The Terminally Ill Hero’s Husband is the Demon King - Chapter 2.7
“Isn’t this bathhouse nice? It’s a little more expensive than other places, but it’s worth the price.”
“I like it, too. The drink is delicious as well.”
“Right? If you listen to me, you won’t lose out, Gillian.”
Rassel’s words lodged in his chest like a wedge. Gillian made up his mind to follow Rassel. He did not want to let go of the pleasure that had come to him in the final years of a life where it would not be strange for him to die at any time.
For now, he also had the excuse that since there was no way to know the Demon King’s whereabouts, it would be better to wander with Rassel and learn the terrain of Gray Mountain.
“I’ll follow you and go hunting. I’m not a professional hunter, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”
“That worked out nicely! I knew it. The moment I saw you, I felt something. We’re going to get along well.”
“Before the water cools, tell me one story about the Demon King, as promised.”
“It’d be better to tell you a story you’ve never heard before, wouldn’t it? People from other regions don’t know, but in Hundred-Year Fortress, there are a few Demon King stories passed down by word of mouth. Did you know the Demon King has a name, too? He has several names and nicknames, but this is the name I know. Bywinter. They say in the ancient language, it’s a more complicated name, but in the end, it means ‘beside winter’, so it’s all the same.”
It was a story he had heard from the mages before.
“Winter. Is that what you call the Demon King?”
“Bywinter. That’s the Demon King’s name. He’s also called ‘the one who inherits temptation’. The Demon King hasn’t appeared for the past few hundred years, but according to legend, the Demon King does not die. Just as secular kings die and a new person succeeds to the throne, the Demon King endures by establishing a new Bywinter. They say it’s usually someone who wants revenge or covets eternal life who takes that place.”
Gillian raised himself and leaned his body toward Rassel.
“The Demon King hasn’t appeared in Yuers for 500 years. Is there anything passed down about the reason for that?”
“Why wouldn’t there be? Everyone’s busy showing off, each adding their own word about why. The strongest theory is that the archmage Jin Kashutra sealed the Demon King 500 years ago. Jin Kashutra disappeared after the founding of Yuers, didn’t he? Some say he lost his magic after sealing the Demon King, some say he died, and some say he finished everything he had to do and went into seclusion. There’s plenty of talk, but no one knows the truth.
Whatever the truth is, they say the Demon King, who had been asleep for 500 years, has lost almost all the power he possessed. Far from starting a war or commanding evil spirits and demonic beasts, he supposedly doesn’t even have the ability to harm people.
Since the people of Hundred-Year Fortress grew up hearing legends like that, it was only natural their livers swelled with courage and they thought of the Demon King as rat droppings. During the 500 years the Demon King slept, the master of Gray Mountain was none other than the residents of Hundred-Year Fortress. They’re not the kind of people who would give up Hundred-Year Fortress now just because the Demon King came back.
“There are people who say they’ve seen the Demon King, but not a single person has died. Even I and my companions, who practically live on the mountain, are all perfectly fine. I don’t know why the capital sends punitive forces. Pointlessly.”
Rassel grumbled as if irritated.
“What Demon King do they think they’re going to catch with those sloppy, ragtag punitive forces? What the Demon King is waiting for is something else. Though it seems he’s already gotten even that now.”
“What do you mean by that? Gotten it? What are you talking about?”
At Gillian’s question, Rassel spoke while suppressing laughter that seemed ready to burst.
“No, well, things are quiet these days, aren’t they? I think the Demon King has already gotten everything he wanted. He moved because there was something he wanted, and now that he has it, he wants to live quietly. If the punitive forces keep bothering him, how do you think the Demon King feels? Pretty awful, I’d say.”
While Rassel talked, Gillian was lathering his hair with soap and scrubbing his upper body clean. Rassel continued his story while gazing at Gillian with affectionate eyes.
Gillian left only his face above the water and submerged his hair. He kneaded and shook his hair under the water to remove the soap, then sat up again. Rassel thought that Gillian, wiping away the water flowing down his face, looked as if he were wiping away fallen tears.
“Rassel.”
“Yeah, is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“Do you think coexistence is possible if Bywinter does not harm people?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? It’s just like having one more large wild animal on the mountain.”
“A large wild animal, you say. Do the people of Hundred-Year Fortress think so carelessly? That makes me curious.”
Rassel tapped Gillian’s arm with his finger. Startled, Gillian’s hand twitched. Rassel asked, his golden eyes sparkling,
“What do you think, then?”
“If there is a way to find and eliminate him, wouldn’t eliminating him leave no future trouble?”
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