I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake. Chapter 76

I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.

Chapter 76

Caesar calmly organized what Pepe said.

“So you’re saying you’re an avatar of a doppelganger who uses splitting techniques, and that’s why you have no abilities other than changing appearance?”

“Exactly.”

“Who on earth is this doppelganger?”

“I don’t know now. What they might have transformed into. When I was split as an avatar, they were a wolf beastkin. I haven’t particularly met them since then.”

“Then there’s no way to communicate periodically?”

“No. Since they showed no interest in me after creating me as an avatar, I too am living as I want.”

This is why doppelgangers are problematic.

Since there isn’t really anything you could call a ‘real me’, it’s extremely complicated to explain when asked ‘who am I?’

“Then you don’t know much about doppelgangers.”

“Do you have questions?”

“I have several.”

“We have plenty of time, so ask everything you’re curious about. I’ll answer what I know.”

Caesar used psychometry and opened his mouth.

“How are doppelgangers born?”

“Don’t know.”

“Can doppelgangers have children?”

“Don’t know.”

“Do you know the number of surviving doppelgangers?”

“Don’t know.”

“You’re really useless.”

“…”

Pepe spoke as if slightly wronged.

“I was born right after the demon realm war broke out. I’ve only lived as a doppelganger for 4 years, how would I know?”

“So you know nothing about other doppelgangers?”

“Not at all.”

Caesar felt like he would go crazy from frustration.

“Then what do you know?”

“You don’t know either, right?”

Hmm…..

When you put it that way, I guess I can’t say anything.

“One thing I do know is a bit about His Majesty the Demon King.”

Ah, come to think of it, the Demon King was also a doppelganger.

“Speaking of which, the Demon King looked somewhat unique. How is that possible?”

To explain it in game terms, the Demon King’s first form has a cow’s lower body and a human’s upper body.

And when the Demon King transforms the second time, they take the form of a centaur with a horse’s lower body and a human’s upper body.

And in the final third transformation, they change into a human form with ash-gray hair and blue eyes… It was quite strange.

“Isn’t that obvious? It was modeled after creatures that actually existed.”

“…What? Such unique creatures existed?”

“Yes. His Majesty the Demon King’s ability was to instantly summon desired weapons from subspace. Isn’t that something you already know?”

That’s correct.

The most troublesome thing about facing the Demon King was that they could randomly summon disgustingly powerful artifacts to fight with.

Well, their weapon skill level being on par with Yan was also a factor.

“His Majesty the Demon King had lived since the time of dragons. As far as I know, they have a record of working with humans to drive away dragons.”

“Is that true? Where did you hear that?”

“His Majesty the Demon King told me when occasionally touring the battlefield on my back.”

Such bizarre creatures existed 300 years ago?

Caesar looked at Borden.

“Did you know about this?”

“No, I didn’t know either. I haven’t lived that long.”

“Haven’t heard it from other vampires?”

Borden snorted and said; “Why would we talk about such useless things? Rather, it’s better to critique beautiful artworks while enjoying bittersweet wine.”

Well, that’s quite a refined hobby.

What’s most shocking is that among all these beings, not a single one can resolve Caesar’s curiosity.

Aren’t you all too indifferent about doppelgangers?

Instead, I’ve only gained more bizarre questions.

Caesar looked at Pepe and said, “Is there nothing else besides that?”

“They were very fond of Barre. Though they probably never expected to die by his hand.”

“Hmm…”

When you put it that way, it really pricks my conscience.

“Anyway, that’s all I know. But if you want, I can gather some information about doppelgangers for you. Though it’s a bit strange that a doppelganger is curious about doppelgangers.”

“Don’t you have any curiosity about your own race?”

“Not particularly? I just want to know how to fly faster and run faster.”

Pepe took flight into the sky.

It looks quite magnificent as it soars up, catching the moonlight.

I used to regret losing ‘Mill’ because of that thing.

“If you have no more questions, I’ll be on my way. I need to go to the demon realm to save my fellow kind.”

At that moment, Agatha called out.

“Wait! Then come with us! We want to save our fellow kind too.”

Pepe landed again.

“Should I?”

It looks a bit awkward to land again after such a magnificent takeoff.

Looking at Pepe carefully, not only is he dry, but he also lacks conviction.

Just then, a mermaid who had been quietly listening to the conversation on the rock threw a strange water bottle to Caesar.

It was Atan.

Caesar caught the bottle.

“What’s this?”

Atan opened the bottle cap, took a sip, and spoke.

“It’s alcohol. The small talk seems to be over, so I thought it was time to have a warrior’s conversation with me.”

Caesar shook the bottle in the moonlight.

Not being glass, it’s transparent, and not being plastic, it’s quite soft.

“What’s this called?”

“It’s called Rihim. It’s traditional mermaid alcohol.”

Caesar opened the bottle spout like Atan and took a drink.

“Oh, it’s quite tasty?”

“Don’t drink it carelessly just because it’s tasty. Even warriors end up swimming upside down after drinking Rihim.”

Atan took a sip of alcohol and said, “Caesar. Why do you live among humans?”

Well, there are several reasons.

But most of them are hard to pin down specifically.

However, if there’s one thing that takes up the biggest part…

“I just wanted to get away from the battlefield. I was completely sick of it.”

“Then do you hate war?”

“Who could like such a dog’s act?”

“Hmm… You’re quite different from what I thought.”

“Why?”

“When I heard about you from Agatha, I thought you left to find a new battlefield. To take revenge on humans.”

What does this person want, asking such aimless questions?

Usually, those with macho tendencies tend to ask questions directly.

Caesar slowly approached Atan.

“Then do you like war?”

“I don’t particularly like it.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Do you know the history of mermaids?”

“Sorry, but I don’t know much.”

“In the east of the continent, where waves and sea winds scatter, there’s a place called the Coral Island. That Coral Island was originally our mermaid’s homeland.”

Coral Islands?

I’ve heard of the Coral Island somewhere.

I’m pretty sure it’s known as almost the only magic stone mining region owned by the Kingdom of Dior…

Atan took a sip of alcohol before speaking.

“We lost our homeland to humans. Later we found out that they coveted our relics and magic stones buried in the Coral Island.”

As Caesar got closer to Atan, he used psychometry.

“We will reclaim that homeland soon. For that, we need a strong warrior and spy like you.”

-I wish Caesar would help us.

-The reason we lost to humans was because we knew too little about them.

-We need Caesar’s help to drive them out.

I roughly know from Agatha, but these mermaids really want to reclaim the Coral Island.

But there’s something Caesar has never understood from before.

“Do you know what the current situation is at the Coral Island?”

“…I do know.”

“Right now, it’s so polluted that not even a single fish can live there.”

Near the Coral Island, it’s impossible to even immerse yourself in the sea due to various pollutants from mining operations and all kinds of garbage.

Wouldn’t you get all sorts of skin diseases if you immerse yourself there?

“And you want to reclaim that? You won’t even be able to live there?”

“Still, it’s our homeland. We need to purify it as much as possible and make it a place where we can live. No matter how long it takes.”

“Hmm…”

“You’re more firm than I thought.”

“Well, life is give and take originally.”

“If you receive something, you should give something too.”

“But the important thing is that Caesar hasn’t really received anything from Atan.”

“Then I’ll cheer hard for you. Good luck.”

“…It sounds like you won’t help.”

“I told you. I’m sick of war. I helped this time because Agatha requested it from me. Well, I did have thoughts about saving my fellow people too.”

“I thought you were a warrior, but you have merchant-like qualities.”

“I can’t help without any compensation.”

“We saved the demon race.”

“I told you. That was Agatha’s business. It’s separate from me.”

Atan drank all his alcohol and said. “Then does that mean you’ll help if I make a request to you?”

“…Is that what it comes down to?”

Atan took out a large shell from the small bag tied to his waist.

“This is called a deep-sea rainbow shell, which is rare even for us mermaids to see.”

“Deep-sea rainbow? It doesn’t look very rainbow-colored though?”

“Look carefully.”

Atan covered the moonlight with his large palm.

Then, a soft rainbow light emerged from the shell.

“Oh… It really does give off rainbow colors. But what use is it? Can it be used as lighting?”

“It’s a shell found only in the deep sea where not a single point of light enters. Due to its luminescent habit, it becomes a target for many marine creatures, but if it survives stubbornly, it grows this big. Looking at the growth rings, it seems to have lived about 100 years.”

Atan handed the deep-sea rainbow to Caesar.

“The shell of the deep-sea rainbow is very hard, making it difficult to break even for Terra. Instead, if you dry it in the bare sunlight for half a day, the shell can’t endure and opens its mouth toward the sea. That’s when you can cut out the flesh and eat it.”

“That’s quite troublesome to eat.”

“But the effects are worth it. Even though it’s fishy, I recommend eating it raw. When you eat this, your body becomes purified and your aura quantity increases. It’s extremely precious.”

Caesar stared at Agatha.

“Did you go around telling everyone I like medicinal ingredients?”

“…I just said you like eating.”

“Let’s not talk about it.”

Speaking of purification.

The effect seems somewhat ambiguous.

Well, since it lived for 100 years, it probably won’t be bad to just eat it.

Especially since it increases aura quantity.

But the moment Caesar accepts this, he will inevitably be drawn into the mermaid’s war.

Is it right to accept this?

“I’ll accept the request for now. But I’ll only provide the information you want. If you want me to help directly, bring something else.”

“Like this?”

The mermaids brought out a blue fish as thick as an arm.

“This is… A sea carp?”

“It seems you know about this one.”

Of course he knows.

This is one of the few S-tier medicinal ingredients.

It’s on the same level as the black lion’s heart that Barre ate or the millennium snow ginseng.

Moreover, this blue carp is optimized for the ‘hybrid type’ that Caesar is aiming for.

Eating this will rapidly increase reflexes, and the muscle density will also increase, dramatically improving agility and strength.

In other words, it was exactly the medicinal ingredient Caesar needed right now.

“Just who are you to have something like this?”

“Hmm? Did I not introduce myself? I am the king of the mermaids.”

“What? King? You said you were a mermaid warrior.”

“I am both a warrior and king.”

No wonder he was pulling out S-tier medicinal ingredients so easily.

He was really a high-ranking person.

Caesar started to hesitate a bit.

To be honest, if he ate those medicinal ingredients, Caesar’s specs would nearly double.

Especially that sea carp is an item with extreme difficulty to obtain…

“Then I’ll take it that you accept.”

“What?”

Caesar looked at the sea carp that had somehow ended up in his hand.

“When did this?!”

When did this end up in my hand?

It seems he took it unconsciously.

When the carp started to flop around, Caesar eventually put it in his space distortion bag.

Yeah, honestly, after showing this much sincerity, I should help.

“…I can’t help right away though. I have many things I’m doing too.”

“We don’t plan to invade Coral Island until the demon race settles in the demon realm anyway. So just make thorough preparations until then.”

“Right. Got it.”

At that moment, dawn that drove away darkness could be seen far in the eastern sea.

It seems morning has come already.

“I should get going now. Then, see you later.”

“Yeah.”

With those final words, Atan headed toward the sea.

Borden and the other demon race members slowly headed toward the sea as well.

Pepe transformed into a dolphin and jumped into the water.

That guy seems to swim well too.

If I asked him to be my mount… Would he be disgusted?

I should ask him later.

Before leaving, Agatha handed Caesar two pouches.

“These are 50 roots of yellow magic grass and gold coins. I brought them thinking you’d like them.”

50 roots of yellow magic grass and gold coins!

This is more than enough!

Caesar put these in his space distortion pouch as well.

“Thank you so much for helping today. Without you, we couldn’t have saved our companions. I mean this sincerely.”

“Well, I know that.”

“It would be nice if you had some modesty too.”

“I’m too excellent for that.”

Agatha gestured to Caesar.

Caesar approached Agatha.

Agatha whispered in Caesar’s ear.

“Don’t think about betraying Atan.”

“Why would I betray…”

Ah, right.

I did destroy the Demon King’s head.

“Um… Well, I have no such intentions.”

“Atan helped us even though he hates us. That’s probably how badly he wants to reclaim the Coral Island.”

“Hate? Why?”

Agatha spoke while looking at the moonlight sparkling on the water’s surface.

“When the mermaids were driven out of the Coral Island, they requested help from the previous Demon King. But the previous Demon King refused, judging it an unnecessary fight. Despite that, Atan helped us. Because of that, there’s a lot of talk within the mermaid tribe.”

Agatha looked straight into Caesar’s eyes.

“So please don’t betray Atan and us.”

“That’s obvious.”

By the way, I had some questions about the Demon Kings.

Especially about Diana, I wondered if I could get some answers by asking this one.

Caesar decided to ask his questions while pretending not to know.

“By the way, when you say previous Demon King, do you mean Demon King Diana?”

Agatha tilted their head as if finding it strange.

“No, this happened during the time of the 2nd Demon King.”

“By 2nd Demon King, do you mean the one I killed?”

“You really don’t know anything about the Demon Kings, do you?”

Caesar scratched his cheek.

“I didn’t have much reason to be interested.”

“Sigh. You really were just an ignorant doppelganger who only knows how to fight?”

Although Agatha sighed, she seemed happy to show off their knowledge, slightly wagging their tail.

“Listen well. The 1st was a vampire, the 2nd was a beastman, and the 3rd Demon King was a doppelganger.”

“So all the Demon Kings until now are dead?”

“No, the 2nd Demon King died of old age, and the 1st Demon King left on a journey with their following vampires as soon as the 2nd Demon King was born. I don’t know where they went, but being a vampire, they probably aren’t dead?”

That place must be the snow field.

Now the secrets of the Demon Kings are starting to unravel.

A Demon King doesn’t have to die for a new one to be born, and Demon Kings don’t live immortal lives.

Then wouldn’t a 4th Demon King be born too?

“Then when will the 4th Demon King be born?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“Then how are Demon Kings born?”

“…I don’t know that either.”

“What? You don’t know quite a lot of things too.”

“Still more than you though?!”

This one seems to not have had much interest in Demon Kings either.

This seems to be all the information I can extract from them.

“Then couldn’t we just call Demon King Diana and ask her to lead the demon realm again?”

“The problem is we don’t know where they are. They might have gone beyond the mist surrounding the continent, or they might be living their life peacefully somewhere.”

“If I find Demon King Diana, would you consider endorsing her as Demon King?”

Agatha made a subtle expression.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. If they would lead our demon race and help us reclaim the demon realm, I think we would follow. But if they find it troublesome… I think I’d be disappointed.”

Caesar used psychometry.

-From what I’ve heard, they left because they were tired of the life of a Demon King. If someone without such responsibility leads the demon race again, problems could arise.

-No, they might not even care after learning about the demon realm’s situation.

-So we can only hope for a new Demon King to be born soon.

Agatha spoke while looking at the mermaids who were peeking their heads out.

“They’re urging us to come quickly. Let’s talk about this later.”

“…Okay.”

“The shared dream world is always open, so if you have thoughts in a month, on the full moon, come in. I’ll always be waiting.”

Agatha dove into the water.

Caesar sighed while watching the disappeared mermaids and demon race members.

“This is quite complicated.”

Every time the secrets of this world that couldn’t be known just from the game were revealed, Caesar’s head became more complicated.

He felt that although the future had already changed significantly during the three years of rolling through battlefields, the ripple effects would be even bigger than expected.

TL NOTE:

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