Part 2 of 8
Still, even if I had that armor with me now, I doubt it would bring me much comfort.
After all, real dragons were unable to stop this creature.
Forcing back my anxiety, I check the state of my preparations yet again.
I am as ready as I can be.
I brought all my recovery potions as well: a high-grade potion that can heal even a deadly wound in an instant, magic-and strength-recovery potions, and even status-condition potions, all in the small Spatial Storage pouch hanging from my waist.
The potions and the pouch itself are worth a small fortune, but as I am about to face death, I will not hesitate to use them.
I am most likely going to die.
If the dragons could not stop this creature, I see no way of winning.
All I can do is buy as much time as I can so that the other villagers can escape.
I do not even know whether this sacrifice will have meaning.
Is there any amount of distance that will stop an opponent this powerful from finding them?
My only fear now is not of my own death but of whether I will buy enough time for them to flee.
Whether my death will have meaning.
But surely it is better than doing nothing at all.
A death in battle is more fitting for me than simply aging and waiting to die.
Considering the countless lives taken by these hands, passing away peacefully in my sleep would be an unfitting end, to say the least.
But I have accepted this.
Though the means by which I depart from this world may prove pointless, one would be hard-pressed to find meaning in death or battle on the whole.
That is the conclusion I reached after escaping battle and knowing peace for a time.
Ultimately, war has no meaning.
In the grander scheme, it may be for the sake of one’s land or people, but for an individual, there is no meaning to be found in death.
All that matters is whether or not the circumstances of death can be accepted.
And right now, I have accepted them.
That is good enough for me.
I have decided this will be the place where the man once known as the Master of Swordsmanship will die.
With my resolve ironclad, I wait for my time to come.
And soon, it comes.
“This is a surprise,” I murmur without thinking.
From the imposing presence I felt, I expected any number of horrendous evil spirits, but the creature before me is humanoid and looks to be a young boy.
But in spite of his youthful appearance, he has the aura of a man-eating fiend.
Simply facing him is enough to make me sweat within my armor.
It is as if all the evil and atrocity in the world has manifested into this one boy.
“Graaaaaah!”
The devil howls.
At the same time, the dragon that was still fighting against him breathes its last.
Hrmmm? The devil’s body glowed for just a moment. What was that?
Its wounds are healing?
Their battle must have been unthinkably fierce, for the dragon and devil alike were covered in deep wounds, but the devil’s injuries have now disappeared in a flash of light.
Perhaps he has mastered some kind of highly advanced healing magic, although I have never heard of any so powerful as this.
At any rate, now that the injuries he sustained fighting the dragons have been healed, I suppose my chances of winning are lower than ever.
I harbored some small hope, but it appears even that was misplaced.
“Nothing goes right in this world, does it?”
Hearing my voice, the devil whirls around and bounds toward me with another fearsome howl.
“Graaaaaah!”
There will be no conversing with him, then.
Upon seeing his humanoid form, I thought there might be some chance we could communicate and resolve things with words, but he shows no sign that he understands speech at all.
Even if he did, there are some battles that one cannot avoid, like that against the demons.
If anything, knowing that my opponent is so beast-like that he cannot be reasoned with means that I can fight without hesitation.
“I am Reigar Baint Renxandt, Master of Swordsmanship, and I challenge thee.”
I doubt that my opponent understands my introduction, but as he is no doubt about to kill me, I wished for him to hear my name.
I suppose this is another way of accepting death in battle.
Sure enough, the devil ignores my words and swings his swords.
I dodge one and parry the other.
Yes, the devil wields a sword in each hand.
While this allows the wielder more options for attacking, it is difficult to maintain one’s offensive and defensive power in both hands, so it is a rarely used style.
The devil’s swords are of unfamiliar make, as well: slender blades, slightly curved.
They look far more oriented toward offense than defense, in accordance with his two-sword style.
In fact, it seems as if he has abandoned defense entirely.
Charging recklessly into battle, heedless of whether his own body is injured… I suppose that is how a devil should be.
If those two offense-oriented swords hit my own sword just right, they could likely break it.
That’s how much power is behind his first attack.
In fact, any one of his attacks could easily end my life.
As if to prove it, the devil’s parried blade glides right through solid ground without the least bit of resistance.
From the moment I first laid eyes on the beast, I knew he was stronger than I was, so I already had my guard up, but this goes far beyond anything I anticipated.
“Graaaaaah!”
The devil howls again.
Somehow, the sound itself impacts me like a heavy blow.
Pain rushes into my ears, causing me physical agony.
Even without using skills, a mere howl is enough to cause this?
The devil stomps forward and swings his blades again.
I leap backward, dodging almost excessively to one side.
But the devil crosses all that hard-earned distance in a single step, landing in the space I stood just moments ago.
Purple lightning springs forth in a line from the sword in his left hand.
I knew it. A magic sword.
And quite a powerful sort, at that.
Even after cutting through that dragon, his swords show not a hint of damage.
Despite their thinness, it’s safe to say that these blades are quite sturdy.
So perhaps my assumption that they were not built for defense was false as well. If I attack without taking that into consideration, it may well be my undoing.
And though this devil may look to be swinging around on a reckless rampage, his fighting style is more than just brute strength. Otherwise, he would not be able to utilize the magic sword’s power.
Though it seems as if he’s lost his senses, the devil is making good use of highly advanced techniques.
His swordsmanship lacks polish, but he does seem to have a strong grasp of the basics.
No mindless beast could fight this way.
What a dangerous foe.
If he was simply going on a brute rampage, then he would be far easier to deal with.
I must stay on my guard.
For all I know, this madness may just be an act. Every possibility needs to be considered.
His stats are already far higher than mine.
No amount of caution would be too much.
The devil swings his swords.
A clumsy attack, like a child throwing a tantrum.
But if any one of those attacks was to land, that would be the end of me.
And even if his movements are amateurish, the speed of his swings is faster than any ordinary person could see.
Even I, once known as the world’s greatest swordsman, can barely follow it with my eyes.
Only by watching the devil’s movements and predicting the trajectory of his blades can I parry or dodge his blows.
If I let my guard down even for an instant, my life will be forfeit.
“Graaaaaah!”
The devil howls angrily and swings the sword in his right hand.
Flames burst from the blade, covering the devil’s body.
So both of his swords are magic, not just the lightning sword in his left hand.
Still covered in flames, the devil raises his blades and charges.
But while a direct attack might be one thing, a radiant flame that does not even burn its wielder is mere fodder for my dark-dragon equipment!
As soon as my magic sword touches the flames, the cursed power of the dark dragon saps its energy, weakening the flames until they disappear.
Taking advantage of the devil’s surprise, I swing my blade and land a single slash on his body.
But my cut is shallow, and his skin is tough.
Instead of the feeling of blade biting through flesh, I only feel my sword being deflected by something hard. Far from flesh, my sword did not even pierce his skin.
However, the dark dragon’s power reached him nonetheless.
Though I cannot see the difference, the dark dragon’s curse has undoubtedly reduced his stats.
No matter how little the reduction, if I keep cutting him, I may eventually weaken him to the point where my blade can break through his skin.
I know very well how difficult that will be, of course.
And I have no way of knowing whether I would be able to wound him even if I could weaken him.
The dark dragon’s curse is powerful, but there is a limit to how much it can reduce the target’s stats.
If I make it to that point, will I be able to harm him?
And even if I can, I will still have to keep slashing until I manage to reduce his HP.
My odds of success are next to none.
While I would have to land hundreds or even thousands of attacks to defeat him, the devil needs to strike me only once.
My sole chance rests on carrying out a long battle in which I cannot let down my guard for a moment.
Even then, I do not know if I would win at all.
I have never fought such a difficult battle, even when I was sword-king.
But I knew that from the beginning.
The fact that I can see even the most miniscule chance of victory is better fortune than I expected.
I will buy time, just as I planned.
If my opponent had been an enormous creature like a dragon, I might not have even been able to do that much.
But the fiend is humanoid and lacking in skill.
If I can buy time against him despite being far inferior in stats, then perhaps that is the best I could have hoped for.
So I will continue to buy time, all while clinging to the faintest hope of victory.
Even if I have to use every last technique I mastered in my time as the Master of Swordsmanship.
How much time has gone by?
It feels as if an instant and an eternity have passed all at once.
This devil is by far the strongest opponent I have ever faced.
And this is likely the longest battle I have fought, besides.
How many times has the sun risen and fallen?
Since I have had to put aside all nonessential thoughts, I’ve long since lost track.
The more I focus, the more I feel as if my awareness is fading.
I forgot my purpose, all so that I might lend that much more focus to the fight.
My very identity has been sacrificed to the cause. I am but a body forged for battle.
I never imagined that, at this age, I would attain even greater heights of swordsmanship.
Cutting through lightning. It would have been nice to pass this experience down to an apprentice, though I doubt whether any would be able to imitate it.
Ah, but the end is near.
The fact that I am having these thoughts is proof enough of that.
I pushed myself to the limits and abandoned all thoughts to focus on the battle, but that state of mind is already fading.
For I am reaching the end of my stamina.
I’ve warded off every one of the devil’s attacks: the slashing swords, the fearsome flames, the violent flashes of lightning, all of it.
But though I avoided any direct hits, I have still taken damage.
Parrying the devil’s swords has worn on my bones.
The flames have singed my skin.
And the flash and crack of the lightning and thunder assail my senses.
My dark-dragon armor, which protected me countless times over the course of the battle, has gradually lost its shape and no longer has the strength to do so.
Fortunately, by sacrificing that armor, I have been able to wear out the devil’s magic power.
Not long before the armor broke, the devil stopped using his magic swords’ abilities. I assume that he ran out of magic and can no longer activate them.
By sacrificing my armor, I was also able to recover from my wounds in the precious few gaps between the devil’s attacks to drink healing potions, as well as magic and strength potions.
I had packed my Spatial Storage pouch with as many potions as it would hold—enough to fight continuously for two or three days.
And I am confident that I have fought to the best of my ability all this time.
In fact, I may even have shown more power over the course of this battle than I ever did in my heyday.
Though my sword grew rusty after so much time away from the battlefield, it is as if it has returned to its full power and more.
I have sharpened my skills beyond even their previous state, if only because nothing less would be enough to reach my opponent.
Yet even now, I cannot defeat him.
With every move, I feel my muscles tear and my bones splinter.
With every breath, I taste blood. I wince with pain.
That I am still on my feet is nothing short of a miracle.
Though it seems the miracle is at an end.
My armor has broken, and I’ve drained every last one of my stock of potions.
I even drank the status condition recovery potions, if only to slake my thirst and sate my hunger.
I cannot move another step.
Yet I will not lower my sword.
Even now that it is cracked beyond repair and will not bear another blow.
These are to be my last thoughts.
I fought to the best of my ability and beyond.
This must be what it means to truly fight to the death.
I came close to death on the battlefield many times, but this is the first time I have ever expended my strength to its very limits, both physically and mentally.
In training, I exhausted myself to the point of collapse.
I have been knocked unconscious by near-fatal wounds.
But none of them was as deadly as this fatigue.
My body is truly in tatters.
Yet my heart is strangely light.
Perhaps it is because, in this battle with the devil, I have cast aside the unnecessary.
No dreams, no pride, just the pure strength of the sword.
I swing the blade with all my might, feeling no sense of duty or fear of death.
Yes, this is a far more fitting end for me than any peaceful death in sleep.
For even after all my time away from the battlefield, I am still overjoyed at the chance to fight to the fullest.
In the end, I had no choice but to live by the sword and die by the sword.
And what could be more fortunate than to accept that fate in death?
Most who fall in battle die without meaning, without accepting their lot in life.
I do not know if there was any meaning in this sacrifice. But I can accept it.
Perhaps that is why, although I wagered my soul on this battle and am still about to suffer a total defeat, I do not feel resentment.
In fact, I feel happiness.
Yet, now that I can no longer take another step, the devil does not strike me down.
We simply stare at each other, face-to-face, neither moving an inch.
A strange silence engulfs us. Abruptly, the devil relaxes his stance and lowers his head.
Perhaps he has returned to his senses…or has he?
The devil’s body still radiates a fearsome aura.
I know not where this fiend came from or what happened in his past.
But after crossing swords for so long, I have come to understand him.
He must have gone through some terrible tragedy in his past, judging by the silent wail I sensed in his throat, and his sword blows spoke of unbearable sadness and rage.
Though he had lost his senses and knew only battle, some part of him lamented his lack of control.
And during our battle, I could see that he was learning from my swordsmanship.
The devil’s proficiency with a blade improved over the course of the battle so much that he is leagues above his initial amateurish skill.
To continue to strive for improvement in the midst of battle, even in the grips of madness, is nigh unthinkable.
His swordcraft sharpened with every strike, his movements became ever more efficient, and he became an infinitely more formidable opponent as time passed.
In the end, it was all I could do just to parry his strikes; counterattacking was no longer an option.
Simply parrying and dodging continues to become more difficult.
He must truly have a gift to be able to improve so greatly in such little time.
In that regard, I cannot help but feel regret.
If he had not been ruled by madness, if I could have taught him properly, he could have reached the very pinnacle of swordsmanship.
I doubt I ever would have thought such a thing about someone who was trying to kill me until now.
“The Divine Sword title, proof of mastery of the blade. I pass it on to you.”
I open my mouth and speak to the devil.
He looks up and raises his swords again.
An instant later, my sword breaks, and the last of my strength leaves my body.
Only when I see the splash of blood do I realize I have been cut.
“Magnificent.”
I have no other words.
I cannot pass down all the techniques I honed in this life of mine.
But in this battle, I showed my opponent many of them.
If I can leave behind even a few of those, then I am happy.
I lived by the blade, and now I shall die by the blade.
Though I doubted the meaning of fighting for so long, I have finally come to terms with it.
Ronandt. My comrade. My friend.
If you bore witness to this death of mine, you would surely lecture me for being so irresponsible.
But I am satisfied.
Irresponsible though it may be, I leave the empire…and humanity…in your hands.
“Ahhh-choo!”
“The hell?! That’s disgusting, Master! You got your gross spit all over me!”
“Hngh. My apologies. Someone must have been talking about me.”
“All bad things, I’m sure.”
“What nonsense! If you bothered to listen more closely, no doubt the masses are praising my name!”
“Oh yeah, sure. Wait, Master, are you crying?”
“Hmm? How strange. Perhaps some dust got into my eye during that sneeze.”
“Must’ve been some big freaking piece of dust to make you cry.”
“Quiet, you. Here, have some extra homework.”
“What?! You demon! Maybe I’ll just kill you and escape from this hell!”
“Wah-ha-ha! There is no time for rest on the path to the heights of occultism! You won’t see me dying until I reach the top!”
ARRIVAL AT THE DEMON LORD’S CASTLE
We stayed at the Colonel’s place for a few days, then headed out.
We may have finally reached the demon realm, but it’s a pretty big place, so we still have to find a place where we can actually settle down. The Colonel’s lands border human territory, so it’s not an ideal place for royalty like the Demon Lord to set up camp.
I was feeling pretty low about having to take another long journey in that stupid bouncy carriage, but it turned out I was wrong. Our destination was super-close to the border.
I mean, it took us several years to cross the span of humanity’s domain, so wouldn’t most people assume it would take just as long to cross the demon realm?
But apparently it takes only a week—just seven days. And that’s going at a mellow pace, too.
Hmm. Yeah, I guess seven days by carriage is a bit of a distance, but since I was bracing myself for a year or more, this seems easy by comparison.
“The Demon Lord’s not your average ruler, y’know? I gotta fight on the front lines. So obviously my castle has to be close to the border for that reason, among others.”
That’s straight from the Demon Lord’s mouth.
Right. I guess in this world, the Demon Lord doesn’t just wait around in a castle like the final boss of an RPG.
In fact, this one leaves her castle all the time!
Can you imagine what kind of impossible game would have a demon lord who leaves the castle and chases you down on the overworld map?
Just stay in the castle, dammit!
Otherwise it’s not a demon lord’s castle at all!
Plus, this one didn’t even leave the castle to kill a hero—she left to kill ME!
Remembering that kinda makes me mad, so I try to smack the Demon Lord on the head, but she dodges me easily.
Grrrr! If only I still had power! Then I could slap that smug little head of hers!
Power! Give me powerrr!
“And what exactly are you doing?”
As I reach out longingly for power, Vampy gives me a cold glare.
Stop! Don’t look at me like that!
If a pretty little girl like you glares at me, it might awaken some new darkness within!
No, just kidding, it won’t.
Anyway, while I was having that stupid exchange in my head, we arrived at the Demon Lord’s castle.
In total defiance of the image that phrase evokes, it’s actually super-gorgeous.
The place is so beautiful and magnificent that if it was on Earth, it’d probably be officially recognized as a World Heritage Site.
Magnificent is one thing, but why is it beautiful…?
Isn’t a demon lord’s castle supposed to be more, y’know, spooky?
“Some demon lord’s castle that is.”
See? Vampy’s not feeling it, either.
Incidentally, there’s a lovely little castle town, too.
Although the atmosphere’s a bit dampened by the giant wall around the outermost perimeter. It’s like a fortress wall, really.
But can you blame them?
There are monsters and stuff in this world. It’s dangerous not to have walls to keep them out. Besides, this is the Demon Lord’s turf, so they might even get attacked by humans.
So it makes sense that they would need a nice, sturdy wall for defense.
Anyway, the castle town inside those walls is the biggest I’ve ever seen, I think.
The towns and cities in this world are pretty tiny, since they have to be walled in and all.
You gotta make the walls first, then the rest of the town.
So of course the size of every settlement is limited to the size of the walled area.
They can add on to the walls to expand, but that has its limits, too, so most towns and even cities in this world are pretty small.
From that perspective, the Demon Lord’s castle town is actually so big, I don’t even know what to make of it.
The biggest place I’ve seen so far in this world is the capital of Sariella. Being the capital of a major country and all, it was pretty darn big.
But this castle town puts it to shame.
I don’t know exactly how big either of them is, so this is just an estimate, but I think the castle town must be at least twice the size of that capital.
And that’s just my impression from going from the outer wall straight to the castle, so it might be even bigger for all I know.
It’s times like these that I wish I could still look at the map with Panoptic Vision.
Back when I had my skills, I could use Panoptic Vision and other sense-enhancing skills to find out the measurements of distance around me without even really trying.
But now, no matter how hard I concentrate, I can see only as far as my average field of vision—until something blocks it, that is.
In a town like this, that means I can pretty much see only what’s right in front of my face.
I feel pretty helpless, to be honest.
I know that’s just how it is, but I can’t help being frustrated that I can no longer do all the things I used to be able to do.
Gotta hurry up and master the use of my power so I can get my old abilities back.
While I’m busy being lost in thought, we arrive at our destination.
The Demon Lord’s castle—no, a fancy house nearby.
It’s not as impressive as the castle, but it’s still a beautiful palace-like manor that would easily land on the cultural heritage list.
“So we’re not even going to the castle?” Vampy grumbles, but her mood quickly recovers as she looks at the palace with sparkling eyes.
At times like these, Vampy actually reacts the way a little girl is supposed to. It’s a lot more charming than the way she always sits around polishing her broadsword and grinning like a maniac.
What, me? Come on—I’m about function over fashion, that’s all.
Anyway, we’re being brought to a parlor room now.
It seems like we’ll be staying in here, actually, so maybe it’s more like a guest room?
From what I hear, we’re staying in guest rooms because the master of the house is away and might not be back for a while.
The butler in charge of the palace didn’t want to keep us waiting in the parlor forever, so he kindly prepared guest rooms for each of us.
Damn, this guy’s good!
I wonder who’s a better butler, him or Mera?
Well, he looks like he’s around his forties, just like the Colonel, but since he’s a demon, he’s probably actually lived a really long life.
He might have the advantage over Mera in terms of experience.
“All righty. Well, let’s figure out our plans for the future before the master of the house gets back.”
We all got our own rooms, but for now, we’re gathering in the Demon Lord’s room to talk about what to do next.
Although we already discussed it a bit on the way here, so we’re mostly just reaffirming that.
“Firstly, once I meet with the master of the house, I’ll be moving to the castle. Ael and Merazophis, you’ll come with me.”
The Demon Lord is going to the Demon Lord’s castle.
The person who lives here is currently in charge of the Demon Lord’s castle, or in fact all of demonkind, since the Demon Lord has been away. Once they meet up, the Demon Lord will probably take over those duties again.
Makes sense. That is her job, after all.
The problem is that she’s bringing Ael, who’s normally the one in charge of reining in her crazy siblings.
Are the other three puppet spiders gonna be okay without her? I’m a little concerned.
On the other hand, Vampy doesn’t just look concerned. She looks outright furious.
That makes sense, too. Mera’s going to the Demon Lord’s castle without her.
Normally, as her servant, he’s supposed to be at Vampy’s side at all times.
But I think because of Vampy’s attitude, the Demon Lord’s decided that it would be best to keep Mera away from her for a while.
Her whole yandere thing has gotten pretty severe over the years.
I think the Demon Lord’s probably got the right idea of giving them a little cooling-off period, then trying to raise the baby bloodsucker to be a bit more levelheaded.
Yeah, it’s a logical decision.
But logic doesn’t work on a crazy yandere, so I don’t know how well this is gonna go.
“The rest of you will stay here. I’ll assign a private tutor to Sophia and then have her start going to school once she’s old enough.”
At this, Vampy’s scowl gets even darker.
Evidently, the demon realm has schools and stuff, too, and the academy here is where all the kids of noble families go.
Vampy will have to start attending soon, so for now she’s going to be educated by a private tutor first.
She’s a reincarnation and all, so she was able to learn some things on the way here. I’m sure she’ll do fine in school, grades-wise.
But the main goal in sending Vampy to the academy isn’t to get an education—it’s to expand her circle of friends and cure her of her yandere ways!
Will it work? Probably not, but you never know!
But while I’ve already more or less given up, the Demon Lord seems pretty serious about her plan to rehabilitate Vampy.
Yeah, good luck with that. If anyone can do it, it’s you, I’m sure.
“And then there’s White, who’s sitting there like this has nothing to do with her! I’m gonna give you work to do, too, so don’t let me down!”
Wait…what?!
You’re gonna put ME to work?!
Okay, I’m overreacting, but seriously. You want me to work?
You know what I’m like now, right? I hate to admit it, but I’m a totally useless piece of junk at the moment, okay?
Huh? That’s weird. There’s some sort of strange, salty liquid coming out of my eyes.
“If you don’t work, you don’t eat—that’s how the rule goes! So obviously we gotta have you pay with your body, White.”
The Demon Lord grins wickedly as she comes closer.
Uh, hang on a sec. Between that phrasing and that face, are you saying you’re gonna sell me?
Am I gonna have to do a bunch of unspeakable things in some sketchy place?!
I get up to flee from the Demon Lord’s evil hand, but in my fragile state, the difference between our speeds is laughable.
She grabs me from behind easily, then gropes my chest.
“Hey, these are pretty nice!”
EEEEP! Stop it—let go of me! I didn’t agree to this!
“That’s enough.”
“Oof!”
All at once, I’m released from the Demon Lord’s grasp.
Turning around, I see her head, or rather her hair, being yanked back by Vampy.
I appreciate you saving me, but doesn’t that seem a little harsh?
You’re gonna do some serious damage to the Demon Lord’s roots, there.
But she did rescue me, and she also looks super-pissed right now, so I’m not gonna say anything like that to her.
I’m a girl who knows how to read the room.
“Ow, owww. Fine, that’s enough joking. I was just gonna ask you to make thread for me, okay, White? Just make as much of it as you can. If you could craft some high-defense clothes out of it, that would be even better.”
The Demon Lord rubs the back of her head as she reveals her true intentions.
…Come on—you’ve got Suffering Nullification. That probably didn’t even hurt.
Thread, though, huh?
During the Mystic Mountains incident, I regained the ability to produce thread.
It kinda reawakened when we were in a life-and-death crisis. Pretty cliché, if I do say so myself.
Anyway, it was sorta like an emergency-induced feat of supernatural strength, but I tested some things out afterward and found that I can produce it whenever I want.
Unfortunately, though, none of my other abilities have come back, and producing the thread is all I can do with it.
Yeah, I can make it move a tiny bit, but I can’t slice up an opponent or tie them up instantly like I used to be able to do.
And I can decide whether to make it sticky or not, but I can’t fine-tune it the way I used to with my skills before.
Why would the Demon Lord have any use for such a limited ability?
“Take a look at this. It’s thread that you made, White.”
The Demon Lord produces a piece of thread and starts pulling it with both hands.
“Hnnngh!”
Given how high her stats are, the thread instantly…doesn’t break?
“Rrrgh! Whew. So yeah, you see?”
After tugging red-faced on the thread for a little while, the Demon Lord gives up and wheezes.
I stare at her in shock.
“I can’t break the thread you make, even if I use all my strength. And its Appraisal results just say ‘Cannot be Appraised.’ That means that your thread exists outside the system, White. You made it this strong without the benefit of the system. Which also means that it’s resistant to any actions taken within the system. I don’t know exactly how strong that resistance is just yet, but it’s definitely really tough. Tougher than any thread I can make with my skills.”
Say what?!
My thread is stronger than the Demon Lord’s Divine Thread Weaving?
Now, that’s unexpected.
When I was experimenting, I was more concerned with what I could do with the thread than the properties of the thread itself.
But I guess the Demon Lord focused on the thread instead.
I was so preoccupied with the things I couldn’t do that I didn’t even realize that the thread itself was stronger than what I used to make.
Enough that it’d make exceptionally good material for armor.
“To start, I’d like you to make enough thread for everyone in this room. I’ll leave Riel and Fiel with you to help make the clothes themselves, so you can let them take care of that part. Also, it’d be great if you could make a little extra for research. Basically, I just want you to focus on making thread for a while, White.”
Ooh, I see. So that’s what she meant by pay with your body.
Well, that’s fine by me.
I still haven’t really done much research with it myself, since I figured I could make more thread later.
It’s hard to do much when you’re on the road, after all.
Now that I can settle down and do some experimenting, I might even make some new discoveries.
I used to do that kind of thing whenever I got new skills.
And this thread of mine is a completely new power, so the rules of skills don’t even apply anymore.
Since it’s not standardized like a skill would be, thinking of it in terms of what it can and can’t do might be wrong in the first place. Skills have clear limitations to what they can accomplish, but those limits don’t matter to me anymore.
Even if I can’t do certain things now, I might be able to in the future.
The possibilities are endless. It all depends on my own effort and creativity.
I guess when I think about it that way, it is a little exciting.
Besides, if I keep producing lots of thread, I might figure out how to use some of my other abilities, too.
Producing thread is a function the human body doesn’t have.
In other words, I’m using magic of some kind to create it.
Whether I’m aware of it or not, that means there’s some mysterious power at work.
If I can get a better sense of this power, then I might be able to reproduce other abilities, too.
However, I’m now able to produce thread as naturally as moving my body, so it won’t be easy to figure out how it works.
People don’t normally need to put any thought into moving their hands and feet, and even if they did, it wouldn’t help them better understand how it happened, exactly.
But if I give up just because it’s hard, then I’ve already lost!
So from now on, I’ll be a thread-making machine!
Once I nod my affirmation, the Demon Lord addresses the last unassigned person.
“Sael, you’ll be Sophia’s bodyguard.”
Sael only does what she’s told, so she has to be paired up with someone or she won’t even move.
Since the role of bodyguard requires directions only in emergency situations, it’s the perfect role for Sael, as usual.
That said, Vampy doesn’t look thrilled being paired up with Sael.
Huh? Hey, wait a second.
Doesn’t that mean I’m stuck looking after the other two problem children?
My eyes widening, I look at Riel and Fiel in horror.
Riel is a natural weirdo, and Fiel is violent and energetic.
Even right now, Riel is wearing a smile that makes it impossible to tell what she’s thinking, while Fiel is smiling like she’s not thinking about anything at all.
I’m gonna be working with these two?
Will I really be able to get anything done?
…Hoo, boy.
The lord of the mansion wound up returning late at night.
He’s a young man, or at least he appears to be.
But since demons live longer than humans, it’s impossible to tell what his actual age is.
Since he seems very composed despite his young appearance, he might be a lot older than he looks.
“Always a pleasure to see you again, O Demon Lord.”
The man kneels in front of the Demon Lord.
His expression is calm, but it looks to me like he’s actually pretty nervous.
“Mm-hmm, good work.” The Demon Lord smiles cheerfully. “You been keeping busy?”
“Yes, quite. But I felt it of the utmost importance to prioritize greeting you upon your return, O Demon Lord.”
The man seems taken aback by the Demon Lord’s attitude.
Oh, I get it. He probably knows her only from before she got mixed up with my former body brain.
I didn’t exactly have any real conversations with the Demon Lord before then, but she definitely seemed a lot different.
If you were familiar with the old Demon Lord, then the difference probably seems a lot more drastic.
The fact that the Colonel didn’t even blink at that makes me think it’s likely he’s up to no good after all.
Although if just saying good work was enough to surprise the man this much, how exactly did she act toward him before?
“Thanks. Since I brought some new folks, y’mind introducing yourself to them?”
The man stands obediently and bows his head toward us.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Balto Phthalo, in charge of the Phthalo region.”
“Balto’s basically the archduke who mediates among all the demons, so if you need anything, he’s your guy.”
Hmm.
So he’s the second-most-important demon after the Demon Lord, huh?
The Colonel seemed like he symbolized the military might of the borderlands, so maybe Balto is more about politics.
He totally acts like a government official, for one thing.
After we’ve all been introduced, they discuss the future for a bit. Sounds like the group moving to the Demon Lord’s castle should be able to do that without a problem.
However, Mera and Ael won’t be able to work directly under the Demon Lord.
There aren’t any positions for them that report to the Demon Lord herself, and it’ll take some time to reorganize things for them.
I guess that makes sense, since the Demon Lord’s been away for years.
So for now, Ael will be stationed at the Demon Lord’s side as her assistant, and Mera will temporarily be assigned to the Fourth Army.
Mera himself is the one who wanted to be part of the army. I guess he thought he’d be better off there than at the Demon Lord’s side.
It must still be bothering him that he wasn’t able to put up much of a fight against Mr. Oni in the Mystic Mountains.
Balto is personally in charge of the Fourth Army, which is usually assigned to defend this area, the Phthalo region.
The reason the capital city’s army isn’t number one is that number one is usually stationed at the border abutting human lands.
In other words, the Colonel’s men are army number one.
Anyway, the rest of us leftovers get permission to live in this mansion. We even get to stay in the rooms we’re using right now.
Vampy’s personal tutor will be assigned in the next few days, too.
We’re all taken care of.
The Demon Lord’s got some serious pull.
Between her physical and political power, she might actually be the strongest person I know.
Thus, our journey came to an end.
From this point on, each of us will start working toward our own goals.
The Demon Lord will work to bring the demons together and start a war against the humans.
Vampy will work to grow up healthy, uh, both physically and mentally.
I’ll work to regain the powers I lost.
We each have a goal.
Our battle has only just begun!
THE OLD BUTLER’S FRIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE
I am the head butler of the house of Duke Phthalo.
Presumptuous though it may sound, I have served the duke for many years and earned the title of head butler, and I am confident that my work has been impeccable.
Both in my public job as butler and my private job of protecting the duke.
As he controls the land that contains the Demon Lord’s castle, Duke Phthalo has many enemies: both his political opponents among fellow demons and the humans who often infiltrate our territory.
Among the ranks of humans are those known as the inquisitors of the Word of God religion, who root out and exterminate demons in human lands, but alas, we demons have no such profession.
Instead, each region must locate and remove human intruders on their own.
Thus, as protectors of our employers and their homes, we butlers must have the strength to execute such duties.
There are times when we must put our lives on the line and fight to protect our masters, as well.
I myself have routed many a foe since the previous duke’s time.
While many of my comrades, my elders, and even my juniors have fallen in battle, I have managed to serve the house of the duke all the way into my old age.
Whether the assassins be demon or human, it takes no small amount of ability to infiltrate the heart of the demon realm, so there have been many close calls.
But it may be that my time is nearly upon me.
I am the head butler of the house of Duke Phthalo.
Though all demons serve the Demon Lord by nature, my greatest loyalty lies with Duke Phthalo.
As such, it would be unthinkable for me not to investigate the backgrounds of those guests who are currently staying in the duke’s home.
Even if they are the Demon Lord’s companions.
But the results would send shivers down anyone’s spine.
Though I take pride in my abilities, I fear I must prepare myself for death.
That is how exceptional these girls are.
Nighttime.
It is late enough that any normal person should be in bed, but I cannot sleep.
Since I gained the Exhaustion Nullification skill after extensive training, nighttime has become an important time for me to work.
The Exhaustion Resistance skill allows one to go without sleep much longer than the average person, but with the Exhaustion Nullification skill, one does not need any sleep whatsoever.
The last time I slept was… Goodness, how long has it been? So long that I cannot even remember.
Of course, it took a great deal of effort to obtain such a valuable skill.
My training, which involved fighting off sleepiness with all my might and clinging to consciousness by a thread, was quite difficult indeed.
It pains me that young Master Balto has gained the same Exhaustion Nullification at his age, without even training in order to do so.
The sight of him working so hard with nary an hour to sleep troubles my heart.
It is for his sake that I must ascertain whether our current guests mean any harm.
Carrying no lantern, I look around the familiar sights of the duke’s mansion.
I have no need for a light source thanks to my Night Vision skill. Even without it, I know this place so well that I could undoubtedly navigate with my eyes closed.
In the dark of night, I search the house to ensure that nothing is amiss.
And soon enough, I reach the area that houses the guest rooms.
My throat growing dry with tension, I swallow nervously.
But I do not stop walking, following my usual rounds.
First, I pass by three of the guest rooms without stopping.
There are currently five guests staying in the duke’s home, but three of them are generally to be found near the other two, rarely entering their own rooms.
Thus, these three rooms have gone virtually untouched. We have been cleaning them in the afternoon, but it appears that they have barely been used at all.
After passing these first three rooms, I arrive at the rooms that do contain guests.
With my Presence Perception skill, I can tell there are two guests within the first room.
One is sitting in a corner of the room, not moving an inch.
The other is sitting in a chair in the center of the room.
Not sleeping, despite the late hour.
When I realize this, I cannot help but feel disappointment, as usual.
Yes, as usual. This guest has not slept a wink since her arrival.
I am all but certain that she, too, must have the Exhaustion Nullification skill, though I cannot understand how she acquired it at such a young age.
But if she is awake, then I cannot sneak into her room and search her belongings.
I would never do such a thing for any indecent purposes, of course!
I wish only to confirm whether she has brought anything dangerous or perhaps discover anything that might hint as to the true nature of these visitors.
Though of course, in the case of the former, she has already quite brazenly brought in a large broadsword, so I suppose I cannot do anything about that.
Truly, while I have witnessed many a high-quality weapon in my years of service to the duke, that broadsword is by far one of the finest I have ever seen. And I am quite well versed in this subject, so my eyes cannot be easily deceived.
A single swing of that sword could very well be worth as much as this mansion, could it not? For any weapon that powerful bears an extraordinary value.
And yet, this guest has placed it in her room with no effort to hide it, leaving me uneasy in many ways.
Normally, I would simply confirm that the guest is awake and move on, but at this rate, I will never uncover any information, so I decide to embark on a little adventure.
And so I walk up to the door and lightly knock.
“Oh? Do come in.”
The voice from within the room sounds curious and quickly grants me permission to enter.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
As I open the door as quietly as possible, the room is still dark, but my perception was correct: Lady Sophia is seated at the table in the center of the room, and Lady Sael is crouching in the corner.
“What prompted you to knock tonight? Usually you just walk on by.”
At her casual words, a part of me is more vindicated than surprised.
As I suspected, she aware of my nighttime rounds.
I was hiding my presence all along, but it seems that was not enough to keep Lady Sophia from being aware of my activities.
Though Lady Sophia appears quite young, perhaps she is much older than she looks.
That is the only explanation I can conceive of for her Exhaustion Nullification and the fact that she sensed my presence. For how could someone that young ever gain such advanced skills?
But even if that is the case, I cannot begin to guess what exactly she might be.
We demons live longer than humans, but the rate of our growth is the same, so demon children’s appearances match their age. Therefore, I doubt she is a demon.
If she were an elf or had any elf blood, her ears would inevitably be pointed to some degree, but Lady Sophia’s ears are unremarkably round.
Which means that either she really is the age she appears, or else she is of some mythical race, like those spoken of in folklore.
I always assumed that races such as vampires and dragonkin were the stuff of stories and nothing more, but the Demon Lord is living proof that some of the stories are true.
She is the oldest of the Divine Beasts spoken of in legend.
A mythical being who has lived since ancient times.
From what I have heard, she is of a race closely related to spiders.
And since Lady Sophia came accompanying the Demon Lord, it is possible that she, too, belongs to some mythical race.
But realistically, it is hard to believe that such rare and legendary beings would exist in such numbers.
Which means one must assume that she really is the age that she appears.
And yet, if that is true, it calls into question how she could have such remarkable abilities.
I cannot tell what the truth might be.
It is my role to investigate, but since Lady Sophia is already well aware of my movements, my only choice is to patiently try to draw out information over time instead of attempting anything foolish.
That is why I have entered this room tonight.
“My apologies, Lady Sophia. Whenever I go about making my nightly rounds, you always seem to be awake, so I was growing concerned.”
“Ah, yes. I do sleep when I feel so inclined, but the mood hasn’t struck me lately.”
Oh? So she does sleep when she wishes.
But this is hardly cause for celebration.
Even if Lady Sophia was to fall asleep, the other would likely stay awake.
I glance at the corner of the room, where Lady Sael stares at me without the slightest twitch.
She seems almost more like a doll than a human.
But I suppose that is because she really is a doll.
Though I have yet to learn the true natures of Lady Sophia and Lady White, I have uncovered the identities of the other three during these past few days of investigation.
Though I suppose I didn’t exactly “uncover” them so much as they were simply revealed to me…
Evidently, these three girls are monsters known as puppet taratects.
Their bodies are mere puppets, with their real forms being small spider monsters. The spiders sit inside the remarkably human-looking dolls, manipulating them from within.
As they are kin to the Demon Lord, it is only natural that they should be spider monsters, I suppose.
Now that I know their true identities, I find them a bit easier to deal with than Lady Sophia or Lady White.
…Although knowing that also makes them all the more frightening.
I must confess that even now, as Lady Sael stares at me, I do feel a bit of fear.
“Sorry about that. Her job is technically to be my bodyguard, so she won’t let her guard down around people she doesn’t trust.”
“It is I who should apologize. It was quite objectionable of me to enter a lady’s room at such a late hour.”
I’ve now been bluntly told that I am untrustworthy.
I suppose that was inevitable. If someone is sneaking around the house every night, it would be stranger not to be wary of them. Though for me, it is a simple matter of security, she must have found it strange if she sensed my presence.
“I patrol the mansion every night as a security measure, so I will continue to pass through the hallway around this hour. Please pay me no mind.”
“Of course. As long as you don’t try anything suspicious, that is.”
I suppose pressing the matter any further will only make her warier of me.
For now, since I at least gained the information that any careless moves will be counterproductive, I will consider this a win.
“Forgive my impertinence, but I do feel that it would be in your best interest to sleep at night if at all possible, if only for the sake of your health and growth. I bid you good night.”
Surely I can get away with giving that small piece of advice.
They do say that lack of sleep is bad for a child’s growth, so I have stated nothing but the truth.
I know not what Lady Sophia does at night, but if she really is the age she appears to be, surely it would be best for her to sleep.
At any rate, as long as she has Lady Sael at her side, I cannot make any reckless moves, regardless of whether Lady Sophia is awake or not.
If Lady Sophia ever displays ill will toward the duke’s household, then I shall have to be strong, but otherwise I will strive to keep my investigation from causing her to view me as an enemy.
Leaving Lady Sophia’s room, I move toward the next guest room.
However, when I probe inside, I sense one waking presence here as well.
Lady White appears to be asleep, but there is something awake next to her bed.
Something?
“?!”
I must commend myself for not screaming at this moment.
For just then, a black shadow suddenly lowers itself in front of me, stopping in midair directly in front of my face.
A single spider, small enough to fit in one’s palm.
The spider occupies most of my field of vision.
It is right before the tip of my nose, nearly close enough to be touching.
I reflexively take a step back.
As if in response, it smoothly moves back toward the ceiling.
It must have lowered itself from the ceiling with thread too thin for my eyes to see.
When I look up at the ceiling, there is Lady Riel, staring at me with vacant eyes.
Her mouth is wide open as she sticks to the ceiling.
No, I suppose what is sticking to the ceiling is only Lady Riel’s doll. The spider itself that is moving back toward the doll is Lady Riel’s real body.
Part 2 of 8