Chapter 222 – The Demon King!!

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It was like a great cathedral inside of the tent.

There were polished black pillars, a giant round table, purple carpet, and glossy decorations. A place that was very fitting for a Demon King.

“Please, sit.”

The black armor…Sophis said. And so we obeyed and sat down in the chairs in front of the table.

And then, several other suits of armor seemed to appear out of nowhere. They were all the same… But unlike Sophis, they had wings sprouting out from their backs.

These black suits of armor then prepared some tea and sweets for Iria and I.

And then Sophis said,

“Here is some food that humans and demihumans can eat.”
“Thank you.”

I answered, but neither Iria nor I tasted anything. After all, we did not know what was inside.

And then I questioned Sophis.

“So, you said you would explain it to us… Did Olto speak to you?”
“Yes. I heard from him when he visited the castle. Olto and the Lizardmen have since returned to their homeland… I did not want them to get involved.”
“Involved?”

I asked, but Sophis’s head shook to the side.

“It is a private matter.”
“I see… In any case, they are safe then.”
“Yes.”
“And what did the Demon King say? No…where is the Demon King?”
“Perhaps you already know.”
“Well, yes…”

This Sophis had no wings… And yet it had flown. It must have been magic.

Not only that, but it was able to use Hide and brainwashing magic. And on such a large number of monsters at once. It was more powerful than Kyuby.

That alone showed that Sophis was an incredible user of magic.

In that case, the Demon King.

Iria opened her mouth.

“You are the Demon King?”
“Indeed.”

Sophis replied immediately, and then took off its helmet.

Soft, shiny, long purple hair descended.

What was then exposed was the pale and beautiful face of a woman.

The ruby red eyes blinked and then turned towards me. They were almond-shaped and gave off an intelligent impression.

Her beauty could make one’s heart beat faster… But I continued to look at Sophis without any expression. I did not want to smile, because who knew how Iria would react.

Iria then muttered.

“I thought you would be someone more terrifying.”
“Compared to you, I am indeed not very frightening…”

Sophis said plainly, but the tent seemed to freeze over in an instant.

I replied frantically.

“Uh, uh… So, you really are the Demon King then?”
“Yes. I am Demon King Sophis.”
“I-I see. I don’t mean to be rude, but I imagined a man with a more severe appearance.”
“That is because we have sent information to the humans to make them think that.”

Replied Sophis.

I was surprised as well.
That the Demon King looked just like a human.

However, appearances were not important.

And so I asked the thing that I had been curious about.

“You said you wanted to test us. What did you mean?”
“I wanted to know if you were worth negotiating with.”
“If we were worthy of speaking to you?”

Sophis nodded.

“Humans hate monsters. Monsters hate humans. Demihumans also hate both. But you people have overcome that.”

I myself had lost my parents and homelands to the Demon King’s army. And Iria had also lost friends to the humans and monsters.

However, there was something more important than hate.
It was living in Fendel in peace.

“We…are not interested in the battles between humans and monsters. We just want to live in peace in Fendel.”
“In that case, we will promise to never invade Fendel again.”

Sophis said casually.

“…In the past, in exchange for drawing back, the Demon King demanded that the demihumans live separately. You will not make that demand this time?”
“I do not know much about the Demon King of that time.”

I see.
They changed with every generation.

“You really…will make a truce with us?”
“Yes. Of course, that also means you must not do anything towards us.”
“Indeed…”

In other words, we could do nothing against the Demon King’s army. Unless we broke the pact…

Regardless, it seemed as if the Demon King had no interest in us, and there was something else she wished to accomplish.

And so if we formed a truce, we would not be able to get in the way.

“…While it may sound dirty, do you mind if I ask a few questions first?”
“You may.”
“What are you, Kyuby and Yomotsu trying to do? Gathering people…monsters here.”
“I cannot tell you that. But I swear that we will not harm you.”
“In other words, you will harm the humans and monsters who are here…”

Sophis kept her mouth closed.

“What I think…is that you are trying to revive the dead. Is that right?”
“Revive the dead…”

Sophis muttered and then shook her head.

“That is not possible… Well, it is not necessary.”
“However, Kyuby and Yomotsu are hoping to reunite with lost loved ones.”
“Indeed…and they are frantic.”

In other words, Kyuby and Yomotsu are doing something that exceeded Sophis’s expectations.

However, if it wasn’t to resurrect the dead, how would they reunite with their loved ones?

“…We are a gathering of demihumans. And so we wish to help Kyuby and Yomotsu if possible. But I have a feeling they are planning something terrible.”
“And what will you do when you find out?”
“In this city, there are human residents who are not soldiers. Even babies that were just born. As for the Demon King army, there are monsters like Olto who are not enthusiastic about fighting.”
“Yes…”
“…And yet you will get such people involved?”

I said, and Sophis closed her eyes tightly.

And then she answered.

“It’s a difference in the way we think. From my point of view, there is not much difference between the living and dead.”
“…No difference?”

That could not be.
There was a clear difference in this world. The living could not meet with the dead.

But if there was something that stopped it…

I thought back on Kyuby’s curse, that the foxfolk chief had talked about.

Kyuby’s curse had an art that could deceive a god… If a god was preventing the coming and going, Kyuby could deceive and…

I turned to Sophis.

“Surely…such a thing is not possible?”

Sophis nodded honestly.

“It is possible.”

And then Iria answered.

“…For that purpose, you require the lives of humans and monsters?”
“Temporarily. Once it is open…life and death will not be a problem.”

If opened… Were they trying to make a gate of some kind?

And in order to do it, you needed many lives and Kyuby’s art…

Even I became speechless.

Indeed, if you were able to meet the dead, then death would become less of a big deal for the living. Fighting between humans and monsters would seem foolish.

That being said, I could not just ignore the fact that many humans and monsters would be killed…
It would be one thing if it was those who wanted to fight. But there were those in the area who did not want to fight.

It was then that I noticed something.

“…Earlier, you said that Kyuby and Yomotsu were frantic? I wonder why…but how come you are not as well?”
“My plan was to wait for the right time, and minimize the number of sacrifices as much as possible. I wanted it to just be monsters from my own lands, gathered here… However, those two were different.”
“They want to send humans to hurry things along.”

Sophis nodded. And then she questioned us this time.

“Is there not someone that you two want to meet? Someone you thought that you would never see again.”

We had both lost our parents. Friends and comrades. And there were no doubt others who also wished to meet the deceased.

It would be a lie to say there would not be.

However… I knew one thing for certain. I did not want to meet them to the point where I would sacrifice people.

Iria and I nodded to each other.

“…I am sorry, but we cannot agree to this. It would be one thing for willing soldiers to die in battle, but I cannot watch as unrelated people are killed as well.”
“In the first place, you said something about deceiving god. How long could that continue? What if Kyuby dies? And if you really do connect to the world of the dead… What will the dead do to us?”

Sophis did not answer.

It was probably unknown. And so she could not be certain. That was why she wanted as few sacrifices as possible.

While I had been surprised, Sophis’s plan was probably not preposterous.

There must indeed be another world that was different from this one.
For instance, the world that Ronea the Demon Lord came from. It was like that for all monsters that could be summoned with summoning stones. And the undead that are summoned in dungeons as well.

Considering all of that… Sophis’s plan was merely to open a door to another world.

And like Iria said, there was no guarantee that the people there would not attack us.

And so I said,

“There are too many things that are uncertain… You should stop this plan.”

There must have been someone Sophis wanted to meet, as she was silent.

“In any case, we must leave now…”
“Without your non-aggression pact?”

I nodded at Sophis.

“Not like this. In fact, I have to stop things…make the humans leave as well…”
“I see… So negotiations have collapsed.”
“It has.”

Iria and I stood up from our chairs.

We then headed for the exit of the tent. But before leaving, I said to Sophis,

“It is not too late… If you wish to negotiate, come to the mountain palace that you sent a messenger to before.”
“…”

Sophis nodded silently. And so we turned our backs to her and left the camp behind us.

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