Chapter 86: Poetic Justice (6)

“…What?”

The moment I said Luce’s name, my companions, startled, turned their gazes to me.

Only Toric, who had not yet heard about Luce, showed a somewhat bewildered look.

Meanwhile, Jude── no, Luce, who had been hit where it hurts.

“……Yes?”

Asked back, still in the form of the frightened ‘Jude’, as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

“Wh-What is that…”

“Ah, so that's how you’re going to play it.”

At that, I let out a sneer, and then.

“Then I have an idea too.”

I said, turning to Rine who was next to me.

“Rine.”

“Yes.”

“Fry him.”

Without any hesitation, Rine raised her staff.

“Hey, wai──”

At that, Ibi, who had been threatening him until just a moment ago, was surprised and tried to stop her, but at that moment.

“──Ha.”

His lips twisted.

Then.

Fwoosh!

With the now very familiar black flames.

“How did you know?”

Luce, who had undone his 「Disguise」, finally revealed his true identity.

“I thought it was a pretty good performance, you know.”

It wasn't just good.

He was a completely different person.

In fact, that's what 「Disguise」 magic was in the first place.

So in fact, I didn't know either.

I didn't even suspect it.

Who would have imagined that Luce was playing the role of such a cowardly and subservient merchant.

And it wasn't just me, but most players.

Even those who had cleared the game multiple times and seen the ending.

They just thought of him as a worthless traitorous merchant NPC they happened to encounter on the way to Tiaria.

Because he didn't give any hints at all.

And it's not even mentioned later that ‘Jude was actually Luce’.

“You said it.”

Nevertheless, the reason I knew that Jude's identity was Luce was just one.

“That we are fated to be drawn to each other.”

Because I hit him.

It wasn't a metaphor, but literally, I hit him.

It wasn't because he was suspicious or anything… just, since it was a game, I hit him once as a test… and suddenly this guy turned into Luce?

So I found out.

So, it was purely by chance.

“You can recognize your fated partner even when they're wearing a mask.”

Was something I, of course, couldn't say.

“Right?”

At that, when I answered with a nonchalant bluff.

“──Ha, haha. Hahahaha!!”

As if he was very pleased with that answer, Luce began to burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“Ahahaha!”

He laughed heartily, without even choking back his laughter as he usually did.

“…Are you serious?”

Of course, that answer might have been enough for Luce, but it probably wasn't a convincing story for my companions.

“In the first place, no matter how much of a coward he is, what kind of person would just sit there quietly without even trying to escape when such a commotion is happening outside?”

So this time, I gave a more plausible reason.

“As if he were just waiting for us to come here.”

At that, Luce clapped lightly, clap, clap, clap.

“Wow, you really, surprise me every time we meet.”

“It’s my job to satisfy the audience.”

“You’re a natural-born bard.”

Then he turned his head, glanced at Toric, who he was seeing for the first time── to be precise, as Luce── and chuckled.

“How do you manage to gather such interesting companions? You've even got a former Kaper now.”

“…Do you know me?”

“Ah, of course.”

At Toric's question, Luce answered with a sly smile.

“Stras often talked about you.”

Pajik!

For a moment, I heard a sound like something snapping.

That it was the sound of a vein popping.

“No, Toric!”

I belatedly realized after seeing Toric, who, without a moment to stop him, had kicked off the ground and rushed towards Luce, swinging his axe.

Kwaang!

At the same time, a small explosion occurred.

Thus, Luce, with a single snap of his fingers, sent Toric, who was bringing his axe down on him, flying far away.

The thrown Toric crashed into the table below with a crash! and lay on the ground with the shattered debris.

“Brother Toric!”

Lily, surprised to see this, rushed to Toric, and the remaining three, without anyone having to go first, raised their respective staves, two daggers, and a shield.

“Oh dear.”

But Luce, as if he had no intention of fighting, spread his hands and took a step back.

“As expected of a berserker, your axe comes before your words.”

Just as I heard.

Luce added with a deliberate sneer.

“Are you okay…?!”

In the meantime, Toric, while being supported by Lily, tried to slowly get up, but in the end, he fell again.

Lily, who had started to 「Heal」 Toric, turned her head and began to glare fiercely at Luce.

Luce, not caring about her gaze at all, just smiled brightly.

“You sure do pick and gather only those with dramatic stories. Are you planning to start a theater troupe?”

“I am. I think the first performance will probably be about beating up a devil.”

“That sounds exciting.”

At that, when I answered calmly with my arms crossed.

“Bullshit.”

Suddenly Ibi spat out a curse and intervened.

“F*ck off, you stalker bastard.”

It was an expression of genuine disgust.

“What the fck do you want from us? Why do you keep following us and fcking around?”

It's understandable that she wouldn't understand.

That a so-called Demon King's army corps commander would keep hovering around us and playing tricks.

The first reason was to monitor me, the ‘vessel’ of the Demon King, and.

“In case you all stray from the path.”

This was the second reason.

In the game, Luce's role was to literally threaten the players to come to Tiaria.

“The story you heard today, about Don Paulo… can you ignore it?”

“…!”

“Aren't you curious? Your old boss, who had dabbled in all sorts of crimes but would rather die than act as a slave trader── why would he suddenly go so far as to order these petty thieves to sell slaves?”

‘You’re not coming? You’re really not coming even after this?’

So in fact, it could be seen as the developers threatening through Luce's mouth.

“…You, do you know something?”

“Who knows. What do you think.”

Since many of the contents, a large portion of the game we prepared are concentrated in Tiaria.

“Of course, I can tell you one thing for sure. ──The answer you’re looking for, you’ll find it all when you come to Tiaria.”

He was saying that even if you skip other places, please come here.

“The preview ends here.”

In this case, along with the role of unlocking the quest of Ibi, who was the only one whose companion quest had not yet started.

“Ah, of course, the story will be different if you sell me your soul.”

“This bastard…”

He had gone so far as to pretend to be a cowardly and pathetic merchant, and under the guise of coincidence, had made us get caught up in a grand conspiracy involving the bandits' den── and Ibi's old boss, Don Paulo.

“How about it? Do you feel like going now?”

To naturally guide our party's route to Tiaria.

“──It's the same for you, former Kaper. And the Prince of Steel.”

As if to instill a ‘reason’ to go in all the companions.

“In that city, there’s an old comrade who recently heard new news about your nemesis, and there’s also a family you still want to avoid but also want to meet again.”

“……!”

“Keuk…!”

“And, there’s a story about a certain wicked succubus who left her newborn baby in front of a church, and there are also those who still remember and worship a name that even she has forgotten.”

“Wh-What is that…!”

“…….”

Thus, Luce, who had mentioned the ‘motives’ of Ibi, Toric, Miki, Lily, and Rine one by one, then turned to me again and said.

“I’ll wait in anticipation to see what kind of drama your little theater troupe will show me.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Looking back at that smiling face, I responded by raising one corner of my lips.

“As I said before, the first performance is scheduled to be a show about beating up some obnoxious devil.”

“That, too, sounds quite interesting.”

Of course.

It'll be quite interesting, you bastard.

Because the next time we meet, I'm going to kill you.

“──Then.”

Fwoosh!

Luce, with black flames as before, suddenly disappeared from in front of us.

Ibi, who had been staring at the wall where he had disappeared for a while, soon let out a hollow laugh and muttered.

“……Tiaria.”

As if cursing her own past── her hometown, which she couldn't escape from no matter what.

“It really is a f*cked-up town.”

Touching her left ear, which was cut at the end.

“Yeah, fine. Fine, fck it. I'll play along once, fck it. It’ll be tiring to run away for the rest of my life anyway.”

--

Companion Quest

「Not Like Us 」

Confront Don Paulo, the boss of the Tiaria Cartel, with Evie.

--

“Either that bastard dies or I die, I’ll just end it now.”

It was time to go home.

We picked up the pace on our way to Tiaria.

Since we were actually riding horses, well, it was also in the literal sense.

Thanks to getting horses on the way, it seemed that we could shorten the time much more than originally expected.

No, it was actually shortened.

Two days after leaving the 「Bandits' Stronghold」, we were able to arrive at ‘Aubrey Village’.

Originally, I had thought it would take at least four days, or a week if we were unlucky.

Aubrey Village had served as a midway point between Tiaria and Daian since ancient times.

Therefore, it was a village of a certain size from the beginning.

Especially in recent years, as Daian began to grow rapidly with the magitech revolution, the exchange with Tiaria, the largest city on the continent, became more and more active, and Aubrey Village, which was in between, was also growing rapidly.

To the extent that there was talk that it might become another city in the future.

Therefore, there were many people coming and going, and as many jobs… in other words, incidents.

We planned to stay overnight in such an Aubrey Village.

And as a bonus, we would enjoy the bustling atmosphere of being surrounded by people, which we couldn't feel on the road, in a mountain village, or in a bandits' fortress, for the first time in a while.

“…No, f*ck.”

Yeah.

“What is this?”

If only we hadn't seen the sight of all the villagers in a hurry, trying to leave this village as soon as we arrived.

It was as if they were trying to evacuate.

Miki approached one of the young men who was packing his bags in such a hurry and asked the reason.

“Yes?”

And soon heard the reason.

“A d-dragon?!”

Then, before long, the villagers, who seemed to have misunderstood something, began to gather one by one.

Miki, listening to them, asked again with a bewildered expression.

“H-Hunting it!?”

Then he looked back at us who were behind him, and slowly raised his finger and pointed to himself.

“……We are?”