ZAP – Chapter 2: Eugene speaks to the Demon Lord

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When I stepped into the cage, a thick and slimy miasma clung onto my skin. 

Dense miasma is poisonous, and if humans were to get bathed by it, they would faint in an instant. 

I have deployed layers of barriers around my body so this doesn’t happen. 

A Barriermancer specialized in the defensive white mana. 

That’s the reason I was chosen as the caretaker of the Demon Lord.

“Rejoice, Eugene-kun! It has been a century since a person has entered here!” -I remember the Principal being super happy about this. 

After that, I was forced to join the Animal Club. 

I sighed and slowly advanced through the inside of the big cage. 

There’s extravagant furniture placed inside the cage as if it were the room of a noble. 

I went to the side of the giant bed deep in. 

“You are finally here. Took you long enough.” 

On top of the bed, there’s a woman lying down, tied up with thick chains. 

“Isn’t it the same time as usual?” (Eugene)

I direct my gaze at the owner of the voice and speak in a light tone. 

(…She is an outstanding beauty no matter how many times I see her.) (Eugene)

A thousand out of a thousand would say the same thing if they saw her. 

That polished beauty of hers was beyond human. 

(Well, she isn’t human, so that’s a given, huh…) (Eugene)

I talked to myself. 

Pure white skin and deep crimson lips. 

Her limbs give off fascinating allure while still keeping youthfulness in them. 

She has a big wing at her back that is proof that she was in the past an angel that served the Goddesses in the Divine Realm. 

However, the color of the wing is not pure white but a tainted jet black. 

— Fallen Angel Demon Lord, Erinyes. 

A Chief Archangel that served the Goddesses in the Divine Realm in the past, and dropped to a lower realm after angering the Goddesses.

Corrupted in the Mortal Realm, the Fallen Angel was eventually called a Demon Lord.

She is one of the Demon Lords that ruled the South Continent in ancient times. 

She currently has been defeated by the Legendary Hero and has been sealed here.

“Now, fulfill your duty.” (Erinyes)

“…Yeah yeah, I know.” (Eugene)

I approach the big bed. 

The bed creaked. 

That beautiful Demon Lord tore off my clothes and straddled me. 

“It has been a week.” (Erinyes)

“I brought food and a change of clothes.” (Eugene)

“Leave that for later!” (Erinyes)

The beautiful face of the Demon Lord approached me with glaring eyes. 

And just like that, she stole my lips. 

—Sacrifice (feed) that provides lifeforce to the Demon Lord.

That is the most heavy and important job that has been placed onto me once a week in the Animal Club. 

◇◇

“Aah, that was tiring…” (Eugene)

I stretched. 

There’s the Demon Lord at my side wrapped up in the thin blanket. 

She fell asleep? -is what I thought, but she was staring intently at me. 

“Hey, Eugene.” (Erinyes)

“What is it, Demon Lord-sama?” (Eugene)

“Stop calling me Demon Lord-sama. I am telling you to call me Eri when it is just the two of us, right?” (Eri)

“Alright alright, got it. And so, wanna eat something? Only got bread, ham, cheese, and wine though.” (Eugene)

“I will eat. Red wine for me.” (Eri)

“Got it.” (Eugene)

I took out the food from the basket I brought, and placed it on the plate. 

The Demon Lord Eri was eating them all. 

I just stared at her beautiful side-profile absentminded. 

Her bewitching atmosphere of just now was gone, and it reminded me of the cat we had at home. 

“Are you thinking something rude there?” (Eri)

“Y-You are just imagining it.” (Eugene)

Sharp.

Even when sealed, she is a Demon Lord, huh. 

“…You were cuter before~.” (Eri)

“‘Before’ as in 1 year ago?” (Eugene)

Not long after I enrolled in this academy, Erinyes, who had been sleeping for centuries, suddenly woke up. 

The just woken up Demon Lord-sama was in a bad mood and rampaged around. 

Under the orders of the Principal who was flustered saying ‘at this rate, the seal will be broken!’ ordered several offerings for the Demon Lord. 

I was appointed as the person who would bring those offerings to the Demon Lord in the cage since I am a Barriermancer. 

At that time, the Demon Lord took more of a liking to me than the offerings and my lifeforce was forcefully taken away. 

I was in despair from the shock of my unrequited love, but this really did catch me off-guard. 

That said, with her personally nominating me by saying ‘I have taken a liking to you!’ I can’t escape. 

Since then, I have been attending the Demon Lord Eri every week. 

My body feels heavy…

When I offer my lifeforce to Eri, my body ends up completely exhausted…

“I will be going now. I have to do a round in the other cages as well after all.” (Eugene)

“Eeeh~, stay until morning~.” (Eri)

She is coaxing me with a cute voice. 

“I have classes tomorrow too…” (Eugene)

I am different from the Demon Lord-sama who has holidays every day. 

“Booo~ Eugene, you are so cold~.” (Eri)

Eri puckers her lips. 

And then, she hugged me from behind, wrapped her arms around me, and whispered in my ear.

“Hey hey, how about getting me out of here already?” (Eri)

The Demon Lord Eri looked at me with a cute upturned glance as she said something fearsome. 

We have already gone through this dozens of times now. 

“I can’t undo the seals here. The only one who can is the Principal.” (Eugene)

It is a special seal that the Principal themself reapplies at fixed intervals. 

There’s no way I would be able to destroy that even if I were to take my whole life. 

“If you make a contract with me, you can get my mana -the mana of a Demon Lord, you know? If you do, you won’t even lose against the Principal. If you kill the Principal, you can control this place.” (Eri)

“…Don’t say something so fearsome as if nothing, you fallen angel.” (Eugene)

The Principal has pushed a whole lot of troublesome stuff onto me, but I also have a lot of debts to repay. 

There’s no way I can do that. 

In the first place, even if I were to borrow the power of Eri, I don’t think I would be able to win against the Principal. 

That person is a real monster. 

“But if you gain power, you can get back at your childhood friend that abandoned you.” (Eri)

“…”

I fell silent. 

It is the story of my past that I ended up blurting out to the Demon Lord before. 

The bitter memory of the Selection Exam. 

That accursed memory of Airi throwing me away. 

“Maybe she will fall in love all over again and come back to you.” (Eri)

“…Not interested.” (Eugene)

That’s a lie. 

Even now, I still have nightmares of the day Airi abandoned me. 

That event has become a wound in my heart. 

It really is pathetic. 

“Fufufu…hesitating there, right? Making a contract with me. If you do, you can get back what you have lost…” (Eri)

Erinyes smiles bewitchingly. 

The whispers of the devil…no, the temptation of a fallen angel that corrupts humans. 

(Well, we always have this conversation though.) (Eugene)

“Now then, I am done with my job, so I am leaving.” (Eugene)

I stood up from the bed.

“Wait wait! It was a joke! A joke!” (Eri)

Eri clung onto me. 

“Then, don’t say weird stuff.” (Eugene)

“I~am~bored~.” (Eri)

The Demon Lord flapped her legs. 

The majesty of a Demon Lord she showed just before is completely gone.

“If you are bored, then how about checking the state of the dungeon with the Satellite System?” (Eugene)

I pointed at the giant screen in the cage that shows footage. 

It is not showing anything right now, but if you pour mana in, this magic tool allows you to see the outside. 

But the only place it can show is the dungeon called the Zenith Tower.

“I got bored of that~. The people who go to the dungeon are the same anyways. If you go, I will watch though.” (Eri)

“Speaking of which, I haven’t gone to explore the dungeon lately.” (Eugene)

I have thought about undertaking the dungeon explorer business before. 

I gave up because of the difference in my Ability though. 

The handicap of not being able to attack is way too big. 

“Try it. I will cheer on your exploration, Eugene.” (Eri)

Erinyes directs a cute smile that’s hard to believe is coming from a Demon Lord. 

“I have only reached the 9th floor.” (Eugene)

It is difficult for a swordsman that can’t attack to explore a high difficulty dungeon.

“If you used Magic Sword, you should be able to challenge the boss of the 10th floor, right? Why don’t you?” (Eri)

“I stopped doing swordsmanship. I am currently a Barriermancer and a Healer.” (Eugene)

In the Imperial Military School, my major subject was swordsmanship. 

I even have a license for the swordsmanship that’s said to be the most powerful of the East Continent. 

My dream was to become a magic swordsman that waved his sword for the sake of Airi and the Empire. 

But since the day of the Selection Exam, I haven’t held a sword. 

I have continued swinging a wooden sword, unable to completely let it go though…

“If you make a contract with me, you could use a powerful Magic Sword, you know?” (Eri)

The voice of Eri reached seductively into my ears. 

That’s just business talk for the sake of the contract. 

The reality is that her proposal is enticing. 

If I were to make a contract with a Demon Lord, a variety of worries would be solved.

But…

(If I were to make a contract with a Devil, I would be forced to absolute servitude…) (Eugene)

When you make a deal with a Devil, your soul will be extracted if you mess up the promise. 

Thus, you must keep it at all costs. 

—The wish of Eri is to have the seal undone and go to the outside world.

In other words, I would be freeing the Demon Lord Erinyes, who ruled the South Continent 1,000 years ago, into the world.

Yeah, I can’t do that.

I mustn’t.

“I am going back, so use that magic bell when you have any urgent requests.” (Eugene)

“Aah, so cold~.” (Eri)

Erinyes puckers her lips cutely. 

“I will come back after 1 week.” (Eugene)

“Later~♡” (Eri)

Eri waved her hand with a big smile. 

Now that I look at her like this, I really find it hard to believe that she is a Demon Lord. 

After that, I checked out the magic creatures of the underground prison.

That said, the only energetic one was Eri, and most magic creatures were sleeping because of the seal. 

I managed to finish my job after 1 hour. 

◇◇

(Today was tiring too…) (Eugene)

I head back to my room with heavy steps. 

It happens all the time, but when dealing with Eri, my stamina gets stolen away. 

My mana overflows in exchange though…

(…My body feels heavy. Let’s take a nap.) (Eugene)

Just when I arrived at my room in the dormitory…

*Jiririririririririririri!!!*

An ominous alarm rang in the academy all of a sudden. 

“Anomaly detected at the Zenith Tower. Explorers D Rank and up, gather at the entrance of the dungeon at once. I repeat…” 

I dropped my gaze at the explorer badge at my chest. 

It showed [D Rank].

I am included in that, so I must go too. 

(No choice, huh…) (Eugene)

Looks like the nap will have to come later. 

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