Chapter 24

EP 24 – Hero & Lucius vs EVIL(5)

The fastest route to the Demon King involves passing through the territory of the blonde NTR lord next door. Depending on the progression of the story, this path may or may not be accessible. If left alone for 4 months after the Demon King’s resurrection prophecy, the entire territory will become shrouded in poison, forcing the protagonist’s party to take a detour.

However, if you reach Lucius’ territory within 3 months, the NTR lord’s territory will not yet be affected by the Demon King’s poison. It will instead be a lush farming area teeming with green foliage and goblins. Entering this land with at least one female character triggers an NTR attempt event.

The reactions differ depending on the character, but the event always ends with the lord’s death. I had hoped to naturally kill off the lord through this event by bringing Sieri along. However, taking a level 10 nun on the road to fight the Demon King felt ridiculous, so I gave up on the idea.

As a result, the NTR blonde fatty looked visibly disappointed to see only me and the hero traveling, and begrudgingly opened the way for us. Though, not without trying to make a move against me.

“Lord Lucius, have you appointed a proxy?”

“Of course. …… Lord.”

I couldn’t remember his name, so I just mumbled something. I was too lazy to open the status window and read it. Then the NTR fatty exclaimed excitedly.

“Oh dear, you didn’t appoint your knight captain or Sieri as your proxy, did you? That simply won’t do. According to noble law, the lord’s proxy must hold a rank of baron or higher—”

“Princess Ahildern Erina of Ahildern is acting as my proxy. I appreciate your concern, but your interest in my territory seems a bit excessive.”

At that, the blonde pig shut his mouth. I wanted to leave here as soon as possible and get on with defeating the Demon King. The Hero A.A. chastised me for my curt behavior since we’re crossing his territory after all.

“Even so, Priest-nim, wasn’t that a bit harsh? He was just trying to show concern for you, but—”

“Hero, you shouldn’t judge people solely by the kindness they show on the surface. If everyone lived with pure intentions, there would be no such religion as the Great Celestial Church.”

“Still, I believe in people. Priest-nim, I think you’re too cold.”

“You’ll end up getting stabbed in the back if you trust people so easily. Not everyone who acts hurt, sad, or pitiful is good. You shouldn’t trust others too much, Hero.”

“This is getting nowhere. Shall we take a short break?”

The sun was setting. There was no need to rush day and night, so it was better to rest at an inn once darkness fell. Riding the finest horse from the territory, we’d reach our destination in three to four days.

I planned to book two rooms, but A.A. suggested sharing one to save money. It was as if he had forgotten my position entirely. Shaking my head, I requested two rooms and just had it billed under my lordship.

Seeing this, A.A. said.

“Priest-nim, I don’t mind sharing the room with someone else…..”

“But I do.”

There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to sleep in the same room as another guy. The main character, the hero, grew up in a poor rural village and was used to frugality. So it was not hard to understand why he wanted to save money. But two men in one room was not it.

For a moment, I imagined the scene. Two guys sleeping on one bed, their bodies accidentally brushing against each other… followed by an awkward exchange. ṝΆꞐỔᛒËᶊ

“Oh, my apologies.”

“No, no, I should be the one apologizing.”

Just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine. I buried myself under the blanket, relieved I had insisted on sleeping alone.

The following day, and the day after, we continued our separate-room arrangement. The territory we passed through still seemed untouched by monsters, as we hadn’t encountered a single one along the way. This allowed us to progress steadily, nearing the end of our journey. Though, it was still as awkward as when we started.

It hadn’t even been three months yet. As I recall, the Demon King’s level should be about 30 around this time, which was a level of difficulty that could be easily defeated by a party of three level 20-something characters. Currently, both me and the hero were in the mid-40s. At this point, even his grandfather would stand no chance against us.

But as the problem became like this, I was faced with one dilemma. Could I kill the hero? The [Relic] I gave the hero strengthened the hero’s stats in the game.

This stat enhancement was so substantial that the hero, who would’ve ranked in the middle tier of characters originally, became the strongest physical damage dealer in the game after a single event. And looking at the hero’s status window now.

===

Name: A.A.

Job: Hero

Level: 46

Stats

Strength: 160

Agility: 138

Intelligence: 98

Luck: 120

Traits

Hero’s Will

Has an 80% chance to nullify incapacitation effects.

Indomitable Will

Can get back up once after reaching exhaustion.

Sever Evil

Deals 3x damage when counterattacking.

===

At level 46, with my Strength stat only at 120, there was no way I could take the hero head-on. My original plan had been to wait until after the battle with the Demon King, when the hero would be weakened, and then strike him from behind. But when I thought about it, the Demon King was too weak.

If I attack carelessly, the hero’s traits might activate and I’ll follow the original Lucius to hell after getting counterattacked. Perhaps I had been too complacent. Clicking my tongue, I continued heading toward the Demon King’s resurrection site.

Since the hero could detect the location of the Demon King’s resurrection after getting the holy relic, I followed him as we advanced steadily. Whenever I tried to smash monsters with my mace, the hero would leap ahead, slicing them down like a whirlwind.

“Are you alright?”

“And you, Hero?”

Fighting side by side like this, it almost felt like we were building something akin to camaraderie. The moment we left the territory of the NTR fatty, monsters swarmed us as we pushed through this meat wall.

During our journey, we set up camp, exchanged idle chatter, and took turns resting. It was an enjoyable experience. For the first time since arriving in this world, I felt like I was truly on an adventure. Watching each other’s backs, moving forward, and taking down monsters together—I felt a bond between us.

The increasing number of monsters strewn around us signaled that we were drawing closer to the Demon King’s resurrection site.

As we approached the Demon King’s castle, the hero cut down more and more monsters. In turn, he gained more experience and grew stronger with each battle. By the time we reached the entrance of the Demon King’s castle, both of us were nearing level 50.

At the gates of the Demon King’s resurrection site, the [Ruined Mansion], the Hero A.A. said to me.

“I can feel the Demon King’s energy strongly from here.”

“Let’s make some final preparations before we go.”

Thus began our last day of camping. I decided to ask the hero a question.

“Once we defeat the Demon King, it will be over. Will you marry Princess Erina afterwards?”

“Yes. That’s my promise.”

“There’s no precedent for a human becoming a consort in the Elf Kingdom. You wouldn’t be able to ascend the throne.”

“That’s fine. I love Erina.”

It was a quite painful statement. If you think about it, the hero was usually a harem type, but this guy was a real man who only looked at Erina. He didn’t even spare a glance at other women, and came to defeat the Demon King.

He also knew how to handle Erina, had a decent personality, and his frugality with money wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with. Honestly, he had been a reliable party member the whole time we were traveling together. So… should I really kill him?

When I thought about it, even if I killed him and set up the perfect NTR scenario, things would undoubtedly get incredibly hectic for me afterward. A hero who defeats the Demon King becomes unimaginably busy—attending events and fulfilling various obligations. Rather, wouldn’t it be better to just be satisfied with punishing Erina and give her to him?

There were plenty of women in the world, and while he takes only Erina, I could conquer all the other women. I’m not that greedy. Okay, let’s spare the hero. There’s no need to kill him. It would be too much. The hero was a good guy.

“Priest-nim.”

At that moment, the Hero A.A. drew his sword and guarded the surroundings. I also felt the dark energy seeping out from the ground and got up.

“Hehehehehehe!”

A pitch-black figure emerged from the shadows, taking the form of a human drenched in tar. He wiped away the viscous liquid dripping from his body and glared with blazing red eyes.

“You… you’re the hero, huh?”

A constantly melting body and red eyes. I knew exactly what this thing was. When you arrive in front of the Demon King’s territory, one of the Four Heavenly Kings would randomly appear. Among them, this [Melting Falkios] was a great counter to the hero, possessing immense resistance to physical attacks.

“I am Melting Falkios, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army… You who dare to interfere with the Demon King’s resurrection…”

Schwing!

“Urgh!”

“Hahaha… This level of attack….”

The hero swung his sword with great force, splitting Falkios’ head in two. You could see the smooth cross-section as if it were glass. Falkios, with half of his face cut off, laughed at the hero. Here, the standard strategy was for me to use holy magic to beat up Falkios. After all, this guy was low level…

“Attacks… shouldn’t… work… huh? What…?”

Falkios ran his hand over his severed face, making a strange sound and his eyes darting in confusion. He began coughing up thick blood, as his body melted. I lowered my mace and could only stare at the hero.

“L-Lord Demon King… Forg-give this… unworthy servant… urk…”

And just like that, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Melting Falkios, turned into a pool of oil.

I looked at the hero’s back and thought. I couldn’t kill him after all. I decided to give up on the idea. Forget the distractions—it was time to deal with the Demon King, who was right in front of us.