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Ex-Hero, Now Freeloader – Chapter 39

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Translator: Kobracon

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39 – The Freeloader Life of a Former Savior, Morning. 2

I am currently being supported by a peaceful nation of Demons.

The seven Demon girls I rescued five years ago were taken in by this nation and they seem to have had a successful career in the past five years.

Reuniting with Eleanor, the silver-haired magic swordswoman who worked her way up to one of the Big Four of the Demon King Army, was pure coincidence.

I ran into her in the Orc boss’s room when I attacked the base of the bad Demons who kidnapped Human kids.

She said that she, too, came in search of bad Demons who kidnapped Demon kids.

Human and Demon children were being traded as slaves in that place.

The kids who are currently spending time with me are the kids who couldn’t find a caretaker.

Kids whose families were already gone from this world, or kids who were abandoned.

The Demon King Army agreed to take in those children, including me.

And so.

After breakfast alongside those children and Eleanor…

The kids all leave the dining hall to study.

It seems that they sit at a desk every day together with Myuri, the Demon King’s daughter.

Now, what should I do…

「S-sir Rain.」

Eleanor calls out to me.

「Yeah.」

This has become a habit of sorts.

Eleanor hands me a leather bag filled to bursting with gold coins. My allowance.

She seems to feel joy when handing it over to me.

「Here is today’s allowance.」

「Th-thanks.」

Eleanor treated my word of thanks as if thanked by the divine by clasping her hands together.

「No, please. I should be the one thanking you for graciously accepting it.」

Due to the amount of gold coins in it, the bag can’t even be closed properly.

I accept it, feeling the firm weight of the bag.

I truly am grateful for it.

But the fact of the matter is, I can’t use it all up.

Food, clothing, and shelter are all taken care of, so I don’t have to pay for anything in the first place.

Even when I sometimes go out and take a stroll through the castle town, the amount of money I spend is nothing compared to the amount that Eleanor gives me.

So, I am in a situation where I keep getting allowances while I am barely spending them.

And not too long ago, I won big in the Centaur Races in town and now have two boxes filled with gold coins sitting in a corner of my room.

Considering I still have all of that, I feel kinda bad whenever I receive new allowances.

However, I couldn’t say that to Eleanor who has an expression of pure ecstasy and is so excited she’s breathing heavily.

「Oh, I almost forgot. Sir Rain, please accept this as well.」

Said Eleanor, after she had calmed down her ragged breathing.

What she produced was an Alice band decorated with horns.

This is a Demon town after all, so a Human walking around it will stand out.

So, I normally put on imitation Majin horns when I go out.

「Oh, new horns? Are they different from the last one?」

I take a look at it in my hands.

Design-wise, the horns…resemble Eleanor’s horns more so than the previous band.

It is said that Majin horns come in all shapes and sizes.

Eleanor’s horns extend in a curve from her temporal lobes towards her forehead.

「This is a Magic Tool that grants a special effect.」

『Magic Tool? …This isn’t an Original. Are you friends with a magic engineer?』

Mika butted into the conversation.

There are three kinds of Magic Tools.

The first are those that are created by God.

Things like the holy swords and cursed swords.

The second kind are those that are accidentally created by the combination of a pool of naturally accumulated mana and a person’s desire.

Fairy tale-like items like a lamp that produces a wish-granting spirit when rubbed, a brush that makes anything it draws come to life, or a doll with real emotions.

A person’s fanciful whim accidentally brought to life by a high concentration of mana.

The third kind are those created by a magic engineer.

A desired Magic Tool can be created with a clear vision and artificially concentrating mana. While that sounds easy on paper, there is only one person who can do it in the Human Territory, making that person precious and the art, valuable.

The Sage could probably do it, but she would rather use her mana to teleport herself into the battlefield than waste it on just artificially creating a useful Magic Tool.

That shows just how enormous the amount of mana required to make a Magic Tool is. Mana that the battle for Humanity cannot afford to waste.

「Special effect?」

When I asked, Eleanor cleared her throat.

「We can expect it to suppress the charm of the wearer.」

So she says, but I don’t get it.

Mika seems to have understood, though.

『Huh. Ain’t that great, Rain? With this on, you won’t be knocking out anyone with your smile anymore.』

Mika speaks as if my smile is some sorta magic attack, but strangely, that isn’t a rare occurrence here in the Demon King Castle.

Five years ago, I rescued seven Demon girls.

One of the Demon King’s Big Four, Eleanor.

A teacher of the Magic Academy, Louto.

The Demon King Army’s Chief intelligence officer, Vivi.

Escort to the Demon King’s Daughter, the maid Lejie.

Out of the four that I have reunited with, Eleanor is the one with the lowest… tolerance?

At first, it was normal for her to faint when I smiled and have a gushing nosebleed when I called out to her.

Recently, however, she has been resisting with an iron will befitting that of a Demon King Army’s Big Four but…

「Suppresses my charm… So this inhibits perception?」

Unfortunately, even in an age where Humanity is fighting against the threat of the Demons, Human crimes have not ceased.

It seems that it is not easy to be unified under one heart and mind.

Among the criminals who can use magic, there are those that interfere with the other party’s consciousness, making them perceive their faces differently from what they actually are.

「Exactly. Sir Rain’s overflowing cuteness… Your charm swallows up everyone in its wake like a tsunami. It would be a hindrance…er, I mean trouble if any more were to be swept up by it, so I have taken preventive measures. And well, I suppose it also has the extra ability of making it more difficult to know that you are Human.」

『You really suck at hiding your true feelings. Wait a minute, isn’t the ability to hide his Humanity really important?』

Mika was saying something, but I was more interested in the design of it.

「This is…ah, the hair band part is the Magic Tool, and the horns are just for decoration.」

Eleanor’s shoulders shook in surprise.

「Y-yes. As expected, Sir Rain noticed that.」

『That’s because it was super obvious. It looks just like your horns. Also, I have an idea who made it.』

「Wh-whatever do you mean?」

「The one who made this is one of the Seven, aren’t they?」

Eleanor’s shoulders jolt again in surprise.

「This is a national secret, so I cannot answer.」

『You couldn’t get them to make you an Alice band with your horns on it, so you ended up having it made for Rain’s sake, then stuck on horn decorations that resemble yours later, right?』

Eleanor freezes like a statue.

「Wh-why of course not. That is not at all what I, Eleanor, would do.」

「You actually had this made just for me? That must’ve been rough.」

Considering the abilities of the engineer, this probably took less mana than people would expect to create a Magic Tool, but it is still a considerable amount.

「When I told them that it was for your sake, they finished it in one night.」

『If anything, I think the ability you girls have to get things done is incredible…』

「…It looks like there is no use in deceiving you anymore… Well, I’m sure she was more than happy to be of use to you, Sir Rain.」

In other words, Mika was right. The magic engineer of this country is one of the Seven.

A national secret… Well, that ship has already sailed for me.

Not only do I know all sorts of delicate information such as the Demon King’s family composition, the Big Four, the magic academy, or the intelligence officer that could spell trouble in the hands of the enemy, I am acquainted with all of them.

「I see… Could you thank her for me? No wait, maybe I should thank her personally?」

「Oh, no, now is not a…」

『I see. Even though she’s one of the Seven, she still hasn’t come to meet Rain, so she must have a reason to not be able to.』

「Indeed… One of them is a Big Four like me, but she is dedicated to her work on top of the long out-of-town missions she is sent to… Yet another is quite a nuisance so I do not wish to meet her. As for the engineer…she wants to meet you but…」

『For you to say one of them is a nuisance, I wonder just how…』

I’m curious about that too, but we’re talking about the magic engineer.

「She’s busy?」

「There is that but… She considers her work a form of art, you see, so when she is focused on one thing, she tends to neglect everything else… That period of concentration lasted for quite a while, so she is currently getting herself ready to meet you, Sir Rain. 」

『Ah, she’s currently in no state to be meeting anyone, so she’s too embarrassed to come see Rain?』

Eleanor gave a slight nod.

「Not in a state to be meeting anyone? What does that mean?」

『It could mean anything. But in the end, she probably wants to see you again when she’s in perfect condition.』

I don’t really get it, but I guess that’s how it is.

「Well, I guess all I can do is be grateful.」

「I am sure that your words of gratitude will reach her.」

There was a slight pause in the discussion.

I somehow put on the horn band.

「How is it?」

「Hrk…!」

Eleanor grabbed her chest and fell to one knee.

But, she managed to stay conscious.

「I-it suits you.」

『She resisted…! Looks like it really does have an effect.』

Mika was surprised.

「I can keep going. Sir Rain, please, try calling me “big sis” next…」

『Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself! It was hard enough trying to cut ties with that self-proclaimed “big sister”…』

The Saint Marie, who once rampaged through Demon Territory just to take me back.

After battling…persuading her, I managed to convince her to go back.

For now, the Sage will use Space Elemental magic to teleport her here during their downtime.

I’ll send her back the same way.

Sometimes she arrives carrying letters from the other Saviors, but they seem to be busy with something over there.

「Oh, right. Since you went to all the trouble to get this made, why don’t I go out and test the effectiveness of the horn? If you don’t mind, you could come with, Eleanor. Oh wait, you just got back from a mission, you must be tired.」

「I’ll go.」

「Yeah, maybe another tim-wait what?」

「I’ll go.」

Eleanor’s face was so deathly serious that I subconsciously took a step back.

When I did, Eleanor took one step forward.

「There is nothing wrong with my physical condition. In fact, if I were to go to bed right now, I would be unable to sleep due to the crushing regret of declining your invitation.」

「I-I see. Well then, let’s go just for a while.」

「Yes…! Let us frolic in town till we drop!」

She’s not listening.

Ah well.

If I can talk to Eleanor without worrying about her collapsing, then that makes me kinda glad.

In fact, my heart is beating faster than when I go out by myself.

「Well, where should we go?」

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