Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 57: The Truth and Cleanup

In this episode, the truth behind a mysterious event is finally revealed, and the characters must deal with the aftermath.

After releasing the Megalowhale back into the open ocean, we returned to Good Luther MK.1 with the captured demon.

“Oh, you’re safe, kid!”

“I’m glad everyone is safe!”

Burn-san and Marylene-san greeted us on the deck when they saw us return.
The deck was strangely wet, but well, I guess a lot happened.
Mostly the aftermath.

“So, did you gather any information? Oh, well, since the Megalowhale went out to sea, I’m sure it went well.”

“Speaking of which, what about over there? You look different…”

Marylene-san looked at the demon and made a puzzled face.

“Ah, this is the mastermind behind this incident.”

“What? This man is the culprit!?”

“Yes, he’s the demon responsible for the crime.”

I handed the demon over to Burn-san and the others.

“Oh, a demon, huh… a demon?”

Burn-san tilted his head in confusion.
Marylene-san was also thinking, “A demon?”

“…!?”

And at the same time, both of them remembered something and trembled.

“A de-de-demon!?”

Well, they’re in sync.

“Yes, it’s a demon.”

“Oh, so it’s that? The demonic race that once tried to destroy humanity?”

“The demon that was said to be the offspring of the evil god that led the world to destruction?”

“Yes, that’s the demon.”

There are various rumors, but the truth is that demons are invaders from another world.
They are people from a different world, that’s the true nature of demons.
But it’s strange.
I think most knights and nobles would know that.

“So, I’ll hand him over to both of you as the culprit who knows the whole truth.”

“U-um…”

Burn-san was taken aback when the demon was handed over to him.

“It’s okay.
I have a magic item that restrains him with a binding spell, so please rest assured.”

“Y-You had such a valuable item!?”

“I happened to come across it.”

The material, that is.
Saying that, I showed Burn-san and Marylene-san the magic item that was restraining the demon.

Well, I think most people use magic items that restrain criminals with binding spells.
Oh, I see.
These people are nobles, so they don’t do the work of capturing criminals.
Yeah, yeah, even in my past life, people who just gave orders from above didn’t know such ordinary things.
That makes sense.

Oh, by the way, let’s attach a magic item that seals magic as well.
Right now, I’m using my magic to seal the demon, so it would be a disaster if my magic ran out.
I gently attached the magic item that seals magic to the demon.

“And this is the magic item that seals magic.
Please be careful not to remove it.”

“Ah, yes.
Of course.”

“S-Such a thing… Isn’t it a national treasure?”

Haha, that’s an exaggeration.

“Well, shall we hear everything?”

Burn-san attempted to interrogate the restrained demon.
But the demon looked at Burn-san and laughed.

“Yes, don’t make me laugh, human.
You dare… I’m sorry, please don’t eat me! The feathers! Not the feathers!!”

The demon, who tried to refuse Burn-san’s interrogation, immediately declared defeat when Mofumofu jumped on its head and started nibbling on its feathers.
I wonder if demon feathers are delicious?

“A-Alright! I’ll talk! I’ll confess! Just do something about this creature!”

I lifted Mofumofu from the defeated demon and Mofumofu proudly bit me.
Is it asking to be praised?

“Good job, good job.”

Well, since the demon confessed honestly, I should praise it.
And then, Mofumofu started trembling.
Oh no, this is a sign that it needs to pee.
I hurriedly put Mofumofu on the ground, and Mofumofu started to pee.
Oh, that was close…

“Oh no!!”

Oops, I put it on top of the demon.

“I-It’s amazing! Not only did we capture the legendary demon, but we also used a pet to torture and make it confess, and now the demon is covered in pee.”

“Completely breaking the opponent’s spirit.
What a terrifying torture technique.”

Wait, I wasn’t thinking about that! The crew members are looking at me in astonishment.

“Wait, that’s not torture.”

Marylene-san defended me.
Thank goodness, she understood.

“Rex-sama didn’t lay a hand on it.
The pet voluntarily, or rather, it seemed voluntary, nibbled on the feathers and peed.
In other words, Rex-sama didn’t torture it.
This falls within the scope of interrogation.
After all, it was something the pet did on its own, and moreover, the pet is an adorable dog? So, it doesn’t even look like torture.
This will be a new revolution in interrogation for the interrogators.”

They don’t understand!

“I see, so it’s a dog? Then it can’t be helped.”

“Ah, but isn’t it a cat?”

“What on earth is that creature?”

Ugh, they still don’t understand, but well, since their curiosity shifted to Mofumofu, let’s continue the interrogation.
Now’s the time!

“So, tell us everything.”

Burn-san attempted to question the demon.
But the demon laughed at Burn-san.

“Yes, humans, I was planning a major offensive against humanity.
As part of that plan, I was ordered to use the Megalowhale as a biological weapon.
I was told to use the Megalowhale’s magic power to crush the coastal countries.”

That huge magic item, right?

“Crush!?”

Marylene-san was shocked when she heard that they were not aiming to rule their own country but to crush it.

“That’s right.
With the condensed magic power of the parent of the Megalowhale, which is over 5 km long, we were planning to unleash a tremendous destructive power.”

“W-What? Would it really have blown up the country?”

Marylene-san said to me in disbelief.

“With such a large amount of magic power, although it wouldn’t have destroyed the entire country, the capital, surrounding towns, and villages would undoubtedly have been devastated.”

“D-Destroyed…”

Marylene-san turned pale and trembled at the realization that their country was unknowingly facing such a situation.

“Don’t worry.
We dismantled the magic item and the Megalowhale returned to the open ocean.
The immediate crisis has passed.”

“Y-You did all that!?”

“Yes, it was just a makeshift thing that somehow seemed possible.”

“Just a makeshift thing…”

Marylene-san was dumbfounded, but if she knew even a little about magic items, she would understand that dismantling them is easy.

Now, let’s continue the interrogation rather than dwell on that.

“Was the appearance of the Kraken in the Great Inner Sea also part of the plan?”

“Yes.
I brought the Kraken to make it possible for the Megalowhale to attack and get closer to the inland.
Some of them escaped, though.”

I see, so some of them escaped to the Great Inner Sea.
It’s impossible for the parent of the Megalowhale to pass through there due to its massive size.
Well, it seems like the fry followed along.

“Why did you bother providing food for them?”

Burn-san asked the demon.

“It was to buy time until the magic power extraction from the magic item was complete and to lure them further inland.”

I see, even if they were driven away by the attacks, there is a high possibility that they would refuse to approach the inland due to their instinct as living creatures.

“What are the details of the plan? Which other countries are being targeted?”

“I don’t know.
I was only informed about the details of the operation I was in charge of, and I wasn’t told about the plans of other operatives.”

“Don’t lie! Is it possible for someone belonging to an organization not to know the plans of their comrades?”

Burn-san was furious, but I think the demon is right.
Even in human countries, lower-ranking officers are only given information related to their own operations, and even ordinary soldiers may not fully understand their own operations.
Well, in my past life, that was quite common.
Both with enemies and allies.

But well, that’s the job of the experts.
In reality, it’s just my own opinion, and there is a possibility that the demon actually has important information.
So, I’ll leave the interrogation to Burn-san and the others.
Our job is to investigate the Megalowhale and the Kraken’s appearance in the Great Inner Sea.

“We need to inform our country about the fact that the demon was planning a major offensive as soon as possible.”

Marylene-san ordered her subordinates in a desperate manner.
It’s an urgent problem for Marylene-san and the others, as their own country was being targeted.

“Our country too.
Vice Captain, bring this demon back to our homeland and request a meeting for countermeasures!”

“Understood.
This is not just our problem.
We also need to inform the surrounding countries.”

The vice captain gave orders to the subordinates, and the anchor of Good Luther MK.1 was raised.

“W-Wait a minute! The demon was captured in our territory.
Its custody should be in our country.”

“No, no, we brought the information about the Megalowhale.
It was our country’s people who captured it.”

Oh no, I should leave as soon as possible.

“Well then, we’ll take our leave now.”

“Wait a minute! You are the one who deserves credit for this investigation! I want you to participate in a detailed meeting as a representative of our country.”

“Please wait, Rex-san and the others are our country’s benefactors.
So please let us treat them as honored guests!”

Yeah, this is not good.
Not good at all.
They’re clearly planning to use me.

“Um, this might take a while, so could you please sign these documents? The request from the Adventurer’s Guild was to investigate the Megalo Whale, and we were able to gather detailed information from the demon.
So it’s considered completed.
If it’s a matter involving demons, it will be a separate contract.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, I guess that makes sense.”

I handed the completed request certificate from the Guild to Mr.
Burn along with a pen, and he accepted it and signed it without hesitation.

“Is this good?”

“Yes, thank you.
With this, the investigation of the Megalo Whale is complete.”

And so… I turned around and called Liliera-san and the others.

“What is it?”

“What’s wrong, big brother?”

“What’s the matter, young man?”

Mr.
Burn tilted his head at our actions.

“Air Shade!”

I activated a wind magic to create a smokescreen on the deck.

“Uh, whoa!? What’s happening!?”

“We apologize for the trouble, but we’ll be taking our leave now!”

“W-What!? What does that mean!?”

Ignoring the surprised Mr.
Burn and the others, I gathered everyone and activated teleportation magic to return to the capital.

“We’re back!”

When everyone opened their eyes, we were already in my house in the capital.

“Huh? Is this big brother’s house?”

“When did… Oh, I see, teleportation magic!?”

Everyone was confused by the sudden teleportation, but gradually they understood the situation and calmed down.

“But why did we suddenly return to the capital? Rex-san still seemed to have business with those people.”

“Yes, they said they would treat us as honored guests for our contributions to the country!”

“Well, it’s too much trouble for me.”

“Trouble…”

Mina-san looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Is it okay? This was a chance for you to become a hero.”

“Liliera-san, being a hero is just a title used to exploit people like me with the chains of honor.
I think it’s much more important to live freely as an adventurer than to have such a meaningless title.”

“It’s easy for you to throw away honor like that.”

Liliera-san said with exasperation, but honor is just a hindrance.

“I’m not interested in noble status or honor.
And I already have enough wealth to throw away.”

“Oh, right, I forgot about that.”

Honestly, I already have quite a fortune.
I know the prices in the capital, so unless I spend money in a ridiculous way, I won’t run out easily.
Adventurers really make a lot of money.
It’s much more than I could have imagined when I was a hero.

“And if I became a noble and chose a secure life, wouldn’t that take away the reason for Liliera-san to follow me?”

Liliera-san’s goal seems to be to repay me for the favor.
Well, I actually want her to shine more than anyone else.
She has had a difficult life since she was young, and I want her to be happy enough to make up for all the past misfortunes.

“Well, if that’s the case, it would be quite troublesome.
I haven’t even repaid the favor I received from you yet.
In fact, it feels like the favor has increased…”

“Ahaha, yes.”

“So basically, Rex’s big brother is a guy who doesn’t care about trivial fame! He can even say that he doesn’t care about being a national hero, so he’s definitely amazing!”

“Yeah, Rex is the kind of person who defies common sense.”

“Indeed.
After saving the world, Rex-san would probably just laugh and say it wasn’t a big deal.”

“You’re right.”

Wait, I feel like I’m being overrated here.
There are plenty of people in the world who can do what I can do.

But well, everyone seems to be satisfied with that, so I guess it’s fine.

After returning to the capital, we first went back to Fizio Town to submit the completed request documents to the guild.
Then we went through the procedure to deposit the reward into the guild’s account, and returned to the capital again.

Since the Great Inner Sea Knights are involved in part of the reward for this request, there’s a possibility that Mr.
Burn won’t be able to transfer it unless he comes back.
So we decided to have it transferred to our account to avoid any trouble with meeting Mr.
Burn again.
Well, regardless, we’ll definitely have a long stay due to the demon incident.
Fortunately, I have plenty of savings, so I don’t have to worry about money.

So, after returning to the capital, we were looking at the guild’s request board.

“Hmm, there still aren’t any good requests.”

The number of requests is still low due to the impact of the previous long-term subjugation.

“Hey, how about this one next?”

“It seems like it will take a while.”

“But the rewards are good.”

“Yes, and it seems suitable for the number of members.”

Meanwhile, Gyro-kun and the others, who are still low-ranked adventurers, were carefully considering the requests.
I envy them, it looks fun.

“I wonder if it’s possible to lower my adventurer rank.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Liliera-san scolded me.

“You reached the pinnacle of adventurers, the S-rank, and yet you’re talking about lowering your rank? Other adventurers would be angry with you if they heard that.”

Well, I don’t even know why I became an S-rank in the first place, so it’s not a problem for me to lower it.
In fact, I think it might be better to lower it, or rather, I don’t see why not.

“What are you going to do then? Go to another town? Take a break for a while?”

Well, there’s no work for me to do even if I stay in the capital, but if I look too free, the guild master might try to lead me into some strange request again.
In that case…

“I’ve been moving a bit too conspicuously lately, so maybe it’s a good idea to go to a foreign country.”

“A bit?”

Just a bit.
It seems like I’m attracting the attention of nobles and knight orders, so it might be a good idea to do some activities in a foreign country until things cool down.
And with the Gate, I can easily return home whenever I want.

“Since we’re at it, let’s go to a place we’ve never seen or heard of, like the Great Inner Sea.”

And now that Liliera-san can fly, it would be nice to visit some nostalgic places.

“Alright, it’s decided! Let’s go on a trip to a foreign country next!”

“I will follow the path you choose.
After all, if it’s where you’re going, something outrageous is bound to happen.”

Wait, please don’t call me a troublemaker.

“Oh, right.
Since we’re here, let’s put the gemstone we got from the Megalo Whale up for auction.”

Let’s also ask for the purchase of monster materials while we’re in the capital.

“Wait.”

For some reason, Liliera-san stopped me.

“Huh? Why?”

“Why? Because you decided to stay quiet for a while, right? So why would you create a commotion and throw fuel into the fire?”

“Huh?”

“Huh? No, I mean!”

For some reason, I was desperately stopped, so I decided to sell the Megalo Whale’s gemstone in another country.
If it causes a commotion to sell it in this country, then it’s better to sell it in a different country!

“Alright! Let’s prepare for the journey!”

Hehehe, it feels strange to travel the world for reasons other than fighting.
I hope there are many mysterious places like the Great Inner Sea.

I am the king of monsters.
Today, I devoured the prey with wings that my master caught.

Fwooooh!? What is this!? My body is overflowing with magical power!! It’s amazing! This prey is an incredible ingredient! I feel like I have wings growing on my body!

Ku, kuku, kuhahaha!! Foolish human! You thought you had tamed me, but in reality, you were just offering me prey that you couldn’t handle, a fierce beast!

Now, it’s time for the main course.
Yes, I shall devour your flesh!!

Chomp chomp… Om nom…

Um, I can’t really chew it.

“※※※※※※※※※※※”

Oh, no, it’s nothing.
Just a joke, my master?

Pat.

My master’s hand is placed on my head.
With exquisite pressure, he begins to rub my head.
What is this? A sacrificial ritual? Am I going to be eaten?

Pitter-patter… I’ve had an accident.