Chapter 133
Demon Lord
Translator : PolterGlast
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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