The Demon King Without Magi
Hello? Helena.
Four hundred and seventy-one years of age.
The flower of middle age himself, Demon King Beelzebub.
Quite some time had already passed since he first set foot on human soil in his entire life.
“I feel drained. So this is what it’s like when the Magi cuts off.”
He’d put his Magi Knights through absolute hell for years.
Sorry about that.
He never imagined it would be this hard.
Was this how it felt to run out of oxygen?
Even breathing felt stifling, and his vision swam.
The humans must have suffered the same way on the Demon Continent.
Those bastards suddenly looked impressive.
A merchant sitting by the campfire glanced over at the Demon King.
“Have you been skipping meals? Come on now, a big fellow like you can’t go around like that. Eat some of this. It’s been sitting a while and gone dry and twisted, but if you pop it in your mouth and let it soften slowly, it’s decent enough.”
This was a Demon King who had once piled mountain delicacies high and feasted.
“That’s not—”
Beelzebub waved a hand in refusal, but the merchant kept thrusting the bread at him.
“We’re crossing this mountain together. No need to be shy. Want some broth too? It’s lamb boiled down proper—flavor’s come through beautifully.”
Lamb broth?
He’d heard of lamb, sure.
Never tasted it.
Strangely enough, the moment you crossed into the Demon Continent, meat spoiled. Bring a live one over and it dropped dead within a few steps.
Some of his subordinates had tried it now and then, but the Demon King himself had never so much as smelled the stuff.
A mysterious livestock that only lived on human soil, they said.
The Demon King absently rubbed at his waist.
His underclothes were made of wool, after all. Meat might spoil, but the fleece stayed fine. So it wasn’t as if sheep were completely foreign to him.
“Well then… maybe I’ll try a little.”
“Should’ve taken it sooner. Sit right here. I’ll ladle you up a bowl.”
The merchant watched the Demon King eat while he packed up his bundle.
“This mountain’s famous for being brutal. Finding traveling companions isn’t easy. We got lucky. Walking with a big fellow like you puts my mind at ease.”
The Demon King couldn’t answer.
He was too busy sucking his fingers clean while chewing the lamb.
“More meat? Only bones left, but there’s still a bit clinging to them.”
The Demon King held out his hand.
The merchant pulled out a massive bone and passed it over.
“I told you to hurry up. What’s with lingering way back there until it’s almost all gone? There are dungeons in these mountains, so monsters pop out now and then. If people don’t help each other across, you can run into real trouble.”
Monsters?
“Monsters coming out means Magi’s flowing through. Get exposed to Magi and all your strength drains away. I’d rather run into bandits than monsters and Magi. Really is a nasty business.”
Maaaagiiii?
The Demon King sucked on his fingers and stared at the merchant.
“There are dungeons in this mountain, you say?”
“What’s with that tone? One look at you and it’s obvious—clothes like a beggar’s, whole appearance shabby, yet here you are putting on airs like some noble. You try talking like that in any territory and you won’t last long. You’ll get beaten and thrown out.”
The Demon King quietly inspected his own clothes.
His queen’s voice floated up in his memory.
If you’re going to hide your identity, start by changing clothes. Swap into a slave’s outfit on the way.
Do I really have to? I even shaved the beard.
The beard that had symbolized the Demon King’s majesty was gone.
With a lonely heart, the Demon King stroked the bare skin around his mouth.
“You climbed this mountain without even knowing that? Looking at you, you’ve got no goods either, so you’re no merchant. Where are you headed that you’d cross this mountain alone? There are plenty of routes that go around.”
Listening to this was starting to get under his skin.
“Then why did you choose this mountain yourself?”
If he followed his true nature, he ought to kill this merchant on the spot. But the queen had said otherwise.
You must not kill anyone. Cause a fuss and the humans will notice. Until we find where Satin is, you have to keep your identity hidden. Understood?
The merchant shrugged his shoulders high.
“There’s a real precious treasure on this mountain. Found it ten years ago and I’ve been waiting ever since. It should’ve grown enough to harvest by now. Happens to be on the road into Adams Territory, so it’s easy to sell too. Sell it fresh and they’ll pay several times the price.”
“Can you tell me what it is?”
“Hey now. I told you to fix that way of talking. You’re starting to get on my nerves. Can’t a couple of commoners just talk easy with each other?”
The Demon King, whose mood had already soured first, swallowed hard. He had to endure. He had to do as the queen ordered.
“Very well. Will you tell me what it is that you know of?”
“…The speech still sounds awkward as hell, but I guess you’ve got your reasons. Honestly I shouldn’t say this, but I’ll tell you because it’s you. The mountain’s aura is harsher than I expected—hard to cross alone. Used to be fine, but all of a sudden it’s like this. Or is it? Wasn’t like this until a little while ago. Got weird after you showed up.”
The merchant scratched his head and peered into the valley.
“I’ve been debating whether to give up. It’s in a valley right next to a dungeon.”
“So what is it?”
“Don’t freak out when you hear. There’s something down there more expensive than any spiritual beast in the Empire. It’s none other than—”
“Than?”
“A Mandragora.”
“A Mandragora!”
The Demon King shot to his feet.
The favorite vegetable of the demon race—the one he ate in salad every morning—was growing on this mountain?
The leaves chopped and mixed into whipped egg whites, the root pan-fried with a sprinkle of salt and chewed—that exact Mandragora.
The Mandragora that answered when you spoke to it.
Behaved like an animal yet looked every bit a vegetable… and it existed on human soil.
If there was a Mandragora, there was Magi as well.
So the talk about monsters coming out of dungeons hadn’t been a joke.
If there was Magi…
Even for a short while, he could restore his exhausted body and mind!
The Demon King’s cheeks flushed red.
The merchant looked at him with a satisfied expression.
“So you know what a Mandragora is. Sell even one root and you can live for ten years. Help me get over this mountain and I’ll hand over a few of the fine rootlets to you.”
“Mandragora…”
“Was I being stingy? Fine—I’ll give you one whole small one.”
“It’s a Mandragora.”
“That happy about it? Makes me happy too. Then I’ll trust that big frame of yours and head up the valley. Dig up the Mandragora, get into Adams Territory, and we clean up for real. Heart pounding yet?”
Indeed, the Demon King’s heart was pounding hard.
How long had it been since he’d smelled Magi?
And Mandragora salad on top of it.
“By the way… do you know anything about slave merchants?”
“Slave merchants? Why?”
“Wondered if any demon slaves had come on the market recently.”
“I hear things now and then at the merchant guild. No demons on the slave market, though.”
“A young demon. Not even twenty. An incredibly beautiful girl.”
“A young female demon? Word would’ve spread for sure. Never heard anything like that.”
“Is that so.”
The Demon King bit his lip.
Of course.
They took her knowing she was my daughter. No way they’d sell her as a slave.
“Know anything about the Imperial Family? Those hero bastards. Heard any talk that they brought a demon girl back with them when they returned?”
“Those hero bastards? You’re a dangerous man to get close to, aren’t you? That hero’s the Emperor now. The new Emperor is Hero William. And why do you keep asking about a demon girl? How young are we talking? That your type? You’re walking a real fine line with your life here!”
“That’s not it!”
The Demon King’s eyes reddened at the corners.
I miss you, Satin.
My daughter, Satin.
Where are you, Satin?
“Right. First we find the Mandragora.”
Recover the Magi first.
The merchant eyed the Demon King with suspicion.
“Not sure it’s safe traveling with you…”
The Demon King swung his fists through the air with a whoosh.
The rippling muscle looked reassuringly solid.
“You said monsters come out. Stick with me and you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Looks that way.”
The merchant gathered the pot and glanced up the hill once more.
“Still, you’d better brace yourself. Monsters are one thing, but Mandragoras aren’t easy either. They’ve got teeth. Might take a bite out of you.”
“That’s the real delicacy.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
The impatient Demon King urged the merchant onward.
Still holding the pot, the merchant stared at the Demon King’s face for a long while.
The gates of Marcus Territory.
An elaborately decorated carriage came to a halt.
The flag of the Saintess Order snapped in the wind.
A high-ranking saintess standing before the gate shouted.
“What are you waiting for—open the gates at once! This is Great Saintess Helena! She is not someone to be kept waiting in a place like this!”
The gate knight stood ramrod straight and spoke without so much as glancing at her.
“Marcus Territory does not permit entry to saintesses.”
“How dare you, before me! This is the Saintess Order established by the Imperial Family. A mere territory has no right to refuse!”
“I follow only the Lord’s orders. Even a Great Saintess changes nothing.”
“Do you want to die?!”
The saintess drew the sword at her waist.
“The Saintess Order exercises the authority of the Imperial Family. Your master is not some local lord—it is the Emperor! Of course you must obey the Saintess Order’s commands!”
The gate knight kept his gaze fixed on the distant sky and answered calmly.
“Fuck off.”
“Such vulgar words! As a knight you ought to belong to the Holy Knight Order! To spew that kind of corrupt filth from a sacred mouth! Heresy! This is heresy!”
“Not a holy knight. Just a knight. The Lord said to drive off any saintesses we see. You’re a saintess. So leave.”
The saintess raised her sword and charged the gate knight.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Stop.”
It was Helena’s voice.
“Here he comes. Juin Marcus.”
The carriage window opened.
Great Saintess Helena leaned out.