NOVEL WEB Chapter 91 - Unfounded Certainty
Unfounded Certainty
“H-Hold on. Does that mean… Meg-chan’s the… next Demon King…?”
The Demon King’s story was so outlandish, it was hard to process. Even though it was about me!
I mean, it’s only natural, right? The Demon King suddenly shows up at the guild and says, “My child, you are the daughter of my blood.” And my mother is a High Elf sinner? And I’m not even an Elf, but a High Elf, what’s the difference? If I start asking questions, there’s no end to it!! And to top it all off, I’m the next Demon King?
No way. Absolutely no way. Because I’m just a beautiful little girl with no special skills, a former corporate slave on the inside. Imagine if someone like that became the Demon King. It would be pure chaos. …Haa, I’m hungry. Well, of course I’m escaping reality.
“Well, I’m going to live for a very, very long time!”
“You have to, Zahariash-sama!”
Seriously, please outlive me. Then I won’t have to be the Demon King!
“When I heard I might have a child… I thought it was a bad joke. But seeing you here… I know it to be true. You look exactly like Yenna. And I can feel the same magic power flowing through you.”
Hearing this, I finally started to understand, that all of this was true. I was happy and relieved to know who Meg’s parents were, whose identity had remained unknown for so long. But why was I also feeling an indescribable sense of unease? Now that my real parents had shown up, did that mean I couldn’t stay at the guild anymore? I’m sure that’s the source of my anxiety.
Ah, I really do want to stay here. I’d finally found a place where I belonged, and then my real parents appeared. It should have been been a good thing, but… I was overwhelmed by sadness. I couldn’t help but to cling tightly to Gil-san’s arm.
“Say, Meg. Would you mind speaking to me for a bit?”
The Demon King called out to me. I couldn’t ignore him, so I peeked out from behind Gil-san’s arm, looked at him, and spoke.
“Demon… King-shama…?”
I didn’t know what to call him, so I tilted my head and asked him, and for some reason the Demon King opened his eyes wide in shock and froze there for a while. …Huh?
“Kr-Kron… I-I’m done for…!”
He said this in a trembling voice. Wh-What’s going on?
“Th-This child just cast incredibly powerful magic! The shock, it’s too much for my heart to bear, I’ve been dealt critical damage!”
“Calm yourself, Zahariash-sama. That wasn’t magic!”
“It wasn’t… magic!? Then why do I feel like my heart is being squeezed so tightly!?”
“Zahariash-sama, that’s what we call moe!”
“Moe? How terrifying! …My chest hurts… am I cursed? Or maybe I have some kind of disease…?”
“If we had to choose, I’d say it’s a disease, Zahariash-sama.”
Ah, this man’s a lost cause.
The moment I realized this, my shoulders relaxed.
“Ah… ahem. Meg. Would you answer a few questions?”
The Demon King, regaining his composure, asked this. I was already feeling a lot more relaxed, so I faced him without any anxiety.
“Okii.”
“Okii… that’s cute! Kron!!”
“Please control yourself, Zahariash-sama.”
Kron-san’s icy blade pierced the Demon King, who was about to lose it again. It was a metaphorical blade, of course, not a physical one. …Is that really how you should treat your boss?
“Ah… Your circumstances, I’ve heard about them from him… but I need to confirm a few things. Do you know what’s happened to Yenna, your mother?”
My mother, huh? They’d been looking for this Yenna-san and had ended up finding me. But unfortunately, I didn’t even know what she was like. And this was the first time I’d even heard her name.
“I don’t know… I’m shawry.”
“No! It’s fine! I shouldn’t have asked! Don’t worry about it!”
I chuckled a little at how flustered he was. What a considerate person. …But how much pain must he be in, knowing that he’d caused a war? Many must hate him. I’m sure he’s been cursed countless times. I could only imagine how gut-wrenching that must be…
I didn’t even need to ask, I knew that he didn’t want another war.
Now might be a good time to talk about my dream. The Demon King might even help. But it would be awkward to ask, because of what had happened earlier. But I had to ask.
“Um… Demon King-shama?”
“Guh! Ah, I mean, what is it, Meg?”
Is it inevitable that he’d squirm every time I called him “Demon King”? Well, whatever. Please get used to it!
“I might be asking shomething unpleasant…”
“I don’t mind. Ask away.”
Sensing my hesitation, the Demon King adopted a serious expression, ready to listen. I hoped he wouldn’t be upset. My heart pounded.
“You don’t want another waw, right…?”
“!”
My question made everyone in the room hold their breath, not just the Demon King. Ugh, this is awkward. But I had to ask!
“…Ah. I love peace. As long as I am Demon King, I’ll do my best to avoid war.”
It was the Demon King who broke the tense atmosphere. He said this with a gentle smile. As a king, he might have been a bit soft, but I liked his way of thinking. And I was relieved to hear the answer I’d been hoping for.
If that was the case… then I had to tell him.
“Then… help me.”
“Help you?”
“What do you mean, Meg-chan?”
Saura-san, who’d been observing the situation, interjected. Yeah, I wanted Saura-san and the others to hear this too. I hoped they’d believe me.
“I had a dweam. A vewwy important dweam. But… I always forget them… And… I just wemembered.”
“The one you were trying to tell us about earlier? Do you need to talk about it now?”
As expected of Saura-san, she’s quick to pick things up. I nodded.
“…The Elf… um, I think it’s High Elf, from Demon King-shama’s story. The High Elves… they awe coming to attack.”
“Wha… What do you mean!?”
Kron-san was the first to react. That’s right, that was to be expected.
“I don’t know the details. But a high elf old man with a scary face… he’s coming to attack. If thish continues… there’ll be a waw.”
It was hard to convey things accurately. Especially as a little girl, it lacked credibility, and I was getting flustered. The scary face Meg had drawn in my dream. When I’d seen it, I’d had a vision of High Elves attacking in my mind. Calm down, I’m sure I’m right. Inhale and exhale….
“But… it’ll happen shoon. It’s a dweam, but, I think it’ll weally happen. I just have a feeling that it will happen…”
My voice trailed off. I wasn’t confident. It was just a baseless dream. But it was important information that “Meg” had tried to tell me.
And I had this unfounded certainty that it was true.