Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom Volume 4 E-Book

Tomoaki Amagi

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 361

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

With his training in the Rage family territory complete, Zilbagias returns to the castle to begin his preparations for his deployment to the front lines come spring. And now that he has secured permission to fly with Layla—despite the reluctance of those around him—the possibilities seem endless. But life quickly becomes a dangerous balancing act, as he must fight to secure a strong position within the demonic kingdom while trying to undermine it. He makes great strides weaving alliances with powerful actors throughout the castle that he inevitably aims to betray, but they seem to be keeping their cards close to their chests.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Character Introductions

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Nostalgic Castle

Chapter 2: Family Bonding

Chapter 3: The Time for Blasphemy

Chapter 4: The Demon Prince Deployed

Epilogue

Encyclopedia of Demonic Bloodline Magics (Excerpt)

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Color Images

Table of Contents

Prologue

After about a day of riding in the carriage, we finally made it back to the castle. Even though I had only been away for a month, it felt like years. The trip back was quite pleasant since I got to relax with Layla and Liliana. Honestly, the ride with Prati on the way there had been really stressful.

“Perhaps she no longer feels the need to be so concerned with hiding the way you surround yourself with women. Congratulations on your promotion,” Ante said mockingly, to which I could only shrug. As much as I wanted to tell her to shut up, I was the only guy in my carriage.

Thanks to the board game my personal attendant Veene had brought with her, we were able to make the trip back without worrying about getting bored. Never mind the toll it had taken on my body, the battle with the hero in the Rage territory had left me emotionally exhausted. The distraction was more than welcome.

The game was pretty simple, the kind where you just rolled dice and then moved a piece around, so even Layla and Garunya could join in and have a lot of fun despite their lack of experience with these kinds of games. Well, if you could overlook the bloody and grotesque aspects that came from landing on each square due to the game’s night elf author and their sensibilities, it was actually pretty fun.

I had to laugh when Liliana, who could do nothing but spit out the dice, ended up thrashing Veene with her comically good luck.

“It’s kind of simple for a game made by night elves, isn’t it?” I had asked.

Almost at the point of tears at the fate Liliana had subjected her to, Veene had replied, “Most night elves are capable of manipulating the results of the dice. That makes cheating while preventing others from doing the same the main attraction,” she had explained.

“You haven’t been cheating, have you?”

“I’m...not very good at it, so...”

So she had figured her experience with the game would be enough to make up for her lack of skill at cheating, only to be trounced by her natural enemy, a high elf (who was a complete newbie to the game). Poor girl. Though really, seeing Veene on the verge of breaking down was the cutest I’d ever seen her. I really hated night elves, you know?

At the outskirts of the castle, the three Rage idiots Alba, Okke, and Seira disembarked from their carriage and looked up at the castle walls in awe.

“Whoa...”

“It’s huge...”

“This is where the Demon King lives?”

Their jaws dropped at the sheer size of the castle. I mean, it was carved out of a mountain inhabited by dragons. It was probably the largest structure in the world.

“Oh, is this the first time you guys have seen it?” I asked.

“Well, yeah!”

“Small fry like us don’t have much reason to visit.”

“Even when we went out to battle, we just went straight to the front lines.”

Looking at what they regarded as their new home caused their eyes to glimmer in excitement. Though I doubted there were rooms prepped and ready for them. For the time being, they’d probably be staying in lodgings in the city.

Actually, would they ever get spots in the castle? The more comfortable rooms within the castle were usually flooded by the rich and powerful. Even the break rooms for high-level servants and attendants were always packed. Heck, it was pretty unprecedented when Layla took one of Prati’s guest rooms when she became my subordinate. Having a private room in the castle was actually the height of luxury, although my role as a prince had made me numb to the whole situation. So when it came to the three idiots...well, best not to rain on their parade for now. Besides, you couldn’t see the castle if you were staying inside it. From a tourist perspective, staying in the city was probably a more impressive experience.

Speaking of rooms, that brought up another headache.

“Time to get off.”

“Don’t try anything.”

Under the careful watch of night elf hunters, three human men disembarked from the livestock carriage.

With their instruments and wood carving tools in hand, they looked up in utter amazement at the castle in front of them. Honestly, their reaction was a spitting image of the three idiots’. Never mind being stuck in the Rage territory, these men had barely been allowed to leave the slave quarters since they had been born. And after a day of traveling by carriage without any windows to get their bearings, they disembarked to be greeted with this sight. It was no wonder they were overwhelmed.

These three were the survivors of the hero’s “army,” former high-skilled slaves. My grandmother Gorilacia had made an agreement with the hero Leonardo, swearing that for each wound I suffered in the final trial, one slave would be permitted to live. As a result, these three had survived. But letting them live meant nothing more than sparing them from being culled. I wasn’t so optimistic as to think the demons would just quietly care for these three, who had learned how to fight against demons and had gotten a taste of holy magic, until they reached the end of their natural lifespans. Especially not in the Rage territory, the greatest producer of human livestock in the kingdom.

Since Gorilacia had returned to her ancestral Dosrotos lands and I was going to be in the castle where I couldn’t see them, some “accident” or “sudden illness” was sure to rear its ugly head. So, after claiming I had taken an interest in them, I had managed to bring them back with me.

“But what are you going to do with them?” Ante asked.

Yeah, that was kind of the problem. Getting three rooms for the idiots would already be difficult, but handling three humans? I didn’t even want to begin to wrap my head around what challenges that would bring.

“Woof?” Liliana looked up at me from where she sat at my feet, tilting her head. It wasn’t like I could keep them around in my room like pets as I did with her.

“Virossa, about those slaves.”

“Sir. I would suggest we keep them in our prison for now,” Virossa, the night elf Swordmaster, replied, immediately guessing my concerns.

Not that prison again! Though it wasn’t like there were many other options.

“Such a wonderful place with never-ending screams,” Ante giggled.

Staying there would really put a toll on them mentally.

“Is that a good idea? The prison has a rather, how should I say...heavy atmosphere?”

“True enough. That environment may be too much for those as weak as humans,” Virossa replied thoughtfully, looking over the slaves as he might cattle.

What’s that all about? You think you can look down on these guys? Men who only had a few weeks of training and still went up against a demon prince without backing down? You think you night elves could’ve put up even half as good a fight against me? Huh?!

“Are there any other options?” I asked, struggling to keep my anger in check as it boiled under the surface.

“Aside from the prison, I suppose they could be held in the camp for healing slaves.” But Virossa’s next words were like ice water on my building rage.

The “healing slaves.” Those kept as body doubles to be used with Transposition. The people that had been burned like fuel for my training every day until I freed Liliana.

I looked at the three survivors again. Still feeling overwhelmed by the castle, they had been left standing out in the open with no instructions. I could only imagine how uneasy they were.

The night elf prison would be awful for them, but the alternative? After they had gained some confidence and gotten a taste of what it meant to fight back, only to be forced to live alongside humans that were literally bred as livestock to be consumed by Transposition? It was just too...cruel.

The Devil God of Taboo began to chuckle.

“What a painful decision. No matter how much you wish to save them, your prayers go unanswered. On top of that, you lack the power to accomplish it yourself. Does anyone know that pain better than you?”

I had no reply.

“So do you condemn them to the prison, where day in and day out they must hear the cries and screams of captured Alliance soldiers? Or the camps, among livestock with no hope for the future who have long since accepted their fate? Either choice will be hell for them. However, they have no choice in the matter. They will have to endure whatever situation they are put in, unable to lend a hand to those suffering around them. They very well may come to regret the ‘good fortune’ of having their lives spared, forced to live out the remainder of their days as some prince’s pets. Surely they would have preferred to meet their end alongside that hero and their comrades.”

I had no answer for Ante’s sadistic whispering.

Saving them may have just opened the door for them to receive even greater suffering. But still...! I couldn’t just leave them as they were! True, they had grown and acquired qualities similar to soldiers’, but they were still innocent civilians. The hero Leonardo had sacrificed his own life to save them.

I could hear my own teeth starting to grind, a sound that brought me back to my senses. I had unconsciously started tensing up, so I forced myself to relax. Putting one hand around Layla’s waist and another on Liliana’s head, I tried to give a casual response.

“Hmm. Suddenly throwing them into the slave camps could cause problems. I guess I’ll have to ask the prison to take them for a bit.”

“As you say.” Virossa gave a small bow.

Ironically enough, that meant they would in fact be staying in the castle, technically. Of course there would be no windows, no freedom, and they’d be forced to listen to the agonized cries of their fellow humans day in and day out, so it was still a tragic result. I had to wonder how the three idiots would react if offered the same thing.

So anyway, it’s me again, the demon prince Zilbagias. As usual, I was playing the shitty role of an enemy of humanity.

Chapter 1: The Nostalgic Castle

After returning to the castle, I had to make my rounds and inform people of my return. Much to my dismay, in the five years I’d spent living as a demon prince, I had unfortunately made some acquaintances. Leaving carrying my baggage into the castle to the servants—while silently thankful that I had been born royalty—I headed to my first stop, the night elf quarters.

“Welcome home, Your Highness.”

I was greeted by none other than the ever so suspicious Sidar, wearing his usual fake smile. By utilizing his connection to me and the extra healing quota it granted him, he was in the process of solidifying his position as a leader in night elf society. The more influential he became there, the more influential I became there thanks to our relationship, so it wasn’t a half bad deal for a prince.

But as a hero? Nah, I wasn’t going to think about that. Adamas at my hip was already starting to get riled up at the mere thought.

Liliana gave a pitiful whine, clinging to me tightly as we visited the night elf quarters for the first time in a long while. I felt quite bad for her, to be honest. This place was the source of a lot of deep trauma for her, yet I dragged her back here time after time.

“Trauma so deep that she decided remaining a puppy was more favorable than returning to being a person.”

I’ll never forgive those night elves...! That said, we never would have been reunited in the first place if they had decided to just kill her instead of torturing her for years...dammit.

“Good girl. You’re okay, don’t worry.” As I held her in my arms and rubbed her head, Liliana’s trembling calmed slightly...but only very slightly.

“I am...thrilled to see the two of you still get along so well,” Sidar said quite brazenly as he wrung his hands, but he couldn’t hide the look in his eyes as if he were watching someone be swarmed by slugs.

“But of course. I’ve given my all to taking care of her.” Careful not to hit her with my horns, I rubbed my face against hers. That caused Sidar and the other nearby steel-faced night elves to visibly cringe. It took a lot to not burst out laughing at that.

“O-Of course...but I have heard there is also that white dragon girl in your care.”

“I’m not sure I appreciate you bringing up talk of other women, Sidar.”

“My deepest apologies.” Sidar bowed his head slightly. I know people have been calling me the second coming of Daiagias, but that doesn’t mean I like having it brought up around me!

“So, has anything changed while I was gone?”

“Nothing particularly worthy of mention, Your Highness. The closest thing I suppose would be that the Holy Church’s reinforcements have arrived to bolster the defenses of Deftelos. But there have been no major developments on the front lines. The war remains in a state of deadlock. I imagine the Alliance forces are making quick work of what little food they have left.” Sidar gave a sadistic grin. It had started getting pretty cold recently. Winter was just around the corner.

“I see. Perfect.” I nodded, taking the honey-laden milk tea Veene offered me with a nod.

“That being the case, we have received no wounded that would demand your immediate attention.”

Damn. So I didn’t have to bring Liliana at all. That just made me feel even worse. But the “special healing quota” she personally provided me was what made Liliana so valuable.

Outside of my use of the healing miracle she provided me, there were no other demons who would be willing to take wounds personally from a lesser race to heal them.

Heavily wounded night elves that otherwise would have been left to die were being saved. In exchange for all the power and authority Sidar was able to gain thanks to his monopoly on access to that special healing quota, I got to save Liliana.

“So happy endings for everyone.”

Exactly! As long as you ignored all the fatal wounds and deadly illnesses I had to take on myself because of it!

However, I couldn’t forget the fact that like Virossa, the other night elves I healed were contracted to operate as my personal soldiers for anywhere between years to decades. It certainly didn’t hurt to have more pawns at my disposal, and having direct access to the night elf information network spread throughout the Alliance was huge. As a hero, that information meant more to me than any amount of money. As much as it pained me to save the lives of night elves—the same people who took my mother from me and caused so much chaos in the Alliance—it was also true that while they were working for me, they were kept from working in the field, where they’d do even more damage.

“How was the Rage territory?” Sidar asked. “I heard you made quite a name for yourself on your arrival.”

“News travels fast, huh?” I smiled wryly at Sidar’s insinuation. He was likely talking about the duel at the welcome banquet during which I broke off a piece of Germadios’s horn. “Father told me to show them how strong I was, but not to break their horns. But it seems I misjudged my strength a bit.”

“I see...”

“But only the tiniest tip of his horn came off, so I’m sure father won’t be too upset.”

Sidar only continued to smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. If he were foolish enough to share his opinions on how the Demon King carried out his duties, he never would have climbed the ranks of night elf society to begin with. While being a quite dull reaction, it was the objectively correct one to make.

“Speaking of the Rage territory, Virossa or Veene may have already told you, but...”

As I tried to change topics, I caught Sidar shooting a sidelong glance at Veene. Though his expression didn’t change, his eyes all but shouted “no, I haven’t heard anything,” prompting a wave of panic to go through the otherwise stone-faced maid.

That was exactly why instead of even returning to my room, I had come here first. Veene had had no time at all to relay what had happened, so it was kinda unfair for her to be catching any flak, but I was going to have to take control of this situation before some weird conditions got put on it.

“Three high-skilled human slaves have come into my possession. I would like to ask if I could house them in the prison for a time.”

“Oh, high-skilled slaves? May I ask how that came to pass?”

“My grandmother managed to arrange a fight between me and a hero that had been captured alive.”

“Oh! So you were able to test yourself against holy magic already! Perhaps it is just my ignorance, but I have not heard of any such prior cases.” In fact, in the entire history of the demonic kingdom, I was probably the first to experience holy magic before reaching the battlefield.

“But a single hero wasn’t enough of a threat to warrant the fight. So some slaves that were marked for culling were gathered together, and the hero trained them a bit.”

“What an incredible luxury...” Sidar murmured as I explained what had happened. The fifty-odd slaves that had perished in that training could have saved hundreds of lives if used correctly for Transposition.

If pushed to its extreme, a single slave could be used to heal several people who had each distinctively lost one of their four limbs; the life of one slave could be used to save four from grave injuries. And if you acted quickly enough before they died from blood loss, you could keep using them to heal internal injuries or head wounds. Getting the most efficiency out of a single slave was like a puzzle, one that clearly demonstrated the mastery of each individual Rage family healer.

“What a wicked curse that is...” Ante chuckled.

There was nothing funny about it.

So, dozens of those slaves had been murdered for the sake of my training. Sidar could hardly believe the huge expenditure of resources. I very much agreed with him.

“I cannot say I do. Though they weren’t used to heal any number of demons, they did fuel your powers. That seems like a far more efficient use.”

While there was some truth to that, that wasn’t the problem here! But I needed to calm down. Losing my cool here wouldn’t solve anything.

“So I ended up taking three of the survivors into my care since my grandmother promised they’d be allowed to live.”

“I see. If you have come to that decision, then there is no room for me to argue. I will gladly receive them. However, while I beg you to understand this is merely a personal opinion...if your grandmother guaranteed their lives, should taking care of them not be her responsibility?”

It was hard to argue with that.

“My visit to the Rage territory was my first time meeting her.” I made no attempt to hide my bitter expression. “I guess you could say she’s an old-fashioned demon. She’s not the type that leaves you with confidence that she could take care of a dog or a cat.”

“Aha, I see,” Sidar responded with a strange expression. With all the time I had spent around night elves as of late, I was starting to pick up on their mannerisms a bit. In this case, his expression seemed to say he found something secretly funny. “Well...I suppose among demons, there has been no culture of keeping pets in the first place,” Sidar said.

Yeah, dating back to their days of poverty in their “sacred ground,” anything with four legs was just a meal in the making for them!

“Exactly. In that respect, I have quite a bit more experience taking care of pets.”

Liliana whined.

“Very well. So, how shall we care for them? I imagine at the bare minimum maintaining their good health is expected.”

If I wasn’t careful here, they would probably leave them almost at death’s door.

“One of the three is a performer. I’ve taken quite a liking to his music, so I would like him to maintain his skills. The other two were craftsmen, I think? Right, Veene?” I threw the question to Veene, pretending I had forgotten. After all, a demon prince remembering so many details about some human slaves would be out of the ordinary. But in truth, I had engraved each of their names deep in my heart. The musician Vigo, the carpenter Dirilo, and the instrument maker Organo.

“Yes, Your Highness! One is a carpenter, the other a maker of instruments.” And in a very quiet voice, “I think.”

Though their expressions didn’t change, the shock and disappointment from the other maids lining the wall was palpable. Sidar continued to smile brightly, while Veene started to tremble. Almost forgot those two are related.

“To land a position as a personal maid to a demon prince is quite remarkable for her.”

Well...she’s got her issues, but when it comes to magic and unarmed combat, she’s among the best of the maids. Honestly, she’s less my maid and more like a bodyguard.

“I suppose she was the first to spring into action to protect you from Faravgi’s attack.”

That’s probably why people trust her so much.

“Oh? It almost sounds like you share that sentiment yourself.”

Shut it. I hate night elves! All of them!

“Yeah, a musician and two craftsmen. They won’t need anything like time to walk around, but I’d appreciate it if they had the freedom to keep their skills sharp. They should have brought the tools they’ll need with them.”

“Craftsmen, is it? Very well.”

I could tell what Sidar was thinking. As a demon prince, I could get anything a slave was capable of making at the snap of a finger. That meant there was no real need to keep slaves around to make things. But just leaving them in the prison with nothing to do would drive them crazy. They needed something to focus on, just like how I had had the board game to occupy my time on the trip back to the castle.

“Shall the three of them be kept isolated, or would you prefer they be kept together?”

“I’ll leave that up to you. Whichever is the least burden on you. I’m sure the number of solitary cells available is limited.”

“From a perspective of preventing unrest, having them isolated would be best...but I will check how many such cells are free.”

“Good. At worst, I don’t mind if you use the royal suite.”

The deepest room in the prison, where Liliana had been kept for years. Apparently they had left it unoccupied so that I could have my “fun” with Liliana whenever I wished. It was hardly a place I’d ever choose to visit though, so I had no idea what condition the room was in currently. Aside from its location, it was a pretty big place with good drainage and ventilation, so it would serve fairly well as accommodations for three people.

“That room is being kept for you to use at your leisure...” Sidar smiled.

No thanks. Seriously, I don’t need it.

But in any case, arrangements for the slaves’ lodgings had been taken care of, at least for the immediate future. Being forced to live in a prison, and in the Demon King’s castle of all places, made it seem like they were being treated as criminals. But if you were to ask if the arrangement was any worse than being kept in the slave camps...I’d have a hard time answering.

As much as I wanted to provide something better for them, there was no option at the present. I felt bad for them, but I’d have to ask them to bear with it for now.

With no healing to take care of, after finishing our tea we said our goodbyes. I had earned enough of a reputation here that the passersby bowed deeply as I walked by with Liliana in my arms. And while they showed me respect, they still kept their distance. In sharp contrast, the night elf children were brimming with curiosity, following us as we went. Though I called them children, they were older than I was, probably around ten years old.

“It’s the prince!”

“The healer guy!”

“He’s got the dog with him.”

“Hey, don’t be rude!”

Veene turned to scold them like an older sister.

“Let them be,” I stopped her, letting the kids swarm around us as we walked.

While I longed for the day when all the night elves would be wiped out, I couldn’t help but feel like these children had yet to be sullied by the cruel and sadistic values of their parents. They were still innocent.

But I had no environment to offer them a better upbringing. It was outside of my current capabilities. Defeating the Demon King and bringing down his kingdom were my top priorities. Even accomplishing that much was no guarantee. At the very least, I could hardly expect the current night elves to change their beliefs. After all, their highest goal was still the extermination of all forest elves.

And if those were your supposed goals and principles, you had no room to complain about your own kind getting wiped out, right?

“That sounds like it may be dangerously applicable to yourself.”

It’s a bit late for that. I never would’ve turned out like this if the demons weren’t so hell-bent on wiping out humanity. That’s why I made this contract with you in the first place, Ante.

No matter what anyone said, I was a hero. Even if I was now a demon, I was a hero fighting for humanity. That meant I would eliminate any threat to humanity’s survival. If these children were to grow up into ordinary night elves...I wouldn’t show them any mercy.

Despite Liliana’s warmth in my arms, my heart felt cold as ice.

“Let’s say you accomplish your goal of bringing down the demonic kingdom. And, on the morning after, these children are still children and swear revenge against you. What will you do then?”

I’ll accept their challenge, of course. They have that right.

The Devil God chuckled. “I suppose that’s good enough. For now.”

I had never once considered visiting the night elf quarters a good experience. Every single time I ventured there it resulted in various unpleasantries like these thoughts. I doubted that would change anytime soon. Not until I thoroughly destroyed this nest of the denizens of the dark.

†††

After taking Liliana back to my room, I headed to the depths beneath the castle. Couldn’t they come up with a better solution to getting down here than this horrendous staircase? I was bored to death every time I had to get down there.

“Well, considering its usual occupants are already dead, I doubt there are many complaints.”

Yeah...I think that’s part of the problem.

“Ziiiiiiiil! I missed yoooouuuu!”

In that underworld palace, as I made my way through the heavy iron doors, I was greeted with an alarming level of excitement as the lich Enma came charging to see me...decked out from head to toe in ostentatious pink.

“H-Hi, I’m back.”

“Welcome home!” Her face was lit by an extraordinary smile, so bright it felt like it deserved to be preserved in a picture frame. Trailing close behind her was Claire, all but sighing. I couldn’t help but think that meant this smile had been specifically crafted just for today.

Claire eventually waved as well. “Hey, welcome back, Mr. Prince.”

“Thanks,” I responded with the same casual attitude she showed. But while my face looked undisturbed, it felt like someone was strangling my heart with a tight cord.

If my childhood friend had been allowed to grow up, this was exactly how she would have looked. Every time I laid eyes on her, my weathered, fading memories of my childhood would burst with vibrancy...

The gap between that past and my present always threatened to make my knees buckle.

“That was the longest month of my life!” Meanwhile Enma was writhing in her own personal agony. That bizarre reaction brought me back to reality.

Claire sighed. “Probably because you put his return on your calendar and were counting down the days one by one.” The passiveness present in her face couldn’t disguise the coldness in her eyes. “Didn’t you say something recently about how your sense of time has been dulled by eternal life? Like how ‘a year passes by in a flash!’ or something?”

“Hey, no need for any of that!” With lightning quick reflexes, Enma dashed over to smack Claire for her comment, but just as quickly Claire dodged out of the way. Wow, no way can I underestimate these two. Their physical abilities are incredible.

I had last met them shortly before leaving for the Rage territory. There was a large number of corpses to deal with on the front lines, so Enma had been sent off to handle them; turning the dead bodies into undead so they could walk away was a pretty handy way of accomplishing that. Since that had taken so much of her time, I hadn’t been able to see her when I left the castle for the Rage territory.

“So, how was your trip?”

“Well...let’s just say a lot happened.”

I was ushered to her reception room where I was bombarded by all kinds of tea before I even had a chance to refuse. As I took a sip, I was puzzled over where to start.

“I heard you’ve been breaking horns again.”

“Guh—” I choked on my tea. The last thing I expected was for that to be brought up here. So after a month, even rumors like that reach all the way down here to Enma? “Not a full break, just a bit off the end. How much did you hear?”

“Oh, nothing at all. There’s just some rumors throughout the castle that ‘Hornbreaker Zilbagias was at it again,’” she replied with her usual pasted-on smile.

“I see...” So that’s how it was playing out here. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. At my welcome banquet, some guy tried to insult me by throwing wine on my face.”

“Wow. He must be quite bold to try that with a prince,” Claire said as she brought in some snacks, her face shifting from surprise to something of a scowl. I imagined she didn’t have the kind of taken aback expression that would make sense in this situation at the ready.

Though Enma’s creations were exceptionally lifelike, as her title of “Dollmaker” implied, they nevertheless had an unshakable artificiality to them. In particular, it seemed they had a difficult time controlling their expressions. As a solution, they had a set number of expressions they could switch to on the fly as the situation demanded. To put it another way, if they hadn’t prepared an expression beforehand, they couldn’t use it.

“I can’t imagine you taking treatment like that sitting down,” Enma replied, an ineffable smile still on her face. Does she not have an expression that’s a bit more...reserved?

“Even if she did, I cannot imagine her of all people showing anything but this smile.”

True enough.

“What caught even me by surprise was how much it irked me that he did it with everyone watching. But back then everyone had been looking down on me, so it ended up being a good opportunity to vent my frustrations.”

“By the way, who was it that you fought?” Enma asked.

“Count Germadios. Some eighty-year-old dude with more arrogance than the two of us put together.”

“You just send people of higher rank flying like it’s nothing, huh?” Claire commented.

“Their fault for losing,” I replied seriously, like a good savage. Back in the Alliance, no royal title would have protected me from the major fallout of incidents like that, but here in the demonic kingdom your rank was a representation of your strength. Winning and losing was all that mattered. In other words, people would just look at it as me being too strong for my title of viscount, or Germadios being surprisingly weak for his title of count. And it didn’t help that his horn had ended up damaged.

“You’ve been training tons, though. I can’t imagine anyone in the castle below the rank of duke looking down on you,” Enma said, propping her head up on her hand as her glassy eyes stared into mine. Is she trying to get a gauge on how my magic has grown? I can’t let my guard down for a second anywhere, can I?

“It’s kind of weird. You train so much every day, and even took down a leader of the dragons. How can they still underestimate you?” Claire added, refilling my cup.

“Apparently because most people think the stories of my exploits have been thoroughly embellished.”

“Ah...” the two undead responded as one.

“But I guess I should be thankful to Germadios. After we fought, it was smooth sailing from there. Though apparently that scared off a lot of people that were thinking about becoming my subordinates.”

“Isn’t that why you were there in the first place? Sounds like you ended up with things backward.” Enma laughed.

“So, how was your trip?” I asked. It wasn’t like I was interested in the slightest, but it was the best way to avoid the question.

Enma and Claire both shared an awkward chuckle, their faces turning expressionless.

“Day in and day out, the moment the sun was down, they had us working like horses...”

“Since, you know, we don’t need to rest at all...”

“Call forth the soul, subdue it, make it into undead. Call forth the soul, subdue it, make it into undead. Again, and again, and again...”

“Beyond that it was just having the undead dig holes and line up inside them until sunrise.”

“Then the sun did the dirty work and cleaned things up,” Enma murmured, her tone playful...but I didn’t miss the dark magic leaking from her.

This was Enma, the woman who worked day and night to conquer the sun (though I wished she wouldn’t) so that she could turn all of humanity into undead and create a paradise for them (though I hoped she didn’t). Despite her efforts against the sun, she had been forced to turn people into undead and watch as the sun’s rays turned them into ash. Even the fathomless Enma couldn’t come out from the other side of that unfazed.

“Oho ho! So they just reduce to ash in the sun. That means there’s no need for any magic or fire fuel to dispose of the corpses. How convenient.”

Ante was casually impressed. Well...I supposed she was right. Though it was common knowledge, the thought had never occurred to me since I never saw people clearing out corpses with Necromancy.

“So even a true master like yourself found it a challenge?”

“There were just so many, you know? One or two bodies is nothing. But we’re talking tens of thousands here. Even I’ll have some trouble with that.” Enma gave a troubled smile. So there were tens of thousands of victims this time... “As you know, opening a dialogue with the soul is the basis of Necromancy. You call out the soul, negotiate or whatever to put it under your control, then give it a body. And you repeat that over and over. If you want a hundred undead, you need to do it a hundred times.”

“So you can’t do dozens of them at a time?”

“Unlike Claire here, not all of them are very cooperative or open to being friendly.”

Claire gave a small shrug at Enma’s explanation, while I felt a sharp pang in my chest. No matter how many times I heard it, the story was always hard to swallow. That innocent, mischievous little girl had chosen of her own free will to join the army of the undead.

“Even if I just want them to be as weak and simplistic as possible so they’ll just stand in the sunlight, I still need to carve out that uncooperative element from them. If they’re especially resistant, I just gouge out their feelings altogether,” Enma explained her forbidden magics like she was sharing a cake recipe. “Once you’re good at it, it becomes a pretty quick process, but there’s still only one of me, right? If I try to handle more than one at a time and end up damaging a soul’s core, it won’t be capable of becoming even the weakest of the undead.” The soul would be destroyed.

“So you have to go one at a time, huh?” I said.

“Right. Or have someone else help you. That’s why I had Claire tag along.”

I had always assumed Enma could raise an army of the undead in the blink of an eye, but it seemed that would be difficult even for her.

“She mentioned it becoming a quicker procedure the better you get at it. How quickly is that, I wonder?”

Exactly. If she could do ten every second, that changed things a lot. Though of course high-level undead that could respond to and carry out orders would no doubt take a lot longer.

Well, actually...if you had a hundred people like Claire willing to work with you...

“So having others help, as she said?”

Yeah, exactly. From Enma’s perspective, improving her combat capability hinged on acquiring more allies. And if you flipped the coin over, when she said not everyone is as cooperative as Claire was...that meant some of them were.

“So it’s really repetitive work. Now I get why you don’t like it,” I nodded, stirring some milk into my tea with a spoon.

“Really? Do you have experience with boring work like that?” Claire delivered a straight jab from out of nowhere. That had me at a loss for words for a moment.

“Like...copying text by hand? It’s a real pain.”

“Wow...”

“What do you mean, ‘wow’?”

“That’s such a prince-like thing to say. If that’s the worst you’ve had it, that’s quite impressive...”

Of course my past life was filled with tons of experiences like that, but I couldn’t just share them willy-nilly, could I?

“Not really the kind of thing we can tease you about, now is it?” Enma said. “But as much as we were working hard, that’s the kind of work we expect.” She held her hands under her chin and gave a small shrug. It was quite the odd gesture. What was that about? Was that supposed to be some kind of praying gesture or something?

“She’s...just trying to be cute, is she not?”

Trying to be cute? Like that? I had very little experience with girls even in my past life...but why would Enma be trying to look cute in front of me?

“It really is thankless work... I sure wish someone would recognize my efforts and praise me...” Enma continued.

Ah, now I get it. She was trying to draw sympathy out of me. That explained it. Enma’s bodies made it pretty difficult to be expressive, so her gestures ended up looking strange and out of place.

“Okay. Good work, Enma. It was an important job that someone had to do. I’m glad to have someone reliable like you around who’s willing to put in all that time to get the job done. It’s really respectable.” So I gave her as serious a praising as I could.

I wasn’t lying, by the way. Perhaps I had exaggerated just a bit, but taking care of all those corpses was important work that someone had to deal with. Leaving those corpses around to rot could bring about all sorts of diseases, and while I’d be more than happy to see the Demon King’s army be inflicted with illness, all it would take was one small change in wind direction for those losses to be borne by the Alliance instead.

And even though Enma was herself a count, she didn’t just throw her subordinates like Claire into the trenches to do all the work. She got her hands dirty and did it herself. That was an attitude that I felt was worthy of respect.

However...she was still involved in manipulating souls, and still planned on wiping out humanity. No matter how you sliced it, we were natural enemies. I’d love to give her a blast of holy magic and annihilate her on the spot, but until I knew all of the workings of her Necromancy, I couldn’t be sure I’d succeed at taking her out. Acting recklessly wouldn’t do me any good.

Enma, meanwhile, was totally over the moon at my praise. “Ah...I feel so rewarded...it’s like I’m ascending to Heaven...”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Go ahead and ascend to Heaven, please.

“But...just words are a bit unsatisfying, don’t you think...?”

“Huh?”

“It would be so much nicer if you also...patted me on the head or something...” she mumbled, glancing up at me as she fidgeted nervously.

Oh? Wish granted, then. A chance to inspect her body up close? Never imagined Enma herself would give me the chance.

“Sure. Don’t move.” I immediately slid closer to her, not willing to let the opportunity pass me by. Enma gave a little squeak and tried to pull away, but unfortunately for her, there was a wall behind her. Stepping close, I immediately put a hand to her head—smooth, silky hair, under which was a firm skull and natural feeling skin. Such a faithful recreation was to be expected from the Dollmaker herself.

Enma started to panic, but my attention was elsewhere. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was inside her head. I hadn’t learned about the details of how to produce bodies yet, so I couldn’t really guess. Since I would likely learn that knowledge in the future, I made sure to pay close attention now so I could recall it later when the time came. I doubted she had a normal brain inside her skull. The soul functioned as the center of thought for an undead, so she wouldn’t need one. Judging by the way her magic flowed, maybe it was some kind of jewel used to store magical energy? If you wanted to extend the lifespan of the body, you’d need as many high-quality jewels as you could get your hands on.

“Y-Your...face...!”