CH 182

“Huh? Where is this?”

Hearing Gray’s clueless voice, Marionetta turned her head around in surprise after watching everything unfold from out the window.

“Gray, you’re awake!”

“Ah, um, I, what happened to me?”

Marionetta hugged Gray without thinking about it as he started to get up.

“You were hit by a huge beam of light that came directly from heaven! It sounded like your heart was going to stop back then, and it was going to stop, and it was going to stop, and………but you’re fine, you’re fine………”

Marionetta wrapped her arms around Gray’s neck, and burying her face into his cheek, started to sob.

Gray looked around himself while rubbing Marionetta’s small back. That’s when he noticed the Demon Lord lying down next to him. It was at that exact moment that the door to the hut opened up, and an angel with raven black hair and porcelain white skin walked in.

“Ah, Beruiel right¹? Is he going to be okay?”

Gray asked the angel that had entered the hut while still trying to reassure Marionetta by rubbing her back.

Then, almost as if talking about him had served as some kind of trigger, the Demon Lord’s eyes shot open.

“Huh, I, what was I doing again?”

“Haven’t you noticed yet Demon Lord? I’ll give you the details later, so let’s head back to the castle for now. You don’t have any more magic left, so use this.”

Beruiel addressed the Demon Lord while handing over two rings. The Demon Lord obediently slipped both of them on his right hand.

“Now then Gray, we have a little work left to do, so we’ll return to our castle for now. Until next we meet.”

Beruiel gave Gray and Marionetta his farewells before grabbing the Demon Lord.

“Oi, quit acting like an idiot!”

The Demon Lord tried to fight back, but his body was still weak. Once he had finally gotten a decent grip, Beruiel left the hut with the Demon Lord under his arm.

“Reeve, I’m sorry to have to leave the hard part to you, but we’ll be heading back to the castle now.”

“Aah”

Reeve gave Beruiel a short, cold reply as if she hadn’t really heard him. Her eyes were almost completely focused on Frau who was holding Ellis’s body.

Beruiel’s wings fluttered out before flying off towards the Demon Lord’s castle.

Gray meanwhile had only just managed to leave the hut as Marionetta lent him a shoulder to lean on. He took a few steps outside before the sight of Ellis in Frau’s arms came into focus for him.

“What? What’s happened to Ellis!?”

“Gray, I’ll explain everything later. So please be quiet for now!”

Marionetta desperately shushed Gray from asking anything else.

Frau lifted up Ellis’s body, and sending a visual signal to Reeve, Claire, and Katie, silently made back for Warren. They had all heard from their dragons just before Ellis had finished her spell. This technique was guaranteed to take the user’s life. And yet, Ellis was certainly breathing right now. There was nothing off about her heartbeat either. So the Jewelry Box would just have to wait. Wait for the day when Ellis would definitely wake up.

Warren’s Powder Keg along with all the gathered soldiers had seen everything that had happened. The large crowd parted down the middle, letting the girls through. They all feel into a silent prayer. A prayer for the safety of their savior, their little Golden Mistress.

Gray had lost all his powers that came with being the so-called ‘Hero’. Swinging a sword wouldn’t create any shockwaves, and any of the magic spells unique to the Hero had disappeared from his mind.

“Have I lost all value?”

Gray laughed derisively at himself.

“Of course not. Gray is Gray.”

But Marionetta wasn’t about to leave Gray alone.

It was then that a messenger from the Merchant Guild called out to them.

“I have a summons from the new king of Skycastle for you two. This here is a Ring of Return we borrowed from Miss Claire that connects directly to the waiting room in the royal palace. Please use this for the trip.”

“A new king?”

“The former Duke Marsfield.”

Gray and Marionetta quickly used the power of the ring and traveled to the royal palace.

Gise was already there waiting for them when they arrived.

“Yo Gray, I heard you lost the power of a Hero.”

“Ah, Gise, it’s true. I really have stopped being the Hero.”

Suddenly, Gise drew out the dagger at his waist and lunged at Gray.

“What are you doing Gise!?”

Before Gise could reach him though, Gray managed to unsheathe his long sword and knocked the dagger out of Gise’s hand.

“Ouch, Marionetta, heal this for me would you?”

Gise held out his hand which had gotten twisted when Gray’s sword had so violently knocked into him.

“Gray, you might’ve lost your powers as a Hero, but you still have the skills you earned through all your hours of training. You’re still a powerful swordsman. Now, let’s go meet with the new king.”

Since Gray wasn’t able to completely understand what Gise was trying to say, Marionetta leaned over and whispered into his ear.

“Gise thinks you should believe in yourself more.”

“I see, so that’s it. Gise, thanks.”

“It’s embarrassing if you say it so seriously. Come on, the King is waiting.”

And so the Brave party made their way to the audience room.

“Three entering: Gray, Marionetta, and Gise seeking an audience.”

“Oh, come in come in!”

A familiar voice resounded through the door and out the entranceway. The three approached the throne and knelt before the new king.

“Well there’s no need for all the formalities.”

The new king directly addressed his three guests.

“Gray, Marionetta, and Gise, if you have a request, we’ll hear it now.”

“Your Majesty, my only wish is to fight for the people. I refuse to help if your goal is any form of oppression.”

Gray seriously stood against the King, but His Majesty laughed the challenge off.

“That’s the spirit. Now would you mind killing the rest of the demons still infesting Skycastle? Here’s a list we’ve made.”

The King waved his hand, and his spokesman handed over a bunch of documents Ellis and the other girls had secretly drawn up.

“Wisdom’s Magicians’ Guild has also delivered the methods to use the new spell {Isolation}. The guildmaster has assured me Marionetta will be able to use it.”

Marionetta looked through the scrolls that listed out how to perform the spell. The required mp for it was seven, but thanks to the Grand Magical ring she had received from Ellis, she could shave that down to just two. She could use the spell several times a day and still be able to store whatever leftover mana she had left into a Spirit ring each night.

“All right, I understand.”

“It’d be a huge help if you could separate a demon from anybody they’re possessing. If the person has already been killed and has been replaced by the demon though, it can’t be helped, and I’ll leave what should be done up to your judgement.”

Starting the next day, Gray and his companions took the list and began searching for demons. But Gray remembered the words the Demon Lord had said back then.

“Maybe some of those demons will choose to enjoy their lives?”

So every time Gray confronted a demon, he would always give them a choice.

“Surrender now, and I’ll overlook everything you’ve done. Otherwise I’ll enjoy the fight.”

As a result, almost every demon ended up trying to kill Gray. But although Gray had lost the power of a Hero, he still had Marionetta and Gise. And together, the three of them came out ahead every time.

There were however a few demons who did just as Gray asked and surrendered. Those demons summoned here returned to their original demonic world while the indigenous Mazoku either returned to their hometowns or having heard rumors about Marcosia, ventured to Warren looking for a new life.

Having already become popular with the public from before when he smashed any sabbaths being held, it wasn’t long before Gray became known as a true hero of the people as he continued to steadily root out demons.

As the days passed, Gray eventually worked his way through the list and completely cleansed Skycastle of any demons that might mean the people harm. It was then that the new king gathered all the nobles of Skycastle in his grand hall. Also there was Sir Chaffee who had recently been appointed as the new Duke Marsfield and Stewart, who ended up becoming the new Duke Ceramics after the old lord was murdered and replaced by a demon.

The King then made an announcement for all to hear.

“Everyone gathered here today, as your king, we have two royal orders to be handed down. The first is a change in order. From this day forward, we shall be a constitutional monarchy rather than an absolute one. The King shall have the final say on any policy developed by an established council from this day forward. It’s a model similar to that currently used in Warren. Understood?”

The gathered aristocrats were all surprised that the king would choose to limit his own power, but most of the people gathered here hadn’t been in their positions for very long. These were the successors who took over their positions after Reeve and the others had massacred most of the nobles. Most of them were soldiers from lower noble houses or well-off commoner houses.

So they readily welcomed the introduction of a council system.

“Then for our next royal order. We, Jack J. Skycastle abdicate the throne to the former hero, Gray.”

As expected, this one left the nobles a little more shocked. Never before has a king willingly abdicated the throne while they were still alive! And even if his successor was the former Hero, the next king he was going to be of peasant birth! The gathered aristocrats were thrown into a panic not understanding what the meaning of the King’s actions were.

“What, you’re all thinking about it too much. The council will have an easier time getting settled if their King is a guy with not a lot going on up there. Plus Gray is popular with the public. If we’re going to be serious about instituting a council, King Gray is vital. If nothing else, it’ll be good for the citizenry. He’s a simpleton that can only use a sword. Use him to help rebuild Skycastle.”

Some of the nobles finally understood what the king was trying to say. If it’s Gray, then the new governing system had time to be molded before anybody had to worry about who would be inheriting the throne. And it’s that simple-minded Gray. In the future he might try and abolish the very throne itself. At that point the King really will be just a figurehead.

So the nobles fully accepted the King’s royal orders.

“Now let’s make all the preparations for my immediate retirement and the subsequent ascension.”

The spokesman started handing out instructions to the gathered nobles before preparing some fast horses to quickly deliver the message to the feudal lords spread across the country.

Meanwhile, Gray had been so stunned by the announcement he hadn’t said anything until everything had already been decided. Marionetta had fallen into a state of confusion as well.

King Jack beckoned the two over to him, chuckling to himself at the faces they were making.

“Well Gray, there’s no need to think about it too hard.”

“So you say, but you’re also suddenly saying I’m going to be king, and there’s no way I’m suitable”

“Yeah it’s fine. Gray, you really don’t have to think about anything too difficult. I’m leaving it to you to judge if this new council is going to be right for the people. It’s that simple. Got it? Also Marionetta, Gray’s basically an idiot. So if he ever gets tripped up, I’m counting on you to lead him through it as his queen.”

A few days later, an ascension ceremony would be held, and the new king, Gray Skycastle X would be crowned.

1. Gray actually calls him Berunal, and at this point, they’re using the names Berunal/Beruiel interchangeably. That’s really confusing though, so I’m just sticking with Beruiel.