#005 Deal
#005 Deal
I entered Lucius's house and listened to his explanation.
This village lay in the Virgo Kingdom, one of the Zodiac Continent's twelve nations.
"The Virgo Kingdom, huh."
Five hundred years ago, when I reigned as Demon King, I had conquered roughly half of the kingdom.
In the process of dominating the kingdom, I had brutally killed most of those who resisted and used them as materials for necromancers.
'Even I didn't kill just anyone.'
Why would I kill slaves as excellent as humans?
I could just rule and reign over them, using them as slaves.
Once I gave someone a little armband granting authority over the other slaves, they became remarkably easy to control.
A country where half the kingdom had become slaves of the Demon King Army.
That's how I remember it.
'I miss it.'
"Um, excuse me...."
Lucius sat fidgeting in the guest chair.
He was watching my every move like a puppy needing to pee.
"Why? What? I said I wouldn't hold it against you for saving me from the water, since you did it to keep me alive."
"I have something I'm really curious about. May I ask?"
"What?"
"Who are you?"
Who, indeed.
A difficult question to answer.
If I said that Belphegor, the Demon King who had thrown the human world into chaos five hundred years ago, had been summoned back to the surface and was now moving alone after possessing the body of a female undead, my head would obviously go flying.
No matter how kind-faced a young man he was, if I said Demon King Belphegor....
"Demon King Belphegor."
"!!"
He went pale immediately.
Through his expression, I confirmed that the news spread by the demons who had visited the Middle Realm was not false.
The continent still fears me, I see.
"You know?"
"Ah, of course I do. Isn't he a being whose very name must not be spoken carelessly...."
"Is that so? I wonder. Five hundred years ago, all humans went around shouting that Belphegor was a son of a bitch."
"...Excuse me?"
Now's the moment.
I crossed my legs and acted at ease.
Merely breathing with a single slime Mana Stone consumed mana, so even crossing my legs cost some. But if spending that mana helped me fool Lucius, it was worth it.
"I'm a witch."
"A witch...?"
"Yes. A witch who lived five hundred years ago. I sealed myself away to prepare for the world's dangers."
"Don't tell me... the seal has broken and you've emerged again?"
"That's right."
Per-fect!
Lucius wasn't the type who needed everything spelled out one by one to understand.
For someone living in such a backwater, he was quite clever and sharp, which I liked.
'First of all, the fact that he gave me his bed earns him points.'
From the fact that he sat in the guest chair himself and seated me on the bed, which at least had a cushion, I could glimpse his considerate nature.
"The fact that my seal has broken means a Demon King has been summoned somewhere. It means the continent is in danger."
"Th-that's...."
"Don't worry. That's why I've returned to the world. However...."
I wobbled.
I tried to stand but let the strength drain from my legs.
The moment I cut off the supply of mana to my lower body, I collapsed back onto the bed like an undead groaning in a dungeon.
"They got me. Black Mages cursed me, and I lost the fight."
"That's...!"
I didn't actually lose.
But for the sake of drama, claiming defeat would earn more sympathy.
Lucius had to know the world was in danger for him to help me.
"What kind of curse is it?"
"The curse of undeath. To suppress the curse, I need Mana Stones. Do you, perhaps...."
Head lowered, chin tucked so no double chin shows, hands demurely gathered on the inside of my thighs, shoulders pulled inward.
And then, one spoonful of the humiliation of having to beg a mere human, and three spoonfuls of embarrassment.
"...Do you have any Mana Stones?"
Like that lustful one among the Demon Kings would do, I asked Lucius with my eyes half-closed.
"Ah, um, I got some while hunting."
"......."
I deliberately said nothing.
I just blinked my eyes, waiting for Lucius to say something.
"Just a moment."
Lucius began rummaging through the table beside the bed.
Sitting on the bed, I observed him closely.
'Nice body.'
He said he was a hunter, but he had the body of a proper warrior.
If he were merely someone who hunted beasts, his muscles would be supple and shaped by everyday life, but Lucius had the body of a 'warrior' who lifted, swung, and cut with something.
'He said he was a hunter—was he a monster hunter?'
If it was for hunting Magic Beasts rather than ordinary animals, that would make sense.
But that wasn't it either, because this house was full of traces of hunting ordinary beasts rather than Magic Beasts.
Deer antlers hanging on the wall, cushions made from animal fur, equipment for tanning leather, and so on.
"Found them. Here."
While I was pondering his identity, Lucius handed me three Mana Stones.
"Thank you. I'll definitely repay this kindness."
A “That’s it?” nearly slipped out, but the slime Mana Stone I’d found in the cave looked as though it would keep me alive for only another day, so I gladly accepted the stones.
"No, kindness? It's nothing. Just use them."
I didn't even consider it a kindness.
But Lucius waved his hand bashfully and played it off.
Damn it, to think a Demon King has to thank someone for three measly goblin-grade Mana Stones.
'Still, with these I can hold out for a week.'
I clasped the Mana Stones tightly in both hands.
Then I brought them close to my heart and focused my entire mind.
'Absorb.'
Using the principle of reverse osmosis, I forcibly drew out the mana within the stones.
The mana inside the stones immediately poured into my heart, and the crystals in my hands crumbled like powder.
Softly.
'Lifespan extended by one week.'
My lifespan had increased by a week with this.
Of course, that week only applied if I did nothing but breathe here, and if I used even a moment of magic in between, I would simply become undead.
"Is that, perhaps...."
"...Yes. It's the process of neutralizing the curse."
I showed him the crumbled remains of the Mana Stones, mocking myself.
"I have no choice. To survive, I have to do even this."
"Um, excuse me."
Lucius knelt on one knee with a serious face and met my gaze.
"I will help you with everything I can. Please take me under your wing."
Yes, that's it, Lucius.
You should be desperate to help me right away, just like that.
"Why?"
Naturally, I played hard to get at first.
I crossed my arms and held my head high again.
It was a far cry from the humility I'd shown while accepting the Mana Stones, but once Lucius approached me so deferentially, the conversation changed.
"I appreciate the help. But take you under my wing? What do you mean by that?"
"What do you intend to do now?"
"Well...."
I met Lucius's gaze.
And I could guess the longing in his eyes.
A hot-blooded young man.
An ordinary village.
A sturdy body.
Someone who wants to become a warrior.
And a mysterious being who happened to appear before him.
A girl (for now) weakened by a curse from the forces of darkness.
The witch must now set out on a journey to save humanity.
To seal the Demon King.
So at this moment, would Lucius want to end his life as just the village youth who saved a witch?
"I'll have to leave. To seal the Demon King."
"I’ll help you. I want to help you keep the world at peace."
"And so I should take you under my wing?"
"Please!"
Thud!
Lucius dropped to both knees before me.
The intensity was such that if I refused, he seemed ready to kill himself.
"I'll do anything!"
"I'm curious. Why you want to follow me."
"That's...."
There were many benefits to taking Lucius under my wing.
But if Lucius harbored some dark desire inside, I could never take him in.
If Lucius had strange intentions.
It might be better to kill Lucius and use his body as an undead, or to gamble on transferring from this body into Lucius's.
"Tell me honestly. Why would you travel with this cursed witch to seal the Demon King?"
"Well."
"If you don't speak plainly, I can't take you. Tell me your true feelings."
"......It's to repay my grandfather, who took me in."
The beginning of an old story.
I'm sick of stale human stories—
"If one person can save the world by giving their life, then I will do so."
"......."
I considered several possibilities for what Lucius was really thinking.
One, desire for fame. 'I'll become a hero and make my name known!'
One, desire for money. 'I'll become the hero who killed the Demon King and gain immense wealth!'
One, lust. 'I'll follow the witch around and secretly rape her!'
One, bravado. 'A woman is in danger, so a man has to help!'
One, ennui. 'I can't die in a backwater like this! I'm sick of a life that ends as a villager!'
"Is that really how you feel?"
"Embarrassingly, yes."
"Well, look at the hero."
"...I'm hardly worthy of being called a hero, but even someone like me must be able to do something for the world."
But Lucius's pure 'sincerity' ruled all of those out.
"I'll do my best at everything. For the world."
This guy was a top-tier pushover.
"It'll be harsh. You could die. I take no responsibility. I might abandon you while you fight for me. Are you still okay with that?"
"...If it's for the world."
"You pass."
"Huh?"
"I'm counting on you."
A sense of justice.
He was perfect minion material.
"First, shall we see if you can properly carry out my orders? I'll give you a mission."
I pointed in the direction we had come from.
"Bring me five Mana Stones. Slime or goblin, I don't care. Hunt them yourself and bring the stones back."
"I'll go right away!"
Lucius smiled brightly, gathered his equipment, and left.
I waved at him as he closed the door and went out, then lay down on the bed.
'This is nice and easy. I can just lie here and get Mana Stones.'
I had acquired a fine slave.
"A guy like that would be perfect to step up as a hero."
To hide my identity.
"...Heh heh, brace yourself, Zepar."
I was going to raise a Hero myself and go get my revenge.