Then Rennel's voice rang out.
"Suddenly rank 91?"
The Deception Demon King was a Lesser Demon King ranked 91st.
I tilted my head and shot back.
"We took down rank 128, so 91 should be a breeze."
"Isn't that kinda contradictory?"
"I just mean it's only Lesser Demon King level."
"How is a Lesser Demon King 'only' anything?!"
Rennel yelled, then pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Well, with Sir Chris joining us this time, it should be a bit safer."
She had a point.
As I'd seen in that board alert before, Chris Kristin of the Radiant Knights Order was participating in this subjugation.
More precisely, the subjugation force was built around him, with about fifty knights from the order and some 350 adventurers.
And this subjugation force would be almost entirely wiped out by the Deception Demon King.
I scanned the figures clustered together in the wide open clearing and spoke up.
"So, where's Chris?"
"What?"
"What's wrong?"
"You know him? Calling him without any honorifics?"
"I thought he was younger than me. That Chris guy."
Rennel replied with a look like she was staring at something utterly bizarre.
"It's not about age... Executives in the Radiant Knights Order get treated like nobles wherever they go. If they wanted, they could get a title like that."
"You're making too big a deal out of it."
"And you're way too casual."
"Speaking of age, why've you been talking down to me since we met, Rennel?"
"Two years apart. That's friend territory, friend."
In this regressed life, I was twenty-three.
Rennel was twenty-one.
Though she looked a bit younger than her actual age.
Suddenly, I recalled a conversation from before my regression between the Saintess and Rennel.
-Rennel, you're so baby-faced. I'm so jealous, seriously.
-....
-What's your secret? What do you eat to keep your skin so plump and smooth?
-S-Saintess. Could you say that with a smile?
-I am smiling?
-Your lips are twitching... No, never mind.
I was determined to see what kind of face the Saintess had made this time around.
Me, on the other hand? I looked a bit older... more mature than my age.
So to others, us bantering casually might look odd.
'Whatever.'
Since when did I care about that sort of thing?
That was when it happened.
"There he is. Sir Chris."
I turned my head following Rennel.
'So that's what he looks like.'
Even I, who hadn't been able to distinguish faces for long, had to admit it—he was straight-up handsome.
His wavy brown hair was neat and tidy.
His clear blue eyes gave him a forthright impression, and his somewhat delicate jawline for a man drew a pretty nice curve.
A bit slender build, but the muscles peeking through were solid enough.
....
Why was I describing this guy's looks in such detail anyway?
Anyway, long time no see? Or nah, nice to meet you might be more accurate.
This was the first time seeing his actual face.
'Either way, good to see him.'
He'd been one of my party members, after all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The reason I'd completely overhauled my pre-regression journey to join this sixth subjugation force was to meet Chris.
With the Absence Demon King among my old party members, my top priority now was rounding them up again.
I'd half-hoped he might show up right away, but fortunately—or unfortunately—Chris wasn't the Absence Demon King.
No Quad wrangle showed on him at all.
No trace of it in his voice either.
"Everyone, hello. I'm Chris Kristin, branch chief of the Ariel Territory division of the Radiant Knights Order."
"...."
"First, I sincerely thank you all for joining this subjugation of the Deception Demon King, who's caused trouble across the Empire for the past eighty years. I have no doubt your courage and resolve will bear fruit. The Deception Demon King will be subjugated this time, without fail."
I listened to Chris as he began his speech-cum-briefing to the assembled crowd.
All the while lost in thought.
'This is where Chris suffers a massive failure.'
Not just the 350 adventurers, but nearly all fifty Radiant Knights would perish.
"Nearly all" meant a tiny few survived.
Fortunately, Chris was among them.
But he'd face enormous backlash for the mission's catastrophic failure.
His rising star would crash entirely, demoted to the lowest rung of the Radiant Knights Order.
I recalled a conversation he'd had with another party member before my regression.
-Why'd you become an adventurer?
-You probably know already.
-Yeah, but I heard you weren't fully kicked out of the Radiant Knights Order. You could've grit your teeth, worked hard there, and climbed back up.
-Once you're shoved into the deadest of dead-end posts, there's no opportunity at all. Better to be an adventurer who can take any job without picky choices.
-So to reclaim your tarnished honor from back then...
-No.
Chris had paused then before continuing.
-It was just revenge.
That word "revenge" had hooked me hard at the time.
Hadn't I started this grueling journey for revenge against the Erosion Demon King myself?
Back then, I'd thought we'd connect on that point at least.
-Good to meet you.
-...Pardon?
-Me too, against the Erosion Demon King...
That was when Rennel spoke up.
Probably Rennel, judging by the tone.
-Sigh. Read the room, please.
-What?
-You see Sir Chris's face and still say "good to meet you"?
I learned much later that Chris had been biting his lip until it bled.
His voice had already turned downright menacing, they said.
....
Well, he should've shown it on his face if I was supposed to notice.
'Revenge, huh.'
Chris wanted revenge more than restoring his honor.
Which meant someone he "should've protected" was in this subjugation force.
I scanned around eagerly to spot who, but no one stood out.
'Anyway, this time I need to turn failure into success. And protect whoever's precious to Chris.'
That should win his heart.
Enough that he'd want to fight the Erosion Demon King alongside me.
...Right?
I scratched my head.
For someone like me who'd gone almost a lifetime without reading expressions, predicting how people's emotions shift was way too hard.
By then, Chris's speech was wrapping up.
"Half the force will surround the village and control everyone coming out. The other half will join me to check every person inside with the God's Mirror."
"Is the Deception Demon King really in that village? How can you be sure?"
"It's the conclusion from years of investigation by the Papal Court and Radiant Knights Order in collaboration. I'll add that the Saintess's revelation was part of that investigation."
At the mention of the Saintess, my ears perked up.
Couldn't help it; she'd been a party member once.
Anyway, the crowd nodded in acceptance at "Saintess's revelation."
The Papal Court's Saintess and her miracles were symbols of faith and trust for humans.
"That's the briefing. Finally..."
Chris's expression turned deadly serious.
Like this was the real meat of it.
"Our foe is the Deception Demon King. Bearing that in mind, we'll do a quick check before the operation begins."
"Like what?"
Instead of answering, Chris unpacked his gear.
What came out was astonishingly... something I couldn't identify!
'Quad wrangle!'
Because it was obscured by white squares.
Meaning, whatever it was, it was fake.
But I didn't need to point it out.
"Ooh, that's..."
"The God's Mirror."
"Looks pretty ordinary."
"They say it reveals all falsehoods."
I ended up slapping my forehead.
'The God's Mirror is Quad wrangled. Meaning that one's fake.'
The most crucial piece was missing right from the start.
My face hardened.
Then Chris's voice rang out.
"Everyone, line up as directed. We'll check one by one in the mirror. To prevent any accidents, two of our knights will stand on either side. Bear with it, please."
The adventurers all looked uncomfortable but didn't protest much.
They wanted to confirm the identities of the comrades they'd entrust their backs to.
I nodded along, pretending to go along.
The inspection proceeded under Chris's lead.
Everyone, including me and Rennel, had their faces reflected in the God's Mirror.
The God's Mirror was a treasure that identified Demon Kings.
It showed humans normally, but a Demon King reflecting in it would glow red.
Of course, since it was fake, no red glow happened, and no "accidents" occurred as Chris mentioned.
About thirty minutes later, Chris finished and declared.
"Good. No issues."
"...."
"Operation starts in one hour. Check your gear and rest in the meantime."
He turned and entered the tent.
I slowly headed toward the tent as well.
Rennel's voice came from behind.
"What're you doing?"
"...."
"Hey, that's... What do you think you're doing? Sir? What are you—argh."
Clang.
As I reached the tent, the two guarding knights crossed their swords in an X.
"Halt. Where do you think you're going?"
"Got business with Chris."
"Ch-Chris? This guy's nuts, no honorifics..."
"I thought he was younger than me."
Rennel muttered from behind.
"Told you, age doesn't matter."
Perhaps noticing the commotion outside, footsteps came from inside the tent.
"What is it?"
The one who emerged was Chris Kristin.
I felt genuinely glad.
I almost blurted "Long time no see," but caught myself.
"First time meeting. Nice to meet you. Dai-il Magnus."
"...."
Chris looked blankly for a second, then eyed me up and down.
"One of the adventurers on this quest, I take it. What do you need? I already gave the full briefing."
"According to that, I'm on village perimeter duty."
"Dai-il, was it? One moment. Dai-il... Dai-il."
He flipped through some papers and pointed at a spot.
"Here you are. Yes, correct. Problem?"
"I'd like to join the interior search team going into the village."
"Can't do that."
"Why not? If it's my rank—"
"No. B-rank at your age means you've got skills. Not about ability."
Chris got serious and continued.
"I hear you have almost no experience forming parties."
"That's not true. Last time, actually..."
"When you took down the Illusion Demon King? That was a temporary party too, from what I heard. The parties I mean are long-term, at least a year."
"...."
"You roam the continent taking only Demon King quests, so no long-term parties ever. First thing I checked for this subjugation was everyone's reputation. Unfortunately, can't expect cooperation from you, Dai-il. Can't put uncooperative types on key missions."
I felt Rennel nodding behind me.
"He's got that side to him. Can't even argue."
"Rennel. Whose side are you on?"
"Sir Chris's."
"Think before you answer."
"Didn't need thinking."
That was when.
"Sir Chris. Time for the meeting."
A voice came from inside the tent.
And the one who appeared was astonishingly...
'Quad wrangle!'
Head to toe, covered in white squares—pure Quad wrangle.
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