Izayoi stared blankly at the body of the demon lying on the ground, a dagger thrust into its throat.
Blood continuously flowed down the dagger, staining the ground red. The body that had been groaning until just now would no longer move. Probably, by the next day, this body would dissolve into the magical energy in the air and completely disappear.
"...So it has come to this."
He couldn't help but mutter. There was no one to answer him.
Izayoi had a good idea of what this man and his companions were planning. He had intended to stop their scheme through dialogue if possible, or by force if necessary. However, this plan was thwarted by the man's literal life-risking suicide in front of him.
Being silenced so decisively, he couldn't help but admire their resolve. At the same time, he lost all means of negotiation and was utterly perplexed.
"Guess it won't be resolved peacefully now..."
Izayoi had considered this man somewhat like a messenger. The other party was hell-bent on killing Izayoi from the start, but Izayoi had planned to capture this man and use him to infiltrate their base and bring them to the negotiating table.
But now, that seemed impossible. Izayoi wasn’t bold enough to march in with the dead man’s body and declare, "I want to negotiate." Moreover, the opponent wouldn’t comply.
"This is troublesome..."
Izayoi inadvertently looked up to the sky, holding his head in his hands. The moon, which had been shining directly overhead when he left the inn, was now significantly tilted. It seemed to have taken more time than he thought.
Izayoi took a deep breath to compose himself.
"Time to go back..."
There was no more business here. There were no other traces of demons, so there was no point in staying.
He retrieved the sword he had thrown, glanced at the body forming a pool of blood, and stepped into the darkness under the moonlight—then realized.
The man had mentioned earlier that the story was different. This implied the existence of his companions besides him, and someone else had been watching Izayoi's movements.
So where and when had someone been watching Izayoi and his comrades?
Was it when they were outside the town on the Adventurer’s Guild's request, or was it within the town?
No, that’s impossible. In either case, Izayoi would have noticed their presence if they were close enough to recognize him as a demon.
The possibility was that the individual had a unique ability specialized in stealth, which could even slip through Izayoi's senses.
So where is that person now?
Are they hiding and observing Izayoi’s movements, have they already left this place, or were they never here and are in a different location—
Realizing this, a cold sweat ran down Izayoi's back.
If the target wasn’t just Izayoi, but also Yuuka who was with him. If they planned to separate Izayoi and Yuuka and deal with each of them. There might be a demon near Yuuka right now.
"Yuuka...!"
It was careless of him to have left Yuuka alone so thoughtlessly.
Izayoi ran towards the town without any hesitation. He had set up a defensive barrier, but due to past mistakes of over-relying on barriers, he didn’t trust them much. Besides, he was somewhat bothered that Yuuka had broken through it.
"Please be safe...!"
Praying for Yuuka’s safety, Izayoi dashed through the forest like the wind.
If he had been in his usual state of mind, he might have noticed. But he didn’t have the luxury to pay attention to the slight changes around him.
By the time Izayoi returned to the town from the forest, fully utilizing the Demon Lord's specs, the sun had already risen more than halfway above the horizon.
Hoping for Yuuka's safety, what came into Izayoi's view when he returned to the inn was—
"Sniff… Sob…"
The sight of Yuuka sitting at the entrance of the room, teary-eyed.
"Wait, what’s going on…?"
Not understanding the situation, Izayoi involuntarily muttered, to which Yuuka glared sharply at him.
"What do you mean ‘what’?! I couldn’t get out because of YOUR barrier, you idiot!"
Bang! Teary-eyed Yuuka hit the barrier. That’s when Izayoi finally understood the situation.
Probably, Yuuka woke up and tried to go out for some reason. However, the barrier was in place, and she couldn’t get out. Izayoi's barrier blocked everything, both from inside and outside. As a result, Yuuka had been trapped by the defensive barrier that Izayoi had left.
Izayoi hastily deactivated the barrier.
The next moment, a strong blow was delivered to the defenseless Izayoi’s solar plexus.
"Guha!?"
Caught off guard, Izayoi was blown away, hitting the opposite wall.
—I couldn’t react to that!?
Although he had let his guard down, he hadn’t expected to be punched by Yuuka. Secretly astonished, Izayoi groaned from the sharp pain spreading from his solar plexus and the dull pain all over his body. He felt Yuuka’s punch was more severe than the demon’s lightning attack.
"Trapping a girl like that…! Die, pervert!"
"No, wait, it’s a misunderstanding! I don’t have such a hobby! So, lower that clenched fist…!"
Though Izayoi, with his nearly immortal body, could withstand even lightning strikes, he still felt pain like an ordinary person. He was accustomed to pain compared to ordinary people, but he didn’t enjoy getting punched. Of course, he also didn’t have a hobby of trapping women.
With a misunderstanding going in a completely "This, this! Just let yourself get hit!"
"Shouldn't you be the one to calm down…?"
"Eh, uwa!?"
The situation they had feared had occurred.
Izayoi, who had dodged Yuka's fists several times, tripped over in the narrow corridor due to their intertwined feet, and both of them fell to the floor.
One fell with their back on the ground, while the other, with arms outstretched on the corridor floor, loomed over them. It's quite a cliché position, but unfortunately, Izayoi was at the bottom and Yuka was on top.
"It should be the other way around…"
Yuka, who had shattered tables and knocked down orcs, was still a maiden at heart. Perhaps she had somewhat expected such a development.
"How should I know…"
Izayoi, too, sighed as if tired. After worrying about Yuka, he had hurried back from the forest only to be greeted like this. He couldn’t complain since he was the cause, but he couldn’t help but sigh.
Yuka didn’t create any more trouble, perhaps having calmed down due to the unexpected incident. However, being calm made her notice something she hadn’t before.
"…Hm? Don't you smell a bit burnt?"
It took a moment for Izayoi to understand what she was pointing out, but he soon remembered the lightning strike from the demon and averted his eyes. Probably, part of his robe got burnt from that attack.
By the time he realized it, it was too late, and he received suspicious glances from Yuka.
"What on earth were you doing and where?"
"Well, this is…"
Izayoi hastily searched for an excuse, but due to the successive happenings, he became flustered and was at a loss for words.
Looking down at Izayoi, Yuka narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I’ll rephrase. Who were you fighting with and where?"
So she had noticed.
Yuka, surprisingly sharp, could easily imagine that Izayoi, who had burnt his robe and hurriedly returned, had been fighting with someone.
"Is there someone capable of landing a blow on you near this town?"
"No, you landed a blow too," Izayoi wanted to retort but held back.
Indeed, Yuka’s concern was not unfounded. If there was someone who could land a blow on Izayoi, who was known for his incredible strength, that would be a greater threat than dragons.
Yuka, not allowing any deception, brought her face closer until their noses nearly touched. Even though she had shown such an innocent reaction in the Demon King's castle, did she feel no shame when she was the one getting closer?
Izayoi, unusually flustered by Yuka's approaching face, tried to move his face away reflexively and hit the back of his head on the corridor floor.
"What are you doing…"
"Whose fault is this…"
Izayoi glared at Yuka, who was looking down at him with a mix of astonishment. However, Yuka disregarded such a gaze and continued to press him.
"While I was asleep, what exactly were you fighting with?"
"Well, that is…"
Yuka’s sharp gaze pierced through the hesitating Izayoi.
Unable to make an excuse, Izayoi sighed bitterly and was about to reluctantly open his mouth when—
"—Is this, perhaps, a delicate situation…?"
Suddenly hearing a voice, the atmosphere froze.
Izayoi and Yuka awkwardly looked up to see Lilith, standing with a troubled and slightly impatient expression.
"Li, Lilith-san!? This, well… it’s not what…"
Yuka, her cheeks blushing, tried to hurriedly explain, but Lilith shook her head as if to say she understood and there was no need to explain.
"It’s fine, I understand. I won’t tell anyone what I saw here, so you can rest assured. I’m quite tight-lipped."
"That’s not it! It’s completely different! I’m not reassured at all!"
Yuka almost screamed, and Lilith chuckled at her expected reaction.
"It’s okay, it was just a joke. More importantly, I want to prioritize another matter now."
Seeing Lilith suddenly becoming serious, Yuka swallowed her words. She wanted to explain the situation thoroughly to avoid any misunderstanding, but she understood that something serious had happened from Lilith’s expression.
"What happened?"
"Please don’t be surprised."
Prefacing her statement, Lilith spoke in a grave tone.
"—A horde of monsters is invading Telmus."