Various Night

Night in the Royal Capital.

A certain run-down tavern was noisy with drunken people.

In an inconspicuous corner seat of that tavern, the well-built Yoanes was drinking with his companions.

He exhaled with a red face. His face was twisted with indignation.

“Damn it, the plan is ruined! I won’t forgive you, Alec!”

“Now, now, Prince Yoanes. Please calm yourself.”

A robed man sitting across the table soothed him.

Yoanes glared sharply at the man.

“I had actually hunted ten of them! You told me to bring them out in small batches, so I did! And Alec stole my achievement!”

“We did not expect everything to go well from the start either. What matters is the result. It will be enough if you are the one laughing in the end, Lord Yoanes.”

Yoanes narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he bit into meat.

“Hah, who knows? According to the rumors, that simple-minded Alec has been doing all sorts of things for the people of the Royal Capital, and as a result, he has gained popularity. Can we win?”

“He is, after all, a man who quit being a hero. He has practically no backing. Lord Yoanes, you have powerful backing, so there will be any number of chances.”

“For example?”

“All you have to do is achieve a feat so great that no one can complain about it, Lord Yoanes… Please take this.”

The man reached out while hiding something inside his sleeve.

When Yoanes took it, it was a small vial filled with black liquid.

“What is this?”

“Please use it on a Great Boar. Just pouring it on one will turn it into an enemy worth defeating.”

“Hm. So it’ll become an enemy that can earn me fame?”

“Exactly. However, please do not make it drink the liquid. In our experiments, it became far too strong. Please take care not to lose.”

The man spoke in a calm voice. His face was hidden by his robe.

Yoanes clicked his tongue and put the vial into his bag.

“As if I’d lose. —So, will gaining fame be enough to bring down that eyesore Alec?”

“First, we need to chip away at the source of his popularity. Please leave that matter to me.”

“Hmph, fine. We both need each other, after all.”

“Yes. Let us continue our close relationship from now on as well.”

The man lowered his head.

Yoanes called out as though something had suddenly occurred to him.

“Oh, right. Can that healer slave become mine?”

“I believe her name was Liricia… If the groundwork is laid properly, I do not think it would be impossible.”

“Then handle that too while you’re at it.”

“Understood. —Now then.”

When the man stood up without a sound, he vanished as quietly as a shadow.

The rugged man sitting beside Yoanes showed his yellow teeth and grinned.

“Did that slave woman catch your fancy?”

“Rather than catching my fancy, I can’t stand the fact that Alec is having all the fun… Besides, that woman dared to defy me. I’ll have plenty of fun with her, together with all of you.”

“Heh heh, as expected of the prince. You really get it.”

“As expected of you.”

“We’ll gladly enjoy the treat.”

A thin, thief-like man and a hunched wizard gave servile, flattering laughs.

Yoanes drained his glass in one gulp and shouted loudly.

“More booze! Bring more booze!”

Yoanes and the others continued making noise all night.

The Yamata Kingdom, late at night.

The Demon King, Gobe, and the evil god Sklasis were in Mikoto’s private room.

The Demon King and Gobe had their heads together as they looked down at a low table like a tea table.

Blueprints for Holy Wave protective clothing were spread out on the table.

The two of them groaned, “Mmm.”

“I see… so it can be lightened this much… However, it still looks like armor. Can we not substitute cloth or rubber for it? Even if one can move in it, one cannot fight.”

“But, Demon King-sama, if we go any further than this, it will not be able to completely block Holy Wave, and you will take damage.”

“Mmm… This is difficult. Alec is a hero with the worst amount of Holy Wave energy in history, after all.”

“He is truly disaster-class, Demon King-sama.”

The Demon King folded his arms and clenched his jagged teeth, while Gobe wrinkled his brow in distress.

Then Sklasis, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, spoke while applying lotion to her skin.

“You’re still motivated? You can’t beat that thing anymore, so give up already.”

At Sklasis’s unmotivated voice, the Demon King grinned and made his pointed teeth gleam.

“Hmph. I always act while considering the worst possible situation! That is the mission of one who stands above others!”

“Ah, yes, yes. Good luck.”

Sklasis replied without interest and continued applying makeup while looking into the mirror she had placed on the table.

She used a puff to apply foundation.

Seeing that, the Demon King tilted his head.

“What are you doing?”

“You can tell by looking, can’t you? Makeup.”

“Why is there any need for you to wear makeup? Are you not most beautiful barefaced?”

“Guh! —I-It’s for disguise! Women can transform with makeup! And it can prevent sunburn too!”

She shouted while dyeing the cheek that had not yet been covered in foundation bright red.

At her words, the Demon King’s eyebrow twitched.

“Prevent sunburn… Hah!? This is it, Gobe!”

“What might it be, Demon King-sama?”

“Mixing powdered bone into rubber had a preventive effect! In other words, if we dissolve it in a solution like makeup and apply it to the skin, then apply it in two layers, could it not block Holy Wave!?”

“Ohhh, as expected of you, Demon King-sama! In that case, although the defensive power would decrease, mobility should remain unchanged from now!”

“Then what remains is the sacred beast material. We have enough magical beast materials, but…”

Then the room’s door slid open.

Mikoto, wearing a kimono, entered the room while letting her beautiful black hair sway. She seemed to have just come out of the bath, and was wiping her gracefully damp hair with a towel.

“In that case, you should use Phoenix feathers. Those should be able to produce the same effect as sacred beasts.”

“Phoenix feathers? Mikoto, did you have something like that?”

“Yes, I bought them all up to prevent Alec’s rejuvenation. …Though it ended in vain.”

Mikoto sighed with sorrow on her beautiful face. She was as beautiful as an aesthetic painting.

Gobe clapped his hands together.

“I see, as expected of you, Mikoto-sama! There had been no Phoenix sightings for the past few years! If you bought up all the consumable materials, it must surely have resulted in causing Alec great suffering!”

“Guh… Though it looked as if you had given up, you were moving behind the scenes! I shall say that is impressive!”

“Well, that also seems to have ended in vain…”

Mikoto gave a resigned smile. Her long, narrow black eyes shone as though they were moist.

However, the Demon King stood up and threw out his chest.

“What are you saying! There is not a single useless thing in this world! Failure is the mother of success! No, failure is a milestone for reaching the answer by process of elimination! Uselessness is nothing more than the nonsense of losers who gave up halfway down the road to success! —Let us go, Gobe! We shall make a prototype in the workshop! Fwahahahaha!”

“Yes, Demon King-sama! As expected of you!”

Gobe agreed with his eyes moist.

Then the two of them trotted out of Mikoto’s private room.

The room fell silent.

Mikoto sighed softly and sat at the writing desk by the wall.

Sklasis, who was continuing her makeup while looking in the mirror, murmured as she drew on eyeliner.

“I thought you’d been depressed ever since Alec beat you, but you were trying to defy fate too, huh?”

“I thought I would at least do what I could…”

Mikoto began writing while facing the writing desk. Her long black hair fell over her cheek.

Sklasis asked in an offhand tone while moving her hands.

“What are you going to do from now on, Mikoto? Are you just going to shut yourself away in this country forever?”

“That is what will likely happen. As long as that man is alive, I have no choice but to keep hiding.”

“The Demon King doesn’t think that way.”

“He simply is not thinking about anything.”

“He lost the first round in a direct confrontation, so he intends to win in the second round.”

“Are men who refuse to give up not unsightly?”

Mikoto let out a slightly mocking voice, but Sklasis continued without paying it any mind.

“Was world conquest your dream, Mikoto?”

“Hm? Rather than a dream… Is it not only natural that I, who am superior in every way, should take the world? I obtained this country as well with only a little use of my power.”

“But it was meaningless in front of Alec, wasn’t it?”

“That is simply beyond all standards.”

“But you can no longer conquer the world by force. So it’s about what comes next. Was there nothing you wanted to do?”

Sklasis asked while applying mascara.

Mikoto raised her face and murmured while looking into the distance.

“What I wanted to do, you ask… A world where dragons could live in peace, perhaps…”

“Dragon supremacy, huh. That’s become impossible too, though. What will you do? Stop national isolation and launch attacks on the neighboring countries?”

“It would be better not to do anything too conspicuous.”

“Something about you seems so bored, Mikoto.”

At those words, Mikoto turned only her face toward Sklasis. The face looking back over her shoulder painted a beauty so great it was chilling.

“Is there some problem?”

“It’s boring if you don’t have a goal, right? Taking over this country was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Well, to a certain extent. It served as a way to relieve boredom… That was all.”

“You should enjoy life as much as the Demon King does.”

“…”

Mikoto answered nothing and merely shrugged.

Sklasis, who had finished applying rouge, raised a cheerful voice.

“All right, done.”

Sklasis checked the left and right sides of her face in the mirror, then put away her makeup tools.

Then she stood up, making the hem of her clothes sway.

Mikoto tilted her head.

“Where are you going?”

“To an exhibition. My works are being displayed, so I’m holding a signing event too.”

“At this hour?”

“What are you talking about? There’s a time difference, so it’s still evening over there.”

“I see.”

“Well then, I’m off! You shouldn’t just keep brooding either. Try falling in love or something!”

Sklasis headed toward the room’s exit while swaying her bewitching purple hair.

After she left the room, Mikoto sighed.

“I do not mean to be conceited, but I was born with everything, you see… Goals are not so easily found…”

Mikoto closed her eyes gloomily, shook her head, and began writing documents at the writing desk again.