We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Welcome to Shangri-La.
Led by Ruilala, Nimia flies through the skies of the demon realm.
Even after passing through the vast demon capital, which seemed to stretch endlessly, the roads extending in various directions were bustling with demons and slaves, indicating unparalleled prosperity.
Since crossing Dragon Peak, Listea had been gazing down at the scenery with a look of deep interest, sighing with fascination.
It was the same for Father’s male journey, but unfamiliar worlds are indeed enchanting and deeply interesting, aren’t they?
Anyone who isn’t stirred by this is unqualified to be an adventurer.
“By the way, Alex, what are your thoughts on coming to the demon realm?”
Nimia flies along, clearly enjoying herself.
Slaton and Louvent are already struggling to breathe.
Ruilala, as usual, tries to provoke me, and Listea is as you can see.
However, only Alex’s reaction was somewhat lackluster.
In response to my question, Alex briefly glances at the scenery below before quickly returning his gaze to Ruilala, who is chattering beside me.
“Are you, by any chance, Ruilala?”
“Hmm? Oh, a divine race member. hahaha. I certainly am Ruilala.”
Huh? That wasn’t an answer to my question.
Or rather…
Before I could even tilt my head in confusion, wondering what this was all about, I realized I had carelessly revealed Ruilala’s name.
High-ranking demons don’t like to easily reveal their names to others.
However, Ruilala didn’t seem to mind and replied to Alex’s question.
Alex’s brow furrowed slightly at Ruilala’s reaction.
“Alex, do you happen to know Ruilala?”
“…Elnea. Well, considering I said I was acquainted with the Demon Lord, it wouldn’t be strange to be acquainted with this individual.”
“Could it be that Ruilala is famous!?”
“How cruel. I do have my duties as an attendant to His Majesty, you know?”
Speaking of which, Ruilala is also an attendant, after all.
And then I remembered.
A few years ago, when the Dragon Race and the Demon Race were on the verge of conflict.
Those Dragon Race members, who were excellent in combat, were wary of Ruilala from the Demon Race.
“I lived in a remote, rural area, so I didn’t hear the details, but I had heard of the name. They said a rather mad demon, who troubled the Emperor, frequently appeared near the border.”
“Was that Ruilala? Hey, hey, Ruilala, what were you doing?”
Speaking of which, the demon-ruled country and the divine race-ruled country share a border in the south, right?
I wonder what the situation was like.
It seemed Listea was also intrigued by my question.
Listea shifts her gaze from the ground to Ruilala.
“What was I doing? Hahaha, I couldn’t possibly tell you in front of the divine race and the heavenly race. I was merely carrying out espionage activities under His Majesty’s orders.”
“You say you can’t tell, but you just casually mentioned espionage, you demon!”
Ruilala, who revealed secrets with a cheerful laugh, made Listea and I exchange glances and sigh.
However, Alex seemed to see it differently.
“To begin with, the Demon Lord of the country where the Divine Race and the Demon Race’s borders meet should not have been a Giant Demon Lord. Yet, for some reason, your name surfaces. …Is your own activity a smokescreen to hide the existence of the main spy?”
“Hahaha, I dislike astute divine race members.”
Ah. Ruilala’s eyes weren’t smiling.
Despite appearing cheerful, Ruilala seems to be wary of Alex.
However, perhaps because I brought them, they are currently refraining from escalating the situation.
“If I cut on Nyanko’s back, will you fall off, nyan?”
“Ah, so that’s how it is.”
Ruilala would probably survive even if thrown from the sky. But we would certainly die!
I wonder about Alex?
But I don’t want to find out.
In any case, I need to change the subject!
“R-right! Alex, what is the divine race’s country like?”
The human realm and the demon realm are so different. Then, how do the cultures of the demon race and divine race, who are natural enemies, differ?
To my question, Alex breaks his gaze from Ruilala. It seems Alex also didn’t want the atmosphere to worsen any further.
“The village where I live is more desolate than the border regions of your human realm. However, I have visited the divine capital on business several times. Compared to this place… even the divine capital where the Emperor resides is not as prosperous as this country, I must say.”
“That’s only natural. The country ruled by His Majesty is one of the most prosperous among the demon realms.”
Ruilala puffed out her chest proudly, as if praising her “Master.”
She’s honest about these things.
A loyal vassal of the Giant Demon Lord.
However, Alex isn’t just criticizing the demon realm in front of them.
“However, in terms of elegance, the divine capital seems superior. This is my first time seeing demon activities, but while it is lively and vibrant, I find it rather chaotic. In comparison, the beauty of the divine capital is not an endlessly proliferating prosperity, but a delicacy that has been meticulously attended to in its details…”
Ruilala scowled overtly at Alex’s retort this time.
But I am very interested in the divine race’s country!
My eyes sparkling, I ask Alex about the divine capital.
“I don’t know about the demon realm, but in the divine capital, residential areas are divided according to one’s given status. In the center of the capital is the inner palace where the Emperor resides, surrounded by the outer palace which governs administration. High officials and nobles live around the outer palace, and further out live the divine race residing in the divine capital. The center of the divine capital is, therefore, the territory of the divine race. Then, the territory of the heavenly race spreads out, surrounding the divine race’s territory, and then outward are the general imperial citizens, including the divine race and heavenly race, and the slave districts.”
“That’s amazing, the living places are completely separated. But, it seems there are still slaves in the divine race’s country, right?”
Many of the humans living in the divine race’s country are, in effect, slaves.
Alex also evaded the subject somewhat.
“Hahaha. But doesn’t that make it a closed capital with no room for expansion? If the areas are strictly divided, what will you do when the population increases? Even if you call yourselves high-ranking, do the divine race live cramped together in a small space?”
Ruilala retorts with a smirk.
However, Alex calmly replies, accepting it as a valid point.
“First of all, the empire has grown over the past few hundred years by pacifying surrounding countries. And as prosperity increased, the Emperor relocated the capital, leading to the current divine capital. Therefore, if further prosperity arrives, a next relocation will likely be awaited.”
“Hahaha, further prosperity, you say? Does that mean you intend to invade the demon realm as well?”
“No, I wouldn’t know about that? What I said was merely a hypothetical case.”
“Hmm, hypothetical, you say.”
Ah, I messed up!
I tried to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere between Ruilala and Alex by changing the subject, but it only made things worse!
“Nyaa. We can finally see the place where Elnea-Onii-chan went wild, nyan.”
“Nimia, I wasn’t going wild…”
I wanted to finish saying that, but seeing the situation far above, I found myself chuckling bitterly.
“Hey, hey, what is that…?”
“I’ve never seen or heard of such a landscape.”
“Looking at that scenery really shows Elnea-kun’s recklessness.”
First, signs of abnormality began to appear in the sky.
The color of the clear blue autumn sky gradually turned into seven colors. Like dropping various colored paints onto a water surface, various colors mixed and layered.
White clouds were painted in brilliant colors like yellow and red. Not only that. Fluffy clouds twisted and coiled, or flowed in long, thin streams. At other times, they huddled together in round shapes and floated.
Next, the ground also began to transform.
The land, which had become a wasteland due to the demons’ conflict, began to undulate. And then, like the vast ocean, the ground started to swell significantly and seemed to writhe and wriggle.
However, the ground isn’t actually moving.
The reason it appears to be moving is the intense undulation of the ground, mixed with various colors, just like the sky.
“Ugh, what is that!?”
“Eek. It’s eerie.”
“Eerie? That’s harsh. Everyone, these are the materialized forms of the Spirits.”
It seems Slaton and Louvent have regained consciousness upon noticing the world’s changes.
And they are surprised by the bizarre creatures floating all around.
Red goldfish, yellow fish, and blue soft-bodied creatures swim leisurely in the sky.
From beneath the undulating, vibrant ground, semi-transparent white birds take flight.
Some of what I thought were clouds had faces, and creatures that shouldn’t have wings floated in the air.
Not only that.
Bright orbs of light appear and disappear in various places, floating gently all around.
I think it would be fantastic at night, like firefly lights, but perhaps, to those unfamiliar with spirits like Slaton, they appear as strange lights?
In world where the scenery had completely changed, even Alex, whose expression had been stern until moments ago, and Listea, who had been surprised by the verbal sparring between the demons and divine race, were captivated and overwhelmed.
The Spirits noticed my presence and came over, asking, “Did you come to play?”
But to Alex and the others, it must have looked like unfamiliar creatures were approaching them.
Alex, with a more tense expression than when he was looking at Ruilala, gazed at the drastically changed world and the floating Spirits.
“You have gained the power to not only destroy everything but to reshape the world. Even for a non-human, there are limits.”
“Uwah, Listea is looking at me like I’m a strange creature! How mean!”
However, even I have to admit I went too far and regret it.
I won’t use forbidden techniques anymore.
I don’t want to be punished by the witch.
Nimia, descending in altitude, flies joyfully with the approaching Spirits. While doing so, she flaps her wings towards our destination.
“See, it’s just beyond that small mountain. Well, there wasn’t actually a mountain there before.”
“Why did a mountain suddenly appear?”
Or rather, is that a mountain?
It’s a greatly elevated landmass. But no trees or grass grow on it. Furthermore, it shines with complex brilliance, as if a gem reflecting multicolored light.
Anyone who is greedy might mistake it for a mountain of jewels.
Nimia flies over the mountain.
Then, another breathtaking sight unfolded before us.
“Um… this palace didn’t exist not too long ago, did it?”
In terms of sheer size, it’s comparable to my mansion in the forbidden territory.
But the content is completely different.
My mansion in the forbidden territory is very large, but that’s because it’s built to encompass two lakes. In a sense, the interior is just lakes, and the building itself is merely long.
But this is different.
On an immensely vast site, buildings stand crowded together. Of course, there are countless courtyards, gardens, and artificial ponds, but the scale of the buildings is simply magnificent.
“Hey, hey, is that the Demon Lord’s detached palace!?”
If I’m surprised, it’s natural that Listea and the others are astonished.
However, even I, who was asked the question, cannot answer. When I fought Baltnowar, which was in the summer not too long ago, there were no such gigantic buildings anywhere.
“N-no way! A legendary carpenter?”
“A legendary carpenter?”
Beside me, Ruilala tilted her head.
Be that as it may.
Nimia, guided by the Spirits, descends into a courtyard within the super-gigantic building.
Then, we see a figure on the ground.
“Ah, it’s the Demon Lord!”
“Elnea-kun, please don’t refer to His Majesty like he’s some rare specimen.”
While we exchanged these words, Nimia landed in the courtyard.
“Hoh, bringing a divine race member as the first guest here. You seem to have quite a bit of nerve.”
“That’s a misunderstanding!”
“My, my, Elnea-kun. This divine race member also seems like quite an interesting person?”
“Oh no, Charlotte is here too, not just the Demon Lord!”
The ones who greeted us in the courtyard were His Majesty the Demon Lord himself and Chancellor Charlotte.
Ah, though we’ve only just arrived, I have a bad feeling about this!
Clicking the heart allows you to easily express your support. (Login required)
Account holders can log in.
Learn more about the reading experience on Kakuyomu.
