CH 113

Chapter 113 – Tale of the Hero and the Demon King

Side : Lulu

The matter concerning the meetings between countries has ended. Now, things centered around the immediate crisis—Rankus’ Hero.

(Yuki)「As expected. If we don’t do something about Rankus’ Hero, then both Galtz and Weed are in trouble.」

Everyone reluctantly understood what that meant.

(Yuki)「Incidentally, not only was Delille revealed to be a Demon King, but the Big Four(lol)1) were also exposed. That said, the second Demon King will very likely take action soon and it’ll be impossible to prevent information from leaking. 2)That foolish Princess recklessly spread that information everywhere she could too.」

Right.

Rankus’ Princess said:「Weed is under the control of the Demon King and Big Four!3)!] and returned home like that was all she came to do.

She also tried to publicly denounce Delille as well, but Delille herself enjoyed much support and popularity in the city. Weed’s citizens only scowled in disdain at the foolish Princess’ words.

However, even if her words were thought of as a mere jokes or trivial rumors—they’d still quickly spread. And it wouldn’t be long before the second Demon King caught wind of them.

4)

(Shera)「That’s, just how it is. When Royalty speaks, it’s very difficult to simply dismiss their words as mere hearsay 」

(Seraria)「Very true, unfortunately 」

Added Shera, while Seraria was somewhat vexed.

(Seraria)「In order to dispel such rumors, we would likely have to lend our support in subjugating the second Demon King. 」

(Shera)「…If we don’t handle things properly, wouldn’t that only cause more problems though?」

(Seraria)「Yes, it would. Despite knowing that damned Princess’ true nature, if we mishandle how we respond, then her ‘lies’ will easily become the ‘truth’.」

(Shera)「And if should Rankus collapse?」

(Seraria)「If we deal with Rankus’ Royalist Faction, then we could probably manage somehow.」

(Shera)「Impossible. There’s just not enough information to effectively identify them.」

It really was a very troublesome situation.

(Yuki)「Either way, we can’t rush things. Delille notwithstanding—thoughtlessly holding onto Zergis and Raia5) was definitely my mistake. It’s my responsibility to atone for and fix. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to gather information and deal with the second Demon King.」

(Seraria)「Why would would you try to shoulder all the burden alone my Dear!!」

(Shera)「Yes!! You mustn’t push yourself so hard!!」

Seraria and Shera loudly voiced their opposition.

(Yuki)「Calm down. It’s okay—It’s what I want. 」

(Seraria)「What do you intend to do then?」

(Yuki)「Look, we can get in touch with Taiki—I mean Rankus’ Hero—using Call. That way, we’ll know their movements ahead of time, be able to respond to them instantly and easily win against them.」

(Seraria)「Not just win, we will annihilate them.」

(Yuki)「…Since it’s vital we show off our nation’s strength, I won’t stop you. The real problem is the second Demon King and what they plan to do.」

Yes, there was a very real chance that Weed would be forced into yet another war…

(Yuki)「Just people hearing that Weed is connected to a Demon King is in itself a major problem for us and I don’t know what sort of hands will be played in the future because of that…」

(Ellis)「Yes, and even more terrible is that just the rumors of Weed being under the Demon King’s control would be enough for some countries to call off trade with us.」

(Lutz)「It really is unpleasant, but onii-san’s always thinking ahead about the worst case scenarios, huh…」

Everyone was very impressed.

Indeed, danna-sama always thoroughly thinks things through, always looking ahead from every angle he can.

Certainly, if it was declared that Weed and the Demon King joined forces or were otherwise connected somehow, it would be a major blow to us. Trade would cease, the people would become uneasy, and our national power and reputation would take heavy losses as a result. For the citizens’ sake, we could not allow such this situation to escalate into full scale war.

(Yuki)「That’s why it’s imperative we gather information as quickly as possible. Well, I know know this is a bit sudden, and that they’ve been rather busy, but let’s have ‘them’ explain—You can come in now.」

Danna-sama was looking towards the door, but.. No one came in.

(Yuki)「Call: Zergis!! Raia!!」

(Zergis)『Yes, Master Yuki—6)What is the matter? …Hmm, it is not a transceiver and yet it converts magic power into electricity somehow—using this as a base to make a formula, and applying this method then…..』

(Yuki)「Listen! Get over to the Government building—Now!! I know that you’re already aware of the situation aren’t you!?」

(Zergis)『Oh, my apologies, I forgot. I will head over there right away. 』

(Yuki)「So, what’s wrong Raia?」

(Raia)『The birth of the cattle has begun!! —Pull it there!! Oh, my!!』

(Yuki)「Oh, really. Then just come see us when it’s taken care of. 」

(Raia)『Understood!! —Here it is!!』

Finished, danna-sama ended the Call.

(Seraria)「…Let’s just overlook Raia’s late attendance for now. 」

(Lutz)「Right.」

(Shera)「She really is working hard.」

Seraria and the others nodded, praising Raia.

The conversation grew black, and no one said a word.

As a reminder—Raia was also one of the Big Four, a demon who specialized in fire magic, and was present for the attack on Naruja-san’s village. Incidentally, her chest was bigger than mine, yet her figure was balanced overall due to her height. Also–as requested from the person herself—she was now entrusted with overseeing our agricultural lands.

I was surprised at first, but she diligently saw to her tasks. Properly overseeing the fields, tending the crops, and seeing to the livestock.

Raia-san seemed to hail from a farm in a rural area, and her knowledge certainly proved useful to us. 7)

(Zergis)「Hahaha! Excuse my late entrance. Representatives of Weed. Zergis from R&D has now arrived…~~~Bubeh!?」

Before he even finished speaking, Seraria threw her cup and struck Zergis–self proclaimed member of the Big Four, responsible for leading the attack with the revised pill bugs on Naruja-san’s village–and sent him collapsing to the ground.

Since coming to Weed, danna-sama showed Zergis a certain something, which sparked his creative curiosity and in turn, led him to work in mass producing many of Weed’s daily necessities. He was also heavily involved with Weed’s R&D efforts. Actually, one of the products selected for trade with Galtz—the magical electric light, among other things—were developed by Zergis.

With that in mind, danna-sama was having Zergis manufacture things, rather than solely relying on DP.

(Zergis)「Wh-why did you do that!? Raia isn’t here yet either!!」

(Seraria)「That is unavoidable, as Raia is still tending to the cattle. On the other hand Zergis. You were simply negligent. You understand that, right!?」

(Zergis)「…My sincerest apologies. 」

Zargis slowly lowered his head deeply.

By the way, here was how the power relationships between us looked. The wives >>>> A wall that cannot be scaled > The Big Four. Let alone just physical strength, it was pointless to even try comparing them even in a one on one match—Especially with Seraria.

Zergis himself was particularly humble before her and Ellis, as they controlled the funds he needed as well.

(Seraria)「Now, can you tell us why you have been called?」

(Zergis)「As Master Yuki said, this concerns matters regarding Demons and the Demon King, yes?」

(Seraria)「Indeed.」

(Zergis)「If I may interject—Stories concerning the Demon King and Demons themselves run rather far and wide8). As for what information would be useful to you, that I do not know and will likely require a great deal of them to sift through.」

Replying as such, Zergis raised both his hands apologetically. He had a point though… Just what sort of questions should we ask?

(Zergis)「In the first place, since I claim to be one of the (self-proclaimed) Big Four—Would my words even be credible to you?」

That was another problem—whether to even believe the words of a Demon in the first place. To conventional wisdom, the very notion itself was absurd.

After all, stories that demons were vile and evil creatures that sought only to attack humans and conquer the world were numerous and have been passed down generation after generation throughout the continent.

(Zergis)「Well, as far as I am concerned, Master Yuki is much more worthy of my service than the Demon King. After all, my treatment has been good, the food is delicious, and research funds abundant. I have no problem providing you whatever information I have.」

(Seraria)「…Why? Are we not enemies you should want nothing more than to destroy?」

Seraria asked, wishing to understand why it was that Zergis was being so cooperative.

(Zergis)「Oh, that. At first Master Yuki’s treatment was rather indifferent and I wasn’t all that interested…so may I explain from there?」

(Seraria)「I don’t mind. 」

Zergis began explaining.

(Zergis)「First of all, what Seraria said is fundamentally wrong and different from the truth. We are simply fighting to survive. Against invaders to our lands—Against humans.」

「「「…Haa!?」」」9)

Galtz, Ritea and Rochelle—who joined in the meeting as well—were also visibly surprised.

(Zergis)「…… Master Yuki doesn’t seem too surprised though.」

(Yuki)「Well, I had a hunch.」

(Zergis)「Your reasons… May I hear it?」

(Yuki)「It’s simple really. Demons are former humans right?」

The entire room went deathly silent with Yuki’s words. After all… To hear that demons were once human was….

(Zergis)「As expected, I suppose. We do not know the exact causes either, but Demons are the result of some kind of mutation. In time, we came together under the banner of the Demon King and our country, Last.

10)」

(Seraria)「Mutation, you say?」

(Zergis)「Has Seraria-dono never heard? That in small towns, villages… or anywhere else really—that Demons would just suddenly appear out of nowhere?」

(Seraria)「…I have. But that is because the Demons were simply hiding, right?」

(Zergis)「That is incorrect. According to my own research—when someone exceeds a certain age along with a certain amount of magical power, they will suddenly transform into a Demon.」

(Seraria)「Wait a minute. If what Zergis says is true then….. 」

(Zergis)「Yes. And as a result, many children were gathered and killed to prevent their transformation into Demons and spare their families from being killed on suspicion. That is the origin of the Demon Tribe. The person who became the first Demon King , along with his comrades, probably felt great hatred towards the other countries because of this. Also, as I mentioned. Along with the increase in magical power, comes greater aptitude for it as well and should they survive, they would naturally grow into excellent soldiers and weapons… However, since I was born and raised in Last, I don’t quite understand it myself.」

Seraria was speechless.

Of course, so was everyone else—myself included.

(Zergis)「Well. I am not the same as those who cling to their hates and grudges, nor do I want to drag this sad story on any longer than needed, but I feel the urge to share the truth of it…. Seriously, we had decent a amount of crops, the 13th Demon King ruled gently from the throne and earnestly longed for coexistence with the humans. But one day, our farmlands were suddenly attacked—our fields razed… and we had to desperately fight back to protect our home.」

(Yuki)「Seraria, what territories did the 4 Great Nations annex over the past several centuries?」

Danna-sama asked Seraria, who answered without looking at him.

(Seraria)「…A great number of campaigns have been raised under the banner of ‘liberating’ conquered lands from the grasp of the Demon King. And just as my Dear has guessed, the 4 Great nations have continuously attacked and annexed territories that were part of the Demon King’s territories.」

(Yuki)「In other words, just from the historical context alone…What Zergis said is most likely correct. 」

(Seraria)「Why couldn’t you try to ask for peace?」

When Seraria asked Zergis, he simply shrugged his shoulders, somewhat troubled.

(Zergis)「Keep this in mind. Whenever we tried to pursue peace—our messengers were either ignored, or killed. The current Demon King is desperately trying to find a peaceful solution, but that seems rather pointless now if you ask me. Also, with the other side seeing us only as an ‘absolute evil’ to be destroyed and our need to defend ourselves—the only option left open to us is war.」

Zergis said this as if it was a natural fact, he wasn’t even trying to blame us… Which in itself was very sad.

(Yuki)「Rochelle, Galtz, Ritea. What do you think?」

Danna-sama now asked for the input of the three nations’ leaders..

(King Rochelle)「Th-that. What…… 」

(King Galtz)「Even if you say that, the only thing we can do is to dispose of them.」

(Alshtail)「It’s the same for me. When you kill a Demon, the only thing that remains is their magic stone, nothing else.」

The three heads of state seemed to be the same. They only knew what was in the reports given to them and had no clue that the ones being disposed of were in fact children.

It was the same for me during my time as a Holy Woman. In fact, I could only recall seeing three such cases myself.

(Yuki)「Hmm. In that case, we need to send out scouts to make contact with Demons in order to verify the truth of Zergis’ story. Also, I think we should move to detain any children who show signs of becoming Demons and bring them into our custody for their protection.」

(King Galtz)「Yes, I agree.. 」

(King Rochelle)「Rochelle will follow Galtz’s lead. 」

(Alshtail)「Ritea consents as well. In this case, these grave sins soley rest with us.」

The three leaders seemed to approve of danna-sama’s proposals.

(Zergis)「Ho. I am surprised you would believe me so readily. Truthfully, I was wondering whether or not you would at all.」

(Seraria)「Zergis seems a bit muddle headed then. 」

(Zergis)「No, my strength lies in research.」

(Yuki)「Right, if what Zergis said is true, that Demons are simply the result of a mutation, then peace should be possible and there wouldn’t be a need to fight any longer. This in turn would reduce the need to spend on national defense. Until now, this conflict has been a battle for survival by both sides, so no one was able to just back out and not fight. However, if we can bring the truth to light and make everyone understand, then we just may have a way out of this.」

(King Rochelle)「Indeed, that is an option. But is it even possible?」

(King Galtz)「No, isn’t it impossible? The accumulation of the past is too heavy. Isn’t the only recourse open to us now full scale war at this point?」

(Zergis)「Let’s see… Ah, of course! Are you familiar with the old tale of the Hero who dreamt of slaying the Demon King, only to ultimately spare him?」

When Zergis brought this up, I suddenly recalled the story myself.

Long ago, a lone Hero descended onto this continent, where he soon heard of the Demon King’s tyranny against the surrounding nations. Driven to liberate them from such a great evil, the Hero rushed headlong into the Demon King’s Domain alone in order to slay him.

However, one point remained unsolved even to this day… Why did the Hero, who after finally being able to corner the Demon King, choose not to kill him.

Of course, there were various theories about this, such as the Hero having sustained a great injury, or that the nations supporting him had declined too much and lost the means to keep up the campaign against the Demon King, among others.

And… there was also one other theory that remained. One that was ultimately deemed worthless.

「Someday I wish that we can finally coexist. Let’s do our best to see that day come true.」

It was the story of the kind Hero-sama who lent his aid to the Demons.

The details concerning this tale were lost, yet that Hero’s name still remained even today.

The Hero summoned from another world—Touya Yashiro.

…According to the records, he was said to have come from the same world as danna-sama…

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