Chapter 29

“Then I must participate…”

If I attend the festival as a member of the local community, there is a high probability I will be accepted all at once!

“Wait, the Demon King is going to participate too…? Seriously…? Do Demon Kings even do things like local festivals…?”

Angelica was visibly a bit put off.

“What, even a Demon King has that much freedom. For example, it should be fine if I participated in an inter-village sports meet.”

“Even if you have the right to enter, the team with the Demon King on it would have such an unfair advantage that you should just withdraw… It’ll end up making our village look cheap. Setting that aside… you’re really going to participate in a festival held at the village level?”

“Demonkind are taught in schools these days that grassroots activities are important. Docrtinally speaking, it’s not a festival that involves sacrificing demons or anything, so there should be no issue.”

“Yeah… It’s more of a simple festival passed down since ancient times, but our family doesn’t actually have to do anything this year. Especially since Mom was a single parent, we were granted an extra exemption.”

Single parent—those words had a melancholy ring to them.

“That’s right. Especially when Angelica was little, everyone told me they’d handle the festival preparations on this end, so I should focus on raising her well. They really are kind people in that regard.”

Perhaps the reason Lateia can be so carefree is due to the warm reception from the locals. They know well how difficult being a single mother can be.

But if that’s the case, isn’t that all the more reason to participate this year?

Because now that I’ve joined, Angelica is no longer being raised by a single parent.

“As I thought, I believe I should do something. It’s a good opportunity to get the locals to remember my face.”

“I think everyone in the village already knows the Demon King’s face… You stand out incredibly…”

Angelica shot me down with a natural retort.

I suppose that might be true… After all, I am the Demon King…

“Even if my face is known, there may be those who think I am a terrifying individual. I want to use this as an opportunity to help them understand that I am a friendly person.”

“Ah, the image of the Demon King is crumbling…”

Angelica held her head in her hands.

“Why?! I’m not doing anything wrong!”

“If anything, the fact that you aren’t doing anything wrong is exactly why the image is crumbling!”

My daughter snapped back at me. She’s at an age where she’s prone to outbursts, so I suppose it can’t be helped.

And so, on my day off, I went to the local community center. Apparently, today they were practicing the dance to welcome the gods.

“I am Garto! I serve as the Demon King. It is a pleasure to meet you!”

I started by bowing my head. A newcomer must act with humility.

“I am the village chief. Um, Lord Demon King, please raise your head. There is no need to be so formal, really! Please, relax, relax!”

If anything, I had caused the elderly village chief to panic. Did I mess up somehow…?

“I mean, there is no need for Lord Demon King to participate in such a local festival, is there? You are the Demon King, after all. No one will go around talking behind your back if you don’t. The villagers all understand that you simply have… a unique profession.”

As expected, the people of this land are kind.

Then again, Angelica’s profession as a Hero is also quite unconventional.

“No, no. Since I’m here, I simply thought I might be able to help out with something small, however trivial it may be.”

From the people gathered at the community center, I heard murmurs like, “What a well-mannered man,” and “He’s so civic-minded.” Good, my favorability rating is steadily rising.

“In that case, would you be willing to join the dance on the day of the festival and perhaps run one of the stalls? The Women’s Association will fill you in on the details for the stall later.”

“Understood. I look forward to working with you!”

“Um, Lord Demon King… when you bow your head like that, it’s a bit awkward for us. Could you perhaps try to act just a little more arrogant, for our sake…?”

From somewhere, I heard whispers like, “He’s probably higher-ranking than our local deity,” and “True that.”

I suppose I can see their point, but I can’t exactly go around acting more important than the local god.

Besides, swaggering around and acting haughty drains my mental energy, so I’d rather not do it if I can help it…

Torualina often scolds me for not acting “haughty enough for a Demon King” even at demonic events. For someone who isn’t naturally arrogant, consciously trying to act that way is essentially acting—and acting is, naturally, more exhausting than just being yourself.

“Chief, why don’t we just change the dance so the Demon King makes an appearance?” “That might be interesting.” “Since we actually have a Demon King here, it’d be a waste not to have him do something.”

Wait, the conversation is heading in a strange direction!

“No, no! It is not my intention to disrupt your long-standing traditions, so please, proceed as usual!”

Somehow, I managed to prevent a situation where I’d end up as the star of the show.

To be honest—I don’t really want to stand out.

I’m already used to being worshipped and hailed as “Demon King” in the demon world. Needless to say, royalty in any land has their own set of grueling duties (like making official tours of the country, for instance).

That’s why there’s a part of me that’s genuinely looking forward to participating in the festival naturally, simply as a member of the community. I’m actually quite fired up about this.

“Well then, shall we practice the dance? Lord Demon King, please use this cloth.”

The village chief handed me a single piece of white cloth.

“I look forward to your instruction on the choreography.”

“Oh, it’s really just dancing however you feel like, to be honest…”

The dance was, without a word of a lie, completely random. In fact, strange movements that lacked any coordination seemed to fit the theme better. It was a dance intended to express pure chaos.

After that, I went over to the Women’s Association to get a lecture on the stalls—

“My, what a fine physique you have!” “I wish I could trade him for my husband.” “Lateia really caught herself a good one, didn’t she?”

The ladies were touching me all over.

Hmm… I seem to have become something of an idol among the local middle-aged women…

If only Angelica were this affectionate… No, that would actually be quite creepy.