Demon King & Hero

Come one, come all! Part 3 of Eevee’s Boxing Day special! Everyone knows Boxing Day sales are cheaper than Christmas sales!

TL: Eevee

Ed: adkji

***

“Let’s see…”

My first break in a while.

After I cut the other demon kings’ budgets, their minions had also started reducing their expenses.

Sure, there were complaints. But with the help of my stalwart backer, the demon god who knew exactly what kind of work I was doing, and the wonderfully understanding(?) demon kings, I could safely complete my work.

For only the third time in the demon world’s recorded history, there was not a deficit, but rather, some savings started accumulating.

Thanks to that I could comfortably~ not go and play around, but instead I found myself reading a book in the demon-king-use-only library.

“Even though it’s pointless…”

Although some demon kings did drop in every now and then, but the number of demon kings in existence was a grand total of seven. Of those, four didn’t seek out, nor did they care for the library. Ergo, only three demons ever used this library, but despite that, in terms of sheer size, it could be said to be the biggest in the demon world.

“Well, it’s quiet for me.”

The human world is interesting.

From a demon’s perspective, they have lifespans like ants, but even with those short lives, humans can bring out numerous changes.

Something I’ve been particularly interested in late was this.

『The heavens gift talents onto people in various ways. Some, a talent for agriculture. Some, a talent for commerce. Some, a talent for music. Some, a talent for the sword. Some, a talent for magic. But occasionally, the heavens grant particularly special ability to certain individuals. An incomparable intellect, one to be called a genius. An unfaltering resolve and determination, the willpower to continue where ordinary men would have given up a hundred times over. An unwillingness to be arrogant about one’s own skills, continually honing their talents with effort. An indomitable courage, never to yield to evil in the worst of situations. Blessed by the gods, those who forge their own paths, never yielding to evil in the worst of situations, forever fighting to prove that justice exists in the world. With words laden with respect and honour, people refer to them by this title. The “Hero,” or the “Brave.”』

“Heroes…”

Even in the histories of the demon world, every once in a while there are records of demon kings being revived and tearing apart the human world. But most of them were either defeated, or sometimes, even killed.

A demon king’s average lifespan was 20000 years. Humans could be considered long-lived at barely 100, and with an average lifespan of 60, how on earth do they beat a demon king?

“And the heroes are all young, too.”

A demon king who had lived 20000 years lost to a human that lived barely twenty or thirty. You might as well call the species best at fighting humans, rather than demons. Plus, there were sometimes humans that killed demons when they were barely in their teens.

“Heroes…”

I didn’t live a comfortable life after turning the demon world upside down from Internal Affairs.

A demon god could only be down in the demon world for so long, and when she’s gone, I’m alone.

It’s not just a couple of demons that have tried to kill me in that window of opportunity.

Well, sure, with me being a demon king and all, I didn’t die, but I came close a few times.

“It would be good if I had a hero around…”

***

Now I’ve reduced my all-nighters, and I’ve found myself with a surplus of funds, and the demon kings are grovelling of their own accord, and so the comfortable days passed.

There were no ballsy idiots that tried to kill me, well except for the demon god that one time.

I’d leisurely finished my work and was lying down on my sofa, when the door opened suddenly, and one of my subordinates rushed in with a shocked expression.

“Why, did Destruction break a statue of the demon god? Oh, wait, he’s gone to the human world for a bit.”

Demon kings couldn’t just drop in on the human world that easily, but they could play around with about the strength of a top-class demon. Sure, if they got caught by a dragon, they’d probably die, but that was a risk they knew they were taking, so there was no need to worry about that.

“De, Destruction fought a human.”

“What?”

Fun for a demon king was very different to a dragon’s fun. Because if anyone did something incredibly stupid, then the demon god would crush them herself.

“As expected, that idiot doesn’t think. The demon god needs to trample him a bit before-”

But my follower let out words that I would never have expected.

“Tha, that is, Destruction lost!”

“What?”

Destruction, despite his shortcomings, still had the strongest penetrative force in the entire demon world. As the demon king in charge of the army, in the demon world, in terms of pure combat potential, excluding the demon god, he would rank third.

He led the demon world as the emperor in times of war, and combined with the commander of the First Regiment, the demon king of Strife. Really, when you think of the two’s ages, it’s hard to think of Destruction, who would easily vie for the position of the strongest in the demon world, as someone who would lost to a human just like that.

“How weakened was he?”

“I heard he went over at around half his full strength.”

Half… If I don’t use my power given by my authority of Greed, in terms of pure strength, I would still lose.

“Is that so? Alright then, let’s go pay him a visit.”

What should I give a hospital patient… I’ve had some coffee left over ever since I had less all-nighters, let’s give him some of that.

***

“What? You’re perfectly fine?”

Contrary to what I heard about him being in emergency care, the demon king of Destruction, Dawihaslo, was perfectly fine.

“Then, how badly do you think I was thrashed by a human?” 𝘧r𝑒𝘦𝒘𝘦𝙗ｎovel.𝐜o𝒎

At his prideful words, I said exactly what I was thinking.

“Well, I imagined something like an arm or two missing, covered in blood, muttering the hero’s name… and dead three days later?”

“Just tell me to go die?”

At his bloodthirsty words, I just shrugged. I’ve gotten too used to blood thirst lately.

“Here, a present.”

I gave him the richest treasure even among the limited edition black coffee.

“Is… this edible?”

“It’s rated in the top three of the ‘items essential for overtime.’ Limited edition, too.”

Well, to be precise, limited edition within Internal Affairs. You couldn’t even find it outside!

‘I’m such kind demon. Is a demon allowed to be this nice?’

Perhaps I’m actually a heavenly being, was what I was thinking, but as I noticed a scalding gaze, I turned my line of sight to the owner of said gaze.

‘One, two.’

“Three!”

As I took one step back, a black shadow ambushed the space where I had just been.

“Darling~”

“Cough!”

The shadow, the demon king of Charm, Ayariss… Landed a critical hit on Dawihaslo! It was super effective!

Dawihaslo, who had taken critical damage, groaned, curling up and clutching his stomach.

“I didn’t know the two of you were such a swee~t pair.”

At my words, Ayariss leapt up and made a kicked puppy face.

“Not like that~ I can’t cheat like that!”

“I’m still not raising your budget.”

“Tch.”

As if she hadn’t been about to cry, she clicked her tongue and shrugged her shoulders. Then, looking at Dawihaslo, who still hadn’t recovered from her attack, she smacked his back, and said with a reproachful look,

“A demon king, you know, if you’re going with reduced strength, then shut up and keep quiet. You dare lose to a human? Do you know what it would be like if a demon king of all things disgraces demon kind!”

At her words, Dawihaslo muttered,

“Strong.”

“So how strong could humans possibly be! Okay, fine. How many were you ganked by? Were you set on by a mage corp or something?”

Dawihaslo turned red in a look very unlike himself and muttered.

“… person … person”

“What?”

As she brought her ear closer, as if unable to hear, Dawihaslo’s face turned it’s greatest hue of red yet and he shouted,

“I fought a single hero!”

“One person? Are you mad! Are you saying, right here, right now, you lost to a single human! It’s not something like that hero was secretly a dragon or something, right?”

“I, I didn’t lose! It was a draw, a draw!”

“Tsk, tsk…”

Looking at Dawihaslo, I shook my head.

“The normal scenario goes that when the hero fights villains, if the villain wins or ties, the hero levels up. Yep, that hero’s fight with you was probably a good stepping stone in that hero’s growth.”

“What am I, some mid-game boss!”

I nodded.

“There’s the demon god, the demon emperor, and a lot of demon kings left, so yes, you are a mid-game boss. Actually, no, since you’d reduced your strength to half, that would be exactly a mid-game boss. When you meet next, you would be the hero’s delicious prey.”

“That man’s gone completely in under the hero legends that he’s read…”

Ayariss shook her head at my obvious statements. What’s with that reproachful expression?

“Budget cut.”

“Hey! No fair!”

Hmph. My rules, so what?

“Dawihaslo’s injuries are too serious so I think the budget’s going to be a bit tight.”

“Don’t bullshit me! I know the exact state of the Internal Affairs funds right now!”

Hmm… Our, no, my Department of Internal Affairs do have a fair bit of surplus. But I do have an excuse?

“Next month has the day of the demon god, one of the biggest events of the demon world, so we’re short on funds.”

Wait, we actually ARE short on cash?!

“Not the funds for this year! The total funds in your Ministry!”

“All funds are managed by the Department of Internal Affairs. We predict and operate a fair distribution system for emergencies, sudden events and other assorted expenses. For more information, please contact the Department…”

I repeated the official words stored in the communications hub in a very official-like manner.

“Enough with those official-like words! How many times have I heard those by now!”

“I dunno. If I had time to memorize that, I would manage the Treasury.”

Grumbling, I looked over at Dawihaslo.

“The hero, was it a man or a woman? Old or young?”

“Hmph. A draw even when I wasn’t even at full strength, there is no need for me to-”

“Ten percent off your current outstanding debt.”

“In human years, around the mid-late teens, a woman, using a single sword, belonging to the Empire’s faction. Every time she swung her sword, blue flames were whipped up. Her speed, strength and technique were not wanting in any way. When we introduced each other, she called herself, Yuria Ashrien.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

Now, this is an oddity. Lived for not even twenty years and drew a tie with a weakened demon king?

“The debt, you are going to reduce it, right?”

As I was thinking, Dawihaslo looked over with shining eyes. Well, I might as well, it’s just going to stack up again, anyway.

“Fufufu. I do keep my promises?”

“Wh, why do I feel like I’ve been played?”

It’s just you, just you.

That said, the hero… I did want to see her.

Author’s Note:

Maybe this chapter will probably end in the next episode.

Translator’s Notes:

(1) I imagined this in Miia’s (of Monmusu). As you would.