Manadeshi ni Uragirarete Shinda Ossan Yūsha, Shijō Saikyō no Maō toshite Ikikaeru

C9: Revealing the Conspiracy

Is there some kind of conspiracy at work here? I growled quietly under my mask.

Should I question them? Or should I just let them be for now?

“Demon Lord~, what’s wrong?”

Stella clung tightly to my arm.

“Stella, wait a minute. Now…”

“I didn’t know you were here.”

As I tried to move away, Lilim came running up to me.

“Heh, I’m so squishy.”

She took on an amoeboid shape, barely resembling a person, and twisted around me. Isn’t she getting drunker and drunker……?

“Demon Lord~, I have soft and elastic slime skin~. Doesn’t it feel good~”

It’s definitely a pleasant feeling. But that’s not what I meant.

“Demon Lord, please take care of me too~”

Stella clung to my arm more and more tightly, too.

“I usually suppress the idea that I have to support him as his aide, but I really want to know more about……the Demon Lord, you know?”

Stella stares at me with troubled eyes. She’s drunk……and this Lilim is definitely drunk…….

“I’m sorry, but could you both step away for a moment?”

I glanced at the guys from earlier and saw that they were about to move to another location.

“Demon Lord, look at me! My body can stretch so much!”

“Demon Lord, I don’t want to be stuck with Lilim all the time…….”

I was sandwiched between Lilim and Stella, preventing me from moving. In the meantime, they had disappeared toward the exit. They glanced back at me for a moment and gave me an intense glare.

A few days later, in the office of the Demon Lord.

“As you commanded, I have investigated their background, my Lord.”

Stella reported.

The list she had been given contained the names and official positions of three demons. They were of the beastly demon race, and all of them were under the control of the Beast Emperor Zegart.

“What kind of guy is Zegart?”

I asked Stella.

“I’m pretty sure he’s invading the human world now, isn’t he?”

“Yes, I believe he is currently leading an army of beastmen and demons in the southern continent. We’ve been out of touch for about a month now.”

Stella said.

“He’s a member of the Demon Lord’s entourage, one of the Seven Great Demon Army Chiefs, and a former candidate for the Demon Lord.”

“Candidate for the Demon Lord……?”

“There are two main reasons why kings of the demon world are replaced: one is when their power declines and they pass the throne to a new one. The other is when the king dies and the next king is chosen.”

“I guess it’s the latter in my case.”

“Yes. In this case, the crest of the Demon King held by the previous king will be automatically transferred to the person who is suitable to be the next king. On the other hand, in the former case – according to the will of the previous king, the crest will be passed on to a person chosen from among several candidates.”

Stella explained.

“The two previous kings were approaching old age and a new Demon Lord was to be chosen. At that time, the candidates were Yulisha-sama, who was the chief of the demon army at that time, and Zegart.”

“So, Zegart was not elected at that time?”

“Yes. Even after that, Zegart seemed to be quite attached to the title of Demon King……”

And yet, he was not chosen as the Demon Lord this time either.

“Hmm, a coat of arms in the hands of an unworthy man will……”

“As planned……Lord Zegart will be the new……King.”

“The rest will come……at the……meeting.”

I see, it might be connected to their conversation at the party.

“What do you mean Zegart wants to be the Demon Lord?”

“It’s…….”

Stella stammered for a moment.

“It’s possible, I suppose.”

I told her with a grim face.

“He’s been acting suspiciously for some time now.”

……So the demons are not united, either. Well, it’s the same with the human world.

“Now that the barrier has been repaired and some stability has been achieved, Zegart may have started a new scheme.”

“We’d better find out what he’s up to.”

“Then let’s have them followed. I’ll let you know as soon as there’s any suspicious activity.”

“Please.”

Then, on a weekend night I received the news from Stella that they were on the move, and I left the castle.

With Stella and a few other soldiers in tow, I headed for them. Their meeting place was a deserted mansion on the outskirts of the castle’s urban area. It seemed that they were meeting in secret.

“Stella and the rest of the troops will stay here. Come to me when I give the signal.”

I left the others waiting near the house and approached alone. With my strength, it wouldn’t matter if I was taken by surprise. On the other hand, if I approached with a large group, they might sense me.

My first objective was to find out what they were after.

“Ability Gear.”

When I reached the front of the house, I ducked into the shadows and enhanced my hearing. Then I hear their voices….

“……Isn’t Zegart-sama back yet?”

“He wants us to keep an eye on the Demon Lord for now.”

“Yes, yes, he praised us. It’s a good thing that one of the heroes defeated the previous king as planned.”

“It was good until one of the heroes defeated the previous king as planned…….”

“Ah, it was a miscalculation that the next king chosen was not Zegart-sama, but a demon from who knows where.”

“I’m not sure what to say. If Yulisha disappeared, Zegart-sama should have been the next Demon King…..”

“If that happened, Lord Zegart would’ve made a triumphant return from the human world to the demon world, found a way to get rid of the heroes and saved the demon world.”

“The current Demon Lord will be stepping down in the not too distant future.”

“Mmm, that’s true.”

“And this time, the throne of the Demon Lord will be Zegart-sama’s…”

That’s a very uncomfortable thing to say, isn’t it? If this is true, then the reason why Lyle, I and the other heroes made it to the Demon King’s castle is because of their manipulations. There were not many guards on the road leading to the Demon King, which I thought was strange.

“We’ll see when Master Zegart returns.”

“Fortunately, the new Demon Lord has repaired the barrier, so the heroes won’t be attacking the Demon World for a while.”

“We must move now and make Zegart-sama the new king before the next big battle…”

The conversation at the party alone might be dismissed as drunken ramblings, but what they said today can’t be excused. All that’ s left is to capture and interrogate him.

“Thunder.”

I shoot a thunderbolt with just the right amount of power. With a loud explosion, the door is blown to pieces, in addition, the surrounding walls were also torn to pieces.

I’ve reduced the power to a very small level, but it’s difficult to just blow up the door. My attack magic is too powerful and hard to control…….Well, it would be a catastrophe if it became so powerful that the entire mansion disappeared or the surrounding area became a wilderness, so I guess this is as good as it gets.

I stepped over the rubble and entered the mansion. The explosion should be the signal for Stella and the others to surround the place.

“What’s going on?”

They come out of the back room surprised.

“Demon King……?”

“Why are you here……?”

“I’ve heard what you’re up to.”

I said gravely, and looked at the three of them.

All of them looked pale. They may have underestimated me behind my back, but I guess they’re still afraid of me when they see me like this.

“I’ll remind you who you’re dealing with.”

I flipped up the hem of my robe and said arrogantly.

“I am the king of the demon world…”

…..The dialogue may have been a bit theatrical.