The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

After the early morning training, I was summoned by the Demon King.

I went to the Demon Lord's office with Ms. Nagi, who said she would come with me, expecting that we would probably have a talk about this exploration.

"You've been making a lot of noise again since this morning, haven't you? As usual, he is a man who is never short of topics to talk about.

Nagi-san and I were taken to the usual study, where Ciel-san brewed us a cup of tea and we had a conversation with the Demon Lord.

"Was it noisy after all?

"I don't mean noisy. I don't mean noise, but it's already an accepted rarity in this place.

Rare.

Then Mr. Nagi, who was sipping from a cup next to me, spoke to me in a hushed voice.

"Usato, do you do that every morning?"

"Well, Nero-san is quite patient with us in our training, isn't he? Amira-san sometimes comes too.

Mr. Nero is so busy with his work during the day that he does not have time to train, and the early morning training is a good way for him to exercise his body.

"Usato-san is also very well accepted here, you know.

Ciel-san, standing by the Demon King, chuckles.

"Definitely not as a human being, though. The people's impression of you is something different from a human being.

"Huh, so what is the common definition of a human being?"

"A person who behaves in a sensible way, which you don't do, approximately."

.......

"I guess we're going to have to admit defeat here."

"It's frightening to me that you think you have a chance to win."

"Usato...... even Hisago has never had a demon king say he was horrible......"

I was drawn to the Demon King.

Nagi-san was also drawn to me. What is this sense of defeat?

Kannagi was very quick too.

"How could I be indifferent to his antics? So, let me hear your thoughts on Shea Garmio.

Nagi-san lets out a sigh and asks the Demon King.

I told him about Shea, but I think he wants to hear the Demon Lord's thoughts too.

"I can't say at this point. He is, after all, a man. It pains me to put it this way, but I don't understand what he is going to do. ...... just like this guy."

"......?"

The demon king points a finger at me and I turn around, but there's no one there.

"What's wrong with pointing at someone you can't see?　Are you out of your mind?"

"Can't you see that you're the one who's lost?"

"......"

"......"

"You two, please calm down as this is going to get complicated."

Ciel rebuked me.

Mr. Nagi opened his mouth, slightly taken back by me and the Demon King, who stared at each other silently.

"It's unreasonable to expect you to understand what he does.

"In the first place, there are too many contradictions between his thoughts and actions. At least the man you and I know is not the kind of man who would act in a way that makes no sense, planting his memories and magic on people who have nothing to do with him."

...... This is all something you don't have to ask Shea about.

She only has the memory of Mr. Hisago, and it is very likely that she does not know why his power also came to her.

"It would be useless to ponder the thoughts of that idiot any further. Let's move on to the main topic ...... about the purpose of this search."

Well, of course.

If it's just a few days before departure, the reason you were summoned is to check on the search.

The general objective is to explore the demon territory, right?

"That's the bulk of it. But there are other things to do.

Here the Demon Lord holds up three fingers.

"One is to retrieve the fragments of my power that may be in the realm of demons. The second is to protect Shea Garmio. The third is to confirm the presence or absence of intelligent life in the demon realm.

"Intelligent life forms ......?"

"In a nutshell, it's a subhuman, or a demon with a mind like your messenger."

Maybe it's because we're in uncharted territory, or maybe we don't know what we're dealing with.

Is there such a thing?

I'm sure they existed before the seals were put up. They seemed to stand idly by and watch the conflict between humans and demons.

"Oh, you were there?"

Mr. Nagi seemed surprised, as if he had never heard of them.

An intelligent life form living in the realm of demons, huh?

I know I'm not going there for fun, but there's something exciting about that kind of thing in a man's mind.

Like Bigfoot or something.

By the way, were there subhumans there at the time?

"Elves. They weren't interested in human conflict in the first place, so they retreated into the deep forest.

"Elves ......"

When you say "elf", you mean the same as Frana.

Maybe I should think of them as different from the elves I know.

But that's only if they are.

"As for the third one, you can consider it as a bonus. Concentrate only on the search and the retrieval of the fragments of my power."

What about demonic intervention?

"It's inevitable, but they're not much of a threat if we're careful. You and Kannagi are a threat to the demons, and your fellow demons have turned against us.

If anything, it is Mr. Ahl and the dark wizard twins who are a threat.

Currently, the demons on the enemy side don't seem so dangerous to me.

Rather, Mr. Aur, who is supposed to be on my side, is more troublesome to me in a different way.

So... I'm talking about the members of the search party.

"The captain, Koga, leads me, six men, and Hanna, who is in charge of understanding the terrain and so on. Then Nagi, who arrived yesterday, and Amako ...... I thought I had narrowed down the number of people because we were going to explore a dangerous place, but there were quite a few of us."

"Considering that there are people with precognition magic, there should be no problem even if the number of people increases a little. ...... hmm."

The demon king put his hand on his chin and looked worried about something.

I was puzzled by his expression, and then he looked at me again, as if he had come to a conclusion.

"There was a dark magician girl named Keira, wasn't there?"

"What?　Yes, yes.

"You can take the girl with you."

What is he talking about?

There's no way I can take Keira to a dangerous place.

Amaco, who has been there and done that, but .......

"All you have to do is protect her. The girl's dark magic is immeasurably more useful. Her ability to fly and store and hold supplies in other spaces is perfect for this quest.

"...... You must have a pretty high opinion of it for you."

"Not only do I appreciate it, I'm even paying attention to it.　There are very few dark wizards in the long history of the world who do not use magic for the purpose of combat. Kannagi, you know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Well, yes.

Nagi-san nodded his head in confusion when the Demon King asked him to speak.

"Even a very small number of them have the ability to protect themselves. Among them, it is not a rare case that they have developed the ability for others, even to the extent that they have the longing to fly in the sky.

Frankly speaking, I was surprised that the Demon King had so much to say.

And that Keira and her magic are so important to him.

"...... I don't like the idea, but I will check with Keira and her guardians. This much is non-negotiable."

"Yeah, that's fine."

...... Do you want to ask Gref's place at night?

The Witch King says that I can protect him, but there's no guarantee that he won't.

"Have I told you some of what I know? Do you have any questions?"

I ponder a bit over what the Witch King says.

At the moment I don't have any questions.

All I have to do is explain the details of the search to my men again. ......

"Oh, by the way, can I ask you something about manipulating magic power now?"

What?

"If you combine strain degradation and strain enhancement, they'll rebound and explode. ......

"...... what?"

He looked at me like, "What is he talking about?

Is that it?

Am I too far ahead of my time in magic?

I'm not sure.

It didn't take much to explain the search to my men.

Since they were soldiers who used to belong to the Demon Lord's army, they understood the expedition mission very well, and it was quite easy for me to explain it to them.

At that time, I told them about the demons we would be facing and about the fragment of the Demon Lord's power we had been asked to retrieve.

I don't understand why they are calling me a symbol of fear in a roundabout way, but I guess their minds are not so easily influenced by demons.

Here comes the problem.

I have to ask her and her guardian, Mr. Gref, if they are willing to accompany Keira to the demon's territory.

Keira may say she will go with us, but Mr. Gref, who must be well aware of the dangers of the demon realm, may not agree.

"I'm going to explore the demon territory!

"Well, if Keira says she'll go, I won't object.

"Is that ......?"

Déjà vu?

Keira's reply reminds me of the exchange with Ferrum when we were heading for the demon king's territory, and I can't help but make a funny sound.

Yeah, yeah, maybe I'm the only one who was worried about this. ......?

"I trust you, you know."

"...... Keira, are you sure you're okay?　I've been recommended to you by the Demon Lord, but it's perfectly okay if you refuse?"

I'll go with you if I can be of help. It will be a good experience for me too.

Perhaps I'm the one treating you too much like a child?

"Before I came here, I traveled all over the demon king's territory. I'm used to dealing with demons to some extent.

"When Usato-san saved me, it was usually a close call, though. ......"

"That's because I screwed up and got hurt."

...... I believe Keira was traveling around the Demon Lord's territory with Mr. Gref.

In that sense, she's probably more traveled than the average adult,...... or even more traveled than I am.

"And I don't leave my cloak unless I have to."

Do you keep your magic?

"Unless you do a big transformation, the magic power consumption is very low."

It's similar to the dark magic of the ferme.

Or rather, dark magic is very fuel-efficient.

What about sleep?

"Sleeps in a cloak."

"Is that okay ......?"

"I don't think so, since it didn't break when I was sleeping normally."

Is that it?　Is this the one that's all influenced by Ferrum's dark magic ......?

That's because the only two dark magic users she has to refer to are Koga and Ferrum, but ...... is it possible for them to be this much alike?

"Usato. Have you finished dinner?

"Oh, no. ......"

Then you can eat at my place. Don't be shy, okay?　Rum and Rose will be happy to see you.

"Well, then, I'll take advantage of your hospitality."

With a smile on his face, Mr. Gref gets up from his chair and goes to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Koga is probably eating what Senri made, so he should be fine.

"...... I still think it's a bit of a dream."

What is it?

"The fact that I am able to live a normal life. ......

I immediately understood what Keira was trying to say.

The child of a dark wizard, who was subjected to the malice of his own parents by being sent to the abomination, is now able to live a normal life.

Considering Keira's past circumstances, I can understand her feeling of dreaminess.

"If I had not met Usato and the others at that time, I would have fallen into darkness. I would have hated myself even more, and I might have been swallowed up by the dark magic and ...... made a lot of people unhappy."

"It didn't come to that, did it?　You're here now, and that's all that matters."

I know that "what if" worlds exist.

Just as there is a world in which I became desperate after losing my senpai and Kazuki, there may be a world in which Keira falls into darkness as she says, after letting Gref-san die in front of her eyes.

But that is just a hypothetical story and has nothing to do with Keira who is in front of me right now.

"That's why I want to help someone just as much as you do."

"You mean ...... Shea?"

"...... yes."

She nodded her head.

Keira is the only person besides me who has actually met Shea.

I had heard about her situation with her, so I could understand why she was concerned.

"She's a lot like me."

I guess Keira's reason for wanting to accompany us on our search is also out of concern for Shea.

...... We will be leaving for the realm of demons in a few minutes.

The search is important, but more than that, I am worried about Shea's situation in the realm of demons.