Running Away From The Hero! (Remake)

252

28. Ah, Is that So? (9)

In the realm of syntax, addressing me as a prince, even if one merely observes the structure, is quite unconventional.

– It’s abnormal.

– Especially the women around the master. It’s not usual.

– Does that include you?

-…?

Fine. I sealed the chatterbox’s mouth shut.

If she referred to herself as a goddess, then she must have included herself.

“Are you okay, Your Highness?”

As the elf crazily shook hands with me, I subtly avoided eye contact.

“What about the instructor…”

Suddenly, a frowning demon lord appeared before my eyes.

Could the World Tree connect to the demon lord?

– Of course. The World Tree is a tree imbued with the power of mercy and dedication, a tree containing the power of a god. It possesses a strength beyond ordinary deities, enough to be called a demigod. Historically, it holds the power of a god that defeated evil spirits, making it a natural adversary for a demon lord with fragments of evil.

Thinking of a demigod as a divine incarnation wouldn’t be too strange.

In other words, each branch of that tree held the attack of a god filled with mercy and dedication, similar to the attacks of evil spirits, or so it meant.

Certainly, those branches must have possessed enough power to defeat evil!

No, even before that!

– In other words, it means if you had carried a tree branch instead of that chatterbox, you could have harmed that guy!

– Didn’t you think you would have been caught by other sisters before that? I’ve saved you several times. If you keep doing this, I won’t help you later.

– Um… that’s awkward.

Honestly, I had solved too many problems with the chatterbox. No, I had solved most issues with the chatterbox.

There was no better tool for conversing with people than the chatterbox.

Create a one-on-one situation and beat the chatterbox.

Create a trauma that couldn’t be resisted again. Tame and tidy up the surroundings one by one.

If repeated a few times, the surroundings would be cleaned up in an instant.

I could proceed with the situation neatly according to the scenario I created.

I taught students in Ugrasia that way, resolved issues with warriors in that manner, maintained it even when I went to the mainland, and used it effectively when uniting the warriors.

Success rate 100 percent.

If strange guys didn’t pop up from somewhere, I could have created my own utopia.

There were a few limitations, but I acknowledged the usefulness of the chatterbox.

– Wait a minute.

– Why?

-I said I couldn’t use magic because I’m an existence outside this world. It’s natural to assume that you, who are also an existence outside this world, can’t use magic either, right?

-Huh? Well, that’s natural. Well, before that, even though I was a god, I didn’t use magic.

-Is that so? But you needed magic to use your powers, right? You mentioned that you needed magic for transformation and maintaining a specific form!

-…

-Hey?

I continued to press the chatterbox, who suddenly fell silent.

-Excuse me, Goddess? Could you please explain!

Living in this world, the concept of magic always hindered me.

Even though I had been evaluated as the best swordsman in my past life, my lack of magic imposed limitations on my combat abilities.

Magic, too, remained an enigmatic domain.

Unlike awakened beings from past lives who inherited one attribute, magicians, with their abilities determined by their own limits, were an incomprehensible race.

While their attacks did not affect me due to the lack of magic, I couldn’t prevent physical phenomena caused by magic.

The memory of charging past a massive fireball only to have the magical explosion upon landing create a large hole in the ground is still vivid.

And the chatterbox was no different.

As a soul embedded in ego, the chatterbox could use spells and magic applied to itself.

However, for spells, specific conditions or mediums were required, and magic required mana.

Changing from the original chatterbox form to a different one and operating in the form of a girl all required the use of mana.

So, when escaping the organization, wasn’t it because I couldn’t use the armor mode that broke through Sia’s encirclement in Ugrasia!

– Th-that’s…

– That’s?

The chatterbox, who had been hesitating with a trembling voice, answered more energetically than usual, no, even more energetically than usual.

– It was a concept! Teehee!

-…

– M-master? Will you forgive the playful prank of the cute goddess? Reject the temptation of the demon lord and forgive the goddess who has maintained dignity and repentance? Right?

This time, my mouth remained closed.

I didn’t hear anything, not a word or a thought, as the chatterbox continued to babble on.

I almost died… Not to mention, I was almost caught by the princess! My life almost ended!

All of that turned out to be the mischief of a former goddess, a current demon!

– Where was the Stiors volcano…

– Master?

Whether it’s a goddess or a demon, if it exists in this world, there must be a way to solve it.

Even the World Tree, known as the demigod of the goddess of mercy and dedication, had a history of being threatened by other races. But if you put it in a volcano that could melt even the body of a great demon, you could eliminate it!

– Is this a joke? Are you playing a prank like me? Even if you’re the goddess Arcadia, if you were put into the Stiors volcano in your current state, you wouldn’t be able to see the world for a thousand years!

– Is that so?

Sealing a demon that almost brought about the destruction of the world for a thousand years. This should be treated as if I saved the world.

Anyway, the remaining enemy, the chatterbox that doesn’t work on the demon lord, can be retrieved from Rain’s hands, and the chatterbox can be put into the Stiors volcano.

– A-are you really going to do that?

Well.

I need to think about what to do.

Should I pay back the misfortunes I suffered, or should I let it go since she did things for me?

I need to consider the two options.

But for now, the more pressing matter,

“You are…”

“Shut up. I don’t want to talk to the seed of a demon like you.”

There was movement between the crazy elf and the demon lord who had been glaring at each other.

Is it because she is the guardian of the World Tree, a shrine maiden of the elves who worship the goddess of mercy and dedication?

In the eyes of the crazy elf looking at the demon lord, there was full of anger.

“Dare to touch the prince… Have you prepared yourself?”

…It didn’t seem like it.

“Your Highness…?”

Oh… don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s as if I became a prince turned into an instructor of an evil organization due to some story…

There is a story, but it has nothing to do with being a prince! I was just born as a normal farmer’s son, and I became a villainous organization’s instructor just to make a living!

“Please don’t look at the prince with those dirty eyes before pulling out your eyes!”

Kwaaang!

With a massive explosion, a hole appeared where the demon lord had been.

As expected, in the spot where the demon lord was, there was now a long wooden stick.

“I’ve heard legends about using a branch of the World Tree to kill a demon lord, but I never thought it would be to this extent…”

The demon lord looked at the branch held by the crazy elf’s hand, which disappeared like ash burning in fire as the black energy emanating from him vanished.

“Just a rotten branch with this much power…”

“Huh? Do you think a rotten branch would be used to save the prince?”

“What… the heck!”

Momentarily taken aback by the words of the crazy elf, the demon lord barely avoided the flying javelin aimed at him.

In the meantime, the crazy elf next to him received another branch from the World Tree and concentrated mana on it, shouting.

“A fresh branch borrowed from the World Tree before you came! It may not be enough compared to the rotten branch lent to a mere hero!”

“Lies!”

Dodging another javelin, the demon lord shouted with his mouth wide open.

If you lived in this world, you must have heard stories about the World Tree—a divine being that saved the world. It was the last deity left by the goddess of mercy and dedication.

If properly processed, the branches of the World Tree, more solid than steel and more efficiently utilizing the user’s mana, were a common motif in fairy tales and legends.

However, no story or fairy tale ever mentioned breaking and using branches of the World Tree. Even if it were a dragon, it was only natural not to touch the World Tree, a sacred object.

But that law was now broken. By none other than the hands of a high elf, supposed to protect the World Tree!

“For the sake of the prince, this level of investment is essential!”

“Instructor…?”

Don’t look at me with such eyes. I have no idea.

The elf is just crazy, and I got involved with that crazy elf. I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with an indescribable gaze, in that way.

“Is it a lie?”

The momentarily composed demon lord looked at the other elves behind the crazy elf.

“Is it true…!”

But was it counterproductive?

As if enduring shame, the elves next to each other, lips tightly sealed, avoiding the demon lord’s gaze, caused the demon lord’s body to stiffen for a moment.

“Grrr…!”

The crazy elf seized the opportunity and succeeded in cutting off the demon lord’s left arm.

“Darn…!”

Momentarily distracted, the demon lord, whose arm was severed, directed his gaze at me again.

It was just a moment, but it was enough. Taking advantage of that moment, I used my sword to deflect the attack of the demon lord, which was aimed at me.

“Such…!”

“Your skills haven’t rusted enough to be defeated by you.”

The demon lord, who lost his left arm due to a momentary distraction, was not in a good state. Although I taught that villains become less favorable the longer they drag out, could it be because there was an interval with a hero’s life in the middle? He forgot my teachings and got excited, resulting in losing his left arm and going back empty-handed.

“Will there be a next time…?”

“Yes. Next time, I’ll bet everything and bring the instructor and the power of the demon to destroy the world. So until then… please wait.”

“No way.”

I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with eyes burning like flames but got distracted by the javelin falling on him. The crazy elf, looking at me with eyes full of tears, handing a branch of the World Tree to another elf next to him, seemed to have torn off quite a few.

The face of another elf looking at the crazy elf, who confirmed the infinite refills in the wrestling part of the wrestling competition hall, was the expression of the boss who confirmed that the wrestling competition had brought in a seedling, not a wrestler.

“Give up.”

The demon lord, who had already missed his chance, was in a pitiable state.

After all, could it be that having a hero’s life interspersed in between made villains less favorable, or did he forget my teachings because of that? He was excitedly speaking and got his left arm chopped off, and it seemed he might go back empty-handed.

“Will you give up…?”

“Your fate is that.”

“Fate… I don’t believe in such things.”

I got into big trouble once when I said something similar. So believe in fate and give up on me.

-We are beings that have left this world with the master, so the fate god can’t manage us, right?

-Volcano…

-Eek!

I was about to tell him to shut up before being put in the volcano, but the perceptive chatterbox shut his mouth even before I finished talking.

“Where are you running!”

Seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, Iron Bat stabbed the sword into Shuttle’s back as he tried to escape.