Chapter 154
[? Round] Here Comes the Demon King!
Factoria, whose eyes narrowed in a crescent moon shape at my insistence, responded with a nasal sound.
“Hmm~ Did you want to go to Earth with me?”
“…What?”
The nuance of her words was strangely unpleasant. It’s like when you walk side by side with a student when you go home after school. There is only one road, so there’s no choice. Imagine that there is only one express bus going down to your hometown every day, and your cla.s.smate is flattered about going home with you.
It’s annoying.
“Fufu! You can’t be honest.”
“…”
Factoria’s spine beckoned me, but I endured with superhuman patience. It was easy for me to take the anklet from her. But the problem was that there was no one else to give it to. This was a handmade product, not a ma.s.s-manufactured product. It required delicate processing with Black Box that gathered together with my unique abilities. In other words, it was a waste to give it to a stranger.
“Okay. I wanted to be strong enough to not be defeated by aliens through the secondary education curriculum, but I changed my mind after seeing the lifesaver Kang Han-soo. Let’s go back to Earth together. Fufufu”
“…Yeah.”
People had to be patient. Let’s think about it after we get back to Earth safely. Until then, I decided to leave Factoria alone with whatever misunderstanding she had. After all, my purpose wasn’t to have a scuffle with her. The first was the Earth. The second was the Earth.
The Hero Festival was held once every four years. If you stayed only on the Fantasy Continent like me, it would be held every forty years. In the past, the festival was quite free. If you die on the way or shout “I give up!”, you could return to Earth. But now?
“This is a retest disguised as a festival. It’s the same as a driver’s license. It’s not a one-time win; it’s a periodic check to see if you’re qualified.”
“I know.”
This wait for the festival was twenty years, but the actual festival lasted for only two. The 1st and 2nd place went to the secondary education center, and the 3rd through 5th places could return to Earth early.
And what about the rest? Those who didn’t make it into the top five would live on this Festival Continent for twenty years while receiving blatant discrimination based on their grade. In other words, it’s a terrible festival.
“Kang Han-soo, prejudice isn’t good. Some friends give up the ranking early and enjoy it.”
“I don’t know about it yet.”
This festival wasn’t a short, enjoyable trip. No matter how good an amus.e.m.e.nt park was, it’s only entertaining for a few days. If you stay there, you will become sick of it. What about for twenty years? Reflecting on my first experience, I would be crazy in ten. In that sense, even the 1st and 2nd place couldn’t do anything.
“It’s because you don’t know. Some people are physically fit for the Fantasy World.”
“…They just don’t know yet.”
This place would never be as beautiful as in fantasy novels or cartoons. The limbs were lopped off, and the intestines protruded. Was it good living for the strong? Unfortunately, in this world, there were stronger people on top of the strong. It was different from the rich on top of the rich.
You couldn’t get help from the country (law) here.
“Earth is the same….”
“What?”
“It was the same everywhere in the world. More than that, aren’t you hungry? I’ll buy it outside if I can, but the food level in this dormitory is better than it is in 5-star hotels and restaurants.”
“But I’m a man?”
And this was a women’s dormitory. Factoria grabbed my hand and dragged me as if to run away from the b.l.o.o.d.y scene.
“30% are already men, so what?”
Handsome servants in black suits looking like celebrities, actors, and singers started cleaning the hallway on the third floor. There weren’t only humans, with there being a very high percentage of elves among the servants. It was unimaginable even in the closed Elf Kingdom of the Fantasy Continent.
But it didn’t make sense to me.
“Those women just now. Didn’t they hate men?”
A filthy male is cleaning my room! Change him into a maid right now! I guess they would have to argue like this…
“The servants who work here are an exception.”
“Hmm….”
Had the culture of the Earth changed in the five years without me? Or was this dormitory, where only social misfits gathered, strange? Factoria shook her head.
“Don’t think too hard about it. It’ll just hurt your head.”
I received attention wherever I went. Because I’m a man? No.
“Look over there. It’s the S-cla.s.s!”
“Oh my! Was the rumor true?”
“S-Cla.s.s, I envy him…”
It’s because of the name tag that sparkled in rainbow colors. Factoria’s golden name tag was also uncommon, but this rainbow-colored name tag was the only one of its kind on the continent. Rank and grade weren’t proportional. If the ranking was based on festival scores, the grade was measured by pure ability. However, people with good abilities were also ranked higher.
In the end, proportionality was the established theory of the festival academia.
“Wait! His abilities aren’t that good…?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t have any Grade Z skills.”
“Is there anyone at the Transcendental Realm within A-Cla.s.s?”
“Isn’t that only on the outside?”
The heroes gathered in the women’s dormitory communal cafeteria chatted over their meals while looking at my abilities. The envious voices of those doubting my abilities grew louder, but it was only for a moment.
Wasn’t it commonly said that bad news travels fast?
“I heard he killed ten people on the third floor of the dormitory a while ago.”
“Oh, my G.o.d…in one blow? Is that possible?”
“You know what’s even more surprising? The Queen was among them! The Queen, who had just been resurrected, is said to have been downgraded to B-Cla.s.s.
And another point of rank and grade. If you don’t commit illegal acts, your score and ranking won’t change even if you fail a mission or die, but your grade would drop. One step at a time. There were no exceptions.
“There must be a fuss about it. Two people share the B-Cla.s.s dorms, and the quality of the servants in charge of the room is also slightly reduced.”
“I feel sorry for the girl who shares a room with the Queen….”
“Hush! Watch your tongue.”
“If I’m dragged away, you’re coming with me. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I’d die with you!”
…This righteous hero had already overheard everything.
Aren’t they too worried? It’s not like there are dictaphones here; it wasn’t a big deal. They can simply deny it; it’s just gossip after all.
“Factoria. Who is the Queen?”
The Queen of England I remember was a grandmother. Did she rejuvenate as she crossed into the fantasy world? If it were true, there was no way to avoid accusations of attacking an old lady…
“It’s Catherine.”
“How am I supposed to know who it is if you say that?”
“She is the woman who called me a fox at the front of the crowd. The one that called you a male…”
“Ah! Ugly B.”
Who did she think I was?
“…It feels good to know how much you value me. Well…this is a very personal question, who is Ugly A?”
“She is in the eastern continent of Fantasy. A half-breed elf markswoman who despised a good hero by calling him a male.”
“No way…? She was friends with me. She broke through the dark magic and delivered the final blow to the Demon King. But I didn’t know there was such an issue….”
We grabbed a meal tray and got our food. Meat, vegetables, fish, fruits…
It was a very balanced diet. Of the people in line, of course, I was the only man. This made me feel like I came to an all-girls’ school alone. But this feeling only lasted until the meal was served.
I wasn’t the only man. It was thanks to the greasy-looking servants walking around the restaurant, pouring water, and cleaning up the leftovers. Some of them were captured by the heroes and became their conversation partners.
“I went into the mountain to gather herbs instead of the herbalists, and I was besieged by two trolls while avoiding their crude clubs like this! I threw fireb.a.l.l.s at its ugly head…”
“Oh! You’re amazing!”
“It’s still too early to admire me. I said there were two, right?”
“Oops! This stupid servant forgot about that, Big Sis Erica.”
…These conversations took place all over the cafeteria. It was a very strange sight, just like the social gatherings of the ladies I happened to see in the 1st playthrough.
“Isn’t the men’s dorm similar?”
Factoria, who sat facing me, asked a question.
“It’s quiet there.”
I had only been there once when I was taking the tour so that I couldn’t judge it, but the heroes there only glanced at the maids. I saw some people look like “I want to talk to that beautiful maid!” on their faces, but they kept their mouths shut as they looked around. Did it feel as if they were trying to keep each other in check?
“That’s amazing.”
“It must be weird. Fools who can’t even talk to their maid. Tsk, tsk.”
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“You don’t seem to be in a position to insult others.”
“…Hmm?”
It wasn’t Factoria.
“Maid A.”
“I am Elise. Your maid.”
“Right, Elise. What are you doing in the women’s dormitory?”
She smiled as she always did, but the light in her eyes was fading. I could tell she was in a very bad mood.
“Since you skipped breakfast and went to the women’s dormitory, I was curious about what you were doing. So, I followed you. Are you saying it’s better to eat a meal surrounded by women than the dishes I’ve cooked carefully?”
“No way.”
The fair S-Cla.s.s hero was curious about the meals of ordinary people below A-Cla.s.s, so he paid them a one-time visit. Was that something to be p.i.s.sed off about?
“Ah, I understand. Inspection! Indeed…you are right. A person standing above must be able to look down as well.”
Elise’s expression brightened with a smile that contained her sincerity. She changed faster than I could turn over my palms.
“Hey, Kang Han-soo. Does the S-Cla.s.s eat separately in a private room?”
Factoria, who had been quietly listening to Elise, suddenly intervened. I answered casually.
“Yeah. I also decide on the menu.”
“…The discrimination is too much. I thought that A-Cla.s.s having a private room would be the best in dormitory life. I never imagined that there would be a kitchen and a chef in the dorm, leaving the cafeteria out entirely.”
“Can’t you see the fourth floor from the outside?”
“I can’t see the inside because a curtain blocks it. You, an S-Cla.s.s person, don’t need to worry about it at all, right? You probably won’t know, but you can’t go up to the fourth floor recklessly regardless of your gender.”
“I see!”
As Factoria said, it was a rule I didn’t have to worry about at all.
*
“Male! How dare you touch me…”
It was when I left the women’s dormitory after finishing the shabby A-cla.s.s meal. Ugly B was blocking the front door of the dormitory with her colleagues in no small number. There seemed to be around five hundred people. Factoria, who was following me after becoming curious about the inside of the S-Cla.s.s dormitory, spoke.
“The reason Catherine is called the Queen is that she is the head of the women’s dormitory. She’s much better at agitation than fighting. So anyone who opposes her will be isolated.”
“Like you?”
“As it is now, there are very few heroes who truly follow Catherine, but they follow her trend.”
“Agitation, huh….?”
I looked at Ugly B’s ability.
▷ Race: Grand Human
▷ Level: 999+
▷ Job: Fighter (Crisis → Speculation↑)
▷Skill: Speculation Z Charm SS Agitation SS Charge S Resistance S…
▷Status: Fury, Pride, Divine Beast
Considering that the higher-level skill in the general area was blank, it seemed that she had just acquired the Transcendental Realm Skill. Was she an imitation of the G.o.ddess of the battlefield, charging forward? I was a little interested in the divine beast she possessed, but I was disappointed to see it was a unicorn.
There were so many good divine beasts globally, but all she had was the weakest unicorn…
“Male, last warning. I’ll forgive you if you get down on your knees and lick this Queen’s shoes now. You may have defeated me by surprise earlier, but that trick won’t work anymore.”
“Oh my…”
Had she looked at my abilities and decided I was weak? If there was one big mistake in the educational policy of all faculty staff, it was instilling a habit of evaluating others based on their abilities. I was no exception because it was convenient.
“Hero. In this case, it is self-defense. There will be no negative effect on the score, and a win gives you a positive rating for your grade…well. I’m not sure if it will be evaluated if your opponent is so clumsy~.”
Elise, the quick-witted maid, gave me the information I needed right away. I mean, there’s nothing to fuss about, right? I freed the Black Box.
The power of despicable and cheap friendship wasn’t strong enough to win by mistake. I would teach her true agitation.
“If you are the Queen, then I am the Devil.”
▶ Race: Natural Spirit
▷ Level: 5085
▷ Job: Demon King (Hero → Level↓)
▷ Skills: Gifted ZZ Divinity Z Dark Energy Z Evil Spirit MAX Spirit MAX Blessing MAX Annihilation MAX Love MAX Friendship MAX Hope MAX Fabrication MAX Chaos MAX Destruction MAX Immunity MAX Tolerance MAX Muscular Strength MAX Agility MAX Speculation MAX Five Senses MAX Swordsmanship MAX Madness MAX Flight MAX Indomitable MAX Hara.s.sment MAX Boxing SSS Swordplay SSS Ma.s.sacre SSS Referee SSS Immortality SSS Fighting SSS Physical Skills SSS Martial Arts SSS Eternal Youth SSS Guts SSS Search SSS Harmony SSS Stamina SSS Negotiation SSS Search SSS Oblivion SSS Recovery SSS Trading SSS Patience SSS Vitality SSS Incitement SSS Resistance SSS Energy SSS Regeneration SSS Immunity SSS Cold SSS Iron Wall SSS Excellentness SSS Intelligence SSS Provocation SSS Vigor SSS Perspective SSS Trading SSS Earthquake SSS Flood SSS Typhoon SSS Flood SSS Calm SSS Mining SS Farming SS Cooking SS Smelting SS Gathering SS Lucky SS Fishing SS Swimming SS Breeding SS Sympathy SS…
▷Status: Holy Sword, Saint
However, this Demon King wouldn’t harm a good hero. The visual was also far from evil. Beautiful angels on my left and right gave blessings, and a friend and a hero who was a real prince served as my escort. And even the Demon King’s nemesis, the Exorcist, stood nearby.
Who would think of me as a Demon King?!
▷ Introduction: Dignified and courageous heroes. Are you enjoying the festival? We will spare no effort to support our heroes to develop beautiful love and friendship in the future.
▷ Main: The Demon King Pedonar, who was defeated and sealed by the First Hero and feared the strength of the heroes. So the Demon King decided to attack the dormitory full of the heroes’ dreams and hopes! Oh my gosh! How could you come up with such a terrible plan?!
The Demon King appeared in the dormitory? Was that gentleman Demon King working part-time up to this point…?
▷ Conclusion: Among the heroes who stopped the Demon King’s invasion, the five people with the highest contribution are waiting for you, so don’t miss out! Oops! Where is the Demon King? Look up at the sky. We marked the location of the Demon King Pedonar with an arrow.
Sky…? The arrow was pointing at me.
“…Elise, please explain quickly.”
“W-who knows? There must’ve been a mistake due to a lack of time and budget…”