Chapter 1142 – Breakthrough Conditions

000

“Guardian… You?”

Cleon must have looked at the small plush toy with disbelief and eyes.

At the same time, he didn’t let go of the stuffed toy he was holding with one hand.

Grumbling…

As a sound was heard, a sword was pulled from his waist.

[Huh!? Stop for a moment!! What are you trying to do with that big knife now!?]

Seeing Cleon’s actions like that, the doll cried out in horror, and Cleon himself let go of the sword from his hand.

When the sword that had been drawn was returned to its sheath, it seemed as if Galatea’s voice came from her waist, saying, ‘Ouch!’.

“… No, I said I couldn’t go down to the basement if I didn’t defeat you… So instinctively, without even knowing.”

[There’s no way you could kill me by stabbing me with something like that! The only thing that gets broken is this doll!]

“… Then, as expected, that body is not the main body.”

When Lila responded to her doll’s words, the doll responded by shaking her head vertically.

[Of course. What guardian in the world would turn his body into a doll?]

“Oh, yes…”

Lila responded coldly, as if she wasn’t interested.

The guardian says so, but considering the personalities of the guardians I’ve seen along the way, I don’t think it would be strange if there was at least one such strange guy.

“So. Why did you appear in front of us?”

When Cleon asks him to reveal its purpose and reason, the plush doll continues to shake its head from side to side while talking.

[Ahaha! As I said before, I am the manager of this hotel. When a guest comes to the hotel, isn’t it natural to come out and welcome them?]

Cleon was a little annoyed by the way the guy spoke in such a cheerful voice on the topic of stuffed toys, so he put the stuffed toys back on the counter and held her head tightly with both hands.

“By saying things like that… You’re thinking of deceiving us and leading us into a trap, right?”

[No, no no. That can’t be possible, what are you talking about?]

Based on her experience so far, she responded with a little embarrassment to Cleon’s words, which meant she had no choice but to be cautious.

[I said, I welcome those who came to Jade Dragon Mountain? As you know, the guardians who control each of the five mountains in front of us have shitty personalities, so most of them end up retiring midway… Or go back.]

Well, that’s right.

To be honest, just by coming this far, I might be able to become a famous adventurer, because the road to get here was very difficult.

[Thanks to you, I am free. This is it. The role of the guardian is to manage the mountain and to warn invaders who come by, ‘This is our territory!’ The job is to say, ‘Get out of there now!’ And send it back. Those guys only come around once every 100 years… No, 200 years. Don’t you think it’s too much?]

“… Indeed.”

This guy just liked people coming to his mountain.

Even if it means that he is the one who must be punished.

[But it worked! I’m thinking that perhaps you are visitors who only appear once every 1,000 years, not even 200. There are so many non-combat personnel, but no one has died on the way here. You even destroyed those returnees, right?]

“Were you watching?”

[Yes, I was watching. Is there anything else that looks so fun? For me who was bored and bored.]

For some reason, being watched wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

Whether she knew it or not, she continued to brag.

[Still, I’m so glad you came this far! As expected, when it comes to human beings, it seems that those with a ‘goal’ are able to exert strength in many ways. Was it ‘the guardian of Jade Dragon Mountain is relatively easy to defeat’?]

In a way, it was about her, but Artis frowned at her words as if they were about someone else.

“Wait, how do you know? Could you have been eavesdropping on that too?”

Hehe~! There was no need to eavesdrop. That’s right, I was the one who spread the information like that.]

“What…”

The group looked surprised once again at her absurd words.

“Well, the information in that old document was spread by you?”

In particular, Artis, who could be said to be the one who brought the group here, looked the most surprised.

[Okay. If we don’t do that, there won’t be many people who come this far, right? Everyone challenges the middle guardians, only to break and die. Then what about me? It’s a life where I spend my days here waiting for someone to come to me. That’s so boring.]

“…”

In a way, her words seemed self-centered, and everyone else fell silent.

And a moment later, Attis sat down on her bed, placing his hand on her forehead.

“… Everyone, I’m sorry. I guess I was being deceived by the enemy. Since it was a document from at least a thousand years ago, I thought it had some credibility…”

“Gyo, professor…”

If that information came from the guardian himself, and the person in charge said that…

Probably, the fact that the guardian of Jade Dragon Mountain was the easiest to break through meant that there was a very high probability that it was some kind of bluff.

[Ah, I guess I’m misunderstanding. Of course, I spread such literature outside to attract humans here. I didn’t really ‘lie’. This Jade Dragon Mountain will definitely be easier to break through than other mountains. We just ‘disclosed’ that information.]

But to Attis, the guardian answered calmly.

“Huh. So you’re weak?”

Schrödinger asked without notice.

[That can’t be possible! It’s just that breaking through the invincible barrier that protects us is easier than other mountains!]

“That’s right, Artis. Since we’ve come this far, isn’t it okay if I tell you the conditions now?”

Lila continued to talk to Artis as if she was concerned, and Artis kept quiet for a moment.

“Can I smoke here?”

[No because the smell of cigarettes permeates the furniture!]

And then he took some time.

“… It’s subjugation. Subjugation of demons.”

“Ah-“

“The devil?!”

Someone else probably tried to say the same thing, but Amelia’s voice was much louder and was drowned out.

And there would be no one here who would not know why Amelia reacted that way.

Well, when it comes to demons, Amelia knows best, and she is also most aware of the dangers.

[Clap clap clap, correct answer! If you’ve read the literature I wrote, I deliberately twisted things around a bit to create problems. You interpreted it well.]

Artis must have frowned at her, perhaps a little annoyed by her tone of voice that seemed to be praising her.

“Wait a minute. The devil… Are you saying there is a devil in this mountain?”

[Yes, that’s right. There are two large supply demons I signed a contract with. You can break through my invincibility by defeating those demons and sending them to hell. Is it easy?]

“It can’t be easy…! Demons are one of the most dangerous beings on this continent! And they have a large supply…”

Then, Sasha, who was quiet next to her, will secretly ask Cleon.

“… Mr. Cleon. How strong is the Great Supply Demon?”

“… You can think of him as one of those generally called great devils. Although he is not at the level of Demiurge who almost descended from the Academy, I heard that he needs a lot of preparation to live in this world. Probably, in terms of strength, he is just below that Demiurge. .”

In response to Cleon, Sasha became thoughtful and expressed her thoughts.

“… Well, that doesn’t seem ‘easy’ at all…?”

“Ah… What’s more surprising than anything is that I don’t know how long such a powerful demon would have been on this Jade Dragon Mountain. It’s fortunate that she was holding the two demons’ leashes tightly, otherwise…”〈 Br〉

If such a devil had escaped from the mountains and sneaked into human society, it would have caused quite a stir.

[How is it? If I knew, I wouldn’t be able to leave it alone, right? Should I go get rid of it right now?]

The guardian will talk teasingly, as if he had hoped for this situation.

Amelia was about to say something to the guardian, but she quickly clenched her fist and made a ‘squeak’ sound.

Considering what she’s heard so far, it’s not that she’s thinking anything deep about her-

I could tell that she had prepared the stage here to attract people to kill time.

[Now, I am waiting at the center of this mountain – that is, at the top. Of course, before you come, you have to properly send the two demons I talked about earlier back home. And, these cabins – Hotel Fugatorium – are built all over the mountain. If your stamina is low, you can come anytime.]

The gaze of her companions was cold as they looked at her speaking in a light manner.

[Huh…? It must be rare to find a guardian who can help you this far, so why does he look like that? It’s sad~]

Looking at her talking as if she didn’t know the reason, Cleon sighed.

[And if you want to talk to me, talk to this doll anytime! Oh, that doesn’t mean I can necessarily answer that! Now that I know that guests are coming, I have to groom myself a little.]

A sound of laughter comes from the plush toy.

“Wait!”

At that time, the voice of Artis calls out to the guardian who appears to be leaving.

Then, for the first time, the stuffed toy’s neck will turn and look at Artis.

“If you’re going to help us, help us for sure. We ran out of supplies on the way here. Food and such.”

The party was momentarily surprised by Artis’ somewhat shameless words.

[Okay? Good!]

The guardian readily answered like that.

Thud! A sound was heard, and the cabin rang loudly.

“What is it?”

“There was a sound outside…”

When the group faces a mess, the doll answers their questions.

[A kitchen and food storage have been added to the hut! You can use the items there as you wish!]

“… Is that possible?”

Even though Cleon is a guardian, he would look at her with suspicion when he sees her doing something that goes beyond her common sense.

[Then~]

However, the guardian simply answers Cleon’s questions in an indifferent manner.

In order to get a proper answer from her, it seemed like it was necessary to first get in front of her.

[Then I’ll be waiting. I’m also looking forward to meeting you in person. Especially… You.]

And, what the plush toy’s gaze is directed at –

After the word devil came out, Amelia looked nervous.

“… Is it me?”

It was a little unexpected, though.

[Okay. Maybe it has something to do with my original…]

“Your original is…”

As Amelia said that, she looked at the stuffed toys neatly placed in front of Cleon.

Black hair, black eyes, and pure white skin.

If you have that characteristic appearance, anyone can recognize you.

‘The clan of the dark horse.’

A member of the same race as Cleon, standing in front of her, with a slightly stiff expression.

And all the other guardians I’ve met along the way are Cleon’s companions.

“Please wait. I’m sure you…”

Amelia opened her eyes wide as if she understood now.

“Your original is by no means Cleon…?”

As Amelia spoke with a serious expression, the room fell silent for a moment.

It was such a shocking statement that even the guardian silenced her.

“Oh, Amelia…? I’m a man…?”

Of course, Cleon tells Amelia to calm down.

“You don’t look like Laila at all, so it’s possible that your gender changed!”

“Hey!”

Lila will raise her voice at Amelia’s words.

“And the fact that a guardian based on Cleon cares about me means…”

‘Could it be that Cleon cares about me too…!?’

The dating brain appropriate for that age group was fully operational.

Suddenly, Amelia, the love genius whose voice had died down, seemed to come back to life.

[Ahahahahaha! No, that’s how it works? You, too, are among the party members in trouble, magic swordsman!]

And, the Guardian would say that to Cleon, who was standing next to him, laughing.

[It’s fun, so should we do it like that?]

“As expected…!”

[I’m kidding. Well, if you’re that curious, just quickly defeat the demons and come to where I am.]

After saying those last words, the stuffed toy waved its hand and then fell limp.

As she said, it must have severed the connection with her stuffed animal.

“Ha… It seems like there are only strange guardians.”

Kuon muttered like that and placed his hand on his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Well, I still have a place to resupply and rest… And I know how to defeat the guardians.”

Sasha speaks as if there is something fortunate about Kuon.

It was just as Sasha said, but the fact that the method wasn’t easy was probably a factor in Kuon’s anxiety.

In the end, with a strange atmosphere of tension flowing among the group, the group had no choice but to have a meal under Artis’ leadership.

And at that time, they may not have even imagined it yet.

The great dukes of hell who would block them-

No way would I have guessed that they were demons that were more than what I imagined…