06: The Gem

Just like that, the hero went to wash and change the demon king's bed sheet while the demon king himself went out to deal with something. The hero guessed it must have to do something with the humans and the demons. What else could it be? There wasn't much else to deal with other than that. He wasn't a bit concerned, though. He preferred the silent and secluded life, a life he was used to, something he had experienced his whole life in his original world. To have a lively one with lots of people by his side wasn't something he felt completely comfortable and relaxed. Perhaps that was what most people seek for but it was impossible for him, whether or not he wanted it. It was already too late the moment he woke up in that place.

A bitter smile formed on his face. He shook his head multiple times to get rid of his current thoughts in his mind. "Nope, stop it. Not now, not here. Can't deal with that shit right now."

The hero sighed before he went back to his usual self and started to sing as he explored the castle, making full use of the opportunity while the owner was gone.

"D-E-M-O-N King, king he is~ can't even be honest without getting so worked up~ but worry, worry not~ cuz he has me, the most fantastic and fabulous person he will ever get to know… Na, na, na, every day, every night, imma lie in his b-e-d cuz it's m-i-n-e now~ I wonder what he has in his castle, maybe gold? Maybe forbidden tools? Tools? Don't tell me… Aw, Demon King so naughty, na, na, na~"

The hero enjoyed singing so much the whole time he didn't notice the demon in the shadows, watching his every move. That demon was a high-ranking demon working directly under the demon king, and hearing the legendary hero sing, he didn't know how to react. He was fairly speechless and the image he had of the hero in his mind was scattered into pieces like broken glass. The hero's singing was rather… special.

While the demon in the shadows had his mind in a mess, the hero continued to sing as he entered every single room he encountered. But to his dismay, he didn't find anything amusing and extraordinary. That was until he came across a magnificent painting of a crest. A crest with a diamond-shaped gem in the middle. Curious that he was, the hero reached out his hand to touch it. The moment he touched it, the stone tiles under him suddenly collapsed and they disappeared, along with the hero himself.

The demon who was hiding in the shadows came out and the corner of his mouth twitched at the sight of the big hole that wasn't there a moment ago.

"Oh wow… He really did have to touch that gem, huh."

Soon after, he looked at the dark sky and knew that the demon king has returned. The demon was right, the demon king appeared behind him with a dark face, seemingly to have spotted something that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Lukas? Mind explaining this?"

The demon awkwardly laughed and said, "You know, once upon a time, the legendary hero decided to explore the demon king's castle and he found nothing until he stumbled across a peculiar painting. Oh, was his expression like that of…" Receiving a sharp eye from the demon king, he changed his tone and speech, "Long story short, he had to touch the gem and made himself fall in the pit full of traps."

"... That idiot."

Lukas nodded in agreement. Who would have thought the hero would fall for something like that? Didn't he see the warning sign he put up not long ago, with red bold text stating, 'Do not touch the gem, no matter what!'. What was the hero thinking?

If the hero heard this, he would look at the demon with disbelief. Even if he saw the sign, he wouldn't be able to read it as it was in the demon language. Did he think he was a genius who knew all languages or what? In actuality, the hero did know and he did see the warning sign, he just didn't care. When you see a warning sign not to touch something, it makes you want to touch it even more. Besides, who was there to stop him anyway? So he went ahead and touched the gem with no care given. Although, he didn't anticipate the fall, which he really should have.

As the hero of this world, his strength was nothing to joke about. The fall didn't hurt him, and neither did the traps hidden around him. He was underneath the ground and couldn't see anything due to the darkness. The hero suddenly thought it wasn't such a good idea to touch the gem after all. Despite the fact that he was powerful, he didn't have the magic to fly up back to the ground. So all he could do was to wait for the demon king, but he didn't know when he was going to return.

Looking at his surroundings, everything was pitch black. The hero sighed and stopped walking to look around as it was meaningless when he couldn't see anything. He planned to get back to where he fell but realized that he didn't know the way back. Ah, how he missed the demon king so badly now. Sitting down, the hero closed his eyes to sleep as a way to waste time, waiting for the demon king. Back above the ground, the demon king stared at the hole, turned around and walked away.

Lukas was confused. "Master, aren't you going to get the hero?"

"It's not like he's a child. He, the hero, can find the way back on his own."

Lukas parted his lips and let out a sound of realization. The demon king was right, it wasn't like the trap was top-tier, all the hero had to do was to fly up. Thus, overlooking an important factor, Lukas followed the demon king out of the place.

In a pitch-black place somewhere under the ground, a continuous snore could be heard throughout.