“Hey…so messy, Rex. Let Kuu-chan teach you how to eat.”
Tina and Krul’s eyes popped out in astonishment when they saw Rex suddenly spit out his food, while Palna was disgusted. Rex immediately apologized with a ‘Sorry’ and wiped his mouth with one of the provided napkins.
“How many people?”
Kagami firmly gazed at them with an empty face, as if he had discovered something annoying when he saw such a scene, while he was being welcomed by the waitress.
“Zero. Thanks for the meal.”
After Kagami replied with that, he made an about-face and tried to leave the store, grabbing the doorknob at the entrance with his hand and pulling Alice along. However, as he tried to leave with the words ‘Ah, I’m full with just the aroma~’, before he could take one step outside of the store, he was forcibly grabbed by the shoulder. Rex was standing behind him with a smile that seemed to be saying ‘I got you’.
“He’s with me. I’ll guide him in, so it’s fine for you to stop there.”
“Yes sir. Please seat yourself and I will immediately bring a glass of water.”
After Rex said that, the waitress politely bowed her head and hurriedly disappeared behind the counter. Rex continued to silently stare at Kagami and, after glancing at Alice once, moved his head, as if telling them to follow him, and walked towards the table with Krul’s group.
After they realized why Rex had stood up from his seat, Tina and Palna stared angrily at Kagami, with slightly furrowed brows. When Krul noticed the change in their appearance, she finally realized that he was Kagami.
However, Kagami ignored them and left the store, taking Alice with him.
“AaaaAAAH! They ran away againnnn!”
Tina immediately rose and pointed at them as she cried out.
“But, is it normal for them to run away in this situation? Just how much of a fool is that villager going to make out of us!”
The moment Kagami fled right before her eyes, Palna jumped out of her seat and chased after him.
Rex had decided, with great pain, to cool off by shaking his head, so when he saw Palna chase after Kagami, he made a confused expression and said ‘Eh?’, as if he didn’t understand what had occurred.
“Hero-sama should also quickly chase after him! I’ll pay for everything!”
Tina shouted at Rex, who was standing still, as if he didn’t understand the situation. He finally began to chase after Kagami when he understood that Kagami had run away. When he got out of the store, he saw Palna, who had her arms folded and had a bitter expression, as if she were sullen.
“He escaped. That Villager’s legs are too quick! Jeez…What the hell were you doing, Rex!”
“Don’t panic. Even if the only thing we know is that they’re still in this city, isn’t that plenty?”
As they were looking at their surroundings that were devoid of the Villager, discouraged and at a loss of what to do, Krul and Tina left the store after paying the bill and reunited with them.
“It was worth it to let the horses run quickly so we could arrive before the Demon King Army moved. At the very least, that Villager who has a connection with the Demon King surely won’t head out of the city until tomorrow.”
“So what? What will you do? We will also join the Demon King Army Subjugation Unit, right? We only have to until tomorrow to find him. Where do you plan to look inside this huge city?”
Palna approached Rex as she said that, as if charging him with the responsibility of letting Kagami run away. Sweat dripped down Rex’s forehead as he hadn’t thought of a good plan to search for Kagami within this huge city.
“It’s fine if the residents of this city search for him. If we tell them that a Demon has entered the city and tell them it’s features, they will certainly find them tomorrow morning.”
“Then, let’s stop for now.”
Regardless of whether this plan was a good idea or not, Rex immediately replied to Palna, who had said that confidently, with a serious look. These unexpected words caused Palna to furrow her brows for a moment, seeming unhappy, and glared at Rex.
“Although I understand your feelings, the ones who would be at a disadvantage by cornering them is us.”
“What do you mean by that?”
When Rex said that, as if he were trying to calm down Palna, Tina asked for the meaning of his words while tilting her small head.
“HE is a monster. Although I don’t want to admit it…he’s strong to the extent that people like us wouldn’t be his opponents, if you think about it. I don’t know how things would turn out, even if he was driven into a corner. He might choose to run from this city.”
Whether or not he was confident that such a situation would happen, Rex said that with a regretful look.
“I see…the cityfolk would rampage while trying to find him and it might get dangerous.”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
Similarly, Krul interfered with their conversation while looking sad, as if she was convinced that it might be the case.
“If we were the ones who cornered him by rampaging, we surely would have faced danger a long time ago. Although they are insolent people who protect Demons…I don’t think they are bad.”
Palna sighed in amazement at Krul’s words.
“Kuu-chan, you…do you understand what you’re saying? He is an ally of Demons, right? With a Demon that attacked Balman, no less. Who cares if he’s not a bad person?”
“It’s true that I don’t know his intentions. However…he did talk with us.”
“So what?”
“Instead of counterattacking us, who didn’t understand his ideals, he opted to escape. At least, I don’t think he is trying to force his ideals onto us to try and make us understand. He just wants us to understand him…I think he is such a person.”
Palna stayed silent as she thought of unpleasant things in her heart in response to Krul’s expression and words, who appeared to be distressed about the situation.
“Even with his standing as a Villager, he gets angry, as if he were being looked down on…”
Rex muttered with a dissatisfied look, whether or not he understood it in the same way.
“If that’s so…then why are we chasing after that Villager? That child…seems to be the Demon King’s daughter, and whether or not he handed over that Demon, I thought that we would catch that Villager in order to mark him as a criminal. In any case, if we already know that it’s useless to catch him, isn’t it fine to leave them alone?”
“Of course, our number one goal is to defeat the Demon King. It won’t change the fact that Demons are existences that must be defeated. However, I am genuinely worried about whether he is an ally of Demons. Just from the way he speaks as if he is always worried about us, we don’t know what he is thinking.”
Tina muttered, “Now that you mention it, he always just leaves us hints and doesn’t answer us, saying ‘Try realizing it yourself!’ and such”, in admiration of Krul’s words.
“What do you know? What if he is allying with Demons, who are planning something? Since he has reached such a powerful state, he may be aware of their plans. I think he has something that we don’t know about.”
Dissatisfied, Palna muttered ‘What would you do if he knows’ towards Krul as she gazed directly into her eyes, and then turned her head a second time as she sighed.
“Although we’ve thought of various things…these few days, whether or not those thoughts are expressed, I want to properly listen to him. This time, it will be formal, since I’ve calmed down.”
“I, too, have things I want to ask.”
Rex muttered as if he approved of her decision.
“But, there is no need to persist against that guy. Our goal of defeating the Demon King won’t change, after all. With the current situation of the Demon King Army invading, this won’t cause us to waver. It doesn’t matter, even if we leave one or two Demons alone.”
“What? It couldn’t be that Rex is going to suggest a plan where we do not defeat Demons?”
Palna approached Rex while staring when she heard his words, which were different from the past, when he had bared his fangs with the most hostility in the group. However, Rex laughed at Palna’s question.
“Is there such an excuse? Since we have things we want to ask, we only need to search for him. If we don’t find him before tomorrow, it’s fine to leave him alone for the moment. Anyways, let’s form parties and search for him as we describe what those two look like.”
As Palna said ‘My, my’ as if she were slightly relieved, she acknowledged his proposal.
“Though, Hero-sama will be forgiven if you work with us and don’t run away.”
“Gu…about that…sorry.”
In the end, they continued to walk as they headed towards the city’s main street in order to search for Kagami, who was hiding somewhere in Salumeria, as Rex hung his head at Tina’s harsh words.