CH 99

Chapter 99 : From One Place to Another

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Sure enough, Killa and Velke came bursting into the room while arguing.

“That’s why I told you the silk from this workshop is perfect for diapers!!”

“Oi, Hero!! Stop fooling around! Don’t you know this workshop had gotten in trouble years ago because they mixed cheap, coarse materials into their silk?! Of course it’s better for the baby’s skin to use the clothes from that long-established workshop who only woven a limited amount of clothes every year!!”

“Huhhh?! Aren’t you a shut-in who had been holding yourself in some cave not too long ago?! How do you even know what had happened a few years ago?! Anyway, because of that incident, they’ve been working hard to improve the quality of their product. I tell you already, they’re good now. Their workshop is ranked first in the annual ranking for baby sheets in『Mother’s Friend』magazine.”

“That cloth is going to come in direct contact with the baby’s skin!! Of course I’d do some research first?! Pushing that matter aside, you said it earlier that milk powder made in Al Veda is better but these days, the one made in Lustania is definitely regarded as far more superior than Al Veda’s. If you want to stock up, get the one made in Lustania. ”

“No, no, no! If it’s milk powder, there’s no other option but Al Veda’s!”

Huh. Just what are they fighting about. Seriously. Diapers and formula… Definitely a dad’s talk.

“Out of question! You’re so stubborn… You damn demon…”

“Humph.. You’re only relying on the information from the magazine. That’s why youngsters like you are….”

The subject of their argument was so domestic. I couldn’t help but laugh at them. Killa walked into the room and as soon as he saw me, his face lit up in a bright smile. 

“Mao-kun! I’m home! Your Killatur is home!!”

“Welcome home, Killa.”

“Haahh… Hahhhh…. The sight of you stroking the egg reminds me of Holy Mary…. Uugh… So precious… Lhove it… I want to worship you…”

Each and every time he suddenly kneeled in front of me and prayed earnestly, I couldn’t stop myself from flinching back a little. Though… I already got used to his antics. Also due to his characteristic as a Hero, whenever he prayed, the spirit would misunderstand his actual intentions and bless him. The blessing from the spirit made the praying Killatur glow in a shining light… 

“As always the existence of the Hero sickens me he’s paired up with Maou. The Hero only acts like a proper Hero when he’s alone.”

Collin, who was watching the scene before him from a distance, murmured in disgust. The existence sickened him, he said…. Even though the one he was talking about was a Hero…

“I heard that our children are going to hatch soon. Ahh… I can’t wait…”

Killa lifted his face, he was brimming with happiness. 

“I called you home without any notice beforehand though. Did I cause any trouble from your side?”

“None whatsoever! I would drop everything in a second for the sake of coming home to meet Mao-kun and our children!”

“Do your job properly, you moron.”

“You always nitpick me on every single occasion. What are you? My sister in law?”

Hearing Killa’s delusional imagination, Velke immediately quipped. 

“It might be strange for me to ask you this when you always come here every three days but Killa, have you gotten accustomed to Maou’s Castle yet?”

“Yeah. More or less. At first, all I could sense was hostility from all directions but recently, I could feel their tension easing up a lot already. I guess it’s all thanks to Mao-kun’s way with words.. I don’t have any problem with it. Ah, but…. Maybe I do have one…”

Killa looked dejected before he continued.

“The demon children… They often stare at me from a distance and then they would say… Don’t get close or you will catch the Hero’s germ! Then they all would run, scattering in all directions… Like it’s nothing much but it made me feel a little bit sad…”

Killa had a soft spot for children after all… Being treated like a germ by the children had quite an impact on his heart. 

“Well… It can’t be helped since you’re still new here. It’s going to be a long drawn-out war for you.”

“That’s true… I just need to do my best in this battle of endurance… No matter how different each child’s appearance is, they are still your children after all. I want to get along well with them, no matter how long it will take.”

Having made up his mind, Killa laughed. He had truly decided to live his life as Killatur, not as Hero, like he had been doing all the years before. 

“Ah, right, right. It’s been two months since then. I’m finally ready to give you some sort of report now.”

“Oh? There are some results already? I haven’t heard of any detailed information so I’m excited to hear anything about it.”

I wondered if the human’s side had taken one step closer to the unity between human and demon. 

“Okay so… The first thing I worked on is that demon testing facility that you guys had attacked before. As I feared, the nobleman had started to suspect the revival of Maou and demonkind had already started because the attack happened way too frequently. That was why I covered that matter up by telling them it was an attack by a cult group who was trying to revive Maou and demonkind. While I was at it, I also told each country that I had kicked that cult group to the curb and prevented the revival of Maou. In addition to that, I had them give me the information of all of their country’s demon testing facilities or any other facility where they kept demons in secret by telling them that if you use a demon for testing, some people will try to abuse it for evil. As a Hero, I will take care of it so no one will abuse it. For the time being, the work in 72 secret facilities scattered all around the world has been stopped. We pretended that we had disposed of all of the demons in those facilities where in actuality all the demons are being safely protected in another location.”

From Killa’s mouth, strings of righteous and proper words were coming out. The sliver of his perverted side was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh?! Whoa… So there was a rumour like that about that case?!”

“The rumour was prominent enough for them to even summon me. But still… After the demon is not their enemy anymore, humankind started to use demons for experiments and it’s not just one or two countries. I suspect all countries had their hands on demon testing. So disgusting. Ah, also. I asked Chaos-dono to let me borrow the demons in the rescue squad for helping me with that incident but is it alright if I keep borrowing them for the foreseeable future? I’m trying to make a plan so I could continue protecting the demon. After all, it’s not like the countries actually gave me the information of all their facilities just because I’m a Hero. Not to mention I haven’t been able to rescue all the demons being auctioned in the black market.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. Thank you for going all the way to help us. I will definitely pay a visit to your safe house.”

“The demon I rescued all shed tears of joy at the mention of Mao-kun’s existence. I’m sure they will be delighted to see you. Another thing I forgot to mention, while I was going around between countries, I had asked the temple to help me form a United Nation. The temple and all of the countries had agreed to not let a Hero be involved in the humankind’s quarrel but there is no restriction on me to prevent all countries from fighting against each other in the first place. Some countries voiced their disapproval at having a Hero interfering in but well… After I went to the masses and appealed for world’s peace, it didn’t take long before the countries started to join the United Nation. Ah, right, right. For starters, I mediated a peace between Lod country and their neighboring country, Leit. They were about to declare war against each other after all. I think I was able to prevent the war pretty easily. I gave the Garland Empire, who had been piling up resources for invasion, something more important to do. The Empire is busy solving the matter I handed to them so they won’t have time to invade anything for the time being.”

Velke looked astonished.

Well, of course. Did he really do all of that in just two months? Huh…. What’s with this overqualified man….? Is this really the Killatur I know…?

“You bastard… So you’re not just a simple pervert who could only think with their dick…”

“Heh. Sorry to disappoint you. While it is true I’m a man who is fully devoted to Mao-tan, but when push comes to shove, I’m also a man who will do things right, you demon… No. Velke.”

“Hero…… No. I take back what I said about you being an incompetent pervert. Killatur. You are a fucking competent pervert.”

Velke and Killa finally called each other by their name! My heart felt a little bit moved. But still, a pervert was still a pervert. 

“It’s just as Mao-kun had said.”

Killatur hugged me tightly with a gentle smile on his face. 

“To be honest, after I defeated the previous Maou, I had been killing demons after demons as if I was brain dead. Just like Mao-kun had said. The things I’ve done, the people I’ve helped, none of the things I’ve done went forgotten. I don’t mind getting my hand a little dirty. There were some countries that I purposely set up so I could negotiate with them but there were many more people who were willing to work for the sake of the Hero. For example, a small country that practically had no interactions with other countries before. Or a secluded country that had a history of never partaking in any exclusive negotiations. Those sheltered countries were willing to negotiate world peace just because I, a Hero, wished for it.”

I could sense his joy, confidence and satisfaction overflowing from his voice.

“It was the first time I had been told that the things I had done were tied to me. 『The Hero came to help our country. A small country where no one would bat an eye even if the Hero were to turn a blind eye on us. Now it is our turn to help you create the world you’re aiming for.』That was what they said. I… I… I didn’t even think about anything like that when I helped them…”

Glitters and sparkles shone from Killa, his eyes were filled to the brim with hope. 

“Yeah… For the first time in my life, I seriously thought to myself that… Ah, I want to protect these people. I’m glad I have the power to do so…”

The kind Hero… No. The savior was smiling benevolently, an embodiment of hope for the people. Just by taking a single glance at him, I already knew. The lonely young man who had been cursing the power of the hero within him, was nowhere to be found. 

“How wonderful, Killatur-dono. So, how did the other matter go?”

Vii said while clapping his hand but his motion felt hollow and disinterested. He didn’t bother to hide that he didn’t have any interest in human’s peace or whatsoever. 

“Yeah, I was able to handle it adequately.”

Killa replied, casting his warm smile over us. 

Huh? I wonder what they are talking about?

“At the celebratory feast for the foundation of the United Nation, I made sure to emphasize the fact that my wife is already pregnant. As the nail on the coffin, I kept telling them we are expecting the arrival of our baby soon.”

“Fuah-?!”

“But my! The look of surprise on that princess’s face! She was so fully convinced that she was going to marry me in the future. So I deliberately told them that my beloved wife has lovely black hair and eyes. I told them that I had to hide my dear wife during the preparation for giving birth to our child because I was afraid someone might target her. When I gave them a speech about how I wished for world’s peace for the future of both my beloved wife and children, and how I came to the decision to create the United Nation, everyone was quick to jump on the bandwagon. Well… Even after all that, the princess was still hot on my tails. I then spent a couple of hours praising how beautiful and wonderful Mao-tan was. The light in the princess’s face began to grow dim and dimmer.”

Huh…? Hah…. My brain can’t keep up with the progress of this thing anymore…

“So that princess accepted it just like that? Or rather, aren’t you too lenient? How could you let that fox bitch go after she tried to assassinate our Maou-sama?”

Contrary to his usual self, Vii was angry. 

Assassinate… Could it be… The one where Kluger the Lycanthrope tried to attack me when I was disguising myself as a young human boy?!

After that assassination incident, there were so many things happening that I had completely forgotten about the ringleader of the assassination attempt. 

“Hahaha… I could’ve killed her but despite all of that, she’s still a princess. It would be a hassle dealing with all of the aftermath and I didn’t want to be the one who started a fire. I took advantage of the timings where I caught her by surprise and told her about the empire’s young and good looking emperor with a promising future ahead of him. The emperor was looking for a beautiful and bright princess from a major country to take as his wife and the princess seemed to have taken the bait quite well.”

“Oh my, how very kind of you. So you gave that fox bitch a good husband material?”

“You know, a woman like her is greedy for status. I may have my prestige as a Hero but I’ve relinquished my political power. She must’ve thought having the status of an imperial princess would be more beneficial. I think by now she has already realized the emperor already had 12 other wives after he took the throne. The competition to gain the emperor’s favour is fierce to say the least. 

“Oh? Which reminds me I’ve heard the word on the street that recently the Garland Empire has stopped their invasion march because of internal problems. That their consorts and successors are dying one after another.”

“What an endless circle of misfortunes. Though I guess, with so many internal problems arising, they won’t have any luxury to invade another country. Princess Miralda as well, she has too much free time on her hands. That’s why she began to get her hands dirty with questionable things. It’s better for a woman like her to be a little ‘busy’ so she won’t create any dangerous sparks. I’m sure her eyes must be filled with vigour with how ‘busy’ she must be, doing her ‘best’ to reign supreme with the emperor’s favour. Don’t you think so?”

“Fufufu~ I don’t really like the fact that fox bitch is still walking in this world but I don’t hate Killatur-dono’s lean and mean ways of handling things.”

Huh? Wait a- This conversation is way too dark!!

The sight of both Killatur and Vii smiling pleasantly at each other brought chills down my spine. 

“And so with that being said, Mao-tan can come and be my bride without any worry. I’ve taken some precautions so you will absolutely never be harmed.”

“Who’s going to come and be your bride?!”

“You see… After I helped solve some succession problems between countries by mediating them together, I kept on raising high praises about Mao-tan and so… I was given an uninhabited island owned by a country in the east. That island is located on the far east of the continent and coincidentally, that island is the prime potential location for the next Maou’s Castle base, right? Here, this is the title deed of that island. I will give this deed to Mao-tan as my betrothal gift! You can move Maou’s Castle over there without any worry because that island is part of the Hero’s territory now!”

“Wha-?!”

“And while I’m at it, you know about the spirit’s power? I sent some spirits over there to help with the natural disaster problem and the spirit’s power instantly harmonized with the power of nature on that island. I left the spirit of water and the spirit of harvest and some other thing on that island so the efficiency of farm work and such is going to increase rapidly. Spirits are a very convenient thing, huh. I always thought of them as some sort of annoying bug but after I gave them a name as a joke, they are ready to do my bidding at my beck and call. They’re actually pretty handy.”

“Feel free to take our Maou as your bride!”

“COLLIN?!”

Collin was so delighted when he saw the title deed of that island. He jumped up and down excitedly and he was quick to sell me out to the Hero. 

“But farm!! We can farm!! We can make fancy wine now!!!”

“Absolutely not! I will never marry Maou-sama off!!”

Velke tried to rescue me who was still trapped within the Hero’s tight embrace. 

“I’m very grateful for the title deed but I can’t be your bride!”

“Whaaat? Okay then I will give you another betrothal gift. Here you go, your souvenir.”

He took something out of his infinite magic bag. Huh? This rectangle box… This cute black cat illustration on the cover…Could it be!!

“This delicious smell!! It must be sweets!!”

“Fufufu~ This is my souvenir for Mao-kun~ I’ve been working on it for the past two months and I was finally able to open it last month. It’s a cake set box from 『Mao-tan Confectionery Workshop』that’s approved by the Hero!”

“Mao-tan…Confectionery Workshop…?”

“Fufufu~ My wife has a sweet tooth after all so I made a confectionery workshop just for him!☆~But still, the Hero’s influence is really great, huh. We opened three stores in different countries to begin with and they’ve been thriving ever since. The workshop also operates as the children’s cafeteria. We have a program where we offer sandwiches and other items to children for free. We can also donate a portion of the sales to the orphanage. Really, there’s nothing else I can say about it. I’ve been able to donate more consistently than I ever could compared to the time when I was only receiving rewards from the country continuously.”

But still, can a Hero name his store after his beloved wife’s (not yet decided) name????

“Ah, also. I put some spirits who I had bestowed a name for in Mao-tan’s official store and the spirits have been working their best for the store since then. The store is rising in popularity because you can receive the spirit’s blessing there. Ah, we’re also planning on opening 13 new stores next month!☆”

Don’t you think you’re expanding the chain stores a bit too fast?! Ah but… The store also donates a part of the sales to charity for children so I guess it’s all good…?

“Ugh… So frustrating…. I really can’t underestimate the power of this pervert… Ugh… So frustratinggg… I hate to admit it but this pervert has a good sense as a merchant…. Even though he’s a pervert….”

Collin fell to the floor, looking extremely vexed. Suddenly Killa’s nickname was not a ‘Hero’ anymore but a ‘pervert’.

“Maou-sama, you can’t eat too many sweets all at once. I will keep this box for you.”

“Ahhh!!!”

Velke took the cake set box from me. 

I’m so sad!!

Then I stared at Killa. 

“Somehow, Killa is looking more lively now?”

“Hm? I guess so. Yeah. You’re right. I had been living like the dead until I met Mao-kun. Now I have a future that I want to achieve. I will use all of the power I’ve accumulated as a Hero and do everything within my means. When it dawned on me that I could do anything for that future, I felt silly for worrying about things like my raison d’etre or something like that.”

{{ Now then Maou… We’re almost there.}}

The system’s voice was echoing inside my brain. 

That’s right. I can see it soon. Are you watching? My dear child. The hope that ties our future together. Apparently your papa wants to leave a wonderful world for you. And I also… I can’t wait to meet you. 

“Killa, let’s go down. Our children are going to be born soon.”

I intertwined our hands together and went down to the Fountain of Life. 

The egg, which was a little bigger in size for a humanoid egg, trembled a little.

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As a side note, Mao-tan Confectionery Workshop, which was approved by the Hero, had started to develop several stores across the country. 

Protected by the Forest Spirit, Wald ・Mao-tan’s Store

Protected by the Light Spirit, Licht ・Mao-tan’s Store

Protected by the Love Spirit, Liebe・Mao-tan’s Store

The store also served as a children’s cafeteria and donated part of their sales to orphanages, hence why buying high class confectionery from Mao-tan’s Store had become a symbol of high status and noblesse oblige charity for the upper echelons of the society. The store was able to maintain a stable and continuous sales thanks to this fact. 

The store kept on developing nationwide chain stores every year, becoming a gateway for the demon to come into the human country. Taking an apprenticeship in Mao-tan Confectionery Workshop for one year had become a great opportunity for new demons to learn how things worked in the human country. It could be said that apprenticeship in Mao-tan Confectionery Workshop was akin to a rite of passage for demons to hide within human society.