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nProofreader: Xemul

n“Now, I’d tell you to relax, but that would be hard to do, wouldn’t it?”

nThe Great Demon King’s said as they sat at the table the maids had prepared, and Lapis was the only one who could respond with a wry smile. Sitting at a not-so-big table with the Great Demon King and being surrounded by maids, Loren would like to meet anyone who can relax in such a situation.

nIn addition, the room had no windows. Loren was feeling very keenly a sense of oppression from their surroundings, and he wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.

nThe table was crammed with a variety of dishes. Loren did not know exactly what they were, but all of them were probably of a very high quality, but this did not make him feel any better.

n“I won’t mind if you keep your vigilance. I’ve gotten what I want.”

nIn the not-quite-bright-enough room, the Great Demon King let out a small laugh. The way he laughed was so friendly that it was hard to tell the difference between him and an average young human who could be found anywhere. The title “Great Demon King” had given Loren the image of a powerful and unrivaled monster, but now he had come to know that such a character could also laugh in such a way.

n“May I ask what it is that you want?”

n“The man right there. Loren, you say? I want to see his face.”

nLoren frowned slightly at the answer the Great Demon King gave to Lapis’ question.

nThe King was a being at the top of the demon race. Why such a being would mobilize an Ancient Dragon to bring a mere mercenary, or rather a mere adventurer like him to his castle just to see his face was beyond Loren.

n“As expected, he’s very interesting. And he will become even more interesting.

nLoren didn’t think he was interesting enough to be called so twice. Because it was the Great Demon King they were dealing with here, he could see something completely different about himself, and that could be described as interesting. However, that did not change the fact that he didn’t understand what he was being told.

n“Where did Your Majesty hear about him?”

nLoren thought Lapis’ question was pretty good. At the very least, the only information that was conveyed to the Great Demon King was that of Loren’s previous visit to the demon territory, when he destroyed a part of his castle due to an errant shot by the Ancient Dragon Emery. It was not something that would have earned him the reputation of being interesting or anything.

n“From my trusted Demon King Judie, of course.”

n“From Mother?”

n“You regularly contact Judie about what’s going on in the outside world, don’t you?”

nLapis looked shocked at what the Great Demon King said. She immediately looked at Loren with an apologetic look on her face, but from Loren’s point of view, the fact that Lapis had sent news to her mother was nothing to blame. In fact, her still keeping in touch with her mother after being deprived of her arms, legs, and eyes and sent out into the outside world as if she had been expelled made Loren look at her in a more positive light.

nThe only thing that bothered Loren a little was what Judie had been told.

n“She comes here every now and then, and every time she seems very happy and keeps going on about how her daughter has found a good man outside…”

n“Your Majesty?”

n“Invite him to the ceremony, will you? It’s not every day a ceremony is attended by the Great Demon King.”

n“Your Majesty?!”

nWith her hands on the table, Lapis half rose up and said in a loud voice. Even in the dim light, her face was noticeably red.

nLappis’ face, which was reddish even in the scarce light, was visible as he lifted himself up from his chair, put his hands on the table, and shouted loudly.

nLoren quietly looked away from the smirking Great Demon King and Lapis, who slowly sat back in her chair with a downturned mouth as if she thought it would be disrespectful to go any further.

n‘The world will be surprised to know that an Ancient Dragon has been mobilized for some chit-chat.’

nLoren agreed with Shayna’s mutterings, but he also thought that Demon Kings and the Great Demon King were terrifying exactly because they could do something like that.

n“I was intrigued by the fact that the daughter of my trusted Demon King has fallen for a mere human. I thought I had to see him at least once, and that’s how this all started.”

n“You are being too playful, Your Majesty…”

n“It was indeed just for fun. But now, I don’t think so anymore.”

nNoticing that the Great Demon King’s tone of voice had lowered, if only slightly, Loren turned his gaze to his face. It was an act that could have been called disrespectful, but the Great Demon King did not rebuke him, nor did he drop the smile from his face.

n“Loren, you are an interesting being. You are a mere swordsman, or maybe a mere mercenary or adventurer, but the truth is, your existence is essentially impossible.”

nLoren wondered in dismay if this was a complete denial of his entire existence, but he could tell from the Great Demon King’s tone and words that he did not mean it in a bad way. However, there was a part of him that wanted to ask what the King meant, but not knowing how to open his mouth, Loren remained silent.

n“You seem to want to say something. I won’t complain about your manners, so just say it.”

n“First of all, can I ask you something?”

nLoren opened his mouth, which felt rather heavy, and looked at the Great Demon King, thinking that if permission had been granted, he would not be punished for his disrespect.

nThe King simply inclined his head, and Loren asked what he thought he needed to know first.

n“I don’t know your name, so can I just call you ‘Your Majesty the Great Demon King’?”

n“That’s right, I’d forgotten about that. I’ve forgotten to tell you my name since there is no one in the demon tribe who doesn’t know my face and name.”

nLoren spoke in the same manner of speech as he had always used, and Lapis turned towards him with concern apparent on her face. However, the person to whom his question was directed, the Great Demon King himself, simply placed a hand on his forehead and smiled wryly as if he had just suddenly realized something.

n“I’m Foras. I can’t tell you my last name, but you can call me Foras.”

n“L-Loren! You can’t really call him that, you know?!”

nLoren opened his mouth and was about to call the King by his name when he was stopped by Lapis’ frantic whisper.

nOn second thought, Loren thought that it would probably not be appropriate for him to call the Great Demon King by his name even if he was told to do so, since he was his superior. He tried to think of something that would be less offensive.

n“Your Majesty the Great Demon King Foras…”

n“That’s long, isn’t it? It’s even longer than ‘Your Majesty the Great Demon King’. Foras is fine. Shall I order you to call me that?”

nLoren felt that it would be impolite to avoid doing something that had been permitted twice, but there was no way he could know what to do in such a situation. He looked at Lapis for advice, and she nodded with a tense expression on her face.

nDeciding that it would be okay, Loren looked at Foras again and opened his mouth.

n“Foras, what do you mean when you said I was an impossible existence?”

n“I don’t think it’s up to me to explain that. If you need to know, you will know. I’m sorry for being vague, but even without that fact, you are still interesting.”

nAfter saying this, Foras commanded one of the maids to do something with a gaze.

nThe maid, who had probably been told beforehand, caught the King’s eyes, bowed deeply, and suddenly held up her hands to the lights in the room. With that action alone, all the lights were extinguished, and the windowless room was shut in darkness.

nNo matter how good your night vision is, it is usually impossible to see in a room with no lights at all. Except for us demons and that strange being. So, Loren. How about you?”

nLoren was able to see Foras’s face as he asked, albeit vaguely. He was even able to make out the amused smile he was wearing for some reason.

nLoren had thought that it was the power of the King of Death residing inside of him that allow him such a vision, but after a while, the face of Foras, which had been only vaguely visible, became clearly visible, and Shayna’s voice echoed in his mind.

n‘Onii-san, I’ve synchronized our vision.’

n‘That was strange’, Loren thought.

nIf the current vision he had was the result of Shayna’s power, then it did not explain how he was able to see Foras’ face, albeit vaguely, before that. Although it was only for a short time, Loren was indeed able to see Foras’s face before the King of Death’s power allowed him to see.

nIf it is the case that Shena has been able to use her power to secure her vision, it would explain why she was able to see Foras’s face, even if only vaguely, before that.

n“In an unlit room, without the use of the other power within you, you could see my face. Am I right?”

n“You are right.”

nLoren nodded honestly, thinking there was no point in trying to hide anything. It wouldn’t be strange if the being in front of him, the so-called Great Demon King, had noticed Shayna’s existence inside Loren. Between that and the fact that he did not know how much Lapis had told Judie, he did not think playing stupid would be a good plan.

n“People think of magic as a power that manifests itself through spells and magical powers, but it is not.”

nIn response to Loren’s answer, Foras began to talk about something else entirely. Loren had no idea what he was trying to say, but Foras continued on.

n“In fact, if you have the will to use it, you can manifest magic. Well, only we demons have such a high affinity for magic, but actually, there were also certain humans who could do such things.”

n“Past tense?”

n“There are none now. They’re supposed to be gone.”

nWith a cryptic answer, Foras pointed to Loren’s right hand.

nLooking down at his right hand, Loren saw the ring that had been given to him by an Elder, the highest ranking vampire. It was glowing with a dull light, albeit only slightly.

n“It’s a magical tool that even I can’t easily create. If I put my mind to it, I might be able to make something similar.”

nThe ring that Loren wore on his right hand was given to him by an Elder, and its effect was to take away the power of the King of Death of Shayna, who was residing inside Loren. The Elder who created it said that if Loren’s willpower prevailed over Shayna’s, or if Shena agreed to give up her power and Loren declared that he would take it, then instantly the power of the King of Death would be Loren’s and Shayna’s soul would be restored to her original human soul.

n“It’s a magic like no other.”

nForas casually raised his hand. In response, the maids turned back on the lights that had been extinguished.

nIn the newly-illuminated room, Foras, leaning back deep into his chair, looked at Loren with a smile on his face, and Loren met his gaze squarely with an expression that was both surprised and not so surprised.

n“Your Majesty, can it be that…”

n“You are starting to get things mixed up a bit.”

nForas said, pointing at Loren.

nLoren, feeling the tip of the finger pointing at him like that of a dagger, could only look back at the face of the man who was called the Great Demon King without any words to reply.

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