Demon Lord Management Sim Game

That witch was silent, looking into my eyes for a few moments. Then, she shook her head. "There's none. Because, again, we don't really know whether that thing exists. We've only heard the claims of a few people."

I stood up, turned my back on her, and massaged my forehead. Damn it. Should I give up on returning to the future? As Ayre said, I can start from scratch in this era.

No.

"At the very least, tell me the location of that thing," I asked with trembling lips. "You know that, right?"

Faye was silent for a few more moments. "They say the giganpoppy is in the vicinity of an unnamed waterfall to the southeast, eight days' journey by horse from here. However, we don't know the exact location."

"So, all I can do is scour that area until I meet the effects of that thing? And even if I find it, we don't know how to get out of it?"

"More or less."

The anger inside me bubbled up, making me kick the wooden chair until it shattered.

Why? Why are things not on my side?

"Don't follow me." I walked out of the room.

***

I ended up walking around the city, then flying aimlessly. After being far and high from the city, I screamed with all my might. I even asked the god who sent me here.

What should I do?

It took me quite a while to do all that, and I returned to Faye's house at night.

"You said I should get enough rest, but you haven't slept too," I said to Ayre, sitting in the room next to the fairy's corpse.

"Let me say that you are an idiot, your highness." She answered without looking at me. "I was awake to wait for you. What other reasons do I have?"

"Sorry." I chuckled, approached the woman, and handed her something covered in cloth. "This is for you. I should have bought something like this in the land of elves. The quality is much better there. However, I would never have the chance to shop in that country."

Ayre opened the package, frozen for a moment. "This…."

"If you don't mind, play with it for a while, Ayre." I sat on the floor and leaned against the bedroom wall. "Maybe I can be calmer to hear a little music from you."

She looked at me deeply. After that, she activated silencer magic. "Faye is asleep. I don't want to disturb her."

The shapeshifter general started playing the lute I gave her, filling the room with soft, melodic tunes.

I closed my eyes, letting the tunes fill my ears. My mind must be clear to find the best solution.

Even if I don't find the right solution, I will still wait at the waterfall until I can see that stupid thing.

I don't care how long it takes until I make it.

Drowsiness came over me, and my muscles relaxed more, even though Ayre's playing music shouldn't have any magical attributes.

"Hey, my lord." Ayre stopped playing music. "If you really are from another world…. Was your original world more peaceful than this realm?"

"Yes. There is war there, but my place is very peaceful." I still closed my eyes and was surprised she asked like that. "However, that does not mean there is no pain, Ayre. It was the pain from there that kept me here."

"Was the pain greater there that you made that decision?"

I opened my eyes. "I don't know…. However, what is certain, I have a clear purpose here. I feel more alive here."

***

After that night, I decided to rest until my wounds had healed entirely. I don't know what exactly I will face, so I have to be more prepared.

I don't want to be reckless like when I was going to fight the fairy. That actually gave me a lot of trouble.

The roaring sound of water filled my ears as I landed. I looked up to see the forty-foot waterfall.

"Are you going to look for that cursed thing?" A man with long unkempt hair and a thick beard walked up to me. "Me, too…. I want to bend reality so my family can come back to life."

"How long have you been here?" I asked while looking at his filthy and torn clothes.

"I don't know." He chuckled, showing his missing teeth. "I've been here since I was twenty-five years old."

From his face, I assumed he was in his mid-forties or maybe more. That means he's been here for around twenty years...

Holy shit. Do I have to wait for that duration too? Even with the fast-forward feature, I would feel very long.

"Did you find any signs of that giganpoppy plant?"

He shook his head. "All these years, I've been wandering around here and haven't found anything…."

I grabbed her neck and lifted him up. "Don't lie. Let me know if you know anything. You don't want me to do more than this, right?"

"Why would I lie!?" He was trying to get away from me. "I really haven't seen any sign of that thing in here!"

When I put him down, he immediately sat down on the ground and coughed.

"Then, why are you still hanging around here?"

"Because I already have nothing else. The bandits have taken my wife and three children. My only hope is this place." He shrugged.

"But they say we can't control our changing reality."

"Once again, I have no more hope apart from that thing…. "Well, I hope you won't do that again. We will be waiting companions, after all."

I chose to leave that man alone.

But, he laughed. "In the end, we will be together! We'll wait until we find that thing, or you give up and leave! So, hang in here. I need a chat buddy. It's been a long time since anyone came here."

There's no use being with someone like that, even if I don't hate him. So, I kept walking, then entered the wooded area, making the sound of the waterfall even fainter.

No matter what, I will find that thing.