A day had passed since they started tracking the hatched demon.

Had they implicitly decided on the first and second night watches and gone to rest? The Archmage tried to take the second watch right after waking up.

It would have been a perfectly smooth process if only the Demon Knight hadn't tried to set off immediately upon seeing that she had woken up.

"Please, get some sleep!"

Chasing the demon was indeed urgent. However, now that they had almost caught up, resting took priority. After all, facing a demon with an exhausted body couldn't possibly be a good idea.

Thus, she resorted to persuasion bordering on begging, and finally succeeded in getting the Demon Knight to close his eyes. It was a victory achieved after five minutes of a battle of nerves.

"Tsk."

How could a person be so stubborn?

Rubbing her brow, she checked the insect-repelling herbs and the campfire. The herbs were fine since they just needed to be lit, but the campfire, while seemingly managed with effort, vaguely showed signs of clumsiness.

Considering his experience as an adventurer, it was unexpected.

At the same time, seeing him sleep without a single blanket made it feel perfectly natural. It seemed as though that man would endure the winter without the warmth of a campfire.

"..."

As for whether that was normal, well. It definitely wasn't.

Living solely fixated on a goal while discarding one's own safety was not the behavior of an ordinary human.

It meant that a person who knowingly walked into fatal situations to lead himself to ruin, and she who had watched from the sidelines despite knowing this, could neither be considered sane.

"Disgust... is it."

For almost the first time, she observed the young man closely.

This was definitely the first time she looked at him to understand him as a person, rather than to verify how dangerous he was.

Then, what had been invisible finally caught her eye.

On a small scale, there was the heavy fatigue under his eyes and his unusually dry lips; on a large scale, there was the fact that his tightly covered outfit—as if afraid to show even a sliver of bare skin—and his sleeping face looked so very young.

And the facts that he had been swallowed by a Great Demon not long ago, and had ended up facing yet another Great Demon before he could even gather his mind.

["... That bastard reads the past. Memories that could probably be called nightmares. Keep that in mind."]

The Archmage also recalled the words the Demon Knight had used to describe the Great Demon of Sloth.

At the time, it was a statement she hadn't pondered deeply, focusing instead on whether the seals were shaken or if Sloth was attacking once more.

But... but thinking back on it, those words held another meaning besides conveying information. After all, how could the Demon Knight have found out information that didn't even appear in literature?

In the end, the Demon Knight had, probably, experienced his own nightmares...

"Hah."

A calm attitude could not serve as proof that he wasn't hurt. Physical strength did not prove emotional strength, either.

Yet why had she turned a blind eye until now? A sigh slipped out in proportion to her realization.

"You are an innocent victim all the same."

Looking back, there were few times she had treated the Demon Knight humanely.

She had merely considered him as a party member who could be a useful card if managed well as a demon's vessel, and after he went berserk, she had viewed him as a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.

It was a separate matter from contemplating his personality—whether his underlying nature was good or his expression was somewhat clumsy, which was simply too rude to express aloud.

If she had truly regarded the Demon Knight as a person, she should have taken some measure the moment she realized he treated himself like an old shoe.

After he went berserk, instead of worrying about the same thing happening again, she should have checked the state of his mind and body first.

How he must have felt when he faced the Great Demon first...

"... I should thank White Wind."

Perhaps the mindset of 'it's okay if I die' had rubbed off on her.

That if he were to die, the Great Demon would die as well, so in an urgent moment, that might be more efficient. Since the person in question was abusing himself anyway, the Demon Knight wouldn't say much even if she didn't treat him humanely.

That just as she had come to loathe herself over the results of her research, it was also acceptable to despise a person who housed a demon in a human body.

"To still be unable to find what is right at this age, how can I be called a Great Sage..."

It was a truly foolish conclusion. The Demon Knight was already suppressing and despising himself enough; who was she to add to his burden?

Having lived far more years than that young one, how could she?

"... How should I apologize?"

Was it at least fortunate that she realized this early? Could the word 'early' even be used in the first place?

With a sigh, she poked the fire. Having realized her mistake, it was now time to fix it. The Demon Knight wasn't likely to accept the apology, but still.

FLASH.

At that moment, the eyelids of the sleeping Demon Knight flew open. Was it because of his bloodless skin? It looked almost as if a dead man was opening his eyes.

"What's the matter?"

As the Demon Knight suddenly stood up, the Archmage also rose to her feet.

SLASH!

Before she could even get an answer, a dark slash cleaved through the forest.

"What is it?"

There had been no reaction from the alarm magic. But why? No matter how sensitive the Demon Knight was, the radius of her barrier wasn't exactly small either.

"A bug."

Regardless of her own wrongdoings, the Demon Knight's personality truly wasn't good.

The Archmage's head began to ache as she watched him dash off without a single explanation of the situation. She wished he would at least give her a hint.

Had I been helplessly defeated by the Archmage's persuasion and the rushing wave of sleepiness?

Instinctively, I felt a certain presence. It was stealthy, and somewhat long.

Though I wanted to ignore it due to fatigue, I simply couldn't. I forced my eyes open.

"What's the matter?"

'I don't know either. But what can I do when something is bothering me?'

I touched my dazed head and gripped my sword. SLITHER. The extremely shallow presence was caught once again.

SLASH!

A slash flew out from the sword I had swung half-unconsciously.

"What is it?"

Due to the nature of a slash, there was no physical feedback. However, it was possible to judge whether the target was dead or not based on the presence...

"A bug."

'Tsk. Seeing how it's still moving, it's not dead.'

With the presence that made the fine hairs on my body stand up still lingering, I stepped forward.

Even at that moment, the desire to lie down kept rising, forcing me to press the palm of my hand harder against my forehead.

Really. I was so, so, so sleepy. It would have been one thing if I hadn't slept at all, but after taking a short nap and waking up, I felt even more tired.

RUSTLE.

To gather my senses from the pouring sleepiness, I quickened my pace and glared with my eyes wide open. Though the edges of my vision were dim compared to how wide I had opened them, it seemed better than not opening them at all.

"What on earth is over there for you to..."

'So what is the insolent thing that disturbed my sleep?' I walked along the clear sword marks.

The twisted presence was moving away as if fleeing, but it was still slower than my walking pace.

Especially since it was slithering in an S-shape.

STAB!

'Got you, you little snake.'

I hadn't even advanced seven meters before driving my blade down. The snake, which had been hard to distinguish because its mottled pattern closely resembled the bushes, only then shuddered.

It looked like a bug specimen pinned down. Just one that was still alive.

"W-What the..."

The Archmage, who had followed behind me, gasped in shock.

"... Hoo."

The snake wasn't dead yet, but the worry of losing it was gone.

I lightly trampled on the head of the snake that turned its body to bite me, while pressing firmly on my temples. The snake hissed as it was crushed under my combat boot.

It didn't matter in the slightest.

Rather, I was more concerned about the Archmage's guarantee from before I slept that she would set up a barrier with a 20-meter radius.

'Did I miss the alarm sound because I was sleeping? But even so, wasn't the Archmage just sitting there doing nothing?'

"H-How did it break through the magic...? No, before that, is it even a demon? Why can't I feel any demonic energy..."

'Right. Seeing her panicking like that, I can tell it didn't trigger from the start. Whatever.'

I suppressed the irritation that flared up even bigger because of my lack of sleep.

Objectively, I knew this wasn't the Archmage's fault—naturally. If it wasn't a mistake, it meant it was intentional, and at that point, it wouldn't just be an issue of getting angry—and crucially, if I got angry the wrong way, the Wrath skill might turn on.

"Could it have disguised itself by converting demonic energy into mana, perhaps...?"

'And above all, I don't even have the energy to get angry right now. I'm sleepy. Can I just go back to sleep?'

"Wait, wait. Absolutely do not kill it. To figure out if that hypothesis is true or not, we need to capture it alive and test its abilities."

'Ah, come to think of it, I forgot to kill it. Seeing how the Archmage is reacting, this seems like the better outcome anyway, so it doesn't matter.'

I brushed my neck as I watched the Archmage bind the snake with chains. A familiar stifling feeling seemed to graze my skin.

"Thank you. Please keep pressing it down like that for just a moment longer."

'Not really. It's a quest anyway. Hmm, is it a quest?'

'Because the quest window is bugged and not working, I'm a bit confused. Is this guy really the quest target?'

"... A hole was punched in the barrier. This is why it didn't trigger. But how? How could such a hole..."

Meanwhile, the Archmage, who had succeeded in binding the snake, swept her gaze over the barrier as well. What poured out to replace it was shock bordering on lamentation.

"My goodness. Not only a disguise, but has it also developed the ability to consume existing mana...?"

At those words, I snapped to my senses as if I had been hit with cold water.

'It consumes... mana? Isn't that a bit, a bit dangerous?? Usually, aren't those kinds of abilities meant for final bosses or those just right below them??'

'Is this an ability a mob like this is allowed to have??'

"... It consumes mana?"

I reflexively repeated a part of the Archmage's words. I was startled, thinking it might break my character, but the Archmage, having no room to spare, brushed it off casually.

"I know it sounds absurd. But otherwise, this... this kind of nullification is impossible."

She even gave a kind reply in return. As a layman when it came to magic, I didn't know what 'this kind of nullification' was, but I fully understood that this was an unprecedented event.

"Let's head back right away. This, this isn't something we can cover up out of worry for discord between the Magic Tower and the Temple. If this were to spread, then..."

'Yeah, yeah. We should.' I brushed past the Archmage, who was trying to retrieve the snake, and picked up the circularly bound snake myself first.

Of course, the Archmage was tall enough that my gaze reached her jawline when I looked straight ahead... but as I had said time and again, I was the warrior class, and I was the younger one too.

It would be better for me to carry it than the Archmage. Probably.

"Thank you."

"Unnecessary."

'Slightly off-topic, but why can't I put living things into the inventory? If I could, I would've just tossed it into the bag inventory or the one I newly acquired this time and carried it comfortably.'

───!!

But wait.

Just as I was about to walk ahead of the Archmage, a sound forcefully struck my ears. Though out of sight, it was definitely a commotion coming from a distance where the sound could still be heard.

"What is it?"

The problem was that human screams were mixed into that noise.

"..."

'Ah, I'm tired. I'm really tired.'

'Still, I can't just leave, right?'

THUD.

I threw down the coiled-up snake again and ran toward where I heard the shouts. The Archmage let out another groan, but since human lives were at stake, I hoped she would let it slide.

【—Block it!】

【Adisa, dodge!】

【We should just run...!】

With every kick off the ground, the sounds drew closer and the cries became clearer. Though it was a language I couldn't understand, the fact that it was a critical moment could be clearly felt.

【No!】

And when I reached the center of the commotion, the giant snake that seemed to be the cause of the disturbance was about to swallow a person.

It was happening right in front of me.

"Move aside."

【... What.】

'Sorry, I don't have the energy to speak loudly.'

I shoved aside the person who was about to shoot an arrow at the snake and stood in front of the snake's mouth. The person who had been on the verge of being swallowed by the snake was also pushed by me and stumbled to the side.

THWACK!

In that instant, I drove my sword into the snake's lower jaw to pin it in place, and grabbed its upper jaw with my hand to keep it from closing. With people behind the snake, it was an unavoidable choice, as flying a slash was out of the question.

STAB!

'But I was so sleepy that I messed up the angle. The snake's fang pierced my right shoulder. Only about 5 to 8 centimeters of the 30-centimeter fang went in, but anyway.'

【Y-You are...】

'I feel dizzy. Still, getting a little hole in my shoulder to save a person is definitely a profit.'

I put more strength into the hand holding the upper jaw so the fang wouldn't go in any deeper.

Then, instead of the two-hander I used to pin the snake's jaw, I drew the longsword at my waist and slashed the snake's upper jaw horizontally.

Thanks to the characteristic of snakes having their brains concentrated near their mouths, that single stroke of the blade was enough to kill the snake instantly. Being able to pull out the fang stuck in my shoulder was a bonus.

【T-Thank you!】

【The snake was killed in an instant...】

【He's strong...】

'Wow, I thought the snake I caught just a moment ago was huge, but this one goes even further. Couldn't it actually eat an elephant whole?'

I pointlessly marveled as I examined the corpse of the snake I had just killed. Meeting a snake that was, without exaggeration, the size of a house left me with nothing but continuous amazement, completely erasing any feelings of disgust.

【Ah!】

Just then, one of the people I had saved came rushing over to me in a panic. Their four pairs of eyes and three pairs of arms stood out. It seemed everyone here was of the same species, as they all shared those identical features.

【Poison, poison!】

"...?"

'More importantly, I don't know what they're saying. Are they using a different language?'

【We need to extract the poison right away! Otherwise, you'll die!】

'... They look quite urgent. Hmm. Seeing how one hand is pointing at me and their other hands are pointing at my shoulder... Ah, are they talking about the wound? It's fine...'

【Damn it, he's a foreigner, so we can't communicate!】

'Wait. This isn't a venomous snake, is it?'

【Hurry and take off your clothes, we need to drain the blood!】

I grasped the situation based on the gesture that felt like they were telling me to take off my clothes. 'I guess this really is a venomous snake.'

'I'm screwed.'

"...!"

'It must even be a fast-acting poison.' Before I could react in any way, my head spun and my nose started bleeding. 'I'm screwed.'

【O-Oh no—!】

With my tilting vision as the last thing I saw, I blacked out.