Chapter 164

“F-Fired…?”

“Yeah, fired. You don’t need to accept the West Demon King anymore, and you don’t need to shave your lifespan for it either. I’ll replace the West Demon King’s vessel with this, so you can put it completely out of your mind.”

“……!!!”

Perhaps my words were quite a shock, as she froze up like a broken toy. After a moment, having barely managed to restart her functions, her jaw creaked as she moved it.

“…T-Then what do I do?”

“Rest.”

“…Rest?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say you lived your whole life half-confined, doing nothing but preparing to play host to Lumina?”

“…I did.”

“You don’t have to do that anymore, so I’m telling you to go have fun.”

“Have fun…?”

“Yeah. Think about what you want to do from now on, and have a blast exploring the world you don’t know yet. If you want to stay at the mansion, I’ll let you stay… and if you say you want to go out and see the world, I’ll even attach a guard and give you plenty of travel funds.”

At that, she slowly raised her head. A terrifying glint flashed through the bangs that veiled her eyes.

“…Why? Why should I do that?”

“Mm?”

“When did I ever want something like that? Why are you deciding things regarding me however you please?”

Now this was a novel reaction. I was glad she deviated from my expectations in more ways than one.

Whether it was out of rage or because she had stopped acting, she tossed aside her timid tone before screaming in a successive, hysterical pitch.

“I have to meet my mom who became an angel! Her Holiness Glaphina said if I became the Saintess! If I martyred myself for Lady Lumina, I could meet my mom who is in heaven!”

“…What?”

“And after all that, I’m fired?! Rest?! Have fun?! Then are you going to let me meet my dead mom?! I have to die! I have to die for Lady Lumina! That is the only way I can meet my mom who became an angel in heaven!! Why are you blocking that! By what right are you blocking it!!”

Listening to Veloa’s shout that bordered on a fit, I scratched my head, wondering what kind of absolute nonsense this was.

“…Wait, wait. First, calm down. Right now, I don’t understand the situation at all, okay? Could you explain it a bit more slowly, in detail, following the five Ws and one H?”

And after listening to the explanation that followed, I could roughly grasp the context of the situation.

“So in short, the gist of the story is this? You were living in a rural village with just your mother… but around the age of seven, bandits raided the village, and your mother passed away during the chaos? So you tried to hang yourself to follow her?”

“…….”

“But while you were hacking and coughing while hanging from the rope, a paladin dispatched by the Pontiff suddenly arrived, muttered something like ‘A step too late,’ pulled you down, and took you to the Holy See, right?”

“…….”

“And the Pontiff you met there told you that if you became the Shadow Saintess… meaning, a vessel to contain a god, you would be able to meet your mother who became an angel in heaven after your death, right?”

“…….”

“So you spent over a dozen years cooped up in a back room of the Holy See, counting down the days for that moment… but then out of nowhere, I slaughtered the West Demon King and even completely blew away the ‘West Demon King possession mission’ assigned to you in its place, leaving the promise up in the air? And that’s why you’re pissed off?”

She nodded, her eyes still filled with spite.

“Mm….”

Right. Well. There are as many unique lives in this world as there are people. And the majority of them are tragedies.

Regardless of the intent, it was true that I was the one who touched her sore spot. Yeah, I admit it.

“You want a reunion with your mother who became an angel… Hmm… Hey. Your mother, was she a good cook by any chance?”

“Why do you ask that…?”

“Just answer.”

“She was good… The Narbi stew Mom used to boil for me was so delicious….”

“Hmm… is that so.”

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I subtly closed my eyes and called out to Lumina.

‘Bunshinsaba. Bunshinsaba. Lumina-san, oide kudasai. oide kudasai.’

.
.
.

‘Oide kudasai. oide kudasai….’

Immediately after, in the dead center of my pitch-black vision, a beautiful woman with golden hair manifested as if ink were bleeding out.

‘Oh, you actually came?’

[Honestly… normally it takes rubbing one’s hands together until their palms turn into soles while begging, ‘Lady Lumina, please look upon this lowly being~’ just to get a slim chance of me showing up… but what? Bunshinsaba? Oide kudasai? Do you truly want to get struck by divine lightning and have your skull cracked open once?]

‘But you came anyway.’

[…Wow, seriously, I shouldn’t even bother talking.]

‘By the way, you actually know about Bunshinsaba?’

[…I generally know about the worlds where angels have been dispatched. I know about BXS, I know about that Son-momo soccer player, and I even know about APT.]

‘Huh? You really know a lot? Suddenly I feel a massive surge of intimacy.’

[I have no need for that kind of intimacy, so keep it to yourself.]

‘But what is APT? An apartment?’

[Ah, you don’t know. It’s a song that recently became a massive hit worldwide… it’s a collaboration between Bruno Xars and ROSX….]

‘Wait? Those two collaborated? And it’s a global hit? What kind of song is APT anyway?’

[…….]

‘Why are you quiet?’

[There are two ways to make a person pissed off; one of them is stopping mid-sentence….]

‘You piece of—’

[Hehehehe….]

Lumina giggled, seemingly delighted to have messed with me for the first time in a while. After exchanging such pleasantries for a moment, we got straight to the main point.

‘So, is what Veloa said true?’

[Yes. Her mother is actually working in the Celestial Realm as a corporate slave… I mean, as a standard angel.]

For the record, a standard angel was the lowest of the absolute lowest rungs. A rank so low that you had to pull a ticket from a machine and wait in line just to pull weeds and pick up rocks.

‘When I heard from Yuribel last time, she said that while Hell exists, Heaven does not. She mentioned that since Hell can just be run by throwing together a single pit of fire, she could make one too, but Heaven requires matching everyone’s unique needs, so the cost-performance ratio relative to resource investment doesn’t pan out?’

[That’s correct. Heaven is difficult. That is why a luxury item(?) like Heaven is only operated by the chief deity in the ‘Sovereign Heaven Realm,’ which is Sovereign Heaven-grade. An Orbit Heaven Realm like this one finds it too difficult to run. Though as you said, an afterlife punishment institution like Hell is run pretty much everywhere.]

‘Really? Is it truly that difficult? Can’t you just implant electrodes into the frontal lobe and amygdala, beam in some current signals, and secure universal happiness for all? Or bore a single hole into the skull and pour in pleasure hormones like a waterfall….’

[…Are you a demon, you bastard?]

‘It’s a joke. A joke.’

[Tsk. I don’t think it was a joke….]

‘Cut the chatter. Then does the Celestial Realm have places to punish sins, but no place to reward mortal good deeds?’

[Ah, it is not like that. Naturally, if good deeds have been performed, a corresponding reward must follow. In our case, we offer options to those who have lived a good and faithful life.]

[Whether to return to the flow of the Lifestream that circulates through the universe, to reincarnate, or to be reborn as a standard angel and become a corporate sla—ahem, a member of the Celestial Realm. And Veloa’s mother, Sarah Dane, chose the third option among them.]

‘…Just call them corporate slaves. Why do you keep correcting yourself?’

[Ahem. Our Celestial Realm aims for a family-like relationship, from the chief deity down to the standard angels.]

‘Look who’s talking. At any rate, you can send that standard angel named Sarah to our house, right?’

[Huh? I figured you might say that… but really? It will require a price, you know?]

‘Deduct it from your debt.’

[Well, if you insist….]

‘Wait. Just to be absolutely clear, I am not purchasing an angel, okay? This is strictly a lease or a temporary dispatch. The duration will last only until Veloa’s death. I am hiring her as a chef, so completely exclude any combat capabilities. If we do it this way, the cost won’t be much, right?’

At that, Lumina clicked her tongue with a “Tsk,” and immediately finalized the calculation according to the Golden Rule.

[It barely makes a scratch on the debt. Wow… would you like to come to the Celestial Realm and work under me? How can a person who has never even caught a glimpse of the Celestial Realm be so exceptionally sharp about this?]

‘It’s plain as day. Alright, then I’ll consider it settled….’

As I was about to open my eyes, Lumina caught hold of me.

[Wait a moment. Please answer just one thing.]

‘Mm? What is it?’

[If it were the other women around you, I might understand… but you’ve only seen Veloa three or four times at most. Is there truly a need to go this far for her?]

‘Well, because it’s something I can do, and there’s no reason not to do it.’

[Pardon?]

‘I did it because I can. If it were something that incurred a massive loss or required an immense investment of time, I wouldn’t do it either. But this doesn’t amount to that much, does it? Usually, with these kinds of things, it’s much more comfortable to just do it rather than look for a reason why you shouldn’t.’

[Hmm. Doing it because you can and because there’s no reason not to… pfft. You’re a total tsundere.]

‘What is she even talking about?’

While I briefly closed my eyes and rested my chin on my hand, Veloa, unable to bear that short silence, urged me once again.

“…If you understand, please use me as the vessel for the Demon King according to the original plan. And please dispose of that unnecessarily beautiful—no, creepy doll immediately. It looks far too human, so it feels like having a corpse placed right next to me.”

Letting out a smirk at her words, I poked the side of the sculpted figure I had forged from pure spiritual power.

“Hey. She says you’re creepy.”

“Well, I am a Demon King, after all. It is perfectly natural for her to feel that way.”

“Hieeeeeek!?”

Recoiling in sheer horror at the sight of the figure suddenly beginning to move right before her eyes, Veloa scrambled backward.

“W-Wait… could it be…?”

“What do you mean, ‘could it be?’ It’s obviously the Demon King. The West Demon King, Disis.”

“Hie, hieee….”

Staring askance at the terrified Veloa, Disis brushed back her hair and let out a low whistle of admiration.

“Wow, by the way, you truly made this well. There is virtually no sense of incongruity.”

“Well, that’s because I am a macrocosmos-class genius.”

“…How obnoxious.”

“Cut the chatter. How is your condition? What about your combat capability?”

“Naturally, there are many restrictions. A creation can never surpass the capabilities of its creator, after all. As for combat capability, well, it matches exactly the amount of pure spiritual power you invested? Instead, once I go to the Demon Territory, performing tasks like manufacturing doppelgangers or resurrecting monsters will be a breeze. The Demon Territory itself is practically my tool, you see.”

“That’s more than enough. I’m counting on you.”

“At your command. Do not worry. There is no expert better suited than me when it comes to tormenting the people of the Western Continent.”

But right at that moment, Veloa, who had been standing there blankly like a borrowed sack of barley, suddenly bellowed out.

“No, no, wait a minute!”

“Mm? You were still here? You didn’t leave?”

“Oh my? You were still around?”

“Why are you leaving me behind and advancing the conversation however you please?! Just a moment ago when you were listening to my story, didn’t you have an atmosphere like you were going to do something for me?! Didn’t you have the air of someone who would reluctantly entrust the task back to me with a heavy heart?!”

“Ah, the story about your mother? If it’s about that, I already solved it.”

“…Pardon? S-Solved it?”

“Your mother is currently inside the mansion’s kitchen, preparing lunch. I scouted her as a chef and brought her down from the Celestial Realm just a moment ago.”

“Heh…?”

Veloa stared at me with an expression that asked, ‘What kind of absolute nonsense is this idiotic bastard spouting right now?’

Extending my mercy to such a common mortal, I delivered a slightly more detailed explanation.

“I just shared a brief exchange with Lumina regarding you and your mother, you see. She mentioned that your mother is actually working in the Celestial Realm as a corporate sla—I mean, as a standard angel.”

“…Pardon?”

“That lady owes me quite a massive debt. So I asked her if she could deduct a bit of the debt and send your mother over to this side. And she agreed to do so.”

“……Pardon?”

“If you can’t believe it, go look for yourself. See whether it’s true or a lie.”

At that, Veloa slowly slipped out of the room, her face filled with ninety-nine point nine percent bewilderment and zero point one percent anticipation.

Tap, tap, pitter-patter, stampede— her footsteps grew progressively faster.

And after about three minutes had passed….

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Clinging onto a black-haired woman of a similar age who looked exactly like her—as if terrified she might vanish into thin air—she kicked the door open wide.

Slam!

“Why is my mom, who supposedly died and became an angel, standing right here?!”

“Why the delayed reaction? Like I said, I brought her here.”

“From whom?!”

“From Lumina.”

“Howooo?!”

“Skillfully.”

“……!!!”

Her mouth worked soundlessly for a long moment, before she ultimately collapsed onto the floor, tightly embracing her mother.

A torrent of tears poured from her eyes.

“He says ‘skillfully’… Waaahhhhhh….”