Chapter 20 – The Village

The way the boulder shattered was clearly not the result of a mere punch.

It had been reduced to sand-like particles—as if disintegrated at a molecular level.

「When striking, I channeled force into the rock’s core.」

I explained.

「The energy spreads throughout its structure, causing it to crumble into dust. …A specialty of mine.」

I made it sound like some pinnacle of martial arts, but of course, it was Psychokinesis.

【Psychokinetic Martial Arts】—a technique disguising telekinetic force as physical strikes.

The woman’s eyes widened as she murmured,

「W-wow… that’s incredible.」

I shrugged.

「Anyway, the path’s clear now.」

「Yes… thank you.」

She smiled softly.

「If you’d like, could you stop by our village? I’d like to repay your kindness.」

「…Sure. Since I’m here anyway, might as well.」

I agreed.

She then introduced herself.

「My name is Flemia. It’s nice to meet you.」

「I’m Henry. Likewise.」

After a pause, Flemia hesitantly asked,

「Ano… by any chance, are you nobility?」

「…No.」

I denied it.

I wasn’t a noble anymore. Announcing myself as an exiled criminal would only make her wary.

So I simply said,

「Just a traveler. Why do you ask?」

「You carry yourself like someone of high upbringing.」

「…Well, I was born into a fairly wealthy family. But not nobility.」

I left it at that.

Flemia and I continued walking.

-0-

Before long, we reached the village.

Its name… if I recall correctly, it was Hiko Village in the game?

A small settlement of around 200 humans, though technically under the rule of a certain group of demons.

And their leader just so happened to be the 【Redemption Boss】 I was after.

「…?」

I stopped.

Flemia halted beside me.

The village was in a state of unrest.

「Did something happen?」

「I don’t know… It shouldn’t have. But today of all days—」

Her muttering carried an odd weight.

Just then, a villager spotted Flemia and called out,

「Oi, Flemia!! You’re back!」

「Yes… What’s going on?」

The man’s face darkened.

「It’s bad. Buros-sama… he’s here.」

「Wha—!?」

Flemia paled, her expression twisting in panic.

「N-no, he wasn’t supposed to come today…!」

Her distress was palpable.

From context, this “Buros” was likely a demon… though the name didn’t ring any bells.

Probably some generic “Demon A” in the game.

「Who is this Buros-sama?」

I decided to ask outright.