Ch.216Once Upon A Time

A tale from a very long time ago.

Grantis was a typical fantasy world where swords, magic, heroes, and demon lords existed.

When a powerful demon lord drove the world to the brink of destruction, a hero would appear to defeat the demon lord and restore peace to the world.

Through many repetitions of these tales of heroes and demon lords, Grantis gradually prospered and developed.

However, at some point, the existence known as “demon lord” completely disappeared from the history of Grantis.

Did a great hero finally put an end to the battle with the demon lord? No.

Did all of humanity unite and achieve victory in a decisive battle against the demon lord’s forces? That wasn’t it either.

As if someone had erased the word “demon lord” from the canvas of Grantis, the existence of demon lords vanished from this world without any warning or context.

Simultaneously, the immense power once held by the demon lord was divided into many fragments and scattered across the world.

These scattered fragments of power were inherited by some intelligent monsters, who then reigned as leaders of their groups and led their kind to prosperity.

After the threat of demon lords disappeared, humanity—ancient humans, elves, dwarves, and beastfolk—actively expanded their influence. Some monsters fought against them, while others were content to be rulers of remote corners, satisfying their primal desires.

Several hundred years passed, and Grantis truly became “a world where the concept of demon lords does not exist.”

Not only were records of past heroes and demon lords lost, but creative works featuring demon lords were never produced—at least until colonists crossed the sea. No one could even be found who would utter the word “demon lord.”

This “thorough exclusion of demon lords” began to crack when ominous black magical energy was discovered somewhere in the far west.

“When the black magical energy appeared in the world, monsters who had inherited the demon lord’s power instinctively realized the origin of their strength. Inevitably, they began to call themselves demon lords… but at the same time, they became bound by a powerful taboo.”

The world of Grantis does not tolerate the existence of demon lords.

Therefore, those who newly proclaimed themselves as demon lords were bound by a powerful taboo.

They could not reveal to anyone that they were demon lords, nor could they spread information about demon lords in the world.

If they broke this taboo, they would fall from their position as rulers and become the lowest, most worthless beings.

Just as a being once worshipped as a god by the Dark Elves was forced to obey the absolute commands of a mere adventurer.

Upon realizing this, the demon lords began to move toward their ambitions while prioritizing not violating the taboo.

Some ruled their groups with overwhelming power and commended the achievements of their loyal subordinates,

while others showed no interest in expanding their influence and quietly pursued their own goals.

Some, like Royce Reich, controlled the minds of their subjects to expand their influence meticulously and secretly,

while other demon lords, like Anastasia, thought only of protecting themselves and their kind.

“The taboo was a shackle restricting the demon lords’ actions, but it was also a veil hiding them from the world’s eyes. Unless someone carelessly violated the taboo, no one would reach the concept of ‘demon lord’ through their own power.”

“But Will managed to do it, right?”

“That’s correct. If Will hadn’t reached the concept of demon lord on his own, I couldn’t have taught you about demon lords, let alone sent you to the mental world where Royce Reich was hiding.”

“I see… so that’s how it happened.”

The current Grantis is a world that denies the existence of demon lords.

Demon lords cannot reveal their existence to the world, and the inhabitants of Grantis cannot reach the concept of demon lords.

For the inhabitants of Grantis, words like “demon lord” or “hero” are merely elements from unpopular novels, established as things that don’t exist in this world.

Thinking on that basis explains the strange phenomena we experienced during this incident.

Our curiosity about the Dark Elf transcendent was virtually suppressed because its true identity was Demon Lord Royce Reich,

and the skill shot that transcends space and time kept failing because its target was Demon Lord Royce Reich.

However, even such taboos couldn’t prevent me—someone from another world, Earth—from naturally accepting the concept of demon lords.

As a result, Royce Reich was identified as a demon lord by me and had to bear a kind of penalty as a taboo-breaker.

“…If that’s the case, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“If being exposed as a demon lord is such a big problem, why hasn’t Anastasia received punishment for breaking the taboo when she revealed herself?”

Unlike Royce Reich, who was merely exposed as a demon lord, Anastasia even used Arcane Word to reveal herself to me as “Anastasia, the White Demon Lord.”

This clearly violates the taboo of Grantis.

It should be a much heavier crime compared to Royce Reich, so why hasn’t she received a penalty for breaking the taboo?

“Hehehe… I cannot tell you that. I too cannot reveal all my cards in this place, can I?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Let me give you one hint: you uncovered the most fundamental secret of the taboo in front of me. Thanks to that, I was able to use a slight workaround.”

“The most fundamental secret…”

“Shh. Don’t speak that word too easily. If you try to swallow too much at once, you’ll get indigestion.”

Perhaps it’s related to the “Taboo of Armedia” that the Gentleman mentioned.

I had been guessing that the word Armedia might be the name of a divine being that existed in ancient times, but I lack sufficient clues to explore it in detail right now.

“Well, fine. This time, successfully rescuing Iris and learning about demon lords is achievement enough.”

“True… now that we know demon lords actually exist, I’m wondering what we should do next.”

“You don’t need to do anything special.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you have your own goals? Rescuing family, honing skills, exploring the legacy of great magic. If you end up opposing one of the demon lords in that process, then defeat them. If not, avoiding entanglement will save you from headaches.”

“But… they’re demon lords. Is it really okay to just leave them be?”

“What’s the problem? Even if they’re called demon lords, they don’t possess the power to destroy the world like those of ancient times, nor can they unite monsters to seek world domination. The succubus right in front of you has been left alone for hundreds of years, and there’s been no problem, has there?”

Anastasia looked up at the night sky outside the window with a half-mocking smile.

“Despite their grand title of ‘demon lord,’ what they do is no different from orc lords or goblin champions. They’re just playing boss, intoxicated by their own power, with no interest in the secrets hidden in this world… That’s why they’ll achieve nothing even if left alone for decades or centuries.”

“Anastasia…”

“Do as you wish. Whether it’s uncovering secrets of the distant past or following Deidric’s footsteps. Watching something being revealed and accomplished is the only pleasure left in the life of Anastasia, the White Demon Lord.”

Anastasia, who had briefly worn a somewhat lonely expression, clapped her hands the next moment and blatantly changed the subject.

“Now, let’s end the heavy talk here. We’ve had a filling dinner, so isn’t there something like dessert? I heard that when you stayed at this house before, you made sugar confections.”

“We have the ingredients, so it’s not difficult to make, but… it’s already past 11 PM. Shouldn’t we be going to sleep soon?”

“We’ll be staying here tomorrow to help repair the automaton anyway, so what’s the problem with waking up a little late? Come on, let me taste what you all enjoyed.”

“I guess we have no choice…”

For the insistent Anastasia and the sparkling-eyed female party members, I began filling the mythril dalgona ladle with sugar and soda.