Chapter 11: Different Camps
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“Those who stand with me, only they are my concern.”
—The Last Demon King
The Hero’s jaw dropped to the floor as he quickly and carefully checked the man lying on the ground. Still alive. He breathed a sigh of relief. “I…”
Before he could finish, the Demon King cut him off with a nod. “Yes. You’re the culprit, I’m the witness.”
The Demon King shoved the stick into the Hero’s hand. “However, since I don’t know this man on the ground, I can cover for you for now,” he said shamelessly. “And I’ll bury the entire story—the cause of your conflict and the consequences of what came after—in this alley, making it a secret of this afternoon that no one will ever know.”
Having switched the roles of the main characters in his story, the Demon King finished speaking and presented the Hero with a choice:
Option one— The Hero accepts the story and keeps everything here a secret.
Option two— The Hero refuses the story, tells the truth outside, and is then framed by the Demon King as described. The Hero made his decision. “Well… I… I guess I should get him treated first.”
His feelings were mixed. He looked at the Demon King standing beside him. As the Demon King watched, the Hero took a deep breath, feeling like the two who had been at odds for days were suddenly wearing different faces in this alley.
“Although… well… I mean, even if he’s no good, it’s already happened. Let’s just leave it at that.”
The Hero looked at the Demon King in the half-light of the alley. The Demon King’s features were the same as before, yet somehow seemed colder now. Pressing his forehead, the Hero sighed as the Demon King stared at him. “I know you want me to keep this secret.”
The Demon King nodded slightly, thinking to himself, Honestly, I even considered sending you straight to prison… or to some relative of this Aiso Town man. —After all, it would be only natural for the Demon King to kill the Hero.
The Hero continued, “But actually, that’s unnecessary.” He studied the Demon King for a while, and when the Demon King gestured for him to go on, he said, “After all, I saw what happened just now. Overall, I’m more on your side. If it ends here.”
The Demon King tapped his hand lightly, acknowledging the Hero’s position. Then the Hero hoisted the Aiso Town man onto his back and looked at the Demon King. “So let’s just leave it at that. He offended you, you hit him—hard enough to put him down like this. Let’s call it even. I won’t tell anyone about this, and you don’t need to threaten me. All of it, just like you said, will be a secret that happened here. I’ll keep it.” The Hero made his promise earnestly.
After hearing this, the Demon King pondered deeply. Well… that’s a strange sort of agreement, but the Hero’s loyalty was clear. Having come to this conclusion, the Demon King finally closed the matter.
As the Hero carried the injured Aiso Town man out of the alley, waiting for the Demon King to lead the way, the Demon King took just a few steps forward.
He approached the Hero, grabbed the jerk from Aiso Town, and pushed him toward the alley’s exit. The man fell hard to the ground.
The Demon King said, “Just leave him here. I don’t want this person to get treated quickly.” After the Hero looked over at the unconscious man, the Demon King added from the Hero’s perspective, “Otherwise, you’d have to carry an injured person outside, and after you clash with him, in front of someone who saw your argument, you’d instantly be judged the killer, wouldn’t you?”
Overall, the Demon King was more than happy for the Hero to be caught and accused as the culprit or aggressor. But the Demon King couldn’t make a long journey back to the Demon Realm on his own right now. He couldn’t contact the wounded magic dragon somewhere unknown with his magic completely drained, nor could he be certain that, armed with only a single magic vine, he wouldn’t have to fight someone in some corner of the Demon Realm at any time.
So after analyzing the situation, checking the map to see where he was, and considering what had just happened, the Demon King decided he had to endure a few more days in this human territory he disliked.
Having sold all his clothes to cover living expenses, he was even less willing to let something as trivial as the Hero cause him to face a series of avoidable problems in the coming days. For example, villagers swarming him with buzzing questions about where the Hero was and what had caused the accident. Or, after avoiding the villagers and moving to another place, encountering trouble like the jerk from earlier while looking for somewhere to stay, wasting time and energy. And then, after spending all his money, having to find a way to make a living, bringing along even more problems…
In short, if the Hero got caught, it would trigger a chain reaction that would drag the Demon King’s injury recovery—already a fragile ripple—straight into a storm of small rain, moderate rain, and eventually a raging tempest.
That was why the Demon King, while having grounds to frame the Hero, only told him to keep quiet and, when it looked like they might both get implicated, stopped the Hero from acting foolishly like an idiot.
In many ways, this was the Demon King’s way of reaffirming his hostility toward this person from Aiso Town and making the Hero give up any foolish urge to confess. The Hero, however, refused the Demon King’s demand and stayed behind with the unconscious man. Even after the Demon King’s angry opposition, the Hero insisted on waiting in some corner until a passerby found the man and took him away before leaving.
“I need to make sure he won’t get more seriously hurt because of us after he lost the ability to move,” the Hero explained.
“You’re just helping him even though I hate him,” the Demon King said coldly. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But if two in this triangle are of the same race, then the temporary alliance between the different race and one of them simply doesn’t exist. Different races always face each other as enemies. They never stand on the same side. The Demon King wore that cold expression the whole way after.
…
“Joshua?” The Hero, who hadn’t been spoken to once since deciding to stay with that person, sat by a pile of stuff at the meeting point, pulling out a piece of candy he’d bought for the village kids when he picked up the map. The Demon King shot him a disdainful glance: traitor.
The Hero, ignored and cold-shouldered, turned to talk to someone else and then looked at his hometown on the map. The Demon King gave him a sidelong glare.
After the Demon King glanced at the map, the Hero turned and explained, “My injury is almost healed. It’s time to go home, so I should check the route.”
The unpleasant words from that other person still stung, but the news he brought was confirmed by everyone’s reactions: Princess Lilia of the Orland Empire had indeed been rescued and returned. —Although, along with the news came reports of some inappropriate behavior by “myself” at certain times.
The Hero was still angry when he thought about that person mocking him and his ancestors, but considering how fiercely the Demon King had hit that person, the Hero grudgingly accepted some of the blame himself. He felt a little guilty for hiding the truth—if none of the later events had happened, maybe he would have challenged that person instead of keeping everything secret after Joshua stepped in. Demanding an apology after a challenge had always been the right way to deal with problems.
But then something unexpected happened. And soon after, the Demon King had dragged him away. Thinking about the future, the Hero looked at the Demon King and, assuming they were still on the same side and the Demon King was just angry, told him he was leaving. The Demon King, still irritated, replied, “Oh.” Read and acknowledged.
The Hero rephrased what he’d said before. “So, we’re probably going to separate. Unless there’s some other reason, we might not see each other for a long time.”
The Demon King clapped sarcastically. “Fine then. Goodbye.”
The Hero was speechless. He ended up turning back to the map and tapping on it. His hometown was here, and he would be going back soon. After finding his home, and with the Demon King in his “amnesiac” state, the Hero sent his home location: “Before we part ways, I’ll leave you my address. Even though you’re mad now, after you cool down—much later—this address will let you write to me or come find me.”
The Demon King’s cold sneer froze halfway, and his eyes flickered.—The address of his hometown? Knowing the Hero and the others lived in hiding, the Demon King withdrew the sneer.
The Hero pointed at the map. “I live at 131 Courage Town, on the border between the Orland Empire and the Kingdom of Joseph. The house closest to the mountain is mine. You can write or contact me any way you want. I’m usually home before 6 a.m. and after 10 p.m.”
After explaining in detail, the Hero smiled slightly at the changing expression on the Demon King’s face. The Demon King grinned foolishly. “…Got it.”
—Better watch out, I might strike first. With that thought about the future, the Demon King finally smiled a little in response to the Hero’s smile.
The Hero beamed with what felt like reconciliation, then tried to test the Demon King’s mood by talking about other things—like daily routines, his constant training, how he trained from dawn till dusk, or what he did when he got lost (cycling between asking for directions and getting lost again).
The Demon King listened, nodding, watching the Hero’s cheerful face. When he heard about the getting lost part, he confirmed this was the same old Hero.
“You sure get lost a lot,” the Demon King remarked. Because of all the questions he’d asked, he’d calmed down, trading information for composure. More villagers returned, and after being observed for a while, the Demon King completely shed his gloomy mood. He waited calmly, tapping the back of his hand.
The villagers gradually finished shopping and gathered. After the meeting, they left together, chatting and laughing, carrying their things, the atmosphere light and pleasant.
…
The village chief handled other preparations around the village, just waiting for decorations and gifts to arrive. Once people returned with their things, they went home to rest. The Demon King kept the money in his hand but handed everything else to the village chief.
“Living expenses,” the Demon King said.
The Hero looked at him in surprise, and after calming down, the Demon King dismissed the question with an old excuse: “I didn’t pay before because I forgot I needed to.”
The Hero, busy every day and working hard, made the Demon King, who mostly slept in, look downright pathetic. The Demon King’s pride protested strongly. In just seven days of not letting anyone see him, the Demon King found no way to save face—until now, when he tried to redeem himself. Well, what a surprise!
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