161 And exchange.

After being told that the colorless one had destroyed the space for the regular meeting, Ilias, Lakra, Murasaki, and Duvraeori went to Marito's place to report it.

As Harkdock was unable to work with the Purple, he was left to stay with Wolfe.

Since Lord Ragdor and Mikus were also there, they decided to explain together, and since the office was a bit cramped, they moved to the conference room where they had summoned Mu Shiki in front of the Yugoslavs.

He then explained what he had been told by Murasaki. The people who heard the story were not that surprised.

I see, the colorless Demon Lord has done it.

"That's right. Some of our plans have fallen apart.

That place is the point of contact between the Demon Lords. I'm not sure if I can convince the Scarlet Demon Lord, but I plan to use it as a bargaining chip in future psychological warfare and post-war processing.

In the event that you're not sure what to do, you'll be able to find out what to do.

Unless you go into the Tarzian world, you won't be able to meet the Blue Demon King.

The reason for this is that the Blue Demon King and the Gold Demon King have irritated him in a careless manner, but blaming them will only make things worse.

You'll have to forgive him for that. I'm not sure what to make of this.

The Scarlet Witch King was in a cooperative relationship with Ao through Lahite.

In fact, the Scarlet Witch King was trying to induce Ao, who had abandoned his will after seeking death, to make the humans aware of the Demon Lord's resurrection in a big way.

Whether the invasion succeeded or failed, it would not have mattered. In that sense, he was treated as a pawn.

The fact that the personal grudge works should be taken as a positive sign that Ao's mentality has improved.

"So, this isn't the end of the story, is it?

Yeah. I would've invited Kim and Ao if I could've. I'll tell them later, but there's something I need to check.

He took out a switch from his pocket, a gadget that he had been given to use when summoning the Colorless Demon King.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea. Marito is one of them.

"Are you going to call him, or is he coming?

After the painful incident with Nora, he hadn't been heard from since, but I guess it's not easy for him to come out after what he went through.

I'm going to press the button first. No response.

I hit the button two or three times, but it doesn't seem to appear.

Well, that's to be expected.

I look around the room and walk over to Lakra. I look around the room and walk over to Lakra, who is standing next to Mixu and Purple, probably over here.

"Um, Master Shosho?　What--?

He pulls out a butterfly larva from his pocket and holds it out to Lacla's ear.

The bug-phobic Lakra makes a funny face with tears in her eyes, but there is no problem.

Staring into the void, she decides to make a threat.

"Hey, get your ass out of here or I'm going to show you this on video morning, noon and night.

"Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me!　We were eating!　I was just eating. Who wants to see a close-up of a disgusting caterpillar?

Okay, it's coming out. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

The colorless demon lord is watching us, though not constantly. If there is an opportunity for people to gather like this, I knew that he would be peeking from somewhere.

As for the location, I've just brought out the larvae of the cyprinid butterfly, and it's a place where I can catch a glimpse of the thoraxes of Lakra and Purple.

It was a little difficult to decide which one was closer, Lakra or Purple, but I decided that the larger one was the priority.

"I'm using it under the once-a-month rule. Come on, man.

You ...... forgot what you did, didn't you?

That's not what this is about. You're destroying space without permission.

"What?　If you have a problem with that, tell it to the women who tried to use the curse of the pecking order to gain a positional advantage. I was just doing what any neutral person would do.

The colorless Demon Lord smiled nonchalantly.

I'm sure he's heard our conversation so far, so he's happy to oblige.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.

I'm sure you can read people's thoughts. That's disgusting.

Wait a minute, what do you mean by getting the Blue Demon King on your side?

The one who interrupted me was Ilias, and it was a natural reaction if he heard words he couldn't ignore.

"It's about the Bastard. The Blue Demon King is looking for the Bastard. And after the last incident with Raitis, we're starting to get a grasp on its identity. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for and how you can use it to your advantage.

...... Is that so?

Yes, it would have been interesting if the Blue King had joined the Scarlet Beast. It would have been fun if the Blue King had gone with the Scarlet Beast, but it would have been too easy a fight if he had gone with you. That's not fair. And the Blue King wouldn't hesitate to crush the Scarlet Witch's wish for his own cause. I know that's not a choice the Wise King of Tarz would make, but I understand that your Earthling is a man of means.

Does that mean the bastard is worth that much?

Well, I'm not going to tell you directly. I'd be happy to go along with you if you want to check your answers.

The colorless one looks at me. This is a challenge to you to tell me how much you know.

This is a challenge to 'tell me how much you know'. That's why I called you here.

"Well, I'll let you answer that. If I'm wrong, I'm leaving.

"First of all, I'd like to review what I confirmed in my conversation with Raitis, or rather Ritual, that 'bastard' refers to a person who is born with a sudden and unique talent. I suppose that's what happened to Harkdok, Ritual, and later, Wolfe and Raheit.

I heard that Raheit was killed at the hands of Archbishop Serraes?

If you've been watching what we've been doing, you'd know. I took Ao to the place where Raheit's ashes were buried and tried to revive him, but the soul that was trapped was that of a child. The soul of Raheit himself has escaped somewhere.

Rahite was using a special magic stone in his possession to transfer souls. If he can move without it, then he has a very peculiar constitution.

Nevertheless, there must be some disadvantages to doing it without tools. I hope this is a disincentive to action in some way.

So let's hear your guess from there, shall we?

"Well, yes. First of all, the one who created the bastard is Seiya Yukura, and the rest is probably related to you and the Blue Demon King. Well, I guess you're just a bonus.

...... Please continue.

I had some information about Harkdock and Wolfe's parents.

They were normal people and did not have any glimpse of the talent they possessed.

If they had, their circumstances would have been much better.

It is rare for two people like them to have outstanding talents that seem to reproduce some of the power of the heroes, without any inheritance from their parents.

If it were just one person, it would still include Ritual and Rahite. It is unnatural that there are so many people with a single extreme talent.

It is even more so when it is a talent that is difficult to control, as opposed to a talent that is acquired by environment, like Lakra's.

Leitis believed that there were bastards all over the world, and he wanted to search for them even if he had to control the country. In other words, Seiya Yukura has already prepared for the occurrence of bastards all over this world.

"Do you have any proof that Yugura did this?

"These attempts are probably based on genetics. But genetic research was on your no-go list. The first time you worked on it was when you met me. In other words, the one who created the bastard is the one who was able to act despite the contraindication. If there's anyone other than Seiya Yukura who's that special, I'd like to know about it.

"I see. So it's easy to guess if you know even genetics. Okay, okay. You're right.

The Colorless Demon King claps deliberately and stands up. The colorless demon king applauds deliberately and stands up, then stops his joking expression and starts to speak seriously.

It's true that the Bastard is an attempt to make the humans and subhumans of the existing world peculiar based on Yugra's blood to counter the threat of the Demon Lord. Its collaborator is the Blue of Prosperity, the Blue Demon King. I'll be his assistant.

I want to know why the Blue Demon King is cooperating. Why would the Demon Lord help create an entity that opposes the Demon Lord?

Marito has a point. The results of the Bastard are good, since it has created a being like Wolfe, who has magical power comparable to that of Seiya Yukura.

However, that will only increase the number of beings who want to kill you.

That's because the purpose is different. Yugra created the bastard system to increase the survival rate of humans, while Hekio created it to welcome those who reach the top as demons.

"Reacher?

The Blue King hates humans. He hated them because the less powerful were jealous of the talents of others and fought ugly battles with them. But if you have a talent you can be proud of, it might be a good idea to incorporate you into his kingdom, so he accepted Yugra's invitation. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

In the future, Seiya Yukura foresaw that the Demon Lords would become enemies of humans, and he was trying to increase the resistance of humans by creating "bastards".

Just as he was about to do so, the Kuro, Purple, Blue, and Scarlet Demon Lords began to invade the territory of the humans.

I think that Seiya Yukura, troubled by the untimely invasion, decided to defeat the Demon Lords with his own hands for the time being, and then proceed with the plan of the Bastard to a certain extent, and let it happen.

It's also possible that the reason he left behind the "hero's index" was to help future generations of "bastards" better understand the value of their talents.

I understand the situation. It's hard to believe, but with so many precedents, I have to believe it.

"You said something about Wolfe. That subhuman is one of the best of the bastards. I'm not sure if I need to tell you the best one.

The colorless demon king is staring not at Marito, but at the dark lord who may be standing behind him.

He said that he was a descendant of Yugra. If he has the power that came from Yugra's blood, then his words are true.

But that would connect several events. ...... You should ask Mr. Darkness about this later.

I know enough about the "bastard". I'm not sure what to do.

I'm sure you've heard of it, but I've never heard of it. It's a good thing that you're not the only one who has a problem with this.　Is that all you want to ask?

"No, there's one more thing. There's one more thing you haven't told me.

No, there's one more thing. We were right about the bastard.

But this one I really need to check with the Colorless Demon Lord.

I think it's cool for a guy to be mysterious.　I don't mean to keep quiet about it. If I lied to you, you'd know, right?

I'm not sure what to make of it.

The colorless Demon Lord freezes. You didn't know about this reaction, did you?

I mean, they're all frozen. They look awesome.

Wait, you're not serious, are you?

Yeah, I'm serious.

No, no, no, no. The magic you're feeling is too small to be detected unless you're serious about detecting it!

If that's the case, try to detect it properly. You can at least discern my sister's magical power.

"......

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You can see that he is putting a lot of effort into his eyes. I'm not sure if it's that little or this much magic.

It's ...... for real. It's very weak, and it's very diluted, but it's the Kuro Sister's magic power.

If you don't know, there's no point in checking.

Let me ask you something, what makes you think that?　You're not good enough to determine her magic power.

Two reasons. Earthlings don't have magic in the first place.

When I came to this world, it was Maya who first told me that I had a small amount of magic power.

Hearing that story, I mistakenly thought that earthlings also had a little magic power.

This misunderstanding was exacerbated by the fact that I had heard about the Colorless Demon King before, and that Shigeya Yukura had also heard the same story.

The difference between Shigeya Yukura and me is whether or not we have any unrequited love for the Earth, the Colorless Demon King said. He said that if you let go of your unrequited love, your body will accept this world and you will start to generate magic power.

No, but Yugra didn't feel any magic at first, but soon--

"Did you have the ability to feel my magic then?

...... No, there was no one who could sense the magical power of Yugra who had just arrived in this world at that time.

I'm sure you're not lying about the process by which Seiya Yukura adapted to this world and gained magical power. But until then, his magic power was literally depleted.

That's what it means. The earthlings who have just arrived in this world do not have any magic power at all.

The demon king's magic is so disturbing that it creates a demon world, but its concentration is so thin that no one can sense the danger. Except for one person.

"May I ask another reason?

"Hark-dog. I've always found it odd that he fainted when he saw me.

The Harkdock's instinct is to overreact to dangerous beings.

But no matter how much I am, common sense tells me that I am no more dangerous than the Iliad.

In the first place, Harkdock didn't faint at the sight of the near-identical Ritual.

I believe he was a bastard with excellent detection skills.

"The Harkdock fainted the same way when he saw the Purple before he came here. That's why I thought the magic in me might be of the same quality.

Harkdock's sunglasses have the effect of blocking out magic power, not light.

When he wears those sunglasses, he is completely blind to my magic power.

The amount of blocking is so small that it is completely useless in front of the purple, which has a large amount of magic power.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

So, are you sure about this?

No, that's not my area of expertise. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's at a level where it can be extinguished just by starting a fire.

"Even this?

I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not sure what to do with it.

Both of his eyes widen and he stares at me.

"Hey, what's this picture?　How do you know about this tree?

On a piece of parchment was a drawing, a sketch of a large tree from a dream I had this morning.

It had a distinctive form, so I could get a good sense of it even while retracing my dream memory.

I've been dreaming about such landscapes lately. Landscapes I don't know. From your reaction, I'm guessing it's a scene the Kuro Demon Lord knows.

"Yes. Does this mean that ...... you're dreaming about your sister's memories before we became the Demon Lord?

It's been happening more and more lately. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's not the only one.

The colorless Demon Lord is silent for a while. And then, as if he had come up with something, he spoke up.

Do you remember the reason why Kuro Sister summoned you that I told you before?

"Yes.

The Kuro Demon Lord was resurrected, but in a place called the Demon Eater, a den of the worst slime in the world.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.

For this reason, the Kuro Demon King used himself as a catalyst and summoned me using summoning magic.

He said that he would be able to get out of the place if he had no magic power, and that he would be able to take the place of anyone who had similar feelings to him.

As far as I'm concerned, the dream was intentionally left behind by Kuro Sister. It's just a small thought to bring her closer to her own situation and make her share the same ideals.

Is that really it?

I can't be sure. But the closer you get to your sister's thoughts, the deeper the thoughts will be. It's like a peaceful dream now, but it might affect you in the future.

Think about it. Well, that's a lot.

Lately you've been saying "I" more often. So is "I". That's how often I get emotional in this world.

That's a creepy story.

That's good news for me. The good news for me is the sooner you learn about your sister's memories, the sooner you'll be able to relate to them. Laic.

The Colorless Demon Lord laughs. He wants me to take the place of the Kuro Demon King.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

"Well, it's good that you've confirmed it. I'm sure you're not going to help me with any countermeasures anyway.

I don't want to interfere with the black sister's work. But I got a good look at you. I mean, show me something a little better. I'm almost crying from nostalgia.

Don't get too close, don't get too close, it's disgusting.

d*mn, my black sister never said that.

You've always had a soft spot for your brother, haven't you?

No, she kicked him without saying a word.

That's terrible.

The Kuro Demon King and I are definitely not alike. I've never had such a violent fight with a sibling.

I've never seen such a violent fight between brothers.

I'd frame you if I could, but I have to respect my sister's wishes and let you go. There are a lot of people who are uptight about me being here.

A lot of them don't even like you.

That's good news. It's good news. It's worth the effort. So long, and don't die a dog's death.

And with that, the Colorless Demon Lord disappeared. The people around him seemed to have eased the tense atmosphere.

I'm not sure what to do.

Well, that's about it. I think we should make sure that the bastard is dealt with in each country.

"Yeah, that's right. Whatever the reason for Leitis to go around securing bastards, we can't just let them go if they are going to overthrow the country. We need to consider protecting them as much as possible. It's just ...... friend, are you sure you're okay?

Marito looked very worried.

It's hard to keep your mind at ease when you're told that you have the Kuro Demon Lord's magical power inside your body and that it's interfering with you on a daily basis.

"For now, we're just being shown a peaceful scene. I'll take care of it as soon as I can.

If that's what you're saying, then I'd say you're at the point where you don't need to worry about the symptoms.

If there was a visible increase in the amount of magic flowing through my body, I might be able to use some magic while worrying.

Haha, no doubt. But when I'm in Tarz, I'll be sure to have Nora check on me often. The Purple Demon Lord would also appreciate it if you could work with the other Demon Lords to normalize him.

"Yes, I understand. He's more valuable to me than the black one.

The "purple" who agrees also seems to have some thoughts on the matter. In this case, I should say that she has already begun to formulate various countermeasures in her mind.

I'm glad to hear that, but at the same time, I don't think there's any rush.

But your friend has a difficult life. "But your friend has a difficult life, being courted by a demon lord regardless of gender.

"That's a very misleading way of putting it, Mix. Yes, I'm going to take Murasaki to Mr. Torroid later, can you take him there first?

That's fine, but ...... what do you want?

"I'd like to summarize some of what Marito and I just said. I want to summarize what Marito and I just talked about. I want to prepare a quick and safe response.

So the group disbanded, each leaving the room, leaving Marito and Ilias behind.

"......!　I'm not sure what to say.　I'm not sure what to say.

It's too late for that.

I'm not sure what to say.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

Now there are actually four of us in this room.

"So, my good friend, you have a question for me?

The first person to speak up was Mr. Darkness. I can't quite pinpoint the location of the voice, but I know it's in front of me.

Thank you for being so perceptive. It's funny you should say you're a descendant of Yugra.

"I thought it would make things easier. I thought it would be easier to talk about it if I said so. - But you've come into contact with the truth of the world so quickly since we first met. I'm worried that you'll burn up like a meteor.

"I'd rather not mess with the taboo. So let me ask you this: ...... are you the reason for the demon, the demon that attacked Taze?

"What?

The only one who looked surprised was Ilias. I'm sure you're not the only one.

"Probably so.

What do you mean, "probably"?

I once met the Blue Demon King in the Tarzan Realm. He invited me to become a demon and follow him.

You said no?

I didn't want to leave anyone behind. So I let him run away. A few days later, I was surrounded by demons and monsters looking for me.

Some of them attacked Taze's homeland.

They didn't need to attack us if they just wanted to serve their purpose. But they must have been arrogant demons. --Aren't you angry, Lord Ratzel?

He turned his gaze to Ilias. Ilias had a complicated look on his face, but there was no anger in it.

...... I have one question for you. You didn't intentionally involve Taze in this, did you?

"Of course not. But I knew that if I defeated the demons and monsters in Taize, the Blue Demon King would seriously attack Taize. So I couldn't join him at all.

The demons in the Taze demon world are much larger than other demons.

There are dragons, wyverns, and other beings that are more like monsters than demons.

I'm sure Taze wouldn't have been able to get away with it if a bunch of them had come at him.

As a knight, I cannot tell you that you should have abandoned your humanity. Therefore, I have no words, no feelings, to condemn you.

"Thank you, Sir Ratzel. You've become a good knight in body and spirit. I then decided to become your aide to atone for my sins and monitor the movements of the Blue Demon King. The contract magic is a sign of that intention.

So, please continue to look after His Majesty.

You don't have to tell me.

I'm glad to see there's no trouble. But this can't end here.

You know a lot for a bastard, don't you? You knew about the power of the purple, and you seem to know Mu Xiang. I've also been looking into Yugra's disappearance.

"I'm special, you know. I'm a special breed. I've had a deep life.

I'm not your average 'bastard'. ....... You knew about Wolfe as soon as you saw him, didn't you?

Yes. Probably, among the naturally occurring "bastards", Wolfe is the best. I'm the best.

You're not afraid of that.

There may come a day when you will know me correctly, my dear friend. Until then, I may appear to be a suspicious person with many secrets, but I can promise you one thing.

Suddenly, Mr. Darkness' voice took on a serious tone.

It's not an aloof voice, but a voice of calm and strong will that seems to be speaking to the world.

I'm the one who will protect you to the end, and I'm on the side of humanity. Of course, I'm not like Rhaetys.

"...... Oh, that would be great.

I hold out my hand to the invisible void. Then, as if in response, you feel your hand being squeezed.

I don't know the details, or even his face, Mr. Darkness. But I can sense some kind of strong will from him.

I can't understand what it is. I can't understand what it is, but it makes me feel like I want to trust him.

"I hope one day I can show you my true face.

You've been trying to show me since day one.