Chapter 50

Chapter 50

TL: kizen

ED: Filip

AN: Still just sc.r.a.ping along and just as irregular as ever1.

At last, he’s finally going to become a demon lord.

There were still a few days left until the end of the year festival so while I was at the village, Latte, Suzuran and I stayed at the usual vacant house that we borrow. Even though we were pretty much lovers who were living under the same roof, this world’s society doesn’t officially recognize a married couple2 if they don’t have a child.

「I want to have a child soon」

Suzuran has been pestering me with that so I made arrangements for an environment where we can live away from everybody else by renting the vacant house for 30 days.

While we were preparing for the festival, I saw Kuchinas.h.i.+ for the first time in a while. Her belly was already quite big but I wonder how long till she gives birth. Since the parents come from different races so I’m not really sure. It seems like it’s much more difficult for the baby to form if the parents are not from the same race after all.

When I asked Wurst, he told me that it would usually just take a hundred days for the goblin race. I’m not sure if that’s just what they were taught or if they actually start counting that from the time the woman misses a period but it seems like the saying that goblins are really fertile was actually true. I’m not sure if it’s the same with the monster goblins though.

I don’t know if it was spurred on by Kuchinas.h.i.+’s pregnancy but Mir and Tryapka-san started talking about preparing for their own. Their discussion also reached a drunk Suzuran’s ears so that’s why she started wanting her own as well.

Well, I guess even Granade is doing it. What’s with this baby making boom that’s going on with my cla.s.smates?

Thanks to what the bald rat did back in the front lines, I managed to get 6 gold coins from that quest. If we add that to our current savings then I think we’ll be able to manage somehow if we make one now. With that out of the way, the two of us strived to fulfill our the desire to make a child.

For some reason, Latte was just propping up Suzuran instead of actively partic.i.p.ating. To be honest, my body is thankful for it but I’m a bit worried. She’s probably just being mindful though.

But still, to think that even though we’re doing it everyday… She’s been telling me when her safe days are before so there more or less is a way to tell when they’re fertile but, I wonder if that part also got PTSD from the battlefield…

◇

I took my time going back to town after the new year festival ended. It would have been troublesome to rent it every time I came back so we just went ahead and bought the vacant house that we usually rented. We also made Latte move out of her apartment on the second floor of a bar in the lower-cla.s.s district and had her move to Beryl.

The price for the materials, labor, and all other things, the house cost me a total of 2 gold coins. The price seems unreasonable if we compare it to my previous world but it seems like that amount is just a bit more than usual.3Well, it probably won’t be a problem if we spend that much since the cost of living is cheap.

We confirmed that Suzuran was pregnant three months after that. We had an arrangement where Suzuran and I would take turns visiting each other every 30 days but with her pregnancy, it was just me who went back and forth to the village. When I finally told the boss that we were expecting a child, I was ordered to stop working and just go back to my home town.

Before that though, by the time spring had come, the unpopular old men trio came to our village to visit. It seems like they’re here to fulfill their promise to return the potion I used. I was still going back and forth from the village to the town at that point so when I was finally back, we had our reunion in tears.

I welcomed them into our home and listened to their story. It seems like their sentence got reduced by quite a bit after surviving the battlefield so after winter has pa.s.sed, the went back to the battlefield. Once they’ve worked off their sentence and also earned money, they found their way to the village.

It seems like they liked staying in the village so they’ve decided to migrate.

At this time, Wurst and Kuchinas.h.i.+’s first child was born so we held a party together will all of our friends. Sc.h.i.n.ken and Mir’s and Speck and Tryapka-san’s child were also born safely after that.

As for our family, Suzuran gave birth to our child just before the harvest in fall so it was quite hectic. It only took around 300 days before the child was born so I guess it was more or less the same length as humans.

Aside from having a horn like Suzuran, the child pretty much looked human.

Tears started falling the first time I held the child in my hands but even though she just gave birth, Suzuran lightly tapped my thigh and said.

「Get it together, Otou-san」

That made me come to the realization that I’m already a father so I sobbed even more.

Suzuran’s child was a girl so the first thing that came to mind was the Lily of the Valley from Suzuran’s name so I named her Lily. Even Suzuran liked that name.

After that, father and Ichii-san who saw their grandchild for the first time started acting so mushy that it seemed disgusting. It’s as if a dried persimmon turned sweet. Their dignity and intimidating aura had already disappeared. Meanwhile, mother and Licorice-san immediately started teaching us ways on how to take care of a child.

I probably won’t forget the moment Suzuran said, 「It seems like milk still comes out even with small b.r.e.a.s.t.s」 for the rest of my life.

As for Latte, once she learned of Suzuran’s pregnancy, she kept asking me for one too. At the time of Lily’s birth, her stomach already quite big and she gave birth to her child just before the end of the year festival. It was also quite hectic this time.

While Latte was resting in bed after giving birth, she looked at her child with a smile and said.

「He looks like a girl」

The child Latte gave birth to was a boy. Since I didn’t know the names of any of her relatives, I just decided to go with 『Miel』 to go along with his mother.4 I don’t really know what kind of names they usually give here in this world so I just gave them something that has to do with their mother’s names. Incidentally, when I tried asking Latte about her parents, she just said 「Don’t have any」 so I decided not to pry any more than that.

「Does papa want a drink?」

That question suddenly popped up while I was thinking about things.

「Papa looked like he wanted to drink milk together with Miel you know~」

She continued pressing on that issue. Stop it, I’m starting to look pretty deplorable.

Both parents decided not to play favorites and love both children equally.5

As for me, I’ll be happy if we manage to raise the children healthily.

「Hey, hey, look, it’s your grandpa」

When I heard Ichii-san who said that in the kind of voice that I’ve never heard from him before, I decide to just leave that out from this wonderful memory for the sake of his dignity.

For the time being, I decided to stop working in town just stay in the village. Like some kind of Jack of all trades, I grew wheat in the fields in front of our house as well as act as the village’s advisor.

◇

During the end of the year festival the year that the children were born, all of the residents of Clinochlore aside from the landlady came to give their blessings.

Celesso-san, I’m begging you, please stop making Latte drink sake when her child hasn’t been weaned yet. Or rather, it hasn’t even been a month since she gave birth.

I won’t really be able to explain to them why so I just told them.

「You shouldn’t get drunk, we still have to look after the children after all」

「We can just leave them to your parents~」

After saying that, they continued to drink. I’m starting to worry about her child. Suzuran, you too. Stop feeding Lily meat. I’m also worried about this one but for an entirely different reason.

◇

Spring of the following year after our children were born, I was asked by the village chief to a.s.sist in teaching some of our techniques to the surrounding villages. He said it was to reduce the disparity of wealth among other villages in the vicinity.

The kids were still small so I couldn’t take them with me on this business trip but because of that, we began sharing Beryl Village’s techniques on proper well digging, land reclamation, and making ca.n.a.ls. We even reached the poor villages as we got closer to Aegirine and Tephroite but, for the time being, we’re just going to help those villages get a start by cultivating new land. We also told their chief to go to Aegirine to look for immigration applicants from its residents to give them some kind of plan.

Once we made sure that they won’t starve through the winter at the very least, we moved on to the next village we were going to teach. After that, village chiefs would frequently hold a conference meeting with me sitting in so that I can add in my opinions.

Autumn of the following year, the total yield of the other villages increased compared to last year. Even the poor villages said,「We might be able to go through the winter this year without anyone dying of starvation」 so perhaps they had some pretty decent results.

That same year, I was also asked by the school to be a guest lecturer and teach the kids about magic.

「I need you to teach them how to create an image in a way that’s easy to understand」

Being asked that by Birke-sensei, I used the same water and bucket exercise from before but I also added a stick burning exercise where I told them to think of the stick as their finger. We did that until all of them could at least use simple magic. Incidentally, everyone also experienced fainting when the mandrake Gaike-chan was pulled out.

「Now that you’ve experienced what happens if you pull out a mandrake, make sure you’re careful when you find one okay?」 I just told them that as an excuse. I still haven’t seen a mandrake out in the wild though.

◇

A year after the children were born, they were now crawling around energetically and grabbing things as they learned how to walk. Their field of activities has now expanded so they’re at a point where you can’t take your eyes off them.

Half a year after they were born we were already giving them porridge instead of milk. For some reason, Latte really liked that dish to the point where she would eat up Miel’s leftovers. She even asks for seconds so I started making bit more.

As for Suzuran, she was trying to feed Lily some salt-dried meat that she chewed on until it became paste so I gave it my all to stop her. She told me that she wants her to eat meat no matter what so I boiled some chicken tenders, shredded it, then added it to the porridge.

They could only say simple words back then but now that they’re one, they can already say short phrases and we could more or less understand what they’re trying to say. They should start weaning soon so I started giving them pureed apples and milk cookies that are not that sweet. The wives of the three idiots also requested for those so I made some for them as well.

It would have been troublesome to do it every time they would ask so I gathered them all in our house to teach them. Out of all of them, Mir was the only one who burned her cooking because of her clumsiness. As expected of a deplorable beauty, she never fails to meet my expectations. It couldn’t be helped so the next day I called Sc.h.i.n.ken and taught him instead. He was even better than Kuchinas.h.i.+ but he was no match for Tryapka-san as expected. He’s probably the versatile type who’s able to do whatever you teach him.

While saying that it was for a woman’s pride, Mir asked me to teach her again but she only improved a bit so I just told her to asked Sc.h.i.n.ken to teach her so that she won’t ask me again. Even though he’s the husband, he turns into a wife at home. Even if Suzuran, Latte, and Sc.h.i.n.ken don’t mind it, I do okay?

「Ara, I knew that you were good with your fingers but I didn’t know you could make sweets as well. It would have been better if you were born as a girl」

Even my mother, who doesn’t look like a grandmother at all with how young she looks, is saying that. I wonder if she wanted a daughter.

◇

2 years later

The children are now 3 years old and they’re already playing around the village.

They’re always around Wurst and Kuchinas.h.i.+’s daughter『Primula』, Sc.h.i.n.ken and Mir’s son『Perna』, and Speck and Tyapka’s daughter『Reika』 who were the same age as them. They all play every day and just come back home to eat.

It seems like they also made other friends but they’re particularly close to those three since they know their parents. Aside from that, since I always bring out treats, they would usually hang out in our place.

I was also thinking of bringing them along to my old base in the forest since it probably won’t be as dangerous to go there right now compared to back then. However, Latte would glare at me every time I try to take the kids there so it’s impossible. Aren’t you being a bit overprotective?

「If you really want to go to the forest then teach the children magic first okay~?」

After she told me that, I took some yarn and used it to demonstrate to the children how to use mana to manipulate it. I taught them that they would be able to form the yarn into any shape they want as long as they have the correct image. What I was doing was similar to balloon art but instead of using a balloon and forming it into shape with my hands, I used yarn and magic. They were really amazed when I formed the yarn into a shape of a bunny and started making it jump around using magic.

「Otou-san is amazing!」

「Papa is amazing!」

The two of them each have their own way of calling me. I wanted them to just stick to one but Suzuran taught her daughter to call me 『Otou-san』 while Latte insisted that Miel call me 『Papa』. I thought they would both insist their own preferences but that didn’t really happen.

They don’t start teaching you magic in this village until you’re 5 years old so I think it’s too early for them but Latte was eager for them to learn it early. Well, I guess I should at least make then learn how to control their magic by having them practice until they can make the yarn slither like a snake.

◇

I would teach the children magic and we would use the evenings to practice. Miel was pretty good at it but Lily was struggling a bit. That’s probably because she takes after her mother but I want her to at least be able to produce water and fire.

Well, Suzuran was able to produce a flame that looked like it was coming from a flamethrower from the start so I think she’ll be able to learn simple but high output magic.

◇

The kids are now 4 years old. These days, even the surrounding villages have now started flouris.h.i.+ng. As for me, I’m still leisurely working the fields. I’ve even begun helping take care of the birds that have been migrated from Suzuran’s house.

I’m troubled because I’ve started thinking that they’re cute and I’ve gotten attached to them so I can’t bring myself to kill them.

「I wonder if this is happiness~」

Just as I was thinking that, an unknown Demonkin suddenly dropped down from the sky.

「You seem quite strong. Don’t you think someone that strong should become a Demon Lord?」was what was suddenly asked of me.6

「Haa?」

Even though he’s smaller than Latte, he’s letting out an impressive amount of intimidating and bloodthirsty aura. It’s clear from the that this guy’s dangerous even though he looks like a kid.

「Hmmー, it seems like you’re having trouble keeping up with this conversation」

「Yes, you came out of nowhere and asked me to be a demon lord after all」

「I see, I see. Then, let’s discuss it in full detail. That is your house over there, right? Let’s talk there」

After saying that, he immediately barged into our home.

Suzuran was extremely vigilant at first but she probably instinctually thought it was dangerous so she didn’t attack him. For the time being, I asked him to take a seat. He thanked me when I offered him some barley tea so it seems like he does have a bit of common sense.

「Now then, I wonder where I should start. Ahー, that’s right. The Demon Lord who’s based on a certain uninhabited island was killed by a summoned hero. That’s why I want you to be his successor」

「……that’s really sudden, isn’t it?」

「That’s not true. We have been observing you for a long time now. It’s sudden as far as you’re concerned though」

What the heck is this guy saying?

「Is there anything in specific that you want me to do there?」

He sipped his tea after saying that

「Ahー, this is delicious, isn’t it?」

It certainly does seem like the Demon Lords are free to do what they want based on the one I met when I was in the fort on the front lines.

「You’re asking me to become a Demon Lord even though there might be a risk of getting defeated by the hero?」

「That’s right. There aren’t any demonkins around this area that are as strong as you, you see. You’ll be fine as long as you remain inconspicuous. And besides, that territory is located close to the humans’ port city and our border so demonkin and humans don’t fight each other over there」

「I will support whatever Caam’s decision may be. I’m sure that’s what the children think as well so you don’t have to worry about us」7

「But stillー, the kids might have a hard time you know?」

「Then how about this. I will teach you the magic circle for transfer magic so that you can come back to this village any time you please. I’ll even add some human slaves and tools for reclamation. What do you think?」

「You sure say it like it’s that easy」

「We have an unmanaged territory so we want to fill that position up quickly after all」

While we were having that conversation, Latte came back.

「Ah, h.e.l.lo~」She gave that greeting before joining our discussion.

「Please let us discuss it with her first」

「That’s fine」

After saying that, we briefly filled her into what was happening while drinking barley tea.

「Caam-kun! You should accept to become a Demon Lord! Every Demonkin yearns for that t.i.tle you know!」

I haven’t seen her so excited and talking so loudly before.

「But the previous one was killed by the hero you know?」

「Isn’t that because he was an idiot? If it’s Caam-kun then I’m sure he’ll be alright!」

「I don’t know where that confidence of yours comes from but it’s an uninhabited island you know?」

「Ah, I said that but a cargo s.h.i.+p docks there once every three days. We’ve also confirmed sightings of members of the harpy tribe and other aquatic races there so it not totally uninhabited. It’s just that n.o.body has settled there yet. There are also some that get washed up there from time to time. The island is big so you’ll need around 5 days just to go around it. It looks exactly like a grain of barley albeit a few cracks here and there if you look at it from above」

After saying that, he took out a map from his breast pocket and showed it to me as Suzuran gave him a refill on his tea. It looked exactly like a grain of rice with the rice germ as a gulf and a cape for the top part.

「It’s huge. It’s a mystery why this island hasn’t been touched until now」

「Rather than say it’s untouched, it has just been a cycle of the Demon Lord getting subjugated by the hero after they reside there so neither demons nor humans have had a chance to approach」

「How terrible」

「It’s fine if you think of it as just the same as what you did to make the surrounding villages you know? You have the ability, knowledge, and even good sense. Moreover, your strength belongs to the Demon Lord cla.s.s. Aren’t you the perfect candidate then?!」

He spread both of his arms like he did some kind of speech. Please don’t spread your arms while you’re still holding your cup okay? Look, some of your tea has spilled out. Even Latte’s telling me 「You should just do it~」.

「What does Suzuran think?」

「Like I said, I’m fine with whatever as long as Caam doesn’t die」

While saying that, she took a sip of her tea.

「Ahー, yeah yeah. Well, we can just come back anytime with that transfer magic formation of yours so we’ll be safe right?」

「It has a lot of limitations though. You can only transfer something that’s within an area that’s the same size as this table. And even loading a fixed amount of mana takes a bit of time. You also can’t use it while on the move. That’s why it’s impossible to instantly use it to run away when you’re in danger」

「Even though you want me to become a Demon Lord and move to an uninhabited island, you sure aren’t trying to hide the dangerous parts, aren’t you?」

「I don’t like lying after all. Although I can just not talk about it, my morals wouldn’t allow me to」

「Ahー, such a commendable sincerity」8

「Don’t you think so?」

Fufu, even though he giggled with a smug look on his face, troublesome things are troublesome.

「Well, that’s fine. At any rate, even if I refuse, you’re going to find a way for me to become a Demon Lord right?」

「Oh, so you do get it」

「Then please don’t say that we’re going to negotiate from the start」

「We did negotiate though. I offered to give you the transfer magic formation as well as slaves and tools right?」

「Were you offer something else if I continued to refuse?」

「I would have increased the number of slaves increased but I was going to give you all of them anyway」

「That just makes the humans seem like a freebie……」

「Well, they’re slaves after all. I’m asking you to do something dangerous so it’s necessary to do this much right?」

「Yeah yeah」

「Then it’s decided. For now, I’m going to the current strongest Maou-sama’s place in order to report your consent to be a Demon Lord」

「Before that, I have something I want to ask」

「Sure, go ahead」

「Which direction does the sun come out on the island?」

「It comes out from here, the recessed part of the island」

So this side is east huh.

「What about the edges of the island? Are there cliffs? Is it just sand?」

「It’s all just sand. There’s a mountain in the center as well.」

I guess it’s some kind of volcanic island.

「What kind of monsters live there?」

「It mainly consists of goblins, giant spiders and hornets that live in the forest. There are harpies that come out of the mountain as well. Those ones are monsters though」

We should probably be careful of monsters.

「How about the water and food situation?」

「It’s a vast island with plenty of sources for spring water. There are various lakes in the center of the island as well. As for food, there are lots of fruits as well as wildlife so you can live off those. There are bears though so if you don’t want to lose slaves, you should be careful of them」

I wonder if there’s naturally heated water there since it’s a volcanic island. Since there’s a mountain, the rainwater probably gets acc.u.mulated underground so I also wonder if it’s going to gush out because of the pressure(of the heat). I can’t really say.

It seems like food will last for a while as well. If the worse comes to worst, I guess I can just cram as much wheat as I can into that magic circle.

「Because I had a predecessor, how much of the land has actually been reclaimed?」

「Hmmー. If you walk to the forest starting from this recessed part, there is a clearing where the castle was constructed. There is also a place for the slaves to stay nearby so you could say that from recessed part to the castle has been reclaimed」

There’s a wide area that’s probably 10 to 15-minute walk from the gulf. There’s an area for slaves next to that but I’m guessing that it’s probably inferior living s.p.a.ce compared to the main one. Well, I still haven’t been there yet so I’m not really sure.

「Are there any poisonous creatures?」

「The Giant Spiders and Hornets that I’ve talked about before are poisonous. There are also snakes but I don’t think anybody has been bitten by those yet」

We really need to take measures against those monsters.

「What about the weather? Do storms pa.s.s by that island? Or does summer occasionally not come to the island」

「There are stormy summers there once in a while but it’s usually pretty calm. It does rain from time to time and it’s summer there when it’s summertime but that’s all that I know」

It doesn’t seem like the island experiences cold summers and although there are typhoons, they don’t seem to occur that frequently.

「How do we get there?」

「You take a carriage towards the direction where the sun comes out for fifteen days until you reach the port city. Then it will take a cargo s.h.i.+p there which would take another 5 days. Ah, do you know what the sea is? It’s a really large lake with salty water. That’s where salt comes from you know?」

I wonder if I was underestimating how far inland this village is. I still haven’t seen a world map even now so I can’t really tell. It seems like they use the term “sea” for that kind of body of water but it seems like the onee-san in charge of the pond hasn’t been there before. But still, if you’re going to describe the sea so someone who hasn’t seen it before, that description is certainly the most fitting.

「Are there parts of the island that are particularly dangerous?」

「There’s a place on the top of the mountain where even boulders get melted. Although, I guess it’s fine as long as you don’t approach that place. It seems like the humans who get close to that place fall somewhere though」

It’s a volcanic island so I guess it’s natural for there to be lava. I’m also not really sure but the mountain top might be covered in mist.

「Hmmー……」

「Is there anything else?」

「Nothing else comes to mind. I want to ask a few more questions but I can’t think of anything anymore」

「Are you sure?」

「What about the slaves’ origins?」

「Who knows?」

「Who knows, you say……」

「They were already slaves when I took charge of them so I don’t know」

「Haa, I see……」

「Yeah. Are you now satisfied?」

「……I don’t know」

「Shall we go and report your acceptance then?」

「Yay~! Caam-kun is now a Maou-sama~! I am now a Demon Lord’s queen~」

She’s really excited for some reason. Is that really something to yearn for? While I was thinking that, I looked at Suzuran and she was just drinking tea and acting like usual. It seems like it’s not really the case.

The demonkin who came to negotiate went outside and took a few steps away from our entryway then closed his eyes to concentrate. After a while, a magic circle 2 meters in diameter appeared letting out a bluish-white light.

「Get on this, Caam-kun. Iyaー, I finally got to know your name. I would have been troubled with what to call you if your wife just referred to you as “dear”」

Ha ha ha! He laughed as he reached out his hand.

「I’ll show you how to make this magic circle so just get on for now. It should activate once you pour even more mana into it」

「Well then, I’m off. I’ll leave it to you two to explain to everyone what happened if I don’t come back」

「Caam-kun is really easy-going, isn’t he? Even though he’s about to meet the strongest Maou-sama」

「There’s no point in stressing out about it after all」

After saying that, my field of view turned hazy and after feeling a familiar floating sensation, we arrived in the middle of a small room.

「This is a storeroom outside of the Demon Lord’s castle. It’s primarily used for setting up transfer magic circles. You should take care when going outside though since if you’re not careful, you might get killed」

「I don’t think I’m going to come here after this you know?」

「Oーi, open the doorー!」

It seems like the door was locked and it can’t be opened from the inside. Or rather, there were neither door k.n.o.bs nor a keyhole inside so you really would have to wait for someone to open it. After hearing the heavy click of the lock, the door opened and we met with an armored soldier.

「So this person is the new Demon Lord. If you would like to visit this castle in the future, please shout just like earlier and we’ll open the door for you」

After saying that, he shut the door then went back to his station.

「Well then, let’s go over here」

We entered through a large gate at the main entrance and I was guided to the room where the Demon Lord is. Just like what you’d see in movies or games, he was in sitting crossed-legged in a throne in the middle of a wide room with his chin resting on his hand.

He looks like a pretty standard Demon Lord if you ask me. He’s wearing a black cloak and has sheep-like horns growing by his temples. I can’t even compare him to the one who led me here because I’m certain that their strengths are worlds apart. The hero is really amazing for actually challenging the demon lords it seems. He has to defeat this guy right? My condolences I guess.

Wait, I wonder if it would be fine for me to act like usual. The guy who came to negotiate was probably just a subordinate of this Demon Lord. He approached the Demon Lord and handed him some doc.u.ments.

「So you came. It’s unusual to find someone who can only speak the continent’s common language when we demonkin have our own. Well, you have lived in a place that’s close to the humans’ border so I guess it can’t be helped. Anyway, that’s fine. You don’t have to mind me and just speak in your usual way」

「Ahー. Yes, I understand」

I didn’t know what to say aside from that.

The Demon Lord only spoke again once he finished reading through the doc.u.ments that was handed to him.

「Fumu. Although I feel bad for getting in the way of your happy life together with your two wives and children, I’ll have you become a Demon Lord. Well, it has already been decided that you’ll become one at this point in time so I will now give you the crest which signifies you becoming a Demon Lord. It’s something that’s really beautiful and intricate you know?

…what is it? It will be done immediately so you don’t have to worry because you even won’t feel any pain.9 You can choose where you want to put it. Even the forehead is fine you know? It was a good thing you accepted because that’s would have made everything pointless if you just died when we fought」

The Demon Lord grinned as he got closer. Was that some kind of a joke among Demon Lords? They just told me a while ago that you’re the strongest Demon Lord so I totally don’t want to challenge you okay? Or rather, don’t come here with that thin, curved sword under your mantle that is obviously not just for decoration. It’s scary okay?

I immediately raised my hand in salute and asked for permission to say something.

「I don’t mind. Speak」

「About that crest, can I ask how big it is?」

After saying that, he took off his top and showed me a 5cm in diameter crest by his chest. The design is that of a snake with wings of flame coiling around a sword. Also, the Maou-sama sure has a cool looking six-pack, doesn’t he?

「Ahー, so that’s it. Please place it on top of my foot then」

After saying that, I took off my boots and the cloth that’s in place for socks.

「Hou. You’re quite the unusual fellow, aren’t you? I’m curious as to why you decided to put it there. Tell me」

The Demon Lord suddenly stopped and asked me for the reason.

I thought it was just a thin, curved sword but looking closer, that’s actually a katana, isn’t it? It has a circular hilt with some kind of design engraved to it and even the grip has some unique characteristics.

「I don’t want to stand out as much as possible you see. However, I couldn’t just have it placed at the sole of my foot because I thought it would be rude if I had to show it to another Demon Lord」

「Even the top of the foot is already pretty rude you know?」

「Ahー, is that so……? I wonder where would be good then…… How about at the back of my neck?」

I started touching my chin as I contemplated.

「Well, whatever. I don’t particularly mind if you have your crest it there」

While saying that, he lightly raised his hand and engraved the seal on top of my right foot. It really was quick, and it didn’t hurt as well.

「Ahー, I forgot to ask. Can this be erased? Like if I’m going somewhereー」「You can’t」

「Ahー, okay……」

Then, like a ninja, the guy who led me here came out.

「Alright, I’m going back now. I’ll leave the rest to you」

After saying that, he retired to a pa.s.sage by the side of the throne.

What was that? Did he just sit on his throne just to meet me? Is he actually just a shut-in!? This is the part where he goes back to the throne right?

「Congratulations on becoming a Demon Lord. Well then, here is an ill.u.s.tration for the transfer magic circle. To use it, you imagine the place you want to go to while activating it」

「You’re really nonchalant about it, aren’t you? Does this kind of thing happen all the time?」

「We don’t usually appoint a new Demon Lord unless one dies」

He took out a piece of paper from his breast pocket and handed it to me after saying that.

「How would I use this if I can’t use magic?」

「You can do the same thing I did when we came here. You wouldn’t be able to come back of course」

「So they won’t be able to go home………」

I did my best to imagine our house’s entryway as I gathered up mana while imagining the magic circle I was shown earlier.

「Hmmーーーー It’s pretty difficult to imagine, isn’t itー?」

While complaining, a magic circle lit up under my feet.

「It’s amazing how you were able to do it on the first try! Ah, wait! This part over here is wrong」

He pointed out a mistake in the character placement on the left-hand side of the magic circle. It’s certainly amazing to be able to do this on the first try.

After pointing out mistakes for a few more times, I was able to make a proper magic circle. Then I added even more mana before activating it. I had the same sensation where my field of view turned blurry and I felt a floating sensation before we appeared in front of my house.

「You were able to reach your target location in just one try. Iyaー, that’s really exceptional you know? You only had a few mistakes with transfer magic circle as well」

I wonder if he’s praising me. Well, I guess that makes me happy either way.

「Well, you can do anything with magic as long as you can imagine it after all. All you need to do is practice」

「Then we’ll go to the uninhabited island 10 days later after lunch」

After saying that, the subordinate flew away to somewhere.

「Well, with that, I’ve now become a Demon Lord」

That evening, I went to the bar with the three idiots and told them what happened over drinks.

「Iya, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done till now」

「I’m really sorry」

「Please forgive me」

The three idiots made eye contact with me and apologized.

「Stop joking around okay? It’s doing terrible damage to me after all」

「That’s the pointー! I mean, it’s impossible for us to talk with Caam in such a formal way after all」

They started tapping my back while saying that. The other villagers there started making fun of me saying things like

「As expected!」

「We have a prodigy over here you know?」

「Good for you, Maou-sama!」

I prefer it to be like this compared to everyone suddenly treating me differently.

Hearing the news, the unpopular old men group also came over to congratulate me.

「I just thought of you as a high-spirited young lad who would just run into enemy soldiers but it’s praiseworthy for you to get this far!」

「That’s right!」

「Treat us to a drink, Maou-sama!」

I’m glad that these three are also still treating me the same way.

And with that, I became a Demon Lord. [TL: and my territory was an uninhabited island. d.a.m.n it author, you missed that opportunity, ED: I agree]