He Didn’t Want to Be the Center of Attention, Hence, after Defeating the Demon Lord, He Became Guild Master

The Great River, which flows through the Northern Valley of the Kingdom of Albain, is divided into several diversions.

One of them. A man who had lost both arms lay on the banks of the river as the currents softened and passed through the forest.

Lugard Valenstein. He survived the storm after Dick cut one arm and sacrificed the other.

If you were pursued by the 'Shatterer', the inherent summons of the ancient demon king Verlaine, you would have lost your life. Contributing to his survival was a man sitting on a rock by the river looking at him as he fell.

"That's a lot, Lugard. Thank you. I pulled you up, and all you have to do is take your arm."

A medium-back man with light brown hair and one eye covered with an eyelid. LUGARD, lying on the gravel, turned his gaze only to the man who smiled happily in his heart without responding.

"... who has Ratchrist left to you?

"I've entrusted General Glasgow with surveillance. He's a pretty bad guy, too. I've shown some interesting hobbies, so I decided to use them."

"He is... the princess's escape, he will snitch on us without asking. I don't think it's worth it to us."

"Well, don't say that. Thanks to him, we're moving like this... and he knows it's useless to defy us anyway. I won't betray you."

The man took out the cigar, lit it by the heat of light generated between his index finger and thumb, and sucked on one side and inhaled the smoke.

"So, what do we do? Can you fight without arms? If you can't use it, I'm thinking of playing alone before I go home."

"... let's play. Bad taste... inferiority to my blood-separated sister. I told you to throw away that boring stuff."

"Forget it, vampire. I don't mind cutting you out here. It was a whim to save him."

"Gu...!

As he approached the Lugard, the man pressed the lit cigar against the lying Lugard's chest plate. The smell of meat burning spread, but the cigar fire went out with a loud noise.

Lugard is flat even if he loses his arm, but he leaks a short and agonizing voice. It showed that fire was not a good thing for him.

"... I can't believe it. You're a valuable fighter, too, if you don't work yet."

"... that cigar... did you bring it from Ratclis?

"It's hard to get it over here, isn't it? Well, it doesn't seem to be a big deal even in Ratochris."

"... a more dependent hobby than alcohol... seems to be favored by the demons."

"It's pretty convenient. I tried using it, but in a room filled with his smoke, he couldn't resist no matter how rational he was. I've been through a lot, but it's funny. What kind of star does a faithful beauty really have in her heart when she sees a knight who speaks of loyalty to the king? To me, watching him is the best entertainment."

Look at that smile, how many people have mistaken this man for a good being?

Lugard also understood for the first time that he and I would act together. The essence of this man is like embodying 'evil itself'.

"Oh, you haven't done anything to Mermaire's mother and sister yet, have you? I'm the last person to eat something delicious. Burn into teasing, soak in plenty of flavor, and cheek at the best of moments. It would be great if I just thought about it."

"... don't ask me to understand. We're just temporarily doing the same thing."

"Don't be shy. You're on the same side as me. You know that, but you're just trying to figure it out... isn't it?

Lugard remembers why he wanted to work with such a man.

--This man, Leon Brannage, was dissatisfied with Albain's Adventurer Alliance.

In that part, the two ideas were in agreement. Lugard was looking for "A world where the strong can live like the strong," and Leon was looking for "A country where he can reign at the top."

"... Leon." Arms "can make up for it. Here's how it works."

Lugard mobilizes other muscles to raise his torso, even without arms. Those arms have been lost, but no blood has been shed.

"Ooh... ahh... haaa...!

With an animal-like scream, black blood flashes from the cutting surfaces of Lugard's arms - it forms the shape of his arms.

"... haha. Hahahaha... this is a masterpiece. Where are they, monsters? You're more scared than a demon king."

When he saw Leon laughing, Lugard did not get angry, but rather distorted the edge of his mouth and laughed.

"When did I say I was still human?"

"No, it was fun. Well, I'm going to be a monster like you anyway... but I'm going to have to choose a flying 'food'."

"Isn't it enough to be the demon king of Ratochris?

Leon shakes his head when asked by Lugard.

And he put a dark obsession in his vain eyes, and said with a faint smile.

"You could have stolen my sister's power and made her my slave, but you told me to change my mind. I want something better... yes, the one who summoned the one who was chasing you. It's Verlaine, the demon king."

That is not easy to accomplish. It is not easy to defeat Verlaine, who has the same power as SSS-ranked adventurers, even though he has entered other countries to gain the power to eliminate them.

- But denying it will make this man look weak. Lugard couldn't stand it.

(Leon is also just a target that I should eventually eliminate. Even if we can eliminate the Demon Kingslayer, Leon will take control of Albain by his own law instead....)

What Lugard wants is a world where the strong continue to eat each other. To do this, we discard the shape of man, and seek strength beyond the scope of man's consciousness.

Even Lugard, who is so determined, is not willing to fight Leon at this stage. That's because we admit that the odds of winning are virtually zero.

"... speaking of which, Lugard, your other arm... seems to have been cut with a sword. What kind of joke is it that my sister did this to me?"

"No, that's... probably a member of the Demon King Crusaders. There was no information on the front, but there was another swordsman."

"Heh... I'm sure he was there, forgotten something about him. He said he was rotting in an end-of-scenes guild, but the Demon King Crusaders are Dai. Is that a man or a woman?

"It's a man. With black hair, I used a sword that I didn't think was a great sword... to transfer and attack."

The moment I hear you're a man, Leon's type of interest changes. There is a glimpse of what Lugard despises most in Leon's personality-a man who keeps himself alive if available, otherwise he is basically not even the object of interest.

"What, a man... then, how do I kill him? Lugard, you kill me."

…………

"Oh, I'm sorry, I got my arm cut off, so I ran away. Forget about that."

"... they're coming to Ratclis. If we are taken from the throne in our absence, the plan will be frustrated."

"Well then, hurry back. You can fly back, right? As I said, I'll take a little detour and then come back."

Leon is laughing. Lugard knew where his "stopover" was going.

"... Leon. I'd like to see which one of your" armor "and that man's sword... is up there."

"My armor won't penetrate anyone. First, I have to tell my sister that. The time has come to finally correct his mistake for being better than me."

Leon is wearing a white coat. The silver armor underneath is made of precious, lightweight, magical metal. But in itself, even Albain can be made by skilled craftsmen, provided that the ingredients are available.

But Lugard can't imagine Leon's Armor being torn. If it could be broken, it could only be Cordelia Brannage's Light Sword, which is said to have the greatest power of any Sword on earth.

(If there is another possibility, the demon of the Demon Kingslayer or the Destruction Wizard. And the sword of "The Man"... no, it's just a sword. It must be worse than a light sword....)

"I'll see you in Lattice again. Whatever you say, I trust you. I want to keep doing well."

"... whenever possible."

"What, are you mad at me over there? Otherwise you won't feel any pain or anything."

Lugard thought so himself - that he had overcome pain. However, when I was cut off, I felt pain for the first time in a long time and was afraid of approaching death.

(... the fifth of the Forgotten Demon King Crusaders. I was making a big mistake. He's weak enough to hide behind the other four... but if he were...)

Leon rides the Black Dragon again. I didn't care enough for Leon to be seen from the ground, but while he was in the sky, he was assimilated to the landscape and lost sight.

An SS-ranked adventurer once said to be one genius in ten years. Someone who was told to carry a Future Adventurer Alliance with many of the skills required as an Adventurer and who excelled in both sword and magic.

But Leon rose until the Demon King Crusaders appeared and were recognized by the world.

One in a thousand years. One of them, not even widely recognized, planted it in Lugard - that's it.

A primitive feeling that you are small and powerless.

"... if I were a monster... then what would he be..."

A 'snake' that was sealed deep in the basement of King Alvinas. Leon didn't show his fear to Lugard, even though he had information that the Demon King Crusaders had defeated him.

Leon says he can surpass the SSS rank by manipulating the strategy. Lugard felt that they were trying to exceed the SS rank - hence the unknown behavior of Leon, which in some cases was in tune.

However, Lugard cannot imagine a future that would stop the slashing of "The Man". The rest of his arm was eaten by a summoned monster, not even Verlaine himself.

Isn't the SSS rank farther than I think? Even the most despicable Demon King Crusaders have not made any perceptible movements.

Vampires are demons who manipulate their own blood and change their nature with "blood costume". Lugard, who incorporated their blood, would not have died if he had been able to replenish his blood. When he gained that power, Lugard was confident that he could even defeat the Demon King Crusaders. The confidence was shattered without skin.

(Blood... more blood. I don't have to be me... I don't need another drop of blood when I was human. If we don't completely abandon humans, it won't be a real monster.)

A beast emerges from the riverside forest - a wolf covered in black hair with sword-like blades on both arms. The "Blade Wolf", worshipped by the werewolves as the guardian god, regarded Lugard as a prey and observed it with inorganic intent to kill.

"Let's see which is the 'eating side'."

The wolfblade barks at the sky. Confirming the sensation of his new arm, Lugard saw a beast with more than three times his size.

◆ ◇ ◆

We headed to the base of Silver Bottle Pavilion near the Northern Valley, from which we used the Transformation Magic Team to get back first, with the exception of me, Sphere, and Irina and Mermaire on the Black Dragon.

Dragons cannot use the Transformation Magic Faction. Many humans can be metastasized, but there are limits to the size of the organism that can be sent.

The sky on the way home was dyed at sunset. Banning faithfully followed Sphere's instructions, and the mother fire dragon and the three sons followed him from behind.

"... Dad, am I good at this?

"Oh, you're good. If it's so stable, Sphere can take care of it."

"Really? Great... but Dad, I know. My father is the best dragon rider in the country."

"If you practice routinely, more qualified riders will emerge than me."

As she stroked Sphere's head, she woke up with her back in my chest.

"Even Mr. Banning says your father is the best. If you fight with your father, you won't fight any enemies."

"... well, do you know what Banning is saying to Sphere?"

The Fire Spirit and Fire Dragon are deeply connected to each other and can communicate their will with each other. Spirit Spirit Spirit may also be able to interact with Fire Dragons with the same principle - inference, but it has not been verified.

"Mother of the Fire Dragon was a little worried. But thank you for being such a great person."

"That's right... I asked the head of the family to step in. I want you to take your time in the future."

"When you're going to Mermaire's country, aren't you going on a ride with Mr. Banning?

"That's sharp... well, we can move to near the border. Certainly, with Banning's help, we'll be able to infiltrate unsuspectingly deep inside Ratchris."

To do this, you'll also be eating hidden walnuts to avoid your enemies, but Shura will draw on my intentions to make a stunning meal menu.

On the evening sky, I hugged Sphere and let Banning fly - and Irina and Mermaire lined up to catch up.

"Is this the face of a hero with unparalleled power... trouble? This Irina.

Buffon, I wonder how much fatherhood a man my age makes me feel... how much I'm a child... "

"Dear Sphere loved by Dick... Verlaine, there's a figure of onee-sama, so it looks like her sister was loved when she was a little girl..."

The closest resemblance is to the Master, but Mermaire admires Verlaine so much that he sees Verlaine in Sphere's slightly sharp ears.

"... Mermaire? If you don't look in the front, you'll be in an accident."

"Hmm... I'm sorry too. Thank you for your attention....."

"Princess Mermaire, as a Kintetsu Knight, had an atmosphere of not bringing men together... and Dick, who is still the lover of Verlaine, had to go back to being a woman... I also had a prickly feeling in the knight that pricked a thorn into my chest earlier."

Irina can only see because she's wearing a helmet now, but her gaze is hot - should she lay a line of defense in the meantime?

"Don't get caught like me, find a good man. I have a daughter like this."

"... that's why. I've never met anyone so young, so calm and loving... my daughter. I wonder what this feeling is...."

"I understand how Princess Mermaire feels. That's why Verlaine was so vigilant..."

I'm just riding a dragon with my daughter, and I'm very fond of it - when I get back to the main unit, I'm just a drunk who drank at the end of the counter at the tavern, so I hope you don't buy it too much.

"... why don't you have a drink when you get back to the tavern? Irina, Mermaire, can I have a drink?

"Wow, I... I haven't been drinking since I became a Kintetsu Knight... but if you can hear Dick's voice like no other...!

So you're interested in alcohol? And since Mermaire has had the Black Dragon drink poisonous liquor, she seems to be reluctant to the word "liquor" itself.

"I grew up and saw Verlaine again. Well, even if I don't do anything, maybe he'll give me a drink."

"Ah... I'm in a good position to... expect such a thing..."

"Verlaine knows what Mermaire is trying to do. Still, why didn't you blame me... a simple answer. Because you know everything."

"... onee-sama..."

If you speak for Verlaine's mood, she'll say, "Don't be ashamed," but if you understand him that much, you can buy yourself a drink.

"... when I showed up in front of us wearing a mask, I thought it was just a rude person. My eyes were holes... Dick is undoubtedly the hero of the Kingdom of Albain."

"Come, have you noticed... whether it's a good guess or a bad one?"

"Dad, let's put on the mask together again ♪ I want to be the 'savior of the mask' and help people like my mothers who are in trouble"

"'The Masked Savior'... you're doing such a wonderful thing. Mr. Speer, may I speak to you later?

"Mom and I are together. I haven't let anyone in yet... eheheheheheheheheh"

I think Sphere, wearing an iron mask and driving a dragon as the representative of the country, is already a fine 'masked savior'.

Banning slowly swirls and descends into the woods near King's Landing. The mother firedragon and the songdragons were bustling to rejoice at the return of the head of the family.