I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

57 – 57. The Faded Rose

“First of all, that holy sword was stolen again.”

“…What?”

As soon as they arrived at the observatory, Clen brought up a story that surprised Arcel.

I’ve heard that there is something to be said about the Holy Sword, but is that because it was stolen again?

It went far beyond what I expected.

“Because of what happened, I couldn’t even move the holy sword to the storage room, and because of the fire, I didn’t have time to worry about that, so it can’t be helped.”

“Aren’t you too proud to talk about something more serious than you thought, Granny Clen?”

“What is so serious about the disappearance of such metals?

“hahahaha, it’s hard to think that you can kill me with that kind of metal.”

Alfred showed composure, saying that he knew that as well.

Clen bit her lip and continued her words, ignoring Alfred.

For the first time, I succeeded in ignoring it without showing emotion.

“Actually, the reason I was looking for that holy sword was to punish the demon king. Of course, before finding the holy sword, the Demon King was unexpectedly defeated by the hero first.”

The story she wanted to tell was why she was looking for the Holy Sword and how she found it.

At the time when the demon king that Arcel had defeated long ago was active, the demon king sent Alfred to Clen and ordered him to join the demon king’s army and fight alongside him.

†††

It was a long time ago.

The background is not much different from now, after Clen’s territory was reborn as a famous commercial city where many demons came and went to earn necessary goods and money.

Clen, who somehow stopped the witch of ash, which was like an apocalyptic disaster, had nothing to fear anymore, and he managed the territory smoothly, and the years passed before he knew it.

“Ah, are you the demon who is the owner of this land? Nice to meet you, my name is Alfred. I came to extort taxes from this land like a robber on the orders of the demon king.”

And then one day, a strange demon came to visit.

A mysterious demon mixed with the smell of humans.

As Clen has managed the richest city in the demon world for a long time, he has met most of the demons, and through his unique vampire sense of smell, he was able to figure out which family the demons belonged to.

“Who are you?”

“So I explained who I was earlier, Alfred.”

However, I couldn’t figure out which family the demon named Alfred belonged to.

I wasn’t a demon from a family with sharp and ferocious fangs like a wolf, and I wasn’t a succubus who projected illusions like reality to others.

But.

“What an interesting guy.”

From the first impression, I quite liked the demon called Alfred.

As demons have a variety of species, they don’t care too much about appearance, but that doesn’t mean they hate those with good looks.

Isn’t it said that food that looks good also tastes good?

His personality is a bit cheeky, but that’s an extra point.

Clen has met many demons so far, and all of them came to flatter her by kneeling in front of her.

It was all a tribute to Clen’s strength and ability.

Occasionally, there were demons who ran rampant without knowing the subject, but they made Clen kneel down by smashing his knee joints himself.

However, this demon named Alfred was walking a tightrope, neither kneeling to himself nor kneeling to him.

A simple personality is rare among many demons.

Besides, I was still young.

“Did you say that you came to see me on the orders of the Demon King?”

“Yes, it’s annoying, but I have to do as I am told.”

Clen asked, licking her lips with her tongue.

I hadn’t even heard of a mixed race between humans and demons.

In the case of mixed blood, most of them die in the womb of their mother before they are even born, and in the first place, fertilization itself was so rare that it was almost impossible.

How would it taste if the blood of the two were combined?

Human blood is sweet, but it bites even if you drink a little bit, and most of it has a cloudy color, so it is only used as a spice.

In addition, the color of demon blood is bizarre and the taste is close to bitter, so you cannot drink it unless you have a unique taste.

“Then let’s talk about it, come along. If it’s a demon king, it’s a demon tribe you’ve heard of.”

If those two skins are combined, it will undoubtedly be full of flavors that are both sweet and bitter.

Human blood was cut off long ago, but it was a delicacy that vampires could not stand.

“…I have a personal story to share.”

Clenn gestured to Alfred and stood up.

Vampires are born with an appearance that charms others as much as a succubus in order to suck blood from others.

Beauty is paralyzed by the sweet poison and eaten.

Unlike a succubus, it does not make you intoxicated with illusions, but immobilizes you with poison.

That was the end of those possessed by vampires.

“So, is the demon king demanding my loyalty?”

“Right, that monstrous bastard broke into my house and dragged me away. At first, he said he didn’t like it because it was annoying, and then he beat people to the brink of death.”

First, Clen explained to Alfred what the demon king really wanted.

You should never forget to satisfy your own personal desires, but more than that, it was important to listen to the part related to diplomacy for the future of this land.

The demon king at the time was a new demon tribe that suddenly started to emerge.

He definitely belonged to a strong man who subdued some powerful demons one after another and made them his subordinates.

“Do you dare to order me to kneel, huh… Ha, ha ha ha ha! Isn’t it funny, where does a demon tribe that doesn’t know the roots dare to ask me to come downstairs?”

She was, but of course she was the Clen that she thought she wouldn’t be able to do to herself.

She herself had a track record of preventing even a catastrophe that could destroy the world.

Besides, it wasn’t just one time.

However, he was born with the darkest blood fate among vampires.

You are the strongest among vampires, you are the strongest in the world, and you are the best among demons. Even the known enemy demon king has now surpassed you.

What could such a Clen have to fear?

“Didn’t the demon king say that?”

“…A bit rude, forgive me though. They will think of you as someone whose appearance and soul match.”

Clen laughed and took Alfred up to the observation deck.

This observatory was created by the predecessors and is said to be a place where you can catch all the land and starlight at a glance.

The reason Clen brought Alfred here was to let her know what her manor was like.

“Look down, for this is my domain. This is a tower built by myself alone.”

“Oh, I can’t believe it’s definitely the land of demons…”

That is also to let people know their power.

“This land created this world after my ancestors settled there thousands of years ago and came over to me. In the deep forest, where only a small castle existed, I created this kind of life and a place to live.”

“Great? I can’t even imagine that ferocious demons form a community with people who are not of the same blood.”

Alfred clapped.

“The place where that imagination became a reality is my territory.”

Clen showed her arrogance by raising her nose even higher.

It is not ignorance that subdues only by force like the devil.

The city was created by responding to it as strong as a waterfall and as flexible as a flowing river, depending on the need.

Facing death, she longed for life and sought a place of rest. She reached out her hand to him.

She gave fountains to those who went wild without knowing the subject, she realized how high the sky was, and she told them what position she was in so that they could build a tower.

She used the aggression unique to the demons.

Make this land a better place by building a tower of hope that will one day reach the high sky.

“Especially, the night view here is comparable to any other spectacle, and even the spirits of the forest, the elves, are made to melt into life to the extent that men and women share affection here.”

Clen caressed Alfred’s chin with her fingertips.

The body seen directly on the table was so seductive that if it were an ordinary male, he would wag his tail right away.

Her two breasts, which guarantee the comfort of life, and her white thighs exposed through the dress, only draw out the instinct of a creature.

Black and red roses, but a terrible trap that doesn’t reveal its thorns until you reach out.

“Really? It’s amazing, they say it’s hard to keep them as pets because their fertility is so low.”

“…Who said that?”

“The Demon King.”

If the man in front of me was an ordinary creature, I would have succumbed to that temptation long ago.

But Alfred didn’t change anything.

I doubted whether Alfred was a man.

The same as when we first met, he said the name Demon King with a smile on his face as usual.

“Tsk…”

Seeing that, Clen clicked her tongue and bit her lip.

She felt that she was being ignored so that she couldn’t figure it out.

She dared to bring out the name of a demon king whose origins were unknown even when she had me in front of her. It is understandable to some extent that Clen’s self-esteem was hurt.

But I barely show emotion to it.

Clenn moved her red lips as she gently placed her hand on Alfred’s cheek.

“…I don’t think I should be talking to you in a place like this.”

“It wasn’t bad because the wind was cool, so where are you going?”

“A place where you forget about trivial and personal matters.”

Clenn smiles strangely.

The look of the observatory soon turns into a prepared bedroom.

Where fragrant candles light up the night, Clen lays Alfred on his back while licking her lips, revealing her fangs.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“What are you afraid of?”

Usually, when he exposes his fangs, he realizes that the rose has thorns and struggles to beg for his life, but Alfred still showed no response.

On the contrary, he didn’t seem to know what Clen was up to.

Maybe it could be called pure.

Her inner desires were inflamed by the freshness of her, which Clen had never experienced before.

“Whoa, you’re a pretty cute kid.”

Eventually she can’t stand it anymore and heads for her fangs.

Pu-wook!

Put two sharp fangs into the defenseless scruff of Alfred’s neck.

It is impossible to get out of this situation.

Once the fangs are pierced by a vampire, blood, magical power, and even consciousness are sucked away.

It was different from the succubus that simply absorbs the spirit.

“…Oops?! Kaheuk?!”

Until the vampire’s fangs were pulled out.

The red rose stretched out its roots to absorb the life that approached it, but it slowly began to burn from the root.

“This, what the hell is this…?! Poison? Kyahak!”

“Poison, I think it’s pretty rude to say that poison flows in a person’s body…”

As Clen tried to taste Alfred’s blood, he screamed in agony.

Her own blood flows from her mouth, not Alfred’s, and his body feels like it’s about to melt like it’s on fire.

“Ah, come to think of it, did I say that the lord of this land is a vampire? Then it could be poison.”

Said Alfred scratching his neck as if it tickled him.

The neck, which should have been pierced, was regenerated as if it had never happened.

“Kuh…! What the hell are you?!”

That was oddly familiar.

A pain like burning all over the body.

I felt like I had experienced something a long time ago.

This goes beyond simply burning the body, reaching a level where even the soul is charred.

“Luckily, usually mosquitoes die when they try to suck my blood. Like Mother said, it must be strong enough to be on a different level among demons, right?”

“What are you going to do…”

Alfred grabbed Clen’s wrist.

There is still no way to resist the burning pain all over the body.

“But that’s right, he kept his own world so much that he built a well so high that he could look down on the ground. You could say this is a frog on top of a well, not in a well.”

“Ugh-“

“Wait a little bit, because if you leave it as it is, you will die. If that happens, I will be beaten to death by the demon king.”

Alfred went out of the bedroom window and flew into the night sky, holding Clen in his arms.

“This is…”

It was painful, but the scenery was also quite beautiful.

It was similar to what he had always seen, but there was a difference in the height and quality of his vision.

Until now, I only looked down at the world and saw the stars from the observatory, and that was enough, so I never thought of going up there.

“Looking down at the world from the top of a tall tower, it seems like you can see anything, that’s for sure. But you can’t look down on everything. After all, the world is round.”

“What are you talking about…!”

Clenn expressed anger at Alfred’s unknown words.

Not only was he pushed by the demon king among the demons called Alfred, but he tried to suck blood, and it was painful as if his whole body was burned by an unknown poison.

It was the first humiliation they had ever experienced since they were born, so it was natural for Clen to be angry.

“Would you like to stay still for a moment? If you accidentally drop it, that land could turn into a sea of fire.”

Alfred pressed his fingers down Clen’s throat.

Pajik-!!

“…These are these?!”

“From now on, don’t grab anything just because it’s right in front of you.

Then, something black and black, so dark that I couldn’t bear to know the end, came out of Clen’s body.

Eternal darkness that seems to trap your mind just by looking at it.

The darkness soared high into the sky and returned to where it came from.

Those creepy things were in your body just 5 seconds ago?

Clen tried to forget the eerie feeling by touching her own neck several times.

‘What the hell am I-‘

She felt her body ease at the same time.

The burning pain in the intestines disappeared along with those black things.

Anyway, the cause of that terrible pain seemed to be that unknown darkness.

“The story contained in the vast sea, the endless horizon, and the sound of the waves. Things that cannot be appreciated in a cage.”

“…?”

Alfred said, wiping Clen’s mouth with a handkerchief.

The pure white handkerchief is dyed black and red.

Looking at the smile you make with your back to the moon.

“Why don’t you go outside the manor and appreciate it sometimes? If a person stays in the same world for too long, he will lose sight of what he can see.”

I still couldn’t figure out what that mixed-race demon was talking about.

However, it was certain that his golden eyes resembled the moonlight and stars he had been looking up to.

“…Yeah, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

Clen replied, blushing.