Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 141

Episode 141. The Stranger (2)

In this forest, where blizzards so strong they take your breath away often occur, there are several shelters to escape them.

I, Felcor, and Zahat barely managed to hide there thanks to someone's gesture, holding our breath from the presence of people we felt from above.

“Thank you for your hard work. By any chance, did any outsiders pass by here?”

The voice of an unknown person.

Perhaps, the 'wedge' guy will be clear.

As the boy asked, breathless and doubtful, a calm voice was heard.

“No, I don’t know.”

“Is that so?”

“Did an outsider invade the forest?”

"yes."

“Okay, I’ll report back if I find anything.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

After exchanging a few words, 'Wedge' began to head towards another place with hasty steps.

As the sound of people grew further and further away.

“……I guess he went.”

Felcor, who had been feeling it in the pit, let out a sigh of relief.

Leaving that guy behind, I turned my gaze to Zahat.

Zahat, whose mood was a little more subdued than usual, seemed to have sensed my gaze, or perhaps it was because of what happened with the 'One-Armed Demon' earlier, but his complexion was not good.

“I think it would be okay for you to come out.”

At the sound of a voice coming from outside the pit, we lifted our camouflage and emerged.

In the process, I pressed the hood down deeply.

Because the soldier wearing the 'Northern Front Coat' who helped us was someone I knew.

I thought it might be awkward if my face was revealed.

“Sir Yurian, I never expected to see you here.”

… … Whoever his disciple is, he has an outstanding eye for detail.

Well, if that weren't the case, you wouldn't have helped me, an outsider, like this.

“Me too. ……Miss Linne.”

As he answered and took off the hood he was wearing, Linne also took off her hood and let her beautiful hair flow.

“You figured it out, didn’t you?”

“That sword.”

I was trying to hide my face as much as possible, so when I asked her how she recognized me, she pointed to the moon sword I was holding.

“It’s strange that you don’t recognize them. It’s not common for a swordsman to use a sword made of jewels, either within or outside the system.”

It goes without saying that you have a good eye for detail.

Only a psychopath with an excessive amount of self-consciousness would use a black gem like this.

That's me. Damn it.

***

“……There’s a place like this in the snowy forest.”

An untouched cabin deep in the forest.

Felcor walked over there, looked at the building, and then nodded.

This is a hidden cabin that even his hometown, Felcor, couldn't find.

Because of that, it was a place where you couldn't find any human scent at all, and the only thing you could do was hide from the cold and snowstorm.

“But…, Lord Yurian, why are you on the northern front?”

As they entered the room, away from the gaze and cold of the 'wedges', Linne got straight to the point.

Common sense tells you that it's a natural question for her to ask.

Originally, there was a guy who was supposed to be in the system here.

“I went for a walk.”

“……To this northern part, quite far from the system?”

“……Sometimes you just want to let the cool northern breeze clear your head.”

I know it's a lame excuse.

Linne, who heard what I said, frowned slightly as she had thought and looked at Pelkor and Zahat.

They avoided eye contact with Linne, since they both had some kind of connection with her.

“It seems like Lord Zahat has also come out to the north to drink?”

Linne was once a disciple of the 'Black Saint', but it is only natural that she would recognize Zahat.

Zahat was a fellow student of the Sword Master.

“Ahem.”

He clears the air by coughing.

“By the way, it looks like you’re not far from graduating from the academy.”

“Yes, for the aspiring knights from Bayer Academy, experiential learning on the Northern Front is part of the curriculum.”

“Kk, kk, a knight…….”

Zahat smiled awkwardly at Linne's words.

“But, is it really okay for an aspiring journalist to hide an outsider like this?”

“There’s no reason why it wouldn’t work. It wasn’t specifically stated in the regulations. And besides, it’s not like it’s against the regulations, you know.”

Linne answered Zahat's cautious question surprisingly cheerfully. It was so heartfelt that it made his words about wanting to become a knight seem meaningless.

“I don’t know why you came to the Northern Front, but you must have your own story. I won’t ask. I don’t think you’ll be able to hear it anyway.”

I decided to tell Linne, who seemed to have given up, our purpose.

“We came to kill the demon.”

I can be honest about this.

Anyway, there isn't much to be gained from the fragmentary information that 'I came to kill the demon'.

“Demon… right?”

"yes."

Besides, it wasn't that strange that the royal sword called 'Yurien' came to kill 'Demon'.

This is because he was originally known as the 'Demon Cleaner'.

“That’s strange.”

But Linnaeus' reaction was a bit strange.

She glanced in the direction she had come from, towards the North Pole, the base on the Northern Front.

“What’s strange?”

“Recently, there has been a trend flowing from ‘Wedges’ and ‘North Pole’.”

What's the atmosphere like at North Pole?

That place is tightly controlled by the 'Third Prince' Kaldrak, so it's not a place where a strange atmosphere would flow.

“They were also obsessed with capturing a certain demon. They even had us from the Academy join them in the search.”

“Are you saying that you…captured a demon?”

"yes."

At my slightly surprised question, Linne nodded as if to ask what the problem was.

At that moment, I turned my gaze to Zahat.

He seemed to sense my gaze, and showed signs of anxiety before checking with Linne again.

“By any chance, that ‘demon’ is… a one-armed… demon?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

At Linne's slightly surprised appearance, Zahat and I's expressions became serious.

This is not good.

Her words made me feel like things were taking a strange turn.

Something I have never experienced before… … .

“You mean capture, not killing……”

Zahat seemed to feel the same way as I did, muttering in a bitter voice.

Linnaeus clearly had the word 'capture' in his mouth.

Zahat, who wants to clear up the past, and I, who wants to eliminate future threats.

Our relationship is one of cooperation to kill the 'one-armed demon'.

A third party who wanted to 'capture' us intervened between us.

'That too is very high… … .'

The Third Prince, Kaldrak and the 'Wedges'.

“Why…, is the Third Prince so obsessed with capturing demons?”

“I don’t know why. I wonder what Prince Kaldrak is thinking.”

It was a natural question, but even Linne, who received the order, seemed to not know the reason.

Although I never encountered this situation while playing <Let's Kill the Demon King Now>, having had various experiences, I began to gather information about 'Kaldrak'.

I thought that the incident that occurred in the Holy Nation was simply something Kaldrak did to keep Yulsis, the 'Fourth Prince' in check.

Furthermore, it is said to be an act to eliminate political enemies in order to solidify one's right of succession.

'Wasn't that it?'

It may be based on my experience and based on 'games'.

'Cooperation with Aiden. And the capture of this one-armed demon.'

Although I have never met him directly, most of Kaldrak's actions so far have been focused on 'demons'.

It's almost like Irene was studying the soul stone, as if she was trying to figure something out by studying it.

'Oh, that could be the case.'

As we thought about it, the collated information led to one uneasy conclusion.

'Gerogun, Kaldrak, who joined hands with the Witch of the North.'

Never seen anything like it before.

This is a new development that was not seen in the game.

***

Zahat, who was sitting in the cabin to relax, looks at the snowstorm that has started blowing again and thinks about the past.

– 'I want to be a knight like my father.'

What my son, who had just entered the academy, said. It sounded happy at the time, but now it's something that cuts deep into my bones.

Rajid.

My proud son.

Do you know how much those words meant to me?

As time passed, my son became a senior.

Afterwards, when he saw the path his son had walked so far, Zahat could not help but feel regret.

Rajid, my son.

You have no talent as a knight.

You don't have anything innate.

Also, someone with a huge bowl, like someone with cross-eyed eyes.

Even the one called the Sword Star has such tremendous potential.

There are also some people who have outstanding auras, like someone who is still young.

But Zahat couldn't say that.

– 'How is it, Father? Do you think we've reached your toes now?'

How could I say such cold words to him as he approached me with a big smile?

“Hey, why were you hesitating so much earlier?”

Zahat, who had been lost in thought, came to his senses at Pelkor's words.

The cabin became quiet as Linne returned to base, having to join the academy.

Pelkor asked in the uncomfortable silence that clung to his body.

“Hmm…….”

Zahat let out a short sigh and turned his head to Yurian, but he didn't make any moves.

Anyway, it seems like he didn't say anything to Pelkor.

“When you were killing that demon, why did you hesitate? I wasn’t much help at the time, but if you had used your strength, you could have killed it for sure.”

“Ahem…….”

“Didn’t you come here to kill that guy?”

Although his words were harsh and without any consideration, Pelkor's words actually helped Zahat.

Because I was able to control my running emotions.

Yurian and Felcor, who came here together to deal with the demon.

The reason they were deprived of the chance to return to them and left to wander like this is all because of what they did.

Because I was just blankly staring at my son, or rather, the demon, in front of me.

That is why it was rather the silence that seemed like consideration that made it difficult for him.

I know it too.

What did I do wrong?

“I’m sorry, I guess I was blinded by personal feelings.”

“You’re already blind, so what… So, why did you hesitate?”

“That demon is Zahat’s son.”

"……son?"

Zahat felt his breath catch in his throat at Yurian's harsh words, which were like a death sentence.

He knew everything.

I knew everything and followed along.

I never knew it would be so suffocating to have my shame exposed to others without a single thread of evidence.

“So that’s why…….”

Somehow Pelkor seems to have been convinced.

Because of that, the guilt that had been creeping up on Zahat doubled.

“Sir Zahat, even so, the situation just now was very difficult.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Thanks to you, didn’t it delay my return a little? Damn it. I need to arrest Lord Zahat as soon as possible to get credit.”

Yulian, who has a natural, innocent smile and sharp words in her mouth.

But Zahat knows that this is his own consideration. It was a moment that represented his personality, which had changed a lot from before.

“……I’m sorry.”

“Okay, I know. Next time… I’m sure you’ll take care of it.”

Upon hearing those words, Zahat touched his staff with his hand.

– 'Father, what if I use the cane as a scabbard? Then I don't have to carry around the cumbersome cane and scabbard!'

The bright smile of a young son.

– 'Look, father, I killed a knight. This makes me equal to a knight… doesn't it?'

The twisted laughter of a son who was attacked by a parasitic demon.

As they crossed, a corner of my heart began to ache.

Rajid.

My proud son.

Even if you don't become a knight, you are my proud son.

"okay."

If you had said that, this tragedy wouldn't have happened.

It's all my fault.

It is the task I have sown, and the sin that has resulted from it.

“Next time, I’ll definitely… cut off your breath.”

So Rajid.

My proud son.

I will stop you from sullying your name any longer.

Isn't that the last duty that a father should do?