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

Chapter 161

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Chapter 161 – Other World Life is Now in Full Swing

The morning bell rung by the church woke me up.

It was a morning that made me feel restless and excited, like the day of an elementary school field trip.

I ate breakfast on the first floor as usual, and after returning to my room and thinking for a while, I took another bath.

I may have to postpone taking baths for the time being.

So I thought as I soaked in the bath, enjoying it while I could.

“(Well, where should I go?)”

As of today, I’m a free man.

When I left Bezart, the only road leading north was the only road, so naturally, my destination was limited to Malta.

I also had the goal of going to the Commerce Guild with Amanda-san, so there was no other choice.

But from today, whether I go north or east, I can go anywhere I want by flying without having to go by road.

There is a possibility that I might have to sleep outside, but that’s not a problem for a few days.

My first experience wandering in the forest had instilled in me a strange toughness, a spirit that told me I could make it even if I didn’t reach a town that day.

I can make water appear with magic, and if I can get some food and cook it over a fire with magic, I can eat.

If I get into trouble, I can always check the map and go back to the next town, so I guess you could say that my travels will be easy from now on.

After my bath, I went to the first-floor lobby, still carrying the oversized basket full of women’s items like shoes and bags.

For some reason, Wills-san, who is usually absent in the morning, was standing at the counter today.

“Good morning~. It’s rare to see you here in the morning.”

“Good morning. I heard that Loki-sama is leaving today.”

“Eehh… That’s right, but you must be busy.”

I think it’s probably because of Riste and Ril, but I don’t really understand why Wills-san is so worried about me.

While I was settling the bill with the person behind the counter, I was wondering if there was anything else I could do for him when Wills-san suddenly leaned over and whispered something in my ear.

“Yesterday, someone from the audit office came to ask about Loki-sama. Of course, I didn’t know anything, so I couldn’t tell them anything, but I could tell that they were in a hurry.”

“Thank you very much. I’m sure I’ll be passing through Malta again sometime, so I’ll definitely use your services then.”

“That would be our greatest pleasure. We look forward to your next visit with all our hearts.”

A particularly large and imposing building.

If there were a war, would it be the kind of building that soldiers from other countries would plunder and trample on first?

Or would they consider the private property and safety of the citizens who live there, and would it be something that only the soldiers and royalty would fight over?

I have no idea what war is like in this world, having spent my life in Japan during a time of peace.

Yes, I don’t know, but I feel strongly that I don’t want Wills-san to die in a war.

“(I hope I can help him if something happens…)”

With these vague thoughts in my head, I left Hanfarest, where I had been staying for a while.

Afterwards, I went to the office of the guildmaster of the Hunters’ Guild.

Since I had already explained the circumstances of my departure, all I had to do was receive the letter I had requested from Orlando-san.

While going to a place where I thought I wouldn’t be seen, I put on a mask that I wasn’t sure had any meaning…

“(There’s no harm in being careful, is there? It’s okay now, isn’t it?)”

――Flight――

I flew out of the city and into the sky.

I revealed to the country that I was an Otherworlder and that I could fly.

Then, there was no need to hold back.

There was a possibility that people from other lands would find out, but the benefits of being able to use flight from the city were already greater than that.

I soared into the sky, aiming for the high clouds that could be called an autumn sky, feeling the strong wind through my mask.

When I reached a height where I could see the whole of Malta, I took off my mask and breathed in as much air as I could.

“I’m freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~~~!!!”

From now on, my life in another world will be in full swing.

It’s a bit weak that I died in the prologue, but this is where my journey begins.

Somehow, I have this feeling.

A world with a great panorama and no obstacles.

To the east, the green stretches out, and beyond that are the small mountains.

At the foot of the mountains is probably Lake Voice, to which I owe a debt of gratitude.

In contrast, to the west is a flat plain with a mixture of brown and green, and to the north, which is probably an agricultural area, there are artificially divided fields stretching as far as the eye can see. Beyond that are faintly visible mountains that look quite high.

I am free to go to any place that appears in this view.

Whatever I do beyond that point, as long as it’s within the law, that’s my freedom, too.

With everything under my own responsibility, I think the journey through this world that I only understand a small part of will begin. My body naturally starts to tremble, but I guess that’s because I can’t help but love the way this world works.

I look around.

For now, I’m heading towards…

“I guess that’s the north, huh?”

It doesn’t matter if it’s west or east. Eventually, I’ll have to go all the way around, so it doesn’t really matter where I start.

The only thing I knew about the next town besides the southern town of Bezart was the north, which I had heard about from Horio-san.

I think the next town is Mir, and after that, the town of Lipsum, where there is a D-rank hunting ground.

Then, I’ll stop on the way to collect skills in the D-rank hunting grounds, and then I’ll go all the way to the royal capital and think about my next destination.

I glanced at my watch, and as I looked at the road heading north, my flight began.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

What I could see in the distance was a small group of buildings less than a tenth the size of Malta.

It was such a small town that I almost thought I could reach out and grab it, looking down on it from a very high place.

“Well, size aside, if I can get to the next town in less than an hour, that’s pretty good.”

Now that I have Lightning Magic Lv7, I have a better understanding of what unleashing magic power is than before.

I focus on a single point on my hand and spread it not only to my hand and arm but also to my torso.

If I can use the natural feeling of being sucked in that I feel when I activate Lightning Magic, I can create an image of releasing it all at once with a bang!

“Ohoho, it’s fast, it’s fast!”

It’s nowhere near the speed I get when I head towards the Great Hole of Devour.

Still, it’s definitely over 50km/h, but it’s definitely not 100km/h.

It’s a comfortable speed, more than enough.

After spreading out the map in the air and checking the map situation, I began my descent.

After landing softly on the roof of a large-looking building, I waited for a time when there were not many people around and descended to a side street.

If I was attacked, I felt I could pass myself off as a mysterious person who had been temporarily on the roof.

I don’t think there are many people in the world who look at the sky.

In fact, I saw a few people jump off the roof, but they only looked at me a little strangely, so I’d say my plan was successful.

“(Well, well, is this the building I’m looking for?)”

If it’s an inn or a hunters’ guild, then I’ve succeeded.

If it’s the mayor’s house, then I’ve failed miserably, so I looked for the main entrance, and sure enough, there was a sign with the symbol of the sword, staff, and shield I was looking for.

“Yeah! Bingo!”

The big buildings are probably the inn or the Hunters’ Guild.

I only know Bezart and Malta, but it seems to be especially true for smaller towns.

It was still morning.

If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to visit at least one of the hunting grounds today.

With that in mind, I stormed into the Hunters’ Guild in high spirits, but I was confused by the indescribably deserted atmosphere.

It was the same feeling you get when you walk into a restaurant for the first time, and there are no customers.

There was only one counter, and the woman sitting there, in her mid-thirties, rested her chin on her hand and looked distant as if her soul had been sucked out of her.

She didn’t even seem to notice me coming in.

Maybe it’s just because there are no customers at this time of day…

Looking at the request board next to the entrance, there were only a few G-rank and F-rank requests.

Compared to this town, I guess Bezart was still busy.

Anyway, if there’s a hunting ground nearby where I can hunt monsters I don’t know, that’s fine with me.

For some reason, I don’t want to disturb the lady’s absentmindedness, so I tiptoe into the library and pick up a book that looks much thinner than before.

Then I realized that this was no good.

I remembered why Horio-san had moved to the north of Lipsum.

“(Come to think of it, he said there was only one F-rank hunting ground nearby… so only local hunters would go there. Or rather, if they were not local hunters or part-time hunters, they would go somewhere else.)”

Looking at the documents, which were not even enough to flip through, it was stated that goblins, fanbees, and kobolds appeared as monsters in the F-rank hunting ground, Trann Forest.

Kobold.

It’s a pretty major monster, but I can’t really think of any skills.

It has a dog-like appearance, so I guess it has something like Bite?

If that’s all it has, it’s pretty weak, but there was also the existence of the Fanbees, which confounded my expectations in a good way.

I love the unexpected, so the mere fact that it’s a monster I’ve never seen before raises my expectations.

I went to the place where the Trann Forest was and walked to the place where the receptionist, who seemed to have reached the peak of boredom, was.

It was about a 30-minute walk east of the town of Mir, so I was happy to find it so close and headed straight there.

And ten minutes later…

I was slashing at the kobold as it approached me, expressionless.

This is a monster that shouldn’t be in this world.

I slashed it while feeling resentment, slashed it, and then punched it in the face to change my mood and slashed it again.

The guild’s reference book said that the flesh was too stinky to be eaten, and the skin was too thin to be used for everyday items.

The only thing of value was the magic stone, but it was small and not worth much money; after all, it was only an F-rank stone.

It wasn’t even a value-added magic stone.

At this point, it’s like a goblin, but after defeating more than a dozen of them, I unfortunately discovered that the kobold’s skill composition is the same as that of a goblin.

In other words, it has no skills.

It’s a monster so worthless that it’s almost laughable.

I want to hit myself for saying that it would only be a little weak if it only had Bite.

As long as you have something, it’s not so bad, right?

Well, it’s probably rare to have a run where you get nothing from killing five monsters, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a run like that.

On a more positive note, I suppose the more I grow, the more situations like this will occur, so I guess it’s good that I was baptized at the beginning.

And while I was being baptized, I also had an unexpected harvest in the Trann Forest.

I was a little frustrated that my efforts had been in vain, so I hung around a bit longer, wondering if I might see a goblin or two when I saw a party for the first time since I’d been here.

There were three people in sight, with a man in the vanguard holding a spear.

Behind him were a man and a woman in the rear guard, effortlessly defeating the goblins they faced.

Of these, I had a vague sense of recognition of the face of the man in the vanguard holding the spear.

“(Hey, is that the guy who left me for dead in the Lulub?)”

Suddenly, my memory returns.

A party of four, including Alba-san, was attacked by two orcs. When I joined the fight as a helper, I was pushed aside, and they fled.

Alba-san apologized to me at the time, so I forgave him immediately, but I heard that the other three had fled Bezart for fear of reprisal.

I understand… I see.

They were very clever to pass through Malta and hide in Mir.

In Malta, they probably thought that if I moved my base of operations away from Bezart, there would be a high chance of being found.

But they wouldn’t normally think that I would go to Mir, where there is only an F-rank hunting ground, if I came to Malta.

Especially, they probably didn’t think that I would meet them on a hunting ground like this.

While I was killing the Fanbees caught by my Presence Detection with one hand, I was thinking about what to do.

And the conclusion I came to was…

“…..Well, whatever.”

I just left them alone.

At the time, I seriously thought that if I found them, I would beat them up.

It was my first fight against orcs, and I’m sure it would have been dangerous if I didn’t have the defense buff from the Poison Mouse.

I probably wouldn’t have died because Ria was there, but I might have ended up beaten and humiliated, with a girl who looked like a junior high school student coming to my rescue.

“Hah. Looks like there’s nothing more to be gained, so I’ll go to Lipsum.”

I used Flight to rise from the forest and watched the three of them.

The one who was beaten never forgets the treatment he received.

After seeing their faces for the first time in a long time, I realized even now that I had no intention of forgiving them.

That’s why I left them alone.

That would be the most painful result for those three.

Now, beating them up would probably be easy, and I’m sure I could do it in just a few seconds.

But as long as I don’t have the idea of killing those three, beating them up is as far as it goes.

They will surely return to Bezart as soon as they realize I’m gone.

And with their bodies healed, they will probably return to an environment similar to their old lives.

That’s why I left them alone and kept those three bound to me.

If I don’t do anything, they won’t be able to move.

In a small town in an F-rank hunting ground where the rewards are not attractive, they will continue to go there with a meager income, unable to see their former comrades or friends, or even their parents and siblings if they are from Bezart.

Of course, it won’t be for the rest of their lives, but even if they have to stay here for a few more years, it will still be a considerable punishment.

They should be sorry for messing with me.

“(Ril said I was too kind, but I don’t know where she got that from…)”

――Treat those who are kind to you in return.

――Treat those who are harmful or malicious in kind.

Instead of Ril’s teachings, I don’t want to repeat the regrets I had as a student in this world.

Therefore, I want to gain strength and not give in.

The disappointment of not having achieved anything disappeared, and I continued to fly north with a strange motivation rising in me.

I continued to fly over the highway toward the town of Lipsum.

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