Chapter 348: State of Affairs

Where should I even begin?

With plenty of time to spare, there was no need to rush. Rememver organized his thoughts and started to speak.

“…First things first, the borders have closed.”

Sometime ago, the borders began vanishing one by one.

Naturally, humanity was thrown into chaos. Anxious about the inexplicable phenomenon, they gossiped about it everywhere. But it didn’t last long. Once they realized that aside from the mana stone supply disruption, there were no major losses, they quickly calmed down. It was almost embarrassing how much they had fussed.

As time passed, some were even happy, relieved from the fear of monster attacks.

“Not all of them have closed, mind you… but almost all borders are gone. As far as I know, the only one left is right here.”

He flicked his gaze towards a tiny border nearby.

…Back when Cruel Hart’s grave was made, Deon Hart was traveling between the Human and Demon Realms. Rememver built the tomb near the border so Cruel Hart could watch over him, no matter where he was.

And that border remains to this day.

“Even back then, it was small.”

Now it’s shrunk so much that only one person can barely squeeze through.

Even someone Ed’s size would struggle to get through. Knowing Ed planned to use this border to check on the Demon King’s grave, Rememver glanced at it with a worried look, wondering if it would shrink even further, before returning his gaze to the tombstone.

“…Of course, if I really looked, I might find more. But I have no intention of searching.”

As a retired old man, knowing more would only bring worry, and there’s nothing I could do about it anyway. Ignorance is bliss, as they say, and it perfectly applies here.

Not like I’m the only one who can even do this.

“Esperance will notice and start looking for them anyway. It’s really not something for an old man like me to meddle in.”

Rememver was well aware of the extent of Esperance’s intelligence network across the continent. If he knew, they certainly did too.

They’d handle things from there on out. He didn’t need to concern himself with it.

“Oh, and just as a heads-up, Esperance’s intelligence network has seized control of the underworld during this chaotic period. They’re not just handling information; they’re skillfully managing other underworld factions trying to expand using this chaos to grow their influence. So, you don’t need to doubt their capabilities.”

They know how to wield information as a weapon, and they know how to sharpen their skills based on the results. Esperance’s neutrality and non-interference also mean they won’t seek power beyond maintaining the minimum balance needed for self-preservation. Therefore, no one is better suited to find the borders and take action.

“And…?”

The underworld is far more stable than anticipated. Commoners are managing to get by, and in the village I passed through on the way here, people even had the leisure to seek out alcohol. Tracing these thoughts back, I’m brought back to the original point—the root of all this, ‘chaos.’

Yes, ‘chaotic current period’… that rings a bell. Rememver sighed softly.

“‘Other races’ have established themselves in the Human Realm. These completely different races, the kind you only read about in books, have settled in various suitable locations across the continent without anyone noticing.”

Fairy race, Merfolk race, and Dwarf race, if I remember right.

Luckily, they settled in forests not easily reached by humans… still, it’s quite perplexing.

To put it in perspective… it’s like a complete stranger sneaking into a place where a family feud is raging over property and quietly taking a share for themselves.

Luckily, it was land of little value. But still, in a war fought to claim unclaimed land, for them to carve out a piece for themselves…

“It all happened so smoothly and swiftly, it’s as if they were prepared in advance.”

But humans couldn’t act rashly.

They hadn’t yet gauged the other races’ strength, and they’d previously stated they’d remain peaceful unless provoked, and wouldn’t covet more territory. Furthermore, the land they claimed was low on humanity’s priority list, making an attack, and risking weakening their own forces, seemed pointless.

Forming an alliance to attack just because they were fellow humans was impossible given the deep divisions and conflicts already present between human factions.

“It’s as if… they were waiting for this exact moment.”

It got to the point where people were saying, ‘Better to let the other races have the land than some other bastards.’ That pretty much says it all.

Of course, if it had been demons, there would have been a strong backlash and hostility. Alliances would likely have formed between human factions too.

But these other races were completely unfamiliar, races they’d never even seen, let alone clashed with. So, there was no real hostility.

“Should we at least be grateful the Vampire race hasn’t crossed over?”

Rememver sensed that various races would come to inhabit this land in the future.

…Except, perhaps, Vampires.

“Oh, you might be wondering how I know about the Vampire race.”

Though I say that… perhaps, if souls are real, and if they don’t immediately leave the body after death, they might already know all this.

“I’ve seen their leader before.”

My encounter with the Vampire race leader was when I was retrieving Deon Hart’s body.

He just seemed to be there to confirm the body. There were no special words or actions, but it was the first time I’d seen a leader of another race up close, so I couldn’t help but remember it vividly.

***

When Deon Hart returned to claim the Demon King’s head.

Upon hearing the news of his return, the leaders of each race wrapped up their tea time with the Demon King and moved to relocate in preparation to cross over to the Human Realm.

As they busily pinpointed locations on a map of the Human Realm within the Dwarf territory, reconfirming their agreements, the vampire leader quietly rolled her eyes.

“…They were waiting for this situation.”

Back when I was going to war with everyone to save Deon Hart, it didn’t make sense, but now I understand.

“The Demon King definitely referred to Deon Hart’s return as a ‘guest has arrived.’”

Usually, you don’t refer to a returning ally as a ‘guest.’ Meaning, Deon Hart returned as an enemy, and the Demon King welcomed it. He wouldn’t be happy just to kill the Hero again, he must be anticipating the opposite.

Yeah, if you’ve lived that long, wanting to die isn’t strange.

“For those guys waiting for a chance to migrate to the Human Realm, this is definitely the perfect timing.”

If Deon Hart throws the Human Realm into chaos and even kills the Demon King, there won’t be any obstacles to migrating to the Human Realm. For those who can foresee the future, it was an obvious choice.

She calmly watched as the others exchanged words.

Sensing her gaze, the Fairy King turned to her.

“Soon, almost all borders will close. It will be difficult to travel to and from the Human Realm. Are you really not going?”

“Yeah, we’re staying. Didn’t I tell you? Our race doesn’t get along with the sun.”

It’s not like the Abyss and the Human Realm will be completely cut off, so if the Abyss gets boring someday, they can think about it then. There’s no need to force a move now when they have no intention to.

At the firm answer, the Fairy King shrugged as if to say he wouldn’t ask further, and returned to his territory. The merfolk leader also left, seemingly having finished his business of reconfirming existing plans and agreements. Ignoring the dwarf leader’s gaze questioning why she wasn’t leaving, the vampire leader paused to think.

“Going back right away is a bit of a shame… should I go watch the Demon King and Hero’s fight?”

The process, the result, even the time it takes to reach a conclusion—nothing about their fight is certain. It might already be over, but even then, it would be a rare opportunity to confirm the Demon King’s body, so there’s nothing to lose by going.

“As long as they don’t fight in the central garden, I shouldn’t get caught up in the battle, right?”

They wouldn’t fight in the greenhouse unless they were crazy.

She moved to the Demon King’s central garden once more.

Upon arriving, the vampire leader discovered not one, but two bodies. The bodies of madmen.

The unmistakable bodies of the Demon King and the Hero.

She briefly shuddered at the realization that she could have been caught up in their fight if she had arrived just a bit earlier.

“…I see, so that’s what happened.”

As someone who sees the present, the vampire leader finished assessing the situation and murmured quietly.

She lightly ignored the old human’s question of who she was and the demon’s wary question of why she was there.

“So that’s why they were focused solely on migration without other worries.”

If the Hero was alive, there would still be an element of uncertainty even if they migrated to the Human Realm, but she thought it was strange that they didn’t seem worried about that.

It was because the Hero was also scheduled to die.

The Demon King can’t commit suicide, so in this situation, the Hero who killed the Demon King must have taken his own life. In the midst of all this, the question of how the Hero’s eyes ended up like that remains, but for now, the assumption I made earlier is likely correct. The reason is unknown, but that point was a bit disappointing.

“Apart from defining him as a mass of chaos that needed to be killed, I quite liked his desperate struggle to live in the present.”

The Demon King is the Demon King, so it’s hard to forget him, but it’s the first time a human has left such a strong impression. That’s why the end of a guy who gave up on the present was quite disappointing.

…Anyway, having confirmed the death of the mass of chaos, there’s nothing more to worry about.

Now it was time to focus on her own race again, so she quietly left the spot, gazing down at Deon Hart’s body.

***

“That’s all. Nothing particularly special happened, so I have nothing more to tell you. But I can share another story. This will also be unfamiliar information to you.”

Rememver naturally changed the subject.

“A country called the Republic has been established. It’s a country with a completely different political system from the kingdoms and empires so far. That country claims that sovereignty resides with the people. It will be sweet talk to commoners and scholars.”

Whether it’s actually true or not, though.

***

How long has it been since the Revolutionary Army went underground?

Temporary leader Iram, while reviewing the ideologies of first generation leader Daniel and second generation leader Paul, as well as their teachings, realized that now was the perfect time to reveal themselves to the world.

A situation where it wouldn’t be strange for any country to be established or any organization to emerge. So, she boldly declared the establishment of a country with the name ‘Republic’ and revealed themselves to the world. It was a natural consequence that the name Iram became widely known.

“Originally, it shouldn’t be like this…”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“…Originally, my name should not be known. To be precise, the names of all those who will become the leaders of this Republic should not be known.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

Well, they’re used to monarchy, so it’s understandable that they don’t understand. Iram tapped her pen and added an explanation.

“This country is a Republic. A country where sovereignty resides with the people. Do you think it’s normal for the people of such a country to know the leader’s name?”

“…?”

“It means the situation is not good.”

It was said that the country is most peaceful when the people are not interested in the king.

Especially in this ‘Republic,’ for the people to know the leader’s name means that something is seriously wrong.

“Especially for me, the temporary leader, my name should not be left in history…”

She sighed.

“But the situation is what it is, so it can’t be helped.”

“…”

“You don’t need to take it too seriously. I was just complaining a bit because I’m daunted by the future.”

“Ah…”

Iram, as the one who established the Republic, has already had her name revealed once. Moreover, to protect the country in this chaotic world, she has to wield the power to unite opinions.

“Of course, this should be an exception until the war ends.”

If they don’t want to lose the country they worked so hard to establish, it can’t be helped. She can firmly teach the successor about becoming a nameless leader.

Of course, there is no suitable successor yet. She quietly shone her eyes and strengthened her resolve.”