TPDGR 10

Chapter 10……

And so, the five empty houses in the village found their owners.

Among the refugees, five were selected to join the Royal Puppet Theater Troupe.
Three children, about five or six years old, were chosen as “growing sprouts.”

Children are said to be the wealth of the nation.
It is the country’s duty to raise them properly and with dignity.
Feed them five meals a day so they grow into fine adults who will protect my kingdom.

And as for the Saint and the Hero…

“They’re just extras, really.”

Honestly, I still wasn’t sure about the abilities of those two.

The Hero, Griffith, was said to have entered a dungeon alone and slain the boss.

But was that dungeon maybe… an F-rank one?

He’s officially ranked as an A-class hero, but I had no idea how powerful that really was.
Eventually, I figured I’d just assign him as Captain of the Guards and have him lead the orcs.
After all, now that the kingdom had children to protect, more hunters would probably come barging in.

As it turned out, the Saint was a supporter type, using holy power to aid others.

Supporters often get looked down on, as if they don’t do anything, but they actually have plenty of uses.
Someday she’d prove useful too.

Though… her powers are the opposite of mine. If I were to accept her support, I’d probably burn to ashes.

Even though I had spent the whole day assigning houses, for some reason I couldn’t fall asleep.
Was it because I hadn’t seen the village this lively in a hundred years?

I tucked a magic-eyed fruit under my arm and trudged down the hill.

I was just planning to snack on some fruit under the starry sky before heading back, but I wasn’t the first one there.

Griffith and Joanna were already waiting.

“What are you two doing out here?”

I approached first, and both Griffith and Joanna, startled, bowed deeply.

“We greet the Demon King.”
“We greet the Demon King.”

They didn’t have to act so stiff… but honestly, I did kind of enjoy the taste of authority, so I secretly smiled under my mask.

When I sat down between them, the Saint’s eyes went wide.

“You couldn’t sleep either, huh? In times like this, if you eat something sweet, you’ll drift right off.”

I split the magic-eyed fruit and handed each of them a piece. Both accepted with dazed expressions.

“You don’t have these in your kingdom, do you?”

I planned to eat the rest myself, so I tilted my mask up just a little.

That’s when the Saint’s cheeks flushed as she said:

“You truly are a wonderful person, Demon King.”

Wonderful? Just for giving you a bite?

Honestly, my conscience pricked me a little, but I didn’t want to show it.

I’m the Demon King, after all.

So… what kind of answer should I give in this situation?

“…Wonderful? That’s impossible. I am the Demon King.”

It was just an exasperated remark that slipped out, but Griffith and Joanna only smiled faintly.

“Shall we head back in? The night wind is getting cold.”

It was just when their gazes were starting to feel uncomfortably heavy.

With my stomach full of sweets, my body felt heavy and my eyelids drooped.

As I stood to leave, my eyes met Griffith’s in the darkness.

“What’s wrong, both of you?”

The Saint glanced between us, puzzled.

I saw Griffith’s expression harden in the shadows.

And I felt it too.

Quietly, I turned my gaze toward the Gate.

“Something’s coming.”

“I feel it as well.”

“Th-there!”

The Saint raised her voice, almost a scream, pointing toward the Gate—

Or rather, at the man slowly stepping through the black vortex.

“That’s…”

A chill ran down my spine.

No doubt about it.

That was—

Han Hyun-jin.

A man clad entirely in black, exuding a terrifying aura.

The moment Hyun-jin emerged from the Gate, he spotted me and, without a shred of hesitation, swung his sword.

A slash of sword energy shot toward me at lightning speed.

BOOM!

Han Hyun-jin was nothing like the typical protagonists of mass-produced fantasy novels.

If the long-time trend in webnovels had been protagonists enjoying smooth “cider-pass” power trips, then the novel A Hundred Years Hunter, where Han Hyun-jin starred, was what the author themselves called a “chestnut-pass novel”—a story made to frustrate.

A story crafted solely for the reader to enjoy the protagonist’s endless suffering.
The main character rolling on the ground, crawling, barely surviving!

Han Hyun-jin’s backstory: On the very day the first Gate appeared on Earth, he got caught in a monster wave and ended up in a hundred-year sleep.

After waking up, grieving his friend who died with him, he vowed to close every Gate in existence. Along the way, he also fought giant corporations, exposed corrupt secret societies, and… endured the unfair oppression of a rotten world and system.

By the time he grew stronger, his mind was already battered and broken. All that remained to him were the overwhelming power of an S-rank Hunter and a seething hatred for dungeons.

That was A Hundred Years Hunter: Hyun-jin awakening as an S-rank Hunter after a century, enduring the world’s oppression, and dedicating himself to shutting down every dungeon—
Relying on nothing but sheer grit and effort.

That’s how Han Hyun-jin became the embodiment of hard work and justice.

And now, I was meeting him?

When all I wanted was a peaceful life with fifteen people singing happily together?

Of course, he’d be out for my blood. To him, I was nothing more than the dungeon’s master.

His sword aura smashed into something, exploding with a deafening blast. Dust and dirt filled the air, obscuring everything.

When I squinted, I saw someone standing in front of me.

…Wait.

Did he block Han Hyun-jin’s strike?

“Griffith?”

Yes—standing in front of me, having blocked that lethal blow, was none other than the so-called “extra,” Griffith.

The scabbard at his waist was empty—he had drawn his sword in an instant and intercepted Hyun-jin’s attack.

As the dust settled, Hyun-jin’s furious glare burned into us, his sword lowered but radiating killing intent. He looked every bit like a grim reaper come to drag me away.

Griffith, still holding his sword, glanced back at me over his shoulder.

“Are you unharmed, Demon King?”

“Y-yeah! I’m fine!”

Trying to keep up appearances, I deepened my voice and glared at Hyun-jin through my mask.

“Well done, Griffith. That was a solid defense.”

Yes. Truly, our neighborhood “extra.”
Taking him in was the best decision of my life.

But still—was it really okay to be facing off against the main character of a novel like this? I wasn’t prepared at all!

“…Damn. We’re screwed.”

“What does ‘screwed’ mean…?”

I placed a hand on Griffith’s shoulder and lowered my voice.

“Griffith, I’ll deal with him. You take the others in the village and—”

“Leave this place to me, Demon King.”

“…What?”

What nonsense was that? How could he possibly face Han Hyun-jin?

But his words weren’t just bravado—his eyes gleamed coldly as he locked onto Hyun-jin.

“My humble skills are nothing compared to yours, my lord, but I once defeated a demon. I will not disgrace myself—I shall bring this man down.”

Ah, right. Griffith had indeed slain a dungeon boss before.

I’d always wondered—how exactly did he kill a demon?

At that moment, the Saint clasped her hands and stepped forward.

“I will support Sir Griffith.”

Joanna pulled out the platinum bracelet of the goddess she had once given me and slipped it onto her own wrist.

Then she began to chant a prayer.

Even from nearby, the air tingled with holy power.

As her prayer rose, the white energy she exuded wrapped itself around Griffith.

[‘Saint’s Prayer’
+10 Magic
+10 Strength
+10 Divinity]

“!”

The holy aura encased Griffith like armor.

It wasn’t a buff that could ever work on me, but with Griffith it was a perfect match.

At this rate, they might actually stand a chance against Han Hyun-jin.

I looked back and forth between the two, now firm in their resolve.

Should I entrust this to them…?

Before heading back to the castle, I gripped Griffith’s shoulder.

“Fight with everything you have. But if you feel you can’t win, retreat. I’ll give that brat a proper beating in my castle.”

“Yes, my lord.”

As expected of a swordsman—
Even while I held his shoulder and spoke, Griffith’s eyes never left his target.

He was intent on preventing Han Hyun-jin from making any sudden moves.

Watching that sturdy back, I awkwardly hesitated before adding:

“Hey, um… one more thing.”

“Command me.”

“…Don’t die. I’m counting on you.”

“…!”