Chapter 31 - Sightseeing For Some Reason

I was just vaguely aware that she was a being that holds great power.

However, its true that sometimes, she had that look on her face as if she has it all figured out, or that part where high-ranking demons, such as Ein-san and Sechs-san, have sworn absolute loyalty to her, and how she directly ask a Goddess to bless me. Thinking about these cases, there was indeed some part of me that it really might be so but still, I never thought that Kuro was the Underworld King.

I mean, for arguments sake, why is it that one of the pinnacles of the Demon Realm would just be wandering around like that?

[Im sorry. You had to act separately just for me..]

[..]

Pushing away the skeptical thoughts I still had in my mind, I bow to the woman walking next to me.

The woman with a red hair cut short, wearing easy-to-move trousers, a sleeveless jacket, and a black scarf wrapped around her neck, she silently shook her head at my apology.

Her name is Sieglinde and she is someone who serves Lilia-san. Shes currently accompanying me as my guide and escort as I went to town to shop.

She is of the elven race that had their distinctive long ears, and coupled with her slender and beautiful appearance, shes a dignified person who seems to fit the terms beautiful in mens clothing perfectly.

The image of their blonde hair comes up to my mind when the word elf was brought up, but in a world where there are many hybrid races, the elves are said to have a variety of hair colors.

Currently, Lilia-sans mansion is in a horrific state that can already be called a battlefield.

Under the leadership of the zealot who was revived from her absentminded state (Lunamaria-san), they started a crusade to eradicate all speck of dust, while Lilia-san has been giving instructions to various people incessantly, making sure that the preparations to receive the guest are finished in a hurry.

The Albert Duchy is currently in a state of turmoil, as one of the Six Kings, the pinnacle beings of the Demon Realm, is visiting the mansion of a noble, and frankly speaking, Kusunoki-san, Yuzuki-san and I are nothing more than just hindrances.

Of course, the kind Lilia-san would never tell us such a thing, but its not like we can just sit back and relax while everyone else, including the servants, are busy running, but that doesnt mean that theres anything we can even do to help.

So, we decided to go into town to do some shopping so we wouldnt be in their way, and after consulting it with Lilia-san, and I guess its to be expected from Lilia-san who tends to worry, she assigned an escort for each of the three of us.

But well, Kusunoki-san, Yuzuki-san and I, who had escaped from the battlefield under the guise of touring around the place, were moving around together in the beginning. But then, they decided that they want to go shopping for clothes, along with their underwear, and I dont think that the male me should really be going with them for that, so we decided on a meeting place and time and separated for the meantime.

[There are a lot of food-related shops around here, dont you think?]

[]

Sieglinde-san nods in affirmation to the words I muttered while looking at the surrounding shops.

By the way, the reason why Sieglinde-san hasnt spoken since earlier isnt that she doesnt like me. It isnt that she doesnt want to speak, its apparently because she cant speak.

It seems that back when she used to be a member of the Knights Order, but her throat was severely injured in a battle with a monster, taking away her ability to speak. I was told that there was still a large scar under the black scarf on her neck.

I feel like her inability to speak makes her unsuitable as a guide and escort, but Sieglinde-sans ability seems to be the best among Lilia-sans private army, and since shes a former member of the Knight Order, shes used to being an escort.

And what Im most grateful for is the fact that she doesnt have any repulsive feelings towards the male me. With Lilia-sans warning, my position in the mansion had become stable, but there are still a certain number of people who are giving me strange looks.

Well, my position is, to say the least, like a boy that got enrolled in an all-girls school, so I cant really blame them. Lilia-san also understands that, and it seems that she has been careful in selecting people just like Sieglinde-san was this time.

[There seems to be a lot of shops that sell food around here, dont you think?]

[]

[Now that were here anyway, Id like to buy some sweets we could eat for snacks, but I wonder if there are any good places to buy them?]

[]

[That third store?]

[]

[Ah, the shop before that! Thank you very much.]

[]

Lilia-san apologized to me beforehand that it might be difficult for someone who cant speak to be a guide, but for me, its no problem at all.

Shes nodding and making gestures in response, so to be honest, it was much easier for me to understand than when I was talking with Shiro-san.

Well, Shiro-san has her perks and shes fun to talk to once you get the hang of it, but the difficulty of reaching that is high.

In comparison though, Sieglinde-sans emotions are easy to read from her facial expressions and gestures, so shes easy to communicate with.

[There sure are a lot in here. Do you have any recommendations, Sieglinde-san?]

[]

[This jam? There are various types in here, but are they local products from around here?]

[]

[I see. There are also some jams with colors Ive never seen before. It would be nice to buy them with scones or something like that.]

[]

[Unnn? Ah, jam cookies huh! These certainly look good.]

[]

Sieglinde-san led me to a confectionery to find some food that could be eaten as snacks. Its great that I have a fantastic item like my item box, so I dont have to think about expiration dates.

Come to think of it, Kuro once brought me baby castellas with jam in it. The jam was so good, and I think these jam cookies would go along with the tea Shiro-san gave me.

Kuro had also mentioned that she likes sweets, so Ill also buy a little extra for our next meal together.

As I was asking Sieglinde questions, I was picking out some jam cookies to buy but I suddenly remembered Kuros words.

Come to think of it, Kuro said she said something she needs to do today, but I wonder what shes doing? Well, she may be busy as the Underworld King, but from what Ive seen so far, I had the image that she would probably be doing whatever she wants somewhere

Dear Mom, Dad Since the visit of the Underworld King is a matter of great importance, Lilia-san and the others are in a great hurry, but I, the person related to why this occurred was sightseeing for some reason.

A demon holding a high-ranking these rankings are the proof of the level of power judged regarding these beings. In the Demon Realms society, where having a high level of ability is directly connected to the position they hold, its a great asset to have such a title.

And one of such high-ranking demons, a demon that holds the title of a Viscount-rank, is now in despair.

His subordinate demons that existed in full view until just a few moments ago have fallen to the ground like corpses, and as if the wind itself has stopped blowing, the sounds in the surroundings disappeared.

It all happened in an instant. The castle decorated with glittering ornaments, the numerous treasures that he had stored away, and the influence and majesty he had as a high-ranking demon all of them disappeared in about a blink of an eye.

How could this happen? This question thats floating around in his mind, but wasnt able to leave his trembling mouth.

Its not that his ability to speak disappeared. But along with the shaking of his body from fear, his effort to keep a tight grip on his remaining consciousness from the despair, and from the fact that he mustnt look away It wasnt allowed.

Thats because the person who has complete control in that room hasnt allowed it

[I should have guessed that it was you who did this from the start.]

A bell-like voice echoes in that quiet room. Before the gaze of the despairing demon were golden eyes shimmering in the darkness.

[The Recognition Inhibition Magic casted on Kaito-kun. From the feeling of magic power, I had already thought that a demon was probably involved in it, but I still wasnt quite clear who exactly it is.]

The motive for this was just a trivial desire.

It wasnt that the demon wanted to stand at the top of the Demon Realm or anything of that magnitude.

Its just that he wanted to reach a slightly higher position than he had right now. He wanted to gain greater wealth and authority than he had right now. To achieve this, he sought after the technology that doesnt exist in this world However, just because of this small ambition this demon held, he brought destruction upon himself.

VIssT n0(v)eL/b(i)(n). for the best novel reading experience

[A high-ranking demon from the Demon Realm messes with the Human Realm and the people who came from another world. This is a pretty troublesome problem, isnt it? Thats why I wanted to get this solved as soon as possible But thanks to Kaito-kun, it was good that I was able to find this problem sooner.]

In the Demon Realm, there are beings that cant be opposed, even by the high-rank demons who hold high positions. They were such beings that opposing them is a direct way towards your destruction They were beings holding power that were overwhelmingly incomparable to others

[She usually doesnt cooperate with me in regards to things like this, but I guess its because she was interested in Kaito-kun. The fact that shes very cooperative in helping us regarding this matter was quite a bad luck for you. As long as Shiros eyes search for you, theres no room for you to try to deceive us.]

Step by step, the golden eyes come closer, clad in magic power that seems to swallow up the space.

As if to give the demon, who cant escape, time to regret his actions, the Underworld King slowly walked and stood before the demon.

[Now then, what do we do if we do something bad?]

[Ahh uwaahh M- My]

[Unnn?]

[Please accept my apologies]

The presence of death is too dense around him. He feels fear to the extent that even the word despair is quite lukewarm.

After going against the will of the apex being of the Demon Realm, this demon doesnt hold any freedom anymore, even the freedom to die. Imagining the punishment that he would receive that even granting him death is an act of kindness, the demon squeezes out an apology and put his head on the ground.

[Unnn. Well then, Ill let you off the hook this time.]

[Yes Eh?]

After taking those words into his mind- the demon sounded dumbfounded as he looked up at her.

To put it bluntly, he didnt immediately understand the meaning of those words. Because this demon had gone against one of the Six Kings will, because of a petty desire, he isolated one of the otherworlders by casting Recognition Inhibition Magic, and planning to brainwash him after that and use him as a pawn.

So to speak, its an act that would have breached the friendly relationship between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm, and he hadnt thought that there was any way that such an act would be forgiven

[In this case, I just happened to be the one walking by, and you only casted a Recognition Inhibition Magic and it ended with that, and it didnt cause any real harm.]

[Y- Yes.]

Yes, in a way, you could say that this demon was both lucky and unlucky.

It was unlucky of him that when he violated the forbidden out of desire, one of the Six Kings had found out about it but the fact that the one who dealt with him was the most benevolent among the Six Kings, the Underworld King, and even though he tried to manipulate the otherworlder to gain their knowledge, but it was still a blessing in disguise that the plan ultimately ended as just an attempt.

However, when she had said this time

[You shouldnt bother others or do anything bad, alright? There will be no next time]

[Hiihhh!?]

Yes, she was able to forgive him this time. However, there will be no next time If youre a demon, even a baby can understand the meaning of being told these words directly by one of the Six Kings.

From now on, this demon will spend countless years carrying the fear that one of the Six Kings had her eyes on him, while making sure that he must live honestly and righteously. For even the smallest of misdeeds will not be forgiven the next time.

In a way, this may be the punishment given to this demon. For the demon, which has an incomparably long life span compared to humans, the day when they will be freed from the fear in his heart is too far away

[Now then, with that out of the way You have collaborated with some of the human nobles, didnt you?]

[!? ]

[Of course. You will tell me about them, wont you?]

[Y- Yes. As you wish, I will tell you about all of them]

Not having any will to disobey anymore, the paleness on the demons face remained as he spat out all the information he had.

Chapter end