*****

――Pop.

The scene, which had been on the verge of breaking out, froze again due to the flower that popped out of the muzzle.

Rob theatrically blew on the muzzle where the flower had emerged. Naturally, there was no gunpowder smoke—that didn't exist—just a single flower swaying gently.

「This isn't the trigger for that thing. So, aiming at this would be a waste. Now then, even so, can you suppress me the moment I fire?」

People must live.

Most things can be self-justified with that single phrase, but Rob had no intention of using it to justify his own behavior. However, there was no doubt that this was the fundamental premise, and rather than be killed, he would simply resist with all his might.

「Y-you're overdoing it.」

Arcelia, who had been overwhelmed by the nonchalant air of killing intent Rob had been emitting, finally came to her senses.

「Eh, if I don't do this, you guys won't even negotiate on equal terms, will you?」

「Were you not protected? Didn't you have the intention of belonging to the Alliance?」

「I was protected, but I have no intention of becoming a slave stripped of everything. Well, that doesn't mean I want to demand this and that, either. Arcelia knows that well enough, right?」

The Alliance, having read her reports, should know that too.

「I know that war is a collision between justice and justice. That's why Rob-san cannot back down. But the Alliance cannot back down either if the Demon King is brought into this. The Demon King is hated that much. Rob-san should understand that, shouldn't you?」

Rob felt happy about Arcelia's desire to mediate between him and the Alliance, but he made one correction.

「――A little different. Justice and justice don't clash. It's either one is justice, or neither is. Well, I understand about the Demon King, but this is the only means I have. Spare me that much.」

「I don't really understand Rob-san's justice.」

「It's not that hard. It's like the sun.」

Justice, like the sun, remains in the sky, singular and absolute. It is not influenced by societal convenience, national causes, or human emotions. Just as the sun is the sun no matter how you look at it, only that which is right no matter how you look at it is justice.

That said, it doesn't blame anyone; it just continues to exist. Whether one can look directly at it or not, whether one can find it or lose sight of it—that depends on the person.

「Ultimately, humans are beasts. We cannot escape the karma of living. That can't be helped, and I can't call it evil. But it isn't justice, either. To call it justice would be a lie.」

Rob, suddenly summoned from peaceful Japan to fight the Demon King. At first, he had never killed a person, and he hadn't even defined the Demon King as absolute evil. How should he kill? How should he maintain himself? He ran into reality, thought and thought, was taught by the people around him, and managed to find the answer.

Killing is because humans are animals. There is no good or evil in that. The reason for that, however, is where good or evil lies.

「『If there is a justifiable reason, you may kill.』 It sounds outrageous when put into words, but that was why I could kill, and why I could fight.」

He killed people. Was the reason for that justice, or was it because he was a beast? It didn't matter which it was, but he made sure it would never be evil. Fortunately, there was an existence that could be called the embodiment of evil, the Demon King, and he was able to use him as a counterexample.

「I'm not virtuous. But I have no intention of turning my back on the sun that's there.」

Arcelia frowned and pondered Rob's words with a difficult expression. Before she knew it, the air in the room had softened.

「At first glance, you seem harsh on others and lenient on yourself, but does that mean you are only harsh toward evil?」

「Ah, yeah, I guess so. I'm lenient on myself. That's right.」

He lacked delicacy, he was easily distracted by pretty women, and basically, he was lazy. Since there are few things in the world that fit the definition of pure justice, he allowed himself to be lazy, thinking that living as an animal couldn't be helped and wasn't evil, so it wasn't a problem. He was negotiating seriously with the Alliance right now, but the purpose was pathetic. However, whether that was evil was not something one could say definitively. While he considered the Alliance's actions—killing him early because he was dangerous—to be evil, he also thought that perhaps they were just territorial animals fighting amongst themselves. But either way, Rob felt no guilt.

Rob stared at Cubas once more and then looked around at everyone present.

「――Now, what will you do? What are you going to do with me?」

*****

What would the Hero at the end of his journey? A terrorist, turn out.

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.