34
Chapter 34
A noble has arrived.
Welcome them.
Treat them with the utmost respect!
-or so it feels, as if someone is shouting loudly. My heart sinks. My breath grows ragged from the rapid beating of my heart.
It is all because of a certain demon standing about ten meters away from me.
None of the Four Great Dukes of the Demon Realm, not even the Northern Duke who is Leonard's father, attended the funeral. Yet, a sky so distant that even they dare not look up has graced this funeral with its presence.
Something no one could have imagined. I, too, hadn't expected it, even in my dreams. When Leonard and Retavis's funerals were held in my previous life, the Demon King did not come.
......Should I kill him?
The Demon King was my enemy in my past life. We were originally allies, but the Demon King, wishing to monopolize power, betrayed me. There is no guarantee that the Demon King won't become my enemy in this life as well.
The Continent will be swept up in war. What is war? It is when those belonging to opposite extremes form groups and clash against each other like blue and white flags.
In between that, there can be no 'middle ground.'
I have no intention of becoming the Second-in-Command of the Demon Army in this life. I certainly refuse to be crossed the river and burnt the bridge again, and I must go to Eden Academy, where the Saint told me to come.
If I won't stand with the Demon Army, does that mean I'll side with the Continental Army? Well, that's ambiguous. Why would I stand with the humans I beat to death in my previous life?
War is truly a cruel thing. I will not let my sister, Adela, die in this life, so Adela will eventually end up in the Demon Army. Then, the Saint I love and Adela, my own blood, might meet as enemies on the battlefield.
Regardless of which side I eventually choose, the fact remains that the Demon King will become my enemy.
Can't I just live as a demon in the Demon Army without catching the Demon King's eye to avoid being purged?
No, I'm saying I'm going to make him my enemy.
The Demon King is the one who killed me. Therefore, I, too, shall kill the Demon King.
Revenge is the most beautiful act a demon can perform. It provides psychological justification even for kin-slaying, which is called the worst of crimes; that is what revenge does.
Other demons might ask what kind of grudge I have to justify killing the Demon King, but what does it matter? I have no reason to listen to the gazes or words of others.
What matters is my will. In my world, my will is more important than anything. Nothing else compares to it.
The Demon King is strong, but he is still young. If I can figure out a way, killing him would be possible. For example, by casting an extremely powerful hypnosis to make him commit suicide.
Piercing the mental barrier of a young Demon King is an incredibly difficult task, but I might be able to do it. I'm not certain.
"...."
My whole body tingles. A desire to sever that young demon's breath surges within me. My mind becomes clouded by emotion.
However.
"I must endure."
"Hmm? What are you enduring, Oscar?"
"Something like that."
King said it.
The death of a figure as prominent as the Demon King could affect the birth of the Saint. If things go wrong, a different woman might be born instead of the Saint Maria I know.
That cannot happen.
Saint Maria.
My light, my Lord, the opposite side of my mirror.
The only existence that can make me complete, and the great, virtuous person who silently accepts trials and death.
I need her. Only with her can I experience 'love,' which is impossible for me alone. Of course, there is no evidence that such a thing is actually possible.
The Saint is the only human who has ever fascinated me. Her kindness, her virtue, and her nobility seduced me. Like a bee seeking nectar from a flower bud, I fly helplessly toward her and get stuck.
The Hero I placed my hopes in during my previous life, Shine Stella, failed.
But if it is Saint Maria, she will be able to fulfill my eternal longing. No, she must fulfill it. She guaranteed it herself.
Maria must show me the value of my regression. Thinking of her upright nature, I doubt she would have told a lie.
At any rate, for that reason, I must not kill the Demon King now.
What a waste. To have to give up such a golden opportunity.
The Demon King will continue to grow endlessly stronger. It is uncertain how many more chances I will have to kill him in the future.
However, I suppress my desire. I am an intelligent demon. I do not wish to be a troublemaker who forgets the great cause, swayed by a petty, momentary desire.
"That person... is the Demon King."
"...You know the Demon King?"
"I have seen him from afar once before. To think the Demon King would personally attend Leonard's funeral... I hope this brings some peace to Leonard's soul."
Well, I'm the one who pushed him to his death and I'm here, so I wonder if that's true.
If you actually think about it, Leonard hadn't committed a crime worthy of death.
In the barbaric Demon Realm, poisoning a sibling's meal for the sake of succession competition is a common tactic. It wasn't as if he truly intended to kill his younger brother.
But the problem was that the younger brother happened to be me.
Yes, Leonard's crime wasn't poisoning a meal while keeping a sibling in check. His crime was messing with a regressor from the future.
That is the law of the world. No matter how much you mess with a weakling, it's not a problem; but if you mess with the wrong strong person, you'll be crushed. It is the same even if you fail to recognize a strong person hidden among the weak.
"Sigh...."
"Oscar? Why are you sighing?"
"I'm going to offer a silent prayer."
"A silent prayer, a good thought. It feels like only yesterday that your Noonim used to carry you on her back... you've grown so much."
What is this idiot talking about.
"Though he was your rival... he was your brother nonetheless."
"...."
"I hope you become a demon who knows his duty, Oscar."
My brother, Leonard, who has crossed the river of the afterlife from which there is no return.
In this life, you met the wrong brother and faced a miserable death.
I hope in your next life, you meet a push-over of a brother and become a wonderful demon.
And unlike your previous life, please don't go into that useless Demon Beast Forest and die ridiculously.
"...."
As I mourn for Leonard, who is being buried in the ground, I keep feeling a gaze upon me.
A gaze with red glints and black coloration.
"By the way... why is the Demon King wearing a dark butterfly over his eyes? How curious."
I agree.
Now that you mention it, I'm curious too.
*****
A few more days passed after Leonard's funeral ended.
During those few days, the family affairs moved quite urgently. Something about the shift of power and the right of succession....
I was at the center of it all, but.
"Noonim."
"Oscar, what is it?"
"I'll be in your care from now on."
"Hmm? What do you...?"
"I left a letter in your room. Please read it."
"Hmm, are you trying to give me a gift? I shall accept it gratefully. How thoughtful of you."
"You could call it a gift."
Because I've handed over the position of successor to the Northern Grand Duke, the highest seat of power in the Demon Realm.
Of the Northern Duke's three sons, the first went missing, the second died, and the third ran away from home. That is how it will be known to the world.
I sent separate letters to my aunt and mother. I told them to support Adela. Since both my mother and aunt are very calculating people, they will naturally support Adela, who will become the center of power.
And I will be behind the scenes.
Even saying I'm behind the scenes isn't much. For the next 500 years, I have no intention of returning to the Oscar family duchy.
If there is anything I need, I can just ask Adela, the future head of the family.
After that, once my training in the Demon Beast Forest and other matters are finished, I will head to Eden Academy. The place the Saint told me to come.
By then, Adela will probably have become someone fit for the role of family head.
Adela is not bright and is inexperienced in schemes. Naturally, she doesn't fit in the Demon Realm, where conspiracies and tricks are rampant.
But there is one thing to keep in mind: my father will not pass away for the next 500 years. The governance and personnel matters are all my father's responsibility.
In other words, Adela just has to be tied to the family as the successor for 500 years! A whole 500 years! Just as I was in my previous life!
...It was quite a shitty experience. It is all Adela's to deal with now, hehe.
In short, I enjoy the pleasures and offload all the responsibilities. How truly wicked of me!
I also left a letter in my father's room. I don't know when that man, who loves his outings, will return home, but once he sees my letter, he will agree to make Adela the head of the family.
Why? Because Leonard and Retavis are already dead. And I, the only remaining son, have run away from home. My father has no choice.
He only has the obligation to choose the only option I've provided.
Clatter-.
I am currently inside a carriage. This is because I left home after finishing everything at the duchy.
Clatter-.
The carriage is heavy. This is because I loaded it only with the best spirit medicines and treasures that Adela gave me, worrying about my head injury.
Clatter-.
The Demon King, who attended the funeral, left without much fuss. He suppressed his presence so well that no one present, except for Adela, recognized him as the Demon King.
I do not know why he came. I couldn't even speak to him. What a taciturn fellow.
Clatter-.
My current destination is the Western Demon Realm. There is something I must win at an auction house there.
It is something I must buy before entering the Demon Beast Forest. Because the King of Wolves, which Lilith stole from me in my previous life, is there.
Clatter-.
Spending time in a carriage is boring. I tried yawning long and hard and took a short nap, but perhaps because the Demon Realm is so vast, the journey seemed endless.
Clatter-.
Reading is what is needed at times like this. I pulled out Evans' Book, the Flower that Eats Time, which I had carefully packed. I didn't get to read much of it last time.
I will definitely read it to the end this time. I have nothing else to do anyway.
Flip-.
I flipped through several dust-covered pages at once. I was trying to find where I had left off.
After flipping about a dozen pages.
The page I was looking for appeared. I rubbed my eyes and narrowed my focus.
Ah, and also.
To rewind time, there is a mandatory preparation period. Not many people know this fact, so I hope you write it down. If this book disappears, your brain will be the only place in the world where this fact remains.
Preparation period?
111 days.
......Hmm?
No matter how great Cronos, the god who governs time, is, rewinding time is not a simple act. Regression is only possible once all the preparations are complete—the turning of the world, the turning of space, and the turning of providence.
Wait, wait, wait a minute.
Therefore, there must be a minimum preparation period of 111 days. Of course, this is merely a side note, so there is no particular need to take it to heart.......
111 days. The duration doesn't feel unfamiliar.
I've heard it before. I've experienced it. In my previous life, something that took exactly 111 days from me.
What was it? I search my memories. There was definitely something, but it doesn't come back easily.
111 days. The more I chew on the words, the darker the colors that emerge. Dark clouds of shadow are thick all around.
I closed my eyes and continued the search, trying to recreate a similar situation.
What is it? What was it? What connection did I have with the number 111?
Why is it dark? A time when the surroundings were filled with black? A time that was suffocating, hot, and where taking a single breath felt like hell................
Tartarus!
It's Tartarus! The Great Prison Babel Tower, where only the world's worst criminals are seen! Tartarus, the lowest floor of that Babel Tower, where only death row prisoners gather!
Where the Demon King imprisoned me! Where I spent a week with the Saint! The background of my memories until the moment I stood on the guillotine!
Dark as a world of blackout and humid as the Inferno, Tartarus!
I was imprisoned in Tartarus for 111 days. After that, I stood on the guillotine in the square with the Saint, and regressed the moment my head was severed.
If I think of those 111 days as the preparation period for regression, it all fits perfectly. Someone imprisoned me in Tartarus for 111 days to make me regress, completed the ritual on the day of the execution, and then triggered the regression.
...............Then, who was that someone?
Thud-.
I closed the book. I needed to think deeply. I traced the threads of my memory, trying to recall who was involved in my journey to Tartarus.
This time, I didn't have to search long. One demon came to mind with absolute clarity.
"To Northern Grand Duke Joker Oscar Lucifer, I sentence you to 111 days of Tartarus imprisonment and the guillotine."
The Demon King.
The one who framed me, acting as my lawyer, prosecutor, and judge to rush me into Tartarus—the one who decisively sentenced me to exactly 111 days of imprisonment and the guillotine.
Currently, he is the most likely mastermind behind my regression.
"...."
My mind feels blank, as if hit by a sniper's bullet. Demon King Kanos. My longtime friend and the enemy who betrayed me. Questions about him follow one after another.
When did he start planning this? How did he get in touch with Cronos? Who did he collaborate with to make this happen? Is there a possibility that someone I don't know is behind the Demon King?
And... why did he make me regress?
What was the Demon King's intention?
What did he know that I didn't, what goal did he dream of, and just what kind of future did he want?
I cannot know.
However, there are a few fragmentary pieces of memory that come to mind.
Does the Saint have any idea? Why did the Demon King lock me up here?
....
Saint? Why aren't you answering? Are you asleep?
...That is.
It was when the Saint, who used to answer every trivial question I asked, slowly opened her mouth with an attitude contrasting her usual self.
I know the answer, but I cannot tell you.
What?
Please understand.
Hah, just say you don't know. You're pretending to know just to look impressive.
Haha.
A conversation with the Saint that I had dismissed as nothing important.
If I recall my memories a bit more, the Saint had just heard from me that I was sentenced to 111 days. Did the Saint already know the time required for regression and foresee the situation that was to come?
Mother....
I miss her....
No, the Saint was clearly afraid of death. If she were certain that I would regress, there would be no reason for her to tremble in fear.
A hunch. It was likely just at that level. I probably felt like I was overthinking the significance of the word 111 days.
Come to think of it, when I stood on the guillotine.
When I told the Saint that the Demon King was nowhere to be seen, only then did she smile gently.
Afterward, she told me to come to Eden Academy.
At that time, when I said the Demon King didn't seem to have come to the square, the Saint had made an assumption.
That the Demon King would make me regress.
"...."
A long string of unsolved mysteries remains.
Did the Demon King regress with me?
Was that why he came to Leonard's funeral—which he didn't attend in my previous life—and stared at me?
What are those sunglasses, a modern object, that he was wearing? Is it similar to how the Saint's Rosary regressed with me?
What did he give Cronos as the price for regression?
Regardless of the chaos in my head, the carriage rolled heartlessly toward the West, where the twilight was settling.
Clatter-.
Clatter-.
Clatter.......