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I placed a piece of paper on the reception desk and said,

“I received it.”

The paper was messy, and written in a worm-like script that looked like a child’s handwriting with just the word “Recommendation!” scrawled on it.

Looking at this, I wondered who could possibly be recommending whom.

“I confirmed it.”

Adela immediately recognized whose it was just from the poorly drawn rabbit and the crooked letters at the end of the paper.

After finishing everything in Marquina, I returned to the Adventurer’s Guild with the Teleportation Stone containing the coordinates of the Empire. Amy had headed in the opposite direction, claiming she was going on a journey and wouldn’t be returning to the Empire.

Upon arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild, I announced my return and the birth of a new S-Rank Adventurer.

“Could you please wait for a moment?”

This news was obviously something that the receptionist couldn’t handle alone. Adela quickly left the reception desk and headed to the Guild Master’s Room.

It didn’t take long for Adela to return. How long could it take to relay a message?

“You can move to the Guild Master’s Room.”

“The Guild Master… commands?!”

How dare the A-Rank Adventurer Guild Master give orders to an S-Rank Adventurer?! This is insubordination!

On such a joyful day, instead of coming down to congratulate me in person, he calls me to the Guild Master’s Room separately? I wonder if he’s prepared some fancy wine to wait for me?

“…You know Luke isn’t an S-Rank Adventurer yet, right?”

“Oh, is that so?”

“……”

Well, there’s no helping it. We headed straight for the Guild Master’s Room. I knocked casually and opened the door, finding Argo sitting in front of a hospitality table.

“What’s up? Where’s the wine?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I thought you might have prepared something since you didn’t come down yourself to congratulate me.”

“Ah… that was all for you.”

Adults always say things like that.

“Imagine if we announced that an S-Rank Adventurer was born down there. All eyes would be on it in an instant.”

“That’s definitely true.”

After being reincarnated into this world, I’ve had a few experiences that felt like being a monkey in a zoo. It’s not a great feeling, especially when everyone I can easily defeat is watching me.

“Screaming that I won at the last minute after getting my butt kicked is just like being a monkey.”

“Then why did you call me?”

“Just wanted to talk about a few things.”

“I’m not really into deep conversations with men.”

“…I’m the same.”

Well, I did have a few things I was curious about.

“When did the guy who was expelled from the Academy grow this fast…?”

“They say kids grow up quickly, right?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Even I think it’s fast. How long has it been since I arrived?

Is Luke really just an extra? No matter how you look at it, the status window helps, but that’s only possible if the original body is up to par.

“But Adela said I’m not promoted yet. When will that happen?”

“It’ll be after the paperwork checks are done, as usual.”

“When will that be?”

“Given the circumstances, it should be done by tomorrow at the latest.”

Hmm. So I can just take it easy until then.

“By the way, what’s my title?”

“Ah… ”

Lucia has Elemental Master, Gideon has Weapon Master, and Amy is an Alchemist.

S-Rank Adventurers get titles like those. If it were in my past life, I would’ve thought it was cheesy, but in a fantasy setting, titles are seen as another name to prove oneself.

For example, even someone who doesn’t know Gideon would understand if you say S-Rank Adventurer, Weapon Master.

“That’s not up to me to decide. It’s determined by higher-ups.”

Those higher-ups again. They don’t seem very reliable.

“What are the criteria for a title?”

“It’s determined by evaluating the traces you’ve left while being active.”

What traces have I left? I’ve just killed monsters, so I’m not sure. I’ve been hunting normally.

“To be honest, I thought it would take you about a year to bring back the last recommendation letter.”

“I thought the same.”

I expected it to take that long too. If we hadn’t met by chance.

“Well, anyway, congratulations on becoming an S-Rank Adventurer.”

Receiving that small congratulations, we talked various things with Argo.

The next day, as I visited the Adventurer’s Guild like any other day, Adela declared,

“Your title, Luke, is Madman.”

“What?!”

*

Not luminous light (光) person (人), but insane (狂) person (人).

How is a title “Madman”? At first, I thought I needed to show just how crazy I could be.

– Once a title is decided, it never changes, even if you kill the one who created it.

– How absurd.

The world seemed to be mocking me. Ultimately, I failed to change my title.

sigh There are so many cool titles, and why did it have to be this one?

I could bring something cool from an anime, and it would still be better than this. Lying on my bed in a dejected mood, I suddenly had a serious thought about a question that crossed my mind.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Oh… I was just thinking about whether to go kill a Demon God soon.”

The other three couldn’t even respond to my completely random suggestion. A Demon God isn’t some ordinary figure you just wander over to and kill.

“Are you talking about the Demon God that the demons worship as a deity…?”

“What else would there be?”

“I thought it was some slang that only you knew.”

What kind of slang could possibly exist? Do they think just because I came from another world, I’m some kind of alien?

“…Luke, is that next event soon?”

“No? This isn’t an event.”

There are still plenty of events remaining. If it ended with just this much, I wouldn’t have put in two years of effort.

“Aren’t Demon Gods much stronger than the demons?”

“Of course. The demons worship them as gods.”

“Then can I skip it…? It sounds scary…”

“Not a chance!! You’re definitely coming with me, Yui!! No matter what!!”

“Wahh…”

As if a slave would run away alone.

“But, when do the Demon Gods usually appear?”

“Much later. Do you know about the Trojan Horse?”

I could see their various reactions to my question.

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Me neither, that’s a first for me.”

“Is it a toy or something?”

The Trojan Horse. On Earth, it’s a term often used in the context of computer malware, but it originally refers to the wooden horse that brought the war to an end in the Trojan War of Greek mythology.

The Achaean Alliance had been in a war with Troy for 10 years, unable to capture the city. They faced a stalemate, eventually reaching their limit.

At this moment, Odysseus devised a plan to build a huge wooden horse that could hide 30 men inside and infiltrate Troy’s defenses, leading to their downfall from within.

Similarly, unable to defeat the Empire despite repeated attacks, the demons would secretly place a portal that connects to the Demon Realm in the Empire’s underground aqueduct.

When the portal is activated, all the demons inside the Demon Realm would flood into the Empire, effectively destroying it from within.

That’s the beginning of the final chapter of the main story I was reading, the “All-Out War” episode.

When I explained it straightforwardly, everyone gasped.

“There’s something like that under the Empire…?”

“Yeah.”

“But, how does the Empire not know about it?”

“There’s a saying that the light is dark below the lamp.”

Of course, the Empire also has someone appointed to manage the aqueducts. But there’s one problem.

“The one managing that is a Demon.”

“Eh…?”

“So the Empire has no idea. They don’t even know that’s down there in their own aqueducts.”

Honestly, who would want to check the aqueducts themselves?

Anyway, I had a question here.

I’ve been going through numerous events not seen in the original story due to the original deviation, and I’ve undergone events significantly earlier than originally scheduled.

This was all because this world is a reality rather than a novel, hence the demons were able to think and act for themselves. So do I not have a brain? No, I do have a brain and can think.

So…

‘Isn’t it okay for me to just go to the Demon Realm first and wipe them out?’

My level has risen significantly, and I’ve made new weapons. Furthermore, I know what the Demon God is weak against. So, isn’t there no reason not to go?

Even if it might be too early for that event, knowing the method is the key. Just as I helped open the portal during the Behemoth incident.

“So isn’t it better that we attack first instead of waiting for the Demon God to strike?”

*

How’s the preparation going?

“Almost done. It will be ready in about a day.”

Is there no way to speed it up?

“Unfortunately, with the current number of people, this is our limit.”

Tsk, the Demon in the robe clicked his tongue.

With no contact from the higher-ups and demons getting killed left and right, he decided to stop thinking.

Just then, a Demon, who had just been reporting on the progress, asked,

“Um… but wasn’t the original plan to do this more slowly? Why the sudden rush?”

The original plan was to pressure the Empire from the outside, then strike from within all at once.

However, the Demon in front of him had suddenly summoned all the Minions from different regions and ordered them to focus solely on opening the portal.

You don’t need to know that. Just do what you’re told.

“Understood.”

While curious, what could he do? He didn’t want to anger them and get on their bad side, knowing their shared goal was the same.

‘To eliminate the unreasonable world.’

Each of them had their own reasons for betraying humanity. They wouldn’t hesitate to follow the Demon’s orders without question if it meant achieving their goal.

“How much longer?”

At that moment, a man’s voice echoed from the shadows of the dark underground aqueduct. He wanted to remain hidden, wearing a thick robe obscuring his appearance.

It’s you. One more day left.

“Can we speed it up?”

That’s impossible. I want to move faster too, but we need to know what’s possible and impossible.

“Tch… ”

The man clicked his tongue. The Demons appeared anxious, but the man before him showed even more urgency.

Anyway, I didn’t expect you to come to me. Thanks to that, the schedule has been advanced.

Originally, the man in front of him was on the elimination list, but he somehow discovered their location and unexpectedly arrived.

His proposal was simple and straightforward. He would tell them how to open the portal quickly if they cooperated in eliminating one person.

The Demon obviously had no reason to refuse, thus leading to their current meeting.

“Shut up. I’m not doing this because I want to. Once we achieve our respective goals, we’ll be enemies again.”

Heh, of course.

The man was under the illusion that he could stop whatever was coming next. When it all concludes, the Empire would vanish from the continent. Not just the Empire, but all of humanity.

I’m looking forward to the time…

 

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