Chapter 133
Demon Lord
After dropping the hammer of justice on Izel II who tried to
launch a sneak attack under the guise of holding talks with demons, being
unexpectedly asked by the demon Lirica-san to become her master, and having Emilia go out of her
way to travel to the Grust Kingdom—while a continuous stream of
turbulent events occurred, a full day had quickly passed. I, who never miss out
on a proper night's sleep no matter what, slept as usual even in a time like
this. After slowly taking a break to rest my mind and body, I decided to return
to Grisnia anew at noon the following day.
When
Miku and I, having slept soundly at Home, arrived at the Royal
Castle, we were greeted by Alicia, who apparently hadn't had time to
sleep properly and had been working non-stop without rest. Perhaps there was
just that much post-processing work to be done; the color of fatigue was
clearly visible on her face.
「Phew... We somehow managed to work
things out, didn't we?」
「Can we really say we 'somehow
managed'...?」
「The enthronement is over, and we've
become able to establish friendly relations with Lirica-san and her
companion, so didn't we somehow manage?」
Despite
looking a bit low on energy, Alicia smiled. Looking purely at the
results, we could say we avoided the worst-case scenario of ending up in a
deathmatch with the demons right then and there. Well, the possibility that Izel
II abdicating, Misha renouncing her right of succession, and Alicia
taking the throne was the absolute worst-case scenario for her is not
zero, though... But the indoor-loving beautiful girl who basically used
to stay completely still in her room is no longer anywhere to be seen. Energetically
moving around and issuing instructions to her retainers, she looks far more
lively than before.
「No problems occurred after that?」
「Yes, fortunately, Kazuma-san
and the others cooperated with us...」
As
of last night, we silenced the annoying folks in the Kingdom with
physical force and magic, suppressed the complainers using the absolute
authority known as Emilia, and with a development where 'might makes
right,' Alicia's enthronement was safely (?) completed. However, it
seems various problems still occurred after that. Those who had been sucking
sweet nectar under Izel II, those who had sucked up to Misha or Kazuma-kun
thinking they would be the next king... Dealing with protests from all sorts of
people, morning apparently arrived in the blink of an eye.
「Thinking about the future gives me a
headache... or rather, it's been a long time since I stayed up all night, so my
head actually just hurts...」
「You okay? All Heal.」
「Ah, fuwaaaaahh...」
Alicia recovered with a melted expression
on her face. Recovery Magic can heal physical fatigue to some extent.
There's nothing to be done about mental fatigue, but I'm sure the current her
will manage somehow.
「For the time being, I plan to come
to the Royal Castle regularly to check on the situation. Though it might
depend on what happens to Izel II and Misha.」
For
now, Izel II has abdicated and is under house arrest in his private
chambers within the Royal Castle. And Misha has remained in the Kazuma
harem just like that. We've set up strict security for the former so he wouldn't
selfishly seek asylum somewhere or cause trouble for Alicia,
and we've decided to leave looking after Misha to Kazuma-kun.
Having seen me heal Lirica-san and the other, and casually beat up Izel
II, Kazuma-kun and his group have been obediently following our lead
for now. However, standing guard over a former king must be difficult
emotionally... so we might need to put some thought into how to handle that. If
it was okay to kill him, I'd be perfectly fine turning him to cinders with Gungnir,
though. I already have the crime of kidnapping Heroes, so adding
regicide on top of that wouldn't hurt or itch at this point.
「Ah, speaking of which, I've been
normally cleared of all charges, right?」
「Yes. As a result of discussions with
Emilia-san, it was decided that you will not be charged with any crimes.」
Through
the official meeting held yesterday between the top leaders of the two
countries, Alicia and Emilia, a few things were decided. Among
them, the most important one is regarding the treatment of the Heroes,
including Kazuma-kun and the currently missing Mitsukawa-kun and
the others. Having recruited Heroes and taken them to the Empire,
although my specific charges were fabricated nonsense, I was recorded on a list
accessible to the higher-ups as a person who could be killed on sight.
Likewise, wanted posters were circulating for the Heroes who went to the
Empire, stating they should be captured alive if possible, or killed if
not. During this meeting, all those charges were withdrawn, and I have
officially been cleared of all crimes. Ah, by the way, I was also given the
option to be officially recognized anew as the thirty-first Hero, but I
politely declined. Being called a Hero now doesn't really click with me,
and it'd be boring if my movements were restricted because of it. I want to be
an eminence in shadow, after all!
「But it was surprising, wasn't it?」
「Surprising? What was?」
「I thought more of everyone would go
to the Empire.」
「Ah, that.」
Through
the meeting with Emilia and the others, it was decided that we Heroes
can choose to affiliate with either the Empire or the Kingdom.
There is no mandatory participation in battles or anything; those who want to
fight will fight, and since even those who don't want to fight have high growth
rates, they can train to some extent and then do what they want... It seems
things will settle down in that manner. I went to tell my classmates about it,
but there were few among them who wanted to move from where they currently are.
Onda-kun and his group intend to put down roots in the Empire,
which is more comfortable to live in and has a higher standard of living than
the Kingdom, and Mitsukawa-kun seems to want to live freely as an
Adventurer without staying in one place. And Kazuma-kun and his
group intend to stay in Grust regardless. Kazuma-kun, who
couldn't bring himself to abandon Misha, might actually be quite a
deeply affectionate guy after all. By the way, the only ones who had a firm
resolve to absolutely move were the few classmates who shed tears of blood
after being suddenly treated coldly once the king's honey trap orders were lifted.
They seem to genuinely intend to devote themselves to training in order to find
a boyfriend or girlfriend in the Empire. So that's what a human
who has gotten serious looks like... is what I thought. Having seen hell, the
look on their faces was different.
And
so, the other-world circumstances of us, Class 1-1 of Shishikawa High School,
have settled down for the time being. From now on, those who want to fight will
fight, and those who don't will utilize what they're good at, and we will live
on in this world. It must be tough for Alicia to be forced to take on
the Grust Kingdom, whose economy is sluggish and whose reputation among
surrounding countries is close to the absolute worst. But if she exercises her
shrewdness, she should be able to surpass the achievements of the abdicated Izel
II in no time. Since Miku and I also played a part in inciting her,
we intend to do what we can so she can be passed down in history as a rare and
wise ruler.
「Well then, I suppose I should get
going soon. Miku, you stay here and help Alicia out.」
「Mhm, got it.」
「Ah, may I have a moment, Masaru-san?」
A
voice called out to my back as I was about to leave. Turning around, I saw Alicia
reaching her hand out toward me.
「Mhm, what is it?」
Alicia grasped her left hand, which she
had placed near her chest, opened it, and grasped it once more. Then, after
taking a slow breath, she bowed her head lightly.
「Umm... thank you very much. Also,
please, call me Alice.」
「—Mhm, understood... Alice.」
「Yes! I look forward to continuing to
work with you!」
Her
smile as she said that was far stronger and full of beauty than when we first
met. The current her will surely be able to steer this country. Enough to make
me spontaneously think that way.
I
slowly left the spot. And the place I headed to was... the guest room where they
were staying.
「Excuse me.」
I
knocked and then entered. Inside were Lirica-san and Priola-san,
who had straightened their posture and were sitting formally in seiza.
「Welcome, we are glad you came.」
「Mhm, well... I had various things I
wanted to ask.」
「Please, go ahead. If it is something
we know, we will tell you everything.」
Everything,
huh... in that case, it seems this might turn into a rather long story. I sat
down on a chair with the two of them once more and thought about what I should
ask first. There are various things I'm curious about... but for this sort of
thing, it's best to start with what I want to know the most.
「Lirica-san... why did you come to this
country?」
「Yes, that is because—I must become the Demon Lord. I must become the Demon Lord before Odd, who falsely claims the title, and bring order to the Demon Lord's Domain... Because that is what I promised my father, the previous Demon Lord.」
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