Chapter 17: The Demon Lord’s Name
After saying that, Lance himself keenly noticed something was wrong.
Misa had just reminded him of the goddess’s name, and that name was clearly different from the one he had just said. He remembered it started with “Gi,” uh, and ended with “s”? So it must be the middle characters that were wrong.
Lance cleared his throat and apologized earnestly to the goddess, saying, “Sorry, Gilbass.”
Ginises: “…”
Okay, the goddess didn’t immediately respond, indicating he had still made a mistake.
Lance racked his brain.
“Uh… Gili…” Lance looked at Misa, whose expression was complicated, trying to seek his help. “Gili…”
Ginises: “…”
Misa: “…”
Lance took a deep breath, deciding to give up the struggle and sincerely apologize to the goddess.
“Sorry,” Lance said. “Names with more than three characters are too hard to remember.”
Misa: “…”
Ginises: “…”
But still no one told him the correct answer.
Lance could only try his best.
Lance tried to think: “Gi… Laras?”
Misa: “…”
Lance: “Hmm, Ginises?”
Ginises: “…”
Misa couldn’t stand it anymore.
He tiptoed, leaned close to Lance’s ear, and whispered, “Ginises.”
Lance felt like he instantly recovered a lost memory. He immediately nodded, enlightened. “Oh! Thank you! Ginises!”
Ginises: “…”
Ginises didn’t want to talk to the hero.
She couldn’t understand.
She was the Goddess of Light, the Goddess of Light with countless followers. How could someone keep mispronouncing her name like this?
Damn it, this annoying hero still hadn’t improved at all.
Ginises gritted her teeth, almost wanting to break her promise to the hero, but gods couldn’t break their word. She suppressed her anger and earnestly asked the hero, “My savior hero—”
“I have a name,” Lance frowned slightly. “Don’t you remember?”
Ginises: “…”
How could she not remember?!
Lance offered a hint.
“My name is Lance,” Lance said seriously. “Don’t use such a long title to refer to me anymore.”
Ginises: “You… I… Lance, what exactly do you need me to do?”
She gave up.
She really found it difficult to communicate normally with this hero; she could only try to follow Lance’s words. The other cumbersome details were clearly unimportant.
But Lance didn’t intend to tell her his plan directly. He just frowned slightly and directly told the goddess what he needed her to do.
It was simple; he needed the goddess to convey an oracle.
If possible, he hoped that this oracle could reach the churches everywhere, informing all the goddess’s followers that the savior hero before them was the “spokesperson” of the gods in the world.
They should put aside their prejudices, listen to the hero’s guidance, and believe the savior’s words.
For the goddess, this wasn’t a difficult task, especially since the oracle the hero wanted her to convey was also the gods’ intention.
They wanted the hero to take on the responsibility and become the gods’ messenger among humans. This didn’t conflict with their intentions; it was merely reiterating this matter to the church. Ginises hardly hesitated before agreeing.
But Ginises thought that doing so alone wouldn’t stop the volcanic eruption. She didn’t understand the hero’s actions, so after agreeing, she couldn’t help but ask, “Just that?”
Lance nodded: “Just that.”
Ginises: “…”
Ginises was clearly uneasy.
Not only her, but also Misa.
Misa originally thought that the hero would ask Ginises to issue an oracle, causing the residents of Sky City to abandon their prejudices and believe the dwarves under the volcano, thus achieving harmony between the two groups, and then starting his trade plan.
But Lance didn’t mention the dwarves from beginning to end, so Misa couldn’t help but worry. He hesitated for a moment, before the hero could dismiss the goddess, grabbed the hero’s arm, winked at the soft light floating in mid-air, asking Ginises to give him and the hero some private time, and then forcefully pulled Lance down from the altar.
“It’s rare for the goddess to agree to fulfill your wish,” Misa lowered his voice and asked, “Is that enough?”
Lance was startled, clearly not understanding this strange operation of gossiping behind the goddess’s back. If the gods really had the power they said they did, it wouldn’t matter if they whispered at the edge of the world.
But Misa was a divine messenger, and divine messengers should… know the goddess well.
Lance could only frown and softly answer Misa’s question.
“That’s enough,” Lance said. “Trust me, it’s more than enough.”
Misa: “But… don’t you need to make people believe the dwarves?”
“Dwarves are monsters,” Lance emphasized. “Gi… the goddess couldn’t possibly admit dwarves aren’t monsters.”
Misa: “…”
“Humans are stubborn, and your gods are stubborn too,” Lance said seriously. “It’s better to stop here; I’ll improvise the rest.”
Misa: “…”
Misa finally looked up at the hero in front of him again.
He finally discovered it.
Compared to the hero he first met in that small, broken village in the Blessed Lands, Lance no longer had that dull, green expression on his face. Or rather, when he was in front of Misa, he rarely showed that expression anymore.
But in front of outsiders, he still seemed to be used to doing so, putting on an expression that would put everyone at ease, and all this was for his own benefit.
His brief “devotion” to the goddess just now was also because he needed the goddess’s help. He wouldn’t suddenly change his mind and believe in some ethereal god. Everything this hero did was clearly for the goals he wanted to achieve.
This wasn’t some silly hero who was so slow that he didn’t know how to leave the beginner village for three years; that was just an appearance, just as Teacher Alisa had told him, everything this hero did inadvertently was clearly deliberate.
Misa took a few deep breaths, but didn’t know how to expose the hero’s true nature. After carefully recalling and thinking about it, he found that Lance no longer pretended in front of him. When alone with him, the hero’s expression increasingly showed him a side he hadn’t seen before.
It was the hero’s true heart, a heart that the hero never concealed from him.
Damn it, this cunning hero!
Misa followed Lance back to the altar, to the light representing Ginises, and Lance bluntly said to Ginises, “It’s all settled.”
Ginises: “Hmm?”
Lance: “You can go back.”
Ginises: “…”
Ginises fell silent.
This was the first time she had encountered such a rude hero. She found it difficult to suppress her complex emotions, but she couldn’t leave yet. She had an oracle to convey to the bishop waiting outside, and before all this, she had a bigger question in her heart.
Ginises tried to maintain her gentle tone and asked, “Lance.”
Lance: “Hmm?”
Ginises: “Do you remember what the Demon Lord’s name is?”
Lance: “…”
Misa: “…”
It wasn’t that he didn’t remember; Lance simply didn’t know.
Ginises felt she had finally won back some ground. After all, it wasn’t just her who couldn’t remember names; he didn’t even remember his nemesis. That must be the hero’s problem, not hers.
So Ginises was in a good mood, smiling and saying, “Lance, the Demon Lord is your destined enemy; you should remember his name.”
Lance: “…”
Lance looked at Misa.
He asked with his eyes, seeking Misa’s help, hoping that Misa, who seemed to know everything, could tell him the name of the evil Demon Lord who was shut away in the Demon Lord’s castle.
Misa: “Um…”
Misa: “Um…………”
Misa: “Um………………”
Help!
The name was too long; he couldn’t remember it either!!!
Misa felt it wasn’t his fault.
It was all the Demon Lord’s naming principle and the hero’s fault.
Misa remembered clearly that after he graduated with honors from Demon Lord Training School, under Alisa’s guidance, he had tried to choose a stage name for his future Demon Lord career.
At that time, Alisa told him that the first rule of Demon Lord naming was—it must be long.
90% of Demon Lords and big villains had names with four characters or more; the remaining 10% had very short names. Alisa himself was in the long-name camp; his own Demon Lord name was six characters long. He felt this was necessary to show the Demon Lord’s power and solemnity. He suggested Misa do the same, so Misa… gave himself a five-character Demon Lord name.
That was many years ago.
Misa vaguely remembered that the name started with “Xi,” but as for the other four characters…
Aaah! Who would remember!!!
The hero hadn’t been to the Demon Lord’s castle for three years! He hadn’t used that name in three years! Could he be blamed for this!
He had solemnly written his name on his desk. Every time he needed to write a letter, he would look up at it. But he hadn’t had the opportunity to write letters using his Demon Lord name for three years; he really, really didn’t remember it anymore!!!
But Lance’s gaze was eager, full of expectation for him, and Ginises remained silent, as if she believed Misa could give them the answer. So Misa, under immense pressure, racked his brains, trying hard to recall.
Misa finally stammered, “Xi… Xise… uh…”
Lance couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Misa gradually began to feel guilty, “…Si… Si…”
Lance: “…”
Ginises: “…”
Misa: “Wuu, I don’t remember either.”
oh my god the hero and the demon lord are made for each other