Chapter 47

Annais clenched a fist and offered me some advice.

“I believe you should formally nominate Angelica as the Crown Prince as soon as possible! Doing so will lead to stability for the entire demon race! Since Angelica likely isn’t well-versed in our ways, she’ll surely need time for her education as well!”

“That may be true, but I find it hard to believe someone who was a Hero would just say, ‘Sure, I’ll be the Demon King’…”

“Nonsense! If the Lord Demon King commands it, anyone must obey. You just need to tell her firmly and get it over with. Pho-pho-pho!”

This guy, treating it like it’s someone else’s problem…

“Oh, or perhaps the Madam you remarried is expecting? If so, that child would carry your blood, giving them an even stronger claim to succeed as the Demon King.”

“As for that… there’s nothing yet, I suppose…”

“Regardless, even if it’s just a temporary measure, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to announce a successor given the circumstances. It’s safe to say you’re the only influential member left in the Ryuzen family, and I doubt there would be much public opposition to the Ryuzen dynasty changing hands at this point.”

Before I knew it, several of the other Sixteen Generals were nodding in agreement.

Without me realizing it, the casual chat had essentially turned into a formal agenda item…

“Lord Demon King, I am of the same mind!”

“Rather than making a distant Ryuzen relative who lacks the strength of the prestigious house our King, it should be entrusted to the one who has become your daughter!”

“Please consider it for the future of all demons!”

Ugh… this has turned into a real pain…

“I’m home…”

I returned to the house with a dark expression.

“Ah, Demon King, welcome back. You look like an office worker who just got chewed out by his boss. Even though a Demon King doesn’t have a boss.”

Angelica was in the dining room eating sweets. She must have already finished her meal.

“Welcome home, Garto. I’ll bring out the food right away~♪”

“Yes, thank you, Lateia.”

Angelica didn’t head to her room; she remained at the table.

I suppose it’s better to say it sooner rather than later. I’d hate for the atmosphere to get stiff, and it’s best if Lateia hears it too.

Just as my dinner arrived, I spoke to Angelica.

“Say, Angelica… are you interested in ‘The Demon King’?”

Angelica gave me a look as if she were staring at something disgusting.

It was exactly the kind of expression a teenage daughter makes toward her father…

“What do you mean? Is that some variation of the ‘Do you love your old man?’ question? If it is, I can only say that asking me that is creepy.”

“No! That’s a misunderstanding! I’m not asking about myself; I’m asking if you have an interest in the concept of being the Demon King!”

“Well, sure I’m interested. You could say a Hero is defined as the one who defeats the Demon King. Even though some past Heroes were defeated without taking one down, the ones who stand out are the ones who did. At the very least, there’s no Hero whose greatest achievement is cleaning gutters.”

I suppose that’s true.

Man, this is hard to bring up!

There’s no way I’m going to get an answer like, “I’d love to be one if I could!”

“So, Demon King, why are you asking me that?”

“We got some good venison and rabbit meat today~. I seasoned it with those spices you use~.”

“Oh, this looks delicious. I’ll eat my fill and do my best again tomorrow!”

“Don’t try to dodge the subject by escaping into couple talk just because you saw an opening. You were definitely trying to say something! There’s no way you’d just do a random opinion poll on the concept of the Demon King and leave it at that!”

Angelica had seen right through me.

“Look, I am the current Demon King.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“In other words, I’m essentially like the Sovereign of this Kingdom of Masgenia.”

“I get that too.”

“…Now, here’s a question. A Sovereign chooses a successor in advance to ensure the country doesn’t fall into turmoil over the next ruler. What do you call this person?”

“Why are we starting a mini-quiz…?”

Yes, I’m aware I was being forceful.

“Just answer me.”

“The terminology might differ by country, but it’s what’s known as the Crown Prince, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Lateia praised her, saying, “Angelica, you’ve become so smart~.” Personally, I think she probably knew that much even before she started studying.

“So… who do you think the Demon King’s Crown Prince is?”

“I don’t know, but the Demon King doesn’t have any children, right? In that case, wouldn’t it be a cousin or a nephew? If there aren’t any, they’d make a more distant relative do it. If a relative of the Demon King married into another royal family, maybe the head of that house would inherit the Demon King’s line too?”

Ah, it really feels like Angelica has gotten smarter. It’s as if her academic ranking jumped by fifteen points in a single month.

But I couldn’t just end it by praising her.

“Actually, I haven’t decided for a long time. There weren’t any decent candidates at all. I’d been pestered to decide for a while, but since I was healthy, the general atmosphere was that there was no need to rush.”

“It’s not like the Demon King is at an age where he’s over the hill.”

“However, we had a meeting today…”

I slowly pointed my finger at Angelica.

“A suggestion was made… that it might be a good idea to make you the Crown Prince.”

Angelica flashed a sweet smile.

It was actually terrifying. Why was she smiling?

“Demon King, did you stop for a drink on your way home? You’re drunk and saying weird things.”

“I’m not joking. I’m serious. That’s why I’ve been finding this so hard to bring up…”

“That’s beyond ridiculous!”

Angelica stood up and voiced her complaint.

As expected, she was angry!

“I’m the Hero, you know!? Sure, on paper I might have become the Demon King’s daughter, but why would you make the Hero the successor to the Demon King!? Besides, I’m not even related to the Demon King by blood!”

Lateia narrowed her already thin eyes and said, “Oh my~.”

It felt like a bit too much to ask her to stop Angelica right now…

“What you’re saying is perfectly reasonable. However, there aren’t any decent people among my relatives… those sorts wouldn’t be up to the heavy responsibility of being the Demon King. So, the talk is that it might actually be better to leave it to someone who was a Hero, since they’d at least have some backbone…”

Angelica’s face went completely blank.

She’s definitely thinking that demons make no sense at all.