I don't know how I ended up in this situation…
but now I'm a hero.
And I have a party.
An elf—her name is Selena.
A tank named Goth.
A saint girl named Maria.
And the annoying guy who dragged me into all this…
Pear.
And he is… what was it again…
Ah, right.
A magician.
Selena asked me to join them for food.
Apparently, they earned a lot of money from their last raid.
So now…
everyone was eating like demons.
…Wait.
I'm a demon.
And I'm calling humans demons?
…What is going on?
Anyway—
they were eating like crazy.
I really wanted to join them. The food looked so good… but I couldn't remove my mask. I just sat there, struggling.
Suddenly, someone called my name.
"Rudo! Rudo!"
That didn't sound friendly."Rudo… I heard you had a successful raid. Congratulations."
I knew he wasn't really congratulating me… but I accepted it anyway.
"Wait for the next full moon," he said, before turning and leaving.
…That didn't sound good.
I turned to Pear.
"What was he talking about?"
Pear shrugged. "There's a tournament held on that day."
A tournament…?
Since everyone was busy drinking, no one questioned me about my… lack of knowledge.
I used that chance to gather as much information as I could.
Then, the woman at the front desk called out to me.
"Rudo, the guild master wants to meet you."
I don't know what kind of person he is… but if he finds out I'm not Rudo, I'm dead.
With that fear, I walked up to his door and knocked.
"Come in, Rudo."
A deep voice answered from inside.
I stepped in and saw a tall man sitting there.
"Rudo, congratulations on your last raid."
"Thank you… master," I replied.
He frowned immediately.
"Master? Why are you calling me that?"
His eyes narrowed.
"And why are you still wearing your mask? Remove it, Rudo."
…I'm caught.
Just as I was about to panic—
he suddenly collapsed.
He fell to the floor.
The front desk girl rushed in, lifted him up, and placed him on the bed.
"His condition is getting worse…" she said.
I stood there for a second.
…Luck was on my side.
I quietly slipped out. Then Pear took me to our room, and I crashed on the bed.
He slept right next to me…
and somehow ended up throwing his legs on me.
This guy is seriously annoying.
I need a room change.
—
Back in the Demon Kingdom…
Ren was in the middle of a training battle with his knight, Daris.
"My lord, your magic output has increased significantly," Daris said.
"It's not enough," Ren replied coldly.
"Let's continue. I need to become stronger…
stronger than my old man."
Daris hesitated for a moment.
"My lord… aren't you worried about your brother?"
Ren paused.
"Worried?"
He let out a small scoff.
"He's a loser."
"Keeping him near me would only ruin my mood."
"It's better that he's gone."Ren defeated Daris in the training and walked away without another word.
He returned to his room, leaving Daris behind.
After a moment, Daris called for a group of demons.
"Search for Ron," he ordered.
His voice was calm… but there was concern behind it.
Daris had served the Demon King for centuries.
…Because he wasn't just a knight.
He was a dragon—
a dragon who had taken human form…
and served the Demon King. It was morning.
"Rudo… Rudo, wake up!"
Someone was calling my name.
It was Pear.
He was already getting ready.
"Where are you going this early?" I asked.
He looked at me.
"Did you forget about today?"
…Crap.
I didn't want to sound suspicious.
"Yeah, I remember," I said casually.
After a few seconds of silence,
he spoke again.
"It's selena's birthday."
"We're planning a surprise for her."We got ready and left the house. On the way, the saint girl and the tank joined us. Together, we went to selena's home… but she wasn't there.
So we headed to the guild instead.
She was there, talking seriously with the front desk woman. A little girl stood beside her. I had no idea what they were discussing.
We walked in. The saint girl handed selena a bouquet of white flowers, and the tank gave her a bone… don't ask me why. That one moment told me everything about him—he's an idiot.
Everyone wished her a happy birthday.
Then the front desk woman called us over.
"The guild master wants to see you."
We went in.
"Pear, what happened?" the guild master asked.
…Ted.
So that's his name.
He continued, "Two days ago, a group of adventurers went missing… their bodies were found near the Demon King's forest."
The moment she heard that—
Selena ran.
We all followed her.
We reached the forest. She was furious, searching desperately for the bodies.
Suddenly—
a group of demons appeared.
They surrounded us.
Mariya immediately cast a buff on us. The tank stepped forward to defend. Maria unleashed fire magic, and Pear attacked using his magic arrows.
We managed to defeat most of them…
but one demon remained.
I recognized him.
I had seen him training in the palace when my father was alive.
He was strong.
The fight dragged on… back and forth.
And then—
Selena's magic changed.
It grew stronger.
I could feel it.
Her anger… was fueling her power.
She almost killed him—
but he escaped.
I didn't understand why she was so angry.
We searched the forest again.
And then…
we found the bodies.
Selena froze.
Then she started crying.
I looked closer—
…It was him.
The man who said he had a daughter at home.
The man I tried to save.
Pear spoke quietly,
"That was selena's uncle… and the daughter he mentioned…"
"…is her niece."selena stood there, her fists trembling.
She looked at the body… and made a promise.
She would take revenge.
Her voice was low… but the intensity in it was enough to make everyone fall silent.
We carried the body back to the village.
When we arrived, a little girl ran toward us—crying.
Selena's niece.
Selena picked her up and held her tightly, trying to calm her down… even though she herself was breaking inside.
The funeral was held that evening.
No one spoke much.
The silence said everything. I went back home alone. Pear told me he and the tank had somewhere to go, so I didn't question it.
As I walked, my thoughts kept going back to selena…
Her vow.
The way she said she would kill the one responsible for her uncle's death.
And then it hit me.
The one who killed her uncle…
was the Demon King.
…My brother.
I slowly removed my mask.
I looked at my reflection.
For a moment, I just stared.
After wearing that mask for so long…
I had almost forgotten—
I'm the Demon King's twin.
…Great.
Now I'm stuck in an even bigger problem.
What the cheese? Suddenly, an arrow shot through the air and landed right in front of me.
A letter was attached to it.
I pulled it out and opened it.
We know your secret.
I froze.
I never thought my problems could pile up this much in a single day…
But at the same time—
I was curious.
What really happened to Rudo?
He was a hero… and someone killed him.
That means something bigger is going on in this village.
…And maybe these people know the truth.
It's better to find out sooner.