could be stabilized with a certain amount of sacrifice.”

“this… profit… ? Are you still human?」

“That statement is treason. Hee hee, is the Duke’s family collapsing like this in Durant? I will tell you what will happen if you dare to attack the King.”

“… There was no hope in this world from the beginning.”

The conversation with the king made Gerena deeply skeptical.

Still, he didn’t intend to become a demon from the beginning.

In fact, the desire to reform humanity from within was stronger.

The first thing he went to as a companion for reform was the old book of Minerva, a sage at the time.

He told Minerva every truth he had found out.

However, Minerva, who expected him to be actively angry, showed a weak response. Rather, it seemed that he was uncomfortable with Gerena.

“It was all a trick, Minerva. We have to publicize this to the whole world and correct the basis of the hero system.”

“… Gerena, I heard that your promotion to the wise was denied.」

“There must have been pressure from the king. It’s okay to be a sage now. Rather, we must take a step toward a peaceful world.”

“… I will soon be tested for promotion to a great sage.”

“what? Is that important now?”

“You have to climb higher to see farther. Now I must avoid political action as much as possible. It can make the judges reject it.”

“politics? How is this a political act? You mean to save the world? What is rejection? Who would be offended by trying to rectify the crazy reality in which naive people take half of their income in the name of subsidies for warriors? Are you talking about corrupt people of power?”

“Whoa… Please refrain from contacting us for the time being. The great sage has been a long-held dream of mine. I don’t want to get caught right in front of my nose.”

「Genga that individual prosperity is more important than world peace!」

Minerva did not side with Gerena.

Instead, he blatantly spread the word that Gerena had seduced him into a coup.

Thanks to that report, Minerva managed to win the favor of King Carlos of Aurelia, who was a judge for promotion, and was proudly elected as an honorable sage.

Meanwhile, Guerena, who was quickly branded a traitor while trying to save the world, was cornered.

More than anything, it was most painful to see the people he wanted to save so much point fingers at him.

「Hey~ Gerena, that bastard, made you come here pretending to be proud, and then plotting a rebellion from behind? Is the power that good?」

「I was trying to disguise my extremely personal grudge of losing my fiancée to a hero as a cause, so I overdosed it.」

“Ah~ looks good”

“The Durante family is over.”

—Gerena noticed right away.

The fact that they were just complaining after seeing the eldest son of a prominent ducal family fall into abyss in an instant.

“Ahh… like that. The king, the sages, and the people… without fail… All humans were trash.”

Only then did Gerena realize.

the fate that lies ahead.

And what you really need to do.

“It is not the world that has rotted away, but humans. It is man who must be reformed! I, Gerena, will judge you!”

—Not long after, Gerena killed a hero and betrayed her comrades, giving up her humanity and being reborn as a demon.

And that’s not just a rumored demon tribe, but the four heavenly kings, the highest officials in the demon king’s army.

Even Gerena boasted the strongest power among the Four Heavenly Kings.

Had Faust not appeared, he might have become the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings one day.

However, Gerena was rather moved to learn about Faust’s existence and its story.

It was because the innate talent, the absurd persecution, and the process of awakening were very similar to his own.

For the first time in my life, I felt as if I had met a friend to share my heart with.

Therefore, the hand he handed to Faust had no black heart.

It was really just a friendly handshake.

Sincerity is conveyed.

Faust also recognized his friend and joined hands.

“As long as you have the same ideology and purpose, you are always welcome, Gerena.”

“Thank you, Faust. for trusting me But in the human world, I would have been known as a traitor who should not be trusted, aren’t you afraid?”

“It is only natural that two-eyed people are considered monsters in a one-eyed village. I am well aware of the suffering that normal people go through in a society of abnormal people.”

“Hey, I’m glad. Recognized as normal… !”

The scene of two powerful demons bursting into laughter was like a painting.

They chatted quickly and casually, like old friends.

Mostly, when Faust, who had just arrived on the Demon Continent, asked a question, Gerena would answer it.

“—Then the Four Heavenly Kings were in fact an independent force that kept each other in check.”

“Until now. Our greatest weakness was our inability to unite. Not from now on, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you, Faust, will be our leader.”

“… will you still be okay? You wouldn’t be greedy either.”

“Of course. i already lost to you Besides, Juvia seems to be stuck with the elf you brought. No matter how you think about it, you’re in command.”

“Then, as commander, I want to attack the human world as soon as Juvia and Lilith recover.”

“It’s a quick fight. Not bad, but I’m against it.”

“Why?”

Of course, I thought the answer would come back, but it was unexpected.

Gerena said with a senior-like face that it just went well.

“Um… I guess I need to explain the power map of the Demon Continent. It is also a story that is very closely related to you. In many ways.”

“?”

“Various demons live in the Demon Continent. Most of them belong to the Demon King’s Army. However, there are unruly tribes that are the only ones who stand against the Demon King.”

“You mean a dragon?”

Having heard similar stories before, I was able to guess immediately.

“right. Dragons are very annoying. Even if you don’t use any magic, your body itself must be very strong. It is evaluated that if all the dragons gather, they will become a force comparable to the demon lord’s army.”

“Then defeating them individually is the best strategy.”

“You are too quick to judge. He is indeed our leader. However, it was too late.”

Gerena’s expression became more serious.

“Just as we have chosen you as our leader, the dragons are trying to unite as one. In fact, dragons are so proud that they never go under anyone. It was to the extent that he refused even the rule of the Demon King. However, the birth of an outstanding dragon king named Uranir, the Celestial Dragon King, is about to change the history of dragons.”

“Heavenly Dragon King Uranir… ? Is that stronger than Meranir?”

“It is information that both the Water Dragon King and the Earth Dragon King were under the Heavenly Dragon King. It’s probably the first time in a million years that a dragon king has kneeled before another dragon king? In other words, the Celestial Dragon King is a dragon genius who is born once in a million years.”

“The fact that the guys who refused even the demon king’s rule accepted the rule of the heavenly dragon king means that they judged the heavenly dragon king to be stronger than the demon king?”

“Heh… Well… .”

Gerena smiled meaningfully.

“When you first flew to the hideout, the reason the 4 of us who were not on good terms gathered was to discuss countermeasures against the Celestial Dragon King. Well, no matter how much I thought about it, the answer didn’t come out.”

“Why did you not get an answer?”

“I have never met the Celestial Dragon King, but I have fought the Water Dragon King, Posanir. I fought with all my strength and barely managed to win, but I really ignored that guy’s mental strength. It was to the point that I was terrified by the spirit that he would never surrender even if he would die. If you subdued such a guy, the power of the Celestial Dragon King would be at a level beyond imagination.”

“… I’m busy fighting with humanity. Useless guys are making the development procrastinate.”

“If it weren’t for the dragons, we would have already launched an all-out assault on humanity. Dragons are the hidden protagonists who bring the war between humans and demons to a halt. Humans vs dragons vs demons, the balance of these three powers has been going on for a million years. However, that old balance is about to be broken now.”

said Gerena, pointing to Faust triumphantly.

“The Celestial Dragon King Uranir and Faust. Because of two geniuses.”

“… You’re overrated, Gerena. You don’t know if I’ll be stronger than the Celestial Dragon King.”

“Probably weak.”

“what?”

“Let’s just say it right now.”

Gerena’s lips smirked.

He patted me with his elbow filled with teasing and envy.

“I heard you not only absorbed the Dragon King’s power, but are also actually a hero?”

“The holy sword was taken away because of the great sage.”

“I heard it too. It’s a pity. Minerva is the epitome of a hypocrite. The situation would have been easier if it hadn’t been for his vile tricks, but unfortunately as of now, you can’t win against the Celestial Dragon King.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

There’s no way this guy told this long story just to complain without any countermeasures.

Sure enough, as if waiting for my prompting, Gerena started to get to the point.

“Faust… Did you ask me earlier? “Is the Heavenly Dragon King stronger than the Demon King?” That is a question that is not easily answered.”

“… Why?”

Suddenly, a belated feeling of incongruity came over me.

Come to think of it, the four kings are the devil’s servants.

Can Gerena decide that I will be the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings? Without the permission of the Demon King?

Gerena asked with a well-timed tone, as if she could guess the question I was having.

“Faust… Are you going to meet the Demon King?”

“what? can i meet you? The veiled demon king? The demon king who has never appeared in a thousand years?”

“It seems that the Demon King is also interested in you. Come with me.”

I thought it was too sudden to leave for the demon lord right now, but in fact, Gerena said that she had been intentionally walking toward the demon lord’s castle from a while ago.

Thanks to this, if you go a little closer, you can reach the base of the demon king that mankind has been wanting to know so much.

—An old castle exuding a gloomy aura appeared.

This place is the devil’s saint’s house.

There is a demon king in this.

Why is the Demon King interested in me? What did the demon king look like? What is his purpose? No, can I really go in like this? Shouldn’t Misha be brought along too?

Maybe I’m trying to cross a dangerous bridge.

But why?

The wind blowing from the demon lord’s castle is warm.

I have no idea that I will die here.

“As expected, Faust is great. He has a very calm expression even when he goes to see the Demon King.”

“The Demon King does not harm me. I kind of feel that way.”

“Heh… then let’s go keep your promise This place is so large that it takes more than a day just to go through the corridors.”

“Does not matter. It’s not like I have a schedule for today or tomorrow.”

“That too. Then let’s go slowly.”

Gerena closed the castle gate.

The Demon King’s Castle is a two-dimensional space, so once the door is closed, a major earthquake occurs outside and even if shells fall, you will never notice from the inside.

In the hallway where silence fell, only the footsteps of Faust and Gerena broke the silence.

they walked leisurely. There was no reason to rush.

—Taking advantage of the moment when the two of them had disappeared, the dragon troops led by the King of the Heavenly Dragon were raiding the hideout of the Four Heavenly Kings without even knowing in their dreams.

＜Faust as a human＞

＜At this time, I was still an ordinary young man full of knowledge＞

＜he is about 183＞