Fried And Yulisha.

I arrived at the “Unopened Room” of the Demon King Castle. The spiritual body of the previous Demon King, Yulisha, lived here. Well, “lived” might be stretching it—she was more like squatting here, but still.

“It’s been a while,” I said, stepping into the room and walking over to her.

She possessed an innocent beauty, with black hair that reached all the way down to her feet. Because of her small frame, her black robe was completely baggy on her.

“You have left me neglected for quite some time, have you not?” Yulisha seemed to be throwing a tantrum. “Good grief… you rarely ever come to see me.”

Pouting like a little child, she puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her mouth.

“Sorry. I’ve been busy with various things.”

“Spending time all alone is dreadful.”

“…I’ll try to look for a demon who might get along with you,” I said, trying to placate Yulisha.

Of course, the absolute prerequisite was that they had to be tight-lipped. Now that I thought about it, someone like Olivier might be a good fit. I could easily picture her reacting with something like: “Waa! She’s tiny, she’s cute, she’s so lovely~!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“…Nothing. I just thought of a demon who might get along well with you.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll bring her along next time.”

“That’s a promise, then.” Yulisha suddenly leaned her face in close. Her eyes were shining brilliantly. It was a gaze full of anticipation, looking very much like a child who might make a new friend.

“Yes, I swear it as the Demon King.”

“In that case, very well. So, what is your business for today?” Yulisha asked, throwing her weight back as she sat.

“Actually—” I went on to tell her about the recent battle.

“The ‘power’ hidden deep beneath the underground, huh…”

“Do you know anything about it, Yulisha?”

“It is said that during the battle against the ‘First Demon King’ Welfer, God sustained a massive wound. It is highly possible that a portion of the ‘Power of God’ was sealed away beneath the underground of the Demon King Castle at that time,” Yulisha replied to my question.

“Beneath the underground of the castle…?”

“That is merely my deduction based on the words and actions of that fellow called Rearvelt.” The previous Demon King let out a sigh. “Even though I was the Demon King, there is still much that remains unknown to me. Perhaps Welfer is the only one who knows absolutely everything.”

“So Rearvelt acquired that power… and that is how he became that monstrously strong, is what you’re saying.”

“Furthermore, that power has likely passed over to the Heavenly Realm,” Yulisha noted in a bitter tone.

“As I thought, then.” When I defeated Rearvelt, he had unleashed that rainbow light all the way outside the Demon Realm, after all. By now, that “power” might have already returned to God.

“Before long, God shall acquire even greater power. And as God grows stronger, his emissaries—the angels and the heroes—will also grow stronger. The battle will only grow increasingly fierce.”

“We’ll need to strengthen our defenses even further too,” I sighed.

“Defenses?” Yulisha let out a dismissive scoff. “How lukewarm. Why not launch an offensive from our side instead?”

“We would suffer heavy casualties as well. Besides, it’s undeniable that holding a defensive position is far more advantageous than attacking.”

“Hmm, you have a point,” Yulisha nodded. “No matter how we fight, we must assemble our pieces.” With that, she cast a sharp glare at me. “Above all, the Demon Army must unite around you. How is the solidarity of the current army? Are there any insurgent elements?”

An insurgent element—. Zegart instantly flashed across my mind.

“…I can’t say there are none,” I groaned bitterly.

“If the Demon King’s sword can be repaired, the curse of weakening that God placed upon the demons will be lifted as well. If that happens, even if the heroes have grown stronger, we should be more than capable of putting up a proper fight.”

“The Purgatory Demon King Sword, Radis… huh.” But as things stood, we simply couldn’t find the leeway to search for it. There were six fragments left. Where on earth could they be right now?

Right then, a thought suddenly struck me. Perhaps—we could search for them using Stella’s eye.

“…My deepest apologies. I am still unable to control that power at my own free will.”

I had asked Stella right away, but she shook her head side to side with a look of regret.

“At that time, it was an extreme situation, and my emotions were, um, exceptionally heightened so………………………. I even gave Lord Fried my first kiss.”

At the very end, Stella murmured softly with a flushed face. To put it bluntly, she was adorable.

“M-My apologies, I said something entirely unnecessary.”

“N-No, it’s fine.” I, too, had inadvertently found myself captivated by her. Ever since she confessed to me the other day, I couldn’t help but be intensely conscious of her.

“Hypothetically, if you were to master the ‘Apocalypse Eye’, do you think you could search for the fragments of the Demon King’s sword?”

“That eye is an ocular art that sees through absolutely everything. I believe there is a very real possibility,” Stella nodded.

“I see. I know it won’t be an easy feat, but please do what you can to master it.”

“According to your command, Lord Fried,” Stella nodded respectfully.

——For the time being, it seemed our progress regarding the search for the Demon King’s sword fragments would have to stop here.

“There are still quite a lot of wounded soldiers, aren’t there?” Staring at the line of demons gathering at the medical station, I let out a sigh.

It was a convalescent facility built near the Demon King Castle. There, the demons who had sustained injuries during the previous battle were receiving treatment.

“Yes, please form a single line.”

“You there, no cutting the queue.”

The Sixth Army, which was highly proficient in healing arts, had been fighting hard day after day. Among them, the efforts of Demon Army Commander Olivier, the “Priest,” were truly remarkable. She was unleashing healing spells onto patients one after another in rapid succession.

“Glow of Healing! Next person, Glow of Healing as well! And then, Greater Recovery! Ah, you two over there, please put yourselves on an IV drip. Yes, for the next person, I will apply a healing spell combined with a blood transfusion… wait, Demon King-sama?” Olivier locked her gaze onto me.

“Ah, sorry. I only came by to check on things, please carry on.” I raised a hand to stop her. There was no reason to get in her way, so I moved to a spot further away.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t use healing magic myself, but I was quite bad at it. The Demon King’s stats were overwhelmingly skewed toward offense. Even so, since it wasn’t completely impossible for me to use it, I decided to help out with treating those with minor injuries.

“Large Heal.”

Even if I was bad at it, my pool of magical energy was an order of magnitude greater than that of ordinary demons. For now, I just unleashed a continuous barrage of Large Heals. I went around healing whoever came my way.

“I-Incredible… in a mere instant.”

“For those who have sustained a certain degree of injury, I can’t heal them right away… but I’ve patched up whatever was within my power.”

“Thank you very much!” The demons of the Sixth Army offered their gratitude to me. All of them were female demons clad in white coats that brought doctors to mind. There was a rich variety among them—some were humanoid, while others were beastman types, amorphous creatures, and even magical beast forms.

Just then—

“Demon King-sama, my apologies for earlier~” Olivier came over to my side.

“No, I was the one who got in your way. Is it alright for you to leave your post?”

“It happens to be the right timing for a break,” Olivier stated cheerfully. “I’m quite good at temporarily raising my magical energy in an instant, but my overall mana capacity isn’t very large…”

To put it in other terms, it was like having explosive power but lacking stamina.

“Until a bit more of my magical energy returns, I’m taking a short rest.”

“Thanks to you and the Sixth Army, the wounded are recovering one after another. You have my gratitude.” I praised Olivier for her hard work.

“Ehehe, I don’t possess any direct combat capabilities at all, after all. I figured I should at least do my best with this sort of thing.”

“Every Demon Army Commander has their respective role. Your efforts are vital.” Smiling at Olivier through my mask, I spoke.