Chapter 10
“Wouldn’t this count as theft—plundering the royal family’s treasure?”
“Well, but... You could say that sword was just lying around in a dungeon.”
“This room is technically considered a hidden storeroom belonging to the royal family.”
While imagining the retort, “How should I know, you idiot?! Don’t build it inside a dungeon!” sweat beaded on Kagami’s forehead.
The thought of having committed the outrageous crime of stealing from royalty—and the fact that a royal was standing right in front of him—made Kagami panic.
He couldn’t exactly tell royalty, “If anyone can enter and take things, don’t claim ownership over something inside a dungeon! Build your storeroom in the castle, you idiot!”
“Um... Would it be all right if I paid you back?”
“That sword isn’t something you can put a price on.”
“Don’t screw with me! I had a merchant check its value with the Skill that appraises items, and it was worth about 300 gold, you idiots!” Kagami, who had actually sold the legendary sword, shouted in his mind.
But Kagami couldn’t say a word. He couldn’t afford to be branded a criminal.
There were mages in the royal capital who could brand someone a criminal if they knew the person’s name and could picture their face.
Normally, if you killed someone or committed a similar crime, all the text and symbols displayed in your Status Window would automatically turn red, marking you as a criminal. But the people in the capital could also issue a separate mark of criminality.
If a skull symbol appeared in your Status Window, you’d be denied access to every facility in the country and hunted by the royal capital for any crime other than murder.
The color change and skull mark could never be undone. However, if the royal capital acknowledged that you had atoned for your crime, they would issue a certificate of pardon, which would appear in your Status Window. Without it, you’d be forced to live an inconvenient life forever.
For Kagami, whose reason for living was to enjoy life, that would be disastrous.
“Um... What would it take for you to let me off the hook?”
Deciding that asking was the quickest option, Kagami turned to Kururu.
“In the first place, that sword was made to defeat the Demon King.”
“And that means...?”
“How about you join our party and help us defeat the Demon King? In exchange, we’ll overlook this.”
The demon girl twitched at those words, knitted her brows, and glared sharply at Kururu. Then she looked at Kagami anxiously.
Kagami, on the other hand, stood there with his mouth hanging open, looking thoroughly annoyed.
“I’d rather not.”
Kagami then told her flatly. Perhaps relieved by his answer, the demon girl let out a sigh of relief.
“Why not?! If you have that much power, you should be able to defeat the Demon King! Don’t you want to accomplish something no one else has ever managed?!”
“Nope.”
Kururu kept trying to recruit him, but Kagami replied in an intimidating tone and glared at her as if to say, “Enough already.”
Faced with an intensity that didn’t seem like it could come from a Villager, Kururu shuddered for an instant and lost her words.
Realizing there was no point in talking any further, Kagami started walking again.
“So all I have to do is return the legendary holy sword, right? I’ll find it, throw in something extra, and bring it back. So please forgive me. You’re partly responsible for leaving it unattended, too.”
Kagami spoke boldly. After thinking it over, he realized he hadn’t given them his name yet, so there was no risk of them branding him a criminal. As long as he could get away from here for now, he could figure things out later.
“Why...? Don’t you want wealth or fame? Don’t you want to help people who are suffering?”
“I want money, but I could do without fame. If people are suffering... well, I’ll help them.”
“Th-then you have at least some reason to fight! If that’s still not enough... once the Demon King has been defeated, I’ll become your wife!”
Everyone there cried, “Huh?!” at the outrageous declaration from Kururu, a princess of the kingdom.
“W-wait! Princess... Surely you don’t mean to bind yourself to a Villager?!”
For some reason, Rex Chikubi Boy raised his voice in alarm.
That was because his life plan included defeating the Demon King, gaining wealth and fame, then marrying a princess and ruling the kingdom.
“I don’t mind. I’ve judged this Villager’s power to be rare and valuable enough to justify it.”
Kururu was perfectly serious and calm. She had devoted her life to defeating the Demon King, putting her own life second.
Kagami sensed the desperate determination in Kururu’s earnest gaze and was moved by how, at such a young age, she was willing to fight for others instead of herself.
“But I refuse.”
And then he simply turned down her offer. Yes, he was only moved by it.
It wasn’t a bad offer, but the conviction in Kagami’s heart kept him from saying yes.
“I don’t care if the Demon King is defeated by someone else. There’s certainly a reason he should be defeated. But if I’m the one who has to do it, that’s another matter.” That was his conviction.
“Could you... tell us why?”
“In the first place, you’ve all got the wrong idea about something fundamental.”
“The wrong idea?”
Apparently finding it too much trouble to explain everything, Kagami sighed.
“I don’t consider defeating the Demon King some great achievement. That’s why I won’t fight him or help you. That’s all. And this is just how I see it, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“I... don’t understand what you mean.”
Everyone felt the same way Kururu did. They couldn’t understand what he meant at all.
Defeating the Demon King—something no one had ever accomplished—was supposed to be an undeniable feat of heroism. After all, it meant eliminating the greatest threat: the one creating monsters and causing the deaths of countless people.
“If you don’t understand, that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with not understanding.”
After saying that, Kagami started walking and stepped out of the room.
“Wait! You can’t just leave like that without giving us a satisfactory answer! I get that you’re incredible, but at least tell us why you won’t fight the Demon King before you go!”
Parnah asked, furrowing her brow. She was genuinely curious about why a Villager with that much power wouldn’t do anything.
“Ah... It’s hard to explain even if I try... What should I do? You guys aren’t wrong or anything, so why not just ignore me? It won’t mean anything unless you realize it yourselves.”
“Th-then... at least give us a hint...”
Following Parnah, Tina asked timidly. The moment Kagami turned around and their eyes met, she flinched with an “Eep!” But her curiosity won out, and she didn’t look away.
Seeing her like that, Kagami gave up and opened his mouth.
“What has the Demon King done to humanity? What has humanity done to the Demon King?”
Was that really a hint? After saying only that, Kagami ran as if fleeing the room filled with white light, disappearing into the dim cave.
The people left behind struggled to make sense of his cryptic final words.
What the Demon King had done to humanity—created monsters and slaughtered countless people.
What humanity had done to the Demon King—tried to take his life to free people from the suffering caused by monsters.
That was all. Nothing more.
Rex and the others couldn’t understand what was wrong with that, or why it was a reason not to fight.
Kagami had also said, “It’s not that you’re wrong.”
Defeating the Demon King wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t an achievement. It wasn’t a reason to fight him, or a reason to gain wealth and fame. Questions with no answers kept circling through their minds.
“Aaaah, enough! I don’t understand any of this! What is wrong with that man?!”
In the end, they never figured out what he meant. Tina raised her voice and puffed out her cheeks.
“A Villager... and probably stronger than anyone in any other role.”
Perhaps disheartened by how unbelievable her own words sounded, Parnah put a hand to her forehead and sighed. Then she noticed Rex staring at the doorway as if glaring at it.
“Rex? What’s wrong...? You’re staring at the doorway like a beast. If you mean that Villager, I’m sure he’s already nowhere near here.”
“When he walked past me... he said something strange.”
Kururu, a little down after her earnest attempt to recruit Kagami had been rejected, showed interest at Rex’s words.
“What... did he say?”
“He said, ‘You still don’t know how this world’s system works.’”
“The sys...tem?”
Hearing that, the mystery surrounding Kagami only deepened for everyone.
“What... could that man have learned?”
“I don’t know. But there’s one thing I do know.”
Kururu rested a hand on her chin, staring thoughtfully at the doorway where the Villager had disappeared. Rex patted her shoulder and started to leave, his face more tense than ever.
“A Villager stronger than me...? He doesn’t know the system...? Don’t screw with me.”
It was true that he didn’t know that system. Then all he had to do was learn it. And... surpass that Villager. If a Villager could do it, there was no reason he couldn’t.
The holy sword didn’t matter anymore. What he wanted now was... power so absolute he wouldn’t even need something like that.
Power that would let him defeat the Demon King without a doubt. He could do it. He would, no matter what.
Thinking it over, he pressed on through the dungeon, step by step, undaunted by the monsters appearing around him.
“I... have to become stronger than anyone else!”
To gain the power to surpass the Level 999 Villager, Rex kindled a new flame of obsession in his heart.