We live in the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Demon Lord and Elnea.
Lately, I’ve been collapsing from weakness quite often.
Once in Yorttenitos. Twice since coming to the Demon Race’s Country.
I need to be a bit more careful about myself. And then, a question suddenly pops into my mind. The weakness I’ve felt since coming to the Demon Race’s Country is definitely the Giant Demon Lord’s fault.
That cursed gem is far too dangerous.
It was only a single, isolated battle, so I was fortunate, but if it had happened during consecutive battles and I couldn’t stop due to the curse, it would have been exceedingly dangerous.
Therefore, I need to consult the Demon Lord about this immediately.
I reluctantly force my eyelids open.
Then, after observing my surroundings, I close my eyes again.
Yeah. I don’t have the courage to get up right now!
Just a little longer. Maybe I’ll sleep just a little bit more…
“How long do you intend to pretend to be asleep?”
Beside my bed. I was faced with a voice I didn’t want to hear coming from my pillow, and I despaired.
“G-good morning.”
Resigned, I decided to get up.
And, as expected, I regretted that I didn’t just stay in bed.
The truth is, I had woken up from my weakened sleep quite a while ago. However, the situation around me was so abnormal that I believed if I just slept, things would somehow change.
But reality was cruel…
I was lying on a bed in some building.
A typical private room. Not particularly decorated, just a normal bedroom with a few practical pieces of furniture.
Before I could wonder where I was.
I found myself tilting my head, wondering why I was in this predicament.
The Giant Demon Lord was sitting in a chair next to my pillow. Behind him, Ruilala stood at attention, perfectly still.
On the wall near the entrance of the room, several Black Winged Demons stood in the same rigid posture as Ruilala.
“Uh, why am I a prisoner?”
“What a strange thing to say. How can you possibly come to such an outlandish conclusion?”
“Well… you know…?”
I asked this to no one in particular, but no one replied.
Even Ruilala was frozen like a statue, not even moving her gaze.
“I want an explanation!”
Mustering my courage, I posed my question to the Giant Demon Lord, the only one moving in the room.
“Hmm, I don’t think this is a particularly unusual situation. You collapsed from weakness. So, I borrowed a residence in the Necropolis to let you rest.”
“So, this is still the Necropolis?”
“That’s right. All the undead are gone now, so it’s more accurately a formerly undead city, I suppose. If you hadn’t blown up the castle, I think we could have prepared a more fitting bed for you inside.”
“No, no, I didn’t want to stay in that creepy castle.”
“Is that so? You can do as you please regarding that. This is already a city under your rule. You are free to turn any part of it to ash or to sleep anywhere you like within it.”
“Is that so? My freedom to… Hmm? Wait, what!?”
What did he just say?
I couldn’t hear them clearly. I couldn’t comprehend it!
Despite shaking my head as if to ward off the Demon Lord’s words, he ungraciously repeated them again, kindly and clearly.
The Necropolis is under my rule…
“Of course. You led the conquest under your command and annihilated all the residents, thus occupying it.”
“No, no, no! The undead are already dead to begin with, and I merely purified them. I didn’t occupy anything!”
A firm refusal!
If he wants it, I’ll give it to the Demon Lord. Or rather, I’ll freely give it to Ruilala, or any of the Black Winged Demons, or anyone for that matter.
Seeing my bewildered expression, the Giant Demon Lord chuckled.
Gah. A terrifying Demon Lord. I am being toyed with by the Demon Lord.
“Uh, um… Setting aside the Necropolis. Then, why are the Demon Lords gathered in my bedroom while I was sleeping?”
“Hmm, a simple reason. We are Demon Race. Those outside are Dragon Race. That’s all.”
I ponder, stroking my chin.
In other words, the people here, in this room, aside from us, are also staying in the Necropolis.
That makes sense. Or rather, if everyone had moved on without me, I would be very sad.
And the Dragon Race outside refers to the people from the Northern Dragon Peak who were held captive and whom we rescued.
Although they cooperated with the rescue operation, from the perspective of the captive people, the Demon Lords are still demons. Even though the representative elder expressed his gratitude before collapsing, they likely couldn’t be completely at peace with the situation.
Living together face-to-face for several days like this, might it be mutually depressing for them?
And, in that situation, the Demon Lords took a step back and confined themselves within the building.
As a human, from a young age, I’ve been ingrained with the idea that “demons are cruel and terrifying beings,” so this is full of incongruities for me.
However, having spent the last few days acting in concert with the Giant Demon Lord, I’ve come to the point where I can somewhat accept that this Demon Lord might be capable of such things.
“It seems you trust me, which is most important.”
No, no. I don’t trust you completely!
After all, you tricked me into attaching a cursed gem to my White Sword.
Muttering curses at the Demon Lord, I still attempt to understand the situation.
“Well then, why are Ruilala and the others frozen?”
In response to my question, the Demon Lord glances back at Ruilala behind him.
“Ruilala is being punished. She played too much.”
Yeah, she played too much. If she’s to be punished, I strongly desire a more severe punishment.
Apparently, Ruilala is being punished now for attacking me. If they were going to punish her, they should have stopped me back then…
“Then, what about the Black Winged Demons?”
“Who do you think I am?”
“The Giant Demon Lord!”
“That’s right. Do humans dare to show disrespect to their king?”
That’s right.
A Demon Lord is a symbol of fear, right? A cruel and wicked ruler who dominates terrifying demons with power.
If they are even slightly displeased. No, even if not, they are a terrifying existence that might cause slaughter on a whim.
Perhaps the attitude of the Black Winged Demons is the most natural.
“But, there seem to be few of them?”
“They cannot all fit inside the building. The others are on guard duty in the city. After all, the surroundings of the city are land ruled by Kusharilla.”
“That’s right. In that case, I want this city even less!”
“Kukuku, is that so? If you don’t want it, you can discard it. It’s a city with no residents anyway. Besides, haven’t you been granted a forbidden territory?”
If I’m going to receive something, that forbidden territory is definitely preferable.
There’s a very beautiful lake, and a mountain called Sacred Mountain that piques my interest. Once this commotion settles down, I feel like I’d like to relax there with everyone.
If that’s the case, then I need to quell this commotion quickly.
Once the Dragon Race in the north, who are reluctantly cooperating with the demons, realize that the captive people have been rescued, they should stand down.
And then, if we all work together to drive out the Demon Race Army that invaded Dragon Peak, and somehow deal with Alta, it’ll be a happy ending.
Alta…
The demon army is a cause for concern, but the biggest problem still seems to be Alta.
To defeat Alta…
As expected, I can’t leave the cursed gem as it is.
Once a battle starts, it can no longer be stopped. If Alta were to drag it out into a long battle, taking advantage of his immortality, we wouldn’t be able to cope.
“Please, Demon Lord. Remove the gem from the White Sword.”
“Oh?”
The Demon Lord raises an eyebrow and looks at me with apparent interest.
“It should have good compatibility with your Dragon Energy, right? If you utilize it skillfully, I think you can fight reasonably well even against high-ranking demons.”
“Yes. Thanks to that gem, I believe I’ve gained tremendous attacking power. But, the curse…”
“Anything that is obtained easily always has a downside.”
“I understand. But in this case, the downside called a curse is a greater burden to me than the attacking power I gained.”
I can’t keep collapsing from weakness every time I perform the Dragon Sword Dance or use the gem.
“The other day. When you danced to purify this city, you seemed to control it well?”
“But Ruilala attacked, and a powerful enemy appeared before me, and when I desperately started fighting, I lost control.”
“Then, you should train.”
“If I had the time, that might have been fine too. But we don’t have much time.”
At this very moment, Alta might be wreaking havoc on Dragon Peak, and many people and dragons might be victimized. Considering that, I don’t have the luxury of leisurely training my control.
What’s required of me now is to confront Alta without relying on the power of this gem, whose curse outweighs its benefits.
Receiving my strong will to return it, the Demon Lord took the White Sword, which was leaning against the bed.
“Hmm, you have a good heart that is not swayed by immediate desires.”
“Desires?”
“Destructive power capable of slaying a Demon General and obliterating the undead castle in a single blow.”
I see. If I had underestimated the curse and craved power, it would indeed be a tempting offensive capability.
The Demon Lord pinched the pale blue gem embedded in the hilt of the White Sword between his thumb and forefinger. Then, the gem came off easily.
The hilt, where the gem had been removed, showed no trace or scratch as if it had been fitted there.
How had it been attached?
As if disregarding my question, the Demon Lord clasped the removed gem.
For some reason, I can now sense the flow of magic power. Within the Giant Demon Lord’s hand, an immeasurable amount of magical power was converging.
And then, as if nothing had happened, the Demon Lord reinserted the gem into the hilt.
“Eh!?”
To my bewilderment, the Giant Demon Lord smiled at me.
“Don’t worry. This time, there’s no curse.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Then, try dancing outside.”
“…”
Even with my firm refusal, the Demon Lord smiled without appearing offended.
“However, be warned. I haven’t imbued it with as much magical power as last time. One or two blows likely won’t be effective against higher-ranking demons.”
“Th-thank you.”
So, instead of the curse, the power has decreased. If I believe the Demon Lord’s words, that is…
“Fufufu. To think you can so easily conceive such thoughts towards a Demon Lord. Truly amusing.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry.”
Why is this? When I’m dealing with the Giant Demon Lord, I act with the same attitude as Old Man Sleigsta.
If I anger him, he’s surely terrifying, and I wouldn’t even be as significant as a moth. But somehow, I feel like I won’t be angered for thinking this much.
After all, the Giant Demon Lord somehow resembles the presence of Old Man Sleigsta.
“Fufun, don’t compare me to that snot-nosed brat.”
Oh? Could it be that the Giant Demon Lord and Old Man Sleigsta know each other?
Old Man Sleigsta mentioned that he traveled the world in his youth, so perhaps they fought back then.
…Wait a minute.
Does that mean this Demon Lord is also over two thousand years old?
And, did you just call Old Man Sleigsta a “snot-nosed brat” just now!?
My face twitched at the speculation I had arrived at after expanding on my own assumptions.
I see. So he’s an immeasurable existence.
