novelAre you the demon king? No, I quit that? (2)
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TL: Eevee
Ed: adkji
Chapter 1-2
"Q, quit?"
Yuria's body swayed.
'Was demon king a job you could quit as well?'
No way. How can you quit being a lord of all demons!
"Don't make me laugh! Do you think I'd fall for that type of lie?!"
"It's not a lie, though."
With a hint of a smirk on his face, the demon king took a step closer to Yuria.
Flinch!
As the demon king took a step closer to Yuria, she flinched, drawing right back and pulling out her sword.
"What are you planning!"
"No, it's just that it's common courtesy to talk to someone up close. Is it different for humans?"
Looking at the demon king that had innocently tilted his head, Yuria shouted,
"Who do you think would be fooled by an evil demon king's plans!"
The moment Yuria drew her sword, the demon king retreated, startled.
"No, I'm not trying to trick you."
With an "Ah!" he pulled an item out of his pocket.
"Would you believe me with this?"
"The Scales of the Chief God?"
She had seen this item as well, not so long ago during the Emperor's promise. The sole relics of the god Sermia, who had created the world, no one knew how many were left.
However, when an oath was made on the Scales of the Chief God, that oath must be kept, and should it not be kept, it was said that the Chief God would personally ensure that the oath was unbroken. A legendary item that not even the Divine Gods nor the Demon Gods, the greatest existences in the world, could avoid being bound by.
"Let's talk about this. I promise I won't get up to any tricks."
A soft glow emanated from the scales.
Unwilling to cut down someone who had sworn on the Scales, Yuria sheathed her sword and said,
"Your story, I'll listen to. But if you are the demon king, I'm going to kill you."
Even in the face of Yuria's bloodthirsty words, with some unfathomable happiness, the demon king smiled.
"Then let's talk inside, shall we?"
***
"There's no poison in this, drink up, " the demon king said, placing a teacup filled with green liquid in front of her.
"What's this?"
"It's called green tea. In the human world, it's not found in these parts, but rather, in the Eastern Empire, and it has a very delicious taste."
The demon king that was peacefully savouring the taste gave off a feeling of an old man, completely unlike his appearance or what he actually was.
Despite this, Yuria didn't even spare a glance at the tea and continued to glare at the demon king.
An oath on the Scales of the Chief God aside, a demon king is still a demon king.
From Yuria's own experiences, the majority of third-rate villains would be flustered, or let loose instantly with profanities or the sword. More often than not, the ones who were always cheerful, with bright expressions, i. e. the man in front of her, were the true demons among demons.
Looking at the woman who was lost in her thoughts, the devil king clicked his teeth.
"Well, don't drink if you don't want to. It's been a while since I've had someone over, so I specially got out my favourite highest quality ones too."
"Would there be any person who so easily drinks the tea a demon king offered?"
"I told you, I quit being a demon king. I have no intention to fight."
'As expected...'
There were villains, when cornered that would frantically apologise, promising to turn over a new leaf.
But, among those kind of people, there was no one that actually would reform themselves. That was a simple lie to get themselves out of the situation.
They usually came in two different types, the first being third-rate villains who only preyed on the weak. They were the ones to grovel to save their lives, only to return back to being third-rate the moment danger passed as if nothing had happened.
The other type were typically the ones preparing for something major, willing to suffer in shame in order to live to complete their objective.
'The enemy is a demon king, he's probably the latter type?'
There was no doubt this demon king was hiding something important in this wasteland.
"Hmph! You're definitely pulling something here! Maybe creating a dimensional rift, or building a demon king's castle!"
The dumbfounded demon king looked at Yuria and said,
"Ehh, dimensional rifts are something even gods can't do anything about, and you'd want to build a demon king castle on some strategic point or some divine fortress. Why would you build anything on this barren wasteland?"
"Th, That's... just a change in your way of thinking!"
Demon king could only let out a sigh at Yuria's startled voice.
"Perhaps the hero's occupation was a lot simpler than I imagined..."
At those words, Yuria's hand crept to the hilt of the sword, but held off due to a creeping feeling of defeat, and instead clenched her fist and struck the table hard.
"Don't bullshit me! Even if you did quit you still need to be held accountable for your crimes!"
The demon king just smiled as if nothing was wrong.
"So just what have I done?"
At that bullish response, Yuria let out a snort of disbelief.
"Ha? You're asking because you don't know? Because of you, hundreds of children were sacrificed, and even more thousands of people died at your followers' hands! The only reason I haven't sent you off yet is because I'm going to get you on the stands to put you on a public, open trial!"
At those words, the demon king propped his chin up with one hand, and with all playfulness gone from his face, said,
"I don't think I quite get you. Let me ask this again. Just what have I done?"
KWANG!
"Surely you aren't going to say that you didn't hear me properly!" Yuria yelled, bolting upright and smacking the table hard, but the demon king only looked at the fallen, broken teacups and muttered,
"Oi, that teacup was expensive... That top-quality tea that I hadn't finished drinking was expensive stuff as well..."
Looking at this figure, who mourned the passing of a teacup more than sacrificed people, Yuria drew her sword and screamed,
"ARE YOU FUCKING AROUND WITH ME!"
At those words loaded with killing intent, the demon lord smirked and hit the table.
Tang!
"How about we make a bet?"
In his hand that struck the table were the Scales of the Chief God.
"A bet?"
"Yeah, a bet. If I'm innocent, you will grant me one wish, but if I am guilty, I will grant one of yours. For example, if you order me to go to prison, I'll go by my own two feet. How's that?"
Yuria narrowed her eyes, her right hand always ready to bury her sword in the demon king's heart.
"What trick is this?"
"I have committed no crime. But you have. But you keep insisting that I have. Unfair, no?"
"And how am I a criminal? Perhaps by the laws of the demon world?"
"Yep. But, also, by the laws of the humans."
With the hand that was currently propping up his chin, the demon king flicked out a finger and said,
"Firstly, you said you were going to put me on trial? But, it's written down very clearly in the laws of the empire that barring exact circumstances like rebellion, natural disasters or any such situation where destruction accumulates very quickly, terrorism, or any other such emergency situation, to enter someone's home without permission you need the proper warrant to do so. But you don't have it, don't you?"
"That's alright because you already have caused a lot of destruction and damage."
"Oh really? Then, are you willing to bet on it?"
Was this not one of the demon king's plans? Yuria thought. But she was free of sin while the demon king was not. As long as the Scales of the Chief God were used, she would not be at a disadvantage.
"Alright. Let's bet."
"Is that so? Then, repeat after me."
The demon king put a hand on one side of the Scales and said, "I swear on the name of the Chief God. If I have committed the crimes that the hero accuses me of, then I will follow the hero's every order."
"Every?"
"Yep. But you have to swear likewise. Because only then will it be a vow on equal terms."
Yuria hesitated at the thought of following every single order, but feeling that she couldn't lose to the demon king's bullishness, she placed her hand on the other side of the Scales and said,
"I swear by the Chief God. If this demon king is innocent, I, Yuria Ashrien, will follow his every word."
As the demon king and Yuria took their hands off the Scales, a soft light emanated from the Scales and it started tilting. Tilting first towards the demon king's side, then Yuria's. Only after repeating this dozens of times did it level out, and at the same time, the light vanished as if it had never existed.
"Contract complete. Now, shall we begin?"
TLN: Nothing to say here.
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