Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist
Chapter 19: Let’s Sprung the Trap of Despair Around the Proud King of the Desert, Part 4
「Call me Mari-chan from now on!」
「Haaaa?」
When Uzermart finally regained consciousness, Mari was the first one to visit him and that is what she began the conversation with.
「Since we’re going to be working together from now on it would be rude of you to just call me names such as 「Blonde Bitch」 or 「Failure-of-a-servant」, you know? Calling each other by our proper names sounds like a much better idea to me. So come on, repeat after me: Mari-chan!」
「W-Why would I do such a thing?」
He noticed he was laying on a small bed in a white room, covered with equally white sheets. Must be the medical center of some sort. Maybe it was because he was still only half-conscious after waking up, but such a request was so outrageously out of place that it frightened him a little.
「Because you said you would do everything we want if you lose?」
「Ehh, I knew making such a ridiculous promise is going to come bite me in the ass somehow. And besides, I don’t think that addressing you with 「-chan」 is appropriate anymore, Mari-cha…」
Uzermart managed to slam his mouth shut with his hand before he was able to finish that dreadful sentence. To think that he almost called her 「Mari-chan」 without thinking! How careless of him!
「Hmm, what you’re saying is that if we wanted to make you keep your part of the deal we should have gone for some sort of written arrangement instead of an empty oral promise? That sounds like a kind of a drag, but at least I learned something useful today. Thanks, Uze-chan!」
「U-Uze-chan?!」
Uzermart was shocked due to being called in such a strange, overly familiar way.
「Your normal name is too long, and Uze-chan just rolls of the tongue better.」
「Mari-chan, who do you think you…. The fuck is this, some kind of curse?!」
He tried to simply call her Mari, but the words that came out of his mouth automatically got converted to 「Mari-chan」. This must’ve been the effect of a spell that was placed on him without his knowledge.
「It’s fine. After all, friends should be calling each other in an informal manner.」
「And why do you even think that we are friends?!」
「You’re going to help us get Sofia back. That is reason enough for me.」
Uzermart simply couldn’t comprehend the kind of logic this girl was following.
「What childish reason is that?! I am the king of all kings, the ruler of everything! I don’t need something as insignificant as that!」
「No, you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter whether you are a kind or a commoner, everyone needs a friend who can forgive them every foolish thing they did. It’s like that with Aur, and probably with you too. You just don’t realize that quite yet.」
Demon Lord, King of Heroes, The Great Saint and the Queen of Ice. The rulers whom Mari had the chance to meet throughout her life were all solitary beings. Maybe it was like that because they held the weight of their countries and its citizens on their shoulders? After all, being responsible for so many lives must be a heavy burden to bear.
But at the same time, none of them was lonely. Because they all had friends who stood by them no matter the situation they found themselves in. It does not matter whether you are a king or a commoner, just like Mari said. No human can live alone.
And if you really want to be lonely… there is no point in governing the country and trying to be a king.
「So even the Demon Lord…?」
「Oh, finally feeling interested?」
「I-It’s not like that.… just curious about how crazy you’d have to be to call yourself a friend of the Demon Lord.」
Seeing that he was too shy to admit being truly interested, Mari ponders the issue of Aur’s friends for a while.
「Lilu and Yunis are Aur’s friends… with benefits… let’s call them wives for simplicity’s sake. When we talk about friends, then maybe Logan would be the closest thing to it? But wait, he also drinks a lot with Yunis’ dad and has some kind of rivalry going on with her brother… and he also seems to be getting along with Toscan-san and the Doverg in the Aur City… see? He might not look at it, but he has a lot of friends, even if he himself does not want to admit it.」
「That many of them?」
Uzermart was in awe at Mari’s words as she continued to count on her fingers.
「But the rulers are supposed to be lonely! Relying on others is a sign of weakness!」
「Hmpf. Think what you will, but that is the truth.」
Marie’s blue eyes look into Uzermart’s eyes.
「Who told you that?」
「…!」
It was as if she was staring into his very soul.
「No one… in particular. This is the answer I have arrived at myself.」
His answer, however, was totally unsatisfactory.
「Finally decided to wake up, Uzermart?」
The door to the infirmary opens and Aur came inside, as if he had heard the two of them talking.
「Demon Lord!」
Uzermart tried to raise his upper body reflectively, but soon after he noticed something, he lay down again.
「You’d best stay in bed some more, since five of your ribs were broken. Your wounds have been mended and treated, but the rest is up to you.」
「Did you treat me …?」
He asks Aur while covering himself with the sheets all the way to his face.
「Not me personally, but one of my Alv mages named Sharl. What about it?」
「……Nothing.」
That said, Uzermart seemed relieved to hear that.
「She’s way better at treating people than me. Rest assured, your bones were in the best hands possible.」
「I don’t care who was it that healed me. Anyone would do, as long as they are not you.」
Irritated by his tsundere antics, Mari pinched Uzermart’s cheek.
「That reminds me: Uze-chan, what do you want to call Aur? There are quite a few variations to choose from, but personally I’d recommend…」
「A, Aur! I’ll just call him Aur!」
He shouts in a panic. Nobody has ever managed to embarrass him the way this girl just did. She truly is a terrifying existence on par with the Demon Lord himself.
「Uze-chan?」
「Uzermart is too long. Hence Uze-chan.」
That one sentence was so humiliating that he wanted to disappear, and Aur’s amused expression didn’t help making him feel better in the slightest.
「… mes …」
「What was that?」
Uzermart uttered some quiet words, unable to properly identify the feelings that sprouted in his heart now.
「My real name is Rames. Uzermart is the coronation name… the name I have adopted after I was made an Emperor.」
Uzermart …… No, Rames lays down and looks at the ceiling with a pitiful look on his face.
「So that’s what you can call me. Rames.」
「Then, Ra-chan!」
And of course she would immediately come up with a stupid nickname.
「Don’t change my name without permission!」
「But she just shortened it.」
「My point still stands, idiot!」
Seeing Mari and Rames arguing, a snicker escaped Aur’s mouth.
「If you are so energetic already then I guess I have nothing to worry about. I will take my leave then.」
「Oh… okay.」
And Aur left the room while Rames send him off with his ever-vigilant eyes.
「Hey … Mari-chan.」
「What?」
After the doors closed behind him, Rames spoke to Mari.
「It’s cold. Hand me my clothes.」
「Okey dokey.」
It was probably to make the treatment of his wounds easier, but Rames was buck naked underneath the sheets.
「It would have been pretty comical if Aur saw you naked, so you had to hold it in until he left, right?」
「No, I’m just cold!」
Rames yelled at Mari who was unable to stop her laugher.
「Looks like everything’s going according to plan.」
While Aur was walking through the Dungeon, a familiar voice called out to him from the shadows.
「So you can tell that as well?」
「Of course.」
In response to Oulu’s question, Lilu nods.
「Excellent. But we have to remain careful just in case.」
「Correct me if I’m wrong, but now you also have access to Marina’s power, right?」
「That’s how I got the pitfall idea in the first place.」
「I should have known.」
The power to always see the best possible outcome. Even with such an ability at his side, Aur was still acting too cautious for Lilu’s tastes, although it was probably the wisest approach here.
「『I don’t trust people, they will betray you without fail』… I wonder if that rule of yours applies here as well?」
「Of course. I expect everybody can betray me at any time, even myself.」
The sex change that Rames has undergone is not just superficial. Everything from the skeleton to the muscle to the internal organs turned into its female counterpart. And 「internal organs」 include the brain as well. It is a work that goes beyond human wisdom, but it is not impossible if you combine the best of Goddess Marina with Oulu’s medical magic. Gradually, Rames is becoming more and more feminine with both his way of thinking and even sexual orientation.
「Body, mind and spirit. We’ll change everything about him and shape him anew.」
「There it is, that bad expression on your face I haven’t seen for so long.」
Then again, that’s Aur for you.
The familiar smiled deviously, happy for the path her master has chosen.