After confirming that Schlacht and his subordinates had vanished for good, Nanoda rushed at once to stop the fight between Hafleet and Lernen, and laid out the full situation for Lernen.
"I see. I'll report this to Lady Serie."
Since Lernen had already heard Schlacht's own admission, the matter resolved itself with surprising ease.
At that moment, Nanoda turned her gaze to Hafleet, who lay collapsed off to the side, sparks still crackling faintly off his drained body.
Lernen arched an eyebrow. "Not bad, for a Demon — gave these old bones a decent workout. Since he's an old acquaintance of yours, Lady Nanoda, I'll let him off this once."
Nanoda could tell Lernen was giving her considerable face, having held back from delivering a killing blow to Hafleet, who had come along with her. "Thank you for taking the trouble to sort out the misunderstanding."
"It was only my duty."
What Nanoda didn't know was that Lernen's own heart had settled too. Whatever Omniscient One had appeared out of nowhere had been driven off, and Gaderia wasn't the enemy behind everything after all — a happy ending all around.
"I need to go find my scattered subordinates, so I'll be off. As for the rumors circulating about Gaderia, I'll discuss them with Lady Serie and get them settled — we're allies, after all."
Without another word, Lernen activated Flight Magic and departed.
"That old geezer... how is he so strong?"
Sprawled on the ground, Hafleet panted for breath. Even a Demon's mighty physique hadn't held up against the old man's ferocious onslaught.
"There are plenty of strong ones among Humans too."
Nanoda patted Hafleet's shoulder.
Even Frieren had been beaten by a Human before, after all.
This trip had turned out fairly productive — clearing Gaderia's name with the Continental Magic Association, and picking up two able hands besides, both Demons. If Aura, once she finished up in Northern and came back, saw Hafleet, she'd probably be delighted.
"Solitär...?"
Glared at by Solitär, Hafleet hastily tacked on the honorific — "Lady Solitär."
"We can head back to Gaderia now."
Nanoda had already worked out the travel arrangements for the two Demons.
Seeing how submissive Solitär had become, Hafleet finally realized that Schlacht must have lost to this harbinger of doom.
"Don't bother looking. They've gone back to the past."
Solitär was only stating a fact.
"Then what about my big brother?"
"I killed Revolte myself. Do you want to go join him?"
"No, no, no, no! We weren't even close. I was forced into all of it."
At Nanoda's teasing, Hafleet shook his head so hard it looked like a rattle-drum.
For some reason, Hafleet felt an inexplicable flicker of pleasure — with Revolte dead, he was finally free!
What he didn't know was that an even more miserable fate awaited him in Gaderia.
"Oh, right."
Nanoda walked over to the spot where Revolte had dissipated, where four long swords lay scattered.
"Hafleet, pick up these weapons."
At Nanoda's word, Hafleet scurried over eagerly to gather up these "relics of his big brother," his deadpan face betraying not a trace of sorrow. A Demon's instincts bowed before the fear of a superior's pressure.
"Let's go."
Demons left no corpse behind when they died, otherwise Nanoda would have given Revolte's body a proper burial.
Enemy or not, he had been a formidable Demon warrior.
Not all Demons could walk the same path.
All Nanoda wanted was for everyone to walk paths close enough to one another.
Conflict never truly ends. Peace is a rare and precious thing.
On the journey back,
Nanoda suddenly realized a major problem.
Traveling with two completely undisguised Demons made her group far too conspicuous — there was simply no chance of entering any Human town like this.
After all, aside from Gaderia, Weise, Kinton, and a handful of Northern, the nations of the Central Lands remained unwelcoming to the Demon Race, even those allied with Serie's Continental Magic Association.
Especially after the Kingdom of Ert had been wiped out by the Demon Race.
Barging into a town like this would surely get them hunted down by Humans, wouldn't it?
Solitär wasn't too bad off — her horns were small enough to hide, her appearance close enough to a Human girl's, and her slightly pointed ears could pass for an elf's.
Hafleet, though, was a real problem. Never mind his outrageous build and fiery red skin — what Human had four arms? And that demonic face of his looked menacing at a glance, even with no expression at all.
"Relax, I'm not going to run."
Noticing Nanoda's gaze fixed on her, Solitär answered with a hollow smile.
Schlacht's final order had at least let her keep her life, and she had no reason left to defy Nanoda now — even if she disliked the city of Gaderia and had no wish to become Aura's slave.
"I suppose we'll just have to run back on foot, or fly in short bursts."
Demons generally had stronger flight ability than Humans, but even they couldn't stay airborne forever — after a stretch of flying, they'd still need to find somewhere to rest and replenish their Mana.
Nanoda had never paid much attention to Flight Magic before, but after this long stretch of travel, she'd grown considerably more practiced at it.
Along the way, Hafleet secretly mocked Nanoda's clumsy Flight Magic, only for Solitär to tattle on him, earning him no small amount of discipline from Nanoda's fists. Pummeling the thick-skinned, tough-fleshed Hafleet, Nanoda suddenly understood why Aura loved beating him so much.
It really was quite therapeutic.
"Solitär, that so-called way of yours to coexist with Humans is wrong. Understanding Humans doesn't mean treating them as research subjects or toys — we need to restrain that instinct to kill on a whim."
Nanoda tried making idle conversation with Solitär.
"I won't deny it — Humans are interesting beings; they have things we don't. But then, when it comes down to it, why should the Demon Race and Humans coexist at all?"
Solitär's attitude hadn't changed — she enjoyed studying Humans, chatting with them, living alongside them, but that didn't mean she wouldn't kill them.
"Then do you have the power to kill every last Human and wipe out the entire race?"
Nanoda's question gave Solitär pause. After a moment's thought, she admitted, "No, I don't."
"Since you kill Humans, Humans will inevitably come to kill you in turn — hatred, that much even we Demons can understand. Among Humans there exist beings beyond imagination too: Heroes, one after another, pressing forward without end. Humans are like wild grass on the plains — fragile yet resilient, drinking in the sun's light and giving off a glow all their own."
"..." Solitär didn't deny it.
"So we mustn't kill carelessly. Hatred accumulates, and those who kill may in the end be killed themselves."
"You show no mercy at all in a fight, and yet the rest of the time — to borrow a Human phrase — you're surprisingly kind-hearted."
"Of course. At heart, I'm a pacifist."
Nanoda gave the Scripture in her hand a little wave.
Cleric and assassin both — old trades she knew well.
____
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