Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 129

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Chapter 129 – The Guide

Ding, dong… Ding, dong…

“Mmm…”

My eyelids open naturally at the sound of the morning bell.

Is the difference between the beds that big?

I twist my neck and turn my hips, but I don’t feel stiff at all, and I realize that it’s a very good morning to wake up.

“(I’ll use this time to get my things in order.)”

I got up by rolling around on the wide bed and sorted my things in the storage room.

While I was sorting my hunting basket and equipment, I heard a voice behind me.

“Good morning. Were you here?”

“Ah, Riste, good morning. I thought I’d get ready for the hunt while I had the chance. By the way, you’re wearing white today?”

“When I wear it when Loki-kun isn’t around, it just stands out. I couldn’t see you, so I just peeked in to see if you were taking a bath in the morning.”

“Eehh… What if I was in there…”

“Fufu, that’s another story.”

I am a man, and to begin with, my body is that of a child, so even if I am spied on, it won’t cause any serious damage.

Even if someone mumbled something like, “You’re so small,” I could probably just reply, “I’m getting bigger.” Probably.

“It looks like you’re having fun.”

“Huh? Does it look that way?”

“Yes. Your face is smiling, you know?”

“I see… Well, it’s been more than 10 days since I went hunting. And if it’s a place where there are monsters you’ve never seen before, and you have new weapons to use, you’re bound to be excited. I haven’t decided where to go yet, though.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, I’m a little short on money, so I’m thinking of going to an E-rank hunting ground near Malta. I’ll have to go to the Hunters’ Guild to find out where that is.”

“Hmm… do you know the names of the hunting grounds?”

“I think they were Lake Voice and Corado Forest, right? Do you know the names of those places, Riste?”

“Lake Voice and the Corado Forest… I’ll check with the main body for you. Please wait a moment.”

Hmm? Check?

I tilt my head as I look at Riste, who has become like a doll.

According to the information I have, the names of cities and countries change often, but the names of places don’t change that much.

So I thought she could tell from her experience of looking down on the lower world for a long time… but is there another way to find out?

“The split body identifies the points from an overhead perspective and sends them down… Overhead? So it’s a map? Do the goddesses in the divine world have a map?)”

Even if they erase the existence of maps of the lower world, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they erase the maps of the divine world that they manage.

If that’s the case, I want them to copy the map as soon as I get permission.

It would be a shame to have them write it on the back of the large number of documents I still have, but modern paper would be better for legibility and ease of drawing than having to go out and buy parchment paper somewhere.

“Thanks for waiting.”

“Oh, you’re back.”

“The Corado Forest seems closer. If you follow the road that runs west from Malta and turn south at the fork in the road, you should be there in less than an hour.”

“Oh, thank you! By the way, are there any maps left in the divine realm?”

“There are no maps in the divine realm.”

“Hmm? You said you were going to check, so I thought you were going to look at the map, but that’s not the case?”

“I have to tell Loki-kun about the map today.”

“O-oh? Have you made up your mind――”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Breakfast is here.”

What bad timing!

But I’m the one who ordered it half an hour ago, so of course it’s not my place to complain.

“Let’s have breakfast first, shall we? You can tell me while we’re eating.”

“T- that’s right…”

I wonder what it is.

I wonder what the results of the map were.

And I wonder if this is a normal meal at this inn.

Feeling a double sense of tension, I walked over to the same marble-like dining table as last night.

“Yes… yes… it’s normal… it’s delicious… or rather, it’s super delicious…”

“Yes. Yesterday’s taste seems like a lie…”

Even if it wasn’t as good as last night, there were light meat dishes such as bacon and sausage, soup, egg dishes, cheese, salad, fruit, and so on.

More than ten dishes that could be called Western style were brought in and crowded the table.

At first, I was a little reluctant to eat them, but now that I know they’re delicious, I’m quick to try the next dish.

“This bread in particular… I don’t know, but it’s exceptionally delicious… and it’s all-you-can-eat… is this inn a ‘god’?”

“Actually, I’m also a pillar of the gods, but I think I might lose to this bread…”

“No, no… even if there were 100 of these breads, they still couldn’t beat you…”

“Huh… you always praise me so casually…”

“I don’t think it’s right to compare it to 100 loaves of bread…”

In the vase-like container next to it, there was a red drink I had never seen before, and from the atmosphere, it looked like a fruit juice.

I thought they wouldn’t serve alcohol in the morning, so I gulped it down…

“It’s delicious!”

“(Startled!)”

“It’s definitely 100% fruit juice! The balance of sweet and sour is exquisite! Hmm, it’s almost like an orange? You should try some, Riste!”

As I said this, I poured some into a glass.

“It really is delicious. I’d like to drink it even in the divine realm.”

“If I only knew what the ingredients were… maybe I’ll ask next time?”

Then I cut a slice of bread with a knife, put some bacon, lettuce, and cheese in it, and ate it, pointing out, “This is like a hamburger on Earth!” And Riste imitated me. I also dipped the bread into a soup that looked like corn porridge and ate it, and Riste also imitated me…

In a complete change from last night, I ended up eating most of the food that was served, and I was so full that I couldn’t move.

“Ri-Riste… are you okay? Can you move?”

“If I rest for a while, I should be fine…”

“I ate a little too much… I’m in pain… I’m going to lie down in bed for a while, but if you’re in pain too, why don’t you do the same?”

“I’ll do that…”

I know it’s bad.

I couldn’t even pay for today’s lodging if I didn’t go hunting, but I was so hungry that I couldn’t stop my hands and mouth, and as a result, it became quite painful for me to move.

I lay down on the bed, thinking that I should be able to sleep for at least an hour or even half an hour, but for some reason, Riste, who was following me, rolled onto the bed as well.

“Hey, Riste! The bed is over there! It’s a clean one that hasn’t been used!”

“I don’t mind. Besides, if you just lie down for a while, it saves the trouble of changing the sheets, and I think the people at the inn will be happy, too, right?”

“That might be true, but… oh well…”

The large glass window lets in a lot of light.

In a situation like this, there’s no chance of making a mistake, and moreover, we can’t move our bodies freely enough to make a mistake.

“So, about the map…”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“After discussing it with everyone, we decided to restore the map.”

“Oh, that’s great. But how do you do that? Does it just go back to normal when you remove the magic?”

“No, once it’s erased, it can’t be restored. It’s a spell that Felza-sama cast, so we don’t even know what principle was used to activate it, and we can’t undo it at all. So that’s how it is.”

“I see. So it’s going to take a while.”

“That’s right. Since we can’t undo it, the people born in this world don’t have the idea of writing down an overview of the world, so the only way to do it is to show them a map that someone else has made and spread it around.”

“Someone else―that means there’s only me right now, right?

“Yes, that’s why I’m talking to you, Loki-kun.”

“Just to confirm, have you considered asking Felza-sama to lift the magic?”

“Of course I did, but I was worried about what Loki-kun had warned me about earlier, so I didn’t want to go back to her with the same request. Besides, it would be rude of us to ask her to put it back on after we’ve already asked her to take it off.”

“Oh, I see. There’s a story that I’m in this world because a higher-ranking god is involved.”

“Yes. I don’t know if the one who brought Loki-kun is Felza-sama, but there is a risk that Loki-kun will be erased in the worst case.”

“Seriously?”

Whether Felza-sama and Acorn are the same person or not.

If they are different, then there is a good chance that they will erase me as a foreign element if they learn of my existence in the process of restoring the map.

If they are the same person, then I might be safe because I was called here for some reason, but depending on that reason, there is a possibility that someone, including the Goddess, will be put in a difficult situation.

If that’s the case, I can kinda understand why it would be the right thing to do to solve the problem without telling her.

But…

“Of course, I have never made a map before. Besides, I don’t think I have much time to do something like that…”

“Of course not. I don’t want to put the burden of making a map from scratch on Loki-kun. That’s why I’m going to give Loki-kun a skill.”

“Huh?”

“My highest level unique blessing is Guide. Due to Loki-kun’s characteristics, I can’t give you the same blessing as Alicia’s Shrine Maiden, but the Guide’s unique skill, Map Creation, should remain.”

“Eh? Wait, what? The story is moving too fast for me to keep up!”

“Please don’t worry. I’m sure it’s a skill that will help you on your journey, Loki-kun. Just give me some more time to give it to you. If I give it to you now, I won’t be able to move…”

“Oh, I see… So it’s not like you can separate yourself and give it to me like Alicia-sama did with me…”

“Yes. So, at least for the duration of your stay, I want you to enjoy meals with Loki-kun.”

Just listening to the explanation now, I can’t really understand what Map Creation is.

I can make a rough guess, but whether it’s useful or not is something I can only find out after actually using it.

But that’s not important right now.

I know that Riste is trying to give this to me with the appropriate determination, not because of the skill’s power.

I also know that she trusts me and is trying to give it to me.

“――!?”

So I couldn’t help but hug Riste.

“Riste, thank you. I don’t fully understand it yet, but if it doesn’t take too much effort to make a map, I’ll distribute it as much as I can. I hope it will help the development of civilization in terms of distribution and information.”

“Yes!”

While Riste sat on the bed watching over me, I put on my armor, slung two short swords at my waist, and then strapped on the oversized basket.

“(A knife to dismantle things, a canteen, a leather bag with potions, horse dung that I don’t want to eat, okay, I’m good. Now the rest…)”

As if I suddenly remembered, I rummaged through the leather bag and handed over a single large silver coin worth 5000 beeke, which was already running out.

“Use this when you get hungry looking for transmigrators. Didn’t you like the food from the stall yesterday?”

“Ah, thank you very much…”

Now I’m completely out of money.

I never thought I’d run out of money so quickly when I left Bezart.

Well, I bought a lot of things, so I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.

I’ll just have to start earning money from now on.

“Well, I’ll be off then. If anything happens, use the Oracle, okay? If nothing happens, I’ll try to be back by the evening bell.”

“Okay, then. Have a good time.”

The walk after the greetings was long.

The distance from the bed to the exit of the room was frighteningly far.

I kept walking, feeling eyes on my back, and finally made it to the hallway.

In Riste’s absence, the smell and the feeling of being embraced were too stimulating.

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