The Grotesque Demon King (2)

"So a magical girl is—"

"Skip all that. Just tell me. Possible, or not?"

"Hyaaaah!"

I must have gotten a little too excited, because I found myself wrapping tentacles around her arms and legs without thinking. It was the kind of play I usually enjoyed—old habits.

"Ahem. Anyway, just give me the bottom line."

"It's possible! Completely possible! Magical girls, at their core, draw on their own latent potential! Someone of your caliber, Demon King, would certainly—"

"So what you're saying is I can have a human body."

"Ghk—"

I couldn't contain my excitement. After every magic in the Demon Realm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had failed, I could actually get my hands on a new body.

"Ah. Sorry."

I hastily released the tentacles that had been choking Yuria's throat. Hardcore asphyxiation play was another of my hobbies. I'd done it without thinking.

"Good. This is a very interesting contract."

"Please let me live... please let me live..."

"I'm doing it."

I'd already made up my mind. This was an opportunity I could not let slip. One way or another, I could obtain a human body and return to Earth. Granted, on the Earth I knew, magical girls were the stuff of fiction.

But what did that matter? Even if that Earth wasn't the one I'd originally lived on—even if it was a work of fiction, just like this place—it had the internet. It had people. It had food that actually tasted good. Everything I'd never been able to forget was there.

"I want to hear more about this contract, Department Manager Yuria."

"Y-you're going to sign a contract? You?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, no, but..."

The eyes that had been looking at me in terror wavered. Fair enough. A hideous tentacle monster becoming a magical girl? The two didn't exactly go together. Before the possession, I'd been an army sergeant on my last leave. But to the me of now—a Demon King who'd lived more than a hundred years—that sort of thing was irrelevant.

"You are... a being who stands beyond every Fairy Realm in existence, comparable even to the Cosmic Tree Yggdrasil itself. Why would someone like you want to become a magical girl?"

"That's my business. Got a problem with that?"

"Hiek."

When I narrowed my eyes even slightly, the woman who'd been prostrating herself flinched, then slammed her forehead into the floor. She'd already done it so many times that her forehead was bright red.

"B-basically, magical girls are in the position of employees—debtors, even. Our Fairy Nation borrows Yggdrasil's power to draw out their potential, and in exchange they stand against villains. There's no reason a great being such as yourself would take on that role..."

"A cliché, then. Magical girl stories always did have a strangely miserable flavor to them. So what's your point? If I contract with you, are you going to offer me the same unfair terms you give the other girls?"

"We would never..."

She shrank instantly. From what I'd heard, she'd gambled everything on a last-ditch play to save a failing company. Watching her now, she didn't look all that bold.

"Then what terms are you prepared to tailor to me?"

I pushed my eyes in close to her flattened form. She squeezed her eyes shut and promised she would marshal every authority she possessed to come back with an answer.

"H-hiii..."

"Go. I expect a good answer."

I tore out a fistful of her hair, then kicked her in the rear and tossed her through the Dimension Gate. Even after she vanished, I was in an excellent mood.

I wasn't dreaming, was I?

"You summoned me, Your Majesty?"

"Are the consorts awake? Send a few in. I'm in a good mood."

"Most fortunate, Your Majesty. I shall send them at once."

Robert bowed his head and left the room. For now, I intended to keep the matter of the otherworldly fairy completely secret.

They should be here by now... maybe I should've specified a deadline.

One day passed. Then two. Then three. I paced my room restlessly, waiting for news. I'd threatened to invade, but I had no actual intention of doing so. I didn't even know what kind of place it was.

Hm?

My worries had been unfounded. The Dimension Gate was opening once more. And emerging from it were Yuria, looking like death itself, and another fairy.

"I present myself before the Demon King of another world. I am Rana, CEO of Lana Land."

She slid her silver-rimmed glasses up her nose, bowed deeply, and introduced herself with formality. I got the picture. This wasn't a bad situation for me either. Better to talk directly with the person who actually made the decisions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than waste time going in circles.

"Good. I'll treat you as legitimate envoys. Let's begin negotiations."

I extended tentacles to pull over a desk and chairs so we could sit facing each other and discuss the contract in earnest.

"First, I should state that this would be a major recruitment the likes of which neither we nor anyone in the Fairy Nation has ever attempted."

"Fine. I understand."

"Thank you, Demon King. Please bear in mind, then, that every clause of this contract is unprecedented in its own right."

She carefully held out the documents she had prepared. I picked them up. Even though the script and language belonged to another world I had never seen or heard before, translation magic had no trouble reading the meaning contained within.

"As you can see, the fact of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Demon King's contract must be handled in absolute secrecy. That means we have no choice but to use the standard contract form. Inserting additional clauses, however, is at each company's discretion."

"This 'villain' it keeps mentioning—what does that actually mean? Witches? Otherworldly monsters? Terrorists? Aliens? Criminals?"

"It includes all of the above."

I'd been joking, but Rana remained dead serious to the end, her glasses glinting. According to the contract, a magical girl was obligated to deal with villains and transfer the negative energy they possessed to the fairies. On top of that, a special clause required them to attack any enemy the fairies pointed at.

What kind of magical girl was this? This was hired muscle.

"This conscription duty comes out. I'll handle the basic work. But I have no reason to follow your orders. Why? Because you're weaker than I am."

"But—"

"His Majesty the Demon King is quite correct."

Rana covered Yuria's mouth. I ordered the special clause containing the mandatory conscription struck from the document. Honestly, aside from that, there wasn't much to it. Real-time location tracking and a prohibition on harming civilians—those I could live with. Everything else was ceremonial filler, like a gag order against disclosing the contract to other companies.

"Then we come to the special clauses. The problem is that a contract of this kind is a first for us, which means we are ignorant of your circumstances. So we will begin with the regulations we cannot waive."

First: my identity was to remain top secret. I would pretend to be an ordinary magical girl. And because a magical girl's contract had to pass through the Cosmic Tree Yggdrasil, there was a hard cap on power. That this maximum was less than an eighth of the strength I actually possessed irked me slightly.

"However, the current maximum—the Fairy Nation's officially recognized SSS-Rank—has been attained by fewer than five magical girls in all of Earth's history."

"I get it. Move on."

I didn't expect to need that much power anyway. Once I learned Earth's coordinates through them, I could open a Dimension Gate straight there. Strength was a non-issue.

"This is a Connector. It allows an ordinary girl to transform into a magical girl."

She rummaged around and produced something. An ordinary-looking red gem.

"A curious spell is woven into it. One that stores the subject's power."

"Th-the Cosmic Tree's divine arts..."

"Ordinarily, these are fashioned into necklaces, bracelets, rings, and the like, and worn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the person."

Rana covered Yuria's mouth again as the woman reeled in shock. I grinned and accepted the gem, tucking it away.

"Let's talk special clauses. First: I will accept no interference from you, nor from any fairy beyond you."

"So long as you observe the regulations, we will cover for you. That is possible."

"Next: you will keep silent about this matter as well."

"...Possible."

"Last: our contract will be renewed at regular intervals."

My eyes gleamed. Had she caught my meaning? Rana's face went rigid.

"Is this contract only to my advantage? I don't think so at all."

"That... is true."

"I hear the recruitment wars among Fairy Companies are quite fierce. If one of the handful of SSS-Rank beings in the world showed up at your company, the benefits would be considerable, wouldn't they? And not just in terms of Merit."

"...They would."

"So tell me. Why should I keep contracting with you going forward?"

A rough skim had already turned up these power-tripping fairies' little schemes, scattered throughout. Sign once and it was a lifetime contract—no freedom to transfer. A ruthless performance system with zero support for anyone at the bottom. A minimum of welfare? No such provision. No job security, no minimum wage, no set working hours. A garbage contract from top to bottom.

I made no effort to hide the killing intent. Rana sucked in a ragged breath, and Yuria, standing beside her, staggered and collapsed.

"Then I believe we're in agreement. Let's proceed with the contract."

I reversed the mood then and there. Honestly, a single clause allowing me to void the contract if I didn't like it would have been enough. My goal wasn't to realize justice with dreams and hope. I just wanted to loaf around and lose myself in the nostalgia of home.