Chapter 21 – The Most Powerful Demon King in History. Gathers information
It took about an hour before Lumiel was freed from the inhabitants of the favela.
“I am sorry to have kept you waiting!”
“Don’t worry about it, I was able to have a very fruitful conversation.”
The old men laughed when I said so.
On the way back from the favela, Lumiel apologized to me again.
“I’m sorry, Master. I said I would show you around, but I got held up by the conversation.”
“I don’t mind. I’ve learned a lot about the town.”
“…… Master. Can I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“Is what I do in vain?”
Lumiel stared at me with a serious expression.
“It’s not in vain. In fact, some people have been saved.”
“But… the lives of the humans have not become easier.”
The poor remain poor. More and more people die of illness and injury.
The treatment of humans has not changed.
No matter how much Lumiel petitioned the Lord, there was seldom any change.
Lumiel’s personal property is insignificant. It’s like watering the desert.
That’s what Lumiel says.
“I think it’s important to do what you can do now. And it is the King’s duty to do what an individual cannot do.”
“…… Master. What is a King?”
Lumiel may be thinking of her father, who is a puppet of the Prime Minister.
“He that holds dominion, rules his people, and is controlled by no one, shall be called a King, right?”
“I agree.”
“But, I think a King is a way of being.”
“A way of being?”
I stop and look at Lumiel.
“I have no people to rule, no domain. I have only one subject, Jorm.”
“Yes.”
“But I am the Demon King. Even if no one else recognizes it, I know that I’m the Demon King.”
“…… How can you be sure that you are the King?”
“Because I never betray my own idea of what a King ought to be.”
“Would you tell me what the King ought to be?”
For me, Lumiel is someone I want to be my vassal in the future.
So I will teach her.
“…… Let’s see. There are many things, but a King must protect their people. No matter what race they may belong to.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Furthermore—”
“I see!”
I got into the conversation with Lumiel about what it means to be a King.
“If Master becomes the king of this country, I think you will make it a good country.”
Lumiel smiled.
Lumiel is called a disgrace to the Royal Family, an incompetent Princess, and the knights under her command would not listen to her.
The Prime Minister, who holds supreme power, is wary of Lumiel and hates her, so any attempt by her to do anything about the situation will be thwarted.
Still, Lumiel does the best she can as a member of the Royal Family.
I like that kind of fellow.
“Lumiel. If I can help you in any way, please let me know.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be on your side, Lumiel.”
“…… Thank you. That’s very reassuring.”
Lumiel said with a straight face and a tight smile.
The next day, after breakfast, I trained with Lumiel and Jorm.
When it was over, Lumiel went off to the Knight Order for work.
Then I left the mansion with Jorm.
『Your Majesty, what will you do today?』
『Yes, I want to gather information. Maybe I’ll question some peddlers.』
The peddlers who move from town to town are likely to have the information.
『I see. Do buy some sweets.』
『Jorm, if it’s sweets, I’ll buy some later. So can you hide yourself and keep an eye on Lumiel?』
『I think I can, but…』
『Then, please do.』
『Understood, leave it to me!』
Jorm flew away without complaining about my instructions.
According to what I heard from the old men yesterday, there is a battle for the succession to the throne between the First Prince, the Prime Minister’s grandson, and Lumiel.
If so, the meaning of the Orc Lord trap is obvious.
It is natural to think that the Prime Minister set up a trap to facilitate Lumiel’s death.
The Prime Minister set up a trap and it failed.
If so, he may attempt something else to make Lumiel dead.
That’s why I put Jorm on guard.
With Jorm, she’ll be safe. Lumiel wouldn’t be easily harmed.
（…… now then.)
While I’m buying things from the peddler, I ask around.
There are two things I want to know.
The whereabouts of the Demon God, and of my adopted daughter, Phylfi.
The whereabouts of the Demon God is very difficult to attain.
This is because the Demon God cannot possibly exist in a state where it can be clearly identified as a Demon God.
That is why I collected rumors of supernatural phenomena. But it was in vain.
I also couldn’t get any information about Phylfi.
(There’s no way you can obtain such information in only a day or so.)
Gathering information requires perseverance.
If it doesn’t work out in one day, you have no choice but to spend several days over it.
I shouldn’t forget to buy a lot of sweets while gathering information.
(I did promise Jorm I would.)
Jorm’s happy face seems to come to mind.
But I bought a little too many sweets. Jorm alone won’t be able to eat them all.
(In that case, maybe I will give some sweets to the children.)
Eventually, I came close to the place where Lumiel was handing out sweets to the children yesterday.
I am immediately surrounded by five human children.
“Oh, it’s the lizard brother.”
“Princess, isn’t Big sis Lumi with you today?”
Even the little ones seemed to know that Lumi was a princess.
“Lumi is at work.”
“Oh okay.”
The children are openly disappointed.
“Yes, I’ll give you some sweets.”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
“Yes, let’s all get along.”
With that said, I gave the children sweets that I had bought from hawkers and street vendors.
Children eat sweets while having fun.
After all, children are adorable.
It reminded me of my adopted daughter, Phylfi, and I felt at ease.
(Phylfi is now over five hundred years old. She must be a grandmother by now.)
Even if she’s a grandmother, she’s still my cute daughter.
As I was thinking about this, I began to hear a commotion in the distance.
The children, who were happily eating sweets, also began to panic.
“Oh, that’s bad! We have to hide quickly.”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Mr. Hyrum, you should hide too. I think monsters have appeared outside town.”
“…… Monsters, huh? You children should hide quickly. I’ll be fine.”
This is a favela on the outskirts of town. The walls surrounding the town are also broken in many places.
Monsters could have entered the town.
After hiding the children in an abandoned house, I walk toward the commotion.
“Even so, I am surprised that there are people in the town who are frightened by monsters.”
It is the Lord’s duty to protect the people in the town from monsters. It is also a minimum obligation.
If the walls are broken, they must be repaired.
If left broken, not only monsters but also criminals will enter.
I feel sorry for the children being victimized by monsters.
So I went outside the walls to slay the monsters.
Sads Translates 