The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

In the end, everyone believed Shien's explanations.

It wasn't that everyone believed Shien because they trusted him. Rather, it was because Vivian and company gave their support to Shien from the side that everyone had to accept that explanation.

Even if they didn't trust Shien, Balon and the rest did trust Vivian's party quite a bit.

Thus, just like with Leili, since Vivian's party backed Shien up, it was only natural that Shien's explanation was accepted.

And in the end, what does it matter even if they didn't believe him?

Either way, it's not like Balon and company, who couldn't even do much against Baydr, would be able to really fight against Shien, right?

Even if Shien himself claimed that he was only able to display such power after satisfying certain limitations and conditions, Balon and the rest can't possibly guarantee that those conditions wouldn't be satisfied if they tried to mess with Shien now.

Thus, Balon and company could only swallow their own bile. It was in certain ways their own fault anyways.

Of course, it's not like they didn't get anything out of this quest.

At the very least, Shien had annihilated the Old Demon Faction group lead by Baydr. He had defeated the criminals long wanted by the Kingdom, Baydr and Jillian. That in and of itself was a major accomplishment.

Although Balon and the rest could only be counted as followers for this accomplishment, it's still better than not having anything to do with it all.

Thus, everyone in the end decided to continue on their way forward to the capital. One reason is to report this matter. The other is that they've already nearly arrived anyways, so rather than heading back and taking ten days to get back to Lamdrion, they might as well just head to the capital.

Shien did rather want to grumble though.

"Since the plan isn't going to change, wouldn't it have been so much simpler if we just took care of Jillian in the start?"

If they had executed Jillian from the start, then Baydr wouldn't have tried to rescue him, and Balon wouldn't have needed to transport him to the capital. In that case, none of all those troublesome events would have needed to happen, right?

That said, although he said that, Shien did know full well that thing couldn't have been resolved so simply.

It's like the police in his previous life. They're allowed to shoot a criminal in the heat of action, but there's no way that they'd be allowed to execute criminals on the spot. There was also a factor of wanting to satisfy the wrath of the many nobles by publicly executing the mastermind behind their terrible losses ten years ago.

Mixed in were a number of plots and plans of various nobles. Even Vivian herself called it very complicated and needing a good amount of time to fully explain, so Shien didn't care to worry over it either.

Anyways, this particular quest might have failed, but Shien and group still needed to head to the capital and report everything that had happened.

Thus, after everyone finished cleaning up the battlefield and had a short rest, they hurried onward toward their destination.

Although, before they left, Shien gave the ruined former campsite a glance and grimaced before turning away and leaving alongside Vivian and the rest.

The former battleground fell silent.

"It's finally over huh."

A girl spoke those words. It was unknown if she spoke out of loneliness or in reminiscence.

Shining black waist length hair. A perfect figure. Crimson eyes. An unimaginable presence.

Of course, that was Leisha.

"It seems that I was detected at the end."

Leisha looked in the direction that Shien left and sighed in resignation.

"If I knew ahead of time, I wouldn't have watched from the sidelines. Now that small minded man probably has another grudge against me. I'm probably in for it the next time we meet."

When she remembered how Shien so dismissively treated her, Leisha felt an oncoming headache. However, for some reason, she also had a hint of a smile on her lips.

After all…

"It's been a long time since I've met someone so interesting."

As she said those words, Leisha shifted her gaze to a corpse on the ground.

That was Baydr's corpse.

"Never thought that you'd end up like this."

Leisha's eyes turned cold.

"I originally wanted to take care of you personally, but it wasn't possible in the end. What a shame."

Leisha's tone was freezing cold too.

Logically speaking, Leisha, Baydr, and Jillian were the masterminds behind the mass assassination incident in the capital ten years ago. Thus, from a certain point of view, the three of them could be said to be comrades. It was just Leisha who then later betrayed them. However, based on Leisha's tone, her attitude toward Baydr was less like that of a former comrade and more like that of an enemy.

Truth be told, the two basically were enemies.

Leisha herself greatly withed for Baydr and Jillian's deaths.

Especially Baydr.

That's because Baydr was Old Demon Faction from the start. Back in the demon world, he had often hid himself and, via various underhanded means, had killed many talented demons and stirred up many incidents.

Jillian wasn't originally from the Old Demon Faction, but in the end, he was tempted by Baydr and brainwashed by Baydr's Old Demon Faction reasoning. Only then did he leave the aegis of the Dragon Demon and become a member of the Old Demon Faction.

Similarly, Baydr had done a lot of terrible things in the dark. In regards to the mass assassination incident ten years ago, if not for Leisha's betrayal in the end, it's possible that the capital still wouldn't have known that Baydr was the one behind it all. That was why Baydr was forced to leave the demon world and rampage around the mortal world.

Yet, even in the mortal world, Baydr had been constantly enacting massacres. Killing priests. Killing various important people of various races. It can be said that he's the most hated foe of all rulers.

Leisha also hates Baydr.

If not for Baydr, she wouldn't have been forced into joining the Old Demon Faction.

If not for the fact that she found "that thing" in the capital, Leisha might have already become like Jillian, and after having committed unforgivable crimes, being forced to do various terrible things and cause countless deaths as an Old Demon Faction member.

Considering that she could have ended up like that, there's no way that Leisha wouldn't hate Baydr with all she had.

It as also because of that hatred that Leisha planned to work together with Shien to annihilate Baydr's group within the Old Demon Faction.

"Although we couldn't do as originally planned in the end, it really was great seeing you killed like that."

As Leisha remembered Baydr's end, her expression finally softened somewhat.

"I need to properly thank that person."

With those words, Leisha got ready to leave.

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