Necromancer 27

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27. The King and the Knights

“Well done, Shigure-kun.”

I had parted ways with Nayuka and was now meeting with the king.

Since I was to receive a reward for slaying the mid-tier demon, I’d been summoned to meet the king alone.

“So, how strong was this mid-tier demon? I heard two of the heroes were killed.”

“Yes... It was on a completely different level from the lesser demons we’ve faced so far.”

I answered the king.

“Even heroes… most of them can’t keep up with enemies like this, given our current strength.”

The truth is, both Tanaka and Suzuki were among the stronger members of our group.

And yet, they were brutally slaughtered by that mid-tier demon.

“Hm...”

The king let out a thoughtful grunt.

“Just to confirm… the high-tier demons are even stronger than the mid-tier ones, correct?”

“Indeed. Above the high-tier demons are several generals, and beyond them… the Demon King himself reigns at the top.”

I managed to defeat the mid-tier Bloodclaw, but will I be able to handle the high-tier demons, the generals—and the Demon King?

Honestly, I don’t think I stand a chance.

If there’s any hope at all, it would be to gather strong allies to fight by my side.

“Of course, we aren’t standing by idly. In addition to summoning you heroes, we are devising further strategies against the Demon King’s forces.”

The king continued.

“Let us fight together, for the sake of this world.”

“Yes...”

In any case, I have no choice but to fight.

Unless we defeat the Demon King, we won’t be allowed to return to our own world.

And beyond that...

I also feel the need to protect the people of this world from the attacks of the Demon King’s army.

Because I do have the power to do so.

I am one of the heroes, after all.

At that moment, the words Bloodclaw had said to me resurfaced in my mind.

[Could it be… you’re not a Hero of ‘Light,’ but a Hero of ‘Darkness’...!?]

[Your skills are the proof. Those abilities born from the ‘darkness’—surely you have no reason to use them for the humans.]

“Um, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you happen to know anything about... a Hero of ‘Darkness’?”

“Hm? That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” the king replied.

“Did you hear those words somewhere?”

“Well… the mid-tier demon muttered something along those lines during our fight, and it caught my attention.”

“And what exactly did it say?”

“It only blurted it out in fragments, so I’m not sure what it really meant...”

I decided not to share the full details of the conversation.

After all, it had tried to recruit me into the Demon King’s army.

If I told the king everything, he might start doubting my loyalty.

Even so, the term Hero of Darkness intrigued me.

It might have something to do with me directly.

That’s why I needed to gather as much information as I could.

“I see... I’ll look into our archives for anything relevant.”

The king nodded.

“If there is a Hero of Darkness, then there’s likely a Hero of Light as well. Whether they will aid us... or bring calamity—”

He trailed off.

The king’s gaze locked onto me, sharp and unyielding.

The sheer intensity of his stare made me catch my breath.

“If you learn anything, please let me know.”

“Of course. You’ll be the first to hear.”

The pressure in his gaze suddenly melted away, replaced by his usual gentle smile.

“I have high hopes for you. Please continue to protect us.”

After the audience with the king, I made my way down the castle hallway.

“Hero-sama!”

A group of female knights ran up to me.

I recognized them.

During joint exercises between the heroes and the knights and mages, I had once worked with these women.

They were part of an all-female unit, and every one of them was a beautiful young lady, which made them quite memorable.

“We heard you defeated a mid-tier demon!”

“It’s been twenty years since anyone defeated a demon of that level or higher!”

“As expected of you, Hero-sama.”

They crowded around me, showering me with praise.

“Uh, th-thanks...”

Being surrounded by so many beautiful women like this... it was overwhelming.

Honestly, it made me more nervous than fighting monsters or demons ever did.

“The local residents were kept safe with minimal damage, too. We can’t thank you enough.”

Still, even if the damage was minimal—it wasn’t zero.

The fact that there were casualties weighed on me, though I decided to take pride in the fact that things didn’t get worse.

“I’ll do my best moving forward.”

I gave a neutral reply.

Being surrounded and praised by several women like this was a first for me.

It felt a little embarrassing, a bit awkward... but also kind of nice.

“We’re sorry if we’ve bothered you out of the blue...”

“You must be really busy, right, Hero-sama?”

“Ah, no. I’m not currently on duty, so I’m not busy.”

I hurried to respond.

I must’ve made them feel awkward by accident.

“Somehow, Hero-sama... you seem a little different from the other heroes.”

“Huh? Different? How so?”

“Well, you don’t act superior at all. You’re humble—”

I had heard rumors that Kenzaki and the others acted rather arrogantly.

“We have another joint exercise in two days, don’t we? I’d love to partner with you again, Shigure-sama.”

“Me too!”

“Same here!”

They all smiled and leaned in closer to me.

Could this... could this be my chance at romance!?

No, no way.

It’s just the hero status influencing things.

I won’t get the wrong idea... I definitely won’t.

Even as I thought that, I couldn’t help the smile creeping onto my face.