> Divulge The Magic Vulnerability Volume 1 Chapter 7">Volume 1 Chapter 7 (2/2)
She laughed quietly.
This may have been something she had already come to terms with.
”If demons did not have wings, we may have been able to get along with humans. If demons did not have tailfins, we may have been able to live with humans. I tried to make that dream a reality. However, the invention was seen as a threat as it would allow demons to sneak into human society, so I was attacked without warning on the day I revealed it to the world.”
”But the seeds I sowed seem to have grown just fine while I slept. 'We' live surprisingly close by and with little difficulty. I hope that you can discover and accept this secret of the world.”
”I see,” was all Ayato said. The one who panicked was straitlaced Henrietta.
”(W-wait, what do you mean 'I see', dangerous individual!? This is the legendary Demon Lord! Can you really just let her go free on the surface continent like this!?)”
”Miss Henrietta, there has been much needless conflict between us due to our differing positions, but I am glad to see you finally understand us.”
”Yes, I am a dangerous individual. So do you really think I am going to judge things by those strict rules of good and evil?”
The Striker held her head and let out a cry of anguish, but then Dark Elf Mamilis tilted her head.
”Huh? That sounds nice and all, but doesn't that mean the Hero back then worked to tear humans and demons apart?”
”He couldn't help it,” said Nirvelphany. ”The king and n.o.bles around him misled him about what was right and what was wrong. He had no way of realizing what I was really trying to do.”
Ayato sighed too quietly for anyone to hear.
The problem had been solved. Or so it seemed. …But something was still bothering him. It made sense for High Priest Belbath to be using that Bell Ringing prototype for defense. He might have learned to pilot the Armored Dragon from his luxurious leisure activities. But what about the bazooka? It seemed unlikely he would learn to use one of those during some cla.s.sy hunting trips. It had likely contained Quaternary Press, but that magic was not in common use.
(Quaternary Press, huh?)
That reminded Ayato of something.
He thought of a certain friend he had shot and killed back at the Academy Towers.
The eccentric boy who had been Teleria's stepbrother had not been the combat type either. He had been a noncombat researcher, so how had he managed to singlehandedly occupy an entire school tower filled with other kinds of eccentrics?
It must have taken something outside the norm.
Someone had taught him some kind of magic.
(Found it.)
Something big lay ahead of him here.
In this age where sorcery guns were everyday household items, ”something” was teaching people how to use magic to kill.
(Found it, found it, I've finally found it.)
”Is something wrong, Ayato?”
”No.”
It was small, but he felt like he had finally found some kind of clue.
The Sorcery Hacker put on the perfect smile as he said only this.
”Nothing is wrong. Nothing at all.”
Some things in the world were unavoidable.
”Huh?”
The blue sky was overhead once more. This was the city alongside the largest artificial lake in the Selected Kingdoms. The thick chain attached to a ma.s.sive winch in the center of the lake extended into the sky as a large anchor. The lake had formed from the underground water flowing into the hole left when Sky City Celedileka had floated up into the sky.
After escaping the sky city and descending to the closest surface city, Teleria Nereid Aquamarine tilted her head.
Demon Lord Nirvelphany and the old man named Thomas had already left. She did not know what they were doing now. They probably wanted to live their lives in secret.
That was the general idea anyway, but…
”Um, if the real culprit disappears, then did we even achieve our goal at all? What's going to happen with all the crimes we were blamed for!?”
”Forget about the crimes we didn't even commit. At the end there, we really did leave the High Priest with compound fractures all over his body, drive the entire Forturiana Church close to collapse, ruin their Temple Moving Ceremony, and probably get them kicked out of the city-state. We left them in a living h.e.l.l far worse than death. We'll have to monitor things to see if some more wholesome management takes over, but one harsh fact of life is that defeating evil is not always rewarded. We're criminals no matter how you slice it.”
”H-hgeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?”
That was how things were for Ayato and Teleria.
But that was because they were already used to this.
They expected this much and they continued saving people on a daily basis. Even if they were really trying to pursue a past incident like a starving wolf.
”(D-does this mean we have a stable relations.h.i.+p, or does it mean things have stagnated like with a childhood friend? It's so hard to tell.)”
But they had also ended up bringing along silver-haired, brown-skinned, and long-eared Dark Elf Mamilis and earnest, straitlaced, and fairly useless Striker Henrietta.
”I don't have anywhere to go on the surface, so I can't have them throwing me out. Besides, people probably already see me as a part of Coach's Sorcery Hacker group.”
”Does that mean they see me as a part of that group too? I guess we did directly oppose the church that had won the king and the kingdom's favor and we did defeat their High Priest…no!! In the pure and n.o.ble name of Henrietta Split Destrius, I must observe Forturiana's wholesome recovery from without while also keeping an eye on this extremely dangerous Sorcery Hacker and guiding him away from a life of crime!! The wise king will surely be able to overlook some minor infractions. Plus, this trip to the outside world is for the good of the world and its people!!!”
Being able to rattle off all those excuses was a solid first step on the path toward delinquency, but the straitlaced Striker did not notice the red flags in her own behavior.
They were all gathered, so Ayato clapped his hands to gather their attention.
”That large Armored Dragon would stand out too much, so pursuit will likely arrive at the crash site before long. I plan to be long gone by then, so where would you like to go: the ocean or the mountains?”
He pulled out a map, but Teleria stopped him.
”We should probably take a wider view of this. Here.”
She spread out the map he had kept folded. They were no longer contained by the artificial framework of the sky city. It was unclear how accurate the claim was, but the Static Continent was said to be unique among the continents and oceans in not moving in the slightest. And they could set any part of that landma.s.s as their destination.
They were free.
All of them, including Ayato himself, raised their hand and made their suggestion in unison.
”The ocean!” ”The mountains!” ”The ocean!” ”The mountains!”
”Oh, no. We've already run into the biggest problem with an even-numbered party.”
Then a purple b.u.t.terfly fluttered by in their field of vision.
It transformed into a lovely maid with purple hair and made a sudden suggestion.
”Then allow me to break the tie.”
Yes.
Micha Angelos was the client who would determine their next action.
”We have found a new problem and a new person in need. Are you willing to hear me out as a Forward?”
Approximately 120 meters.
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