Taming the Demon King

The Order, the Empire, the Elves, the Dragonkin. In this batshit crazy world, the only force that could stand up to those powers head-on was, ironically, the Demon King’s army.

Of course, the current Demon King’s army was practically annihilated, but the ‘Demon King’ title and potential couldn’t be ignored.

Darkness. That innocent and timid little Demon King was perfect for my plan. If the Demon King were too smart or ambitious, it would have been a pain in the ass.

‘Alright. I’m starting over from here.’

I’ll sweet-talk the Demon King to my liking, get a force behind me, and build my own new foundation. Based on that, I’ll find a way back to my original world. That’s my plan.

“Hoeaeae?”

Darkness still didn’t seem to know what was going on, looking up at me with round eyes.

The Black Knight who was protecting her was already collapsed beside her, not moving, either unconscious or dead.

That’s when it happened.

Kkorureureuk…

A very loud and resounding sound echoed in the silent throne room. The source of the sound was… Darkness’s stomach.

“Ah… you’re hungry?”

Darkness’s face turned bright red in an instant.

“N-no, that’s… that wasn’t a gurgling sound! It’s just… just a weird sound from my stomach… *sniff*.”

Darkness, who was stuttering, eventually started to sob.

“Is there no food?”

“There is… but only hard combat rations and hardtack. *Sniff*… It’s not tasty either… *sniff*… I want to eat something delicious too…”

Darkness made a tearful face.

“The Demon King’s castle vault is also empty… I don’t have money to buy proper food… all the subordinates ran away… *sniff*… I don’t want to be a Demon King… *Hwaeng*…”

“Stop crying.”

“*Hieok*…! Y-yes… stop…!”

Seriously, how can a Demon King be so pathetic?

Well, even better. A hungry beast… no, a hungry Demon King is easy to tame.

I naturally opened my inventory and took out the ingredients.

Fresh vegetables, thick chunks of meat, fragrant spices. Time was overflowing in the crack of dimensions, so my cooking skills improved rapidly. Of course, I was good at it originally, too.

“W-wait… that’s…?”

“Cooking ingredients. Should I cook for you?”

“Really?! Are you really going to make it for me?!”

Darkness stopped crying, hiccupped, and looked at me. There was even a little bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.

I roughly cleaned up a table scattered in a corner of the throne room and laid out the ingredients.

Skillfully, I lit a portable magic stove and prepared the ingredients.

Tak tak tak-

With a few strokes of the knife, the vegetables were cut into easy-to-eat sizes.

“Um… are you really a Hero?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“For a Hero to cook for the Demon King…”

“Because I’m a bad Hero.”

I answered while slicing an onion with a knife.

“Wow… your knife skills are really fast!”

“I’ve been slicing monsters, so I’ve gotten better at things like this.”

Chi-ii-ik-

The meat of a suitable thickness was cooked on a hot pan. A fragrant smell filled the empty hall.

Gulppeok-

I kept hearing the sound of Darkness swallowing her saliva.

Before long, a steak and garnish grilled to a delicious color were completed. Finally, when I sprinkled the special sauce, a fantastic visual with a glossy sheen was created.

“Okay, it’s done. Eat it.”

I placed the plate in front of Darkness.

Darkness stared at the steak as if possessed, then picked up a fork and knife with trembling hands. And she carefully cut a piece of steak and brought it to her mouth.

Gulppeok.

She chewed with her small mouth. And after a while, Darkness’s eyes widened.

“D-delicious! It’s really, really delicious!”

“Eat slowly. There’s more.”

Darkness nodded and continued eating with an even happier expression.

Hwiik!

“Keuek… Demon King-nim!”

I heard a sound of someone getting up urgently from behind. The silver-haired woman who had been unconscious, the Black Knight, staggered to her feet. Black light flashed from the Black Knight’s hand, and a huge sword was summoned.

“Elise! You’re awake!”

Darkness waved her hand happily towards the silver-haired Black Knight.

“Hero! What are you feeding the Demon King-nim!”

“Can’t you see? The Demon King-nim is hungry.”

I flipped the meat over and answered nonchalantly.

“Demon King-nim, why are you with the Hero? And in such a comfortable atmosphere!”

“Ah, well… he said he’d cook for me…”

“Cooking! What are all those ingredients! It’s suspicious! What if it’s poison… or some strange drug!”

“But Elise… it’s so delicious…!”

Darkness seemed to have lost her mind to the fragrant smell that stimulated her tongue and nose.

I held out a plate to Elise, who was watching the scene.

“Don’t you want to eat too?”

Elise glared at me with cold eyes and shook her head.

“Ha, do you think I’d eat food given by a Hero?”

She turned her head sharply and still didn’t let her guard down.

“Elise, try it! It’s really delicious! The food that Hero-nim… no, Haru-nim made is the best!”

“But Demon King-nim… that person is a Hero…!”

Elise still couldn’t let her guard down and glared at me. Darkness pointed at Elise and introduced her.

“This is Elise. She’s the only remaining Four Heavenly Kings. Ah, she can’t cook at all.”

I don’t think she needed to say the last part. Elise’s brow furrowed slightly.

Darkness kept offering her food, but Elise was unmoved.

I felt playful and said with an evil smile.

“Hmm… but shouldn’t a subordinate taste it first for the Demon King-nim’s sake? A loyal knight should think about their lord’s safety first.”

“What?”

“Or are you saying it’s okay for the Demon King to be poisoned?”

Elise seemed a little flustered and speechless for a moment. Her face seemed to be slightly red.

In the end, Elise reluctantly picked up a fork.

“…I’m just tasting one bite. For the Demon King-nim’s safety.”

She carefully brought the food to her mouth. And… her expression changed subtly. The stiffly hardened brow relaxed slightly, and her eyes widened a little.

“This is…”

“Delicious, right?”

“…….”

Elise, who was chewing the food without saying a word, quietly emptied the plate. Her eyes were still wary, but her hand wielding the fork didn’t stop.

“Haru-nim… can we eat this kind of food every day?”

Darkness looked up at me with expectant eyes and asked.

“Of course. From now on, I’ll keep making you delicious things.”

“Really… really every day…?”

Darkness’s tearful red eyes looked like an abandoned puppy, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course. How could the Four Heavenly Kings just watch the Demon King-nim starve properly?”

“Who decided I was one of the Four Heavenly Kings!”

Elise protested, but I lightly ignored her. What’s important now is to gain the trust of that young Demon King.

“Okay, now that we’ve had a hearty meal, shall we breathe some life into the Demon King’s castle?”

I opened my inventory with a meaningful smile. What poured out were fancy clothes and luxurious furniture.

While living as a Hero, I stole… no, I legitimately acquired these spoils of war. I didn’t really have any use for them, so I kept them stored away, but I never thought I’d use them like this.

“Hoeaeae…! W-what is all this…?”

Darkness opened her eyes wide and looked back and forth at the mountain of things.

“It’s a gift for the Demon King-nim. Even if you’re the Demon King, you can’t just wear those drab robes all the time, right?”

I picked out one of the most gorgeous dresses and handed it to Darkness.

“Try it on.”

“Really? Are you really giving it to me?”

“Of course. The Demon King can’t wear rags.”

“Wow! It’s really pretty! Isn’t this super expensive?”

Darkness jumped up and took the dress. And she quickly took off her shabby robe.

“Demon King-nim!”

Elise grabbed Darkness.

“Ah, that’s right!”

Darkness’s face turned red, and she hurriedly held the dress to her body.

“Um… there’s no place to change…”

“Isn’t there one behind the throne?”

“That’s right! Just a moment!”

Darkness trotted away, and I heard rustling sounds from behind the throne.

“Hero.”

Elise said in a low voice.

“What?”

“What’s your real intention?”

“Intention? I’m just being kind.”

“There’s no way a Hero would be kind to the Demon King.”

“I told you, I’m a bad Hero.”

Elise’s eyes became even more suspicious.

“I’m done changing!”

Darkness appeared. The dress fit her perfectly. In particular, the chest area was appropriately emphasized while still looking elegant.

“How is it?”

“Perfect. You really look like a Demon King.”

“Really?”

Darkness spun around and rejoiced.

“But this alone isn’t enough.”

I rummaged through my inventory again and took out magic books. From ancient magic books to forbidden dark magic. Most of them were rare or designated as forbidden books.

“T-this is a magic theory book written in ancient rune letters! This is a practical magic encyclopedia, this is a forbidden spell scroll…! Are you really giving me these precious magic books…?”

“Of course. Filling the Demon King-nim’s thirst for knowledge is also an important mission for the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Haru-niiiiiiim…!”

Darkness called me in a voice that was almost crying with emotion. Then she rushed over and hugged my waist.

“Haru-nim said you were a bad Hero earlier… but you’re actually a really nice person! You’re being so nice to me, who’s the Demon King…!”

I’m living long enough to hear that I’m nice from the Demon King.

Elise was still watching me with a displeased expression, but Darkness was so happy that she couldn’t openly oppose it.

“Okay, then Darkness. Do you have any thoughts on making this Demon King’s army great again?”

I subtly preached to Darkness about the irrationality of the world and the ambition she should have as the Demon King.

“Great again?”

“Yeah. Do you know what the Demon King’s army was like in the past?”

“I don’t know well, but… I heard it was strong.”

“Strong? It wasn’t just strong.”

I stood up and approached the broken window.

“The Demon King’s army in the past made the continent tremble. Humans knelt at the mere mention of the Demon King’s name. Even the Dragonkin, the Elves, and the Order couldn’t touch them carelessly.”

“Really?”

“Really. The Demon King’s castle was the most magnificent castle on the continent, and tens of thousands of demons swore allegiance. That was the real Demon King’s army.”

Of course, it was our Hero party, including me, who smashed it to pieces, but that’s not really important right now.

“But what about now? Look.”

I pointed to the broken wall.

“An empty castle, runaway subordinates, an empty vault. Is this the appearance of the great Demon King’s army?”

“No…”

“Who’s fault is it that it became like this?”

“W-well…?”

“It’s because of this rotten world. Think about it, Darkness.”

I looked at her.

“You just wanted to quietly read books in the library. But the world made you the Demon King. Is it normal for a kind librarian to be forced to become the Demon King?”

“That’s right! I didn’t do anything… it’s too much!”

I approached her and put my hand on her shoulder.

“So let’s take revenge on the world. We can make it again. We can make the Demon King’s army great again.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You’re of the legitimate Demon King bloodline. Greatness flows in your blood.”

“In my blood…”

“Yeah. There’s a power sleeping inside you that will make the continent tremble. If you just awaken that power…”

I spread my arms and pointed to the entire Demon King’s castle.

“This place will become the center of the continent again. All the demons will swear allegiance, humans will tremble in fear, and even the Dragonkin won’t be able to touch you carelessly… you’ll be able to do whatever you want.”

“Wow… is that really possible?”

Darkness’s breathing quickened.

“Of course. But there’s a condition. You have to really, truly want it.”

“I want it! I really want it!”

Good, she’s completely hooked. If I just push her a little more….

“The world is divided into the strong and the weak. Which one do you want to be?”

Darkness avoided my eyes and answered in a small voice.

“The strong…”

“Louder!”

Darkness flinched at my shout, but then raised her head as if she had made up her mind.

“I want to be… I want to be strong!”

“Do you want to keep living while being ignored by others?”

“I don’t want to!”

“Then, what do you have to become?”

“A strong Demon King!”

“That’s right! That’s your destiny! Then, from now on, let’s clearly show those demons who the real Demon King is.”

Easy. Demon King, you’re mine.

“Now, repeat after me. Make the Demon King’s army great again!”

“M-make the Demon King’s army great again…!”

“Louder!”

“Make the Demon King’s army great again!”

“Who’s the master of this continent?”

“The Demon King!”

“Who’s the strongest?”

“The Demon King!”

Just as Darkness was getting caught up in my pace, Elise poured cold water on it.

“But Hero. The current situation of the Demon King’s army is… the worst. The most powerful demon forces at this point are three.”

She reported the reality in a cold voice.

“The Oni Akao Oni of the eastern mountains, the Skeleton King of the northern White Fortress, and the Nobles Bloodmere of the western Vampire Kingdom. They have each built their own territories, and none of them recognize Darkness Demon King-nim. They’re even each claiming to be the true Demon King.”

According to Elise, the current Demon King’s army doesn’t even have a proper Four Heavenly Kings besides Elise.

The other demons don’t listen to Darkness’s orders at all, and even ignore the Demon King’s authority itself.

“Haru-nim… maybe I don’t have the talent to be the Demon King after all… can’t I just live in the Demon King’s castle while eating delicious things…?”

Darkness’s eyes, which had been shining until a moment ago, were filled with tears again.

“Don’t worry, Darkness. Beating up demons is the Hero’s specialty. If they don’t listen, I’ll just beat them up a few times.”