Volume 1 - CH 2.5

“Do you want to be saved…?”

“… Home… with my… old father… and mother…”

“Aye, okay.”

Kengo kneeled down beside the soldier and held his right hand over his abdomen, pouring magical power from his palm. This tactic was from a book in the library that Kengo researched out of curiosity in a previous life… When you are victorious with an army, you need to deal with the post-war treatment.

It was not enough to only feed the starving soldiers.

When a human body is quickly nourished from a state of starvation, it is prone to various complications such as respiratory failure, loss of consciousness, seizures, and more. It is called the refeeding syndrome.

Like in the Killing by Starvation in Tottori, there would be many deaths even after the raids are over. Thus, he had to do something about starvation first.

It was part of Kengo’s knowledge, who had trained properly in his current life. Plus, in this world of magic, hunger, or rather ‘starvation,’ was considered as a sort of abnormal condition. Hence, it could be cured with healing spells, allowing Kengo to single-handedly take care of the soldiers to the point where they could eat normally again.

“Sit still for a while.”

Kengo held his right hand up and used a very rudimentary healing spell. After a few seconds, the colour of the not-so-strong soldier was getting less pale.

“Eh… Wha… is that…?”

The soldier seemed surprised to find that his hunger was no more, even though he hadn’t eaten anything, and that his whole body was regaining its vitality.

“This is good. I will have food brought to you later so you may eat properly from now on.”

“Ah… Oh, thank you… Thank you so much…”

After much hesitation as to whether he should thank him or not, the soldier did. Kengo also felt relieved. He felt his heart lighten, and he continued.

“This is the result of an ordinary battle that my army and yours wanted to fight. Therefore, I will make no apologies. But hopefully, we can avoid any more futile wars, right?”

He spoke to him sincerely. But the soldier, who was not very strong, was puzzled and did not reply. Was it beyond the scope of a single soldier to answer? Kengo was merely expressing his personal feelings and asking him to do the same. Feeling somewhat disappointed, he said one last thing to him.

“You are a soldier who has survived this h**l. Return to your homeland with your heart in your hands and take good care of your parents.”

He patted him on the shoulder and quickly left his side. He didn’t want to confuse him more, so he walked away before he could hear a response.

“Is there anyone else you would like me to cast a healing spell on?”

He asked around widely, and hands went up here and there, though sparsely. They were probably relieved to see that Kengo had saved one of them, or perhaps they were starving and wanted to hang on to a thread of hope, the Demon King. Kengo went to each one of them and healed their hunger with magic in turns.

As the number of soldiers who were increasingly relieved to see this and who were becoming more and more honest in their search for relief gradually increased, he asked them to gather in one place and irradiated them with magical power all at once.

Unlike counterspells, there was nothing complicated about healing magic. It mainly depended on the user’s skill. Moreover, it was not very efficient. For example, it consumed 100 MP to recover 100 HP. It was how Kengo understood it.

Of course, there were certain skills and weaknesses, and Kengo worked hard to become as good as he was. Yet, for example, the head of the Buell family, known as the best doctor in the world of magic, could only consume 100 MP to recover 130 HP. It was the best there was. [EN: No, no comparison was given to other spells, so it’s hard to understand how inefficient.]

Kengo could also heal 120 HP under the same conditions. These were his limits. But he was prepared to apply such inefficient healing magic to everyone in the fort.

(I thought we were talking about tens of thousands of troops stationed…)

It took a lot of effort to break Sado’s tactical grade magic, but then again, healing was also a lot of work.

He wondered how long it would take to get a group of people together and bathe them in magical power all at once. And since it was a matter of life and death, he couldn’t make it any messier.

(Why don’t I just let Sado help with half of it? … No, better not.)

For a moment, he thought it was a good idea. But he then got afraid of Sado doing something completely unexpected. Also, he believed he was responsible for the situation occurring.

(Hah… Let’s keep up the good work…)

Kengo’s shoulders slumped, but he went around carefully applying healing magic to each group. He wasn’t concerned with ‘healing tens of thousands’ or ‘having to worry about not having enough magical power.’ He didn’t have a problem with his confidence either, even though he was a lousy hand. Instead, he knew what he could do with absolute certainty, and he continued his hard work and healing.

“Thank you for saving my life!”

“… I have you to thank for that… Even if you are the Demon King.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The soldiers who were healed expressed their gratitude, some with joy and some embarrassed. It gave Kengo a sense of accomplishment.

Even though it was the same amount of hard work, it didn’t feel as empty as when he smashed 3D objects in a bleak virtual world. Human beings were great, after all! Compared to the annoying ‘6’ at least!

Kengo somehow forgot about his fatigue and even smiled as he continued the monotonous task.

“I can’t believe you’re so merciful to us enemies…”

“Are you really the Demon King?”

“Honestly, I feel like I’m changing my worldview…”

It was a group of medics who had come up that said such nice things to him.

In the military of this other world, there appeared to be a much higher percentage of women compared to Earth. This group was all made up of women. They were like beautiful flowers that bloomed on the battlefield. However, while it was nice to be understood, it was also problematic.

Kengo was not immune to women.

When he was surrounded by them, with eyes moist with emotion, he could not help but falter.

He was also troubled by the fact that some of them were looking at him strangely passionately. A normal man would be in a situation where he would be stretching his nose in exhilaration, but he was a hardcore virgin!

“Mm, mm, I understand your feelings. I understand. Now, since I’ll be treating the others…”

“Please let us help you!”

“I’m a medic.”

“I want to be by your side… ♥”

“U-umm, I see… Let’s hope so.”

Honestly, being surrounded by strange women made him nervous, but he appreciated the help. In fact, some probably didn’t want any mercy from the Demon Lord, but if they could persuade them, there was a good chance that they could open their hearts.

“Then, let’s move to the next group of people who wish to be treated…”

He was about to ask them if they could call the others together, but that’s when it happened. The squealing voices that surrounded him stopped for a moment. Kengo didn’t have to guess what was going on to notice.

He looked at the medics, who were all looking in the same direction.

In the center of Fort Krall, surrounded by inner bunkers, stood a solid stone castle. It was the command center and literally the last stronghold, where the generals and bureaucrats resided. It was packed with powerful knights.

From there, a beautiful girl with only three attendants appeared and walked towards them. She looked very elegantly, be it her face or the way she acted. She was about 16 or 17 years old. In Japan, she would have been a high school student.

She had long, straight black hair that made one sigh, and it gleamed, despite having just experienced an attack. Her cheeks were sunken, and her body gaunt, but her beauty remained. The dress she wore was also not fully clean, probably due to the extreme conditions. Even so, she looked noble enough to be out of place on this dreary battlefield.

In fact, from how she was accompanied by an elder, who looked like a general, one who looked like a chief of staff, and one who looked like a priest, Kengo could guess that she was someone of considerable rank.

“… Who might you be?”

From afar, but unable to take his eyes off her, Kengo asked varyingly.

Then the medics proudly informed him.

“It’s the third princess of Mycenae…”

“The banner bearer of hope for the entire human race, a Saint ordained by the heavens…”

“The White Maiden, the Warrior Princess of Peace, the Saint of Latal…”

“Princess Vannessia Saint-Latal Kalaidesia herself!” [TL: ヴァネッシア・サン＝ラタル・カレイデーザ姫]

It was already enthusiastic, calling out and praising their lord.

“She’s such a great girl…?”

“Yes, she is!”

When he asked them, half-pressured by their energy, they told him more details. According to the medics, Princess Vannessia was one of the most prominent ‘humans’ in Fomijama. [TL: フォーミラマ]

In layman’s terms, she was a Saint loved by all, and therefore ‘ ‘an innocent and pure woman,’ ‘the beacon of courage and hope for the weak,’ ‘revered by soldiers and people alike,’ etc, etc. In short, she was a princess with lots of skills and cheats.

(Is that why the morale of the soldiers was so high?)

When Kengo learned that such a super VIP was in the fort, something became clear to him. Inspired directly by Princess Vannessia, they would ‘kill the Demon Kinggggg!’ It was only natural that they would turn into an army of fanatics that went around shouting the slogan.

(I-I wonder if I can talk properly before such an amazing princess… as the Demon King)

Kengo swallowed down his saliva nervously.

While pretending to be a Demon King, waiting for the right moment, he tried to keep his stomach together. Princess Vannessia and the others walked slowly, probably weakened by starvation, and there was plenty of time before the meeting.

He confronted the group that had arrived, careful not to let his face look too tense.

“You are His Majesty, the Demon King Kengo, are you not?”

It was a bell-like voice.

Princess Vannessia’s voice was as lovely as her appearance.

“Mm-mm. I am the Demon Lord Kengo.”

Kengo parroted back, his voice trembling with nervousness, characteristic of a virgin who was not immune to beautiful girls.

Then Princess Vannessia suddenly came up to her side and knelt down.

While Kengo was startled by what was going on, he heard a pitiful voice.

“The horror of the Demon King’s army has painfully impressed me. I know the futility of resistance, and I wish to surrender. However, I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to treat my generals…! I don’t care what happens to me! Therefore, please… Please… have mercy on us, Your Majesty, the Demon King…”

It was a hard plea, literally, through tears.

“U-ummm…”

Kengo quickly reacted.

He was not only overwhelmed by Princess Vannessia’s determination and power. Her beauty, seen at close range, was truly lovely. The desperate look on her face made it stand out even more. It made him want to protect her.

At the same time, she looked fragile as a flower. She was not the type of beautiful girl that Kengo was used to seeing around him. So, he forgot about the situation and appreciated her. If he hadn’t been a weak chicken, he would have hugged her tightly.

(Uh… Ah…)

The Demon King’s heart was pounding loudly. His heart was aching with sweetness and sadness.

(Maybe this is what love, at first sight, is all about…)

For the first time in his life, Kengo felt this way.