Volume 1 - CH 2.3

Translated by: Riciel

“This is the first time I’ve seen His Majesty’s magical power go wild like this…”

“To begin with, it’s the first time this little general sees such a huge and such a ferocious magical power…”

“I-it’s as if a glimpse of my Lord’s magical power is searing my skin…”

“It’s not like I’m jealous or anything…”

“Oh, the horror…”

Everyone was completely terrified. The only exception was the step-sister, Lushiko.

(It’s true that if you didn’t know that Kengo is actually a lousy chicken, you’d be pressured by his magical power.)

It was common for those who possessed great magical power to leak slivers of it from their bodies. The same went for Kengo and all of the Seven Great Demon Generals. Hence, the eye was useful when estimating how much magical power another party had by just looking closely at them and observing these glimpses. [EN: By eye, it refers to a sort of skill or talent that lets them see magical power.]

Kengo was indeed a Demon King, born with tremendous magical power. Moreover, any that leaked out of his body—as part of his tearful efforts to act like a proper Demon King— was wonderfully controlled. It caused Kengo’s entire body to be without any gaps or disruptions, and it coloured him with a divine aura.

It was the reason why the other demon generals, except for Lushiko, had a strong respect for Kengo despite the fact that they had only known him for a short time. It was because they could see that beautiful form of a glimpse of his extraordinary magical power in their eyes.

Due to that, they measured his magical power and strength as being off the charts. And now… Kengo, who no longer acted like a Demon King, was also unable to control his magical power. He let it get out of control, representing his mental state.

To Lushiko, who knew he was a lousy chicken, every time the blue pillar of fire-like glimpse of his magical power shook violently from side to side, it looked as if Kengo himself was writhing and shaking his head. However, for the generals who didn’t know the Demon King’s true nature, Kengo’s magical power, which was no longer just a sliver, was leaking out.

“So much…”

They were overwhelmed, and they believed that his outburst seemed to be a sign of rage.

“Y-your Majesty’s anger won’t abate at all…”

“If this keeps up, that Sato guy is really going to purged, won’t he?”

“You are naive, Levi-San. How can you be so sure that the Lord’s anger will not redirect at the mistress?”

“It’s going to rain blood in the Imperial Council!”

Kengo laid down, not even looking up, and sighed. It was a long, deep sigh of despair. But Levi-San and the others must have taken it as a sigh of disappointment. The blood drained from their faces.

“I-I’m going to go to Sato now and tell him to hurry up and cancel the magic.”

“The caster himself should be able to do it in fifteen minutes.”

“… What? … Does it take that long?”

“I’ll make sure it’s fixed as quickly as possible!”

“… How fast?”

“Ah, you’ve seen that it took Sato some preparation to perfect that tactical grade magic, My Lord.”

“Then it would normally take the same amount of time to cancel the magic.”

“… Normal? … Is that normal? … I see.”

It had been 16 years since Kengo was born as a Demon King. He knew the basics of magic and had common sense without needing to be taught. The only thing was that since he wasn’t as good as the Seven Great Generals, he asked them in hopes that there might be another user knowing the secret to annul that magic. And that hope faded away. As a result, Kengo announced…

“… So, I guess I’ll have to do it by myself.”

He said in a mosquito-like voice. When he finally lifted his face from the desk, it was half-crying. The way he lifted his hips from the chair and stood up unsteadily was as unreliable as a ghost. It was the attitude of a lousy chicken that Lushiko knew well. But when Mamoyo and the others, who didn’t know his true nature, saw Kengou suddenly stand up and behave in an eerie way, untypical of a Demon King, as well as the glimpse of his magical power that hadn’t stopped running wild, they reacted.

“Hiih—!”

“P-please forgive us useless generals, Your Majesty!

“I don’t want to be purged!”

“Please don’t let it rain blood…!”

It was a scene that had made any demon general drastically sit up or fall back in their chairs. Only one of them, Lushiko, smiled wryly at her step-brother,

“Are you confident that you can lift the magic?”

“… I have no idea… I also had no idea Sato was such a great caster.”

“Yeah. You’d better get yourself together. You’re a slacker, unlike me!”

She encouraged him in a not-so-nice way. Whether he got the message or not, Kengo’s face broke into a wry smile, and he leapt.

He teleported and removed his shameful appearance from the Imperial Conference Room.

(But that’s Kengo for you.)

Lushiko looked away from her step-brother with a fearless smile on her face. Unlike Kengo, who was unsure of himself to any extent, she was confident in him. A lousy chicken had its own beauty. Lushiko knew this better than Kengo himself.

She had been standing next to him for a long time, watching her step-brother. And even now, she was next to Kengo all this time because he admired him for his beauty.

Meanwhile, Levi-San and the others were relieved of the pressure of a raging Demon King’s magical power and patted their chests. In addition, they all faced each other.

“B-but no matter how great he is, no matter how jealous I am…”

“Is it really possible to undo the secret magic of the Satan family?”

“I’m afraid to even say it, but no past Demon Lords could do so. That’s how I see it.”

“Mmmm, Mamoyo is right.”

“… I’m hungry.”

They looked at the projected images on the conference desk, voicing her concerns. The sight of Kengo, who has moved to stand beside Sato, could be seen by their eyes.

Only Lushiko was still feeling like she was riding on a big boat.

(You guys can watch it all you want. He’s going to show you what a Demon Lord is capable of ♪)

(… God… Did I do something wrong?)

Kengo couldn’t help but curse his fate, his misfortune, and the heavens. It’s been 16 years since he reincarnated as a joke of a Demon King, and he couldn’t remember how many times he has lamented the same phrase over and over in his mind. But at the same time, he thought.

(Did I do something wrong…? I did… I did, didn’t I? This time… It was Sato who did it, but it was me who chose him.)

He had to clean up the mess he caused. If he couldn’t rely on anyone else, then he had to do it himself.

No matter how difficult it was, no matter how unsure he was, he had to do it.

(… I’d run away from this if I could, wouldn’t I…? I’d pretend I didn’t see it…)

But Kengo was not so stupid or insensitive as to be indifferent to his responsibilities. In fact, he was the type of person to be forever worrying about things.

If he were to leave the human army to die, he would have nightmares in his dreams. It would be a lifelong trauma. Because he was a lousy chicken… Yes. If going is a temporary hardship and retreating an eternal pain, then he had to go. He had to, even though he was trembling.

“Teleport.”

Instantaneous movement magic was classified as a high level of difficulty, but Kengo completed it with a chant of only a few short syllables. A moment later, he shifted to the sky above Fort Krall, beside Sato. He also didn’t need to chant or do anything special to stay in the air with the less difficult flying magic. It was all due to the efforts of his past sixteen years.

“Kengo-sama! Why are you here? Did I do something wrong?”

Sato’s cold, ruthless profile was gone, and he became soft and dismayed.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me, Sato. You did nothing wrong.”

“Please don’t! You don’t need to ask for my forgiveness every time!”

“I see. Thanks. Then that tactical grade magic—allow me to break it.”

Kengo declared as he pushed himself. At the same time, his eyes widened.

It was not just a glance. It was the magic eye of scrutiny, which examined the structure of an object under observation to uncover its true essence. By itself, it was primitive magic.

The first thing Kengo observed was the Dome of Darkness’ jet-black surface to understand its magical composition.

In his previous life, Kengo Inui was born as a victim. Because his twin brother was an elite Yankee, he was mistaken for him and got into trouble many times. In this life, too, Kengo was born a victim. Moreover, unlike in his previous life, Kengo himself was the Demon King, and there was no way to escape such fate. He had to live a more difficult life.

In addition, he had already learned his lesson about dying in the face of unreasonable violence once in his previous life. He was keenly aware that there was a limit to how much he could get away with just talking and bluffing.

Hence, he had to learn it; a chicken’s ability to survive in this harsh world. That is why he had spent the last sixteen years refining his skills, mastering magic.

For example, learning defensive magic. If you have the power to resist damage, even a chicken doesn’t have to be afraid! Another example, healing magic. If you can heal yourself whenever you ever get hurt, even a lousy chicken can survive! And as the last example, curing curses. No matter how scary the curse is, if it can be lifted, even a lousy chicken will be safe!

In those three kinds of magic, he believed that he had worked harder than anyone else.

Yes, because he was more chicken than anyone else, he has trained himself thoroughly as if he were obsessed. In addition, the enormous magical power that he was born with as a Demon King also supported him.

(I’ll give it everything I’ve got!)

Even Sato himself couldn’t immediately undo the Dome of Darkness, so he had to use his own power to lift the magic!