I woke up, still thinking about the letter.
Who could have sent it?
If someone really knew I wasn't Rudo… they could have exposed me already.
But they didn't.
Which means—
they want something from me."Rudo! Rudo!" Pear called me. "We gotta go."
I looked at him. "Go where?"
He looked annoyed. "Did you forget? The Holy Master Lincoln is arriving today."
My heart skipped.
"As a hero, you have to be there," he said.
We went outside, and the whole village was already there… everyone waiting for him.
The guild master, Ted, joined us.
After some time, a group of people dressed in white entered the village, carrying a chariot.
Then someone stepped out.
He was huge… with a white and black beard, wearing long white robes and a strange-looking cap.
The moment he appeared, everyone around me dropped to their knees.
…And I was just standing there, watching it like some kind of drama.
Suddenly, the guild master grabbed me and forced me down. Holy Master Lincoln… and his followers had arrived.
"Rudo, come here."
Someone called me.
When I looked up… it was him.
…This guy is scary.
I really didn't want to go near him.
But I had no choice.
I walked toward him.
"Congratulations on your last raid," he said.
Then he looked at me for a moment and added,
"If you are free, come with me to the guild. We have something to discuss." Me, Pear, and the guild master followed him to the guild. On the way, Maria, Selena, and the tank joined us.
I glanced at Selena… I was worried about her, but she looked okay now.
We entered the guild, and Lincoln looked at me.
"I want to speak with you upstairs," he said.
Great.
As I followed him, my mind kept racing.
What if he realizes I'm not the real Rudo?
Worse… what if he's the one who sent that letter?
I stepped into the room. His followers stayed outside.
"Come, sit, Rudo," he said calmly.
I sat down, trying not to show anything.
"I came here to talk to you about your last raid." "I heard your party members returned early… and you completed the raid alone," he said.
"What really happened there?"
So much happened… how am I supposed to explain this?
My mind started racing. I needed something believable.
"They were wounded," I said. "So I sent them back and handled the raid myself. As a hero… that's an easy job for me."
…Yeah.
I just sounded like an overconfident YouTuber with one subscriber.
But Lincoln didn't react.
Not even a little.
He just sat there… quietly.
Like he was calculating something."I also heard… you came across an interesting village," he said.
My heart dropped.
If I said yes, it would lead to more questions…
So I shook my head.
"No. I didn't see any village."
He smiled.
"I see… well, anyway, congratulations, Rudo, on your raid."
Then he added,
"You and your party will be coming with us tomorrow. The king wants to meet you."
…King?
So this world has one too.
This king better be a good guy…
not like my brother.
Casting out his own brother…
what an idiot. "Yes, Master. We'll come," I said, and quickly left the room.
As soon as I got downstairs, I joined my team.
They were all busy enjoying food like nothing happened.
"We're meeting the king tomorrow," I told them.
The mood changed instantly.
Their reactions… weren't pleasant.
…Yeah.
The king must be a really scary guy.
Then Lincoln came downstairs. He was about to leave.
Suddenly, a man jumped at him, trying to kill him.
Before he could even get close, one of Lincoln's followers caught him mid-air and threw him outside.
The villagers quickly surrounded the man.
Lincoln just stood there… smiling.
"Child," he said calmly, "whatever your reason… I forgive you. You are free from your sin."
Just like that… he forgave him.
And the entire village started praising him
"I don't want your forgiveness!" the man shouted. "Just give me back my family!"
He was crying.
Lincoln looked at him calmly. "Child… what happened to your family?"
"Don't act!" the man yelled. "You did this to them!"
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then Lincoln sighed softly.
"People… do not harm this child. He must have gone through something terrible."
…And right after that—
someone threw a stone.
Then another.
And suddenly, the entire village turned on the man.
They started attacking him.
Lincoln stepped forward and stopped them.
"Enough."
He looked at everyone, disappointment on his face.
"I am truly disappointed in all of you."
And with that… he turned and left. I got curious… so I followed them.
The man was unconscious.
Lincoln told his follower to lay him down under a tree.
Then he started casting a spell.
Slowly… the man's wounds began to heal.
And just like that, Lincoln turned and left.
After a while, the man woke up…
and walked away like nothing had happened.
I just stood there, confused.
I don't know what really happened back there…
but one thing is clear.
That Lincoln guy is dangerous.
I better not get involved with him. …But then I remembered.
He told me and my team to come with him to the castle tomorrow.
I had a really bad feeling about this.
I went back home.
Pear was there, sitting quietly… thinking about something.
I walked up to him. "What are you thinking about?"
Suddenly—
he jumped at me and pinned me down.
"Did you receive the letter, Rudo?"
Then he leaned closer and said,
"…I mean, fake Rudo."
I froze.
I didn't know what to say. He got off me and stepped back.
I quickly got up, and we closed the door.
He looked at me seriously.
"It was me," he said.
"I'm the one who killed Rudo."
My mind just went blank.
"That's how I know… you're not the real Rudo."
…What?
This guy—
can you believe this Pear guy?
He's giving me heart attack after heart attack."I didn't have a choice," he said. "Rudo was about to tell them about it."
"About what?" I asked.
He gave me a sharp, angry look.
"That's not your problem."
…Yeah.
That's my sign to leave.
"Alright, I'm leaving this village," I said.
But Pear immediately stopped me.
"No. You're staying," he said.
"You'll keep acting as Rudo."
I frowned. "And if I don't?"
He looked straight at me.
"Then I'll tell everyone that I killed Rudo… and that you're a fake."
…Great.
Now I'm stuck.
But one thing was clear—
he wanted something from Rudo.
Not me…
Rudo.
And one more thing…
he still hasn't realized I'm a demon.
Then he just went back to sleep…
like nothing had happened.
I stood there, staring at him.
He didn't look like a killer.
…But then again,
who really looks like one?
I let out a breath.
Anyway…
better to get some sleep.
I lay down…
and slowly drifted off. Back in the Demon Kingdom…
A new demon stood at the front gate.
One of the guards brought him inside.
"I want to meet Ren," he said.
He looked… different from the others.
Ren sat on his throne as the demon walked in.
"Oh, my lord… my Demon King," he said, bowing. "I've always wanted to meet you."
Everyone in the hall looked confused.
Daris stepped forward. "Who are you? I've never seen you before."
"My name is Calt," he replied. "I'm from a nearby demon village. Humans destroyed it… I have no home left."
His eyes hardened.
"I hated humans… and then I heard about you. They said the new Demon King is cruel to humans."
He smiled slightly.
"That made me your fan. I want to join your army."
Ren leaned forward.
"You want to join my army?"
"Are you worthy?"
Calt didn't hesitate. "Let me prove it."
Ren nodded.
"Fight him."
One of the strongest generals stepped forward—Puno.
The battle began.
Puno opened with a fire beast spell…
but Calt dodged it and countered with water magic.
They clashed head-on.
Calt was fast… strong.
Too strong.
Puno should've crushed him easily—
but instead, he was struggling.
Then—
Calt raised his hand.
"Absolute Zero."
The temperature dropped instantly.
Puno froze solid… like an ancient statue trapped in ice.
Ren watched quietly…
and smiled.
"You can join my army."
"Thank you, my lord," Calt said.
Ren stepped down from his throne and walked toward the battlefield.
The other demons tried to break the ice around Puno…
but nothing worked.
Ren raised his hand.
Daris's eyes widened.
"My lord—don't!"
But Ren didn't listen.
"Meteor Swarm."
The sky cracked open.
Massive fireballs rained down—
and burned everything.
Puno… was gone.
Ren turned back to the others.
"I don't need powerless wimps."
Silence filled the hall.
Everyone understood—
their new king…
is dangerous.
To be continued...