LS – Chapter 109: A declaration to start with

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“I can’t believe you didn’t open up your real name to even your friends…” (Purple)

“I thought something like this would happen, you see.” 

“Liar.” (Ilias)

Ilias retorted, and I feel like everyone behind also nodded at this. 

No, it is not a lie though.

Stories where names hold some sort of power in a fantasy world are pretty famous.

There’s actually a lot of stories where they don’t introduce themselves with their real name. 

As someone whose imagination was running wild when I just arrived at an isekai, I was doing a lot of pointless things that would be akin to imagining what you would do when terrorists attack your school.

Now that I think back on it, what was I even doing scribbling in the forest? 

“So you knew from the very beginning that the Enticement wouldn’t work on you, huh? But you gave me the opportunity…in order to make me yours…” (Purple)

“It is not like there wasn’t that intention too, but…it was honestly also because I wanted to check how Taizu and Mejis acted. That’s why I was thinking the whole time about how to settle matters peacefully at the time when I first brought up the challenge. But I learned about your seriousness, so I have gone in with my everything for the win too.” 

“…How mysterious. Even after I pulled out everything I could, even though I couldn’t obtain you, even though I should be able to give up without any remorse…” (Purple)

“The emotions of people can’t be quantified with a 1 or 0. Accepting things isn’t as easy as it may sound. I think you are pretty impressive just from the fact that you can talk so calmly, you know?” 

The Purple Demon Lord was panicking not that long ago, but she is strangely calm right now. 

It is not like her eyes are blank; it is as if a weight has fallen off her. 

“It is just…weird… To think you would lie about your name to everyone… Unbelievable… Fufu…fufufufu!” (Purple)

The Purple Demon Lord leaned on the table and began to laugh uncontrollably.

Was it that funny?

No, all of the tension on her must have left and that must have leaked out from her after being baffled by it. 

The Purple Demon Lord continued laughing and heaved.

“Fuuh…fuuh… It has been a while since I have laughed this much…” (Purple)

“There’s indescribable embarrassment when you laugh so grandly about it though.” 

“Oh my, isn’t that fine? You crushed my feelings, so don’t you think this much should be cheap?” (Purple)

“It would be great if you can give up with this though.” 

“An agreement is an agreement. I will give up on trying to make you mine and I will go to your side now, okay? But I don’t plan on giving up on making your heart mine, you know?” (Purple)

“That’s enough for me. I am glad you are sportsmanlike.” 

“Can you call that sportsmanship? Purple used the Enticement after the victor of the competition was decided tonight, ya know?” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord poked out between us. 

Well, this is a match where we declared the Gold Demon Lord as the witness. 

It is not good that she tried to pull off something on me after the winner was decided. 

It is pretty much the same as breaking her promise and using the Enticement. 

“Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it? Then, want to punish me together with the other Demon Lords? I have already decided to become his. If you try to put a hand on me, it would mean that you are being hostile to him, you know, Gold?” (Purple)

“Ngh, ya have returned to yer sassy tone, Purple. By the way, what do ya plan on doing after this?” (Gold)

After this. Well, she has a point. 

My relationship with the Purple Demon Lord may be fine here for now, but I escaped from the surveillance of Taizu and Mejis and did this. 

I can’t just return to my daily life just like that. 

I will need to face Marito and Pope Euparo afterwards.

There won’t be much issue with Marito, but the top of the Yugura Church will be a problem. 

A representative of the humans in this world. He sees the Demon Lords as enemies, and moves for the sake of the future of humans. 

The Purple Demon Lord is not an enemy anymore, but there’s no way they would just go and say ‘okay, fine’.

Of course, I can’t just hand over the Purple Demon Lord to Mejis. 

“I have my own ideas about it. Purple Demon Lord, please treat Dyuvuleori first.” 

It will apparently take time for Dyuvuleori to fully recover, but it didn’t take long for him to regain consciousness. 

Dyuvuleori opened his eyes, silently got up, and looked around. 

“My Lord…I…no, what happened to you, My Lord?” (Dyuvuleori)

“The match was set. I lost.” (Purple)

“…My…deepest apologies…” (Dyuvuleori)

Dyuvuleori lowered his head deeply. 

His body was trembling faintly. 

I could try to guess his mental state, but it would be better to not do something so unrefined. 

“I don’t mind. It doesn’t seem like it will turn into that bad of a situation, right?” (Purple)

The Purple Demon Lord said this as she looked at me. 

If you look at me with those ‘I believe in you’ eyes, I have no choice but to work hard. 

“Dyuvuleori, I will have you move on the developments from here on. Please listen regardless of if you agree or not.” 

“…Alright.” (Dyuvuleori)

Dyuvuleori listened to me while he was being treated, and then, he showed a shocked expression at me. 

“Seriously?” (Dyuvuleori)

“Any complaints?” 

“No, I don’t, but…what’s in there for you?” (Dyuvuleori)

“It is true that humans are creatures that move for their own benefit. But what benefits them and what’s a loss for them depends on the person.” 

I say this as I stretch my hand out. 

The loyalty of Dyuvuleori was different from the other Great Devils. 

He didn’t yield to the power of the Purple Demon Lord and didn’t get complacent with the power he got. 

He dedicated himself to obeying the Purple Demon Lord. 

Is Dyuvuleori an outlier amongst Great Devils? No, considering the system between Demon Lords and monsters, is this the correct way of being? 

Having her lose an important ally for her wouldn’t be living safely. 

“As you can see, I am frail. You are the only one who can protect the Purple Demon Lord.” 

“…Was the promise…fulfilled?” (Dyuvuleori)

“Aah, the matter of the pieces? Of course.” 

Dyuvuleori heard this and grabbed my hand without hesitation.

“I accept. Protecting the body and heart of My Lord is my reason of being -my objective in life.” (Dyuvuleori)

“Yeah, counting on you.” 

The Purple Demon Lord dismantles the construction made from lesser devils. 

The devils scattered from the capital of Taizu again.

The cityscape of Taizu could be seen again, but the state of the surroundings has understandably changed.

That’s natural if such a big construction was made all of a sudden, huh.

We were surrounded by knights and Mejis holy knights. 

The one at the front is Yox who was severely injured the other day. What a tough guy.

There’s Lord Leano on the side of Taizu.

If we are talking about a Knight Captain commanding many knights, it would of course be Lord Leano who would be moving, huh.

We get encircled by the holy knights who closed in.

Lord Leano is watching over us at a slightly distanced location.

“Can you explain the situation?” (Yox)

“The showdown between me and the Purple Demon Lord has been set. I won.”

Yox directs his gaze at the back, to the Purple Demon Lord and Dyuvuleori.

“Can you explain the reason as to why you shook off our eyes and acted on your own whim?” (Yox)

“Were there eyes on me? I don’t remember being told I would have surveillance on me though.” 

“There’s no way you wouldn’t notice! Don’t play the fool!” (Yox)

“To be honest, I didn’t notice until after I escaped from the castle!” 

“…So you really didn’t notice?” (Yox)

“I am confident I am weaker than even villager A.” 

“Even if you boast to me about that…” (Yox)

Yox puts a hand on his head. He has a hard head, but it is actually decently fun to talk to him.

“I would like to go meet Marito and the Pope-sama to report to them. Can I go?” 

“That’s…are you telling me that that Demon Lord will be accompanying you?” (Yox)

It is not only Yox, I can feel tension from the other holy knights and clerics to a displeasing degree. 

We are talking about the Great Devil that defeated Yox and the most infamous Demon Lord in the world after all. 

“Of course.” 

“I can’t allow that. There’s no assurance you haven’t become the lackey of the Purple Demon Lord. In the first place, there’s no way we can allow someone with the power of Enticement to meet the Pope-sama.” (Yox)

“You are not the one to decide that, Yox. Send a messenger to the castle already and get the answer from them. I don’t like being made to wait, so we will be heading there on foot in the meantime though.” 

“…Fine.” (Yox)

And so, we headed to the Taizu Castle with holy knights encircling us. 

When we arrived at the castle gates, Pope Euparo, Marito, and Lord Ragudo were already waiting outside. 

The one who spoke was Pope Euparo.

“Looks like you haven’t been subjugated by the Enticement.” (Euparo)

“I am impressed that you can tell.” 

“I have memorized with scrutiny the minute details of your mental state and mana wavelengths. I can tell immediately if you are under the influence of something.” (Euparo)

He must be able to do an even more detailed analysis than Rakura and the others. Looks like him being the top of Mejis isn’t just for show. 

“We did get results.” 

“Let’s hear them.” (Euparo)

“About the Great Devils, all of them aside from Dyuvuleori have perished. The remaining devils have been moved away from settlements by the order of the Purple Demon Lord.” 

“I see. That’s certainly a big result. But what do you plan on doing about the two at your back.” (Euparo)

“The Purple Demon Lord and Dyuvuleori have become our allies.” 

“…Do you understand what you are saying?” (Euparo)

“Yes, I have made the symbols of fear and resentment for the people of this world into my allies.” 

Pope Euparo looks straight at me.

There’s no anger or surprise; he was simply looking seriously at me. 

“Does that mean you will become the enemy of humanity?” (Euparo)

“I have no intention of that.” 

“Then, there’s one thing I have to say to you. Entrust their custody to Mejis.” (Euparo)

“I can’t do that.” 

“We of the Yugura Church view the Demon Lords as sworn enemies. You protecting that Demon Lord means you becoming an enemy of the Yugura Church and Mejis. You are not such a fool to not understand that, right? What’s your objective?” (Euparo)

“To put it bluntly, I have decided to exist as a 3rd force with the Purple Demon Lord as my subordinate.” 

“3rd force…?” (Euparo)

“Demons Lords antagonize humanity, humanity antagonizes Demon Lords; our faction will exist in the middle of those two.” 

The holy knights around grow noisy when they hear this. Marito is covering his mouth far in the back.

That bastard, don’t go laughing. 

“I know that you look at the Demon Lords favorably. But for us, that’s simply an opposing faction.” (Euparo)

“If you want to oppose us, feel free to.” 

“Are you saying you have no intention of losing?” (Euparo)

“No way. I am a frail human, you know? Also, really cowardly.” 

“Then, what are you trying to pull off by becoming the enemy of humanity? You understand that this is not something you can just manage somehow by yourself, right?” (Euparo)

“Yes. As such, I have decided to have the Yugura Church protect me.” 

“…What?” (Euparo)

“In the case something happens to me, I have set it up so that the people in this 3rd Faction will spread the method to learn resurrection magic.” 

“Wa?!” (Euparo)

The surroundings get even noisier. 

The greatest taboo in this world. There’s no Yugura Church believer who doesn’t know how fearsome resurrection magic is. 

The wariness is shooting up just from that name popping out. 

“To be more precise, when the human side attacks the 3rd Faction, the Purple Demon Lord and the Gold Demon Lord will be able to obtain knowledge that will allow them to touch upon resurrection magic.” 

“As he said, this one…and Gahne will be joining his faction, ya know?” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord pops her head out from behind. 

“Are you insane? If you do that…” (Euparo)

“New Demon Lords might show up.” 

Most of the immortal ones that existed in the past have come back to life. 

For humanity who has their hands full dealing with them, more Demon Lords being added to the equation is the worst kind of development. They wouldn’t be able to shrug this off. 

“…But there’s also the possibility of what you are saying being a bluff. You sneaked out from the castle and retrieved your comrades. You should have gone straight to settle your showdown after that.” (Euparo)

“Yeah, but have you forgotten…the reason why the Gold Demon Lord can be here?” 

“That’s…” (Euparo)

The Gold Demon Lord has left her clone at Gahne. 

If she wanted to, she would be able to bring the information to Gahne immediately. 

Also, it is possible to give things to the devils that are deployed. 

“Of course, it will be hard to decode, but if it is the immortal Demon Lords, a single trigger should be plenty enough.” 

The Purple Demon Lord is currently ruling over all the monsters that exist in the biggest Nether of the world. We also have the great country of Gahne by our side. 

If they want to put a hand on us despite that, new Demon Lords will be born. You could say this is a nuclear landmine.

If they want to eliminate us since we might provide dangerous factors that will harm humans, you just have to create a clear reason as to why it would be detrimental to eliminate us. 

Gotta say, I have some pretty dangerous thoughts. 

But there’s the need to get rid of such differences in order to face Pope Euparo who has a superior social standing. 

A conversation requires equal standings or nothing proper will be formed here. 

“There will most likely be people aiming for me regardless of whether they are related to the Yugura Church. Therefore, Pope-sama, please protect me real good, okay?” 

“Do you intend to put the world at risk for the sake of self-preservation?” (Euparo)

“Yes, as you are already scrutinously aware, I am a coward.” 

Pope Euparo is making a really complicated face. Sorry if I gave you ulcers there. 

Let’s invite him to a meal at Dog’s Bone sometime. 

I was thinking that and Marito came to the front. 

“I can’t say that Taizu will be joining that 3rd faction, but if you are going to be putting a collar on the Demon Lords that we currently have no way of dealing with, I have no complaints. Fortunately, their representative is someone that can be trusted. You have my approval.” (Marito)

“I am glad to hear that. Pope-sama, it is not like I am asking you to bring out an answer at once, so you can bring it back and think it thoroughly.” 

“As if we can allow that!” 

The one who jumped out was Yox. The other holy knights also acted. 

Well, there shouldn’t be that many people who would just say ‘okay, fine’ to something as outrageous as this. 

“Yox, stop it!” (Euparo)

“No, Pope-sama, if we accept something like this, it would mean that the Yugura Church approves of the existence of the Demon Lords in the world!” (Yox)

Accepting this proposal would be like saying that some of the Demon Lords would not be enemies of humanity. It would go against the teachings of the Yugura Church.

A zealous believer of the Yugura Church wouldn’t be able to accept this. 

That said, the one who is going all haywire here is Yox. 

Pope Euparo is wavering here. That’s because he prioritizes the peace of humanity rather than the teachings of the Yugura Church.

He understands that those teachings are not absolute after learning that Yugura created the Demon Lords. 

But the teachings of the Yugura Church have seeped to the very marrows of Yox’s heart. 

The one who moved in this tension that could be cut with a knife was…

“I won’t forgive anyone who brings harm to My Lord.” 

Several bones are shot towards the shadows of the holy knights around. 

Dyuvuleori transformed his right arm and used his Right Arm of Tying. 

That restraining power wouldn’t allow your regular person to move even an inch.

“You…!” (Yox)

“My Lord, the Purple Demon Lord-sama, has promised to not act against the humans. However, if sparks fly their way to My Lord, he has told me there’s no need to think of them as humans.” (Dyuvuleori)

Ilias, Mix, and Wolfe can’t move here since they are from the Taizu side.

Rakura, who is from the Mejis side, is out of the question. 

Ekdoik is in a critical state, and the Gold Demon Lord is not suitable against many enemies at once.

The only one who has the freedom to rampage here is Dyuvuleori.

…Was Wolfe on the side of Taizu? Ilias is providing the house, so she must be, yup.

Yox’s aura weakened after confirming that Dyuvuleori is currently in good health.

“Yox, please give up at least for today. Dyuvuleori can put up a good fight against the Mejis holy knights even when injured.” 

“And what of i—” (Yox)

“Stop it already, Yox. Are you so hardheaded that you can’t understand the meaning of fighting here?” (Euparo)

Pope Euparo grabs the shoulder of Yox. 

All of the bones stabbed on the ground were destroyed at the same time as he did. 

The same as the barrier technique of Rakura, huh. The Pope-sama must be skilled too. 

“Mejis currently can’t even subjugate the Purple Demon Lord. He has promised to keep her in place. As long as that’s being fulfilled, roughing up the situation will only create fruitless strife. The ones who die here wouldn’t be dying as martyrs but dying a dog’s death.” (Euparo)

I can tell that the fighting spirit of the ones around was leaving at the threatening words of Pope Euparo. 

Pope Euparo and the holy knight order began leaving the place. 

He then turned at the end and spoke to me with an unchanging gaze.

“We are no longer allowed to ignore you regardless of what influence you will provide to the world. I will pray that you won’t become a threat to humanity.” (Euparo)

“That’s my intention.” 

That’s how the long night ended. 

The morning sun was rising by the time I noticed. 

The problems keep piling up though…

“Looks like I will be able to take a breather for now.” 

“What are you saying? I told you you were getting an earful.” (Ilias)

Never mind. 

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