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The body of the Demon King Zama Hagen, burned out by the flames of Guren, crumbled into black ash. It was supposed to be the victorious conclusion that many heroes had aimed for, but… Gou’s expression wasn’t bright.
“……Is it over? Really?”
“? What’s wrong, Gou-san?”
“It’s too anticlimactic… I feel let down. I’m not particularly strong compared to the previous heroes. Ed and Lunaritia, you both are certainly powerful enough, but you’re not notably stronger than the comrades of the previous heroes, as far as I know. Despite this, it’s surprising that we were able to defeat the Demon King so easily…”
In response to Tia’s question, Gou answered without hiding his confusion. Some people might take it as disrespect or arrogance, but I understand that Gou has no such intentions. The awkward but straightforward Hero Gou would never belittle others like that.
“Haha, I understand. So, Your concern is right. The reason why the previous heroes couldn’t win, that’s probably the cause.”
“What do you mean, Ed?”
“It’s like this. Manifest, [Akashic Compass]! The thing I’m looking for… is the location of the Demon King.”
With a grin in response to Gou’s question, I activated the [Akashic Compass] and gave it instructions. Then, an image of a man with a face identical to mine sitting on a chair appeared within the metal frame, and the compass needle immediately pointed straight down.
“The real Demon King… or rather, the Demon King’s main body, is below us. Isn’t there some hidden passage or something?”
“What!? So the one we just defeated is… a fake!?”
“No, that was real too. I think he probably prepared a body that he could use to resurrect immediately. And so, until now, the heroes thought they had defeated the Demon King and let their guard down, and he took advantage of that opportunity to defeat them.”
“Uwa, that’s dirty! And a bit petty, isn’t it?”
“Don’t say that, Tia. The Demon King must be desperate too… So, let’s start by looking for something like a hidden passage! There must be a mechanism somewhere in the castle where that shelf moved…”
“There’s no need to think about it.”
Cutting off my words, Gou crawled on the floor behind the throne. As he rummaged around, the floor suddenly opened up, revealing a staircase leading downwards.
“Heh!?”
“Awesome! How did you know!?”
“Gahhahha! What are you talking about? It’s a universal rule that there’s a staircase leading to a hidden passage behind the throne!”
“…Is it?”
“…………….”
In response to Tia’s question, I silently shake my head. I was fully prepared to search with the [Akashic Compass ] so I couldn’t have known.
“But if it’s common knowledge, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a secret passage?”
“There might be something there, right? Like, they could have set up a trap precisely because it’s common knowledge.”
“But if it’s in an unknown place, no one would find it in the first place, so that would be definitely better, right?”
“………….Well, yeah.”
“Don’t worry about the details! Let’s go!”
Leaving our conversation behind, Gou quickly descended the stairs. Naturally, we followed him, walking down the staircase that twisted and turned for a while. When we opened the very ordinary-sized door, there was a man who looked just like me, sitting on a comfortable-looking bench and tilting a wine glass.
“What!? How did you guys get here!?”
“Just simply walked down the stairs.”
“I thought there might be traps or barriers, but there was nothing.”
“Prepare yourself, Demon King!”
As Hero Gou brandished his sword, the Demon King laughed uneasily. Standing up slowly, he spread his arms and grins.
“Heh, heh, heh… I didn’t expect the Hero to make it this far. Alright, I admit defeat. You may take my head.”
“You seem very understanding. In that case, I shall do so.”
“No, no, no, no!?”
Gou swiftly raised his sword to behead the Demon King, who hurriedly halted him with a panicked expression.
“Are you a fool!? You should be suspicious of traps! And… look! Don’t you notice that your companion behind you has the same face as me!? Could he be my doppelgänger, planning to assassinate you, the Hero!?”
“? What are you talking about? There are countless people with the same face. It may be rare to meet someone with the same face in a single town, but isn’t it normal to pass by familiar strangers… in other towns?”
“”Eh!?””
At Gou’s genuinely puzzled remark, both the Demon King and… even Tia voiced overlap. I’m troubled by the Demon King staring at me, along with Tia.
“Well… that might… happen? I mean, I’ve never really paid attention to the faces of the people I pass by…”
“No way, right!?” “Impossible!”
“Then I don’t know either! What’s that about, I want to know too! Why, Gou-san!?”
In response to my slightly irritated question, Gou thoughtfully replied after a moment of contemplation.
“I can’t answer that either. If I had to guess, it might be that everyone’s blood is connected somewhere if you trace back far enough. Wouldn’t it be not so surprising if a relative looks exactly like you?”
“That is… well… right, but…!?”
“As I said before, don’t worry about the details. Let’s focus on the Demon King!”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
While this is deeply unsatisfying, dealing with the Demon King was definitely the top priority. When I turned back to face the Demon King, he started speaking with a tired expression.
“I’ve been the Demon King for 500 years, and this is the first time I feel like I’ve touched the darkness of this world that absolutely must not be touched…”
“Uh, should the Demon King really be saying that?”
“Shut up, you little girl! Just kill me already.”
“…Hey, Ed. It feels like the Demon King is giving up too easily, could this be a trap? I won’t spare him, I’ll cut off his head, but you guys might want to run just in case.”
Gou, who was just about to kill him without question earlier, now suggests this.
I can understand his caution. It’s obviously suspicious that someone who prepares a body double would give up just because his secret room was invaded.
But I know why. And… I have it.
“It’s fine, Gou-san. Hey, Demon King, do you recognize this?”
What I pulled out of my bag was a black ball that Gou found in a pot behind a mechanism in the castle. The moment I show it, the Demon King’s face turns to utter astonishment.
“Gyeeeeee!?!? Wha, wha, what!? Why!? Why do you have that!? How, how, how!?!?”
“Oh, that’s the one I found.”
“You found it!? Impossible! I put it in the most mundane room that would attract no interest, behind a mechanical shelf that has no conspicuous presence, in the most common pot in this world that wouldn’t interest anyone! How could you have found it!?”
“Haa! It’s nothing…”
Facing the Demon King who was now showing real panic unlike before, however, Gou answered with a confident smile.
“All the pots in this world exist for me, the Hero, to break! It’s impossible for me to overlook a pot!”
“…………….I don’t understand!!!!!!!!”
The Demon King’s soul-shattering scream, louder than the death throes of a body consumed by fire, echoed throughout the small secret room.