NOVEL WEB Chapter 87 - Demon King
Demon King
Hey hey hey, why is this happening? I finally remembered the important details of my dream and wanted to tell him as soon as possible, but now the Demon King has shown up. How cruel! What if I forget again!? I was thinking this, staring blankly into the distance, as I shook hands with the Demon King.
And why did he want to talk to me? Didn’t the Don resolve the Demon King issue ages ago? Ah! Maybe he’s here for revenge!? …But he doesn’t give off that vibe. If anything, he seems awfully friendly. If anything, the maid standing beside him has a sharper aura, more befitting a Demon King. Maybe that’s rude.
“Well then, it’s hard to talk with this oppressive aura, so I’ll release it. There was something I wanted to test. My apologies, everyone.”
When the Demon King said this, the atmosphere in the guild instantly relaxed. Everyone raised their heads and relaxed their postures, though there was still a hint of tension.
That being said, the pressure earlier was intense. I’d never seen Gil-san and Saura-san bowing their heads like that before. And what’s this “pressure”?
“…Demon King-sama, we would appreciate it if you could at least inform us before arriving.”
Saura-san said this, looking at the Demon King with slight annoyance. Well, it was a valid point. He was the Demon King, so he was important… Was he important? Well, either way, he was someone who could make the entire guild tense just by being here, so showing up unannounced wasn’t a good idea! I wished he wouldn’t do that. Just the thought of him showing up like that, “An unannounced audit!?” was bad for my heart!!
“I do apologize. But once I heard that you’d finally found some information, I couldn’t just stay put.”
“Information, you say?”
“Yes. Regarding the request I made to the Don of Ortus.”
Hearing his reply, I could sense Saura-san and Gil-san holding their breath. Eh, a request to the Don?
“…Demon King-sama, would you mind speaking to us… in another room?”
“Of course. But it’s this child I wish to speak to, I’m here to hear what she has to say.”
“Fueh?”
The Demon King said this, pointing at… me. Really, why? My mind was filled with question marks.
“Understood. Well then, please follow me. Gil, come with Meg-chan.”
“Yeah.”
Saura-san seemed to understand why I was being called. It seemed like I was the only one who was in the dark… I was getting a bit uneasy. I glanced at Gil-san. Noticing my gaze, he smiled faintly and placed his hand on my head.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
“Okii…”
His words reassured me a little, but I was still nervous. I glanced at the Demon King. Ah, our eyes met!
This is bad, I thought, but that thought soon vanished. Because his eyes, which seemed black at first glance, but were actually a deep blue, had a look of… kindness.
And so, we went to the usual guest room. It was just Saura-san, Gil-san, and me. And our guests, the Demon King and that cool woman. She had light blue hair and eyes. Her hair was in a bun, and her sharp aura made her seem even more intimidating.
I must have been staring, because our eyes met. I-Is she angry…?
“H-Hello…”
Just when I had thought that, she actually greeted me. It was just a greeting, but it was awfully awkward. And her smile was super awkward too. She was forcing her lips upwards, and her eyebrows were twitching… It was kind of scary! Did I do something wrong!?
“Kukuku… Kron, you’re still terrible at smiling.”
“Wh…! How can you say that! I’m being so friendly!”
Friendly? Everyone in the room doubted that, and at the same time, we understood.
Ah… so she’s just a sincere person who’s a little awkward.
“Ahem. I apologize for my late introduction. I am Kronqvist. Please feel free to call me Kron. I’m the right hand of Zahariash, the Demon King!”
Once everyone was seated, the woman stood up, bowed gracefully, and introduced herself. Kronqvist-san, another long name. …Kron-san, I’ll remember that!
“Since when did you become my right hand, Kron?”
“From the very beginning. Is there a problem with that?”
“No, I was just wondering why my right hand is in a maid outfit…”
“It’s my formal attire.”
“…I see.”
The power dynamics were obvious. Kron-san was a battle maid, I was sure of it. Or rather, I hoped so! It can’t be helped, I get excited when I hear the term “battle maid”!
“Demon King-sama, first of all, could you tell us why you want to talk to Meg-chan? And about the request you made to the Don?”
That’s right, that’s what I’m curious about. I have to put my excitement aside for now!
“Of course. But to explain this child, I must first explain the request. It’s going to take a while, is that alright?”
We all nodded, waiting for the Demon King to speak. And so, he began to reveal truths that would change everything, for me too.
“It was about twenty years ago, I think, when I made the request. I’d been investigating independently before that, but as the Demon King… I couldn’t act as freely as I wanted. It was atonement for my actions, so I couldn’t be selfish.”
Apparently, the investigation had hit a wall, and he hadn’t been able to find a single clue about what he wanted to know. That’s why he’d made a secret request to the Don. The fact that it was a secret told us how important it must be.
But first of all, what was this “atonement” he was talking about? I secretly asked Gil-san.
“…About 200 years ago, Demon King-sama was responsible for… causing chaos in this world. You remember that story, right? It ended about 200 years ago. I’d heard that he feels guilty about the massive damage caused during that time.”
Ah, I see. Come to think of it, I think I heard that. And that it was the Don who’d put an end to it. But if that’s how he felt, why’d he cause so much chaos back then?
As I was wondering this, Kron-san, who’d apparently overheard us, interjected in a panic.
“Zahariash-sama wasn’t causing chaos for fun! It couldn’t be helped! And now…!”
“Kron, it’s fine. No matter the reason, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened, because I was incompetent. We can’t change the past. That’s why I live for the future.”
“Zahariash-sama…”
It couldn’t be helped. It’s true that even if there was a reason, many people must have died. That couldn’t be changed, and the dead… wouldn’t come back. I understood why Kron-san was trying to defend the Demon King. But I’m sure there were also many who couldn’t accept that.
And the Demon King seemed to be accepting everything as his own fault. That’s why he was still atoning for his actions. To act on your regrets, to look towards the future instead of dwelling on the past… that takes strength.
“…Those are the words he said to me when I wanted to die. I am in his debt.”
The Demon King said this, his eyes filled with nostalgia. …I see, the Don had stopped him.
Just by hearing him talk about it, how it’d happened, it was clear that they were on good terms now, even though they’d been enemies. Maybe they were even best friends.
And for some reason, that made me feel relieved. Maybe because I knew the Demon King wasn’t alone.
We continued to listen to his story.