Chapter 8 — In the Land of the Blind (2)
Chapter 8 — In the Land of the Blind (2)
That 'certain' magic... meant it was forbidden. That I mustn't speak of it. Right?
Roan followed the librarian, who acted as if merely voicing the word aloud was ill-omened, toward the forbidden-book section.
'Ah. Because it's the Demon King's castle....'
The Demon King understood what that 'certain' magic was only when he stood before the shelves.
In this game world, the chief deity most humans believed in was the Goddess Laurecia. It seemed that anything concerning that very Goddess was forbidden here in the Demon King's castle. Roan nodded to himself, understanding without being told.
The forbidden books were kept separately in the library's innermost, dark little room. Inside that small room, which could be entered only after passing once more through the librarian's dispelling magic, were not only books but also a statuette of the Goddess Laurecia, the mark of Laurecia, and the like—all stored with the black crest of the Demon King painted over them.
"These, these, and this."
The librarian carefully extracted the books with the tips of her claws and placed them on the desk in front of the Demon King. No sooner had the Demon King nodded than the librarian fled in a fluster, as if merely remaining in this space was horrifying.
Roan stared quietly at her retreating figure.
Even without deliberately using Detection, once he became aware that servants were around him, he could tell how intentionally they held their breath and encircled the Demon King. It was like playing hide-and-seek—that feeling of knowing someone was there even when neither side made a sound.
Having no one visible around even though people were present was a lonely thing.
'And the one person here is someone the old me abducted. Honestly, I hate every single thing he did.... No wonder something felt off. Was it Demon King roleplay? Or was he really this kind of bastard, so he became the Demon King?'
In the game, when the Hero stormed in, the Demon King had fallen into a trap and had to fight the Hero's party one-against-many inside his own castle. Absurdly, though the battle took place in a friendly stronghold, there was not a single advantageous element.
Every player remarked on how strange it was and always posted about it on the forums.
— He has an army, so why does the Demon King always fight alone and get wrecked?
— No matter how strong the Hero is, he'd lose if it were 100-to-1, right? Why doesn't he summon his soldiers?
— If the Four Heavenly Kings, the Demon King, and Erenier all fought together, wouldn't they crush the Hero's party even without soldiers?
— Then you couldn't do the H-Scenes, now could you
— If the Demon King's Int is trash, he deserves to die
...For a moment, he thought the answer might be contained in those last two comments, but now that he knew the real situation inside this game world, he could guess how the atmosphere must have developed.
Even just this half-day had shown him. The servants were straining every nerve to avoid the Demon King's notice. Even the ministers could barely manage to writhe under the Demon King's skills. So no one dared utter a necessary word.
Even the retainers, who were mighty in their own right, once had to risk their lives over a single slip of the tongue. For anyone, a situation that required opening one's mouth before the Demon King was pure terror.
'And so he became isolated.'
In the end, within his own castle, the Demon King was left alone, trusting only in his own abilities. He had reaped what he had sown.
Even if something was amiss, they could not report it to the Demon King. So the Four Heavenly Kings, who were weaker than the Hero, went ahead first to handle matters and ended up exhausted. With no one able to tell him the situation inside his own castle, the Demon King ultimately fought the Hero one-against-many. And was defeated.
'That's not it.'
He absolutely must not meet that end.
He had to capture the Hero from the very start before the Hero came for his life.
To do that, he needed people who would be his eyes inside the castle, in the capital—and further, throughout this entire nation. Fear was a convenient tool, but it would stop their eyes from seeing and their mouths from speaking.
'I need to talk with my ministers properly.'
Even though they were villains, they were still pledging loyalty to the Demon King. He needed to grasp more about the ministers and the people in the castle and consider how to utilize them.
'Right. I can accept being told my Int is trash. It's true that my Knowledge is 40. But I can't accept that I therefore deserve to die!'
I have to live, damn it!
It would be uncomfortable for a while, but once he succeeded in changing the atmosphere around him, many things would grow different. Having lost himself in thought and tied up one matter in his mind, he felt somewhat lighter.
Now Roan concentrated in earnest on reading the book the librarian had brought him.
'...?'
The letters on the cover were strange. Why couldn't he read them?
Coming into this inner section, he had been able to read the titles of books on the shelves. It was the sensation of his body grasping the meaning on its own. Though he wouldn't be able to write out the spelling in order, the reading and writing itself surfaced in his mind, his body moving naturally.
But this cover was different.
As Roan furrowed his brow and focused, only then did he just barely, halfway grasp—
'Ancient.... Ancient Divine.... Ah, could it be Divine Magic?'
Roan stared blankly at the book cover. Now that he had said it aloud, the cover looked the part. A pattern depicting the holy symbol of Laurecia (painted over with the Demon King's emblem) and decorated with something like a shining halo.
Divine Magic was magic that could be used through the power granted by the Goddess Laurecia. In the game, a Saintess character wielded it.
'I mean, what on earth...? Why is magic a Saintess is supposed to use—?'
There was even a reason why, though quite a few books about divine magic were shelved there, the librarian had pulled out exactly three. Books concerning Ancient Divine Magic appeared to be truly rare.
Roan let out a small sigh and opened the cover. After flipping through a few pages, Roan despaired at reality.
'Was that Knowledge 40 for real...? And he's the Demon King....'
The Demon King could not read all of the ancient language.
Roan rubbed his face with both hands.
'Well, still... it's not like I'm completely clueless.'
Resolving himself anew, Roan leafed through to the table of contents.
'Starlight.... Star.... Star....'
The Demon King, reading down past the occasional letters he could recognize, at last found the page he wanted. Roan's face, which had brightened, fell back into despair once he turned to the page indicated by the table of contents.
'I can't understand a single thing!!!'
Roan gritted his teeth. It seemed he would have to consult a dictionary in secret. Because it would be rather embarrassing if anyone saw the Demon King sit down with an ancient-language dictionary and read forbidden books.
He had meant to spend a while in the library, but he had hit a fundamental obstacle. Roan decided to withdraw from the library for now and go to his office.
In the end, he could not bring the divine-magic book outside. The owlbear librarian had pleaded, as if her life depended on it, that the forbidden books contained profane power and could exert a bad influence on the Demon King's castle.
Instead, making the excuse that he had suddenly taken an interest in ancient linguistics, he brought several volumes of Basic Ancient Language textbooks to his office.
'Damn it.'
Roan downed a glass of the fruit juice prepared beside him to vent his spleen. The taste and scent resembled orange.
Knowledge 40 was slightly better than an average person. He could use basic magic, but was by no means erudite. Erenier, a great sorceress, and the princess he would soon meet were around 90. The Saintess, who mainly used divine magic based on Wisdom, carried a Knowledge stat in the mid-70s even though it wasn't her main stat. Even Diobe, who was not a magic-user, had Knowledge in the mid-to-high 60s.
The Hero's Knowledge score was even in the high 50s!
'I wonder if it'll go up if I study.'
All his other stats were excellent, yet his Knowledge was lacking, so it felt deeply unfair. But thinking about studying now, there was no guarantee his stats would rise, and he also recalled that he had no talent for studying in the first place. Even while attending school, he had only fought; he had never once sat down and studied properly.
'Yeah, I'd better just think of it as useless magic.'
Right. What did it matter, magic that only made a light like a tiny light bulb? If the Demon King commanded it, they would create a star even if one didn't exist.
In any case, magic was insignificant in the face of overwhelming might. Roan thought thus and tried to console himself.
'Anyway, there's a lot of free time.'
Whether to call it surprising or expected, the Demon King had almost no business to handle in his office. It seemed that the ministers, the chancellor included, were handling most state affairs in place of a Demon King who held no interest in national matters.
At the rare sight of the Demon King, the secretary who had been guarding the office while idly organizing documents was struck speechless with terror.
"Your Majesty."
Presently, the secretary who had been standing outside the office reported quietly.
"What is it?"
"The Princess of Merde has arrived."
"Show her in."
"...."
Did he not hear?
"...Yes."
What was with this uneasy pause...?
A faintly ominous feeling crept over him, but his anticipation was far greater. It was the First Princess, Roan's favorite character! His heart pounded!
The heavy door of the office opened, eerily silent, and a small figure stepped into the dark chamber.
"Pfft—!"
Roan vigorously spat out the juice he had been holding in his mouth. Diobe, standing behind Roan, silently offered a handkerchief, and he frantically wiped his face and clothes.
Fortunately, the princess could make no particular response to Roan's disgraceful display. That was because her attention had been entirely seized by something else.
"What in the world...! ...Goo-..., ...No, never mind."
The Demon King, who had raised his voice, retracted his words and clamped his hand over his own mouth without thinking. Roan was so bewildered by the beauty before his eyes that he had no idea what to say.
She seemed to be glowing. The Princess of Merde was as beautiful as he had expected—no, far more. No matter how superb a computer's graphics might be, they could never capture the living aura.
A gaunt face that had not yet shed all its girlishness. And yet, dignity and grace resided within it. Her light brown hair was a mysterious color that seemed pink at certain angles. Her intelligent blue eyes felt as if they would pierce through Roan's heart.
He had heard that when you see a celebrity in person, their face is both incredibly small and beautiful; maybe this was the feeling. He did not know for certain, but the princess possessed a beauty that would likely overturn the entire internet if set down in reality.
However, anyone in the room could tell that just because her eyes looked toward him did not mean the princess was focused on Roan.
'No, why is she dressed like that?!'
The princess was wearing a gown that was as sheer as a dragonfly's wing. And beneath it, the princess wore only undergarments. Even calling them undergarments was a stretch: a bustier that barely covered her nipples, and a pair of panties so small they didn't even cover her pubic hair. What you might call a micro bikini.
The face of the princess standing in such attire was literally as red as a tomato. She pressed her two hands together, trying to somehow cover her vital areas, but the effect only gathered her large breasts between her arms, making her cleavage all the more prominent.
All the while, she was panting as she resisted the Overwhelm and Mihon skills. Because she was a princess with high Wisdom and Charm—at least by the standards he had seen in the game—she did not seem to feel the same pressure as a slave or other attendants might, but the discomfort was certainly not low.
Because of this, her gathered cleavage was rising and falling dramatically. It was an intensely stimulating sight.
The Demon King pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Diobe."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Bring a robe."
Diobe raised an eyebrow slightly, but swiftly slipped out of the office. He could ask later about how in the world this situation had come about. He did not wish to let the princess stand there any longer in such a state.
Of course, had he seen this as a CG, he would have rejoiced, thinking what a special event shot it was, but right now the princess was on the verge of dying of shame. As the Demon King, who had to exploit the opening of her heart to win her over, he found it a little hard to savor this scene to his heart's content. The window displaying Affection -90 that had quietly risen beside her and vanished played a large part in that.
"For now, this."
When Roan strode up to her and suddenly removed his uniform jacket, the princess began trembling like a small animal. But as it was draped over her front, she looked at Roan with a subtle expression.
"Had I meant to have you attend me in bed, I would have summoned you to the bedchamber. It seems the underlings misunderstood."
"...."
"I apologize. I am sorry, Princess."
The princess's sapphire eyes glittered with surprise, revealing a mixture of emotions. Her small, red lips quivered several times, as if hesitating to speak.