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Chapter 104 – Michelle’s Stay in the Demon Country Part 4 (Chel’s Chapter)
The current royal guards were waiting for me outside the Demon King’s castle.
“Have you come all the way back here to be executed, Master Michelle?”
One of the guards stepped forward. He was probably the captain. He didn’t look strong.
“No, I only came because I was called. Isn’t it the Demon King who wants to see me?”
“If I cut off your head and present it to the Demon King, then this business will be over.
He probably thinks that my return will threaten his position.
“For a former mercenary, you are quite concerned about your position, aren’t you?”
“You never know when the wind will change direction, do you?”
He’s obviously being treated very well.
“I see. But there are some things that never change, right? Like whether or not you can protect yourself.”
Several water orbs were already floating around. They were hidden in the darkness of the night, so he didn’t notice my magic.
“When did this happen?”
“It’s not fair not to chant at all!”
“Don’t be afraid! The target is in sight!”
I began to run, concentrating my magic on my legs.
I ran past the guards, who were distracted by the water balls floating in the air, and touched the ground with my hands to create a wall of earth.
The high wall completely blocked the entrance to the Demon King’s castle, and even the guards’ voices could no longer be heard.
When I opened the large iron door in front of me, I could hear magical chanting coming from everywhere. It was probably some kind of mental magic, but it didn’t work on me because I had the amulet Hel had made for me.
Black eagles that looked like familiars were lined up on the landing and the banister of the stairs.
“If I’m going to steal the Demon King’s throne, I’m going to steal the whole castle. Didn’t you call me here? Can you show me the way?”
I woke up the black eagle that was sleeping in my bag.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Master Michelle.”
I could hear a deep, muffled voice. The chanting stopped, and the entire castle, which had been dark, lit up.
There was a butler standing by the stairs with his head bowed. The butler of the Demon King’s Castle didn’t move an inch, as if he had been doing this for hundreds of years.
“I have been summoned by the Demon King.”
“I heard. Since the new Demon King has only recently taken her position, the frontline communication system is a bit rough. As the Demon King’s butler, I apologize. Please spare my head.”
“I don’t want your head. Take me to the Demon King.”
“As you wish.”
The butler slid up the stairs and walked in front of me without making a sound.
There are also demons hiding in the armor along the corridor, and the black rat familiars are watching us from the magic stone lanterns on the ceiling. I didn’t notice them when I was brought here before. Perhaps the ability to observe like this is the most important thing I’ve learned from living in the demonic land.
The red door in the back opened.
The walls on either side were lined with black-robed mages, their faces down. On the throne was the figure of Giulietta, whom I knew from the Magic Academy. The current Demon King looked at me with the same terrified expression as when we were students.
“Welcome back, Michelle.”
“Long time no see, Giulietta.”
When was the last time I saw her clearly from the front?
“I received a letter telling me not to interfere, but you came anyway.”
“I heard that a letter had arrived from the Kingdom of Cliff Garuda and the Elf Kingdom. Besides, I’ve also been cursed by the previous generation, and I have business in the dungeon.”
When I mentioned the previous generation and the dungeon, Giulietta was clearly surprised.
“Why? Why you? I’m the current Demon King! I can do it properly, too!”
“I know. You graduated from the Magic Academy at the top of your class, and everyone recognizes your abilities. You’re also doing a good job with internal affairs, so there haven’t been any major rebellions, right? I’ve had a look around the towns and villages, but they haven’t collapsed anywhere.”
“Then why doesn’t anyone recognize me as the Demon King?”
“Giulietta, it’s only been three months. Did you think that you’d be recognized as the Demon King overnight? You can be a great Demon King from now on.”
“That’s right. This is the destiny of a demon king. We’ve been schoolmates since we were young, but it’s also my duty as Demon King to remove you as an option for the people.”
Giulietta looked at me with a face that looked like she was about to cry and picked up a decorated knife.
The black-robed mages on either side of her began to chant, and a chain as hard as metal was wrapped around my arm. It seems like some of my magic power is being absorbed, but it’s not at a particularly alarming level.
“This is the king’s chamber!”
The butler shouts. It would be considered disrespectful to use trivial binding magic in the presence of the Demon King.
I raise a hand to silence the butler and remove the magical binding bracelet. I grab the chain that was wrapped around my arm and release the curse.
The mages on both sides of the demon king begin to lose their magic one by one and collapse.
“The curse of the previous generation allows me to absorb the magical power of those around me. Stewart, was it? If you can, it would be a great help if you could remove those who are not worthy of the king’s presence.”
“Understood.”
Stewart, the butler, immediately called for someone and had the black-robed magicians removed.
Giulietta still held the knife and trembled as she looked at me.
“Giulietta, you have the knife. If you’re ready, let’s go.”
“Where?”
Giulietta asked in a voice that sounded like she was choking.
“To the dungeon, of course. If you need any equipment or emergency food, get it ready.”
“But the dungeon won’t open!”
“It’s the Demon King’s dungeon, so what do you expect me to do if the Demon King can’t open it? Just go into the dungeon with the key.”
I remember that the previous generation took me from the dungeon to the Demon King’s room. If I made a mistake, I could just ask the servants.
Leaving the slow-moving Giulietta behind, I made my way to the dungeon.
In the middle of the room is a large wall with an ancient magic circle carved into it. There is a small round hole in the center of the wall, and if you put the key in there, turn it, and concentrate your magic power, it should open.
However, it seems that not many people have entered the dungeon room itself, and the carpet is still dirty with mud. When I asked Stewart, he said it was off-limits to anyone but the Demon King.
“Wait, but I was brought here before, right?”
“Ah, that’s because the previous generation thought that you would definitely become the Demon King one day. We didn’t predict such a future either.”
“Reality is full of surprises. By the way, what are you bringing?”
Stewart carried weapons such as spears and swords, as well as armor and robes.
“I was told to prepare supplies for the dungeon raid.”
“You won’t need that much. Just a staff with some kind of auxiliary magic on it would be enough.”
“But the current Demon King…”
“That’s right. Sorry.”
There was no point in telling Stewart.
“You can clean the room and make some soup or something.”
“Understood.”
The servants must also be confused by the sudden appointment of a Demon King they never expected.
“I’m ready.”
Giulietta appeared in a way that was hard to believe for a demon, wearing iron armor and an iron club.
“Giulietta, change into your robes. A staff with a suitable supporting spell and a knife will do. And the key!”
Without asking any questions, I made Giulietta change her clothes and took the key. The key was a doughnut-shaped stone like the ones in the demonic land, but it had a clearly drawn magic circle on it.
While Giulietta took her time to change, I decided to open the dungeon.
I buried the key in a small hole and turned it to imbue it with magical power. The wall in the middle of the room glowed a pale blue, and the door to the dungeon was complete.
“The dungeon is open!”
“I opened it. I’ll go in first.”
“Wait a minute, Michelle!”
Looking at Giulietta following me, I felt that she hadn’t changed much since we were students. If I run ahead, she’ll surely catch up.
After passing through the dark passage, we came to a grassy plain where cornered rabbits and wild boars were hiding.
“Michelle! Monsters! There are monsters here!”
“Yes, it’s a dungeon, so there are monsters. For now, use your staff to restrict the monster’s movements, and then finish it off with your knife.”
“Huh? W-what are you going to do?!”
It seems that despite being from a noble family, she has never hunted monsters before. She tried to kill me earlier, but are people and monsters different? No, maybe she’s just a bit of a coward, so she usually just gets her servants or mercenaries, whom she hires with money, to do the job for her.
“Originally, this dungeon was a place where demon kings trained and strengthened their abilities. If you don’t get stronger here, the Meiju Kingdom will be invaded by the demonic land, so train hard.”
“No way… Michelle will help me, right?”
“Giulietta, I’m sorry, but I have other things to do. There’s no one here to help you, so you have to judge the situation and fight while thinking. If you’re about to die, you’ll be sent flying out of the dungeon so you can fight to your heart’s content.”
“What do you mean, ‘to my heart’s content’? Whoa!”
“You can only use what you have. Get used to the dungeon as soon as you can. See you.”
I ran across the grassland, looking for the stairs that led to the lower floors.
By watching the direction the monsters weren’t going, I was able to find the stairs quickly. The lower you go, the more intense the monsters’ attacks become and the stronger they become, but they’re not as strong as the monsters in the demonic land. First of all, the plants don’t attack, and if you watch their movements, you can avoid the monsters’ attacks.
Even the biggest monster was only as big as a haze turtle, and even when a dragon appeared, it was slower than the fire-breathing lizard or the Maaeshitsukawazu from the demonic land, and the flow of their magic power was completely visible.
“I wonder if Makyo can see this?”
Makyo is good at reading the flow of power. He can even detect buried power by sending magic power underground. What’s more, he said that he could use magic to interfere with that power. He really says a lot of things I don’t understand.
“I bet he’s an idiot.”
While complaining about the lord of the demonic land, I burned and defeated a monster called Lich, which looked like the boss of zombies from all sides.
A pitch-black door decorated with the image of a person in pain appeared. Judging by the decoration, it was probably a door no one in a dungeon would want to open.
But I had to continue without worrying about it.
“Hello!”
I cheerfully opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was cold, and it seemed like the dark room went on forever. The previous Demon King must have been dealing with the dungeon core in the deeper levels, but I had business in the mausoleum in front of it.
“Is anyone here?!”
My voice was absorbed by the empty room. There was no response.
I remembered that the previous Demon King who entered this room did something.
When I turned around and looked for the door, I saw a small bell on a wooden stand that looked like a bedside table.
“Use this to ask the previous Demon Kings for advice when you need it.”
I remembered the voice of the previous Demon King.
There were various magic circles faintly drawn on the bell. For now, I tried to ring the bell with all the magic power I had.
Gong, gong, gong!
The sound of a large bell, which was hard to believe, echoed throughout the room.
“It is so loud! You don’t need to use so much magic!
The former Demon King slid in wearing her nightclothes. She was probably a spirit since she was white and her body was transparent.
“It’s been a while, Previous Demon King.”
“Ara, Michelle. You’ve finally arrived? I’ve been waiting for you. Now go and greet the past Demon Kings.”
The past Demon Kings also arrive one by one behind the previous generation Demon Kings. They all look unhappy to have been disturbed from their sleep.
“Oh, hello. I’m sorry, I think I woke you up.”
“Everyone, this is the current Demon King. Please treat her well.”
“No, the previous one, I’m not the Demon King. The one fighting the monsters up there is the current Demon King, Giulietta.”
“What? Then what are you doing here?”
“Sorry for the delay. My name is Chel, and I am the special envoy who came across the sea from the demonic land. I have come to ask the distinguished demon kings a question.”
“From the demonic land? What do you want to ask?”
“Can I ask the demon king who ascended to the throne 1,000 years ago about the magical kingdom of Yggdrasil?”
When I said this, the spirits of the Demon Kings looked at each other and tilted their heads.
“Or if you have heard of a city called Midgard, or even if you have heard of a holy knight who was killed in a dungeon, I would be very interested to hear your stories. If any of you know anything about these things, I would be very grateful if you could tell me.”
As the demon kings in front of me tilted their heads to the side, a small voice could be heard from behind.
“Did you say the land of the dragon race, Yggdrasil?”
The spirit of a demon king wearing an old-fashioned robe approached us. Perhaps because she was an old demon king, the previous generation had not said anything and was standing on one knee with her head bowed.
“Yggdrasil was the land of the dragon race?
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about it from the Foolish King. You said you were an envoy from the demonic land, right?”
“Yes. I live in the demonic land, which is in the area where Yggdrasil once stood.”
“I see. You want to know what kind of land you live in, don’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Very well then. Could someone please wake up the Foolish King, the most talented magician in history? She should be able to answer the younger generation’s questions. Special envoy, please tell the Foolish King about the current situation in the demonic land. She probably knows everything since she is the one who banned space-time magic.”
Every demon knows that they will be executed if they use space-time magic.
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[Every demon knows that they will be executed if they use space-time magic]
Demons right? That doesn’t apply to Makyo. Maybe that’s the reason material can’t be found.
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