Looking at the lack of reaction so far, it seems there's no need to worry about the Madness, and at this rate, it seems I'll just keep squabbling with DeB.

I eventually threw the dagger into the riverbed and used my freed hands to throw DeB into the river.

While DeB, who hates water, screamed and flailed around, me stepping out onto the riverbank was a bonus. My wet body was damp.

"Ugh, cold."

Are you the only one cold? Me too... is what I'd say, though I'm not cold at all, but I got wet because of you.

Above all, this is something you started, so endure it with grit and spite, you cute meat dumpling bastard.

I glared at that guy and put my hand on my hair. My hair was drooping heavily because he had splashed so much water while thrashing about.

My hair had already grown stealthily and was poking my eyes, so I couldn't leave it to block my vision as well. I swept my hair back.

SHAKE, SHAKE.

In the meantime, DeB, who came splashing out of the water, took off his hood and shook his body vigorously. Patting his hood to shake off the water and grabbing his tail to squeeze it tightly like laundry was a bonus. It was a bit funny.

"Anyway, Boss, you really terrified me..."

More importantly, are you still obsessed with that? I'm telling you, it's a misunderstanding.

"... Please don't do it again."

Still, I couldn't help but be glad for his concern. I turned my head away while looking at the meat dumpling whispering sullenly.

Instead of getting angry, it was just a gesture showing I didn't want to talk to him. Since this would be the most moderate reaction my concept could show.

"And, here. Please take this."

But DeB held something out. A crude-shaped ring, a seal.

"If you were worried about going berserk... and did that, you have this."

Ah. Considering White Wind joined us earlier, it's not particularly strange for DeB to have it.

I looked at the thing DeB stealthily held out before snatching it.

'Will the quest window stop again if I put this on?'

Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.

'If I put this on...'

If I put the seal on.

If I don't put it on.

Will the broken system window return?

Although the enemy detection notification and the window indicating quest progress have never popped up even after I removed the seal.

Still, if I were to open the quest window or the world map.

Will I see them? Will the things that disappeared be back to normal?

'Let's not put it on.'

If I don't put it on, really.

"Boss?"

Will I be able to feel relieved?

"Is there a problem..."

How funny. As if that would be the case.

I didn't open the quest window. I didn't look at the world map either.

Whether they were operating normally, and whether their breakdown really wasn't because of the seal.

It was because I felt like I would be walking a path of no return if I found out such a thing.

Honestly, right? I was already highly knowledgeable in all sorts of clichés and was suspicious of the situation.

In the midst of that, if I knew what the seal was made to block, and thought about the missing system in connection to it.

Wouldn't anyone who didn't notice be an idiot?

"Go."

Even so, I chose to look away. I decided to cover it up again.

No one wants to be assured that the place they were standing on is hell.

"Right now."

Instead, I unfastened the part that tightened the gauntlet. DeB, who had been hesitating in front of me, stomped his feet two more times before finally leaving the spot.

It was a good judgment.

In a state of heaviness, I quickly put on the seal and put my clothes back on. The moment I put on the seal, my mana decreased, and my mood slightly improved.

Right, my life motto is to leave all possibilities open, but even I have a limit to what I can handle.

However, doing this allowed me to briefly avoid thinking about what I couldn't handle. I could hold out a little longer.

So that is enough. That was enough...

["Oh my. Do humans make things like that these days? That's quite something."]

At that moment, the giiiant snake poked its head out with a sound like a ship's horn. It was a bit amazing that even though such a massive thing was moving, trees didn't fall, nor was there any similar sound.

["Such a tiny thing manages to suppress demonic energy quite well?"]

No... It made sense that they wouldn't fall. I looked closely at the snake's body. The body I had thought was just rising between the trees was, strictly speaking, passing through the trees.

["But, um. Why are you using that when you have something better? It looks like it'll break easily."]

True, with that size, it would need a feature like that to live without smashing the forest to pieces.

Huh?

"... What did you say?"

["Oh my! You must be angry. I apologize. This mouth of mine..."]

"I'm asking you, what is this better thing."

There's something better than the seal?? I have something like that?? But why don't I know??

["Uh... You didn't know?"]

"I do not ask twice."

["Oh my..."]

The snake stiffly raised its tail upward like a person throwing both hands up, and then vigorously scratched its head.

["Well, you have it, don't you. That, the item with a strong smell of the sea."]

"... The sea?"

I urgently fumbled through the list of items I had. Sea-related, sea-related... The orb the Sea Dragon gave me?

The items made from the Sea Dragon were with the two dumplings, so they were excluded. Other than those, the only sea-related item I had was indeed the orb the Sea Dragon gave me.

"... Are you talking about this."

I took out the cracked orb. At that, the snake nodded its head.

["Yes, yes. That's the one. Oh my. Its power was leaking out, and it's because it's cracked."]

... This, has a similar effect to the seal?

["Did the one living in the sea over there not tell you when they gave it to you?"]

They didn't.

["To begin with, you being able to understand me must be because of that, too. Hmm. After you got that, you wouldn't have felt cold even when you went in the water, and you wouldn't have felt the heat much, either. Did you not know that either?"]

Whether it roughly understood my expression, or read the reaction from my silence, the snake vigorously scratched its head again.

The words it brought up this time were also something I hadn't known at all.

I just thought my game character was originally like that, but instead, it was the effect of this item?

And understanding speech was just because of this, too?

["Um, by any chance, did you snatch it without even giving them a chance to speak..."]

"No."

["Huh, then why didn't they tell you, really."]

While I was standing there dumbfounded, the snake blinked its round eyes and wriggled its tail down.

["Anyway, that's, a kind of, um. A condensed power? Something like a blessing? So having it gives you bit by bit of help... The fundamental energy basically has the property of purifying corruption, you see."]

The lowered tail poked at the orb I was holding.

["It's cracked now, so the purification effect must have been a bit weaker... But the blessing still worked well, right? That's just the nature of the energy itself."]

... It worked well. Ever since I received this, I never suffered from the cold even when I fell in the water, and I stayed comfortable without getting heatstroke in the desert.

I looked down at the orb with indescribable eyes. It was hard to believe that what I thought was a white elephant was actually responsible for a portion of my convenience.

"... Is there no way to fix this."

Separately, I also felt the desire to fix it. Of course, the power was leaking out, right? If I left it in a broken state, wouldn't it eventually lose all its power and become unusable? I absolutely couldn't stand for something like that.

On top of that... if it has a purifying function, when it's normal, wouldn't it help a bit even if I fill my Madness gauge in a state of Fury?

Considering how I fell into a state of Madness without any brakes last time, it might not have any effect. Actually, I wasn't even sure when this had cracked.

["Usually it wouldn't be possible, but since I'm here, there's nothing that can't be done. Give it here. I'll fix it for you."]

Fortunately, the snake had a way to fix it. Beyond that, it even stepped up to repair it for free.

I didn't know why this snake was treating me so well, but it was a good thing.

I set the orb down on the snake's tail. The snake deftly wrapped its tail around it and retrieved it.

["Since I'm fixing it for you, I'll also add a few of my blessings into it. It's nothing special, but the demonic energy suppression ability will become a tad stronger, and plants will grow well without dying when you raise them."]

In the midst of that, it even added features. It was special, but a truly useless blessing. I wished the real-life me could receive that, instead of my concept.

Even succulents die when they come to me.

["Also, even if you get lost in the forest, you'll be able to find your way out. It won't take you to your desired destination, so it's better to be careful."]

The snake, which had massaged the orb a few times while wrapping it in its tail, lowered its tail again. The orb, returned to its original state, and even with a finer color than before, dropped into my palm.

["Ah, and just because this purifies corruption doesn't mean it can do it for everything, so if it's exposed to too much demonic energy, it'll break just like it did now. You need to be a bit careful about that, too."]

Ooh. It's fixed.

I rotated it around to look at it and looked up at the snake again. In addition, after hearing the added explanation, I roughly understood why it had cracked.

Perhaps back then, when I went berserk. It wasn't that it hadn't helped me, but rather it had just shattered then and lost its effect.

"..."

Well, it's not really important. It's not like I have a way to find out precisely just by looking back on it.

I just have to be careful from now on.

"You."

Rather, what's important now is why the snake in front of me is looking upon me so favorably.

Considering it said something about the forest being ruined if things went slightly wrong, is it doing this out of worry that I might bring this place to its downfall?

I'm not that kind of person... Of course, I did blow a hole through the forest to establish dominance, but...

Ah. It's because of that.

Lamenting why I had piled up so many unintended misunderstandings today of all days, I opened my mouth to continue.

"Are you a demon?"

["Huh???"]

It was a reaction that told me the answer even without hearing it.

["Oh my, I am not. I am not. Still, my word, such a misunderstanding! My feelings are hurt hearing that?!"]

"Then what about eating mana."

["Ah, that. That, ah. What should I say. Ah... This is a bit, hard to explain, but."]

Still, it was better to make it clear. If someone asks me later for the reason why I left it alone, wouldn't I need an excuse to deflect with?

The Archmage is someone who hopes I don't clash with the Mountain Lord, but would question it if I actually didn't.

["Well, it's true that I was born amidst mana corrupted by demonic energy, and it's true that I can eat mana and harbor demonic energy because of that... But I am clearly a creature with intellect and an entity capable of thinking, so would I become a demon just because of that?"]

On top of that... Considering the Archmage ran her mouth about the possibility of coexistence, and seeing how it's acting so polite and courteous right now, the outcome of this conversation has a 99% chance of being positive.

A situation where there's no loss to be had or incident to break out just by having a conversation. Rather than deliberately making a loophole and setting up a reason to be suspected, I'll just have a little chat and be done with it.

["Just because someone gained a bizarre ability doesn't make them a demon. Really. Um, well. Guest? You also harbor demonic energy, but you're not a demon, are you?"]

RUSTLE.

... Crucially, I just saw DeB's ears and tail. Kuugh. If I don't have a conversation here, I'll definitely raise suspicions. I'll raise suspicions for sure.

He knew the Demon Knight didn't want to show his arm. Therefore, he had stepped aside, but that didn't mean his anxiety faded.

Eventually, around the time he figured the Demon Knight would have had more than enough time to put the seal on, the Deathbringer stealthily went back. Seeing the snake called the Mountain Lord head in that direction also added a reason to his steps.

He needed to keep an eye out just in case that entity provoked the Demon Knight's temper.

"... Are not."

RUMBLE.

However, leaving aside the fact that the Demon Knight could understand the Mountain Lord's words, the atmosphere flowed very strangely.

A situation where it was already hard to understand what the conversation was about, since he could only hear one side, and furthermore, that side was not the type to speak at length. Amidst that, the Demon Knight muttered in a dejected tone.

"Not, a demon."

RUMBLE.

With a shadow cast over his eyes, he parted his lips a few times. His focus aligned a few times before scattering again.

It was similar to earlier when he sat on the rock and turned the blade on himself. It didn't seem like he was looking at the present, at the here and now.

["There is no salvation at the end of revenge."]

The Deathbringer suddenly traced back the words he had spoken.

There was not a single thing wrong. It was something he had already experienced as well, but nothing particularly changes just because you get your revenge.

The more deep-seated the grudge, and the more buried one is in that grudge, the truer it is.

It's good that the enemy is gone, but you don't know what to do after they're gone.

No, it's questionable if the sorrow completely disappears just because the enemy died in the first place. At least for him, the hatred and anger he harbored didn't disappear just because he finished his revenge.

Wasn't that exactly why he became an executioner named Deathbringer in the first place?

He had enacted revenge on behalf of his dead friend, but anger still boiled inside him. However, with the revenge already finished, there was nothing more he could do.

But then he ended up seeing that there were too many people in this world who couldn't even get revenge because they were powerless and poor.

He found a reason not to stop and became a proxy for revenge. He took up his blade, making the never-ending hatred of others his own, or putting forth the world's absurdity and irrationality as his new enemy.

Just as the Demon Knight had vowed a revenge against demons that could never be resolved.

"Even though you harbor demonic energy, if you are not a demon."

But...

"Then I."

Just then, the Deathbringer's heart strangely plummeted.

The moment the Demon Knight crumbled, bizarrely, the belief he had upheld was also shaken.

"What the hell am I supposed to be..."

Why? Why on earth?

With his fists clenched in unease, the Deathbringer looked at the Demon Knight once more.

"I promised to offer the necks of all demons in this world to your graves..."

Then, a very shallow realization washed over him.

["Kid, keep an eye on him."]

["Huh?"]

["And think about it. If that was what you wanted to become."]

["What are you talking..."]

["Judge with your own two eyes whether you truly won't regret it even if your remaining life resembles his. It will definitely be helpful for your future."]

That was his future.

["Take a good look and see if running while knowing you'll fail will truly make you happy."]

Just as the Demon Knight was frustrated by variables and exceptions while trying to kill all demons.

He too, who wanted to execute all wicked people, would inevitably crumble one day due to variables, exceptions, and the limits of his abilities.

Therefore.

"I intended to offer my own blood last..."

He didn't want to see him, who would serve as the proof of his failure, despair.

"What do you want me to do..."

But he hoped that such a person would stop his self-abuse even now.

There was no reason whatsoever for a person like him to run off a cliff.