Chapter 15

“The Demon King is right, I think.”

The atmosphere turned awkward, but Pilkaya broke the silence.

“Yeah… I mean, I am a demon.”

“Oh, no, no, that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the current situation. I saw some human reincarnators heading this way. They’re all fired up, saying they’re going to kill the Demon King and all demons.”

Was it because the Goddess told them to conquer this world like it was a game?
Or is it because the reincarnators unanimously think demons are beings that must be killed?

These people were different from the ones I met earlier. These were people from the same world as me. I wanted to believe that if we talked, they wouldn’t try to kill me.

I wanted to believe that, but… it seemed I should abandon that naive thought.

“They’re quick. Not much time has passed since we defeated the heroes. So, this must not be a mission from the kingdom but the independent actions of some overly enthusiastic reincarnators.”

“As expected of the Demon King. It seems they think they’re omnipotent and can do whatever they want. They see themselves as beings greater than kings.”

“Reincarnators drunk on their power? The king may have already given up on them. If that’s the case, defeating them here won’t provoke the kingdom into action.”

They must see this world as just a game.
They were reincarnated by the Goddess and granted special powers.

Naturally, they think they’re superior to the game’s protagonist and can’t even imagine losing—let alone dying.

In my case, I was immediately attacked by a human upon arrival and nearly killed, which forced me to realize the reality. In this world, death is far closer than in my old one.

If they don’t understand that, it’ll be hard to get them to even listen to me.

“Then, how about I quickly deal with them?”

“No, Pilkaya-sama, you were just recently revived. It would be better to avoid sudden combat.”

“No, no, this is precisely the time to regain my instincts with something easy to defeat. I’ll get some glory too—it’s a win-win.”

“Primilla is right. Pilkaya, you’ve already accomplished enough. Rest for now.”

“Fine…”

Pilkaya reluctantly obeyed, showing no intention of defying Fiona-sama’s words.

Does this mean Primilla or Fiona-sama will handle them?

I’d rather avoid a fight, especially since I don’t want our information leaking.

“Pilkaya, does your confidence mean we shouldn’t consider these reincarnators a threat?”

“Yeah, at least compared to the heroes. These guys are weaklings. Either I or Primilla could take them out with one hit.”

It seems reincarnators don’t automatically gain strength comparable to the Demon King, the Four Heavenly Kings, or the heroes.

And those heading this way probably don’t realize that yet.

“In that case, there’s no need for us to confront them directly. It’s the same as always—just intruders.”

“Does that mean the monsters will be enough?”

“Yes, that should suffice for now. If the monsters can’t handle them, then Primilla can finish them.”

“Understood.”

They’re not a threat. Even if we assume the worst, Fiona-sama probably doesn’t expect Primilla to get involved.

In that case, wouldn’t this be my chance to meet and talk to them?

“Fiona-sama.”

“What is it?”

“If they’re reincarnators, may I try speaking with them?”

“No.”

Rejected outright. Not even a hint of compromise.

Well, it’s understandable. A reincarnator siding with demons asking to talk to human reincarnators—it could be seen as betrayal.

Honestly, it’s remarkable that I wasn’t punished on the spot.

“Even if they’re no threat to Pilkaya or Primilla, it’s a different story for you, Rey.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Rey, these might be dangerous opponents for you.”

…If that’s their reasoning, based on concern for my safety, I can’t argue.

Either way, I’ve already indirectly killed people in this world using monsters and traps I’ve made.

Now, hoping to talk just because they’re from the same homeland might be asking too much.

“…Demon King-sama. In that case, may I serve as Rey-sama’s escort?”

Perhaps feeling sorry for my dejected state, Primilla offered a suggestion to Fiona-sama.

“Pilkaya.”

“Yes~?”

“Just to confirm—those reincarnators are no match for any of you Four Heavenly Kings?”

“Yeah, I doubt they’ve even thought about training properly yet. No problem.”

“Sigh… Very well. Primilla, escort Rey. If it becomes too dangerous, prioritize his safety and retreat immediately. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Thank you, Fiona-sama.”

Thanks to Primilla’s proposal, Fiona-sama allowed me to meet the reincarnators.

Truly, she is a merciful Demon King to her subordinates.

◇

“You’re useless. In the end, it’s just us taking down the Demon King.”

“Well, they didn’t even have cheat skills. Just finding the location was more help than I expected.”

“What annoys me more are the cowards who got skills from the Goddess but still won’t do anything without the hero. I mean, seriously.”

“They probably don’t realize how late it’ll be if they start panicking after the fact. Let’s take all the credit for defeating the Demon King ourselves.”

What a bunch of idiots.

Didn’t the Goddess say it? We’ve been reincarnated into a game world.

It’s just a game, but they’re acting all cautious, saying they don’t want to die. How pathetic can you get?

They talk about building trust with the kingdom, but aside from us, everyone here is just a game character.

Earning trust with NPCs? They might as well spend their lives playing pretend with puppets.

Then there’s that self-proclaimed leader, the hero-wannabe, saying we should wait for the hero to regain their strength.

That hero got crushed by the Demon King. That’s why the Goddess gave us power and asked us to take the Demon King down.

They’re all cowards, idiots, and completely clueless.

Fine. They’d just get in the way anyway.

We’ll take down the Demon King, go back to our original world, and maybe even ask the Goddess to let us keep our skills.

A skill that can stop movement? That’d be useful in so many ways back in our world.

“Is that it?”

“Yeah, looks like it. Some kind of cave, huh?”

“Still, we didn’t run into any living things on the way here. Those soldiers lied to us.”

“They probably made something up and ran off because they didn’t want to explore where the Demon King is.”

“Are we sure the Demon King is even here…?”

It was starting to feel doubtful, but since we’d come this far, we might as well check.

If they lied, we’ll punish them as fools who dared to defy the reincarnators.

When we stepped into the cave, two figures were standing inside.

…Wait, are they demons? Their ears were pointy, and their skin had a faint bluish tint.

So, they’re enemies? Or is one of them the Demon King?

“You guys are reincarnators, aren’t you?”

No surprise at that question.

Even back in the human kingdom, the existence of reincarnators was well known.

The Goddess reincarnated several people, so it’s probably common knowledge in this world by now.

“I’m a reincarnator too. You’re probably here because the Goddess told you to take down the Demon King, but how about we talk?”

…That caught me off guard.

Not because a reincarnator ended up as a demon, but because they’re talking about negotiations.

This guy must be like those cowardly reincarnators who didn’t join us.

A being whose role is to be defeated talking about negotiations? That’s basically begging for their life, isn’t it?

What a pointless thing to say when your role is to die.

“Are you stupid? Of course we’re going to kill the Demon King and all demons. If the Goddess reincarnated you as an enemy character, that just means she thought you were expendable.”