With a messy brown hair and youthful look, the pale skinned male looks like he is of my age. There is some baby fat remaining on his face that indicates he is indeed young, but I can see from his eyes how much he has gone through.
They are fiery just like any anime protagonist's, but I can see the pain he is hiding behind them. Those are the eyes of a vengeful person.
He is like me and unlike me at the same time. We are both vengeful, but he plans to end it all with him—suicidal.
No matter how similar our circumstance seems though, none of it matters. There is a more important thing about him.
"... Who the fuck is he? I thought my bastard classmates were the only Heroes," I mutter under my breath.
"Antares Kingdom is not the only existing Kingdom in this world," Eliseus responds. "There are 25 Kingdoms and 4 Empires in this world. All of them summon Heroes by their own."
"All of them are from Earth, aren't they?"
"I don't know what that world is called, but yes, all of them come from the same world."
Clicking my tongue in disappointment, I sigh as I look at the Japanese dude. It seems my bastard classmates aren't the only people from Earth that I have to kill, which I don't mind in the slightest.
It is just funny how this world has to sacrifice only Earth people. There are, after all, many other worlds I am sure they can bother.
"Wait..." Suddenly, I realize something about Eliseus' response earlier. "She... Does she know about my identity as a summoned Earth person?"
I can't help gulping dryly as soon as I turn my head to Eliseus. If she really knows that I am a summoned person, she definitely can tell that I am groomed to be a Demon King.
She may or may not be a Demon King Candidate herself; regardless, my life is in danger. I have exposed myself, and it won't be long until the other Candidates gang up on me.
"Eliseus... How did you know my classmates are the Heroes of Antares Kingdom," I ask calmly. "I don't think I have told you anything about them."
"You are from Antares Kingdom, aren't you?" Eliseus quirks her eyebrow. "It is normal for the Heroes to study in the academy with Nobles. Although you have constantly denied it, I know you were a Noble."
"Hm?" Although I asked her an ambiguously foolish question, I didn't expect it to cause such a splendid misunderstanding. "You can keep assuming. I was not a Noble."
"You are a very talented peasant then."
Turning my attention away from Eliseus as if I hate where the talk is going, I focus my attention on the Hero. I am just delighted that Eliseus doesn't know that I was summoned here, and I just don't want her to notice it.
"My name is Kojima Yūto—you can call me Yūto. I am formerly the Hero of Cresundia Kingdom." The Japanese dude bows politely. "I was betrayed by my friend, which leads to me being accused of raping the princess. The Kingdom is currently after my head."
"To think there is still a Kingdom that treats its Hero this way... Humans will always be humans, won't they?" Arieda says with a frown. "What do you need of my Essence Peach, young Hero?"
Kneeling with his head bowed, Yūto replies, "The princess is, in fact, with me. Her life is in danger due to the poison that the person who targets her life has put in her blood. I need the Essence Peach to save her life."
"So, what actually happened is, you saved the Princess from the assassination attempt of her family, however your friend sides with the Royalty and betrayed you. In other words, the real reason of why you are being chased by the Kingdom is the Princess."
Arieda waves her hand lightly. "I have a solution for you. Hand the Princess over to the Kingdom, and you'll be hailed as a Hero once again. Trust me, it is not the first time this ever happens."
"I didn't save her because I didn't know the internal discord," Yūto mutters lowly. Raising his gaze, he looks at Arieda with blazing eyes. "I saved her because I love her. I don't want to let her die. For her, I will do anything!"
The garden turns silent at Yūto's statement. No one seems to expect him to get so emotional—neither do I—so they don't know how to react.
From how most of the Elves' eyelashes tremble though, I can easily tell they sympathize with him. Although they mostly behave like humans, their heart is, after all, still better than humans.
On the other hand, however, Eliseus and Vibiane don't show any particular reaction. I honestly expected Vibiane to be moved, but I guess she has seen it too many times to sympathize.
"Hmph!"
I, on the other hand, can't control myself well. I scoff a little too loud; it breaks the silence. Everyone turns their head to me, and even Yūto glares at me murderously.
Thinking that I will get the hate anyway, I decide to speak my mind, "To do something for someone who can't even give you anything—what a foolish act. She has you in her clutch completely, doesn't she?"
"What do you know about feelings, Demon?!" Yūto responds spitefully.
"I know nothing about it—I was born without it." This is just me talking nonsense to look cool. "I have never felt even once in my life. It is always about benefit and loss, which is why I wonder why you are willing to do something that doesn't benefit you."
Throwing the Essence Peach into the air then catching it, I show it off to Yūto. "This is what you want, isn't this? I happen to also want it, so why don't we fight over its ownership?"
"I will definitely get it!" Yūto abruptly stands up and glares at me fiercely. "I will definitely make you eat dirt, Demon!"
"Just prove it to me how strong your feeling is. You don't have to bark that much." I hand over the Essence Peach in my hand to Arieda, and say, "What do you think about it, Princess? Do you think it is fair enough—the way we decide who deserves it?"
Turning her head to Haletha, Arieda looks at her mother hesitantly. I don't see how Haletha responds her, but I know Haletha gives her the green light.
"Very well... That is a fair way to decide who this Essence Peach belongs to," Arieda says.
"Lady Haletha! What is the meaning of this?! You chose to consider a Demon's words instead of immediately giving the Hero what he deserves? Have you lost your mind?!" Iorael madly exclaims.
"Shut it, Iorael!" Haletha retorts. "A Hero? What are you talking about? As long as he insists to take care of the Princess, he remains a criminal! Either way, both of us are committing a crime by helping someone we shouldn't help."
At Haletha's solid argument, Iorael turns speechless. He widens his eyes in shock—I believe it is because Haletha snapped at him, which is quite comical.
"Very well. Let us go the Arena," Arieda says before the silence becomes deafening.
Although Iorael's side nod their head reluctantly, everyone eventually agrees to go to the Arena. I stand up, and upon turning to the stairway to climb the stairs down, I am greeted by Yūto's fierce glare.
Even though he is pressuring me with his definitely stronger pressure, I still find myself smiling. Just imagining how much stronger I can become by killing him excites me.
...
The Arena is actually a place to settle your grudge against someone. Dark Elves have this culture of killing the person they hate in the Arena, as long as that person agrees to accept their challenge to fight there.
The Arena is located far away from the main city of Lysimork. It is nearly at the end of Lysimork, which is just three miles away from the unoccupied territory of Amizanima Forest.
The territory is not that developed yet since not many people live here, but it looks sophisticated nonetheless. We came here by Teleportation Gate, so it didn't take us long to get here.
Although Dark Elves don't mind conflicts, unlike Light Elves, they don't like seeing conflicts right in front of them. They prefer having a conflict without anyone knowing, because they know how unsightly it is.
That is the main reason why the Arena is built in this rural place, and also one of the reasons why the other two powerhouses hire assassins to kill Arieda instead of openly declaring war on Envenaddle Family.
"It looks just like our Training Field, but smaller," I remark as I look around. "Hoh? They put safety measures before the audience seat, so anyone who watches the fight doesn't have to be afraid of their life."
"Are you sure this is the time to admire your surrounding?"
At those words, I turn to the person standing 20 feet away from me—the Japanese dude, Yūto, who is staring at me heatedly. We are standing in the middle of the Arena while the others are watching from the audience seat.
Yūto is definitely stronger than me ... At least, in terms of the amount of Mana he has.
Looking at his perfect but rigid stance, I can't help smirking.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel