Volume 8 - CH 12

I wonder if this was ok…

One minute later. We were in the sky, on the dragon.

After that, he escaped from the royal palace as if to shake off the other demons, and took off on the dragon.

I turn to Risolera and ask.

“Hey, why did you do that?”

“I thought you wanted me to do that.”

Risolera answered in a clear tone.

“Since the time of the meeting, you seemed to dislike that sort of thing. The reason you left the Village of the Forest of Sunset was because you wanted to talk directly with the king, right?”

“Sunset Forest Village… Ah, Rurumu’s Village. Ah, well, if you say so…”

Did she find out?

“… I’m not good at that sort of thing either.”

Risolera said quietly.

“I show up at various gatherings because I’m asked for it, but…I’m not really good in that position.”

“… huh”

It seems that this child also has various issues.

I then turned to King Athos and his retinue, seated behind Risolera.

Both of them stared at the scenery below with their eyes wide open.

I spoke with a slight sense of apology.

“Umm… I’m sorry. For taking you…”

King Athos looked at me and shook his head.

Then he whispers to his attendant, the Silver Demon.

“Yes, yes… ‘I certainly promised to use my strength and words. I have no intention of overturning that word. And’”

Then the silver demon cut off his words and looked again at the majestic forest flowing below for a moment.

“’I will never forget this scene for the rest of my life,’ said the king.”

“…”

The words seemed to reflect the squire’s own feelings as well.

Neither of them seems to be angry.

Well then, I decided to change my mind.

“Well, we still have time, so I think we can go to one more place.”

“If I’m going to take you next, the Beastman King would be good. It’s close from here.”

“… Is it the premise of taking him out after all?”

“There’s trouble there too. It’s better to take everyone out anyway. It’s okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

“… Well, then let’s go.”

Even though I feel a little uneasy, I drive the dragon.

************

Around dusk, we arrived at the royal capital of the beastmen.

I murmured while looking down on the city from the dragon.

“It’s kind of like a human city.”

The shape of the buildings is similar.

The city of the divine demon was made entirely of strange stones, but this one had a somewhat familiar feel to it, as wood was also used.

Risolera said without changing her expression.

“Because beastkins have deeper interactions with humans than other demons, the culture of the other side has been introduced.”

“ah I see”

Come to think of it, did I mention that cat people are a commercial race?

In addition, Lakana also had a small number of beastman adventurers who formed a party with humans.

On top of the slowed-down dragon, I search for the target building.

“Hmm… I can’t find anything like the royal palace.”

“There is no royal palace.”

“eh”

“The king is in his mansion. Over there.”

Ahead of Risolera’s finger, there was a large mansion that was one or two times larger than the surrounding buildings.

The garden is large and it looks like someone in power would live there, but it doesn’t look like a royal palace.

“Come on, let’s go early. It’s getting dark.”

“Yes yes”

For some reason, this child is strangely enthusiastic… while thinking that, I let the dragon down.

***************

The commotion that occurred in the city was similar to that of the devils.

While feeling apologetic, I let him down in the front garden of the mansion.

“Whoa!? What the hell are you…?!?”

“Stop! Stop! Stop… No what!?”

There were two dog men on guard, so I silenced them again with the thread of the spider.

The four of them entered the mansion, and when Risolera told the bear girl steward who was stunned, about the various things that had happened, she retreated into the back in a panic.

Then, I had to wait in the guest room for about an hour.

“Wow, what is it? Turn away the rude guests who came without an appointment! 　I Fili, don’t have free time!”

“But, young lady, that’s why…”

Just as I heard voices arguing with the steward, the door of the guest room opened with a bang.

What appeared was a white catkin girl wearing expensive-looking clothes.

She has white fur and blue eyes. Compared to the other cat people here, she has a somewhat kitten-like childishness in her features.

“It’s Risolera of Divine Demons. Do you remember? King  Fili Nair”

“… I remember. When i became king, you greeted me. You were the guest, Risolera.”

The beastkin king replied with a listless look to Risolera who stood up and spoke.

“Huh. The steward was in a hurry, so I wondered who had come. Then from the beginning…… Huh. Are you Al Athos?”

When the cat girl noticed King Athos, her eyes widened.

“What is the Devil King doing in a place like this?”

King Athos opened his mouth with a sharp expression.

“Ma-ma-ma-o ……!　Shhh, shhh, shhh ……!”

“… you still haven’t recovered from your stuttering habit.”

The beastman king’s exasperated remarks make Athos cast his head down and whisper in his squire’s ear.

The king said, “’I am a subject of the Demon King, and I am acting together with him as he requests.

“Hmm… Huh? What Demon King?”

“This person”

Prompted by Risolera, I introduced myself while feeling a little uneasy.

“First of all, I’m Seika Lamprogue. I’m supposed to be the Demon Lord.”

When I introduced myself, the cat girl gave me a surprised look.

“Wow~!? For real! Fili, I thought you were just a human!”

“…”

I instinctively ask Risolera in a low voice.

“Hey, hey. Is this child really the king of the beastmen?”

“That’s right”

“It doesn’t look like that at all.”

In my previous life, there were monarchs who indulged in their leisure, but they were a little more dignified.

Will I be able to hear about the inner workings of the race from this child…?

The beastmen king said with a surprised expression.

“I heard that you’re in the Village of  Divine Demons…Did Nikkle Nora do something rude? 　Even so, i can’t do anything about it.”

“No, that’s not true. The meeting is still going on at the village of the divine demons, but since I lived in a human country, I don’t really understand the inner workings of the demons. I want to hear about the human race, from you the king of the beastmen.”

“Eh…? No, it’s too much trouble.”

The cat girl said with a genuinely annoyed look.

“Hey, i’m busy looking at jewels, taking naps, and thinking about what to buy next. Can you ask someone else about that?”

I instinctively ask Risolera in a low voice.

“Hey, hey. Is this child really… really a king?”

“That’s right”

“…”

It was completely unexpected that someone like this would exist.

She doesn’t even pretend to act like a king.

Instead of me who had no choice but to remain silent, Risolera spoke.

“The Demon King needs you. Come with me.”

“I told you I don’t want to go with you. What’s the matter with you?　You came here all of a sudden.”

“You don’t have a choice. If you don’t comply, there will be consequences”

“Hmm, threatening? What can a demon lord like that human do? If you don’t care, I’ll call the soldiers!”

Seeing the angry cat girl, Risolera glanced at me.

And she said,

“He’s going to rip your house to pieces with a dragon. Right Seika?”

*****************

“Fuwaaa~!!”

One minute later.

The king of the beastmen, Fili Nair, was shouting cheers or screams in an unclear way.

“Amazing~!　Demon king, you had a dragon!””

“Oh, yeah”

“ I want this! How much will you sell it for!?”

“No, it’s not for sale…”

I answered King Fili Nair, who was having fun with the dragon.

This is the type that I didn’t see very often among my disciples…

King Fili Nair’s eyes shined at the scenery from the sky

“I think I can make a lot of money from this!　I’m not worried about being attacked if it’s in the sky, so if I load it with expensive cargo, I can get high transportation fees. …… Oh, but I’d rather use it for sightseeing for the wealthy.”

“The king said, You are always talking about money, money, money, but you should be thinking more about the people.”

“It’s noisy. I don’t know the people at all. Everyone should live their own life. Or rather, if Athos is also a king, why not speak with his own mouth?”

King Athos bows his head dejectedly.

“… it’s getting lively.”

I mutter and look at the sky.

The sun was already setting.

I need to find a place to stay for the night soon, but it’s going to be difficult to go back.

I was actually planning to stay in the city I visited, but it was difficult to return to the city of devils or the beastmen.

The last line of dialogue in both cities was “I’m going to smash you to pieces with my dragon.

“The Demon Lord is so haphazard. It’s no use at all.”

The person who uttered the lines said in a disgusted tone.

“et’s go to the Hishi plateau village. I can prepare a place to stay there.”

“Hishidai no Sato… Ah, the village where you live?”

“It’s in the middle of the demon territory, so it’s perfect for going to the next town.”

If that’s the case, maybe I can ask her.

I was worried that she was being a bit patronizing, but I decided to obediently follow Risolera’s words.

There are still four more races of kings to visit.