Episode 3: I'll Beat Up the King

"Aaaaahhhh!? What, what! What are you!"

　The man's scream echoed through the room.

　The one who shouted in a rough, rumbling voice was the owner of the castle...the man they called the King.

　The location was the castle where I had been summoned earlier, and inside it, the king's private quarters.

"Who are you talking about... We just met, right? Have you forgotten about it?"

　Uta tilted his head curiously.

　There are several piles of dust in the king's chambers.

　It was someone other than the king who was there... the remains of what had been his escorting knight.

　Uta had returned to question the king about the attack by the soldiers, but as soon as he entered the room, they attacked him, calling him a villain.

　There was no other way but to turn it to dust... but the King, seeing this with his own eyes, was in complete confusion.

"Someone! Is there anyone there?! An intruder, a real troublemaker!"

"No one's coming. We've closed off the space."

"Ugh, space...?"

　The King spoke in a strained voice.

　Magic that interferes with space does exist.

　However... only legendary great sages can use it.

　There was no way a boy whose occupation was supposed to be "unemployed" could do it.

"Could it be that he was using some kind of magic to disguise his job? How despicable...!"

"You're the one who's being despicable, aren't you? You tried to kill me."

"N-no, that's not true! I don't know anything!"

　The King waved his hands frantically, searching for a way to save himself.

　The boy before him... the "Unemployed" man, whose name he can't even remember, clearly possesses special powers.

　If that deadly blade were wielded, the king too would be reduced to dust.

"There was a misunderstanding... Let's talk about it. If we talk, we'll understand...!"

"If we talk, you'll understand..."

　The Japanese leader who uttered this was shot and killed.

"Well, it's alright. I just came to talk."

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"Is that so...?"

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on killing you. If you hadn't come at me, that is."

　Uta shrugged. That was his true opinion.

　The moment I arrived in this room, the King's companions attacked me, so I intercepted them... but if not, I had intended to just finish the discussion peacefully and leave.

"Well then, let's have a discussion. Before that..."

"Eh?!"

　Touching the King's neck.

　So that it can be turned to dust at any time.

"If you lie, I will kill you. Answer my questions honestly. And I repeat... don't lie."

"I, I understand..."

"So, question. What was your purpose in summoning us?"

"...To defeat the invading Demon Lord."

"You're not lying, are you? If you're lying..."

"Y-yes, it's true! I really wanted you to defeat the Demon King and save this country!"

　The King's face is desperate and he doesn't appear to be lying.

"Okay, next question. Tell us how to get us back to our world."

"it is……"

"it is?"

"……I don't know."

"…………"

"Oh, it's true! I really don't know!"

"If we defeat the Demon King, we can go back to our world? Was that a lie after all?"

"Ugh..."

　Uta's face grew displeased as the King remained silent.

　The king, in a panic, begins to make excuses as he is in a situation where he could be killed at any moment.

"I had no choice! If the hero did not fight the Demon King, this country would be destroyed! As the king of this country, I have a duty to protect my people, no matter what evil I have to do!"

"So to achieve that, it doesn't matter what happens to us? Are you trying to say that it would be okay to trick Tatsuya and the others into fighting, or even to kill me?"

"it is……"

　The King looked away uncomfortably.

　No matter what the justification may be, it is not a good reason to involve unrelated people.

　At the very least, Uta has a reason to kill the man in front of him.

"But... well, it's alright."

　However, Uta does not kill the king.

　Because, somehow, I realized that killing him wouldn't change anything.

"If I kill you it will just become more troublesome... so for now, I'll stop."

"I, I see... so you understood..."

"But... I won't forgive you if you do anything strange to my friends."

"......!"

　When he spoke in a chilling voice, the King's face twisted in fear.

　It's not like anything special was done to me.

　And yet... my body is shaking uncontrollably.

　To put it in a metaphor, it's as if you are facing an arch enemy that you can never defeat.

"If you ever cause even the slightest inconvenience or harm to those four... I will kill you. I will kill your friends and family. I will kill all of your beloved citizens. Do you understand?"

"I-I understand... I promise I won't do it. So..."

"Yeah, that's fine then... I'll forgive you now."

"Guh..."

　The King let out a strange shriek and his mouth started opening and closing.

　His body quickly becomes thinner and deep wrinkles appear on his skin.

　The king aged instantly, as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.

"You tried to kill me. But you have to be glad i didn't take your life."

"You... what are you... what on earth are you...?"

　The King collapsed to the floor and spoke while panting.

　He had no obligation to answer... He could have ended the conversation with that, but since this was a rare opportunity, Uta decided to introduce himself again.

"Hanakiru Uta. I'm unemployed and a student... and I work as an evil god."

　　　　　〇 〇 〇

　Hanakiru Uta is an evil god.

　If you ask me when it started, I would say it has been like this since before I was born.

　In the past, Uta was an evil god who was traveled between time and space.

　No family, no friends, no lover.

　There are admirers, but no one who understands.

　As a solitary god with no perch, he abandoned himself to the flow of time and space.

　However, one day, a turning point occurred.

　I don't know if it's the result of a horoscope or the influence of some magical ritual someone performed.

　Without even knowing why, he found himself incarnated as a fetus in the body of a pregnant woman.

　I was confused at first when I turned into a human.

　He once tried to abandon his incarnate body and return to being a perfect god.

　However... before long, the world had come to accept human life.

　Even when he was a god, he had been wandering meaninglessly between time and space to the point that he had even forgotten the word "boredom."

　I thought it would be okay to live as a human for just a hundred or two hundred years.

(That was the right decision. I don't know what it meant for the world, but... at least, I'm glad I became a human.)

　After lightly beating the king, Uta teleported once more and arrived at the castle town where he had been scheduled to arrive.

　To avoid the hassle of screening and identification, I aimed to jump inside the castle gate surrounding the town from the start.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr!"

"Oops, sorry for scaring you."

　A cat sleeping in an alley is startled by Uta's sudden appearance and runs away.

　Watching the cat leave, I raise my fist in the deserted back alley.

"Okay, let's find a way to get back to Japan!"

　If Uta had been a god, it would have been easy for him to travel through time and space and return to his original world.

　However...the current Uta is merely a "human".

　The only thing it can do is... teleport to a distant location, or advance the time of anyone it touches by tens of thousands of years, turning them back into dust.

　I have to find a way to get my friends back to the world.

"Okay, let's do it!"

　The evil god Uta's life in another world has just begun.

　That life is never smooth sailing.

　He would undoubtedly get caught up in various troubles and solve them through brute force... but even the evil god could not have predicted such a future.