A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Redip, let's go somewhere else to play."

"You're going to keep letting me sit on your shoulders like this, okay?"

"Do as you please, I'm not tired anyway," Redip said.

Indeed, for an Aragami, this couldn't be simpler.

Redup and Dove continued walking down the street.

This is a very ordinary yet heartwarming daily routine that many people experience.

But Dove didn't have that before, so every minute he spent with Redup was a priceless treasure.

Redip is the true hero, the only hero, who gave her all of this.

---

“Long time no see, sir ‘Fisherman’. I think you’ve made up your mind by now.” Jonathan took off his hat and stood silently beside Redip.

Even though they had just met recently, Jonathan insisted on saying "it's been a long time."

"I'll help you...but..."

“You won’t ‘kill’ Mr. Ring-Bearer, will you?” Jonathan held up one finger.

“I understand, I understand,” Jonathan chuckled.

"..."

“Well then, it’s a pleasure working with you.” Jonathan put on his hat and clapped.

Ultimately, after careful consideration, Redip made another choice.

Jonathan initially thought that the plot of "friends being forced to become enemies" wouldn't unfold, but fortunately, Redip's thought process wasn't as bizarre as Bray's.

Well, to be honest, Jonathan was still wondering how to make things interesting if Redip really didn't want to become Bray's enemy.

"So, the proper script is finished."

"What kind of messy developments will unfold next?" Jonathan muttered to himself, his hands behind his back.

Will it proceed normally, according to the usual script? Probably—

Only the author can answer that. Today, the lord's manor is in extraordinary chaos.

Countless fishermen rallied around the lord's manor and fought fiercely against the manor's guards.

Relying on their overwhelming numerical advantage, the fishermen managed to fight the well-equipped guards to a standstill.

A battle between several thousand fishermen and a few dozen guards—this numerical disparity could indeed compensate for the disparity in equipment.

However, if the battle drags on and Elataba's other guards arrive at the lord's manor, the numerical advantage will be useless.

It should be noted that under normal circumstances, a fully armed soldier can easily defeat a dozen or so ordinary people.

There are still two thousand guards in Elataba.

The once luxurious lord's mansion is now in a state of disarray.

Although the messy scene is related to the fire that was caused by Takaman some time ago.

"Ahhhhh!" The servants in the lord's manor covered their heads and curled up.

Many fishermen broke through the defenses, squeezed in through the main entrance, and then rushed upstairs with their fishing gear.

The fishermen, blinded by rage, even accidentally killed many of their unarmed servants.

Blood splattered onto the charred walls, and the screams were drowned out by the fishermen's roars.

"Hahaha!!!! This guy is dead!" A fisherman laughed arrogantly on the third floor of the lord's manor.

He grabbed a corpse by the collar and lifted it up.

His smile was tinged with undisguised madness.

When contradictions reach a certain extreme, many absurd things begin to happen.

The group that believes in "shepherds and fishermen" is by no means very large.

No matter how rapidly it has developed, it can only be considered a medium-sized religion today.

This group, lacking strong military force and qualified leaders, naturally wouldn't have the courage to rebel.

Had it not been for the lord's cruel orders, the fishermen who believed in the "Shepherds" would never have had the courage to resist the local soldiers of Elataba, much less have they thought of assassinating the lord.

The conflict triggered these people's nerves, leading them to do something so "impossible".

"Lord's lackey, do you see this? This is the anger of the lower classes of Elataba!" The fisherman threw a corpse out of the window.

The owner of the corpse was the lord of Elataba.

The followers of the "Shepherds" had reached their limit of tolerance for this lord.

Some people choose to abandon the "Shepherd of Fishermen" faith, but others do not abandon the "god" who has bestowed blessings upon them.

In a sense, these people who persist can be considered to be loyal and righteous.

If these believers hadn't committed those heinous acts, "Shepherds of the Fishermen" would be a good faith.

Well, there's no point in saying more, since even a rigorous doctrine hasn't been compiled yet.

The scale is good, but the "fisherman" belief is still quite incomplete as a religion.

"The lord... is dead?" A maid on the first floor stared blankly at the corpse on the ground and said in disbelief.

"The lord is dead..." another servant's voice trembled.

Even the guards froze for a moment when they saw the lord's corpse.

The person they were protecting is now dead, so what should they do next?

Of course, the priority is to protect the remaining people.

If these crazy fishermen are allowed to riot, it won't just be the lord who dies.

“That’s right, that arrogant lord Elataba is dead.” A woman wearing a linen robe stood at the front of the fishermen.

Every group has a leader.

Whether the leaders are qualified or not is another matter, but there will definitely be some.

Without such figures, a group cannot unite.

The leader of those who believe in the "Shepherd of Fishermen" today is the woman who first spoke of the existence of the "Shepherd of Fishermen".

She witnessed firsthand how a man could summon a swarm of fish with a flick of his wrist.

It has been verified that the same man is always present during every bountiful fish harvest.

At that moment, she recognized that man as a great being.

She dared not approach, or even ask, that great being, yet she wanted to spread the word about his achievements.

Thus, the god "Fisherman" came into being.

“Insulting Lord ‘Fisherman’ and us who live off the sea deserves this retribution,” the woman said in a terrifying tone.

Upon hearing the phrase "people who live off the sea," the fishermen spontaneously shouted in unison.

People who live off the sea—what an apt description! What a beautiful way to put it!

Just hearing this makes the fishermen feel proud of their identity.

Many of them used to feel inferior because of their identity as fishermen, but at this moment, they felt that it was time for them to hold their heads high.

"It is clearly the 'Shepherd' who protects us in Elataba, yet you are slaughtering those of us who devoutly believe in Him!"

"Who is really in the wrong?!"

"You know nothing! You understand nothing!" The woman became more and more agitated as she spoke, and the crowd behind her also became agitated.

“Yes! You don’t understand anything!” the fishermen shouted in unison.

The guards were overwhelmed by the intimidating aura and took a few steps back.

These steps, in effect, paved the way for the fishermen, who seized this opportunity to swarm in.

"Wait a minute, calm down!" The guards no longer dared to speak harshly to each other.

Unfortunately, at this point, the fishermen were no longer listening to anything the guards said.

"This is the judgment upon you demons!"

Amidst the burning, killing, and looting, this sentence was heard.

In the eyes of the fishermen, those who captured and killed them were demons.

Although no one has ever actually come into contact with or even seen a demon, that doesn't stop people from talking about demons all the time.

It's like people often say, "As kind as an angel" or "As evil as a demon."

Angels and demons have become symbols of good and evil.

Well, I've gone off on a tangent.

In short, the fishermen began a celebration around the lord's manor.

---

“…” Bray stood not far from the lord’s mansion, silently watching all of this unfold.

It's very similar, really very similar to what Ricarrasco did back in the capital.

However, something seems different.

Perhaps it's because this time it was Jonathan, and last time it was Marek?

No, it's not just that... Unlike last time, Bray simply couldn't stop all of this from happening now.

Back then, Bray could curb the madness by defeating Ricarrasco, but what about this time?

Who is Bray going to defeat? The unarmed woman standing at the very front?

And then what? After defeating them, will everything be alright?

No... the riots will still happen, but they will be different in nature from the last one.

"—It's going to be so boring that Mr. Ring-Bearer always goes straight to the final boss and starts the fight." Jonathan's message flashed through Bray's mind.

“I’d rather things were a little boring,” Bray murmured. “Jonathan.” Takaman, the imposing “Third Demon Lord,” stood once again on the same island, looking down at Jonathan.

Compared to Takaman, Jonathan's height is a bit lacking.

“Why should I stay in this place?” Takaman’s tone was harsh.

Takaman knew that Jonathan was not someone to be trifled with, but that didn't mean he would compromise again and again.

“Calm down, Mr. Takaman.” Jonathan waved his hands frantically, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

“Don’t call me 'sir'!” Takaman knew Jonathan was doing it on purpose, which made him even angrier.

The flames grew fiercer with anger, spreading like a veil of fire, like waves.

The flames burned onto Jonathan's mask, as if trying to devour the clown who didn't lie.

However, the raging flames that could burn down an entire jungle did not char a single spot on the mask.

Aside from the exaggerated expression, the mask remained pristine white.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Mr. Takaman." Jonathan's voice was filled with panic, as if he had been frightened by Takaman's sudden outburst of anger.

Of course, if Jonathan hadn't said "Mr. Takaman," Takaman might have genuinely thought Jonathan was frightened.

“…” Takaman fell into a long silence.

"In any case, calm down first, Mr. Takaman."

“I will not let you stay on this island any longer, absolutely not.” Jonathan bowed respectfully.

Then Jonathan snapped his fingers, and a small boat appeared on the sea.

"Then, let's board the little man's ship and conquer Eratabah together!" Jonathan said, getting excited as he spoke.

"This is the last step, I swear," Jonathan said, patting his chest with conviction.

Takaman simply watched Jonathan's animated gestures with indifference.

Jonathan always had this comical posture, and Takaman had become numb to it.