Chapter 27: The Demon King’s Tail part 1
Lance picked out a suitable suit of armor for himself before turning his gaze to the weapon racks nearby.
They were filled with all sorts of weapons, many of which had special properties—the dwarves seemed to be quite skilled at enchanting. They had imbued these weapons with a wide variety of strange and wonderful effects. There were quite a few that even Misa liked, but Lance showed no interest at all.
He looked around for a moment, then walked over to a corner and picked out the most ordinary, inconspicuous longsword.
Misa couldn’t see anything special about this sword. To him, it looked no different from the one Lance was currently using.
Yes, it was almost identical to the basic, low-level longsword he had brought from the novice village, the Land of Blessings.
He couldn’t understand it.
The Hero had specifically entered the dwarves’ treasury, spent all this time looking around, and in the end, chose a piece of common equipment that could be bought on the side of the road?
Wasn’t this trip a complete waste?
Misa finally couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you don’t want to take another set of armor?”
Lance blinked.
“You’re bound to succeed eventually,” Misa said, following the Hero’s twisted logic. “You could take a cooler set to prepare for your future success.”
“Ah…” Lance said slowly, “but a savior’s success doesn’t need to be embellished by appearances.”
Misa: “…”
Misa took a deep, deep breath.
No, he shouldn’t get caught up in the Hero’s strange reasoning.
Lance took another serious look at the equipment in the dwarven treasury.
The dwarves specialized in forging armor, so there wasn’t much equipment suitable for a magic-user like Misa. Lance scanned the area and only spotted a magic stone staff in a corner. His eyes lit up, and he hurried over, picked up the staff, and turned to Misa, asking, “Do you want it?”
Misa gave a cold refusal.
He was the Demon King.
He owned the Demon King’s Castle, which held the most valuable and rare treasures in this world.
Every piece of equipment in his collection was priceless, far beyond anything that could be found in a mere dwarven treasury.
A staff like this, he wouldn’t even look—
Lance’s head drooped in disappointment.
Misa: “…”
That’s right, he wouldn’t even—
Lance let out a soft sigh and reluctantly placed the staff back.
Misa: “…”
Misa: “…Alright, fine, give it to me.”
…
Misa, holding the magic stone staff, followed Lance out of the dwarven treasury.
Oshien was waiting outside. He first saw the human Hero walk out carrying a pile of shabby-looking equipment and couldn’t help but frown, thinking to himself: Hmph, human heroes. They truly don’t know how to appreciate our fine craftsmanship.
Then he looked up and saw Misa behind Lance.
The great Demon King, holding an ordinary magic stone staff with a reluctant, forced expression, looked up at Oshien.
Oshien: “…”
Is… is this the weapon the Demon King likes?
Oh my god! The Demon King is using a staff that I personally forged!
Oshien was overcome with excitement, feeling as if he had reached the pinnacle of his career.
He had to write this in a letter right now and send it to his fellow dwarves overnight to show off!
Oshien prepared separate rooms for the Hero and Misa, then dashed back to his study to start writing.
“My dearest Ramanganese,” Oshien wrote with glee, “although you may own the richest mineral veins on the continent, the Demon King is using a staff forged by me.”
He couldn’t stop the silly grin from spreading across his face as he quickly signed his name and pulled out another sheet of paper.
“Hey, Okazinc, how have you been lately?” Oshien wrote happily. “Nothing much on my end, just missed you a little. By the way, I wanted to let you know that the Demon King has recently been using a staff I forged.”
Oshien let out another silly giggle and was about to grab the next piece of paper when he suddenly heard a knock on his door. He jumped in fright, scrambled to hide the letters on his desk, and shouted, “Who is it!”
Misa: “It’s me—”
Oshien immediately leaped off his stool, rushed forward in excitement, and threw the door open.
“You’re here!” Oshien exclaimed happily, “Demon—”
Misa slammed the door shut with a bang.
Misa: “…”
Damn it, this dwarf’s voice was way too loud.
He cautiously looked left and right, making sure the Hero wasn’t nearby and that no one had heard Oshien’s shout just now. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief, pull the door open again, and slip inside.
Oshien was covering his mouth. He clearly understood that his loud voice had caused trouble. He probably shouldn’t be calling Misa “Demon King” right now, but should instead learn from the humans and call him “God’s Envoy.”
Oshien scratched his head and said nervously, “God… God’s Envoy…”
Misa sighed, “It’s just the two of us here.”
Oshien instantly understood Misa’s meaning. He couldn’t contain the excitement in his voice and said happily, “Demon King, you’re using the staff I forged!”
Misa: “Uh…”
Misa guiltily averted his gaze and decided to get straight to the point, trying to avoid discussing the magic stone staff with Oshien.
He cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, “Oshien, I need your help.”
Oshien was still very excited: “Hooray!”
“Tonight is a special occasion,” Misa said. “That human Hero, he’s going to destroy the Demon King’s Castle one day.”
Only then did Oshien slowly pull himself out of his overly excited state. He was stunned for a good while, finding it very difficult to connect the human Hero who had helped them so wholeheartedly with the mortal enemy of his kind.
But he also knew that the Demon King was not wrong.
According to the history passed down through the dwarven race for centuries, human heroes always did everything in their power to destroy them. Those heroes never asked for reasons and would never communicate with them properly. And from what his father had told him—this seemed to be the mission given to human heroes and their kind by the gods.
They were born enemies and were destined to hate each other until they went to their graves.
And all the monsters who died bravely at the hands of heroes, who made an effort to select the King of the World, would ultimately receive divine pardon. They would surely be resurrected by the gods, receive unimaginable benefits, be bestowed with supreme glory, and live happily in their dark territories once again.
This was the natural order in the eyes of the gods, and it didn’t seem to have much of a downside for the monsters. Besides, for thousands of years, all monsters had done this. There was no reason for it, so of course, they didn’t need to think about the reason.
“I am supposed to be his mortal enemy,” Misa said seriously. “I’m just… uh, enduring humiliation for a greater cause, carefully lying in wait.”
Oshien nodded, pretending he understood.
“Only by being by his side can I sow discord from within and destroy the relationship between the Hero and his companions,” Misa said, feeling extremely guilty and not daring to look Oshien in the eye. “When I finally reveal my identity, he will surely be furious.”
Even though the Hero currently only had Samuel as a companion.
And even though Misa hadn’t even thought about or planned any discord-sowing schemes.
But Misa didn’t care.
Saying it was as good as doing it.
If he didn’t do it today, he would do it tomorrow.
For example, tonight, he was going to make some big moves!
Misa affirmed with determination, “Tonight, I will sneak into the Hero’s room, beat him up severely, and make him fear the Demon King from now on.”
Oshien seemed to be dazed by the recent events and what Misa had said. He looked up at Misa, confused, and said, “Demon King, I have a question.”
Misa nodded, “Go ahead.”
Oshien: “Why… do humans have to be hostile towards monsters?”
Misa: “…”
Oshien: “If humans and monsters lived in harmony, wouldn’t everyone be able to live a good life?”
Misa: “…”
He was done for.
These two questions were very difficult for Misa to answer.
If he thought about it seriously, he always felt that there was something not quite right with the Hero system established by the God Realm. Or rather, everything was a little too “right” in a logical sense.
He remembered the Demon King training he received in the God Realm. Teacher Alisa had said that everything they did was to select a suitable King of the World for humanity and bring them eternal blessings.
But they were inciting a great war between humans and monsters, destroying so many cities and lives, just to choose a king?
Was this king really necessary?
Misa wanted to return to the God Realm because he felt the environment of the Demon King’s Castle was too poor. He was not an inhabitant of the mortal realm, he didn’t belong here, and he yearned for the beauty and eternal spring of the God Realm. But with the way this Hero handled things, Misa felt that if humans and monsters lived in harmony, it wouldn’t be long before Lance could transform the Demon King’s Castle into a beautiful grand palace.
In that case… was there still a need for him to return to the God Realm?
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