“No, but…it’s not an exaggeration to say that the sword dropped in the Dungeon.”
“But the Royal Family considers this room to be a secret warehouse.”
Kagami’s forehead began to drip with sweat, as a retort rose up in his thoughts. “Who cares you damn idiot! It wasn’t made inside the Dungeon!”
It was an outrageous crime to steal things from the Royal Family. The Royal Family’s Princess being right in front of him made Kagami feel anxious.
As expected, with a member of the Royal Family in front of him, he couldn’t say, “Don’t put your possessions in a Dungeon like this, where anyone can accidentally enter and take it! It would be safer in the castle!”
“Well…it’s fine if it gets replaced, right?”
“That sword is priceless.”
Shut up! Although I had a merchant appraise it to confirm the price of the item, I idiotically sold that sword for just 300 gold. I feel like crying…
However, Kagami couldn’t protest because he couldn’t afford being labeled as a criminal.
Among the people who served as the Imperial City’s Magicians, there were some who could use magic to brand criminals.
Normally if you killed people or committed other crimes, you would be branded as a criminal and your Status Window would automatically be dyed red. However, people from the Imperial City could testify on your behalf.
On the other hand, if the Imperial Magicians marked the Status Window with a skull and crossbone, you would be denied access to all facilities in the country, be ruined, and chased out of the Imperial City.
People with faded crossbone marks could return to the Imperial City and show that they had atoned, getting a remission displayed on their Status Window. However, this would also cripple that person for life.
For Kagami, whose only goal was to enjoy his life, this was fatal.
“Well…what can I do to have this overlooked?”
Kagami, who was the quickest to respond, looked at Krul and asked her.
“From the beginning, that Holy Sword is the sword that was made to defeat the Demon King.”
“Meaning?”
“Would you like to join our party and defeat the Demon King together?”
The Demon girl twitched and frowned upon hearing Krul’s words. She scowled at Krul before staring at Kagami with an agitated expression.
Kagami faced her and opened his mouth widely, showing off a wry smile as if it were a genuine one.
“No, thank you.”
Kagami replied clearly, and the Demon girl looked relieved.
“Why!? If you have that much power, I’m sure you can defeat the Demon King! You don’t seem to be aware of the fact that nobody has ever accomplished this!”
“I don’t know.”
When Krul persistently tried to tempt him to join them, Kagami glared back and replied in a serious tone, as if to intimidate her.
Krul’s body instantly trembled and she was at a loss for words from the aura that did not seem to be from a Villager.
Understanding that it was useless to talk any more, Kagami began to move again.
“Don’t you agree that it will be fine if the Legendary Holy Sword is brought back? Since I’ll go find it again and return it somehow, please forgive me on this matter. I also have some responsibility for being negligent.”
Kagami said this firmly. If you thought about it, since he hadn’t named himself yet, he had no fear of being branded as a criminal. He perceived that he would be able to manage somehow if he got away from this place.
“Why…is that? Do you not want wealth or fame? Do you not want to save people that are suffering?”
“Hmm? I do want wealth, but I don’t really need fame. If there are people suffering…well, I’d save them.”
“T-then, at least you have a reason to fight! If you still say that’s not enough…when the Demon King is defeated, I’ll become your Queen!”
Everyone there let out a surprised “Hah!?” in response to Princess Krul’s unexpected offer.
“W-wait! Princess…are you saying that you will pledge yourself to a Villager!?”
Rex Chickyboy got impatient and lost his temper. Part of his plan had been to finally defeat the Demon King and, after becoming rich and famous, be pledged to the Princess and rule the country.
“Even so, I am still willing to do it. I’ve decided that this Villager is worthy of that much, since his power is so rare.”
Krul spoke normally, since she had come to the decision with her calm judgement. This was the strength of her desire to defeat the Demon King.
Kagami felt her implacable desperation behind her stern, serious expression and was impressed that she thought about others and not herself despite her young age.
“However, I refuse.”
Still, he refused the offer. He had only been impressed.
Although it was not a bad offer for Kagami, whose goal was to gather gold, he had a policy of never replying “Yes” to such requests.
He wasn’t worried about somebody defeating the Demon King, since he expected the Demon King to be defeated eventually. However, agreeing to defeat the Demon King himself was a different matter.
“Please…tell us the reason.”
“First of all, you are fundamentally mistaken.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Everyone concentrated on listening to the seemingly irritated Kagami, who proceeded to explain thoroughly.
“I don’t really think that the Demon King subjugation is an achievement. That is the reason that I won’t help you fight. That’s all. By the way…since these are only my opinions, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I don’t understand…what you’re saying.”
Everyone else shared Krul’s feelings. They could not understand what he was saying.
Nobody had ever completed a Demon King subjugation. The Demon King was the largest cause of the production of Monsters, and removing such a danger would be a huge achievement for humans.
“Well, it’s fine if you don’t understand. Since you don’t understand, it’s nothing bad.”
Kagami finished talking and resumed walking, putting a foot outside of the room.
“Please wait. Even if you leave, I won’t be satisfied with not understanding. Although I understand that you are incredible, at least tell us the reason that you won’t fight the Demon King.”
Palna finally spoke, genuinely concerned. She had chosen the path of fighting to enjoy a fun life while obtaining wealth and fame, but this Villager did not seem to have the same desire for power.
“Good grief. It’s difficult to try and explain it. It doesn’t mean that you guys are mistaken, so ain’t it fine if you ignore me? There’s no point unless you realize it yourself.”
“At least…just a hint…”
Next, the timid Tina asked a question. The moment Kagami looked back at her, her body trembled and she tried to look away with an “eek!”.
“What has the Demon King done to humans? What have humans done to the Demon King?”
After Kagami finally answered, he left the glowing room and disappeared into the darkness of the dimly lit cave.
Everyone left inside puzzled over the mysterious words that he had left them.
Things the Demon King had done to humans? The Demon King spawned Monsters, which brutally murdered countless numbers of people. Things humans had done to the Demon King? They tried to kill the Demon King in order to release the people from their suffering. That was all. That was the only reason.
As for whether it was funny or there was a reason not to fight, they couldn’t understand it at all.
The Villager had also said that “It doesn’t mean that you guys are mistaken.”
It wasn’t a mistake to try to defeat the Demon King. However, it wasn’t an achievement either. It wasn’t a reason to fight with the Demon King. It wasn’t a reason to obtain wealth and fame?
“No more! I don’t understand it! What is that guy!”
Tina was unable to understand the reason and puffed her cheeks in response.
“That Villager…is probably a Villager who is stronger than any other Role.”
Whether or not she felt depressed with those unbelievable remarks, Palna sighed and stated her thoughts. She then noticed that Rex was glaring at the entrance of the room.
“Rex? What’s wrong? Staring at the entrance of the room like a beast…if it’s about the Villager from earlier, I am fairly certain that he isn’t in this area anymore?”
“That guy…when he passed me, he said something strange.”
Krul, who was slightly depressed from being rejected, showed interest in Rex’s words.
“What…did he say?”
“‘You…still don’t know the System of this world’…is what he said.”
“Sys…tem?”
When they heard this, the mystery of the Villager grew.
“That person…what exactly does he know?”
“I don’t know, but one thing is clear.”
Rex responded to Krul, who had put a hand on her chin while staring at the doorway that the Villager had left through. He began to walk towards the cave’s darkness, just like the Villager had, with resolve.
Certainly, he did not know the System of this world. If that was the case, then it would be fine if he learned about this System…and surpassed that Villager. It was impossible for a Villager to be able to do something that he could not.
Things like the Holy Sword didn’t matter anymore. Now, there was something inside him…a reliable power that didn’t need such things.
The absolute confidence to take down the Demon King…to gain this power. He could do it. He definitely could.
“I…must become the strongest of them all!”
A burning desire to obtain the power to surpass the Level 999 Villager lit up inside of him, as if it had become his new obsession.