Chapter 135
Odd Barbados
The
head demon of the Subjugation Faction, Odd Barbados. Calling
himself the Demon Lord, he boasts overwhelming strength unparalleled
among the demons now that Kahn-san is gone. Because of this, the Subjugation
Faction is currently throwing its weight around in the Demon Territories.
Having been unable to run wild until now, they have begun actively invading the
human world, and as a result, the human side is already at a considerable
disadvantage. He is apparently a long-lived demon who has already surpassed a
thousand years of age—an old-timer who was considered a certainty to become the
Demon Lord if Kahn-san hadn't been around in the first place. And
because of that, he supposedly harbors an extraordinary hatred for the Baron
family.
「Every demon with a blood connection
to the Baron family, up to the fifth degree of kinship, was killed...
The only one left of the Baron family is...」
...Just me, Lirica-san murmured softly.
F-Fifth degree of kinship...? A grandchild is only the second degree, right? To
massacre even people who barely had any blood ties at all... That Odd
guy must be an incredibly vindictive bastard.
「Umm, there's one thing I'm curious
about, mind if I ask a question? If Odd is the strongest demon and
everyone is listening to him, it doesn't seem like that automatically makes him
the current Demon Lord... right?」
Judging
from her tone earlier, Odd probably hasn't become the Demon Lord
yet. Lirica, who had declared that she wanted to become the Demon
Lord before Odd, lightly wiped her eyes with the hem of her clothes
before staring at me. It was a powerful, glaring gaze.
「He calls himself the Demon Lord,
but... in truth, several conditions must be met to hold a coronation as the
true Demon Lord. However, he has not yet fulfilled those conditions.
...And the opportunity for Odd to ever learn what they are has been lost
forever. Honestly, it serves him right.」
As
Lirica-san said that with a strained laugh, a dark, black flame dwelled
in her eyes. A flame of revenge that will likely never extinguish until it is
fulfilled... but harboring it is her legitimate right. If something like that
was done to me, I would undoubtedly hold a grudge against the culprit too. Even
so... Odd really messed up his endgame, huh. By massacring the people of
the Baron family who knew the method for the Demon Lord's
coronation, Odd is still only able to call himself the Demon Lord.
And that method is now known only to Lirica-san, the sole survivor of
the Baron family.
「However, even without knowing, the
possibility of Odd fulfilling those conditions by chance is not zero.
Therefore, I must become stronger as quickly as possible and become the Demon
Lord.」
I
see, I understand the reason why Lirica-san wants to become the Demon
Lord. Honestly, I feel sorry for her, and if possible, I'd like to help
her. I also understand that her revenge is justified. Now then, what exactly...
should I do? Thanks to Lirica-san and her companion, I now know the
reason why the war between humans and demons has intensified recently. And
probably how to stop it, too.
「Currently, Odd is frantically
searching for me. According to information from my few remaining friends, the Integration
Faction has already been forcefully subjugated, and hardly anyone is left.」
「...What a monster.」
Is
he not going to be satisfied until he genuinely eradicates the Demon Lord's
lineage down to the very last person...? What vindictiveness. It's truly
abnormal. To make matters worse, the fact that he isn't just a meathead
boasting about his strength makes him even more troublesome. By utilizing the
demon nature where "strength is justice," he has even brought the
guys from opposing factions over to his side. Even if he isn't the true Demon
Lord, he's practically the Demon Lord in all but name, isn't he?
「If that happens, the Neutral
Faction to which I belong will be targeted next. His hands will probably
reach my Rusara family in the not-too-distant future.」
If
that comes to pass, the Rusara family will either be crushed or forced
to submit. If Lirica-san is ultimately not found among the demons, what
will Odd do...? A guy who went that far wouldn't just give up and assume
she's already dead. Without a doubt, he will invade the human world, assuming Lirica-san
is hiding here. When that happens, Odd—who has unified all three
originally opposing factions and completely pacified the Demon Territories—will
lead a massive horde of demons to attack us. A disciplined, massive army of
demons led by the strongest demon... Just thinking about it sends shivers down
my spine. Even now, humanity is at its limit just defending, completely unable
to launch counter-invasions. If it comes to that, the human forces will undoubtedly
be trampled and ravaged by the demons.
(There
are practically no other options at this point, are there...)
...Without
a doubt, this is a decision so important it could determine the future trend of
this entire world. Isn't making these kinds of decisions supposed to be the
role of the Hero? Stop just buttering up your harem and do your actual
job as a Hero, Kazuma-kun. Actually, just calling him Kazuma
is enough for a guy like that. I'm dropping the honorifics from now on.
Deciding the fate of the world is way too heavy a burden for a former shut-in.
(Now
then, what should I do?)
Because
it's important, I'll think it over carefully just one more time. I am not a Hero
who must constantly walk the righteous path. That's why I can easily come up
with uncool, cowardly methods. For example, capturing her and handing her over
to Odd... No, that's no good. I don't think doing that would improve the
situation at all. Even if I did, it would likely just result in them invading
us sooner, and that would be the end of it. As I thought, my options are
practically nonexistent!
「Lirica-san, if you become the Demon
Lord, you intend to follow Kahn-san's path, right?」
「Yes. Of course, once I become the Demon
Lord, I will bring order to the Demon Territories and aim for
permanent peace with humans. Upon the name of the Baron family, I will
never break the promise I made to my father.」
There
are no lies in her words... I think. After all, she's good-natured enough to
come all the way to the Grust Kingdom for peace talks, even knowing she
could be killed. The fact that her personality and way of thinking are quite
close to a human's is probably also due to her high affection for humanity.
Yeah... In that case, I just have to do it.
「I understand. In that case, Lirica,
I'll take you as my disciple.」
「R-Really!?」
To
save this world, I will create a new Demon Lord. What I'm doing is
completely the act of the enemy side. It's no different from a final boss in a
game trying to destroy and rewrite the world. For me, someone who is originally
a Hero asked to subjugate the Demon Lord, to be doing this...
It's truly quite ironic, isn't it?
「I'll give you just one warning,
though.」
For
one reason or another, I've grown to like this world of Aristella. From
village girls to town gatekeepers, receptionists, and on top of that, queens,
empresses, and the daughter of the Demon Lord—my acquaintances have
increased... No, they've really increased too much. I have way too many
acquaintances who are top authorities. Above all, in this place are the
classmates I spent time with... and Miku. For us to continue living from
here on out, it would be a problem if the human countries disappeared.
「If you ever do the wrong thing as
the Demon Lord—」
Spending
my time hidden away in my Home in a world where humans have become
slaves to demons... I'll pass on a dystopia like that. Of course, I don't think
this is the absolute correct answer. People are creatures that change. Demons
are probably no different. It is entirely conceivable that Lirica might
become intoxicated by power after becoming the Demon Lord and renege on
her promise. Therefore, when that time comes...
「When that time comes—I will kill
you.」
Before
I knew it, light was leaking out from my entire body. It seems I couldn't
contain my emotions, and the magic power inside my body had flowed out. Seeing
me, the faces of Lirica and Priola-san went pale. But even so, Lirica
approached me and bowed her head.
「...Yes, I understand. I was already
prepared for that much back when I held the corpses of my brethren. I look
forward to working with you... Please take care of me.」
Our
gazes crossed. To my resolve, she responded with a resolve of her own. In that
case, I will also use everything currently at my disposal to make her stronger.
Being a Hero isn't my style... but even so, by shutting myself in my
home, I've gotten quite strong.
And so, I officially ended up taking Lirica as my disciple. To think my first disciple would be the daughter of the Demon Lord... You really never know what will happen in life.
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