LS – Chapter 60: Big problem at present

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The table sank once and then appeared again.

There’s nothing on top of the table now. It is a table for conversation.

“Even if both were victories that are hard to accept, it is true that ya have fulfilled the conditions of the simulated world this one has readied. I will keep my promise. This one shall welcome ya all as allies and guests.” (Gold)

We each sat on the chairs that popped out.

5 chairs. As for the Gold Demon Lord, she is taking her spot at someone else’s lap just like before.

“Oi, why are you there? Get off from him.” (Ilias)

“There’s not enough chairs, ya see. I would have to raise my voice for it to reach if it is from the throne, right?” (Gold)

The two bodyguards have not lowered their wariness towards the Gold Demon Lord, and the gaze of Wolfe also hurts.

In the case of Wolfe, it is more like she wants to tell the Gold Demon Lord to switch places with her.

“You as well. Aren’t you strangely close to the Gold Demon Lord at some point in time?” (Ilias)

“I ended in 1 iteration. Of course we would know each other better if we talked the whole time we waited. We were also getting a variety of info from the simulated worlds.”

“Weren’t the memories of the simulated worlds made in a way so it doesn’t remain?” (Ilias)

“The memories of the time when you play with the small Gold Demon Lord are set so they remain to a certain extent.”

Memories of doing the same thing several times don’t remain aside from the fixed reaction. In other words, it is made so that the special reactions remain in your mind as if they were achievements.

That’s why I know stuff like where to rub the Gold Demon Lord to make her happy, or what food she likes even after I cleared the game.

“You were killing time like that in the middle of the match?” (Ilias)

“The opposite. It is exactly because it is in the middle of a match. The simulated world is simply something ‘recreated’ with the power of the Gold Demon Lord. However, the small Gold Demon Lord inside of it was something ‘prepared’. When you want to learn about the other party, investigating the things that you can scoop out information from to know their intentions is a basic tactic, you know?”

“T-That’s true.” (Ilias)

“You guys probably just tried cutting her or punching her anyways.”

Ilias and Wolfe avert their gazes.

Their hatred towards the Demon Lords in this world is high. You could say it can’t be helped.

When the Gold Demon Lord showed up, Ilias tried to cut her down without hesitation.

It is to the point that they have even forgotten she is the king of Gahne.

There’s no direct damage done by the Demon Lords in the present era, but the indirect ones are massive.

The casualties from violent monsters born from the Nethers is endless after all.

The parents of Ilias are victims of this, and the teachings of the Yugura Church are that Demon Lords are absolute evil.

Well, if she were an idiotic hopeless Demon Lord who should be aware of this and yet doesn’t take countermeasures and gets cut down, there would be no worth in getting information of her though.

As for Wolfe…she probably doesn’t have much interest in the Gold Demon Lord.

The simulated world was mainly entertainment for her, so she barely used most of the things resembling features.

“I have told ya countless times already: it is to see the qualities of ya all. The way ya take on this match, yer ability, and yer emotions towards this one. Winning the match in a short span of time, yer commendable desire of wanting to learn more about this one; it is a matter of course that this one would take a liking to this Ser.” (Gold)

“You have quite the commendable personality yourself for liking a guy that made you vomit.”

“Argh, shut up!” (Gold)

She smacked my face with her tail over and over.

That’s some pretty impressive mastery. Wolfe also moves her tail, but it is mostly at the times when she is happy or excited.

It is rare to see her moving it out of free will.

I feel like the other black wolfkins didn’t move their tails like this either.

“Now then, if there’s a question this one can answer, I shall. I have already heard everything this one wanted to hear from this person here while we were waiting for ya all anyways.” (Gold)

“Right, let’s begin from the questions we would like to learn as the nation of Taizu. We want to know the connection between the Yugura Nariya that created the Blue Demon Lord and the Yugura that defeated the Demon Lords.”

“Fumu, Nariya, that has a nostalgic ring. Black was the only one who called him by that name after all.” (Gold)

The expression of the Gold Demon Lord changes.

It is an amused smile and there’s no young girl charm in it.

Let’s not be bothered by the fact that she is saying this while still on top of someone’s lap.

“The Demon Lords that left a name in history including this one… The one who created them and the one who defeated them are the same. Yugura is the one who resurrected us with resurrection magic and changed us into Demon Lords and, at the same time, also the Hero that destroyed all of that.” (Gold)

The shock to the people of this world would have been lessened if they were different, but…it seems like it won’t be going that way.

The chances of her mistaking the being that created her and the one to end her are low.

“I should talk about this one first. The time when this one was just a normal person… It would be an awfully long time ago.” (Gold)

———

The Gold Demon Lord was in the past a demi-human girl of a race called the golden foxes. She was living in a village where only people from the same race lived in.

There’s no way there would be monsters in a world before the Demon Lords were born.

The threat of beasts was negligible. What threatened the lives of people were famine, diseases, and people of the same standing.

Different from now, people then were sensitive to each other’s differences, and there was something hard to fill up in the distance between humans and demi-humans.

The humans persecuted the savage demi-humans with numbers, and the demi-humans would resort to violence towards the shame inflicted by the humans that were inferior in physical strength to them.

The clashes created from each other were far more than that of the history of the Demon Lords, but no one counted them.

The village of this one was burned down in a single night. Yer brethren being slaughtered wasn’t that strange of a happening at that time.

This one was the only one who survived, but my whole body was burned with fire, sliced all over…and mine life was just a small flicker of light.

“Oh, you have woken up. Being able to regain consciousness even with wounds like this, the vitality of demi-humans is wonderful.”

However, I woke up just once before I died.

I don’t know which ribs were broken, but when I woke up from the pain, my whole body was wrapped up in bandages, and the one in front of me was…Yugura.

Yugura had arrived at my village after wandering around the continent due to circumstances, found this one who was barely alive, and treated me.

But the effects of the outstanding medical treatment of Yugura didn’t work on this one, and there was no hope for survival.

My life and mana were already on the verge of running out even if healing magic was cast on me.

I had no real regrets.

This one’s tribe wasn’t really innocent either after all.

There were many who attacked humans and killed them… It really made me think that karma really goes around.

My own death wasn’t that much of a misfortune.

I grew to a decent age, and I could go while learning about the transience of society.

I thought this was superb.

And yet—that man said…

“That was a truly stupid way to die. It seems like you are satisfied with that, but your life was pretty much trash. I am the one saying this as someone who has lived a life several times more affluent than yours. There’s no doubt about it.”

He said something that would injure the mood of someone, moreover, towards this one who was pretty much dead!

“If you so wish, I can grant you a second life. You are going to be dying once anyways. Wouldn’t you want to live your next one as you wish?”

This one ended up riding on that provocation.

I told him to try and do it if he can.

By the time I woke up again, this one had already become a Demon Lord.

As the second Demon Lord, the Gold Demon Lord.

———

“After that, Yugura taught this one about this power of ruling, and told me to live as I please, releasing me to the wilds. These are the circumstances behind this one becoming a Demon Lord.” (Gold)

“Yugura Nariya apparently taught the Blue Demon Lord necromancy though. So he has been providing his own knowledge to each one of you respectively.”

“Umu. All Demon Lords were gathered at Mejis and were taught the secret arts of Yugura. And so, I was given the nickname: Gold of Ruling.” (Gold)

I think it was most likely Yellow of Ruling, but let’s keep silent on that one.

But this Gold Demon Lord is the second Demon Lord, huh…

It seems like we can’t use their appearance as reference. Gotta be careful on that one.

“Yugura Nariya investigated the candidates to become Demon Lords beforehand. He might have been involved with the village of the Gold Demon Lord being burned down.”

“That might be the case. However, this one didn’t have much of an attachment to my brethren anyways. I was simply grateful for being freed of those bindings. That said, I didn’t have any friends in my previous life either and I haven’t given birth to any demons either.” (Gold)

“The special characteristic of a Demon Lord brings about abnormalities to the ecology of the surroundings, if I remember correctly. And so, in order to bring along the people you were close with in your previous life, you would have to turn them into demons.”

“Right. Kind of like an inferior version of a Demon Lord. Resurrection magic is not necessary, and it is easy as long as ya have consent, ya know? Ser, want to try becoming one fer a bit?” (Gold)

Can you not say this with a mood like ‘Hey, there’s a bar that just opened nearby. Wanna go check it out?’ when it is an event that could change your whole life?

The Gold Demon Lord didn’t have anyone close to her in her previous life. Or more like, she must have been fed up with the battle between humans and demi-humans.

And so, the power that was given to the Gold Demon Lord was a technique that excels in governing… Fumu.

“The Demon Lords know each other, right?”

“Umu. If I were to go by the order of birth, it would be: Black, Gold, Green, Blue, Scarlet, and Purple. 6 acquaintances.” (Gold)

“Is there a plot twist of there actually being other Demon Lords?”

“There is. One, that is. However, that Demon Lord wasn’t given a name by Yugura. They haven’t appeared in front of people in history. We know of their existence, but…this one hasn’t seen their face. Everyone calls them ‘Colorless’.” (Gold)

Fumu, so 6 appeared in history, but their total is 7.

The one who raised her hand here was Ilias.

“Let’s say it is true that Hero Yugura was the one who gave birth to the Demon Lords. Why did Yugura end you all?” (Ilias)

“About that…according to Yugura, it wasn’t fair.” (Gold)

“Fair…?”

“We were freed by Yugura. This one didn’t do anything special and just lived freely though. Within those, there were those who expanded their dominion called the Nether, and there were also those who tried to invade the world of the people. Or more like, each one of us began to spread their Nether with the first one being the trigger.” (Gold)

“…The Black Demon Lord, huh.”

“Correct. Black was the one who hated the world the most after all. They created a Nether in a remote region, and with demons and monsters at their heels, they began to slaughter humans and demi-humans without distinction. Seeing this, the other Demon Lords also began to move.” (Gold)

Black Demon Lord; the Demon Lord that suddenly appeared and dropped the whole world into fear, carving its name in history as the most feared Demon Lord.

Their last moment was apparently being eaten by a slime in the mountains.

That part alone sounding pathetic must be the fault of the Japanese game companies that treated slimes as trash monsters.

“I didn’t hear the story of the Black Demon Lord creating a Nether, but they simply created it in a remote region and didn’t expand it?”

“Black hated humans to the very core, ya see. They were barking something about not needing land that’s dirty. On the other hand, the one who encroached on the land of people without restraint was Purple.” (Gold)

The place with the deepest scars and is said to be the biggest Nether of the world, the Mejis Nether, was created by the Purple Demon Lord.

“The ones that followed this were  Scarlet and Blue. As for Green, that one’s aim was a bit different though… Thus, the other Demon Lords also began expanding their own Nethers. The slaughter and control was overwhelming, and the people were dropped into a precarious situation in the blink of an eye -to a degree where the humans and demi-humans that were opposing each other had no choice but to join hands.”

The condition for people who are quarreling to join hands is for a common enemy to appear.

With giant existences by the name of Demon Lords having appeared, humans and demi-humans cooperated and faced them.

It is being sung as a moving tale, but really, they shouldn’t have been fighting in the first place.

But the power of the Demon Lords was way too mighty. There were even some like the black wolfkins who ran away and hid in a remote location.

“Even with that, the fight between Taizu and Gahne was extremely one-sided, ya see. Just when I was thinking there wasn’t anything interesting, Yugura moved.” (Gold)

“He showed up in Mejis and defeated the Purple Demon Lord.”

“Umu. From there on, it was a one-sided counter from Yugura. Next was Blue, Scarlet, and then Green… By the way, the next was this one.” (Gold)

“According to what you said before, you didn’t make a Nether, right?”

“About that…seeing the other Demon Lords going hard…it kind of felt, ya know, lonely that I was the only one not doing anything. And so, I popped a Nether at the corner of a country. Yugura defeated Purple that very day…” (Gold)

Even if there was no harm, he brought judgment upon her just for manifesting it, huh. Merciless.

According to history, Yugura fought the Black Demon Lord who was the last one remaining, then that Demon Lord fled and faced their last moments in the mountains.

But Yugura managed to defeat 6 Demon Lords? The strength of Yugura is on a whole other dimension.

“Yugura said: ‘Man~, sorry about this~. It seems like it was too soon to fight you guys. It isn’t good if it isn’t fair, right~? And so, take a break for now!’. And then, he sliced me down before I could say anything!” (Gold)

Ending her second life with a reason like that must be unbearable.

Moreover, the Gold Demon Lord was written down in history as the Yellow Demon Lord.

Considering the color of the Demon Lords, I can understand Yellow being the one that felt more matching.

So Yugura may be the benefactor of the Gold Demon Lord, but she is also a victim that has been unreasonably thrown about by him.

“What Yugura did was completely a self-made play, huh. He created the Demon Lords and released them into the wild. When the Demon Lords turned into a threat, he became the ally of the humans, and went around defeating the Demon Lords. That’s one terrible tale.”

“I myself am a cleric of the Yugura Church, but this is shocking.” (Rakura)

“So you say, but you don’t look that flustered.”

“Well, he is someone from the past after all. But won’t I get scolded if I am not dumbstruck as someone in my position?” (Rakura)

Who was the one that accepted her into the clergy?! Was it Archbishop Ukka?!

Most believers of the Yugura Church would be completely crushed by this story, would claim the Demon Lord to be a liar, and rush for the kill.

“I have no idea what that lunatic was thinking. Who knows where he is right now.” (Gold)

“…That was more than a century ago, you know. He should be dead.”

“He is someone that can go around killing Demon Lords all alone. He has surpassed the realm of a human. As if he would die from his lifespan.” (Gold)

She made a fearsome statement there.

So the Hero Yugura might still be alive.

Oof, I don’t want to meet him…

Yugura Nariya is an Earthling and Japanese, but…it has been made clear that he is a good-for-nothing that went around causing all sorts of trouble imaginable in the isekai.

“So the theory that the Yugura that created the Demon Lords and the Hero Yugura are different people has been denied…”

“Aren’t they the same names? Why did ya think they were different people?” (Gold)

“He was strong enough to defeat the Demon Lords. Yugura must have had quite the internal mana, right?”

“Of course. He had equal or even more than the one with the highest mana, Green.” (Gold)

“Mana and magic don’t exist publicly on Earth. That’s why I thought it was natural that Earthlings don’t have mana… Am I a special case?”

That said, I don’t feel any internal changes.

If Yugura was an onmyoji or raised in a temple, he might have had such power. To think that theory would rise back from the grave here…

“I was also baffled on that front. To think ya would be someone this one didn’t have to fear despite being the weakest of the Demon Lords.” (Gold)

“Can I ask a question?” (Mix)

The one who raised her hand was Mix.

Even though her head should hurt from being told more and more about the other side of history, she hasn’t broken her serious expression.

“May I inquire around when you came back to life for the second time, Gold Demon Lord?” (Mix)

“This one resurrected around 100 years ago. I was inside a lake when I woke up. I was wandering around aimlessly after crawling out from there. I can’t do any misdeeds being this weak, so I decided to learn the way of living of the people in the present in order to blend into human society. This was pretty interesting, ya see. I wanted to make use of my power as a Demon Lord, met the previous king of Gahne, and had him pass me the throne.” (Gold)

“That was an awfully easy passing of the baton.”

“I served under him for around 2-3 years, and simply revealed to him my identity, power, and origins. I was properly acknowledged and nominated, ya know.” (Gold)

She can bring about results that are more stable than even the Wise King Marito. If we are to believe the Gold Demon Lord, depending on if the person treasures his country more than his position, I can understand him passing it on to her.

Being able to believe that is in part because we have been shown the abilities of the Gold Demon Lord.

“…One more question. Have the other Demon Lords resurrected as well?” (Mix)

“Umu, everyone has resurrected aside from Black.” (Gold)

I can tell the air got heavier.

The Gold Demon Lord having resurrected means that the others also did.

If it had been before the resurrection, preparations could have been made, but it seems like they have gathered everyone.

“Considering the time, I would say this one was the first. They all resurrected at an interval of around 10 years each.” (Gold)

“Are their objectives…the same as before?” (Mix)

“This one is satisfied with just raising Gahne. Everyone is in essence the same on the inside still.” (Gold)

“In other words, an invasion onto the world will happen again…” (Mix)

“Most likely -especially Purple and Scarlet.” (Gold)

“How about the other Demon Lords?”

“The reason why Green made a Nether was because they wanted a place to sleep peacefully. They have already made the Taizu Nether they created in the past as their base and are sleeping lazily.” (Gold)

There was a Demon Lord in the Nether inside the territory a long time ago. Moreover, Green is apparently the one with the top level mana.

I heard their objective was different, but it seems like it is the type of Demon Lord that would create a Nether seeking peace, huh.

That said, the reaction of Ilias bothers me.

Well, the very culprit that created the monsters who caused the death of her parents is in Taizu after all.

“The strongest is Black, but there’s no doubt Green is the current one. However, I doubt they will be moving as long as ya don’t just brazenly step into their Nether.” (Gold)

The Black Demon Lord Killer Mountain that eats all monsters is in the direction of Taizu.

As long as we don’t touch them, it should be relatively safe.

“Blue has no independence. They were invited by Purple in the past and expanded their territories together. If they don’t get spurred on by other Demon Lords, they won’t be making a move either.” (Gold)

It feels safe, but if influenced by a radical Demon Lord, they can become as dangerous.

Blue has been taught necromancy by Yugura. If they were to turn into an enemy, we would end up having to face an army.

“Scarlet and Purple are purely ambitious. If both are left be, they will definitely make a move.” (gold)

“Do you know the locations of the other Demon Lords aside from the Green Demon Lord?”

“I only know about the place of Green who is fuzzy about the location. I thought they were all in the Nethers they respectively created, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Mejis Nether is the place of Purple, but the monsters are still having turf wars. They wouldn’t have the time for that if they were being ruled by a Demon Lord.” (Gold)

The Nethers connected to other countries still have monsters appearing in them.

Adventurers would at times step into the Nethers, and would clean up the nests of monsters.

It is true that if the Demon Lords were ruling again, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be one or two rumors.

There’s also the possibility they haven’t reached the innermost area. It is better to not narrow the possibilities with just 3rd party information.

“Right right, the youngster called Raheight that’s chasing after ya people, I don’t know his location. The only one who would know is most likely Scarlet.” (Gold)

My read was mostly correct.

It should be safe to assume that Raheight is affiliated to the Scarlet Demon Lord and that he is acting to become a demon.

But if that’s the case, our objective for coming to Gahne has been fulfilled. We probably won’t be able to follow his traces any further than this.

It looks as if we have made a lot of progress here, but the reality is that the issues have only increased and not a single one has been solved, yup.

“Gold Demon Lord, this is a question of mine, but…why can you just talk about so much information?”

The power of the Gold Demon Lord is outstanding, but this is just when it comes to ruling. The reality is that their military power is weaker than that of Taizu.

In other words, I can say that the battle power of the Gold Demon Lord is pretty low.

Won’t she be hated by the other Demon Lords if she were to sell their information despite her position?

Is there a reason why this Demon Lord would cross that dangerous bridge?

“I told ya I would become yer ally —is what I want to say, but let’s be swift about it and tell ya so yer convinced.” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord jumps off from my lap.

And then, she moved to the throne, turned around, and said this.

“There’s a Demon Lord aiming for the Gahne that this one’s ruling over. Can ya please do something about it?” (Gold)

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