episode_0135

Kutranux, the Demon King’s castle.

Demon Lord Versella was sitting alone on her bed, lost in thought.

Lately, her body had been feeling strange.

She would often have gaps in her memory, forgetting things here and there.

Sometimes, she would wake up to find that she had said things to other demons that she couldn’t remember saying.

Her chest and head felt like they were on fire.

What was happening to her?

The hero who had come to take the Demon Lord’s life was already dead.

Since accepting the demon lord’s soul at a young age, Versella had lost her ordinary life.

She never had the chance to make friends her age or enjoy going out.

Being a demon lord was like that.

You never knew when a hero would come for your life.

You couldn’t run away even if you wanted to.

Many demons looked up to her and relied on her.

It was a heavy burden for young Versella.

But she had achieved what her predecessor, her father, the former demon lord who was killed by a hero, could not.

The hero was dead, and there was no one left to threaten the Demon Lord’s life.

At first, she was overjoyed.

She thought that her days of trying to kill the hero every day would be over.

She thought she could finally do things she couldn’t do before and enjoy life.

But strangely, Versella’s daily life didn’t change much.

In fact, lately, her body had been feeling worse.

The hero’s death was a first in the history of demon lords.

So, what was wrong?

Where did things go wrong?

“Ouch…”

Versella grimaced in pain, hunching over her body.

It felt like there was something in her head.

Even if she tried to do something, her head hurt so much that she couldn’t do anything.

Knock, knock.

Someone was knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

Versella straightened up, sat on the bed, and said.

After a moment, a human-looking figure, Javiel, entered the room.

“Is your body feeling better?”

“Not really. Did you deliver the message to Bloodstain to come back?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you do such a thing without my permission? If he comes back, I’ll have to say something to him.”

Javiel narrowed his eyes and looked at Versella.

The demon soul within her small body was getting stronger day by day.

But, contrary to what Javiel had thought, Versella’s ego was holding up well.

“The kingdom is falling apart on its own. It’s not good to leave it like this.”

“No, I’m tired of fighting. The reason the hero first appeared was because the demons were pushing the humans to the brink, right?”

“Hmm.”

“By doing the same thing this time, can we guarantee that another hero won’t appear? Now that the hero is dead, this is a chance to break this tiresome cycle.”

“But there’s no guarantee that another hero won’t appear if we leave it alone.”

“I don’t want to. I don’t want to…”

Versella, who was speaking to Javiel, grimaced in pain, touching her forehead with one hand.

“Is your head hurting?”

“…Just leave. I want to be alone.”

Javiel slowly backed away and left the room.

Versella hunched over on the bed, alone.

* * *

The refugee transport convoy arrived at Kubel.

The arriving refugees set up a temporary camp at the spot prepared by Algot.

Materials for building makeshift buildings arrived, and everyone worked together to quickly build shelters.

A report arrived from the scouts who had gone to scout the Demon Lord’s army.

The demon army led by Bloodstain was of an unprecedented scale.

However, despite having no apparent reason to halt their advance, the demon army remained still.

“Th… The goddess?!”

“There really is a goddess here!”

The refugees who were working diligently suddenly became noisy.

Goddess Stellania appeared at the refugee camp with the saint Selena.

“Everyone, do not lose hope. The goddess is watching over us.”

Selena spoke to the refugees by the side of the goddess.

Stellania was moving around the refugee camp in her original goddess form, emitting a faint light and her long golden hair slightly floating, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

The refugees were in awe as soon as they saw Stellania, clasping their hands together or bowing their heads.

Stellania, the goddess who gave courage and hope to people just by her presence, but to me, she looked quite amusing.

Especially when closely examining Stellania’s face, it felt like she was enjoying something unknowingly.

She seemed to quite like the current situation where she could stand in front of people even though she had lost her power.

Meanwhile, I was paying attention to the young man who claimed to have royal blood.

Edward, who coincidentally ended up riding the same carriage, did not show any signs of his royal lineage except for the clothes he wore.

Apart from his attire, he did not display any nobility or sense of privilege in his attitude towards people.

Even so, he was now helping to move materials to build a refugee shelter along with other people.

I was observing Edward Prince from a distance.

“Hmm….”

“What are you thinking about?”

Suddenly, a voice came from beside me, and when I turned my head, Algot was standing next to me.

“Mr. Algot, all the royal family members were killed by the rebel army, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But someone needs to govern the kingdom again. Who do you think would be the best candidate?”

After my question, Algot pondered for a moment and then answered.

“In the current situation… Well, even if someone steps up, there will always be people questioning their legitimacy. It might be difficult to return to a single kingdom as before.”

“Hmm….”

My gaze returned to Edward.

There must be a reason why the narrator mentioned him as an important figure.

Even though he was driven out of the palace due to internal politics, he still had royal blood running through his veins.

Of course, the previous royal family members who fell to the rebel army were not exactly great rulers.

But as Algot said, if someone without any background becomes king, there will always be someone questioning their legitimacy.

For the kingdom to stabilize, it would be best to have someone with both good character and royal blood as the king.

“As Unoah thought, Prince Edward was almost cut off from the royal bloodline but still possessed the qualities.

However, having been out of the palace for so long, he had no interest in the throne or any good feelings towards the palace.

His current state was like a bud refusing to bloom.”

A bud refusing to bloom.

Indeed, I was the only one who knew that he was of royal bloodline here, listening to the narration.

Moreover, deciding the king of the kingdom was beyond my authority.

Even if Goddess Stellania gained more influence and designated a king, forcing someone to do something they didn’t want to do wouldn’t end well.

“Is there anything I can help with? I’m almost done on my end.”

Edward, who had almost finished moving materials to his spot, came over to ask if he could help with the slower tasks.

He was giving the elderly or weak refugees a break and taking on their share of work himself.

He’s a good person.

“By the way, I can’t see Milaia anywhere…”

As I couldn’t take my eyes off Edward for a while, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t see Milaia since she arrived at Kubele.

She was definitely around here right after arriving at Kubele, leading the refugee transport convoy from the front.

She should have been visible at least once while coming and going, but she was not visible enough, making me feel uneasy.

“Unaware Yunoa was too late to notice.

He was like a fool who, when focusing on one thing, missed another.

Milaia had already left Kubele.”

What? She left Kubele?

She didn’t say anything like that to me, so suddenly, what is this…

In an instant, a ominous premonition flashed through my mind.

The image of Milaia, who never took her eyes off in any direction in the capital city while evacuating all the refugees, came to mind.

I clearly warned her not to leave my side while evacuating all the refugees.

Oh, no… it can’t be… even if it’s her, she wouldn’t go to the Demon King’s army alone…

“Yunoa’s premonition was correct.

Milaia was heading towards the city where the Demon King’s army was stationed.

She wanted to seize the opportunity to settle the score with her hometown enemy, Bloodstain.”

I suddenly felt like everything in front of me was turning dark.

Should I have given her more specific warnings?

Going in there alone is almost like a suicidal act.

No matter how strong she is to the point of piling up mountains of corpses, the opponent is the head of that snake.

“Milaia fighting alone against that large Demon King’s army was indeed a suicidal act.

And she knew that very well.

Yet, she was going to meet the Demon King’s army.”

I was shocked by Milaia’s impulsive actions, and the narration made an incomprehensible statement.

Why go when you know?

I just can’t understand.

What should I do? Should I go to rescue her?

But this time, the difficulty of the rescue seems to be on a different level…

“Yunoa, in confusion, couldn’t make any decisions and hesitated like a fool.

However, one thing he could say for sure.”

Now I’m starting to get a little scared of what the narration will say next.

Let’s wait a moment, the narration said to me.

“Contrary to Yunoa’s worries, she will return safely.”

Really, I don’t understand a word.