Volume 2 - CH 413

9-47. Quarantine

Houen touched upon something that no one had paid attention to.

Even if asked why, there was no way he could explain it in detail.

But what Houen had been wondering about was enough to draw everyone present into it.

The world of the living and the realm of the dead.

The present and the eternal world.

If we divide it that way, the three individuals who were originally Japanese might not have much doubt.

But why are they separated in this world?

Furthermore, it is possible to come and go there.

Houen had doubts about that.

When faced with a question that struck at the heart, Uchikage hesitated.

His father, who had become a Akki, was there.

It was a little uncomfortable to think about, but there was no other choice.

So he tried to remember.

The oni who cried in the past.

“…Vadan.”

Among Uchikage, there was only one who knew.

There was no other way to put it.

He must have been frustrated.

So he remembered that on that day, he cried.

But he had never thought about why they went to that space.

In the first place, why does it exist?

Why are only oni… only Akki trapped in that isolated space?

“…Trapped?”

“Yeah, that’s right, Uchikage. I also thought the same thing. I think we didn’t care about it because it has become normalized now. But I started to think that there might be something behind it.”

“Hold on, Houen… You don’t mean it’s their doing, right…?”

“…There is a possibility.”

Houen answered Lize’s question while shaking his head.

There is a solid reason for reaching that conclusion.

“During the time of preventing the resurrection of the evil god, the oni were supposed to participate as well. Hinata was one of them. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to be present at the end with Hinata and the others.”

“After everything was over, did they immediately erase their memories?”

“Yeah, probably. And I think the devil played a significant role in preventing the resurrection of the evil god… to the extent that they would be considered dangerous.”

“…My ancestors opposed the evil god together with Hinata and made significant contributions to the war… It doesn’t seem like that alone would be seen as a threat.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I also felt like I didn’t have enough information. But… creating an isolated world, it’s impossible unless you’re a god, right?”

When it’s put that way, there’s no choice but to nod.

It could lead to anything-goes territory, but those who possess the power to create are gods.

It’s not an impossible story, and everyone fell silent.

But there is a way to learn the true intention behind this.

If they could encounter a devil, they should be able to gather more information.

Currently, they don’t have such a connection.

“Well, the conversation has gotten bigger, hasn’t it?”

“That’s not true, Reizen. The conversation itself is small and simple. It just looks bigger because the pieces are coming together.”

“In the end, it’s still a big deal, isn’t it? So, what’s next?”

“Yeah, we’re done with the discussion about Akki. It’s clear that their relationship with Hinata explains it. That’s considered good. Next is information gathering, I think…”

After the incident in the Oni Village, Houen conducted information gathering in the Kingdom of Salettana.

There were hardly any noticeable results, but there he encountered Atrak and discovered some research materials about magical crystals.

And… Irza.

“Oh right, Reizen, I just remembered!”

“Huh!? What is it!?”

“You met Irza once, right!? When the centipedes were spreading in the Kingdom of Salletana! You mentioned she was a witch!! She knew about the magical crystals!”

“Oh, yeah. I did meet her for sure. When Houen came to Prince Kreiss’s room, I mentioned that… But she said she didn’t know about magical crystals.”

“Really?”

It might not make much sense to dig deeper at this point, but let’s go meet Irza with Reizen next.

After instructing Reizen to inform him if there are any signs of Ouren, Houen paused for a moment to think.

Why was it necessary to lie?

The magic crystals were prepared by the devils.

Perhaps they didn’t want to arouse suspicion by having any connection.

“…Well, thinking that way might be a bit cynical.”

“Houen-dono, I wasn’t there at that time… How was Irza-sama?”

“Well, she acted like she didn’t know, but there’s also a possibility that it was just an act. Oh, but she did flinch when I mentioned the magic crystal, so even if there was some connection with the devil, she might view us as enemies. Hmm…”

Regardless, it seems necessary to bring Reizen along next time and confront Irza.

If Irza had some level of contact with the devils, some information should come to light.

If they could find out where she lives, that would be great… but it’s unlikely to go that smoothly.

“Well, let’s resolve this matter when we return. Anyway, going back to the topic… the research results on the magic crystals weren’t that good. There were many things we could do, but it seemed impossible without relying on devils. It’s not really relevant to the current incident. The issue is probably more with Atrak. I understand now, but that devil tried to say, ‘Devils are not enemies,’ and died.”

It seemed like he was knowledgeable about the other members besides Hinata.

In particular, he seemed to be close to someone named Urushima.

He found his dialect amusing and ended up mimicking it, unable to return to his original accent.

Although he didn’t know anything himself, he left behind a very important story.

Thanks to that conversation, they had more things to search for, and their impression of devils changed.

“Devils… they’re desperate. That’s why we have to cooperate from now on. Even if we become despised, if it leads to a good outcome, we need to become villains, like the current devils.”

It took courage to nod in agreement with those words.

No one wishes to become a despised individual willingly.

But precisely because they had learned the truth, there were things they had to do.

The devils had been doing that since the time of Ouren and Reizen’s reincarnation.

Perhaps they had been working behind the scenes even before that.

For their own sake, and for the future entrusted to them by Hinata and the others.

“The devils’ determination… it’s quite remarkable.”

“…To die for the sake of others…”

Alena reacted to Lize’s murmur.

Having witnessed death firsthand, she could feel the weight in those words.

“…The rest of the discussion includes the battle in the Bamil territory, the conversation with Lurimkos… but let’s mix what we’ve learned here with what we’ve talked about so far. The fact that devils are not enemies, the story of the book about the meaningless war, the story of Uchikage and Alena’s homeland… their true purpose and the curse.”

“Houen-kun, there’s one thing I still don’t understand.”

“Huh, what is it?”

“Why did your memories disappear?”