Volume 1. Chapter 12. The Unspoken Truth.

A few days later, the hero and his party were in the territory of the Karta kingdom. They were called to meet King Aries and deliver bad news.

"We come on your orders, King Aries."

Mansa and his party knelt before King Aries.

"Get up. I don't want the hero and his party who are bearing this world to kneel."

"Thank you... my king."

They stood up at King Aries' request.

"You must be wondering why I called you here... I will tell you without delay."

"Seven days ago, the union received news that the Gerna kingdom had been taken over by the demon army led by the demon king of disaster."

They were shocked to hear the news from King Aries.

"The Gerna kingdom has been taken over?!"

"That's right, and what surprised us was that the king of the Gerna kingdom betrayed us by joining our eternal enemy."

"King Ligt joined the demon king's army!"

They were shocked again by the news.

"Hero... we ask you and your group to kill King Ligt before he incites the people who are still in the kingdom to fight us."

King Aries rose from his throne and walked towards the hero.

"If King Ligt succeeds in inciting everyone, the people will lose their trust in the union that has protected them all this time."

King Aries looked at the hero with serious eyes.

Mansa accepted King Aries' words and agreed to the request. But Erik, Nita, and Sara opposed it when they were already out of the castle.

"Going to a territory recently conquered by the demon king Dorf is reckless. We want you to reconsider, hero."

Sara warned the hero to think carefully about King Aries' request.

"Don't worry. I will form a special party to go to the Gerna kingdom."

"Wait, hero, have we been banished !?"

Nita was shocked to hear Mansa's words.

"I didn't banish you guys after the problems in the Gerna kingdom were resolved. I will return to this party."

They were relieved to hear Mansa's slightly ambiguous words.

"We should return to Norf City, while I am still in the Gerna Kingdom. I want you to stay in the city."

"We understand, hero."

They decided to return to Norf City, and it took a month of travel. Upon arrival, Cindy and Una were surprised to see Sara and the hero had returned.

"Mr. Hero, Sara. What are you doing here?"

Cindy was so curious about why they came to Norf City.

"The hero wants to meet your three friends."

Sara told them the reason for their arrival, and that made Una curious.

Shortly after, Rii, Cini, and Vail arrived. Mansa immediately got up from his seat, walked towards the door, and stopped when he was near them.

"I will wait for you at the Leindorf River this afternoon. I hope you don't run away."

After telling them, Mansa continued his steps towards the door.

"Wait, Mr. Hero, where are you going?"

"Back to the inn."

Mansa walked out of the door he had opened and closed again. 

"I'm sorry, everyone. I need to stay by the hero's side."

Sara ran after the hero and left the awkward atmosphere between the hero and the three of them.

"I thought you guys were getting along with the hero Mansa."

Cindy, Una, and Elia approached her three friends, who were silent near the door.

"Have you ever disappointed the hero?"

Elia is curious because the hero always leaves and seems cold toward Rii, Cini, and Vail.

The three of them just kept quiet without answering. Una knew a little about something and chose to remain silent.

Nita's arrival, who opened the guild door, made the silence disappear.

"Mr. Hero, Sara. I—"

Nita stopped speaking, not seeing Mansa and her sister. She only saw her new friends gathering near the entrance.

"Where are the two of them?"

"They've returned to the inn."

Nita was a little surprised to hear Elia's words and complained a little because the hero would wait for her at the guild while Nita was shopping.

"Where is Erik?"

Elia was curious not to see her adopted brother back with Nita.

"Ah, on the way to guild. We met the chief of the city soldiers, and your brother knows that person... If I'm not mistaken, his name is Delgram."

Nita said after trying to remember the name of the chief of the soldiers they met.

"Then guys, I also want to go to the inn before Sara makes the heroes troubled."

Nita left the guild and returned to the inn, not wanting Sara to cause trouble for Mansa.

In the afternoon, Mansa, who was staring at his reflection in the water, realized the three of them had arrived.

"I didn't expect you guys to come."

Mansa said with a hint of irritation.

"What do you want to talk about? We thought the problem was solved."

Rii didn't want to take too long.

"Our problem won't be solved until you actually carry out your duties as heroes. But what do I care about that,"

"I got the news that the Gerna kingdom betrayed and joining the demon army."

They were a little surprised by Mansa's words.

"What does it have to do with us?"

Cini's question made Mansa even more annoyed.

"I got an order from King Aries to kill King Ligt before he incited everyone."

"I asked you to join because I don't want my party to be in great danger."

Mansa told them the reason he asked them to come with him to the Gerna kingdom.

"Do you believe what the king said?"

Vail wasn't sure about King Aries' words, feeling something was off.

"That's why I asked you guys to join. This could be their political game, the world has been cruelled since the beginning."

"Like you all who left everyone in despair."

Mansa's answer made the three of them silent for a moment.

"Fine, we'll accept that. So, when are we going there?"

Vail had no choice but to agree with Mansa's words.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning before the sun is visible."

Mansa told them that they would leave before the roosters crowed.

When Mansa was about to return to the city, Rii stopped him and invited him into the Leindorf Forest to show something.

"Where are you taking me?"

Mansa said curiously. He continued to follow the three of them.

"... you'll find out later."

They continued to walk, but after feeling far from the city, they stopped, fueling Mansa's curiosity even more.

"It seems like we're far from the city."

"Are you sure we want to free him?"

Cini wanted to make sure that Rii's actions had been thought through carefully.

"We have no choice, and we have to tell the hero about this. If he escapes, we can just kill him."

Vail told Mansa that he had to see him.

"What are you guys really talking about?"

Mansa was so curious and confused.

"Mansa, we don't expect you to believe. But we want you to see something that even an alliance couldn't accept."

"I don't understand what you mean anymore."

"Then look with your own eyes."

Their words made Mansa even more confused. At the same time, Cini and Rii stretched out their hands forward.

From the circle that sealed the demon king, Neii emerged, leaving Mansa utterly shocked.

"How can you catch one of the followers of the ancestor ?!"

Mansa was so surprised that he immediately drew his sword and prepared to attack. But it was stopped by Vail because it would cause panic for the citizens of Norf.

"I didn't expect to meet a hero in a..."

Neii stopped his words, he turned to the west. That made them confused and curious.

"Why are you looking away?"

Rii was so curious the demon king turned to the west.

"I feel a new awakening from the kingdom in the west."

"Awakening?"

Mansa was curious about the words of the demon king.

"Mansa, as a hero. Do you want to ask him something?"

Vail gave Mansa a chance to ask. He didn't waste the opportunity.

"Why did you attack humans?"

"Aren't you also part of—"

"The ideology that we often hear from heroes before you, for us. That question is like terror and nightmares because heroes often fail to see reality for what it truly is."

The words of the demon king Neii made Mansa silent.

"I'll change my question,"

"Sure..."

Neii gave the hero a chance to ask.

"Are you going to fight us again?"

Mansa stared at the demon king seriously and waited for the answer that would be given.

"War has been a tradition of the demon nation for generations. The demon nation has yet to find a king who chooses to stop the war."

"That's why we continue to fight, and besides that. Our ancestors bound us to their will, compelling us to wage war against the gods by wiping out humanity."

"But, I think that action will end soon."

"What do you mean?"

Rii was so curious about Neii's words that they held a lot of mystery.

"I feel great power in your female friends in Norf City, and I believe the era of the ancestor of the demon king's rule will soon end."

They increasingly did not understand the words of the demon king Neii.

"Tell us the truth, or I will kill you."

Mansa drew his sword again and threatened Neii to tell them.

"Humans truly love to threaten and act barbarically. But such actions are part of your ancestral tradition to dominate opponents and extract information."

Neii was not afraid at all. Instead, she looked at the hero with serious eyes.

"Vail, perhaps the one this demon king is talking about is Nia."

With a sword at his neck, the demon king smiled and laughed at Rii's words.

"What do you mean? You know something that I don't."

Mansa, utterly confused, released Neii and wanted to understand the meaning behind Rii's words.

"Don't tell me, the figure in question is that ball of darkness?"