My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

"This is terrible."

Looking at the ruined passage that once connected Demon Clan territory and Beastmen territory, Mr. Crow muttered.

What he and the former heroes had built was completely destroyed.

How much time and effort did it take to dig underground all the way to another continent?

From the dense magical power still lingering — enough that even I could sense it — it was clear the Demon Clan had done it.

"Sorry, but we don't have time to mourn. Is there anything usable in here?"

Ms. Yoru said as she looked at the Demon Stones that used to light the passage and the oddly colored ore.

In her black cat form, Ms. Yoru had arrived shortly after the battle squad that seemed to be sparking at each other had departed.

I honestly don't want to remember the sight of Ms. Amaryllis when she saw the medicinal herbs he brought. With beauty that could have won contests, she drooled and stared at the precious herbs with glittering eyes.

Even Ms. Yoru seemed taken aback.

"…These Demon Stones and ore should still be usable. I can sense a little magical power. These ones are completely ruined, though."

Mr. Crow answered with a somewhat dejected look.

I wondered what the previous heroes meant to him.

They were probably closer to him than we were, who only shared the same class.

"…Aoi, Luke… Ritter…"

He muttered those names like an incantation as he looked at the rubble, and I silently repeated them in my head. Were those people's names?

"This and this. Alright, let's withdraw before it collapses. Crow, move on quickly."

At Ms. Yoru's calm voice, I felt something snap inside me.

Good grief — she really can't read the room at all.

Maybe that's something I've taken after Oda-kun.

I grabbed the back of the black cat walking in front of me and dangled her in front of my face.

Like many cats, when you grab that spot they lose their strength — apparently the same applied to this demonic beast.

"Hey! What the—let go!!"

I made eye contact with Ms. Ria, and leaving the two of them behind with Ms. Yoru still in my grip, I went up to the surface.

Ria's barrier should hold and protect Mr. Crow and me.

"Hey! I said let me go!!"

For a moment her body grew larger, and Ms. Yoru escaped my hand, landing in a smaller form on the ground and hissing at me.

Come to think of it, the cat at my grandmother's house used to hiss just like that.

"What the hell are you!!"

I planted my feet and stood in front of the hissing Ms. Yoru.

"Don't you have any feelings!? You saw Crow like that and felt nothing!?"

"I do have feelings. But if we go around grieving like that, who knows how many days it would take. You understand that, don't you?"

She had a point.

If we spent all our time mourning in every single place, it wouldn't just be until evening — it could take days.

There were so many passages left by Mr. Crow and the previous hero party, and each one had been destroyed, now teetering on the verge of collapse.

If we kept wasting time, some would completely give out and become impassable.

Still, I didn't want to accept that argument, and like a petulant child I shook my head violently.

"No! That's not it… You, a demonic beast, might never have lost someone close, but losing someone forever is something no one can easily bear! Especially Crow — he lost so many people he cared about. There are people who can't stand losing even one person!!"

I'm not some seasoned expert; in fact, I've never lost someone close to me either.

But after hearing such pained voices, I couldn't stay silent.

"I don't deserve to care for him."

For the first time, my emotions burst out and I shouted, breathing hard as I glared at Ms. Yoru.

She met my gaze directly and answered without looking away.

"I told you I was created by the demon lord and served as his right hand, didn't I?"

When we left the castle and first joined up with Oda-kun at Mr. Crow's house in Beastmen territory, while waiting for the unconscious Oda-kun to wake, I heard a lot from Mr. Crow, Ms. Amelia, and even from Ms. Yoru herself.

Back then I half-listened, thinking there might be such interesting cats among the demonic beasts.