I Thought I Might Try Using It. (2)

“My head is complicated…”

Hare said that while looking repeatedly at the picture she had received several times, and the woman drawn there resembled Mia.

Moreover, even several distinctive body parts were quite similar, so Hare thought this was troublesome.

“What do you intend to do…?”

At Richard’s careful question, Hare said.

“For now, Richard, please keep the secret well… I intend to meet His Majesty and leave it to his judgment.”

“….No matter how I think about it… it must be that, right…?”

“We cannot jump to conclusions, but… if possible, I hope it is not.”

“We will be busy.”

She could not tell what meaning those words had, but just as Richard said, she thought they would become busy no matter what decision was made.

After that, Hare took the documents and went to find her liege, and her footsteps were endlessly heavy.

At that time, Linda, Matilda, Lucia, and Bella were learning “Hangul,” and since in their case they could read and write the existing script fluently, they had realized the possibilities of “Hangul” and were in the middle of being amazed.

“….They really are mysterious letters.”

The women were combining this and that in Hangul and writing documents, and they were amazed by the possibilities Hangul possessed.

“Since sounds themselves are expressed as letters, the language of any country can be written. Of course, if you do not know that language, it would only be a combination of letters… but if this is used well, I think the illiteracy rate itself can be lowered greatly.”

The women were mixed with concern at the way I was obsessed with lowering the illiteracy rate, but they knew that once I began insisting, there was no answer, so they merely focused on the letters presented to them now.

Then, from time to time, the four asked about things they did not understand, and what made me feel that they certainly had good heads was that it looked like they would learn the act of writing the letters themselves before long.

It was at that moment, while I was teaching Hangul to the women with a satisfied expression. A knocking sound came from the office, and when I saw Hare soon enter with a grave expression while holding something, I thought what had to come had come.

“Is it from the Apoca Kingdom?”

Hare slowly nodded. Then Hare showed interest in what the women were doing, but for now, she handed the documents to me and said.

“The situation we were worried about may happen.”

At Hare’s words, I carefully began turning over and reading the documents one by one, and when I saw the pictures of the Corrupted Hero Jin So-hee on the last page, my head began to get tangled.

‘I wondered if it could be, but… to think it was real…’

The woman in the picture was Mia. No, Jin So-hee was Mia. No… Ahh, my head was complicated.

“Should we proceed as scheduled?”

“The next page is more important.”

It was absurd that there was content even more important than the composite sketch, but as Hare said, I turned over one more page, and after reading several words written there, I understood the things happening in the neighboring area right now.

“…So this is why the Empire moved. The pretext is certain… is that it…?”

I wondered how in the world they had predicted it. Because they could not have done this much through simple expectations alone.

“Phewww… In the end, it looks like we have to cut her off if we want to survive.”

It did not seem like we would lose in war. But the problem was what came after. Internationally, we might become pariahs, or if not that, they might call us “dogs of the Demonic Tribe” and think of us as a target for subjugation. If that happened, the sorrowful history of the beastkin would begin repeating itself.

No, a situation incomparably more tenacious than before would break out, and what followed after that would naturally be beyond imagination, would it not?

A Corrupted Hero? It was simply absurd.

However, I had no regrets about saving a person. Moreover, Mia’s current situation… no, Jin So-hee’s state was literally one where there was no “demonic energy” to the point that it was hard to see her as a demon.

So perhaps there might be a way to prove through verification of “demonic energy” that she was not “corrupted”?

It was at that moment when that thought suddenly came to me.

“Do not think strange thoughts… I think proceeding as scheduled is correct. Are you thinking of putting Ingrad in danger because of one person you have never met before?”

“Hmm… I was just thinking about it for a moment. But… as expected, cutting her off would be right.”

Hare nodded, and though my heart hurt, there was nothing I could do. After that, as scheduled, I had to call Mia, who would be helping Ulde in Rad City, to Ing City, and in line with her arrival, I planned to have her face Duke Asilbar under the pretext of inspecting the academy grounds.

And I sent people so that if Ulde and the three Masters were in Rad City on the way Mia came, they would come together with her.

After that, I asked Demina to contact Wijel, Gamung, Debik, and others by sending people to them so that the schedule could be matched, then leaned back in my chair and had no choice but to press down hard on my throbbing head.

‘The headache will not go away.’

“But do we necessarily have to kill her just because she is the Demon King?”

At my words, Hare wore an expression asking what kind of nonsense that was, but when I told Hare several things, she asked me to please not do that, yet I tried insisting again.

Most of the people had gathered at the academy grounds in advance. Literally, we had made them gather by saying we would newly show Ingrad’s future, but in reality, it was to confirm Mia’s true identity.

No, it was already no different from having confirmed her identity, but we were scheduled to go through a confirmation process to see whether she was lying, or if not that, whether she truly had amnesia.

All that remained was for her to hear the order and come here together with Ulde and the others. At that moment, Duke Asilbar asked me.

“Do you truly… think she is the Demon King?”

“She may not be the Demon King, but she may also be the Demon King. If possible, I intend to try working for the peace of the nation.”

“If she is the Demon King… I, too, will help with all my sincerity.”

Duke Asilbar was emitting a fierce gaze. Although he had been injured, since he had originally been a person with such remarkable ability, perhaps he had endured the Demon King’s aura well?

As I made that guess, I recalled Demina’s words when she had told me that his injuries felt lighter than expected.

To be honest, including Duke Asilbar, it was no different from there being roughly nine people at the level of “Master” in our territory.

Although there was simply no Hero, I wondered if it was Master-level combat strength similar to the time when they had previously fought a close battle with the Demon King, and at that moment, I was able to see five people, including Ulde, entering through the academy entrance.

Considering their positions, it was not a situation where they should have come in such a simple group, but considering their abilities, I also wondered how many people there could be who could touch them.

After that, I warmly welcomed Ulde’s group and gave Mia a light greeting.

“Your skin has tanned quite a bit. It seems you had a hard time.”

“Ah… um… it was hard, but it was fun too!”

Mia showed a bright smile with an excited expression. Moreover, because there was not the slightest lie in that appearance, I could see the expression of Duke Asilbar beside me subtly go off, but first, I naturally placed Mia beside me and began looking around the academy.

As I did so, I began explaining what forms of departments would be here and what would be taught, and Duke Asilbar, who was listening to this, asked me a question as though it was unexpected.

“Do you truly… intend to teach letters to the people?”

“I am not trying to teach the Continental Common Language. I intend to make it possible for them simply to write and read the language they use, and to leave behind a little record so that later generations can see it.”

“That is… not something that will happen so simply.”

“I know. But it is not that there is no method, so I intend to try anything.”

Because he was an outsider, there was no need to tell him everything, so I cut off my words there, but Duke Asilbar’s gaze as he looked at me was quite impressed.

It seemed that he evaluated the person called me rather highly.

After we looked around all the academy grounds like that and arrived at the place where Mia would be interrogated, the vassals lined up as though surrounding Mia according to my order, and soon Hare activated even the magic circle she had prepared in advance and spread a barrier. Then Duke Asilbar, whom I had asked beforehand, moved his steps in front of Mia.

And then he met her eyes and asked her a question.

“….Did you think you would not be found out if you hid your identity?”

“….Y-yes…? Wh-what do you…”

Mia trembled. With rabbit-like eyes, she looked around, and especially when her gaze met mine, her eyes were swept up by turbulence and she began trembling.

At a glance, she looked terrified.

However, even while looking at Mia’s state, Duke Asilbar did not stop questioning her.

“I was able to see various demons, and I prided myself on being able to feel the aura of the Demonic Tribe while facing them. But from you, not even a single speck of demonic energy can be felt. I did not want to doubt you… but because of this, I had no choice but to know your identity.”

Then Duke Asilbar thrust the letter he had received from me toward Mia, and as Mia checked the face drawn there, she tilted her head as though puzzled.

“Wh… who is this woman…?”

“Abominable!! Even when there is such clear evidence, do you intend to play innocent and feign memory loss, saying you do not know!!”

It was truly an expression of not knowing, but the problem was that Duke Asilbar flared up at those words from Mia. He was agitated, and soon he raised his aura, and Mia turned deathly pale under Duke Asilbar’s aura and trembled.

Moreover, as though she felt the fear of death, I saw the area beneath Mia’s feet, where she had collapsed to the ground, grow damp. She had wet herself.

Duke Asilbar fell into confusion with a face that said he could not possibly believe this, and because I had asked him to make his own judgment, he could not judge Mia carelessly and wore an expression of falling into complicated thoughts.

Moreover, it was an aura even I could endure, but he seemed to be seriously agonizing over whether he should see a woman who sensed such an aura and even wet herself as the Demon King.

That was because the hand touching the hilt of his sword was trembling.

The second thing I had asked of him was that if Mia truly was the Demon King, then since her injuries would be severe, rather than humiliating her, we should cleanly cut off her head and let the demons know humanity’s mercy.

So he looked like he was waiting so he could draw his sword at any time, but he looked deeply troubled.

At that moment, Mia began pouring tears. She could not speak, had turned pale, trembled, and had even wet herself. Moreover, as her lips began turning pale, Duke Asilbar gritted his teeth and slowly drew his sword.

If he went by nothing but ambition for fame, it could be that he would cut off Mia’s head, but when I thought of his usual character, could he truly cut off her head?

It was at that moment when I was thinking that.

“Demon King… I hope you will no longer hide… behind that abominable mask. Accept my sword proudly… If you are the Demon King… who once ruled a corner of the world, then even more so, you must not avoid the sword…!”

Duke Asilbar shouted strongly, stomped his foot with a thud! and swung the sword he had drawn. And when the blade swung so quickly that it was difficult even to follow with the eyes, Mia, with an expression saying she knew nothing, had her neck cut by the blade as it was.

However, that did not mean she had died. Literally, Duke Asilbar’s blade touched the skin of her neck and drew blood, and at that moment, seeing Mia roll her eyes back and collapse limply, Duke Asilbar retrieved his sword and let out a sigh.