The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 61



61. A Single Word

“Y-you’re the, the Demon Lord…?”

“That is correct.”

Nod, nod.

In response to Erin’s words, the Demon Lord extended her hand straight out.

The excessively long sleeves of the garment she wore drooped down.

She moved her arm back and forth a few times, then, slightly parted her lips as if amazed, and went, “Wah-,”

“This human body… I haven’t fully adjusted yet, so even moving my arm feels awkward.”

Long, pink hair, and eyes a pink shade even deeper than her hair.

She wore a black, one-piece, rag-like garment, yet it somehow gave off a strangely cute impression.

Though she looked every bit like a cute human girl, the black demon horns peeking through her hair clearly proved that she was not human.

On her back were wings, small enough to make one wonder if they could even allow her to fly.

“Igo, a-ga-goh-don…”

“Rabbit Prince, why are you so drained? Are you perhaps hungry?”

“Deh-ri-got-go-don…”

While Ophelia was somehow soothing the rabbit, who had seemingly lost all his energy and left her embrace, Linea cautiously approached Erin.

“Just a moment…! If we refer to the historical records, they say the Demon Lord emits a suffocating aura just by being near… is that girl really the Demon Lord?”

“Did you not just hear what the Demon Lord said?”

“…!!!”

Come to think of it, that girl said that ‘God’s stark facts’ had been applied to her.

Could it be… did god, in fact, completely alter the Demon Lord’s appearance?

Since a being like ‘god’ probably doesn’t actually exist, that naturally implies the priests of the church had a hand in this… but do they really have the power to do something like this?

‘No way…!’

There’s no way something like that could be possible.

If that’s true, then that girl isn’t the Demon Lord at all, but just a normal girl prepared by the church…?

But thinking that way, not only does it leave the question of why they’d even do that unanswered, but there was also a more critical question.

I can concede the horns, but how do you explain those wings floating behind her?

Of course, if you use magic, it isn’t impossible, but… then who exactly is casting magic right now in real-time?

Linea, who had experience walking the path of a mage, knew.

There’s no mana felt nearby, so if that’s magic, they should have cast and applied it a while ago –

Is it even possible to keep wings floating so naturally behind someone like that?

Leaving Linea in a state of confusion –

Luca edged forward cautiously and spoke.

“Uhm… Demon Lord…?”

“Speak, human.”

“Well, it’s about what happened a while back—”

“You speak of that incident where my kin were harmed?”

“…You knew.”

The Demon Lord offered a wry smile as he spoke.

“I feel remorse for that event. And, at the same time, I’m deeply grateful. From what I’ve heard, Erin, it seems you dealt with the situation with a certain cleverness, preventing it from escalating.”

“That’s correct.”

“You must have been terrified, unable to even communicate, but how were you able to do it?”

Erin stared directly into the Demon Lord’s eyes, her voice unwavering.

“Because it was the will of God.”

“God.”

The Demon Lord repeated the word several times, as if amused.

“I am God’s vessel, and God’s sole disciple. If it is the will of the one and only God, Yggwugudon, I will do anything.”

“Yeah. God… it was also god who gave this body a human form.”

The Demon King pursed his lips for a moment—

Then, slowly, he approached Erin.

*Squeak.*

*Squeak.*

For some reason, a sound, cute beyond words, was heard every time she walked.

Like the chirping of a chick, you might say?

“Anyway, I wanted to express my gratitude for that. Thank y—”

Just then.

—*THUD!*

“…….”

Was it because he wasn’t used to the human body?

He couldn’t even take a few proper steps before tripping over a rock and falling flat on his face.

“A-Are you alright?!”

“…….”

Ophelia, having rushed over to support him, saw the Demon Lord’s eyes flicker momentarily.

Then, in the same instant, he bit his lip, wordless, and shuddered—

Before sniffing once, and brushing the dirt off his knee with a flick of his hand, he said, as if tossing the words away,

“…This human flesh is more inconvenient than I thought. To be bound to the earth like this, it’s a rather pitiful thing. No wonder they’re so aggressive.”

“It’s not always like that.”

“You…”

Ophelia spoke, kneeling on one knee to meet the Demon Lord’s gaze.

“You could say we’re bound to the earth, but you could also say we’ve taken root. We live with the responsibility of this world we’ve rooted ourselves in.”

“…Is that so?”

“Anyway, I don’t know the full story, but it seems you gained a human body by the will of the gods.”

“To see you look upon this form and speak as calmly as you do, you’re probably right.”

“If that’s the case, then welcoming you is also a trial ordained by the gods. I, Ophelia Transrente, pledge on the name of one holy knight, to gladly escort you.”

Ophelia slowly rose to her feet and extended a hand to the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord hesitated for a moment, then reached out his tiny hand, barely half the size of Ophelia’s, toward her.

—Squeeze.

The Demon Lord’s hand, clasped in hers, felt the warmth of a different species. …It was warm.

And so, the Demon Lord and Ophelia walked hand-in-hand for a short while—

—*THUD!*

—*CLATTER!*

“O, Ophelia-nim!”

Ophelia’s spirit was certainly commendable—

The problem was, when it came to falling, she was no different from the Demon Lord, who had only recently acquired a human body and wasn’t quite accustomed to it.

* * *

“Here, please sit. Demon Lord-nim.”

“…Thank you.”

The Demon Lord plopped down onto the mat Luca had prepared.

Facing the Demon Lord, Erin and the rest of the group were kneeling, looking up at her.

In front of the dungeon, where magic was leaking out—

The sight of grown women kneeling before a young girl, sitting quietly, was a scene that gave you a lot to think about.

And then, a moment of silence passed—

It was Erin, the saint chosen by god, who broke the silence.

“Demon Lord. May I speak first?”

“You may. Speak your mind.”

“We came here under divine guidance. The fact that the divine led us here, and that we met you, Demon Lord, means that facing you is part of the divine will. If you have any idea what that might mean, please, we would be grateful to hear it.”

“…….”

From noble mtl dot com

Having heard Erin’s words, the Demon Lord felt as if he understood what she was getting at.

Divine will— a being that used its power to prevent him from shedding blood.

Having gleaned the general situation from their conversation with the divine representative, she cautiously voiced the audacious thought that had formed in her mind.

“Erin. We do not wish to be hostile to you. Are you aware that my brethren, those who emerged from the dungeon, have never attacked you first?”

“……Yes. I knew. In fact, from the moment I received the divine will, I had a faint suspicion that might be the case.”

“I wanted to speak with humans, with you. I believed that if we discussed our needs, we could bring this to an end without anyone spilling blood.

—However, I have been told that, to you humans, I appear too threatening to talk with.

To the point that merely meeting my gaze can drive you mad with irrational fear.

“…….”

“And so, while I was considering whether history would be forced to repeat itself, I heard the voice of the divine. Or rather, the voice of the divine’s representative. They offered to give me some plain facts. At first, I didn’t really understand what they meant.”

“Is that so…”

Erin slowly nodded and then asked again.

“Are you saying… that demons can coexist with humans?”

“Yes. The continent is truly vast, is it not? While not to the point of actively mingling in your spaces, I believe it’s possible for us to live together sufficiently.”

In a situation where the entire holy knight group was hesitant to speak rashly—

Erin, very carefully, nodded… and answered without avoiding the Demon Lord’s gaze.

“I believe the Demon Lord’s intentions are very noble. We humans also wish we could do so, if only it were possible.”

“Your answer isn’t exactly positive.”

“I apologize. However, there are parts that are difficult for us humans to accept…”

“It’s alright. Isn’t that why I obtained a human form? Speak honestly. What aspects of our kind do you find difficult to accept?”

—Well, it’s not like I have no idea.

“Your saying you… have an idea?”

“From a purely human perspective, we look ferocious.”

Erin was unable to say anything at all.

Certainly, monsters were beings that were frightening just to look at. The stronger the demon, the greater the fear humans felt, proportionately.

If not for the blunt facts from god right now, I wouldn’t have even imagined facing the Demon Lord, the apex of the demon race.

Even so.

If ‘having a conversation’ like this is god’s will…

Erin felt like she understood why Iggwogdeon-nim had created this situation.

“Your Majesty, the Demon Lord, is correct. From the perspective of us humans, your kind… monsters are objects of fear and dread.”

“I have no intention of blaming the instincts of living beings as foolish. My brethren also do not simply accept you without reservations.”

Because they both didn’t understand each other and perceived each other as different.

“However, what I can never accept is not merely because of their frightening appearances.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What you just spoke of, Your Majesty. That day a member of your race entered with wounds… Regardless, on that day, we were able to avoid conflict and move past it through non-verbal communication. That even happened before I heard Your Majesty’s story, isn’t that right? So, I believe that aspect is something we can overcome, depending on what we do going forward.”

“…That is a valid point.”

“What we cannot accept… and this might be incredibly rude to Your Majesty, but it is closer to the customs of your race, rather than their appearances.”

“Our customs, you say?”

The Demon Lord tilted his head as if saying, ‘What in the world are you talking about?’

It was like he was saying, “Did my kids do something?”

And Erin, with a more serious expression than usual… cautiously pulled out the ‘common sense’ she knew.

“That… like, pouring human blood until the lake becomes a crimson pool, then hanging the heads of executed humans above it, and on that day, eating the human flesh hunted… that tradition, or something…”

“……?”

“Or, weak individuals who failed to kill humans are publicly humiliated then burned at the stake in a ritual to ignite fighting spirit, or something…”

“???”

“And beyond that, according to the history books on our side-“

“……Wait, Erin. Forgive my rudeness in interrupting. But, it seems there’s a large misunderstanding going on here.”

“A misunderstanding, you say?”

And.

Only after hearing Erin’s story – did the feeling of what ‘the will of the one God, Iggugwodon,’ that the divine representative had conveyed to her, become clear.

[Iggugwodon : And, actually, these kinds of problems are usually solved by really simple things, you know?]

[Iggugwodon : In the end, all we wanted was sunlight, but because we couldn’t communicate it, we’ve just been fighting each other this whole time.]

Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

Yeah.

Because we demons and humans haven’t talked to each other, we’ve been running parallel lines like this.

As god had said, these kinds of problems really did get solved by simple things.

“I swear on the Demon Lord’s honor, such customs do not exist among our kind.”

“Is that so? But if not, then why do you emerge from the dungeon to hunt humans? As we understand it, due to the presence of demonic energy, it is natural for demonkin to reside within dungeons. The only reason we know of for you to venture into the world is to satisfy your destructive instincts…”

Destructive instincts.

It’s understandable that they’d think that way.

The previous Demon Lord, had sought to awaken the demonkin’s instincts, to drive out humans, and seize demon territory through force.

That such a bizarre story became accepted as truth, wasn’t strange if they only faced demonkin with destructive instincts.

Especially given that the records likely came from those who fought against such demonkin.

But, the important thing was – that wasn’t the truth.

“Yes. I know that’s what is believed. And as you said, we can’t live in places without demonic energy. But, demonic energy isn’t the only thing that sustains us.”

“We are……”

Just a single word.

Was it for the sake of delivering a single word, that they had feuded for hundreds of years?

To be able to convey a message that seemed impossible to deliver… was it thanks to the overflowing love of god, as his proxy had said, that created this ‘mutant Demon Lord who desired dialogue’?

The Demon Lord, his pink eyes sparkling―

“I wanted to bask in the sunlight.”

“Huh…?”

“If we don’t get sunlight, we can’t properly absorb magic energy. Except for a tiny number of higher beings, we all die in agony without reaching our natural lifespans.”

“So, what we need is – sunlight. That’s the biggest reason why we came out of the dungeon.”

– He conveyed the true, unfulfilled desire of the demon race to Erin, a desire that had gone unsaid for hundreds of years.