A few days ago, Cain had taken on a bodyguard job for a wealthy businessman. According to him, ever since the Demon King had passed through the southern forest, there’d been a spike in demand for escorts. Satin found it a little puzzling.
‘Are they really that worried the Demon King might show up again?’
There was no way the Demon King would appear twice.
‘It’s the Demon God’s turn now.’
The Demon God was the final boss of Dark Age Part 3. Of course, Satin hadn’t even finished Part 2, let alone Part 3. Still, thanks to spoilers, he had a rough idea of the plot. The Demon God never appeared in the same place as the Demon King.
It was a kind of unwritten rule. As the story progressed, the protagonist grew stronger, and the villains escalated in evil accordingly. The scale of the setting expanded as well.
From a village to a city, from a city to a nation, then to a continent, and eventually to the universe.
‘Well, okay, this genre doesn’t actually go all the way to space.’
If the Demon King was the benchmark, then the Demon God would demand a bigger hostage than Cloverland.
‘Like, say, the capital city.’
Part 3 didn’t even take place in Cloverland. After defeating the Demon King, the protagonist’s party headed to the capital. They hadn’t expected to encounter the Demon God at all when they started that journey.
But the moment they arrived in the capital—before they even had a chance to bask in the fame of celebrities—the Demon God appeared.
‘It’ll probably unfold in a similar pattern here too.’
What Satin had overheard yesterday at the grocer’s seemed to back up that theory.
As far as Satin knew, there weren’t any notable rumors circulating in Cloverland at the moment. The odd rumor that had been mentioned yesterday came from the Grand Temple in the capital.
No one knew what was being hoped for through the Demon God’s descent, but whatever was going on in the capital wouldn’t ripple all the way out here. And worst-case scenario, he could always run.
“Cloverland’s become a pretty decent place to live now, huh.”
“What are you suddenly on about?”
Cain furrowed his brow at Satin’s murmuring. Satin shook his head, brushing it off with a casual “It’s nothing.”
Right now, the two of them were on their way to the Adventurers’ Guild. Technically, since Cain was in the middle of a job, he could have gone straight to the client—but when Satin said he was going to the guild alone, Cain insisted on tagging along, saying he was worried.
‘What is there to be worried about, anyway?’
Most likely, Cain wasn’t concerned about pickpockets or muggers—he was probably worried that Satin would try to take on a job. But Satin pretended not to notice. He didn’t want to believe the protagonist could be so overbearing and jealous.
‘Even if he’s no longer the protagonist.’
Soon, Satin spotted the signboard for the Adventurers’ Guild.
“That’s the place?”
When Satin pointed across the street, Cain nodded.
The Adventurers’ Guild occupied a fairly impressive building. A rare three-story structure—it was a sign that the guild’s finances were solid.
But oddly, there weren’t many people around. It was unclear whether it was usually this quiet, or if today was just unusually slow.
“Looks more dead than I expected.”
“Ever since the Demon King incident, a lot of travelers left town.”
“Oh, wow.”
So it wasn’t just the locals—tourists had also thinned out. Then again, it made sense. Any place that went through a disaster would see a dip in tourism for a while. And the Demon King’s appearance had definitely qualified as a disaster to the people of this region.
As they crossed the street, Satin sneaked a glance at Cain’s profile. His expression was unreadable. Satin gently opened his mouth.
“Hey, you know that rumor from yesterday…”
“The one about a divine prophecy?”
“Yeah. If that turns out to be real and the Demon God shows up—what would you do?”
Satin’s sudden visit to the Adventurers’ Guild today was motivated by a desire to learn more about that rumor. If there was any place where travelers gathered, chances were good someone there knew more about it.
Cain responded with a flat expression, as if the topic bored him.
“I’d do nothing.”
“You’re not even a little curious?”
“Nope.”
“But the people who defeated the Demon King got huge rewards, right? If someone took down the Demon God, wouldn’t they get even more?”
“We don’t even know if the Demon God exists. And even if it does—any country that thinks dangling a reward in front of people is a solution to that kind of problem? That’s just plain doomed.”
Now that he put it that way… yeah, that made sense. If a nation tried to handle an existential threat with bounty money, then that meant it was already on its last legs.
“I don’t care what happens to this country.”
“…I figured.”
Cain’s blunt answer became Satin’s own resolution.
Even a provincial governor can quit if he doesn’t like the job, right? His sister’s masterpiece deserved respect, but there was no point in forcing Cain to go along. That would just turn it into a contrived story. And she wouldn’t have wanted that either.
‘Assuming she even knows what’s going on right now.’
Satin pressed the metaphorical stop button on the rollercoaster. It was time to live a quiet, unremarkable life in the margins of the narrative. Regretful, sure—but it was goodbye to the story.
‘Honestly, this kind of life suits me better anyway.’
Though who’s to say what might happen? Maybe someone else would take down the Demon God and become a hero again, like last time. Maybe the heroes who defeated the Demon King were already on their way to the capital.
All Satin needed to do was sit back and read about it in the newspaper. That, too, was part of Dark Age in its own way. Even if the protagonist changed, a masterpiece was still a masterpiece.
‘So I came here for nothing. Should I at least check for part-time jobs while I’m at it?’
Just then, a flyer caught Satin’s eye—one of the bigger ones posted on the door of the Adventurers’ Guild. “Hiring Workers for the Night of Peace Festival!” it read in bold letters.
‘What kind of work do local festival volunteers even do?’
The event was still a couple of months off. Looking closer, there was another line at the bottom: “Get priority access to the Tunnel of Love!”
‘The Tunnel of Love? These merchants are more cunning than I thought.’
Maybe there’d be a night market. Maybe he could sell something. Selling scallion pancakes in the outskirts of the plot wouldn’t cause any real trouble.
While Satin was prematurely daydreaming, Cain, who had gone inside ahead of him, clicked his tongue.
“What’s up?”
“See for yourself.”
Cain nodded toward the interior of the building. Curious, Satin looked over—and his eyes widened.
Rita was there, talking to one of the staff.
“Rita?”
He called out instinctively, and Rita turned at the sound of his voice. Her face instantly lit up with joy.
“Satin!”
She rushed toward him like she meant to throw her arms around him, but Cain stepped in her way and blocked her. He warned coldly,
“No unhygienic touching.”
“What? This is a friendly greeting, okay?”
“You can talk just fine without touching.”
Rita let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.
“You leech. You’re still like this? No—worse than before, actually.”
Embarrassed on her behalf, Satin gave an awkward laugh and quickly tried to change the subject.
“Anyway, what brings you here? Weren’t you heading to another city?”
“Oh, I did go—to Bensyard. But I heard a weird rumor while I was there.”
“You mean the one about the divine prophecy?”
When Satin cautiously asked, Rita’s eyes went wide.
“How’d you know? It’s already spread to Cloverland?”
“Uh, yeah. Heard bits and pieces.”
Satin nodded, dodging the question.
Gossip really does travel a thousand miles without feet. Apparently, the rumor had spread even farther than he thought. In a world without phones or internet, the speed of hearsay was still impressive.
Rita folded her arms with a serious expression.
“I knew the Demon King felt too easy. Whether it was just a trial or something else, something was clearly off. This time, something really dangerous is about to go down. I’m sure of it.”
“You actually believe the rumor?”
“You don’t?”
Rita blinked in surprise as she asked, and Satin glanced at Cain before answering carefully.
“I mean… I think it’s possible.”
“Same here. I hope nothing happens, but who knows, right? We have to be prepared. The fate of the nation is at stake.”
A response fitting of a princess of this country.
Still, rumor or not, Satin couldn’t help wondering—why had Rita come back here? Since the origin of the rumor was the capital, it would’ve made more sense for her to head back there immediately.
But his question was soon answered when Rita raised her voice with enthusiasm.
“Last time we made a pretty good team, right? Why don’t we go together again? This time—for real—let’s save the world!”
Had they really done anything worth such dramatic words?
While Satin briefly got lost in thought, Cain answered in his place.
“Piss off.”
It was such a harsh reply that Satin smacked Cain’s back in shock.
“Dude, what the hell?”
“She’s talking nonsense. Save the world, my ass. She’s just drunk on delusions.”
Rita shot back, indignant.
“It’s not delusion! This might actually be a real crisis, you know?”
“Whether it’s a real crisis or a fake one, I’m not letting Satin get involved in anything that dangerous. So back off.”
Cain’s stance was firm, uncompromising. Rita was momentarily speechless, then shot back with indignation.
“That’s rich. Are you supposed to be Satin’s guardian or something?”
“I am.”
Cain’s immediate response caught Rita off guard, leaving her at a loss for words. But he pressed on, his tone sharp and unyielding, like hammering in a nail.
“As long as I’m around, Satin’s never setting foot in anything dangerous. So get real and find someone else.”
Rita quickly regained her composure.
“That’s Satin’s decision to make. Aren’t you younger than him? Who are you to play guardian?”
“There’s hardly a difference between twenty and twenty-two.”
“Oh, for—do you even know how old Satin is? He’s twenty-three.”
“You’re the one who’s wrong. Satin’s twenty-two.”
As the two bickered like children, Satin brought a hand to his forehead.
‘Technically, I’m twenty-four…’
He decided to keep the real answer to himself and stepped in to break up the squabble.
“Guys, come on—how about we take this somewhere else…”
Not just the guild staff, but even the few visitors around were staring at them now. All wearing the same look—wondering what on earth these full-grown adults were arguing about like kids.
The shame? That was all Satin’s to bear.
