Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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Chapter 289


　We'll take the Demon King on board a ship and escort and monitor him all the way to Mialak.
　It's a mission that already makes my stomach feel uneasy just hearing about it, but I know it's something only we can do, so I'm not complaining———,

"So why am I here?"
"Talk to me."
"Have you ever been this tyrannical...?"

　I was called as soon as I showed him to the ship, but I didn't expect to be asked to talk to him.
　Nea and Ferrum said they were going to rest in the room they were assigned, but I wonder if I should have brought them with me.

"Here you go"
"Thank you"

　I thanked Ciel-san for offering me a cup of tea.
　Come to think of it, I somehow haven't introduced myself to this person.
　I turned to her as she held the tray and bowed slightly.

"Once again, my name is Usato Ken."
"Oh, that's nice of you. I'm Ciel, the Demon King's maid. I couldn't say this a while ago because we were enemies, but thank you for protecting me at the ruins the other day."
"Thank you for protecting Keira."
"No, no."
"No, no."

"It seems to go on forever."

　As they exchanged polite words with each other, the Demon King took a sip of his tea with a bored look on his face.
　I wonder if Keira is doing well.
　Once things have calmed down a bit, I'll send her a letter via Koga.

"..."

　An awkward silence continues for a while.
　I take a sip of tea and look at the Demon King.
　Although I don't feel the same tension as before, it is still difficult for me to maintain my distance from him.
　I ask him a question without hesitation.

"Is the Demon King's territory okay now?"
"...There's no need to worry."

　The Demon King quietly answers.

"Not only do I have subordinates I can trust, but above all, I have Nero."
"There's nothing to be worried about with that person..."

　Nero Agence, a swordsman of extraordinary power.
　With him there, no matter who comes, they won't be able to lay a hand on the demons.

"Plus, there's Hannah."
"Ah, Hannah-san? How is she?"
"Yeah, compared to before, she's doing her job without any hesitation."

　I know it's odd for me to say this, but I'm relieved.
　I thought Hannah was going to leave the Demon King's territory as it was, but it seems that she decided to stay in the Demon King's territory in the end.
　I don't know if that decision was made by accident or by her own choice, but I am relieved that she is still alive after all the trouble we got her into.

"What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"It seems that other demi-humans besides us will also be coming to this meeting. What do you think about that?"
"It was a surprise, but... well, nothing in particular."

　Other people may have various thoughts about this, but I don't have any particular thoughts about the demi-humans coming.
　Although, if I ever came across a scene where demi-humans were being blatantly discriminated against, I would probably get involved somehow.

"Ah, Hayate-san... I would like to greet the representative of the beastfolk country." (Usato)
"...Now that I think about it, you were acquainted with the head of Hinomoto." (Demon King)
"Yes, well, it's a personal matter, just an exchange of letters." (Usato)
"...Personal? Hmm..." (Demon King)

　The Demon King looked a little surprised and thought deeply.
　Did I say something strange?

"Demon King?"
"You're quite useful."
"Yes?"
"The beastfolk are a race that is closed off from other races. I had hoped to have some connection with them, but I didn't realize that you had even a personal friendship between them."
"It's unusual, but is it really that strange?"

　When I said that, the Demon King looked at me in amazement and shifted his gaze from me to Ciel.

"Ciel. What do you think about this guy who has a personal relationship with the leader of the beastfolk and yet can act so calmly in front of me and other demons?"
"I think it's just plain strange."

　Ciel-san, why are you smiling that much...?
　I guess it's weird in the sense that I don't have any prejudices against demi-humans.

"Eventually, we will need to establish relations with the beastfolk, and with you here, it will be much easier. You, who are not afraid of issues between races, are the perfect person to help us."
"Were you planning on interacting with the beastfolk as well?"
"Yes. Due to the monsters' domain, we couldn't allocate our forces there, but now that the Demon King's army has been disbanded, we can allocate personnel to the development."
"I see... But I can't do it on my own, you know?"
"I know. But in any case, trade with the beastfolk is necessary for us, and for them too."

　Necessary...?
　The Demon King explains it properly to Ciel-san and I, who are tilting our heads in confusion.

"Hinomoto has been able to continue weaving its civilization as before, but this was only possible because it had allowed everything else to stagnate."
"Stagnation, is it?"
"They didn't take in anything unnecessary, and continued to reflect the knowledge Hisago gave them. Well, that's enough to get by, but from now on, their perception of demi-humans will change in every sense."

　Does that mean it's a change of era?

"The beastfolk cannot remain stagnant as they are now. That is why they must change, just like us demons."
"Is that why you want to trade?"
"The land may not produce much, but fortunately there are plenty of mining resources. Plus, I can offer my knowledge in exchange."

　The Demon King seems to be thinking ahead as well.
　If that's the case, I'd like to help, but I'd have to get firm permission first.
　...Speaking of which, there was something I wanted to ask him as well.

"May I ask a question?"
"Sure."
"Is there any magic that can bring the dead back to life?"
"No, there is not."

　My eyes widened as the Demon King answered immediately.
　I had thought that the Demon King, who has no equal when it comes to controlling sorcery, might be able to do it, but even he can't do it?

"If it's only been a few minutes or even 10 minutes since death, it may be possible to revive them. After that, even sorcery won't be able to do it."
"...I see "
" Are you talking about the corpses stolen by the devil?"
"...Yes"

　The corpses of those who were Rose's subordinates were stolen from the cemetery in the Kingdom of Lingle.
　If the devil is going to use those corpses, we must anticipate it.

"Right. There is sorcery that could summon souls."
"Can you use that too?"
"I could do it before I was sealed away, but that's no longer possible... I can use sorcery to move corpses, just like your necromancer familiar, but that's probably not the kind of sorcery a devil would use."
"Is that because there's no need to take the body of someone who was strong in life?"
"Exactly."

　As Nea told me, even if you control corpses with necromancer-like powers, you're just moving corpses with magic power, so it doesn't make for a particularly strong zombie.

"...I should warn you, even if a corpse appears before you exactly as it was in life, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's the same person it was in life."
"Why?"
"The souls recalled by the external law are somehow distorted. Unless the spirit is very strong like yours, it will become mentally deranged and in many cases become a meat puppet that merely obeys orders."

　.......
　Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if I could talk to them.
　Even if they were forced to come back to life, I wanted to hear the stories of the amazing people who worked under Rose, but that was not going to happen.

"Usato, devils are monsters whose power grows from fear and negative emotions."
"Yes"
"When you face them, your mental strength will be tested first. If you waver or give way, they will take advantage of that."

　I nodded at the Demon King's advice.
　Then it's important to face the devil with a strong heart.

"...Well, I'm not that worried about you. If anything, you're the one who inflicts fear on devils."
"You're ruining it."

　Personally, I'm far more afraid of you than the devil.
　Although above you there's the immovable Great Demon King, The Truly Angry Rose.
　But now the possibility of me fighting Auru-san and the others has increased.
　While this fact is depressing, I need to be mentally prepared to deal with them immediately if they do show up.

"Ah, that reminds me... there's something I wanted to ask you."
"...You... well, never mind..."
"Demon King, I'm glad you now have someone you can talk to without hesitation."
"Shut up..."
"?"

　Ciel-san had a smiling face, and the Demon King was holding his forehead, so I tilted my head.
　I regained my composure and asked him what I was thinking of asking him just a moment ago.

"Demon King. Can you still use the sorcery of gravity?"
"...Just to be clear, why are you asking me that?"
"No, I'm bored on the ship, so I thought I'd use it for resistance training while on guard duty."

　When I said this bashfully, Ciel-san, who had been smiling from before, looked taken aback.
　I knew what I was saying was strange, but it was true that I wanted to try it.

——After that, I received an ambiguous nod and was allowed to leave.

　After Ciel-san saw me off, I left the room and when I heard the door close behind me, I crossed my arms in a troubled expression.

"Is gravity resistance training too much after all?"
"Maybe you're an idiot...?"
"Ah, Amira-san."

　Amira-san, who was standing guard next to the door, tells me this with a look of dismay on her face.
　I turned to look at her, who was standing with her back straight, sword at her waist.

"By the way, where's Koga?"
"He's on a break... Well, there's a good chance he'll skip his guard duty."
"...Uhm, are you okay?"
"Fufu, to think that a former enemy would be worried about me..."

　Amira-san's self-deprecating smile made my cheeks twitch.
　What is it?
　This kind of hard-working nature.

"If you want, I can bring him over?"
"...No, there's no need to go that far. If you go, there will probably be a battle on the ship."

　What does this mean?
　Surely he's not the type of guy that would suddenly attack you on a boat... well, I don't think he would.
　Well, if that were to happen, I have an idea.

"Don't worry. When that happens, I'll take responsibility and throw him overboard."
"Doesn't your personality only change when Koga is involved?"

　Amira seems to have pulled back somewhat.
　Should I have wrapped him up and rolled him onto the deck instead of taking him overboard...?

"...Talking to you puts me off my rhythm."

　Amira-san sighs.
　She smiles a somewhat weak smile, and I can't help but smile wryly.

"Amira-san, you're Nero Agence... Nero-san's disciple... right?"
"Yeah. So you're Rose's disciple, right?"

　She asked me as if to confirm, and I nodded.

"I thought if we were going to talk, it would be in the middle of a battle. I never thought it would turn out this way."
"I guess we'll just talk about the hardships we've had to endure."
"Hmph, that's true... Now that I think about it, you and I might be alike."

　Since we are both in the position of studying under a strong master, it is true that I feel a kind of sympathy.

"Though I didn't expect you to suddenly slash at me right after the battle with the Demon King was over."
"Forget about that..."
"You continued to rampage after that though."
"You're actually still holding a grudge...?"

　That's how surprised I was at the time.
　No one else had ever attacked me so suddenly, crying and trying to kill herself.
　But seeing as how we are talking normally now, I guess she was just a bit emotionally unstable at the time.

——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

Author's Notes:
The Demon King wasn't particularly worried about Usato.
Well, that can't be helped, since he's a mental monster who could be called the devil's natural enemy.