Call Me Demon King

,They say if you meet a doppelganger who looks exactly like you, one of you is bound to die… Thankfully, I’m from another world, so I should be okay, right?”

Ignoring the other me, who was constantly stroking his face with an anxious expression, I was able to get a general explanation of the situation from Ellie. The one over there is ‘Ross’ from another world, brought here by the magic tome of Patulga.

What’s more, he was a monster with incredible skills, a step above Ellie from another world, who would become a great mage in the future. Ellie, who is serious about magic, acknowledged this truth without hesitation, so despite his slightly dazed appearance, I could trust his skills.

,…Still, this is the first time I’ve met another me in person like this.”

While traveling through other worlds, I had never met another Ross. Of course, I did meet the Observer, Ross of Avarice, on the outskirts of the Outer Universe… but he had the face of Jinshian. This is the first time I’ve experienced having a face that’s perfectly identical in reality.

,Oh, me too, it’s my first time.”

The other me, the King of Magic, who heard my muttering, snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something.

,That’s right! Hey, transfer some of your memories to me. I want to experience what kind of magic it is firsthand. More than anything, I was a little frustrated because there were many parts missing from Ellie’s explanation about the tribe… in just one hour.”

,Wanna die? I explained it properly. You’re just too dumb to understand.”

,…That’s what she says.”

Seeing Ellie casually throwing shade, I could tell that these two had become quite close. Seeing Ellie’s old self after a long time made me smile wryly for no reason. After watching them bicker for a while, I opened my mouth without hesitation, as the two of them were creating a timing for me to jump in.

,Alright, you two morons. Enough with that. Let’s sort out the titles first. I don’t know what to call you right now.”

At my words, the two of them stopped arguing and looked at me, crossing their arms almost simultaneously like a comedy duo who had been working together for a long time. The King of Magic was the first to suggest an idea.

,Then I’ll make a suggestion! Objectively, I’m a little more handsome, so I think it’s right to call me the slightly more handsome Ross.”

,…How about ‘Crazy Ross’?”

,Hehe, is that short for ‘handsome Ross’?”

,No, ‘Crazy Ross’.”

Seeing signs that the banter was about to start again, I quickly raised my hand to stop the King of Magic, who was about to freak out at Ellie’s suggestion.

,Let’s just call you something simple that we can easily distinguish. I like Ellie’s idea of a convenient abbreviation. King of Magic… Magic King?”

,…Does the last Ross not have any sense of naming in this regard? He’s endlessly meticulous in these areas, the Saintess…!”

I can see why this guy gets along with Ellie. Still, I suggested Magic King instead of Demon King, which is easier to say, for his sake. With a slightly dissatisfied expression, he narrowed his brows, and I crossed my arms as well.

,Then what do you want to be called? Something like ‘handsome’ or ‘slightly more handsome Ross’ is inconvenient to say and doesn’t suit you, so those are out.”

,…Uh!”

It seemed that was all he had thought about, as the Magic King was quite flustered, to the point of shrinking his shoulders. Ellie spoke instead of the Magic King, who was about to start pinching his philtrum and pondering.

,Let’s just call him Demon King. It’s a hassle.”

,Yeah.”

,What?! You both have terrible taste! In the first place, it overlaps with the name Demon King! One of us will definitely look like a knockoff! And it’s more likely to be me, the surprise guest!”

Seeing how much this guy really hates it, I decided to just confirm it as Demon King. Ellie is smart after all. Anyway, he’s a Demon King who came from another world to help us. Thanks to the knowledge he gained in the labyrinths of another world, I was also able to escape from the traps set by the cult leader. If he’s a reliable ally, showing him my memories isn’t difficult.

When I created a snow globe containing my memories and held it out, I could see the Demon King, who had been observing me with a passionate face, almost bent over at a 90-degree angle.

,…What are you doing?”

,No, this… this isn’t magic from this world? The structure itself is different.”

,That’s right, this is magic that Ross of Avarice taught me.”

,Hoo, so that’s why it’s like this… Okay.”

The Demon King, who put his hand on the snow globe and absorbed the memories, shuddered for a moment. I preemptively let out a tired sigh, thinking about what kind of fuss he would make soon. However, contrary to my expectations, the Demon King quietly opened his closed eyes and just stared at me with a serious gaze.

So, he can be serious when he needs to be. As expected of someone who has reached the realm of a great mage―――!

,Kono yarō…!!! How hard was it for you!!!”

,Wh-what…!”

I unconsciously tried to push the Demon King away from the sudden hug, but this crazy bastard naturally pushed my hand away with magic and forcibly hugged me tightly. No matter how much he’s the benefactor who woke me up… I didn’t want to hug a man this warmly. Especially not in front of Ellie, who was looking at us with a pathetic expression.

However, the oblivious Demon King shouted at the top of his lungs, almost crying.

,I, I didn’t know…! I’m sorry! To be honest, I thought you were a complete idiot in my heart…! This is too unfair! No, even my parents gave me one more rice cake than my older brother because I was lacking… but your parents here are complete trash? I would have definitely gone astray too.”

,…I didn’t go astray though?”

,No! Shibā, honestly, if it weren’t for Teacher Nelson, you would have already killed yourself! Before you met Nelson, you were almost… like a broken-down Aeton truck~♬.”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone insert song lyrics into a conversation. But somehow… it might not be so bad? I unconsciously stopped trying to break free from the hug and muttered quietly.

,That’s… a phrase I haven’t heard in a long time?”

,I haven’t said it in a long time either, so I’m glad there’s finally someone who recognizes it! Twice, Girls’ Generation, Kara, AOA… It was so hard because of those pathetic guys who didn’t know any of this!”

,AOA… was good. It was right at their peak, so it was okay to play their music videos on repeat in the dormitory.”

,Oi, 인정ita. So we share the same taste after all. Hehe. Memorizing the time slots for the highlight parts of Music Core was the rule.”

I’ve had that experience sometimes too. People in this world don’t know Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter, so when I unconsciously blurt out words like Watson or Muggle, everyone looks at me strangely.

I relieved stress by sharing memories and talking about Luna and the modern era, but the Demon King didn’t have anyone to do that with, so he must be happy to have met me, someone who he can communicate with. Nodding as if I understood, the Demon King, with a touched expression, reached out his hand to me after releasing the hug.

,Oi oi, tomodachi…!”

Swept away by the atmosphere, I grabbed the outstretched hand and belatedly cleared my throat and said.

,…Ahem, but I don’t remember being such an otaku that I could freely use Japanese in everyday conversation.”

,That’s usually what you call someone who watches Laftel before going to bed.”

,That’s… doesn’t everyone do that? Even if it’s not Laftel, everyone does that with Netflix.”

,Oi, is this the denial stage? Netflix is more focused on anime than movies or dramas, isn’t it?”

…This guy really is me. He even knows my secret secrets. I feel like I have a colleague I can trust to watch my back.

,You idiots.”

At Ellie’s cold voice, we almost simultaneously let go of each other’s hands and averted our gazes in opposite directions. We both forgot that Ellie was watching.

***

,What is that?”

I asked the Demon King, pointing to a bizarre creature lying face down on the ground in the middle of the road, on a hill under the cracked sky.

,Ah, you don’t know? As expected of a cute newbie. To put it simply, that’s a life form made of flowers.”

His tone is quite annoying, but it’s only natural to keep a low profile when getting a bus ride from a labyrinth veteran. Based on my experience in games, I played the innocent voice as if I didn’t know anything and asked back.

,A life form made of flowers…?!”

,Hehe, that’s right. Look at that body. Doesn’t it look like a mass of countless flowers? It looks like it would scatter easily if it waved its arms, but in reality, it’s a monster hiding tremendous power…”

Seeing the Demon King trailing off at the end, leaving a hint that there was a hidden story, I swallowed hard and said.

,A tremendous monster…?!”

,Hahaha! That’s right! A tremendous monster. Ah, I remember when I first faced that guy without any information. It felt like headbutting the ground. It was the first time someone absorbed my magic and used it themselves.”

,Absorbing magic―.”

Seeing Ellie’s big eyes, who was quietly watching me from the side, narrowed by about half, I quickly stopped reacting. But the Demon King was lost in reminiscing about the past and couldn’t observe Ellie.

,The opponent absorbs my attack and uses it against me? Even so, you can’t just ignore my know-how and skill that I’ve accumulated over the years. But how strong is the magic power and strength of a guy whose body is made of flowers. Man, I really had a magic tug-of-war for almost an hour. And you can’t just pour out magic. It absorbs that too! So this control of intensity is the most important thing, like 밀땅miltang―――”

Today, I was able to see someone’s face completely buried in the ground for the first time.