I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

37 – 37. The Lost Item

When Stella opened her eyes, the Demon King was already down.

The first time I met the demon king, I lost consciousness due to the wind pressure caused by his sword.

A gust of wind that blew everything around just by releasing the black magic that the demon king was using.

That’s why the demon king’s power must have been very strong.

It is said that during the final battle with the demon king, various abnormal weather events such as earthquakes and storms occurred all over the world.

Arsel, the hero who fought and won against such a demon king.

There was no one who was not happy among the colleagues who went on the journey together.

Strangely enough, though, Arcel was staring at the demon king’s corpse as if something was wrong.

He didn’t look very relieved even though he defeated the demon king, who was the purpose of his life and his nemesis.

On the contrary, I felt as if I was carrying an even heavier burden, a hesitation that had never existed before.

“…And the Demon King fell. I don’t remember the details either. From then on, I just fought with the mindset that everything would end when I was finished here.”

Arsel told Clen what had happened during the battle with the demon lord.

He moved from the audience room and told Clen about the end of the demon king.

“It was a fairly ordinary end for that demon king.”

There was nothing more special than I thought.

It’s just a story of the demon king and the warrior, as anyone can imagine, the demon king was very strong, but the warrior managed to defeat it with the persistence of not giving up.

“What were you expecting? Anyway, it’s just what I expected. That Demon King is just a monster with tremendous strength. It was a problem because it was so filthy and ignorant.”

Alfred said as if he was tired of the devil’s story.

Here, Alfred was the one who saw and watched the Demon King up close, and surprisingly, he was also the one he hated the most, so it’s only natural that he reacted like that.

“For now, this is the end. What happened after…”

“You don’t have to explain. Even though this side is not interested in war or conquest, it’s because they planted eyes and ears in humans.”

It seemed that Clen knew about what happened after that.

Arcel was relieved not to have to tell a story he didn’t want to tell.

I didn’t want to think of that time in my head as much as possible.

“Still, if it is unexpected, it is surprising. That demon lord never seemed to go alone…”

Unexpectedly, no one died in the battle with the demon king.

It was difficult for everyone to walk properly even after receiving intensive treatment for several days due to serious injuries, but in the end, they were things that could be recovered over time.

It’s just that the catastrophe happened before he was able to recover.

“Clen’s grandmother has a lot of thoughts, too. Thanks to that, you didn’t pay a murderous tax and gulp down an enormous inheritance tax.”

“…That’s true. If those words hadn’t come off your tongue, it would have been okay to have a toast here.”

Clen glared at Alfred, frowning.

I think I know why, but I don’t know exactly why she hates Alfred so much.

To be honest, I can understand why he dislikes Alfred just by listening to him, but such a reaction went beyond simple dislike and was more like being wary of a dangerous being.

Anyway, whenever he came into sight, Alfred was spewing terrifying killing blows.

“By the way, what is that elf? Is he your slave? I didn’t know you would like a slave with that look.”

Clen said looking at Stella who was sleeping on Arcel’s lap.

Looking at the restraints around his neck, he seems to think he’s Alfred’s slave.

“First of all, they are not slaves to the castle, but dwarves have good eyesight, so they will find the remaining dust well after cleaning.”

“Well, being a loser staying in a loser’s castle like that, he’ll escape the law if he’s alone.”

“As you said, I was really lonely, but it was better because my age wasn’t in a thousand like everyone else. After all, being young is the best.”

Shuuk!

Once again, a stinger flew into Alfred’s throat.

“hahahaha! Slow!”

However, before being stabbed in the throat by a poison needle, Alfred shows the eccentricity of separating his head with his hands to avoid it.

“Sheesh.”

Clen clicked her tongue as she easily avoided her surprise.

“…Alfred, why are you provoking it?”

“It’s a story of reality rather than stimulation. You’re playing the lord until you’re that old, maybe you don’t even have a conscience. Well, there are things that don’t have an heir because I couldn’t get married at that age.”

After that, the poison needles fly dozens of times, but Alfred dodges them all very lightly.

“By the way, is Stella okay?”

Arsel asked in fright when he saw the wall melted by the stray stinger.

Chiik! It’s a bonus that the melted wall melts down to the floor with the sound of that.

“You can rest assured. It wasn’t my blood that I injected into that elf, it was just an ordinary sleeping pill.”

“Sleeping pills… Is that why I fell asleep like this?”

Arcel stroked the sleeping Stella’s head.

In the past, when she stood up for a night watch, Stella, who had been waiting by her side, would fall asleep first like this.

The poison needle stuck in Stella’s throat a while ago doesn’t look like that one, but since Stella’s been asleep ever since, it’s natural to be worried.

“…For a while.”

“Alfred?”

As Alfred watched, he deliberately grabbed Clen’s stinger and stuck it in his throat.

“As expected, it doesn’t have any effect. Now that I’m old, it can’t be helped that the poison weakens.”

However, it seemed to have no effect.

In the first place, Alfred comes back intact even if his head is cut and his head disappears.

Rather, it would be even weirder if you were poisoned.

“You bastard, do you dare to insult me by touching my tail?”

For no reason, Clen’s life only grew thicker.

“It’s better than skinny like a crow, but don’t worry, I don’t like grandma.”

“You bastard!”

“Alfred…”

It can’t get thick enough to turn into a solid.

For some reason, Arsel was concerned that Alfred had become more talkative today.

I couldn’t figure out why.

She kept glancing at herself, which made her feel strangely ashamed.

“Do you know that Clen’s grandmother has no conscience? I once visited this place because of the devil’s errand. No, but then-“

“If you tease that tongue one more time, I will pour my all into destroying this world with you.”

“…Wow, that’s really pissing me off. Then i will stop here This world is too beautiful to perish because of the dark history of an old virgin who never married.”

“Good. If you will do that to the end, I will unleash a rage that cannot be compared to that of the demon king to the whole world.”

As Alfred said, Clen started to feel a lot of anger.

“Al, Alfred! It’s a bit sudden, but I want to eat the crepe I ate at the market. May I ask you a favor?”

Arsel decides to separate them for now because he thinks something really big will happen if they stay together like this.

I hurriedly jumped between the two and separated them.

“Okay, if you want to eat, I’ll be back right away. Instead, it’s popular, so the line is long, so please wait a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Alfred smiled broadly at Arcel’s request and ran outside.

Only then was I able to breathe.

It was burdensome in many ways to the extent that it would be better to share a cup of tea with the demon king than to have the two of them together.

“…You’re quite clever, it seems that defeating the demon lord wasn’t just luck.”

“It’s not the first time something like this has happened.”

It was only after Alfred left that Clen returned with a calm voice.

In addition, he even praises him for sending Alfred out on time.

It seemed that he hated being in front of him for quite some time.

“Yes, I was not very polite just now. Apologize The elf will probably come to his senses in a few hours. Being nervous means not being able to sleep, so take this opportunity to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Then it’s fortunate…”

Once Alfred leaves, a strangely awkward atmosphere lingers.

It is natural.

Even though humans now call her a witch, Arcel was still a warrior who defeated the demon king.

It’s natural that such a hero and a powerful demon next to the demon king are in the same room, so it’s awkward.

“Keep the elf in this room. After all, this is a room for entertaining guests, so no one else will come here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Originally, we don’t accept human guests, but if it’s the hero who defeated the demon king, that’s a different matter.

Clen took Arcel outside.

“You can’t leave the territory for a while anyway. I know you’re not the culprit in this theft, but if you’re a human anyway, you can’t avoid suspicion, so I’d rather be in my castle to avoid the hassle.”

“I see… Thank you for being considerate.”

Anyway, the reason I brought Arcel to the castle was to avoid trouble.

“You don’t have to thank me. Unfortunately, my men aren’t very competent, so I just don’t want to waste any real time chasing down people.”

Even though he was cold-hearted in words, as Alfred said, Clen was kind to Arcel.

Her It seems that her demon lord was quite a nuisance to her.

After leaving the room, there was a corridor that could see the outside clearly, and demon children were playing in the garden inside the castle.

“Ah, it’s the lord! Hello Lord!”

When her children saw Clen, all of her children bowed her head to say hello, and Clen smiled at them and waved her hand.

“…Those kids?”

“Why does the hero care about those insignificant demon tribes?”

When I looked at the children, they didn’t look like slaves or servants.

“I don’t think these kids are likely to be in a castle like this.”

It could be the children of the territory, but no matter how demonic, it is still rude for the children of the territory to play like that in the castle of the lord.

“Exactly. The insignificant and insignificant little children over there lost their parents and wandered about, I took care of them, and if they could become independent, they would soon become residents of my territory. Then, the size of this territory will also grow.”

“You lost your parents?”

It was unexpected that there were orphans among the demons, so Arcel was a little surprised.

I’ve seen a lot of orphans who lost their parents due to the war, but I would have thought that even the demons were like that.

“Never mind, such insignificant little kids are insignificant beings that explode like bugs with the slightest touch. The reason I brought a hero into my castle is not that I called you to look at those little kids.”

Arsel, who wanted to have a conversation with the children, moved along with Clen, leaving his disappointment behind.

It seems there is something else you want to show.

After walking through the hallways and climbing the stairs, we arrived at a place like an observatory with a clear view of the manor outside.

“You wouldn’t even be able to steal and listen here, because this place is like a sanctuary that has been handed down since our ancestors.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“It is a simple investigation. It’s a bit of an ambiguous question to ask a hero, but anyway, since the item that will be the highlight of this auction was stolen, it’s probably a good idea to ask at least as a formality.”

Come to think of it, I heard that something important was stolen by humans.

As Alfred said, the important thing seems to be the product that will decorate the highlight of the auction.

“Have you ever seen something like this, a warrior? Well, even if it’s an obvious question.”

Klen asked, unfolding a scroll.

Inside the scroll was a picture of a stolen product.

That was a drawing of a sword.

“This sword… Is it a holy sword?”

Of course, it wasn’t his holy sword, Mistel.

“Yes, it is the holy sword that the hero used. It doesn’t seem to be the holy sword used by the hero in front of me.”

That sword was a holy sword I had seen in a play sometime ago.

-Once upon a time, a very, very far away time. There was a warrior who was chosen first.-

-But the hero was too weak and died while subduing the monster. End of story.-

A sword possessed by the dolls of warriors in the play.

It was one of those holy swords.

“I was lucky enough to find a holy sword that was used by a hero. Originally, it is the flower that will decorate the auction on the last day, and it is the important item stolen this time.”

Clen squinted her eyes in annoyance.