It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

1. Detective Mercenary Kairu

───I’ll take this opportunity to monologue.

My name is Kairu, Kairu Gurafemu. I’m a 28-year-old single mercenary and currently serving as a vanguard for the Brave Party.

I was summoned by the country and set out on a journey to defeat the demon king about three years ago. It was only recently that I was told by Mirabel that the demon king was among my trusted companions.

I never thought I’d be suffering from such a stomachache when I was reincarnated into this world.

As you know, I’m a reincarnator. I died trying to save a colleague who was about to be hit by a truck, and that’s how I met God Mirabel.

It’s a typical story, but it seems I wasn’t supposed to die. I was reincarnated with special privileges as compensation for Mirabel’s mistake.

To be honest, I had unfinished business and regrets, so it was hard to accept the offer. But I had no choice, so I gave up and accepted.

“What’s the point of reincarnation privileges, anyway?”

“Can you create something out of nothing?”

“No way.”

“Can you kill someone with a single glance?”

“That’s too dangerous. No way.”

“Will you be extremely popular with women?”

“That’s something the person themselves should work on.”

“Will you have infinite magical power?”

“That’s not something even God can do.”

“Will you be immortal?”

“Do you want to become a god?”

It seems the possibilities were limited. On the other hand, I was told that I had exceptional talent compared to others.

I was a genius with swords, or so it seemed.

I decided on my privileges and was reincarnated. Farewell, past life. Farewell, Atsushi Takahashi, my former self.

And so, I was reincarnated, but the life that awaited me was more turbulent than I had imagined.

There were kings and nobles, but I was born as the second son of a humble farming family.

I’ll skip over my growth, but when I was seven, the village I lived in was attacked by bandits. Even with my reincarnation privileges, my physical abilities were no match for an adult’s at seven years old. Moreover, I didn’t have the talent to handle magic in this world. As a result, I couldn’t do anything.

This world was harsher than I had imagined, and it was cruel.

The village was burned down. The men and children were killed, and the women were raped and then killed.

The phrase “survival of the fittest” was a reality, and the weak were devoured. I was the only one who survived in the village. It wasn’t because I did anything; it was because my family in this world risked their lives to protect me, and I miraculously survived. That’s all.

I was buried under the corpses of my parents and siblings, and thanks to that, I was able to survive without being discovered.

It was the mercenary Lizette, who became my guardian in this world, who helped me and taught me how to survive.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in time, it’s good you’re alive”

I couldn’t bear her words, and when I pushed her away, I saw the corpses of my family reflected in her eyes.

In my previous life, I was already an adult in my late 20s, and if I included this life, I would be over 30. It was sad, and my heart couldn’t take it, so I couldn’t help but cry.

“I’ll take you in and raise you!”

“You can’t raise someone while working as a mercenary! It’s pitiful, but I have no choice but to leave you behind”

“I’ll raise you! I won’t bother anyone! I know it’s hard to raise someone while working as a mercenary, but I want to take you in because you’re my sister’s child!”

“Rizette…”

The scene where they were arguing over whether to take me in or not seemed like someone else’s business.

In the end, Lizette pushed everyone aside and decided to take me in.

───I lost my family at the age of 7 and became a mercenary.

After being taken in by the mercenary, I trained myself even harder than before. I thought I had worked hard, but I had relied too much on my talent. If I had worked harder, I might have been able to save my village, or even my family. It was just regret.

The first time I killed someone was when I was 10 years old. It was during a mission to defeat bandits as a mercenary. I remember Lizette being worried and staying close to me.

My first battle was a desperate fight, and I killed the bandits with all my might. The feeling of killing someone didn’t leave my hand, and the smell of blood and the face of the bandit I killed haunted me. That day, I vomited with Lizette’s back to me.

As time went on, I got used to killing. Rather, my senses became numb. I hated killing more than anything, but I hated it even more when my comrades were killed. That’s when Mirabel started appearing in my dreams.

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When I met Mirabel again after a long time, she looked sad and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would come to this. Do you hate me?”

“No, I don’t hate you. If I hated anyone, it would be myself for not being able to do anything”

“Yeah…”

She tried to say something, but bit her tongue and kept silent.

After about 30 seconds of silence, Mirabel held out her right hand towards me.

“Actually, this is against the rules, but I’ll make an exception just this once.

I want to make your life a little easier from now on, so please accept this”

A pale blue light gathered in Mirabel’s hand and came straight towards me. Before I could even react, it hit me and disappeared.

“The power I’ve given you is the ability to reject interference. If I explain it simply, it’s the ability to nullify status abnormalities. You won’t receive any poison or curses, and you won’t be affected by mind control. You can reject any interference that tries to harm you.

However, this only applies to interference, so magic and swords will still affect you normally, so be careful!”

───I received an additional special bonus.

From that day on, Mirabel started appearing in my dreams regularly. She would scold me for not taking it easy and not resting properly, just like a nagging mother.

She also taught me how to train and handle swords in detail. Thanks to her guidance, my abilities grew rapidly. By the time I was 15, I had already surpassed everyone in the mercenary group. It was thanks to Mirabel’s gift and guidance.

When I was 20, I lost Lizette, who had protected me as a mercenary. I lost my family again, and I cried a lot that day. I think Mirabel also appeared in my dreams, worried about me.

Six months after Lizette’s death, I left the mercenary group. I had lost my family, but I had also gained the strength to survive on my own, which Mirabel had acknowledged.

After that, I traveled as a free mercenary, earning money by defeating monsters and bandits. My name as a skilled mercenary spread gradually.

When I was 25, I started hearing rumors about the demon king’s revival and the impending doom of humanity. Around that time, I noticed that the number of monsters and their ferocity had increased. I also heard rumors about the demon tribe. Something was happening, and I had a bad feeling.

Soon after, I was summoned by the country.

The reason why monsters were increasing and demons were appearing was because the demon king had revived. If things continued like this, the world would be destroyed by the demons.

They wanted me to defeat the demon king and save the world. That was the gist of it.

And so, I became one of the brave warriors.

To protect this world where my family and Lisset were born, and to defeat the Demon King, we set out on a journey.

And three years later, we discovered that one of our companions was the Demon King.

The suspect who is believed to be the Demon King is one of the five members of the Brave Party. To put it bluntly, they all have a shady past. It feels like evidence will surface if we investigate.

I’m in a detective-like mood.

Anyway, enough about my rambling. I’ll tolerate this stomachache and search for the Demon King.