“Do you not think the thing you hated so much should never be allowed to exist in this world?”
“Nope, not really.” A completely laid-back response from Shera.
“I could never forgive it,” Alicia said through clenched teeth.
“...So you grew to hate the races, becoming an Imperial Knight in order to destroy them all?” Rem asked, a pained look on her face.
“Yes. I thoroughly believed the most efficient way to bring about ruin to this country was to revive the Demon Lord.”
“Good lord...”
They never could have imagined that harbored inside the righteous and respectable Alicia they thought they knew was actually a cesspool of hatred and vitriol.
If Alicia had a more flexible, looser personality, then maybe she could have been saved. Even if something terrible happened, if she had been able to blow off steam by doing something else...
—Maybe I’m kind of like that, too? If I had a better way of releasing all my negative emotions, maybe I could have been a bit more positive about my own life. Maybe I would have tried a bit harder... Maybe I wouldn’t have run away to an online game, playing it to the point I could be called an addict...
Alicia was a serious person, there could be no doubt about that. She would always apply herself fully to what she did, never compromising. As a result, when faced with her hatred of the races, she was completely serious in attempting to erase them all—and that was by making her end goal to resurrect the Demon Lord.
Alicia fixed her eyes on Klem. “Demon Lord, do you truly not wish to destroy the races?”
“You talk too much. I wouldn’t feel despair over what happened with Rem if I hated them as much as you did. Besides, the only people I know are everyone here, and Petre.”
“Petre’s” was the name of a bakery located in the southern district of town that sold mouthwatering biscuits. The shop was run by three Grasswalker brothers, but they all came together under the moniker “Petre.” It was more like a unit name, rather than an individual name.
Alicia nodded. “...I see. Well, then...it appears there is nothing left for me.”
Hanging her head, she once again unsheathed her dagger—and pressed it against her own neck.
“Wh-What do you think you’re doing!?” Rem said, panicked.
“I believe you will never forgive me for betraying you... If that is indeed the case, then I should bring an end to this myself.”
“Don’t do something so stupid!”
“Do you really think so? It’s true that you will not forgive me, correct? I was not threatened, nor was I ordered by anyone to do what I did. I turned you into a sacrifice, Miss Rem, all because I was expecting the resurrection of the Demon Lord to bring about a mass killing of the races.”
“...I am amazed at how sincere you can be about this, even when you are so wrong! You do realize there is no one else like you in this world, right?”
“Of course. It is because of how different I am that I harbor these feelings of ill will for everyone around me.”
“...Then please understand that I do not wish for your death.”
“What!?”
Even Diablo was surprised to hear this. The one who had it the worst in this whole incident was Rem, after all.
“What do you mean?” Alicia asked, a look of disbelief on her face. “Do you consider me a friend because I helped to save Miss Shera? Then you are sorely mistaken. The only reason I assisted then was because the prospect of victory was sufficient enough; not to mention my cooperation would help me earn your trust. I am an enemy to all the races.”
“...If that is the case, then why did you let Shera go unharmed?”
“Huh?” Alicia seemed perplexed by Rem’s question. “Because...that is what I promised...”
“If you truly wanted to kill the races, and you were even prepared to off yourself, then you should have stabbed Shera.”
“Th-That’s scary!” Even if it was only an example, it made Shera break out in shivers. She hid herself behind Diablo.
“There is no need to be concerned. The fact she did not do as such proves Alicia’s claim of wanting to kill the races as false.”
“Hmm... Then, does that mean Alicia doesn’t really hate the races?”
“I’m sure she has someone she loathes more than enough to kill. At the very least, however, it appears you are not one of those she desires to kill no matter what before she meets her own death. Good for you, Shera.”
“Yay!” Shera threw her hands up in the air.
Rem pointed at Alicia with her index finger. “...Alicia, I am sure you feel a great hatred toward someone amongst the races. Even so, you felt relief knowing that I was safe, and even left Shera unharmed. There is a dissonance between what you say and what you actually do.”
“I see... That may be true.”
“...Well, how about it? Do you really want to kill us?”
“It is just as you have said, Miss Rem. Though I am a bit hesitant to do so, we may have our fight here.”
“If you are so hesitant, then please, stop this!”
“But, leaving things unfinished like this is not proper... I-I have to follow through on what I said...”
“...Why are you so needlessly diligent? Do you not find the things coming from your own mouth to be quite strange?”
“I am no normal person, after all. I... I’ve had enough of this! I never expected for anyone else to understand... After all...! I am alone!”
In the end, without any attempt to cut Rem down, Alicia made as if to thrust the blade into her own neck. Rem reached out to stop her, but she would never make it in time.
Shera let out a small scream and shut her eyes.
On a fundamental level, Klem and Edelgard held little regard over general loss of life and looked on, unperturbed.
“《Arms Scrap》!” Diablo chanted.
The tip of Alicia’s dagger made contact with the white skin of her throat. At that instant, the blade crumbled away. As if it had been made of sand, the dagger turned into silver granules of dust and fell to the floor.
“Wha...!?”
Not just Alicia, but almost everyone in the room was shocked as they looked at Diablo.
†
Diablo had saved Alicia out of nowhere. He had to say something; the silence was killing him.
“Ah, that...was a weapon-destroying spell... Though it only affects unenchanted weapons.”
The first thing he had blurted out was an explanation of his magic. He knew this wasn’t what everyone was expecting him to say, but if he could just throw out something suave in a situation like this, he would have been able to live his life a whole lot better off.
Back in the game, “Arms Scrap” had no effect on equipment that was Rare level or higher, so it was basically useless against other players. It was, however, effective against monsters that carried weapons, and would deal a significant blow to their attack power.
“...Um... That was a very impressive spell and all, but...” Rem wore an expression of bewilderment on her face.
Alicia looked at Diablo, an imploring look on her face. “Why did you interfere? What are you thinking, Sir Diablo?”
—I wasn’t thinking about anything! I’m sorry!! I just didn’t want to see someone die in front of me, even more so considering she was our ally for a short period of time...
...But a Demon Lord who valued human life just seemed out of character.
Edelgard, who had stayed silent while kneeling down this whole time, suddenly stood up.
“Pointless, to die.”
The question marks were almost visible on everyone’s faces. No one knew what she was trying to say.
Realizing that her explanation was a little lacking, Edelgard continued: “Even, if you die~ No benefit, for them. That’s why, pointless, probably? Pointless!”
“So you’re saying I should make it up to them,” Alicia spoke, turning to look at Diablo. “But how?”
—Don�
�t ask me, I never thought about the pros and cons of keeping someone alive or not... Fallen sure are scary.
Even so, Diablo never lost his composure. It would take much courage on his part to reveal that he didn’t really have an answer for her.
“Hmph... You ask what you should do? You are thicker-skulled than I originally thought if you can’t even understand that much.”
—I have no idea myself, though...!
After thinking it over for a bit, Alicia nodded. “So, you’re saying...that I should die after being of some sort of use to you, correct?”
“Y-Yes.”
—Well, die from old age, that is...
“But is there anything I can still do?”
Rem tilted her head. “...You are an Imperial Knight, Alicia. In order to help us, you’ve already stopped troops from being dispatched, haven’t you?”
“I do not know if I will still have my position as an Imperial Knight. I am unsure how the incident of me handing you off to Saddler has been reported back to the capital.”
“...Is there even anyone to make such a report? Saddler and his subordinates are dead, and we were the only ones who saw the fight between Diablo and Krebskulm...in addition to Sylvie and Emile.”
“It seems that His Majesty, Delouche Xandros, has his own personal information network outside of commands like the army and Imperial Knights.”
It was the first time Diablo had heard the name of the king. The only time he had been mentioned in the game was as “the king of Lyferia.” Cross Reverie wasn’t part of the military genre, so it would gloss over information pertaining to the royal family and the country.
If Alicia was reported as having plotted to resurrect the Demon Lord, never mind losing her position as an Imperial Knight, she would most likely be hunted as a traitor to the country.
“That is inconsequential,” Diablo said as he shrugged.
“What...?”
“I am saying that your position is of no importance.”
“But... But if I am not an Imperial Knight, I am completely worthless...”
Diablo wasn’t a fan of status or position, or whether something was useful or not.
—What’s so wrong about being a shut-in and a NEET! It’s society that’s wrong! It’s the world’s fault for being a place where you have to work to live! If the world is going to make me work, then it should just be annihilated altogether!
But it seemed like they hadn’t taken what he said as the venting of a shut-in NEET. Just as he was deliberating over how to explain himself, Rem nodded, apparently satisfied.
“It is just as Diablo has said.”
—Huh...? No, calm down, me. She wasn’t talking about what I just screamed on the inside, but probably what I said about not caring about Alicia’s position. Right...?
“...Your position as an Imperial Knight was something decided upon by the higher-ups of this country, correct?” Rem asked Alicia.
“Naturally.”
“So the ones you hate are not actually us, but those higher-ups, no?”
“Y-Yes... Yes, that would be correct. But, I still don’t know...what it is I should be doing?”
“...I don’t know, either.”
They both looked at Diablo. Asking him all these tough questions like what do about the country or what to do with one’s life... He didn’t have the kind of vast wisdom that would let him just throw out answers on demand. The only thing he had to draw from were his experiences back in the game.
But it was unacceptable for a Demon Lord to just say “I dunno”; it would ruin his image. So Diablo twisted his lips into a bold sneer.
“Then the only option is to destroy it all!”
“What!?”
“Th-That’s...”
Alicia and Rem were flabbergasted, and rightfully so. The look on Shera’s face showed she had no idea what was going on.
Despite all of this, however, Klem had given a profound nod.
“That’s right! It doesn’t matter if it’s a king or a country; if you don’t like it, then you should just destroy it!”
“Ohhh! Demon Lord...finally, motivated? Motivated! Finally!!” Edelgard’s eyes were sparkling.
The conversation may have taken quite the odd turn at some point here.
Alicia clenched her fists tightly. “...Understood. Then I will put all my efforts into bringing down the country, as long as it is useful to you, Sir Diablo!”
—Whazzat...!?
Somewhere along the way, it seemed Alicia thought Diablo had wanted to bring down the kingdom of Lyferia.
Rem and Shera had equally confused looks on their faces.
“...I-Is that true, Diablo?”
“He is a Demon Lord, so maybe he just has to fight against the races, I guess?”
—Wait ,wait, wait, hold on a second, please!! That’s bad, right!?
No matter how dedicated he was to his Demon Lord role play, he certainly wasn’t expecting to be pulled along by Alicia and her grudge against the big-wigs of the kingdom in order to bring down the country.
—I-It’s not exactly what I’m aiming for right now...but wouldn’t it be just like a Demon Lord to do something like destroying an entire country just because he was bored!?
...But at a time like this, Diablo couldn’t just nod and go along with it all.
Diablo’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “W-Well, if they dare defy me, I will show them no mercy. But right now, I do not know much about the Lyferian Kingdom, you see. No matter who it is, I will not hesitate to annihilate someone—but only if they oppose me. Like, only if they are against me.”
“Just as you say, Sir Diablo. If we do not have a clear understanding of our enemy’s fighting strength, then our victory will remain uncertain.”
“Well...”
—I didn’t mean it like that, though!!
But there was no way for what Diablo truly felt on the inside to get through to her.
“I know not of what has become of my own position, but I will do everything in my power to gather information.” Alicia was really getting into the idea of overthrowing the Lyferian government.
Though he wouldn’t be joking if he said it, he couldn’t just say “peace is best” on account of his Demon Lord role play.
“I see. W-Well, do your best to work toward that goal—but do feel free to do so slowly...and carefully...and only if you feel like it.”
Alicia knelt down.
“Thank you, Sir Diablo. I almost pointlessly threw away my own life. I thank you deeply for showing me the path I should continue to walk; I swear my undying loyalty to you.”
“Good.”
To be completely honest, Diablo hadn’t shown her jack squat. Everyone else just went off and interpreted what he had said however they pleased.
—That said, if we managed to postpone the problem for a bit, then I say mission accomplished.
This was a much better result than ending up with a dead Imperial Knight in the room.
Rem offered an outstretched hand to Alicia. “...I cannot simply forgive you for betraying us, but I wouldn’t be happy about you dying over it, either. I also cannot agree with wanting to bring down the kingdom of Lyferia... But if there are those in the upper echelons of the kingdom that need to be punished for their crimes, I will offer my assistance.”
“True. At this point, one would be bound to think this is all nothing but my own one-sided grudge. I will be sure to gather sufficient evidence to the contrary.”
Alicia grasped Rem’s hand. Though they had done so through a rather turbulent conversation, the fact that Alicia and Rem seemed to have made up brought a smile to Shera’s face.
“Isn’t this great, Diablo?”
“I suppose it is.”
—What’s really great is that this didn’t turn into us assaulting the capital right away.
Edelgard was pouting, as if this whole thing bored her. Klem looked sleepy, probably because she had been woken up in the middle of the night.
Diablo was getting ticked off. “Tch... Damn mouse, sneaking around like that. Maybe I’ll blow away the ceiling along with it...”
He wasn’t serious about this, of course, but still raised a hand in the direction of the rodent. As if it could understand what he had said, the mouse fled in a panic. Just when Diablo thought that would be the end of it, however, he heard a tiny scream of agony that signaled the mouse’s death.
—What!? Is there something back there!?
The twisted remains of what was once the mouse fell to the floor. A viscous, black fluid poured out of the gap between the wall and the ceiling, oozing toward the mouse’s body.
†
“Ku-ku-ku... To see through my 《Shadow Sneak》 like that... It seems you are no mere Sorcerer after all!”
After the tar-colored fluid had gathered on the floor, it raised itself up. This black mass, the size of a child, changed into the form of a person that carried a katana on the back of its black outfit. An iron mask covered its mouth, making its expression indiscernible.
Its very appearance was something almost synonymous with Japan.
—A ninja!? Why is there a ninja here!?
The others in the room seemed shaken up by the sudden appearance of the person wearing a strange outfit. Shera, with her keen senses, was particularly shocked.
“I-I couldn’t sense him at all! You’re amazing, Diablo!”
Diablo was surprised as well, but he maintained his air of composure using the Demon Lord role play that was ingrained into his being.
“Hmph... And who are you supposed to be?”
“I am the eyes and ears of His Majesty...as well as his sword.”
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 4 Page 3