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

Support us on Ko-Fi or Patreon to make this translation and the translators keep alive.
Thank you for your support frankie and ZaneofBane

TL Notes:
My family is facing an unexpected financial challenge. If you are well-off and in generous mood. Please support us. 
You can commission me (Request Novel) on Ko-Fi or Patreon (I can only translate Japanese, though). 
We would be forever grateful for any contribution, big or small, to help us overcome this difficult time. Thank you

SS The Darkness of the Previous Hero


This is a bit of a side story.
It's from Amira's perspective.

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

"You've aged a lot, Falga."

　Those were the words uttered by the Demon King-sama when he was face-to-face with the Divine Dragon Falga.
　Although I am here as an escort with Koga, I cannot help but hide my surprise at the existence of a divine dragon.
　I knew beforehand that such a thing existed...I knew, but it was still shocking.

"Hmph."

　Falga, the divine dragon, snorted in displeasure.
　By the spring where he is, there is Norn, the queen of Mialak, and a man named Karon, a guard from that side.

"You've become surprisingly weak."
"I have no words to refute that. It's true. But is it not true of you as well, right?"
"I've only just gotten older. You've just had your powers taken away in a humiliating way."

　The extremely suffocating argument continued.
　Even though the Demon King and Falga are just facing each other, I feel under a great deal of pressure not wanting to be here.
　Is it the same for the Queen of Mialak in front of me, her pale face turning into something even worse.

"D-Demon King-sama... He has an impressive beard..."

　Suddenly, Ciel, who was hiding behind the Demon King-sama, spoke in a carefree voice.
　The tense atmosphere disappeared with that voice, and the Demon King let out a big sigh.

"... Haa~, you just stay quiet."
"Y-Yes?"

　...I've never had much interaction with her, but she's got a lot of guts, doesn't she?
　As expected of the Demon King-sama's personal maid.
　Her courage may be on par with that of a corps commander.

"Enough with the greetings now. Now then... I've come as per your request."
"I didn't expect you to come so obediently, though."

　Demon King-sama smiled at Falga's words.

"This one seemed more interesting to me."
"Hmph, it's you that we're talking about. You're already aware that they're hiding out, aren't you?"
"You know that too, don't you? ...Either way, they're afraid of a weakened me and won't even set foot in this city."
"Weakened? Stop joking."

　Falga's harsh words sounded astounding.
　While I am surprised at the fact that the existence of the so-called “devil” is already close by, I admire the power of the Demon King, who has already detected their existence.

"So, what are you planning to do?"
"If you poke them now, they will just run away. The best way to do this is to lure them out. After all, we have a good bait."
"Watch your mouth. That guy is not bait."

　That guy? ...Who is that?
　It seems that both the Demon King-sama and Falga know about it...

"Then it's a pseudo-bait. If you let your guard down and get too close, the real thing will jump out and eat you."
"It's gotten worse, isn't it."
"It's not entirely wrong, right? He unconsciously disguises himself as a harmless creature."
"..."

　Falga remained silent and looked troubled, unable to find a counterargument.
　Koga and I finally realized who they were referring to in that conversation.

"It's Usato."
"That's certainly true..."

　If you face him head-on, you can understand how much he is with his strong-willed eyes, but from the outside, he looks like an ordinary boy.
　His strong physique was hidden by his thick white clothing, making his strength unknown.

"Their perception of Usato is terrible..."
"I wonder what he did to the Demon King's army..."

　Mialak's side is reacting a little bit taken aback, but the Rescue Squad he's with has given us a lot of trouble.
　In some ways, he was undoubtedly more troublesome than the heroes.

"Well, I said bait, but he has to be involved with the devil whether he wants to or not. So, it would be easier for us if he were within our sight."
"It must be because of your actions."
"No, he would have been targeted anyway. No matter what I did, the devil would have taken the tombs of the Lingle Kingdom —— the corpses of Rose's subordinates, and become involved."

　———Rose's subordinates.
　Before their deaths, they had fought evenly with my superior's, my master's subordinates.
　It would be extremely troublesome if these men were to return to life, as they were able to hold back around twenty elite soldiers, whose abilities were recognized by my master, with just seven of them.

"No matter what, Usato's going to be involved in the mess..."
"You seem to value him quite a bit."
"I owe him a personal debt of gratitude, but they, including the heroes, have fulfilled their mission. By all rights, they should be living peaceful lives... away from fighting. ... If he was willing to abandon the world to which he was returning to stay, then so much the better."

　...I was honestly surprised to see that the Divine Dragon thinks more like humans or demons than I expected.
　If anything, I should say that we are on the same point of view.
　There was a tone in his words that sounded somewhat like he was blaming himself.

"...Don't act carelessly. You will incur the distrust of other countries."
"I know that. While you're busy working, I'll enjoy a brief respite."
"Can't you talk to me in any other way than that which annoys me...!"

　Falga's voice rises in annoyance, and Demon King-sama shrugs his shoulders.
　The Demon King-sama is having an unconcerned conversation that is different from the way he talks to us, which gives me a strange feeling.

"I was surprised to see Falga-sama reveal so much emotion."

　The other side seems to be thinking the same thing I am.
　As I was thinking this, the topic of conversation between the Demon King-sama and Falga changed.

"Well, then, rather than the next requirement ... this is more of a confirmation."

　Looking up at Falga, the Demon King-sama tilted his head at what he said.
　Judging from the situation, it seems like it might be something serious...

"Now I have less than 30% of the power I had in my prime, having been drained of it by the previous hero... Hisago. ...You already know that, right?"
"Of course. Otherwise, it would be impossible to defeat a monster like you. Is that what you want to confirm?"

　Falga's eyes sharpen.
　Even in the face of obvious hostility, the Demon King-sama opens his mouth without moving an eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong. I am not interested in power now. Before I came here ——— specifically, right after I went out of the demon king's territory, the seven chains that were tied to my body appeared."
"..."
"I wonder if the splits of my power are hidden at the end of those chains?"

　!　Is that, by any chance, that chain from three days ago?
　Translucent chains extend from the Demon King-sama's body.
　They stretched out in all directions somewhere far, far away, but the Demon King-sama must have torn them apart himself.
　Perhaps he saw the silence as an affirmation, Demon King-sama smiled.

"He has a pretty bad personality, I was not aware of it until that time. I never thought that he would try to get me to abandon the connection to the “power” that he himself had stolen from me when I was about to start my invasion outside the Demon King's territory."
"You can't say anything when he does that, can you."
"That's true. So, it doesn't really matter in this regard. Right now, I don't care that much about power. ...But, that's not the issue."

　Staring at his own palm, the Demon King-sama continued speaking.

"The power was taken from me. It was divided into seven parts, and the question is where they were hidden."
"..."
"Three of the chains were heading toward my demon king's territory. Three of the other four chains were heading in different directions, but I have not been able to determine their locations ——— but I knew the location of the remaining one the moment I arrived here."

　He paused and then pointed to the spring where Falga was soaking.
　When I looked in the direction he was pointing, I saw nothing but clear water with the pale blue bottom visible.

"I wonder if it is safe to assume that part of my power comes from this spring?"
"...Though it is only recently that I have come to the core of the matter."

　Could this be where some of the power extracted from the Demon King-sama is?
　Why in Mialak, a realm inhabited by humans?

"So you were dutifully guarding this place."
"If not, the disaster would have spread not only to Mialak but also to its surroundings. Just like the demon king's territory where you are."

　What...?! What does that mean!!
　Like the Demon King's Territory, does he know why the Demon King's Territory has become like it is now?!
　As I was about to step forward, I saw Norn, the queen of Mialark, standing beside Falga, talking to him in an agitated manner.

"Wh-What do you mean? Falga-sama. Is it the Kureha Spring, a spring that we, the royal family, have been protecting?"
"There's no doubt that you have been protecting it. Because I asked the king at the time to do so. ...The nature of Kureha's Spring, which misleads people and bestows excessive power, is a result of the abnormal power possessed by the Demon King."
"So, does that mean that the previous Hero... implanted one of the powers he stole from the Demon King into the water source of Mialark...?"　
"That seems to be the case."

　Kureha's Spring, as this spring is called, was its source the power of the Demon King...?
　I don't understand.
　What on earth was the previous hero thinking when he did such a thing?

"It all started with the mysterious death of a man who drank water from an underground spring."
"Strange, death?"
"The man was a timid deliveryman. However, he was a kind man with a kind heart and would never have been violent towards others."

　Falga remembered something and closed his eyes in regret, then continued speaking in a heavy voice.

"The man, as if he had become a completely different person, went on a rampage, destroying many people and buildings before collapsing into the ground, never to wake up again."
"So that was the first victim...?"
"At first glance, I knew the water was abnormal. It was a “poison” that gave people excessive strength and destroyed both body and mind. I immediately tracked down the vein from which the water was gushing out, and made sure it was managed so that it would not fall into the hands of humans."

　A poison strong enough to destroy both the body and the mind.
　Well, if that was all there was to it, then it would be easy to just not touch it, but the terrifying thing about this is that the poison could potentially end up mixing with the water that we living things need.
　If so, this is more than just a chilling thought.

"...I guess I was just lucky."
"Eh?"
"If we had been just a little slower, many people would have sipped the cursed water and died, unknowingly spreading destruction and death all around them. If the mindless and those who wish to cause strife had known of its existence, they would have used every means at their disposal to obtain it."
"Well, I suppose they would have."

　At this point, the Demon King-sama nodded in understanding.

"Even though it is divided into seven parts, the magic power I possess is nothing but a deadly poison for human beings. No matter how much it is diluted, no matter how strong one's body is, it is not something that an ordinary human being can handle."
"———I don't think that Hisago doesn't understand that either."
"Perhaps one of the reasons for dividing and hiding the power is to reduce it to a level that allows people of this age to deal with me. The second reason is probably to test you all."

　Isn't what he is trying to do too messed up?
　It seems as if he is acting on the side of destroying the humans.

"I guess the rest is just revenge against me and the demons. It's abominable, but it seems I've been dancing almost entirely on his palm."

　The Demon King-sama frowned and clutched his forehead.
　Then, Ciel timidly spoke to the Demon King-sama.

"Demon King-sama, you said earlier that three of your powers are in the Demon King's territory... but isn't that a pretty big deal?"
"No, that's not it. Ciel, it's already happening."
"Eh?! Wh-What do you mean?!"

　Everyone except Falga looked shaken.
　It's already happening... Could it be———,

"The situation the demon tribe is currently in is precisely because of the influence of the power extracted from me."

　The reason the demons were being cornered was because the power of the Demon King-sama was stolen by the previous hero.
　Although Ciel is distraught at this surprising fact, but asks the Demon King-sama a question. 　

"B-But if you're pouring your power into the earth, it should revitalize, right...?"
"Excessive nourishment causes fruit to rot. Likewise, if the earth is continually given too much power, the cycle of nature will break down. The earth was not depleted———it was overfilled, and thus was doomed to perish."

　It's not an impossible concept to understand.
　Just as having too much power destroys you, if enough power continues to pour out of the receptacle of the earth to the point that it overflows, the content of the earth will collapse.

"My goodness, even though he's my sworn enemy, he has quite a mean personality." (Demon King)
"I'm sure your existence is not the only reason that made him do so." (Falga)

　I don't know what the previous hero wants.
　I understand that he has a grudge against the demons he fought against.
　But why is he doing something that will bring misfortune even to humans?
　It makes it seem like he just wants to destroy the humans that he saved.

"So, what do we do now?"
"I don't know what to do, but I don't think this is an issue that we should be moving too rashly on. It will undoubtedly lead to confusion... but we may need to explain the details at a meeting."
"Whether the opportunistic people of this age will believe it or not is another matter."

　The reason behind the demons' hardship and the dark side of the previous hero.
　Although I am a demon, this fact will be hard to believe for those who view the previous Hero as a Hero.
　The confusion it will cause is unpredictable.

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

Author's Notes:
The protagonist, who is almost always compared to a butterfly anglerfish.

Hisago-san put the Demon King Power (10%) into the water vein.
As a result, Kureha Spring was created.
He was also a big part of the reason why the Demon King's territory turned out the way it did.