Triumphant Return And Daily Life

Having returned to the Demon Castle, Stella and I dismounted from the Magic Dragon. We were right in front of the main gate.

“My Demon Lord, a triumphant return!”

A young girl came running up, her red hair tied in a ponytail swaying with each step. It was Rilim, the captain of the Castle Guard.

“Welcome back, my Demon Lord!”

“We are so glad you are safe!”

The soldiers following behind her all wore smiles as well.

“Thank you.”

I waved back to them. It was almost frustrating that I couldn’t show them a smile because of the mask. Rilim and the soldiers surrounded me with delighted expressions.

“How was the battle, my Demon Lord?”

“I won without any issues. I also sealed all the holes that had been opened in the barrier.”

“As expected of our Demon Lord!”

“Sasu-Mao! Sasu-Mao!”

Rilim and the others grew rowdy with that mysterious chant from before.

“Stand back. You are in the presence of the Demon Lord,” Stella announced coolly. “I understand your devotion, but maintain your sense of decorum.”

“Oh, it’s fine, isn’t it? I prefer this kind of atmosphere over something stiff and formal anyway.”

“But, my Lord, your majesty…”

Stella really is earnest to a fault.

“Um… speaking directly and kindly to the soldiers—don’t you think it’s very effective for raising morale?”

Was that a bit of a forced argument?

“I see. That makes sense,” she replied. She was persuaded surprisingly easily.

“The Demon Lord has given his permission. I withdraw my previous statement. My apologies.”

Stella bowed her head slightly to Rilim and the rest. Yeah, definitely earnest. And above all, she’s honest. Being an aide to the Demon Lord means Stella’s social standing must be top-class in the Demon Realm. Yet, she apologized straightforwardly to the common soldiers.

In the human world, none of the bigwigs I knew were like this. They were all people who looked down on anyone of lower status.

“Yay! The previous Demon Lord was really strict about that stuff,” Rilim said, raising her hands happily.

“Yeah, yeah. Someone once got punished by having to run a thousand laps around the castle just for chatting while on duty.”

“There was that guy who had his salary docked for three months, too.”

“I had my allowances cut completely! That was rough…”

As the other soldiers talked, some of them even started tearing up. It seemed the previous Demon Lord, Yurisha, had been quite hard on her subordinates.

Thirty minutes later, I was in a room in the castle with Stella. It was the same place where the two of us had consulted about the future before.

“Now that the barrier repairs are finished, I want to move on to our next steps.”

“You mentioned that the Heroes likely won’t invade for another three months. We should organize the Demon Realm’s defenses as much as possible during that time.”

Stella nodded at my words. By the way, since it was just the two of us, I had taken off the mask. It’s hard to breathe with that thing on. This is much more comfortable.

“Right. First, I want to get a grasp of our current military strength. Let’s see… beneath the Demon Lord are the Seven Great Demon Commanders, and they each oversee their respective legions—is that correct?”

Since most of my knowledge comes from my time as a Hero, there might be misunderstandings.

“Basically, that understanding is correct,” Stella nodded. “However, as I mentioned before, three of the Commanders have died in battle. Of the remaining four, excluding myself, two are in the human world, and the last one is missing after the battle with the Heroes.”

In short, Stella is the only Commander by my side. And Stella hasn’t even recovered her combat abilities yet.

“Actually, on a more fundamental note—”

An idea occurred to me.

“When the Heroes invade three months from now, how about a plan where I just fight alone and drive them all away one by one?”

“We expect an invasion of thousands or even tens of thousands, remember? No matter how powerful you are, my Demon Lord—I mean, Fried-sama.”

Oh, just as we discussed, she’s calling me by my name when we’re alone.

“P-pardon… um…”

“What is it, Stella?”

“No, I am simply not used to calling you by your name yet. It is a bit… embarrassing.”

Stella blushed and fidgeted. Since she usually looks so cool, the gap is actually quite cute.

“M-my apologies. I shall continue,” she said.

“Go ahead.”

“Indeed, Fried-sama, you possess abilities that far exceed those of previous Demon Lords. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you are in a different league. However… no matter how powerful you are, there is a limit to how many Heroes a single person can handle.”

“Hmm… I suppose you’re right.”

It’s impossible for me to cover the entire vast Demon Realm alone. While I’m fighting, Heroes who invaded from another location could carry out a mass slaughter of demons—that’s a very real possibility.

“I guess the best thing is to gather as many strong people as possible and set up an ironclad defense system.”

Instead of me just being “the strongest and invincible,” the entire Demon Realm should possess a robust defensive force. If that happens, the human side won’t be able to attack so easily. It would be best if no fighting happened at all. It’s not like I want to conquer the human world.

However, as things stand, the Demon Realm will continue to be invaded. The hatred and loathing humans feel for demons are deep-seated. I was the same way myself. …No, I should say I used to be that way. Ending the war is no easy task. It’s more of a pipe dream.

“Fried-sama?”

“…It’s nothing.”

First, I’ll do what I can, one step at a time. For now, I intend to protect those I want to protect within the scope of my own vision. Whether they be demons or humans.

After that, Stella and I spent several hours discussing the defense system.

“Alright, that covers the basic policy for now. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“There are also the Demon Lord’s daily duties… what shall we do about those?”

“Daily duties?”

“I will bring them now.”

Stella stepped out of the room for a moment and returned immediately. She placed a massive stack of documents on the desk.

“What… is this?”

My face twitched. It was a mountain of paperwork over three meters high.

“The previous King’s work had fallen behind due to the war with the Heroes…” Stella explained with an apologetic face. “The documents waiting for approval have piled up quite a bit.”

“Quite a bit… you call this quite a bit?”

I picked up the document at the very top.

“…I have no idea what this says.”

I could read the words, sure. But between applications for public works and budget resolutions for various departments, I had no clue what was what. I’ve spent my life fighting demons as a Hero since I was a teenager. I’ve never done paperwork in my life.

“You became the Demon Lord so suddenly; it’s only natural that it would be difficult to understand everything from the start.”

Stella offered me a lifeline.

“How about you simply apply your seal for now until you get used to it? I have already checked through these documents once.”

Oh, Stella is capable! When did she find the time to do all that?

“So basically, I just have to keep stamping them, right?”

That’s a relief.

“Thanks, Stella.”

“Pardon?”

“To be honest, I’d have no idea what to do with these. I’m glad you’re here with me,” I said with a wry smile. “I’m counting on you.”

“I shall serve you with everything I have.”

Stella bowed deeply.

And so, the Demon Lord’s daily duties began. For now, it was the task of mindlessly stamping documents. …I tried to keep an eye on the content, but I still didn’t really get it.

“Well, I can learn as I go.”

Even so, there was so much paperwork.

“Stella looked through all of this…?”

It was truly impressive.

“Sorry. This must have been a lot of work for you.”

“My Lord…?”

“This is actually all my job. You must be busy too, Stella…”

I bowed my head to her.

“I’m not good at this kind of thing, but I’ll do my best to learn it as quickly as possible.”

“Fried-sama, you have only just assumed the throne. Besides, there is no need for you to be skilled in every single field. If there are areas where you are unskilled, we, your subjects, will compensate for them.”

Stella smiled.

“You thought of us, protected us, and fought for us. You have fulfilled the most important and noble duty of a King.”

“I…”

I just couldn’t ignore people being hurt in front of me. Whether they were humans or demons. I didn’t want to see the strong trampling the weak. That’s all.

“I am happy to be able to serve you. I shall provide as much assistance as I can.”

The duty of a King, huh? Honestly, it still hasn’t sunk in… and I still haven’t reached a conclusion on whether I’ll continue to live as a Demon Lord from here on out. But for the sake of Stella and the others, I’ll give it my best shot.