Each Other's Position

Everyone except the hero was a spy.

The reason for such an abnormal party composition was simple.

It was because the hero was too unstable an existence.

-A human who suddenly gains power rivaling nations one day without any warning signs or reasons. How many people do you think would use that power purely to defeat the Demon Lord?

A former serf who became a hero destroyed the noble family that had oppressed them.

A former holy knight drove out corrupt priests and reformed the church.

There were cases of former thieves founding new dynasties and non-humans expanding their race’s influence.

While these were just entertaining hero tales to common people, for the ruling class wanting to maintain the existing order, there could be no greater danger.

An existence that had to be eliminated by any means necessary.

But doing that would result in the continent being laid waste by the Demon Lord.

After much deliberation, the ruling classes across the world ended up making a secret agreement.

-To summarize in one sentence, since they couldn’t stop the hero, they would at least try to minimize the damage. By disguising it as coincidence or fate, they would send elite personnel from various powers to join the hero’s party, then manipulate the party’s travel route to prevent the hero from doing anything rash.

“So their friendly treatment of Han Jae-kyung…”

-Of course it’s an act. Think about it logically – does it make sense for three women to fall for one man when they haven’t even been traveling that long?

“I did feel something was off, but I never imagined there was a situation like this.”

As a result, while the hero thought they were traveling freely, in reality they were going on an adventure planned by the ruling class.

An adventure full of dreams and hope, seeing only bright things and experiencing them together with beautiful party members.

Though surprised by the rulers’ sinister schemes to protect what they had, that wasn’t what was important.

‘What’s important is that Han Jae-kyung’s every move is being monitored.’

Information that Han Jae-kyung received letters written in strange characters from monsters and started distancing himself from party members afterward.

And the conversation just now with Jenny – what would people who heard all this think?

“What an idiot.”

Yuseong muttered out loud, forgetting someone might hear.

That’s how pathetic Han Jae-kyung seemed.

The trap they had set was certainly clever.

Just letters written in their native language would be shocking enough, but the contents were even more outrageous.

Stories claiming the goddess only wanted to make the hero and Demon Lord destroy each other to rule the world, that they were a hero summoned from Earth in the past, that they defeated the Demon Lord but were betrayed by the goddess and barely survived to become the Demon Lord.

Add to that clear evidence like items from Earth?

Anyone who’s read even a few novels or comics would be bound to be tempted.

The problem was that Han Jae-kyung had been blatantly showing suspicious behavior in the process.

‘I understand how you feel, but you can’t show your emotions on the outside like that.’

Getting angry would only raise suspicions without changing anything.

Even if burning with feelings of betrayal, he should have acted exactly the same as usual on the outside.

Act, and act, and act some more – only at the very end would it be time to show true feelings.

‘He might be strong in combat but he’s completely hopeless at using his head. I can definitely deceive him.’

Several days of observation since starting the quest.

And through exchanging letters, he had been able to grasp what kind of person Han Jae-kyung was to some extent.

An ordinary person who thought they were special.

Feeling he had spent enough time, Yuseong walked back to the campsite with slow steps.

Jenny meditating, Sasha petting a bird, El praying.

Though it looked completely normal, Yuseong saw something different.

Jenny was tapping her bracelet at irregular intervals, the bird Sasha was petting was impossibly clean for a wild animal, and irregular waves of holy power could be felt from El.

On the first evening after starting the quest.

Yuseong had immediately noticed these suspicious behaviors and was able to learn through Evan that the party members were spies. ^[1]

Having spent a long time together, Han Jae-kyung must have seen these behaviors from his party members several times too.

But Han Jae-kyung had only seen without going further.

‘What an idiot.’

After muttering the same words in his heart once more, Yuseong went to his spot in the corner and pulled his blanket over his head.

* * *

No matter how slowly you move, as long as you don’t go in the wrong direction, you’ll eventually reach your destination.

A fortress located between sheer cliffs.

With its size comparable to a decent apartment building and walls shining silver as if made of special materials, it seemed more like a work of art than a mere fortress.

His past self would have purely marveled at this wondrous structure unseen on Earth, but now was different.

“Glory to the Goddess! Glory to the Hero!”

“Hero! Please defeat the Demon Lord’s army!”

“Dice Fortress is a very important strategic point. It’s in the perfect position to prevent direct conflict between the Empire and Kingdom while keeping the Demon Lord’s army in check.”

Neither the people’s cheers nor his companion’s explanation reached his ears.

All his attention was focused on the letters exchanged with the Demon Lord.

Only when Jenny jabbed him in the side did Han Jae-kyung finally return to reality.

Seeing Jenny silently motioning forward with her eyes, Han Jae-kyung finally realized there were knights in front of him and cleared his throat.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Hero Han Jae-kyung.”

“I am Count Hartmann, lord of Dice Fortress. Meeting the hero – what an honor indeed.”

Exchange greetings with a bearded old man, tour the fortress like a parade, then enter the castle and attend a party with important figures like nobles, magicians, and heads of large merchant groups.

Until now he hadn’t thought much about these things, but once doubt crept in, everything felt somehow artificial.

“Recently a demon village has formed near the fortress. With our forces barely able to defend the fortress alone, we’re in a situation where we can’t do anything about it. If it’s not too presumptuous, could you perhaps deal with them?”

“Why should I do that?”

“U-uh?”

Han Jae-kyung, who had reflexively refused, came to his senses at Count Hartmann’s shocked voice and hurriedly covered.

“Ahem, well, we’re pressed for time to reach the Kingdom, so we don’t have leisure to fight demons.”

“I-I see. However, since the village isn’t very large, it shouldn’t take long…”

“We’ve already spent too much time getting here, so our schedule is very delayed. I’m sorry, but you’ll need to hire skilled mercenaries rather than us to handle it.”

“Hmm, then how about this? If you deal with the demon village, I’ll provide warhorses. Then you should be able to reach the Kingdom of Halton in time.”

“Running is actually faster than riding horses…”

As the conversation between Han Jae-kyung and Hartmann dragged on and people’s gazes gathered, El, who had been talking with priests, cut in.

“Hero, why don’t we help them?”

“I said we need to get to Halton Kingdom quickly.”

“While keeping promises is important, helping suffering people is also important. If we explain the situation, Halton Kingdom will understand.”

Han Jae-kyung was about to say something but closed his mouth at El’s warmth felt on his hand.

Though there was a small incident, overall the party ended in a pleasant atmosphere.

After exchanging formal greetings with people and following a servant’s guidance to his room, Han Jae-kyung asked El one question.

“Do we really have to fight the demons?”

“Pardon?”

“There are demons with intelligence too. I was just thinking maybe we could resolve this through dialogue rather than fighting.”

Considering he was someone from another world, it was a perfectly reasonable question.

Being ignorant about this world, Han Jae-kyung sometimes asked dangerous questions, and El had always calmly explained without getting upset or angry.

But this time was different.

“The demons’ goal is to plunge the continent into chaos and dominate all living beings. This is not something that can be resolved through dialogue.”

For the first time, El who always faced others with a smiling face and warm voice showed a hardened expression and cold voice.

Usually she would have calmly explained why they had to fight demons and why dialogue was impossible, but the situation was different now.

Someone who secretly exchanged letters with demons bringing up dialogue with demons?

It was impossible not to suspect collusion with demons.

From El’s position, getting angry was a natural reaction.

However, Han Jae-kyung’s position was different.

‘I just asked if we could talk instead of fight, it wasn’t even a strange question. Why is she getting so serious and angry?’

After looking at El for a moment, Han Jae-kyung turned away and followed the servant.

And as soon as he entered his room, he locked the door and took out the Demon Lord’s letter from his magic pouch.

[The demon realm is barren. The land is parched with not a single plant growing, and poisoned rain falls from the sky contaminating water sources. Demons came to the continent simply to survive. But the goddess issued an oracle declaring demons must not exist simply because they don’t worship her, making humans and demons fight for thousands of years. What demons want isn’t much. Even the most arid and barren land would do. Demons aren’t dangerous beings but ones we can coexist…]

He didn’t completely believe the letter’s contents.

After all, he had directly seen and heard things for several months – Han Jae-kyung wasn’t naive enough to think it was all lies just because of a few letters.

“Hmm.”

But it would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted at all.

The Korean writing, items from Earth, the cliché that the Demon Lord wasn’t actually evil – these things shook Han Jae-kyung’s heart.

‘El’s reaction just now. That definitely wasn’t a normal reaction. Perhaps…’

Lost in deep thought, Han Jae-kyung only noticed someone outside his door when he heard something bump against it.

At first he thought it was a servant and was going to ignore it, but that presence remained stuck to the door without moving for quite a while.

Thud!

Han Jae-kyung, who had shattered the thick wooden door with one kick, immediately reached out and grabbed the collar of the person rolling on the floor.

“Who are you, why are you at someone’s room… Huh?”

A man with rolled back eyes and open mouth.

At first thinking he had fainted, Han Jae-kyung tried casting heal, but realizing something was wrong when there was no response at all.

“Is, is he dead?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Hero, did something happen…”

The people who arrived late froze at the sight of the broken door and the hero holding the dead servant’s collar.

Both Han Jae-kyung and the people could only blankly stare at each other, not knowing what to do.

What broke the strange atmosphere where no one could speak was a sound from outside the castle.

“Demons!”

A series of bewildering events.

Some knocked on nearby doors shouting the word demon, some ran outside, and some stared at the hero with strange eyes.

In the complex chaos, no one noticed something wriggling in the dead servant’s nose.