Close Encounter (4)
"Aw, come on! Anyway, we've got her under control now, right? Shouldn't we at least hear what she has to say?"
"She's right. We don't know what kind of information she might have."
Thankfully, a reasonably plausible excuse came just in time. It kept Zeke from immediately swinging the Hero's Sword in his grip and slicing straight through that pink hair. Even if she really was a Demon King, killing her on sight didn't seem like the smartest move unless she was actively doing something dangerous. In this world, the Demon Kings weren't a unified force commanding all monsters. Instead, they were locked in something like their own version of the Warring States period.
Considering the era and culture, it felt closer to the Islamic beyliks in Anatolia fighting among themselves while the Byzantines held their ground. Whichever side eventually unified would naturally expand outward, but the massive desert stretching north and south acted as a natural barrier.
"You! What are you? Did you do this!?"
She shouted, clearly worked up from not being able to identify the cause all this time. It seemed the possibility that the culprit had been right under her nose the whole time hadn't even occurred to her. As for that part, she had shown genuine fear toward the Hero's Sword in Zeke's hand, so her threat level might actually be low.
"I-I didn't do it! I only arrived the day before yesterday! The day before yesterday! I sensed something had happened here, so I came after everything was already over!"
"Then what exactly are you!"
This wasn't a children's argument, but it sure felt like one.
"She's a Demon King."
"A D-Demon King!?"
Only then did Guinevere flinch back in shock. Zeke extended his brilliantly glowing golden Hero's Sword once more and stepped toward the pink-haired girl. He didn't charge straight in, probably because he suspected she might have some hidden tricks. It was a perfectly reasonable suspicion.
But the pink-haired Demon King herself took one look at the glowing sword and let out a terrified scream.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
She scooted backward across the floor from her seated position, frantically pushing with her legs.
"...Does it feel like we're the ones bullying her?"
"It really does, honestly."
No matter that she was a Demon King, her behavior made my lukewarm comment feel completely natural. Even Zeke, who had been approaching warily with his sword raised, furrowed his brow with a similarly reluctant expression.
"But aren't all Demon Kings supposed to be objects of pure terror?"
I had only encountered a monster once, let alone a Demon King. Even that had been in a completely artificial setting at the theater, but it had been more than enough to understand how frightening they were. Monsters were fundamentally stronger than humans. Even a goblin could make a one-on-one fight difficult for an unarmed person. If the human had a long farming tool like a pitchfork, it might be manageable, but the fact that it remained dangerous even bare-handed showed impressive combat ability for its size.
A Demon King commanded such monsters and led them through their mutual struggles. Naturally, they had to be stronger than regular monsters in some way.
"Are you scared of that appearance, Yulia?"
"No. That's why it's so confusing."
The word "confusing" fit perfectly. It didn't seem like I'd seen an illusion, so this pink-haired Demon King had been slipping into the dreams of someone inside an academy blockade filled with paladins and clergy, a Saint no less. Yet here she was in person, looking this weak. Even with the Hero's Sword, which was the natural enemy of Demon Kings, right in front of her, this seemed excessive. It looked like she had no combat ability whatsoever.
"Can't you fight even though you're a Demon King? Maybe?"
"Hieeeeeek! I'll tell you everything! Put that away, please! That thing! Kkhhieeeeek!"
It seemed like she'd actually faint if we left her like that, so Zeke reluctantly put his sword away again. If she'd shown even the slightest intention of negotiating, he might have stayed on guard. But with her openly begging for her life like this...
"Tell us. Who exactly are you?"
Among us, I felt less threatening to her than Zeke while also being the one who could most immediately and reliably block a Demon King's attack, so I stepped forward again. Only then did the pink-haired Demon King seem somewhat relieved. Probably because Zeke had clearly backed off and I, who was at least somewhat familiar, had come out instead.
"A-Aisha. M-my name is Aisha, and my title is the, the Demon King of Hospitality. So, originally, I was in charge of a kind of... harmony, mediation, and diplomacy?"
Yes, even in a state of all-against-all struggle, the Demon Kings would still need at least a minimum mediator and diplomatic representative. And to mediate Demon Kings or serve as their representative, one naturally had to be a Demon King herself.
"It wouldn't be because you're weak, right?"
"I can fight too, you know? I'm stronger than most monsters! Ah, hiiik! Put that away! That thing! I, sheesh..."
Aisha, the pink-haired Demon King who had gotten worked up at my question and insisted she could fight, immediately freaked out again when Zeke extended his sword once more. She, who had half-risen, plopped right back down on her rear. Only after retreating did she rub her bottom and look wronged for no reason.
"My specialty is interfering with dreams to s-slightly guide the opponent's mind the way I want. Just a tiny bit. Yeah, just a little."
"You didn't, by any chance, do that to me too..."
"N-no! No I didn't! H-how could I guide a Saint's mind? If I were that powerful, would I even be here right now? I'd have controlled all those annoying people and put them under me!"
At my suspicious words, she waved her hands frantically and shook her head vigorously in case the sword came at her again. There didn't seem to be any lies in her reaction. She was a Demon King whose combat power fell considerably short of the average, but her ability to lead monsters through dream interference was sufficient. She wasn't extremely strong, but not weak enough to be completely disregarded, which was why she'd been assigned mediation and diplomacy.
If that was the case, she probably hadn't achieved much in mediation and had likely been active in the diplomatic aspect instead. The problem was that, as far as I knew, the Demon King's army hadn't engaged in any proper diplomacy for the past few years.
Yeah, I could roughly see why she gave off the feeling of someone being chased around.
"Were you driven out for being useless, or did another Demon King who didn't get along with you try to take your life?"
When I roughly guessed the situation, Demon King Aisha reacted noticeably, flinching and twitching as if she wasn't used to hiding her inner thoughts or was doing it on purpose. Yes, there was no other explanation. If she had been a Demon King capable of building her own forces and proudly holding her position in that all-against-all struggle, there would be no reason for her to be here alone like this.
"E-even so, I'm good at hiding, and once I'm hidden I can interfere with minds through dreams, but there were too many wary Demon Kings, so..."
For a Demon King, especially one supposedly in charge of diplomacy, she seemed far too clumsy. I kept reminding myself it might be an act, but it really didn't feel that way. It was probably because of her ability to interfere with minds through dreams. That would be an extremely useful ability in diplomacy with the human kingdoms.
"You must have had monsters under your command."
"T-they all died or were taken away! R-really, I'm completely broke, you know? I don't have anything left! I barely managed to escape with just this body! P-please spare me, Hero..."
When Zeke chimed in, she reacted almost like she was having a seizure, trembling as she answered. Now she even knelt, tears welling up as if they'd pour out any second, begging desperately. If this was acting, it was Oscar-worthy. Either she was someone with a thousand faces who had killed all her pride to act for survival, or she was a fallen Demon King who had lost everything and had no choice but to come to the Hero and Saint.
"U-um, is she really a Demon King?"
Guinevere, who had been half-frozen until then, stepped forward at that moment. Her eyes held equal parts disbelief and fear. She was different from Zeke, the specialist on great Demon Kings, me, the Saint who lacked a sense for this world's Demon Kings, and Yulia, who as my apostle had awakened to something new.
"Yeah. I'm a Demon King, but, um, w-why...?"
That mix of disbelief and fear flipped to equal parts curiosity and some kind of madness in the blink of an eye. It didn't take long for Demon King Aisha, who had initially answered somewhat calmly, to shrink her shoulders and cower. Wow, this really felt like we were bullying a little girl. Technically, this frail-looking pink-haired girl was one of the greatest threats in this world, a Demon King.
"Help me out a bit! Okay? You have that Divine Power, right? Shine it on her a lot! And you, Hero! That golden light from the Hero's Sword, make it whoosh, whoosh!"
"Whoosh?"
"Yeah! Whoosh!"
As if the fear and disbelief in her eyes from moments ago had been a lie, Guinevere suddenly began giving very proactive instructions to me and Zeke. Was it because she was an archmage after all? There was that stereotype about outstanding mages. Even if they were usually somewhat passive and introverted, buried in books, when something related to magic or their interests appeared, they showed an almost manic side.
"What should I do?"
"Just keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone that a Demon King appeared here. You too, Hero and Saint! Really, I have so many things I want to do!"
Guinevere showed an attitude of wanting to hide the Demon King's existence in response to Yulia, who had floated up and asked cautiously. Zeke immediately stepped in with an objection.
"Um, Lady Guinevere. Even if we set aside the fact that I'm the Hero meant to oppose Demon Kings, wouldn't other people be able to recognize a Demon King? Or are you saying we should fully trust the Demon King's words and give her a chance to hide and do something suspicious? Didn't you yourself fail to notice her when she was hidden?"
The content wasn't simply due to opposition. Certainly, if we just released her and hid her like this, and then fell victim to stealth that even Guinevere herself couldn't detect, there was no telling how things might turn out. Of course, even though Guinevere looked so young, she was an elf over four hundred years old and the one and only archmage properly recognized in the Empire, so she wasn't that naive.
"That's why I'm saying I'll place a geas on that Demon King now."
"You didn't say that, Lady Guinevere."
"Ah, d-did I not? Ahem! From now on, I will place a geas on that Demon King! That Demon King will not be able to hide or use her abilities without my permission! Ah, don't worry. Since the geas is placed with Divine Power and the Hero's power, it won't be completely released with just my permission!"
She had gotten overly excited at the thought of being able to do something with a Demon King. Only after I pointed it out did Guinevere start explaining in detail. In short, it was like this. The one placing the geas was her, the archmage, but the power used in it came from the Saint's Divine Power and the Hero's power. So simply with her permission, the abilities would be sealed again after three or four hours. With permission from just one of me or Zeke, the period could be extended two or three times, but to completely release the geas or release it continuously, all three permissions were needed.
In other words, it was a geas where if the three of us didn't permit it simultaneously, tricks like receiving permissions in succession to infinitely extend the time were impossible.
"U-um! Then what use am I...?"
"You have uses for all of us. For that, we need the consent of the geas recipient. If not, Demon King Aisha, it seems the only thing left for you is to leave this world. What do you say?"
"I-I'll do it. I'll do it..."
Since Zeke had chosen the right moment to approach again while emitting golden light from his sword, Demon King Aisha could only nod while trembling. The Hero really was a Hero for a reason.
In conclusion, we managed to secure a Demon King who had lost all her forces and was left with nothing but her body by placing a geas on her, keeping it a secret among just the four of us. It was definitely a great harvest. However, we still hadn't found the cause of what had happened at the theater.