I Saved the Demon King Who Was About to Commit Suicide – Chapter 25

Right after the portal travel that accompanied dizziness.

Evan lost his lunch as soon as he arrived in an alley.

Lucia, who had traveled through the portal with him, had a similar reaction.

“Ugh…”

When moving between regions within Anima, the travel time was short enough that dizziness wasn’t an issue. But moving to another country took a bit longer, and he couldn’t overcome the waves of dizziness hitting him.

“…But at least we arrived properly.”

After regaining his composure for a while, Evan surveyed the surroundings and spoke up.

Nothing about it was different. The residents walking around still had their holy symbols tucked under their arms, and the knights were clad in white armor adorned with Lorencia’s insignia.

“We made it inside. If we’d fallen near the entrance, it might’ve been hard for me to get in.”

“Here, wear this robe with the anti-recognition magic on it.”

“Right. I wouldn’t know what kind of trouble I’d get into if I got caught here.”

Nodding, Lucia took the robe and put it on. Thanks to the thick fabric covering her head, her horns weren’t easily noticeable.

“So, what’s the next plan? It seems like we’ve succeeded in getting safely into the Holy Kingdom.”

“I’m thinking of heading to the High Temple, Helia.”

“…The guards will be tight, though. Do you really think we can get inside?”

In response to Lucia’s question, Evan extended his wrist.

She seemed to understand as she said, “I see. Since you’re the Apostle of Destruction, you could probably get into Helia easily. But I doubt you’d be able to bring me, as an outsider, along.”

“It might be possible if I say you’re part of my entourage. Just being here in the Holy Kingdom would mean you’ve been certified by the order.”

“Do you really think that method would work, Evan? We’re trying to get into the High Temple, Helia, the most important place in the Holy Kingdom. There’s no way the security could be lax there…”

“Well, I could also claim I captured the Demon King. That would be the safest and most reliable method.”

“…If that’s the kind of method we’re using, I’d rather stick to the first option.”

“You say that, yet…”

“Tsk.”

Lucia clicked her tongue.

Evan watched her for a moment before standing up and stepping out of the alley.

“Follow me. We’re going directly.”

*

A short while after exiting the alley, the two found themselves inside Helia.

“…I don’t understand how this method worked.”

Lucia murmured in disbelief as they walked further inside. Just earlier, Evan had shown the knights the mark of the Apostle and claimed they had business to attend to, allowing them to enter Helia without raising any suspicions…

“It’s because the standards for who can enter the Holy Kingdom are set high. So when they heard the term ‘Apostle,’ they probably deemed us trustworthy.”

“Even so, isn’t it the most important place in the Holy Kingdom?”

“Even though it’s important, anyone from the Holy Kingdom can enter Helia. Essentially, it was built as a temple for worshipping the gods and offering prayers.”

“…That’s absurd. A place open to the public yet so important.”

Just as Lucia’s complaints continued, her voice suddenly cut off.

Evan turned back, wondering if she had lagged behind, and then he understood why she had gone quiet.

She had stopped in front of a wall.

A wall that Evan had once stopped in front of as well.

A mural depicting the Ten Gods was hung on the wall.

Lucia stared intently at the pictures hanging on that wall, her eyes filled with an unidentifiable emotion.

“…Lucia?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just admiring the paintings for a moment.”

“Are those the Ten Gods?”

After a brief pause, she answered Evan’s question.

“…Yeah.”

It seemed she had something more she wanted to say, as her lips kept moving, but then she fell silent.

Evan guessed it might be related to her constraints and then gently pulled her wrist.

“We shouldn’t linger here too long, or they’ll figure out you’re here. Let’s quickly take a look around and leave.”

“Sure. I don’t want to stay here for too long either.”

“Right.”

*

Evan, leading Lucia by the wrist, stopped in front of the library in Helia.

It was a place he had visited numerous times over the two years he studied history before his journey.

The library looked just as it did before.

“I thought I wouldn’t return here, yet here I am.”

“Did you come here often?”

“I used to look through the books here. There were many about past Apostles and the history of the continent.”

“I see.”

As Lucia wandered and checked out the books, she fixed her gaze on one side and spoke.

“Ah, there’s a novel here. The title’s a bit strange, though.”

“What is it?”

“Without me realizing, I became the world’s strongest dragon lord.”

Evan shuddered at the title he heard.

Lucia, oblivious to his reaction, continued reading the titles of other books.

“I Was Reborn as a Demon Sword, My Stepmother Left to Become an SSS-Class Demon King? Do the people of the Holy Kingdom enjoy long titles? Oh, there’s another! My Girlfriend Who is in a Relationship is…”

“Stop right there.”

Unable to take it anymore, Evan covered the titles she was reading.

The first three were relatively normal novels, but the ones following were downright bizarre.

‘I remember reading one on Sharon’s recommendation once…’

Initially, he hadn’t understood what the title meant, but since the content involved a man and a woman engaging in intimate activities, he recalled returning the books that Sharon had recommended that very day.

“This section contains forbidden books. It’s best not to read them or even look at them.”

“Forbidden books must have undisclosed content, right? Wouldn’t it be better to check them out?”

“…I’ve seen that content before with the Pope’s permission. Those books won’t have any useful information for us, so let’s skip them.”

A little white lie that he hoped would make her pass over those books.

Lucia looked at him suspiciously.

“Hmm…”

However, she eventually turned her head and said, “Well, since I said I’d trust you, I guess I should. If any of the books contain useful information, you would’ve picked them up first, I assume.”

Fortunately, Lucia seemed willing to move on as he had hoped.

Evan nodded repeatedly and immediately followed her.

“By the way, Evan. Where can I find books containing past histories? You know this place better than I do.”

“Probably over there.”

Evan pointed towards a distant bookshelf.

“If my memory serves me right, historical records of each nation should be there. Let’s check those out, then go look for books that relate to the Demon King and Apostles.”

“Sounds good.”

Lucia headed to the bookshelf he indicated and began pulling out books to read.

Evan also took one out to look at.

The first book he picked up was regarding Silvestra’s history, which Sephius had discussed with him.

At first, he thought it was just a thin book with little actual history but…

Now it was different.

According to Sephius, the Silvestra he had seen was originally not land inhabited by monsters, but land where humans lived.

‘There might be some information to uncover.’

With that thought, Evan opened the history book of Silvestra, but contrary to his expectations, he found no new information.

In fact, as he flipped through the pages, he stumbled upon a partially written page.

All the remaining pages were blank.

There was nothing written at all.

‘Hmm…’

Evan stared at the empty page, lost in thought.

Then he turned his steps towards another bookshelf that might have other books.

He felt that looking at historical books might be pointless.

If he didn’t know when or where things had started to go wrong, then the very notion of existing historical records could be entirely fabricated.

‘I’d rather search through memories related to the Apostles.’

*

According to his memories, records related to the Apostles and Demon Kings were deep within the library.

As Evan ventured into a secluded area, he spotted a woman reading a book, clad in a robe.

He attempted to pass by her quickly, but when he caught sight of the book title she was reading, he hesitated for a moment.

The title was clearly quite risqué.

‘Is it forbidden for the Saintess to enjoy erotic tales?’

As he passed, he caught a glimpse of the synopsis, confirming that it was indeed an erotic novel.

Evan’s face turned crimson with anger.

Setting aside the fact that she was his companion, she was also the hero who had sacrificed herself to stop the Demon King.

Evan’s blood boiled at the thought of using someone like her as fodder for an erotic story, prompting him to snatch the book from her hand.

“Ah…”

The surprised voice that escaped the woman was melodic.

It was a voice that was familiar to Evan.

“Evan…?”

The woman recognized him and removed her robe.

As she did, her hair as white as fresh snow and her ocean-like eyes came into view.

It was the Saintess.