Pushing aside the desire to dry my clothes and relax on the beach where I washed ashore, I ran towards Lauenstein Castle.
Running on the beach is something only a boxer in college might do. If it were to chase a girl, I might have more motivation. Right now, I feel like a triathlete, though at least I’m not saving myself the hundred-kilometer bike ride.
The fog was so thick I could barely see in front of me, but I possess the Mind’s Eye. Still, I stumbled, perhaps from exhaustion or age. By the time I reached a range where my Wide-Area Mind’s Eye could see into the castle, I was breathless.
Wide-Area Mind’s Eye!
As far as the castle walls of Nebel Bridge could reach into the castle grounds, my Mind’s Eye revealed dozens of goblin corpses in what appeared to be the courtyard.
The goblins had no external wounds. That was probably Christine’s support magic. The demons here have sword wounds. It must be Priscilla or Alana. Those missing upper torsos point to Orietta’s Hammer.
Seeing no wounds within the castle suggests Sophia and Rufina are conserving their strength or were delayed. More importantly, they were discussing destroying the castle itself. If they ask me to pay for damages later, my debt will skyrocket. Neither the Demon Army nor the White Lily Corps were anywhere else.
On the town side outside the castle, though I couldn’t see everything on the side of town beyond the castle, not a single monster was in sight. It’s impossible for the defenses to be this weak, so what’s going on?
Even looking inside the castle with my Mind’s Eye, I couldn’t find anyone, nor were there any monsters. This means they must be in sealed rooms? My Mind’s Eye cannot peer into sealed spaces.
If that’s the case, assuming they are in Lauenstein Castle, it must be the study, the throne room, or a restroom. I have no intention of looking into the bathhouse. Who would want to see that anyway!?
Jumping over the goblin corpses, I hurried to the throne room. In front of the heavy door, I remembered wishing I had taken the dead demon’s sword, but this is a wooden sword made by Alma chasing after horns. It would be a sin to waste it. With that thought, I pushed open the throne room door slightly.
Sliding my Mind’s Eye inside, I captured the White Lily Corps and Alma prostrating themselves on the floor. Christine was missing! I expanded my Mind’s Eye with all my might and entered; Christine was stuck to the wall like an ornament, and sitting on the throne was a figure in a white mask and cloak…
“You’re late!”
No response. There was no cheerful “Yes!” in reply, only the pained groans of the White Lily Corps from their faces buried in the floor. Only Orietta seemed to be managing, kneeling on one knee.
“Alma. Is that the Demon Lord?”
Alma let out a cry even more sorrowful than my voice, uttering, “D-Demon Lord!” and passed away. Your death will not be in vain. Just stay asleep, though I don’t want to wake you later.
It was my fault for Alma passing out. My speaking out and rushing to her, concerned for someone, turned out to be accurate; they attacked. I will repay your sacrifice in bed.
“Are you the Demon Lord?!”
I yelled unnecessarily loudly, swung my sword pointlessly, and took pointless steps as I approached the Demon Lord. This was intentional. With a flippant demeanor, acting like I wasn’t strong, I lured them into a false sense of security, bringing them within the range of Mode Six.
The absolutely invincible Mode Six. Ideally, I’d like to cooperate with Christine to unleash Seven, but for now, I’m worried if I can even manage Six.
If only that hadn’t happened, like my metabolism speeding up from numbness, but you have to make do with what you have. That’s the spirit of a Japanese salaryman… a Hero!
The Demon Lord descended from the throne and approached me. To create an opening, I had no choice but to act foolishly, saying things like “How’s it going~” and “Let’s have some fun~” as I walked towards them. I had no choice.
The Demon Lord was smaller than I expected. Though we were at a distance, they seemed smaller than me. Their face was hidden by a white mask, just like someone going on a rampage with a chainsaw on a Friday. Their build was hidden by their cloak.
They were strong enough to torment the White Lily Corps. I might be lulled into a false sense of security, but I won’t be. Indeed, the room was clean. Priscilla and the others had drawn their swords, but the Demon Lord showed no signs of injury. The fact that Sophia’s laser and Rufina’s magic couldn’t be unleashed meant they were undoubtedly a formidable enemy.
One step, then another, the Demon Lord approached within my range. I, too, approached them, stretching my limbs. At the point where they were just short of my range, the Demon Lord stopped. I didn’t hesitate and loosened my body.
“Nice to meet you, Mikael Sin.”
What! What did they just say!? As the Hero, it’s natural for my name to be known because I’m cool and strong, but “Nice to meet you”!? How do they know me!? And in Japanese!
“Nice to meet you～。Demon Lord-san.”
This is no good. After so long, I can’t speak Japanese properly. My pronunciation is strange. I need to attend Japanese school… or get a Japanese girlfriend… But more importantly, how do they know Japanese!?
Since coming to this world, I’ve never spoken Japanese. Maybe I muttered in my sleep, but I’ve never taught Japanese to anyone, and I don’t have a girlfriend. Yet, the Demon Lord greeted me in Japanese!
“Oh my, you aren’t very surprised. Did you already know?”
I didn’t know! If there were wealthy people like the Demon Lord, they’d be living leisurely lives extorting money. What’s more surprising than that is your Japanese, your clothes, and your features.
Taking off the mask and shrugging the cloak off their shoulders, they looked like a Japanese high school girl!? Their skin color was the distinctive purple of demons, but their features were those of an East Asian born in Japan.
Their attire was a blazer uniform. I have memories of this uniform. It was from the high school division of “Meikyō Shisui Academy.” It’s a prestigious integrated junior and senior high school known for sending many students to Tokyo University, and their Fencing Club even won a national championship.
It’s also famous within academic circles for its “cute uniform.” Yoshida was lamenting that the uniforms weren’t available on the market for rental. He said he had a friend who makes cosplay costumes get one made for him.
Yoshida, who doesn’t have a girlfriend, used to put it on a love doll. He got furious when I tried to touch it lightly. Nostalgic memories…
…Well then! Meikyō Shisui Academy, strong in fencing. I never imagined I underestimated it. To overlook something like this…
I missed the “erotic appeal” of sports uniforms. I always thought of uniforms as stiff, but aren’t sports uniforms also alluring?
Baseball, basketball, fencing, rhythmic gymnastics, all are possibilities. To think that I, of all people, overlooked this… the art of “erotic appeal” is deep. Can I ever master it?
“Are you… listening to me?”
“Of course. You’re a Japanese person, a transmigrator, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m Japanese, just like you. The difference is that you were reincarnated as a human, and I was reincarnated as a demon…”
“Why would you reincarnate as a demon! We’re at war!”
This is a war you started! Do you know how many people are suffering! There’s no way I, a mercenary, could say that.
“Mikael? Or is it Sin? How should I address you, a Japanese person?”
“Either is fine! We’re talking about the war now!”
“I see… In that case, we must start with stories from the past…”
“I don’t care about that! Surrender immediately! You’re a high school student, aren’t you? You should be dating instead of waging war.”
“I…”
This one, too, started talking about themselves without listening to me. People coming to another world probably don’t listen to others. I do, though. Except when I’m lost in my own imaginings…
The Demon Lord. A high school girl. Koharu Sasaki. Died in an accident at seventeen. God offered her reincarnation, and she chose to be reborn as a demon in another world, which she had always been interested in.
What’s different from me is that she was reincarnated from infancy. Of course, her parents were demons, and she lived a life befitting that. When she lost her parents at a young age, she was passed around from place to place.
She remembered her Japanese identity and her conversation with God even from infancy, and she remembered the reason for her reincarnation as a demon.
The coexistence and co-prosperity of demons and humans. That was the reason for the Demon Lord, Koharu Sasaki, coming here. Koharu, who thought demons were terrifying, wanted to be reborn as a demon so they could be friends with humans, or at least try to be.
In reality, demons were indeed terrifying creatures, and she recounted her tragic life at the places she was passed around. Being beaten and kicked, not being fed, these were common occurrences, and she was also subjected to abuse.
Perhaps it was the reverse horns, she said, laughing slightly, but her eyes were far from smiling, filled instead with hatred.
She spent a hundred years living that kind of life. By the time she stood up, she had become ferocious like a demon, devoid of compassion.
After forty years, she conquered the demon race and became the Demon Lord. Koharu Sasaki, having forgotten her humanity, chose subjugation over coexistence and started a war with humans… Is she one hundred fifty-seven years old!?
“That was a brief self-introduction. I went through a lot of hardship. And you ruined it by interfering, causing me to die.”
Died? What are you talking about? I have no memory of laying a hand on a high school girl… not at all! Besides, if I had killed someone, the Japanese police wouldn’t have let it slide.
“We died together, didn’t we? You died too…”
“…What are you saying?”
“I’m talking about our past lives. This is the second time we’re meeting in another world…”
I died in Japan and came to another world. There, I became a mercenary and fought the Demon Lord, dying in mutual combat. God, seeking an interesting ending, sent me to a second another world, but was this one the same!? Was the previous Demon Lord also you…
“You too were in your second another world…”
“Calling me ‘you’… Call me Koharu-chan. We’re both Japanese, after all.”
Back then, we died in mutual combat and went to the realm of the gods. Koharu did the same. So she reincarnated again at the gods’ behest.
“You said ‘second time.’ Have you been here for one hundred forty years?”
“Yes. All the things I’ve painstakingly achieved over one hundred forty years have been ruined because of you. It’s taken another hundred forty years to finally meet again…”
A time-spanning love romance. The two met and lived happily ever after… That’s probably not the ending God desires.
“What do you want after meeting me? Revenge for our past lives? How boring.”
“Of course, I will kill you and bring about the ending God desires. But this time, it’s different. I want all humans and monsters to die.”
What is going on in her head? She’s of the same kin, at least. To kill her own allies, she’ll end up all alone.
“You… Could it be… The Demon Army up until now too…”
“Correct!”
She said something terrifying with a cute smile. The missing pieces have finally clicked into place. The inexplicable actions of the Demon Army, I thought they were due to strategic thinking.
She was manipulating the Demon Army with the intention of abandoning them. She moved her army to make humans and monsters kill each other, deceiving them.
“You…”
“Call me Koharu-chan.”
“Koharu… You’ve lived for two hundred eighty years, and all you do is this… You could have used your power in a much different way!”
I sympathize with Koharu being tormented for a hundred years. Her ability to unify the demon race in forty years is remarkable. But where did the path of coexistence go?
She and I met our mutual demise, and now we’re repeating the same thing. I’m no different. I’m working as a mercenary again, but it’s for survival, and it would be better if there were no wars.
“Mikael doesn’t understand my suffering…”
I don’t want to understand! I don’t care! To inflict one’s own suffering on others! She’s chosen the wrong way of life. If she had considered coexistence as a human, rather than as a demon…
Well, maybe not. There are plenty of bad people among humans too. So it must be her upbringing. And then war… Her upbringing must have been something else!
“Is there no path to coexistence, even now?”
“…Our conversation is over. Soon, my army and the Human Allied Forces will gather at Lauenstein. I will display Mikael’s head at the castle gate as a signal for our counterattack.”
No matter how long we stare at each other, the answer won’t change. The cuteness of a high school girl won’t change either. But her being one hundred fifty-seven years old in this life doesn’t change either. I’m still five steps short of Mode Six’s range.
Godspeed! Mode Six!
