v-rustl
patreon
#46 A Demon’s Love
🕑 Added 2021-02-18 14:43:41 +0000 UTC“After hearing the history of our race, you must realize how important the holy swords are to us!”
“Y-yes!”
“If Astres has the Wicked-Holy Sword Dreischwartz with her, her lineage will be eligible to fight for the Demon King’s throne once more! Even the senate will have no choice but to withdraw their verdict of exiling her!”
Ah, so this was the Demon King’s ultimate goal!
“This is the only way left to save Astres. Other political means of saving her have been forestalled! Please!”
The Demon King, a person with the highest social standing, bowed so low that I can see the back of his head.
“Lord Zedan...! Going this far for my sake is-!”
Miss Astres welled up with tears upon witnessing the Demon King’s actions.
...
These two are definitely...
While I was lost in my own ideas as to what kind of relationship they have, someone lightly tugged me by the hem of my shirt.
It was Batemy and Belena.
Do they have some sort of suggestion? I absolutely have no idea how to proceed with this situation anyway, so I’m open to any.
“The Demon King and Miss Astres like each other.”
I can tell.
“Plus, they’re childhood friends.”
Okay, how cliché can this get?
“Both being of noble lineage, they’ve been acquainted with each other since childhood times. They immediately fell in love at first sight, and promised a future together.”
I wish they would just explode.
“But Lord Zedan is from the family of Demon Kings. From a tender age, he has already displayed exceptional wisdom and skill, and has secured the throne after surpassing his siblings.”
“That’s why the four noble families attempted to get close to his Majesty by sending maidens of appropriate age his way. But his Majesty only has eyes for Miss Astres...”
“What’s more, Miss Astres also did numerous meritorious deeds in the battlefield to become a worthy wife to his Majesty, and was recruited to be part of the Four Heavenly Kings...”
“If she becomes the Demon King’s wife, she’s bound to have the highest level of authority. Fearing that outcome, the other members of the Four Heavenly Kings...”
...Eliminated her before that could happen.
Regardless of whether Miss Astres succeeded or failed, they tasked her with causing a commotion in which she took complete responsibility, and eventually lost her position—the very same commotion that occurred here not long ago.
“Are you saying we were used by the demon race for their political strife?”
“Should we destroy them?”
Platy and Veil were furious, but I needed to calm them down.
“We should have realized things sooner. But the human army has been on the offense lately... I had to go to the frontlines myself to keep them in check, especially after they gained strong allies... No, that’s wrong. Apologies, I’m only coming up with excuses.”
The Demon King shuts down his own words with self-deprecation.
“The purpose of challenging you to a bout earlier was more so to get our hands on the holy sword rather than actually fight you.”
“Don’t be irrational, Lord Zedan!!!” reprimanded Miss Astres.
“Be that as it may, you don’t know the Saint’s true strength! His Majesty may be the strongest there is in our race, but once the Saint gets serious, you’ll be killed in an instant!”
Um...not really.
I’m just a commoner with a skill that makes me look superior.
I can never stand a chance against the likes of the Demon King... I think.
“Please don’t make light of yourself. The demon race owes everything to you, Lord Zedan!”
“But Astres, I can’t help wanting to save you for as long as I’m alive. If I can’t obtain the holy sword, then I might as well die in the hands of the strongest person!”
They’re free to be in their own world like that, but I won’t kill anyone.
I will never allow myself to commit such a deed that can create a breeding ground for future problems.
“I don’t mind handing over the holy sword if your situation calls for it...”
“Really?!”
It’s not like I really wanted to have it in the first place anyway.
But it was impossible. When I was about to hand over the holy sword to the Demon King, it clung to my hands like superglue.
“Huh?! It won’t let go?!”
“This is why I can’t hand it over even if I wanted to.”
What now?
Personally, after grasping this uninvited couple’s true intentions, my thought of wanting them to explode has decreased by half. The other half now wants to open a path for their romance to blossom.
The broken holy sword caught my attention once more-- Miss Astres’ family heirloom.
It was smashed by the Demon King of that era some hundreds of years ago. From then on, Miss Astres’ family resigned to their fate of being the Demon King’s aide with the broken sword as proof of their defeat.
According to the Demon King’s story, if Miss Astres has a proper holy sword in place of a broken one, not only will her family status rise, she will also become an indispensable person for the demon race. By doing so, she will regain her lost position. It sounds a little reckless, but I’m confident she will never betray anyone so the plan might just work.
I took the broken sword in my hands.
...What was its name again? The Wild-Holy Sword Sechsweiss?
“What’s wrong, Dear?’
Without answering Platy’s question, I concentrated on sensing an aura from the Sechsweiss’ hilt.
Nothing.
It’s completely different from whenever I hold Dreischwartz. As I thought, this sword died the moment it was broken.
“...Orkubo.”
I ordered one of the orcs on standby.
“Bring as much mana metal as you can from the storeroom to the forge and start the furnace.”
“What are you planning to do, Master?”
Long story short, Miss Astres can just show this sword to them. A holy sword is a holy sword, after all.
“I’m restoring this sword with my own hands.”
