I Saved the Demon King Who Was About to Commit Suicide – Chapter 34

“…I’m sorry.”

After breaking the Apostle of the Sea’s trident, Evan was repeatedly apologizing to him with a flustered expression.

It was only then he realized that the trident was passed down from the Apostle’s mother.

“What are you going to do about this? It’s completely broken and unusable.”

The Apostle of the Sea held out the split trident and spoke.

“I’ll compensate as much as I can. I can get you the most expensive or luxurious trident in Cordelia.”

“Do I look like I’d want that kind of compensation?”

“…Then tell me what you want.”

“Reparation of the trident.”

As far as Evan knew, the trident was a weapon that couldn’t be repaired once broken.

In other words, it meant what the Apostle was saying was impossible.

“I don’t have the ability to turn back time. I doubt I can fulfill that request….”

“You dare break my trident!”

In his rage, the Apostle of the Sea’s hand moved toward Evan’s throat.

However, Lucia, who was next to him, intervened and opened her mouth.

“True, it’s right that Evan broke the trident. But didn’t you misunderstand first and attempt to kill us? It’s also true you didn’t want to hear our story.”

“That’s…!”

“Don’t deny it. You intended to throw your trident with the thought of killing us, didn’t you?”

Lucia pointed at Evan’s wound on his abdomen.

Despite trying to staunch the bleeding as best as he could, the deep wound was still oozing with blood.

Seeing that, the Apostle of the Sea cleared his throat, seemingly feeling remorseful.

“Hmm… Then wouldn’t it have been better not to tail us in the first place?”

“I sensed something ominous from you. I thought there might be a fight, which would have caused trouble for the citizens.”

“Is that so…?”

The Apostle of the Sea appeared to be deep in thought for a moment.

After some silence, he asked, “So, who are you?”

“I am the Apostle of Destruction, Evan. The girl next to me is Chloe, who travels with me.”

“I’m called Akada. I suppose you already know my status.”

Evan and Lucia nodded.

“…So you are the same kind of Apostle. But… I thought the war with the Demon King was over. Is there a reason for you to come looking for me?”

“Because we need your help.”

“I don’t think I can be of much help.”

“It’s something only you can do.”

Evan pointed toward the direction where the monster had appeared earlier.

“If you live in Cordelia, you must know. We plan to catch the monster that has recently appeared.”

At the mention of the monster, Akada flinched.

His expression was slightly different from before.

“We’re not sufficient to catch that monster. So we’d like your assistance….”

“I refuse. I’d prefer you leave now.”

A firm refusal.

Akada turned away from the two.

“Wait, let’s talk a little more….”

“There’s nothing to discuss other than a refusal.”

With that said, he took the broken trident and vanished from sight.

Lucia hurriedly followed the direction he had disappeared but found nothing, not even a trace of him left to pursue.

“He’s gone.”

Evan, who had followed her, muttered briefly.

“Let’s call it a day and head back. It seems pointless to chase now….”

“Right. We need to treat your wounds too.”

*

The two returned the way they came and entered their lodging.

It took a while to get back, and due to the time passing since Evan’s deep wound, he found it hard to move due to the pain; fortunately, a healer arrived at the lodging to treat him.

Lucia also received treatment for her injuries from the earlier fight.

“All done. If you rest for a day without overdoing it, you should be fine.”

Although the treatment had concluded, the ache in the wound still lingered.

Evan touched the throbbing area, thinking that it might have been a good choice to bring Kerena with him.

She could have treated these kinds of injuries without aftereffects immediately…

“Evan, how’s your injury?”

“The pain is still throbbing, but it’s manageable. How’s your shoulder?”

“I’m recovering well, as you can see. It burst earlier because I overexerted myself; other than that, I’ll heal nicely.”

“That’s a relief.”

Evan glanced at her injured shoulder for a moment before lying down.

“Get some rest. Regardless, it’s late, and moving now would be overdoing it for real.”

“Agreed.”

Lucia nodded and lay down beside him.

Normally, they would each rest in separate beds, but now, there was only one bed in the lodging room.

“…It’s a bit cramped; can you scoot over?”

“I’m almost at the edge too. If not, you could sleep on the floor.”

With that, Lucia sighed and cuddled up a little closer to Evan.

She felt too exhausted to move anymore, and she didn’t want to sleep on the hard floor.

She decided to snuggle a bit more, opting for the bed.

“You need to move tomorrow too, so sleep quickly.”

“Yeah.”

Once the lights were out, silence enveloped the room.

Inside, one could only hear the sound of skin brushing against the blanket and their breathing—it was that quiet.

“…”

However, Evan had countless thoughts racing in his mind and couldn’t easily fall asleep amidst the stillness.

So, after some tossing, he turned over to change positions and found himself face to face with Lucia, who was awake in the dark.

“…Were you not sleeping?”

“I had a lot on my mind. Are you the same?”

“I suppose so.”

Their eyes met.

Since he had turned his body, his arm brushed against her body under the covers.

Both were wearing short-sleeved pajamas, so where they touched was mostly skin rather than fabric.

It felt oddly ticklish.

Evan found himself overly conscious of every little movement as he recalled what Sharon had said before, or perhaps it was simply because he was lying in the same bed as a girl.

‘Why did that elf have to say such things…’

Evan tried to avert his gaze from Lucia, desperately trying to think of something else.

But despite his efforts, his heart began to race even faster.

Now it was loud enough for her to hear.

‘Damn it.’

As Evan worried whether she would hear his heartbeat, Lucia opened her mouth first.

“Evan.”

“What is it?”

His voice came out slightly higher, filled with surprise.

The change in his tone only deepened his embarrassment, while Lucia seemed unfazed and continued in the same tone.

“I saw fear in Akada’s expression right before he ran away.”

“Is that so?”

A relief washed over him.

If she had noticed it, the atmosphere could have turned awkward and cold.

“Yes. Judging by how he reacted to the word ‘monster,’ it’s likely that Akada encountered that monster before.”

“Considering its size, it wouldn’t be hard to come across a monster in Cordelia as it looms large.”

“That’s not what I mean. He might have fought that monster directly.”

“Do you have any reason to think so?”

“As you know, the tridents in Cordelia are made of oraculum, a kind of stone that doesn’t get scratched easily unless a significant impact occurs. Yet, Akada’s trident from earlier was already heavily damaged.”

“You broke the part with the worst damage.”

Lucia’s reasoning held weight.

Regardless of the ability of the Power of Destruction, Akada’s trident seemed too easily broken.

“That’s certainly true.”

“So it might be good to at least hear him out. Even if we can’t persuade him, his experience from fighting that thing could be really valuable.”

With that, Lucia turned away.

“Now, I’m really going to sleep. Even if I’m not sleepy, it’s true I’m tired.”

“Agreed.”

*

And thus, the night passed, leading to morning.

Evan woke unusually early and lifted himself from the bed.

Turning to the side, he saw Lucia still asleep.

She hadn’t covered herself properly with the blanket and was probably cold, shivering slightly.

‘Why isn’t she covering herself properly? What if she catches a cold?’

No matter how much he hated her, she was close to a comrade now, so Evan let out a long yawn and covered her with the blanket before heading outside.

He intended to take a walk to fully wake himself up.

Though it was early dawn, the temperature outside was not much different from lunchtime, thanks to the deep waters of Cordelia.

He began walking around the commercial area surrounding the lodging, planning to return after just one round.

*

At that moment, as Evan left and all traces of him vanished, Lucia quietly opened her eyes.

She was feeling fatigued due to not getting proper rest the previous night.

Evan, who had been next to her, had constantly occupied her mind.

“…”

Lucia silently placed her hand on her chest.

Thump, thump.

Her heart was racing.

It had been beating at that rapid pace just like the night before without him noticing.

She had all but forced herself to speak to hide the sound.

Looking into a mirror, she saw her pale face had turned red.