Quad wrangle's voice, the one that distinguishes lies.
For the moment, that seemed like a reasonable guess.
But if that was true, it meant Rennel's claim about it being her "sister's keepsake" was a lie.
She'd said the same thing to the Saintess in my memories, which would mean that had been a lie too.
'This is tricky.'
I pondered for a moment before deciding to test the waters a little.
"Either way, it doesn't suit you. Take it off and toss it right now."
"..."
If it really was her sister's keepsake, she'd probably get mad here.
But if the Quad wrangle's voice I'd heard was accurate...
👁️ QUAD WRANGLE 👁️ Blink. Blink.
Rennel blinked several times before slowly speaking.
"It doesn't suit me?"
"Yeah."
"You want me to take it off?"
"Yeah."
"Ha..."
Rennel swept her bangs back.
"You're a real rude bastard, you know that."
"..."
"But I'll let it slide this once."
Surprisingly, Rennel flashed a smile.
I knew intellectually that smiles existed and came in various types.
But after so long without seeing anyone's expressions, I couldn't quite pinpoint what hers meant.
That would come with time, though.
The only thing that mattered right now was one thing.
👁️ QUAD WRANGLE 👁️ "I think so too."
Quad wrangle's voice distinguished lies.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We collected our rewards for subjugating the Illusion Demon King alongside the so-called temporary party members.
"Dai-il Magnus, sir. Your contribution to completing this quest has been recognized as the greatest. Here's your reward."
I nodded indifferently at the receptionist's words.
Heavy.
The pouch she handed over had some real weight to it.
'Pretty generous for taking down a rank-128 quasi-demon king as a group.'
Demon kings were all lumped under that title, but they were divided into quasi-demon kings, lesser demon kings, standard demon kings, arch demon kings, and demon gods based on their rankings.
Outside the top 100 were quasi-demon kings, 99 to 55 were lesser, 54 to 21 standard, top 20 arch demon kings.
Demon god was a title reserved solely for the Erosion Demon King.
Adventurers were similarly graded from D to C, B, A, and S.
Before my regression, me and my party were all S-rank, but now my license showed B-rank.
It meant nothing to me, of course.
But Rennel, peeking over my shoulder, seemed differently impressed.
"Not bad at all. B-rank at your age is pretty rare."
"Is B-rank that impressive?"
"'That'? Apologize to all the adventurers B-rank and below. Like me, for instance."
"Weren't you only C-rank around this time?"
"'Around this time'?"
I shook my head and changed the subject.
"Adventurer ranks are meaningless. They just affect reward rates and gear support a bit."
"Isn't that the point? What kind of mindset is this guy running on?"
Rennel kept muttering after that, but I tuned it out automatically.
In the meantime, I sorted my thoughts.
'My next steps are clear now.'
I needed to gather those pre-regression party members again.
Why?
Because the Absence Demon King had been among them.
If I followed a similar path as before, they'd start joining one by one.
The Absence Demon King's face was probably a fake.
My Quad wrangle, the one that "distinguishes fakes," would let me know.
Whoever among the party members got overlaid with white squares—that one was the Absence Demon King.
If I could squeeze him for the Erosion Demon King's whereabouts...
'...but would he even talk?'
Before regression, even on the brink of death, the Absence Demon King hadn't spilled anything about the Erosion Demon King.
But he'd also said this:
-There was a time when I had high hopes for you, Dai-il Magnus.
He'd definitely wavered between me and the Erosion Demon King while posing as a party member.
Before, the scales had tipped toward the Erosion Demon King... but what if I won him over this time?
'He might even side with me and fight the Erosion Demon King together.'
And it wasn't just him.
I needed to win over Rennel and the others too.
Considering even the rank-11 Absence Demon King had only ended in mutual destruction with me, the rank-1 Erosion Demon King's power had to be overwhelming.
Even if I found his lair, I couldn't win alone.
I had to unite the Absence Demon King and my old party's strength to take him down.
They'd all been S-rank back then.
Actually, way beyond S-rank, but that was the highest adventurer grade available.
It hit me anew just how elite my position had been.
I'd buy their loyalty, borrow their power, and kill the Erosion Demon King.
That was my goal now.
'To do that, first...'
I had to start with the person right in front of me.
I cleared my throat and spoke.
"So, what's next for you?"
"What?"
"Quest's done, rewards claimed. Temporary party's disbanded, naturally."
"..."
"I'm asking about your next move."
Rennel scratched her head.
"Gotta find the next gig. That's always priority one for C-rank adventurers. Not that a B-rank quest magnet like you would get it."
"Travel with me."
"...Huh?"
"Stick with me, and you'll climb past B-rank to A or even S."
It had happened before regression, after all.
Strong humans who fell became demon kings.
But those who overcame adversity grew stronger—almost guaranteed in our world.
Was there bigger adversity than hunting demon kings professionally?
Thanks to my leader's weird goals, the party suffered plenty, but their skills and ranks skyrocketed daily. I remembered it well.
Of course, the current Rennel burst out laughing like it was a hilarious joke.
"Pfft. Don't you know seventy percent of adventurers die as C-ranks?"
"You're not like the average adventurer."
"...We've known each other less than a week, right?"
"I won't lie and say it'll be an easy ride. I'm planning to hunt demon kings."
At my words, Rennel leaned in with a serious expression.
"I've heard about you. Dai-il Magnus, the demon king hunter. The weirdo who roams the continent taking only demon king subjugation quests."
"..."
"What grudge do you have against them?"
"Answer first. How about hunting demon kings with me? Your skills and rank will grow fast, and naturally, you'll earn everyone's respect and service."
I restated Rennel's wish.
Like most adventurers, she'd become one for social climbing.
Mages had stable jobs galore, like the Eternal Tower, yet here she was.
Sure enough, Rennel nodded—or at least, it seemed like she did.
👁️ QUAD WRANGLE 👁️ "I don't haaaave thaaat much ambitioooon to cliiiimb raaaanks..."
I could only gape for a moment.
'She said something like, "I do have strong ambitions, though..." But hearing it through Quad wrangle's voice means...'
That it wasn't true?
This was as shocking as news of the Erosion Demon King losing weight.
Pre- and post-regression combined, I'd always pegged Rennel's lifelong goal as social climbing.
I spoke carefully.
"That was a lie."
"What?"
"You don't have much ambition for climbing ranks."
"Ha. Why do you always jump to your own conclusions? Too worldly for you? That's just how adventurers are."
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before replying.
'How did Rennel join before regression?'
Simple.
She'd been the one to suggest forming a party.
I'd even tried to leave first back then, and she'd stopped me.
'Let me recall. What did I say then?'
The memory surfaced clearly.
-Well, I'll be off then.
-Yeah. Take care. Don't get yourself killed by some demon king blade out there.
-I won't until I kill the Erosion Demon King.
-Erosion Demon King? Your goal is to take down a demon god?
-Yeah.
-Crazy.
And then, unmistakably:
-If you're gunning for the Erosion Demon King, you'll wipe out arch demon kings no problem, right?
-...
-Take me with you. I wanna watch from the sidelines.
Rennel had definitely mentioned arch demon kings.
No way?
"Travel with me, and we can take down even arch demon kings."
Rennel's expression changed in an instant.
Her face stiffened as she asked,
"Do you... know something?"
Rennel's voice was normal.
Meaning she was genuinely curious.
"Know what?"
"How... No, nothing. Forget it."
"..."
"No way. I'm losing it a bit myself."
She fell silent for a moment.
I waited patiently.
Finally, her lips parted slowly.
"So, demon king hunter, you're set on taking down even arch demon kings?"
"Even further."
"Meaning?"
"The Erosion Demon King. He'll die by my hand too."
She let out a scoff.
And then she said exactly what I remembered.
"Take me with you. I wanna watch from the sidelines."
I nodded crisply.
Then I turned straight for the counter.
"Dai-il, sir? Is something wrong? We already handled your reward..."
"I want a quest."
"Right away? Anything specific you're after?"
"That one."
I pointed to a notice on the board.
The receptionist—and even Rennel, who'd sidled up beside me—went wide-eyed.
📜 Radiant Knights Order Recruiting for Deception Demon King Subjugation Force You there, shaking your head! You, who knows the past subjugations all failed! You, wondering how to hunt the Deception Demon King when we don't even know his face! Good news for folks like you. This subjugation force will feature the Radiant Knights Order's rising star, Chris Kristin! Plus, the Radiant Knights Order has teamed up with the Papal See, who're lending the treasure God's Mirror. With God's Mirror, the Deception Demon King's true identity will be revealed in a flash, right? With mortal enemies Radiant Knights Order and Papal See joining hands, this quest is a freebie! Even just to see the great Chris up close, you gotta sign up, yeah? Deadline is March 27th. Don't delay—choose now! ※ Applications at your nearest Adventurer's Guild. Bring your license! ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Deception Demon King sat at the cusp between lesser and standard demon king ranks, first appearing in history 78 years ago.
All demon kings lived up to their epithets.
The Sloth Demon King endlessly made people lazy and lethargic, the Destruction Demon King repeated pointless acts of ruin, and so on.
The Deception Demon King was no different.
Since emerging, he'd ceaselessly stirred the continent with lies and incitements.
Cleverly, he wove truths into some of his deceptions, making continent-dwellers unable to ignore him.
He'd sparked rebellions among lords multiple times, framed and executed humanity's heroes, even manipulated small-scale wars.
Over time, humans learned, so blind panics over rumors lessened.
But his danger hadn't diminished.
Naturally, humans kept forming subjugation forces whenever he acted up.
'But they all failed up through the fifth attempt.'
This was the sixth.
Before regression, I hadn't joined it.
Around then, Rennel and I had been off hunting demon kings outside the top 100.
Once we'd cleared enough of those, a rumor reached me.
-The Deception Demon King's sixth subjugation force has failed.
And now, I was about to join that very failed sixth force.