LS – Chapter 159: And so, it begins

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I had a dream where I was looking down at a vast prairie. I realized this dream was a dream from someone else because I have not been here and have not seen it before. 

The calmness of the wind on my skin feels nice. The person who left these memories must have liked watching this scenery. 

My gaze moved on its own. What came into sight was a giant tree. 

I have seen several giant trees within the ones in Taizu, but this size made me let out my voice in admiration. 

A giant tree of around 30 meters in overall length was standing tall in the vast prairie. 

I gently place a hand on the trunk. It is not my hand. Is it the hand of some woman? 

“……So you really were here.” 

I hear the peaceful voice of a man. A familiar voice. I couldn’t remember who it was in my hazy state inside the dream. 

But the owner of this body slowly turned around and that person entered my vision…

◇◇

“…It is finally time, huh.” 

I had a dream that wasn’t bad to wake up to. But honestly speaking, being shown the memories of someone else doesn’t feel too good. 

The amount of times I have been seeing dreams of unknown locations has increased. There were at least no such big trees in Japan. If I remember correctly, the World Guinness tree was around that size. 

I have a general idea of the reason for this. The matter with Haakudoku made this possibility stronger. 

“It should be about time for him to be able to do it, so let’s experiment for a bit.” 

I get up and fix up my appearance. 

The matter of Kuama is over, and it has been several weeks since I have returned to Taizu. 

The nations have been adjusting their military preparations for the day when the Scarlet Demon Lord attacks. 

We are helping out in our own way, but I also have to proceed with the reclamation of the Kuama Nether which I have left to Gestaf. 

The Kuama Nether was originally a land where vegetation didn’t grow in a satisfactory manner, so it is extremely easy to put our hands on it in that sense. 

Once we finish up a certain degree of facilities, we will begin the purification mainly around those areas, and it should be possible to grow crops. 

King Zenotta has safely finished convincing the people around about improving Kuama, so there’s no issues as of present. 

He showed them the improvement plans I prepared, and King Zenotta added adjustments to it. Next would be to give instructions to the devils of Purple and begin the work. 

Tens of thousands of devils will be cutting down trees. We overdo it and the forests and mountains will end up empty. 

Also, if we were to do this too fast, the hurdle of the demands might increase. And so, I have made it so a part of them concentrate on keeping an eye on the surroundings. 

We have also begun to process the retrieved trees, earth, and rocks to use in the construction of roads. 

I will secretly circulate what remains to the reclamation of the Kuama Nether. 

It may be difficult for the wood, but the rocks and earth are relatively easy to have extra of. Separating them is also a relatively simple job, so I leave it to the devils. 

We will turn the ones with clay quality into bricks, the others will be put in sandbags, and if there’s not enough, we can compensate with magic or other means. Purple proposed to make the buildings from devils, but I politely refused. 

As for the aforementioned Purple, she is being punished for having let Ritial Zentry -the man plotting together with Raheight- escape. 

Honestly speaking, them having wiped out the infiltrators of Leitis would be enough to erase the need of the punishment and come out with extra, but the person herself said she wanted to, so I gave it to her. 

By the way, the loyal butler of Purple, Dyuvuleori, said ‘I am also at fault, so give me a punishment too’ and didn’t budge, so I gave him the punishment of thinking up a punishment for Purple. 

Purple made a dissatisfied expression at first, but she was a bit more into the idea after seeing the despairing face of Dyuvuleori. 

The result after pondering hard about it was that Purple was made to produce Demonic Tools. 

The special weapons that are said to have been granted to the demons by the Black Demon Lord herself. A number of them have circulated to the human world. 

Girista has one of them. She has a demonic sword. 

The battle record of Girista is bad because there’s Ilias and Wolfe who are out of norm beings, and Haakudoku who is a trickster which she is a bad match against. 

But she is strong to a degree where adventurers avoid her, and infamous to a degree where some countries even prohibit her from entering. 

There’s no doubt the strength of the demonic sword is contributing to her achievements. 

Anyways, creating Demonic Tools will serve as an advantage in the future, so I gave the okay. 

By the way, Ilias and Wolfe have refused to arm themselves with Demonic Tools as of present. Rakura originally went barehanded to begin with.

The completed trial product will be used by either Ekdoik, Haakudoku, or Mix. 

“Ooh, you are up!” 

“…” 

I went to the first floor to wash my face, and there was Haakudoku in housekeeper attire, cleaning the place. 

He was chased away by Gestaf who stayed in Kuama to continue with the reclamation efforts, and he is currently serving as an odd jobs worker. 

But it is not like I have any intention of pushing him to work in stuff like cleaning. This was the decision of Haakudoku himself. 

We are having him stay in the residence of Ban-san at present. Ban-san has the open heart of accepting Gradona, so it was easy for him to accept Haakudoku who is obedient. 

“How did you even get in? I remember having locked the door though.” 

“I have been given a duplicate key from Ilias-neesan.” (Haaku)

“Nee-san <big sis>, you say… Aren’t you the older one here?” 

“She is the most senior subordinate of Brother and the matriarch of this house. Gotta show the appropriate respect to the head honcho, right?” (Haaku)

The number one reason is most likely because he sparred with her once he healed up and was defeated in an instant. 

The performance of the devil we parasitized on him with the right arm of Gestaf was honestly questionable. He can hold a weapon, but he couldn’t do mana strengthening properly, so his attack and defense are in a half-baked state.

Even so, he can use it in daily life already. His effort in the shadows is on the level of Wolfe. 

That said, Gestaf can deploy the devil and make it two right arms to increase efficiency in his work, so the gap is pretty jarring. 

Aah, right. The biggest change is that he is now fine even after seeing my face.

The reason for that is the sunglasses he is wearing right now. 

It is not a punchline like he is fine if his eyesight gets worse. On the contrary, it makes him see more clearly than your regular sunglasses. 

This is a special product that was made after deducing the reason why Haakudoku was fainting, and had Nora make the countermeasure. 

The attitude of Haakudoku did a 180 once he was fine, and he is now acting like this. 

“Looks like the sunglasses are working well.” 

“Damn right! The plain face of Brother is reflected perfectly in them! Man, you really are harmless once a countermeasure is made!” (Haaku)

“Ooh, take those off and say that to my face again.” 

“Oi oi, Brother, you want to nurse a man right as you rise out of bed? I would prefer to be nursed by a woman though.” (Haaku)

“I won’t nurse you. I will throw you out.” 

“That’s not the treatment you should give to someone who came here to clean out of the kindness of their heart, right?!” (Haaku)

The emotions of Haakudoku are extremely easy to read. Haakudoku is currently trying to form an amicable relationship with us. 

He must be trying to become someone that’s not ashamed of being the right hand of Gestaf. 

He wants to learn whatever he can from us for the sake of this, and while at it, he would like to improve the environment of it. 

The speed at which he switches tunes is in a sense a talent. His face was full of unease not that long ago, but…a single pair of sunglasses changed him this much. 

“Fine. You went out of your way to come here, so help me out with the food preparations.” 

“Oh, nice! Teach me the dishes of Yugura’s planet. I want to have Bro eat them.” (Haaku)

“It is almost impossible to recreate it to a close point due to the ingredients though. Well, steal what you can.” 

“Ooh, then allow me to steal more and more. It is not something I can return even if you tell me later.” (Haaku)

“If I erase your memories, won’t it technically be as if you have returned them?” 

“Brother, is it a talent of yours to come with nasty ideas as naturally as breathing?” (Haaku)

Haakudoku can perform normal chores at a high efficiency. He normally can’t assist Gestaf properly, so this is a result of him searching for something he can do and doing it all. 

He might be unexpectedly useful if I had him learn cooking from Gozu. No, even if it is fine for Haakudoku to use him like that, Gestaf would be drawn back by this. 

Ilias showed up while we were cooking. She was looking somewhat sleepy, and she wasn’t bothered at all that Haakudoku was present as if it were natural. 

“Oh, Nee-san, good morning!” (Haaku)

“Yeah, good morning. You came to help out early in the morning…? You are so hardworking.” 

“Well, it is also because I can get a better breakfast if I were to help out here.” (Haaku)

“I see. It does end up getting simple when you are just preparing for yourself after all.” (Ilias)

“I think Ban-san would be able to prepare better food though.” 

“He is letting me live there for free. If I were to have him bring out my meals too, I wouldn’t be able to show my face to Bro. That said, it doesn’t feel like I can help out in that residence.” (Haaku)

There’s obviously servants in the mansion of Ban-san. They would refuse the help even if a guest were to offer to help in the cooking. 

Haakudoku has been living an outlaw lifestyle, so the mansion of Ban-san might be a bit suffocating.

“Shishou, good morning! Ah, Haakudoku.” (Wolfe)

“Hey there, Wolfe. We will be done with breakfast soon.” (Haaku)

“…Mumuh.” (Wolfe)

Oh, Wolfe is making a faint displeased face. Breakfast normally takes a bit longer.

Wolfe likes to help out after all. Maybe she feels as if her position has been stolen.

“Wolfe, can you wake Rakura up?” 

“Rakura was already not there.” (Wolfe)

“What, again?” 

Rakura has been going out early in the morning and returning late in the night since coming back to Taizu. 

Judging from her fatigue when she returned, she most likely has increased her training time. 

Losing against Haakudoku, Ekdoik getting ahead of her; there may be a variety of factors, but if she is trying to fill that up with hard work, I have nothing to say against it. 

I am checking the sleep of Rakura just in case, but it doesn’t seem to be to a degree where she is doing reckless training. 

She is also taking naps frequently, so there should be no issues with her self-management. 

Rakura showed up from the entrance while I was thinking about this.

“I am hungry~. Oh, Haakudoku-san.” (Rakura)

“Yo, Rakura. Training from early in the morning? You’ve got spirit.” (Haaku)

“I am simply choosing time slots with few people so that I can concentrate more easily. I will sleep for a bit again after eating.” (Rakura)

“Aah, it is true that you can concentrate a little bit better early in the morning. But won’t it hit your stomach if you eat and go to sleep?” (Haaku)

“It is okay. I am normally going to sleep while drinking booze.” (Rakura)

“That’s not called being okay. Even Bro Gestaf is refraining from drinking himself to sleep.” (Haaku)

“It feels nice being able to sleep with a fluffy feeling, you know? Isn’t that right, Counselor-sama?” (Rakura)

“It is not bad every now and then, but showing my hungover face every time is out of the question.” 

“*Sob* It is cause the booze that Gozu-san chooses are all tasty…” (Rakura)

That Gozu. Should I tell him to limit them? But it helps in his sales. 

While all of that was happening, everyone sat down around the table and we began our breakfast. 

It was only me and Ilias not that long ago. But now, it is a breakfast with 5 people, huh. 

I don’t like it when it is too noisy, but this much is not bad. Ilias is also looking somewhat happy. 

Ilias went to change after breakfast, and Rakura headed to her own room to sleep as she declared just before. 

The remaining 3 began to clean up. Having 3 people in the kitchen honestly makes it feel cramped. 

“Brother, where are you going today?” (Haaku)

“I am going to the magic research lab today.” 

“Oh, speaking of which, I haven’t seen this magic research stuff. Is it an old weirdo doing the research?” (Haaku)

“They are weird indeed. Also, I am planning on checking the state of Purple.” 

“The Purple Demon Lord, huh… I haven’t met a Demon Lord personally…” (Haaku)

Haakudoku has been nearly missing those 3 Demon Lords since becoming an ally. 

Purple is manufacturing a Demonic Tool, and Gold has gotten busy with the internal affairs of Gahne. 

Blue and Ekdoik have been gathering noteworthy monsters in the Kuama Nether. 

Low rank monsters can be controlled with their will alone, but when it comes to Uniques, there’s apparently a lot of them who don’t listen. 

The 3 undead that were protecting Blue were humans controlled by necromancy. She can’t use it anymore in order to not show any animosity towards the humans. 

Well, the person herself said ‘I don’t want to see their faces anymore’, so they are gathering monsters that spawn naturally. 

“Don’t worry. The 3 have issues with their personalities, but they won’t just suddenly be hostile towards you. I can’t deny the possibility that they will get rid of you if you slight them in some way though.” 

“Wow, not a single thing was relieving about that. But well, with these sunglasses(?), the rampages of Instinct-sama get milder! No issues!” (Haaku)

“No, those sunglasses—oh, visitors?” 

I heard someone knocking on the entrance door. Right now there’s only Wolfe, Haakudoku and me in the 1st floor. 

Just when I thought about heading there, Haakudoku went ahead of me. 

“Brother, I am here. I am decently knowledgeable in receiving guests despite appearances!” (Haaku)

“There’s rarely anyone we have to give such treatment coming here though. It is most likely Mix anyways.” 

No, now that I think about it calmly, Mix shows up often but she is a princess. 

Marito also casually comes here. Well, Haakudoku has been living together with the guild advisor, so he shouldn’t be making any fatal mistakes here.

“Shishou, Wolfe can also receive visitors properly!” (Wolfe)

“Yeah, you have been drilled the manners and etiquette by Maya-san after all. There’s no doubts about it.” 

“Heheh!” (Wolfe)

But I can’t help doubting whether Maya-san has taught her anything weird. 

There are times when she is weird in her own way after all. I can’t really talk much about others though. 

“Oh, were you in the middle of cleaning up after breakfast?” 

“Hm, Purple, huh. Not who I was expecting.” 

The ones who showed up at the kitchen were Purple and Dyuvuleori. 

A princess and the butler that protects her showing up in the kitchen is a pretty rare sight. 

“I came here to consult a bit about the Demonic Tools matter, but is it better to come here at another time?” (Purple)

“No, it is okay. I also planned on going to you today. I was thinking about introducing you to a blacksmith, you see.” 

“Oh, I am impressed you could tell though?” (Purple)

“I can’t really say much when it comes to magic after all. But you don’t know much about weapons, right, Purple?” 

“Yeah. Thinking about it calmly, I don’t even know how swords are made, you know?” (Purple)

“Human, My Lord requires fitting weapons to create Demonic Tools. I don’t intend to doubt your judgment, but is it something that can be prepared so easily?” (Dyuvuleori)

“It is the blacksmith who made the sword of Ilias that sliced you down. Got a problem?” 

“I see. There’s no problem then.” (Dyuvuleori)

Dyuvuleori knows with his own body how sharp the sword of Ilias is. Also how sturdy her scabbard is. 

If it is Troid-san who made the special gauntlet of Wolfe, he should be able to deal with the special shapes of Demonic Tools. 

…By the way, I have a question.

“Hey, a guy named Haakudoku should have gone to the entrance to receive you guys.” 

“That person was called Haakudoku, huh? He fainted the moment he saw my face, so I had him lay on the side of the entrance, you know?” (Purple)

Achaah, so the Instinct-sama of Haakudoku really did go wild when he saw a Demon Lord directly, huh. 

The instincts of Haakudoku are super sensitive. The more of a threat someone is, the stronger the alarm of the instincts will be, and in the case it is too strong, he can be knocked out by it. 

Thinking about it normally, a Demon Lord is the worst enemy of humanity -their natural enemy. 

Those sunglasses wouldn’t be enough for that. Oh well. 

“If I think about it as his heart having been broken from the power of My Lord, it is only natural, but if he fainted after seeing the countenance of My Lord, it is questionable whether it is forgivable.” (Dyuvuleori)

“Isn’t it fine to just think that he fainted from how beautiful she is?” 

“I see. I shall go put a blanket on him.” (Dyuvuleori)

Oh my, Dyuvuleori is kinder than I imagined. Just how pitifully did Haakudoku faint? 

“Fainting from being too beautiful. That’s awful, you know?” (Purple)

“Isn’t it a praise?” 

“I take care of my appearance, but I think my appearance suits your taste, you know? Being excessive would be isolating, right?” (Purple)

“That’s quite the complicated perspective. But we are talking about the view of Haakudoku here though.” 

“I want to be seen as such by you, you know?” (Purple)

“I see, that’s greedy. Well, I haven’t thought of you as an unattainable flower.” 

“Then, a pebble on the roadside?” (Purple)

“Don’t make it extreme.” 

“Fufu, that was a joke, you know?” (Purple)

Purple is in a strangely good mood. She might have taken a liking to the fainting act of Haakudoku.

“But Shishou has pebbles as treasures!” (Wolfe)

“Oh, is that so?” (Purple)

“Well, I do pick them up as commemorations.” 

“…I see, then I am fine with being a pebble, too.” (Purple)

“Do mind that.”

When I returned to the living room, Haakudoku was sleeping peacefully on the sofa with a blanket on top of him.

Well, calling it ‘peacefully’ was a joke. His expression is actually saying ‘that’s impossible’.

“Right, right, yesterday was the regular meeting of the Demon Lords, you know? I came here because I thought I should tell you?” (Purple)

“Speaking of which, it was a full moon. But the last time ended without any reports, right?” 

The minds of the Demon Lords alone are called to the special space prepared by the Black Demon Lord on full moon nights. 

They report about each other’s recent states there.

A bit of trouble happened through that, but they stopped exchanging information after the meeting when the Colorless Demon Lord spoke. 

There’s no way the Scarlet Demon Lord that’s trying to invade the human realm, and the Green Demon Lord who doesn’t care about anyone, would have any information to give to the Demon Lords that have switched to the human side. 

“About that…to put it bluntly, Colorless has done it now, you know?” (Purple)

“Colorless again.” 

◇◇

We go back to the night before. 

There are 8 color crystals on the giant round table, and gold, green, blue, scarlet, purple, and colorless were releasing light.

“Fumu, is everyone going to stay silent this time as well?” (Gold)

“Isn’t that natural? Leaving aside Colorless, Scarlet doesn’t have anything he would want to talk to us about.” (Blue)

“Right. We can just end it once time’s up, then?” (Purple)

“…Hey, Scarlet, is what ya desire still the same?” (Gold)

“…A foolish question.” (Scarlet)

The low voice of the Scarlet Demon Lord rang. His voice was the usual disinterested voice, but one with strong unfaltering resolve. 

“Oh, so you can answer?” (Purple)

“If you are going to throw words that test mine resolve, not answering would hurt the name of the Scarlet Demon Lord.” (Scarlet)

“As long as there’s no doubt Gahne will become a battlefield, this one will want ya to stop.” (Gold)

“I have no intention of telling you to stop your cohabitation with humans…however, I have no intention of having you all block my path.” (Scarlet)

“Even if I were to use the Hierarchy Curse?” (Gold)

The Demon Lords have been given the Hierarchy Curse in order to give influence on the Demon Lords according to the order in which they were created. 

It doesn’t have outstanding restraining power, but if you go against it, you will taste a displeasing sensation. 

The Scarlet Demon Lord’s rank is 5. The Gold Demon Lord and Blue Demon Lord who are 2 and 4 respectively would be able to force him with words. 

“Of course. I will accept that trifling level of displeasure if it is for the sake of mine desire.” (Scarlet)

“Oh, is that so? Then allows us to use it as retaliation for being attacked. Gold, let’s do it. This is good enough as payment for all the troubles.” (Blue)

“Blue, ya have changed quite a lot… Right. This one is fine with ya just getting a slight wrong judgment with the displeasure this brings. Then—” (Gold)

“Okay, okay~. Can you wait for a bi~t?” 

The voice that interjected here came from the colorless crystal. 

The man that carries the name of a Demon Lord despite being the demon of the White Demon Lord Yugura, the Colorless Demon Lord, has cut into the conversation. 

“What, Colorless? This is not a conversation ya should be jumping into as someone who preaches neutrality, ya know?” (Gold)

“I do. The Hierarchy Curse is purely a lubricant to smoothen the discussions in this place. Using it to harass someone wouldn’t be fair, right?” (Colorless)

“If yer going to talk about that, then say something at the time when Purple tried to attack Gahne. Why now?” (Gold)

“Now, that was a joke, so who cares. What’s important is your own will, Scarlet Beast. You already plan on separating from the other Demon Lords, right?” (Colorless)

“…That’s right.” (Scarlet)

“Then, that means this place is not necessary anymore. Yugura prepared this place in order to peacefully talk without the need to fight each other. If you are going to be enemies, there’s no need to talk with each other, right?” (Colorless)

“?!” 

The Demon Lords’ minds have been moved to their respective crystals. Even without eyes or ears, they can feel the state of the space as if they were there. 

All the Demon Lords reacted to the change in the space.

There was a single man standing in that space.

Black hair and black eyes, what he was wearing on top of his darkish skin was an invisible hooded cloak that assimilated with the scenery. 

The Colorless Demon Lord himself has appeared in that space. 

He got on the round table with shoes on and spun as if having fun. 

“What are you so surprised about? Yugura has told me to keep an eye on you guys, you know? It is obvious that I would at least have the authority to come to this place. Now then, you guys have become enemies. It means the long long licking of wounds is over. Yup yup, it is as if I am looking at chicks leaving the nest. I am happy.” (Colorless)

“So yer treating us as chicks, huh. Even though our real age isn’t that far apart from each other.” (Gold)

“In the eyes of Black Sis, your fighting is mere child’s play. Well, it has been exposed that I have to stay neutral, so I shall just spectate. Make sure you make it an interesting watch, okay?” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord raises his hand onto empty space. When he did, a giant scythe appeared as if he had been holding it from the very beginning. 

This weapon has a blade that’s far bigger in size than the body of the Colorless Demon Lord, but it was being swung around lightly by him. 

“Now, the era has taken a step towards the next stage. Do your best in order to change the world, you Demon Lords.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord swung his giant scythe once on top of the round table, and all the crystals shattered at the same time. 

The consciousness of the Demon Lords was still barely remaining there. 

And what they felt with their remaining senses was…how that one swing had sliced apart the space itself and how it was vanishing.

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