Once Seere and Cecily left, Joffrey, his stiff body regaining sensation, finally let out a deep breath. He then asked Eri.
“Wh-What in the world are they?”
“...I don’t think that’s important right now, Sir Joffrey. What are you going to do with them?”
“Ah..., right. Of course.”
Instead of drawing his sword, Joffrey pulled something else from within his robes. Seeing the rhombus-shaped, jewel-like object, Eri tilted her head.
“What is this? I can feel Magical Power from it.”
“This tool detects the Demon Race. It reacts when near a demon.”
“...Pardon?”
It was the first time she had heard of such a convenient tool. Finding it a bit strange, Eri stared at it for a moment.
“What principle does it operate on?”
“I’m not sure about that either. We just received it from the Great Temple. I heard it was bestowed by His Holiness...”
“By His Holiness?”
So the Pope possessed such an item. Thinking something was strange, Eri watched Joffrey’s actions for a moment. Joffrey held the object and approached the people gathered in the town hall. Then, he shouted commandingly.
“I am Joffrey, Chief Knight of the Lilium Holy Knights Order! We will now begin the Demon Race detection process, so stop resisting and cooperate. If you do not cooperate...”
His sword slid smoothly from its scabbard. Joffrey aimed his sword at the farmers who were trying to protect themselves with mere farming tools.
“Your lives cannot be guaranteed.”
“What are you talking about, destroying the whole village...!”
“We will identify them clearly with the tool, and we will protect those without issue. So cooperate.”
“What protection are you talking about while destroying our livelihood! You stupid fool!!”
“So words won’t work.”
It happened in an instant. Joffrey swung his sword. In a concise and short movement befitting the Chief Knight of the Holy Knights Order, he slaughtered one of the residents who was loudly protesting.
‘...Is he sane?’
Watching the scene from behind, Eri frowned deeply, feeling utterly dumbfounded. Even if this was an operation to find spies of the Demon Race, how could killing a citizen so casually be permitted? Joffrey wasn't crazy; he must be acting under orders from above.
And the detection tool Joffrey possessed was also strange. After Joffrey made an example, the villagers trembled in fear and complied with the investigation. Joffrey then touched each person with the tool, one by one. He executed those who elicited a reaction on the spot.
“Ugh!!”
“Wh-What did this child do wrong for you to do this...!”
“Mommyyyy!!”
From all the humans Joffrey judged to be Demon Race and executed...
‘...They have no magical power at all.’
There was no magical power. If they were truly spies from the Demon World, they should have magical power. Even if brainwashed humans were used as spies, visiting the Demon World would leave strong traces of magical power all over their bodies. The Demon World had that much ambient magical power floating in the atmosphere.
Eri and Dane had undergone a process to erase those traces before crossing over to the Human World. But these people... they were just humans. Ultimately, that tool was a fake.
There's a saying that humans are their own greatest enemy, and that humans kill each other the most. Eri was experiencing that saying firsthand right now.
It was indeed a pointless exercise. Then why was the Pope repeating it? As that question arose, Joffrey let out a slightly flustered sound.
“Hm? Why is it doing this.”
“...What’s wrong?”
“Ah, the tool stopped working. I’ll have to call another knight.”
“Excuse me, could I try repairing that? Since I can feel magical power, it seems like a Magic Tool. I might be able to repair it.”
“Ah, would you do that?”
Joffrey handed the Magic Tool to Eri without suspicion. Eri examined the Magic Tool for a moment, then told him.
“It’s difficult for me, but... I think my comrade might be able to fix this.”
“Really?”
“I’ll take it and try to repair it, and if it seems impossible, I’ll bring another Holy Knight myself. You need to guard the town hall anyway to prevent people from escaping, right?”
“That’s true.”
Joffrey nodded and said.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes.”
Eri took the Magic Tool from Joffrey. Then, following the traces left by Seere and Cecily, she headed towards them.
#
Seere and Cecily hadn't gone far. They were in a corner of the village, soothing their frayed tempers. Eri looked around once, confirmed no one was there, and approached them.
“Your Majesty.”
“What, why are you here?”
“I have something to ask. This... it’s the Demon Detection Tool that that Holy Knight was using earlier.”
“There’s such a thing?”
Seere, still looking displeased, approached Eri with interest. Eri handed the tool to Seere and said.
“But it seems to be a fake. He said it broke, so I brought it over pretending to repair it.”
“Really? Well done.”
Seere examined the tool Eri handed her. After looking at it for a moment, she made a somewhat peculiar expression and handed it to Cecily beside her.
“Cecily, check this out.”
“Yes.”
Cecily turned the detection tool this way and that, then frowned deeply and said.
“Your Majesty, this is...”
“It’s true, isn't it?”
“...Yes.”
Seere took the detection tool back from Cecily. Looking at it again, she nodded slightly, as if she had decided something.
“Human.”
“Yes?”
“I need to take this and show it to Teacher.”
“Is there something strange about it?”
“No matter how I look at it, this isn’t an item from the Demon World, but, the magical power contained within it is from the Demon World? It’s not the impure magical power of the Human World.”
It wasn't an item from the Demon World, yet it contained the magical power of the Demon World. What could that fact possibly mean? Eri asked with a puzzled expression.
“Then what happened...?”
“There’s only one possibility.”
Seere wasn't certain either, but Cecily, who had served under Seyre von Devata, the great Demon King ranked second, knew. It was a sensation she had encountered numerous times on the 2nd Floor, which had been Seyre's base.
“It came from lower down.”
This was an item from a place deeper than the Demon World, a place only accessible through the 1st Floor – ‘Hell’. Seere lightly tossed the jewel upwards and caught it, saying.
“I really need to show this to Teacher.”
“Yes, that seems like a good idea.”
As Cecily also agreed, Eri said, slightly flustered.
“But that... I told the Holy Knight I’d repair it and brought it here. If we just take it, they’ll definitely find out.”
They didn't know how long Nahen would take, so they needed to avoid raising suspicion before his work was done if they could. Then Seere answered simply.
“Then we just need to create a situation where they won't find out, right?”
“How do we...”
“Simple.”
Seere briefly drew out her magical power. Around her, magical power twinkled like a galaxy embroidered in the sky.
“Summon.”
『 Summonitiones 』
A magic circle spread wide beneath Seere’s feet, and a sword surged up from the ground. It was a peculiar sword with its entire blade dyed black and a crimson jewel embedded in the center.
It was Seere's Demon Sword, the Rivers of blood. Seeing it, Eri felt a slight chill. As if the jewel embedded in the sword's handle was an eye.
“Y-Your Majesty? Why the sword......”
Flustered, Eri asked what she intended to do as Seere simply ordered Cecily.
“Cecily, make sure no one gets out.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Cecily was Seere's loyal right-hand. Even knowing this wasn't what Nahen intended, she followed Seere's decision. She plucked a few strands of hair from her magically concealed tail. Drawing out her magical power, she scattered the plucked hairs into the air.
“Veil the sky, conceal this place.”
【 Shroud of secrecy 】
The hairs scattered in the air stood stiffly before falling and embedding themselves in the ground. It was the unique way the Kitsune Clan used magic. The scattered hairs acted as a medium to spread magical power widely.
Due to Cecily’s magic, both the village and its surroundings were covered by a huge veil. Others couldn't feel it properly, but Eri, being a Mage, could clearly sense it.
‘This person... wasn’t she just a simple maid?’
Looking at the veil now covering this place, she felt an incredibly strong magical power. The density of the magical power was so thick it was almost unpleasant.
In contrast, Seere seemed satisfied, smiling faintly as she said.
“Good job, Cecily.”
“Thank you.”
“Your Majesty, don’t tell me this is...”
It wasn't hard to guess the reason for trapping them. Realizing Seere's thoughts and becoming fearful, Eri listened as Seere spoke with a smile.
“Don’t be scared, human. I won’t kill you.”
And she added one more thing.
“At least, not until Teacher deems you useful.”
Seere raised her sword and moved to seek the source of the most unpleasant feeling she had felt a little while ago.
Watching Seere disappear in an instant, Eri let out a deep sigh. Since she didn't seem to intend to leave evidence, they might not know for a moment, but soon enough, the Guild or the Temple would realize they were gone.
“...Well, Sir Nahen will probably finish his work before then.”
A few days should be enough. Nahen was more than capable of doing so. This wasn't vague hope, but a judgment Eri could make because she had witnessed his power firsthand.
“Miss Cecily.”
“What is it?”
“Since I'm human and don’t know much, are Demon Kings, including Her Majesty, generally a bit cruel?”
“...That’s right.”
“Pardon?”
“Her Majesty is still relatively young and on the softer side. But Demon Kings are fundamentally a race that rules over others and reigns above them. Naturally, they have to be cruel to some extent. They fundamentally have no hesitation in eliminating others for their own or their faction's benefit... That's the kind of race they are.”
Cecily explained surprisingly kindly. Just as Eri was about to express her gratitude, she added another word.
“Remember, even as Sir Nahen's right-hand, you too could be eliminated at any time. Her Majesty can sufficiently dispose of you on her own authority.”
“...Yes.”
The explanation, which initially seemed kind, turned out to be a warning. As Eri became downcast, Cecily spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.
“We can't have Sir Nahen's diligently trained right-hand disappear pointlessly. I said it out of concern, so don't take it too badly.”
“...Huh? Concern?”
“I've seen how you've lived for the past 5 years. Even as a human, I suppose I've grown somewhat fond of you......”
As a maid in the Demon King's Castle, Cecily often brought meals to Eri and Dane. Back then, since Eri and Dane were still young, from Cecily's perspective, they looked like children studying and working hard.
Of course, at first, she had thought, ‘They’re just humans, what’s the point of working so hard?’ But when they actually showed results, Cecily's perception inevitably changed.
“Anyway, my point is, don’t die easily. And be careful with your words and actions so Her Majesty doesn’t find you bothersome.”
“D-Did I misspeak somehow?”
“...Don’t let Her Majesty misunderstand because of talk concerning Sir Nahen. That’s enough.”
Eri tilted her head, but Cecily recalled the situation moments ago where Eri would have been misunderstood without her explanation.
Just then, a loud roar, like a huge explosion, sounded from far away. Eri was startled, but Cecily merely gazed towards the sound with a calm expression.
“She has begun.”
“Is Her Majesty doing that?”
“Probably.”
“Her Majesty... intends to leave no human here alive, right?”
“...Why, have you grown attached?”
“No?”
For some reason, Eri’s lips curled up slightly. Her panic when Seere decided to kill all the humans was simply concern that Nahen’s plan might get twisted.
So, from the beginning, Eri couldn’t care less about human lives...
“Whether everyone dies or not, it has nothing to do with me. You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
Having lived in the Demon World for the past 5 years, Eri was already twisted.
Ever since she heard the full story of the death of her most precious and beloved friend.
“I was thinking about how I could help.”
“...There probably won’t be a need to help. I don’t think she’d appreciate you interfering either.”
“Then I should just stay still.”
On this day, it took Seere, sword in hand, less than an hour to eliminate the Holy Knights Order, the other adventurers, and all the village residents present.