NOVEL WEB Chapter 94 - A Demon King’s Tale
A Demon King’s Tale
And so, Father-sama, also known as the Demon King, was staying at the guild for a while. I’d expected chaos to ensue, but everyone seemed to accept it readily. Their generosity surprised me. Special-grade guilds are different, after all. But, of course, people were still whispering and glancing at him. It couldn’t be helped. If you ignored the pressure, he was just an incredibly handsome man. Yeah, just an incredibly handsome man. It’s no wonder Meg is so beautiful. Wait, but wasn’t she supposed to look like her mother?
Even though he was the center of attention, within a few days, he’d managed to blend into the guild. We already had all sorts of handsome men here, you know? Eh, you don’t think so? Trust me, you get used to it! I can understand why they say you quickly get bored of handsome men. But it’s still nice to have something nice to look at!
Now then, back to my poster girl duties at my counter! I’d gotten better at greeting people by name.
“Ah, I’m going to the tool shop.”
“Do they sell fever medicine here!?”
“I want to get the weapon I ordered before maintained, what was the name of the person who helped me…?”
“Huh? Where’s Kurt!?”
The guild hall was bustling with all sorts of voices. It was usually like this in the mornings. Right, let’s get to work!
“We got a big shipment of fever medicine yeshterday, sho it’s at that potion shop over there. And the person you’re looking for is Gail-shan. You can ask for him at the reception desk! Kurt-shan just left for the tool shop!”
I quickly relayed all the information I knew. It’d been a while since I’d had to listen to multiple people talking at once. But relaying information was harder than listening right now. I still couldn’t speak properly.
“Oh, you’re amazing, Meg. You have to remember people’s faces and names, and understand the situation, to answer them, you know?”
Someone said this as things calmed down. It was Father-sama. He smiled and then asked, “Why don’t you take a short break?” It was probably time for a break. I felt like I could go on for a while, but I need to take care of my body!
And so, I decided to take him up on his offer and head to the cafe area. Spending time with your father is important!
Spending time is… important, but…
“…”
“…”
We were trying to talk, I think. And I could tell that Father-sama was also trying to, from his demeanor. But we kept opening and closing our mouths, unable to say anything. I didn’t try to interject, and the awkward silence continued.
But we had to talk about something! It was time for me to show off my communication skills as a former corporate slave!
“Um, Father-shama?”
“! Wh-What is it?”
The moment I spoke, his face lit up with a smile. …He’s so easy to read.
“Um… what was… Mama-shan wike?”
That’s probably what I should ask. I was curious about it. And besides, I couldn’t think of anything else we could talk about.
“Hmm, you don’t remember, do you? Well then, why don’t I tell you about everything, starting from when I met Yenna? …Unless you don’t want to hear about it?”
“! I wanna know!”
Old stories are usually long, but Meg’s mother was a High Elf. And more than anything, I was curious about how she’d met the Demon King. What kind of romance had transpired!? Ah, no, no, I was also curious about what kind of person my mother was. So exciting!
“Alright, I’ll tell you. It was about… 210 years ago. I don’t remember the details, but it was around that time. It was right before the war escalated. At the time, I was often being overwhelmed by my own power and would lose consciousness. It terrified me.”
Apparently, while he was unconscious, the Demon King’s power would take on a will of its own and go on a rampage, sending monsters to attack human villages. And he remembered everything… how cruel. He’d thought it was just a dream at first, but the more it happened, the more he realized something was wrong, that he was losing control.
“I might be powerful, but I’m actually a coward. I couldn’t accept reality, and it was just terrifying. I couldn’t bear the fear of losing myself, so I fled the castle.”
He ran away from home!? As I stared at him with wide eyes, he chuckled, “I was still a young man in my hundreds back then.” Ah, so his hundreds would be like my teenage years? The completely different standards are making things a bit difficult to grasp.
“I wandered around aimlessly, hunting monsters. And then, one day, I met your mother, Yenna.”
Yenna-san was traveling with a man named Eugene back then. It seemed like they’d hit it off, and so the three of them had started traveling together. Ooh, just like adventurers in those isekais!
They’d traveled the world, minimizing the damage caused by the rampaging monsters. Apparently, those two didn’t have a specific goal, they just wanted to see the world. And that’s what Father-sama had told them too. Of course he couldn’t tell them that he was the Demon King, that he was a runaway!
But the three of them had built a comfortable relationship, without prying into each other’s affairs. They were all skilled, so they were celebrated for their exploits wherever they went, their fame spreading quickly. It sounded like a story that could be turned into a book. The adventures of the three heroes!
“Ah, but about Yenna’s character. I’m getting sidetracked. She was beautiful. Naturally, considering her race, but she was exceptionally beautiful, even among High Elves. Her strong, straightforward personality probably enhanced that beauty. She was beautiful, inside and out.”
The Demon King casually boasted about his love. He praised her so naturally that it didn’t even feel embarrassing. Maybe that’s how foreigners are, openly praising their families and wives. Japanese people are too shy!
“But she was also a bit headstrong, and she had a quick temper and a violent streak.”
He said this and then shuddered. Just how strong is Yenna-san to be able to make even the Demon King tremble…
“Every time Eugene and I acted foolish, she’d punish us with her fists. It’s a miracle we survived. We must have been young and resilient.”
The way he said it made it sound dangerous, but his smile, filled with nostalgia… it was like an adult reminiscing about their school days. It made me happy too.
“I’d never had friends who treated me so casually, so I found my relationship with Eugene and Yenna to be very comfortable. …So comfortable that I almost forgot the fact that I was the Demon King.”
His expression suddenly turned grim. I could tell that his story was shifting to the time when the war had escalated. I gulped and waited for him to continue.