Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Hero □

Hero, Arthurius.

The first time I met the guy was about a year ago from now.

A fool who, while visiting the capital Oz with a friend, accidentally pulled out the legendary sword and, swayed by the sugary words of the cunning old man, King Oscar, ended up being roped into going to kill the Demon King without much thought.

I joined the Hero Party under the orders of my Master, the High Mage, to support such a fool.

Actually, my first impression of him wasn’t bad at all.

After all, as one of only two men in the party, he often came to me for advice on his troubles and respectfully called me “brother” because of our six-year age difference.

However, the decisive moment that soured my relationship with the hero occurred when we encountered Mephisto, the Puppet of Death, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army.

Arthurius, who had been cruising along with overwhelming abilities like a cheat code, suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Mephisto. For the first time in his life, he felt the fear of death and chose to flee.

Overcome by the shock of defeat, the Hero shut himself away in his room, until a gorilla-like guy who had clearly harbored feelings for him since the beginning forcibly dragged him out.

Well, it’s an old story that a man who brushes against death regains peace of mind with the help of a woman.

Anyway, thanks to the warrior’s efforts, the hero managed to overcome his fear unscathed, and we were able to set off again on our journey to assassinate the Demon King.

In fact, if we stop here, it could have been a happy ending.

Since the two people who had mutual feelings eventually ended up together.

But what happened afterward was the problem.

As they say, once a monk tastes fish, no bedbugs are left in the temple.

Once the hero had tasted the pleasures of a woman, he began sneaking away from the party whenever he had the chance to rendezvous secretly with the warrior. Not only that, but he also started messing around with the sage and the cleric, who had both shown clear signs of liking him just like the warrior.

In fact, the cleric hadn’t even realized she’d been “eaten” yet, but one day, when she tried to heal someone, her healing effects had dropped by about 30%. Damn.

Thanks to that, the cost of potions went up.

The bigger issue was that once all the women in the party became the hero’s, they subtly started keeping tabs on me, the only other man.

Personally, I thought it was perfectly fine for young people to fall for each other and get together, but it seemed that the hero, who had previously had no experience with love, was afraid that I would charm the other party members.

Gradually, over time, the respectful way he addressed me as “brother” changed to casual terms like “hey” or “you,” and he stopped thanking me every time I returned from clearing out demons alone during my free time.

Hmm. As I explain this, it becomes clear how ungrateful the bastard has become, but what can you do?

It’s all due to the karma I’ve accumulated so far.

And I never forget grudges.

“Then I’ll leave it to you guys to sort things out.”

After saying that, Barnett, who kindly guided us here, walked toward a chair near the third-floor entrance.

She’ll wait there until I’m done with my business.

I glanced briefly at Camilla standing behind me.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

But judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like she was planning to move away easily like Barnett.

Well, since I don’t intend to discuss anything important, it shouldn’t matter.

I called out to the hero, who was sitting motionless with his head bowed inside the prison cell.

“Hey.”

“…”

But the hero, leaning against the wall, didn’t respond.

Had he passed out from brutal torture? Or maybe he was just sleeping peacefully.

Still, I couldn’t leave without accomplishing anything after coming all this way, right?

I subtly checked on Barnett sitting by the entrance and snapped my fingers.

Ssshhhhh!

At that, the mana within me transformed, and a large amount of cold water poured down onto the hero’s head.

“Cough! Cough!”

Startled by the sudden cold shower, the hero coughed and raised his bowed head.

“…Caldlasth?”

The hero’s blurry eyes failed to focus properly on me.

Compared to the relatively intact condition of the others, it seems the hero underwent severe torture, judging by his battered state.

Well, considering that he attempted to assassinate the head of state and was caught red-handed, not getting executed is already a blessing.

I casually waved my hand as I approached the hero, whose body was completely worn out, and greeted him lightly.

“Hey, long time no see, Hero. How’s the food at the Demon King’s Castle?”

But his response was cold.

“…Did you come here to mock me?”

Surprisingly calm.

I expected him to lash out the moment he saw my face.

I inspected the shackles binding his limbs.

Were they specially processed as the Demon King said? The mana generated by the hero kept dispersing outward, unable to coalesce.

Even if a Sword Master Grandpa came, escape would be impossible under these conditions.

Since Camilla was watching from the side, I deliberately grinned like a villain and took a step forward.

“Hero, do you know why you’re still alive?”

Upon hearing this, the hero paused momentarily before opening his parched lips like dry fields in a drought and answered.

“There must be some use for me still.”

I shook my head dramatically upon hearing this.

“No, I asked them to spare your life. I wanted to see you suffer in despair with my own eyes.”

This distorted the calm expression on the hero’s face.

“…You have strange hobbies.”

Instead of replying, I shrugged and told the hero.

“In the future, I plan to become a faithful guardian of the Demon King’s Army. It’s definitely better than being treated worse than a dog back when I was with the Hero Party.”

Hearing this, the hero looked at me with a complicated expression.

“What made you turn into this? At least the you I knew wasn’t someone who would sell out comrades for money.”

Initially, I just intended to torment the hero, but as I listened to his words while smirking confidently, my vision blurred slightly.

Bang!!

So I slammed my forehead hard against the iron bars in front of me and said,

“Are you really that clueless? Don’t you remember how I was treated while you and those bitches were busy fooling around? My betrayal was justified. You, who lost your初心 more than anyone else, have no right to judge my actions.”

Camilla, standing behind me, gasped.

Probably because she’d never seen me truly angry before.

Without bothering to wipe the red blood flowing down my forehead, I growled through the iron bars and stared directly into the hero’s eyes.

At first, the guy tried to hold my gaze without flinching, but as time passed, it seemed his stamina gave out, and he gradually averted his eyes.

Only then did I take a few steps back from the bars and run my hand through my heated head.

I didn’t expect anything grandiose.

Still, damn it, if he had any conscience, I thought he might have reflected on betraying the party leader right before killing the Demon King, but there was absolutely no sign of regret.

He was selfish from start to finish.

He probably thinks the world revolves solely around him.

Further conversation with the guy would only make me angrier, so after taking a few deep breaths, I warned him.

“By the way, it’s best not to entertain thoughts of suicide. If you die, the rest of the party members will lose their value and be executed en masse.”

At that moment, the hero’s blurry eyes finally focused sharply.

“Mo… Are everyone else still alive?! Where! Where are they imprisoned?!”

This was unexpected.

If they were confined on the same floor, they could confirm each other’s survival by voice, yet the hero had no idea they were still alive.

When I noticed something odd and glanced sideways, Camilla whispered in my ear.

“As far as I know, all the walls in the cells on the third floor are enchanted with special soundproofing magic. Those imprisoned here cannot hear the voices of prisoners in other rooms.”

Indeed, that was the situation.

With a mocking tone, I informed the excited hero,

“They’re still alive and well. I’m not entirely heartless, you know. Depending on your attitude from now on, I may release them.”

Of course, it’s a complete lie.

Just like the hero trapped here, I have no intention of releasing the others.

The moment even one of them escapes this underground dungeon, the fact that I betrayed the Hero Party will be revealed to the world.

Keeping them locked up here buys me time, but the limit is about three months…no, four months at most.

If the Hero Party disappears for more than half a year after entering the demon territory, people will likely assume they’ve all perished.

If this information reaches the ears of the old fox on the throne, he’ll promptly select a new hero and send new scouts.

If my hypothesis holds true and the current hero being alive prevents another hero from appearing, I can breathe a sigh of relief, but if not, it’ll all be for nothing.

As I turned away, the hero, who learned of his companions’ survival, showed a deeply troubled expression.

“I’ll come again next time. Be prepared with your answer by then.”

Having seen the annoying hero’s face, it’s time to deal with my real errand in the underground dungeon.

As I retraced my steps, Camilla cautiously offered me a handkerchief.

“Use this to stop the bleeding on your forehead.”

I hesitated for a moment after receiving it but then smiled bitterly and thanked her.

“You’re very kind.”

Camilla is an extremely considerate woman.

She would undoubtedly make an excellent bride.