Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 1

by Kurone Kanzaki

  The girl who was introduced to Yu as Luna mumbled this next to her. To Yu, magic seemed like a power much more ridiculous than hers. The grass was always greener on the other side, she supposed.

  “But you have my thanks, too. Not him, never. But I’ll give you my gratitude.”

  Yu let out a smile hearing this. Luna’s innocence and fearless attitude reminded her of Akane a little.

  “I see why the secretary has taken a liking to you...”

  “H-Huh!? Th-That’s just annoying! Just, so annoying!”

  How she stubbornly denied her feelings was just like Akane, too. Then, Yu took notice of Luna’s face. Pretty cute, she thought. She imagined Luna in boy’s clothes. Cutting her hair and putting her in shorts could do the trick.

  “W-We’re back!”

  “How is your foot, Aku? The Demon Pervert Lord didn’t try anything, did he?”

  “You never change, do you...? I’m impressed, somehow,” the secretary said and approached Yu. Then, his hand touched her shoulder... with a pat.

  “Yu, that treatment was amazing... I’m glad I summoned you.”

  His words electrified her palms and sent a strange tremor and elation from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  (What... is this...!?)

  She felt so much joy that it almost brought her to tears. Her body, her soul, down to every last one of the cells in her body and every last strand of hair on her head were quaking in jubilation... She didn’t understand why, but an overwhelming sense of euphoria enveloped her, as if an omnipotent creator had just validated her existence.

  “S-Sir... I am glad that... I could be of use to you...”

  Her breathing was heavier. Yu no longer understood her own body... This wasn’t the first time the secretary had complimented her on her work, but never before had she felt this sensation. What was different now...?

  “I’ll need your assistance moving forward. I’m counting on you.”

  “Y-Yes, sir...!”

  (Mrr... I can barely talk...!)

  Now, Yu even noticed her heart pounding louder in her chest. This was definitely weird. Why did receiving his compliments and trust make her so happy...? To her dismay, tears formed at her eyes and blurred the world in front of her. If this was what happiness truly felt like, any sense of joy she had felt in her life so far were utterly meaningless in comparison.

  (Something’s... different. He’s not the secretary I know... somehow.)

  “Now that Aku’s foot has been treated... Let’s say we have a feast once we reach the Holy City,” the Demon Lord proposed.

  “Yeah! But this time, you’re buying, Demon Lord!”

  “I-I’ll be happy with the crackers...”

  “No, Aku. Luna, take us to the best restaurant in the city when we get there.”

  “Sure... But you do have money, right...?”

  As she listened to the other three talk, Yu decided to hold off on pursuing her thoughts any further. Her shoulder, where he had touched her, was still radiating heat. She doubted she could think straight at all, at the moment.

  (First, the hospital. I wonder if the secretary will praise me like that again...)

  Aku gained the Survival Skill: Damsel

  Survival Skill — Damsel

  A rare skill that existed in the game. While the chance to gain it was extremely low at 3%, Kunai would negate any attack made against the skill holder. In fact, there were times in the Game where all of the powerful attacks against the Damsel player were negated, allowing that player to turn the entire battle around. To a player with the Damsel skill, Kunai was their messiah. For their opponents, however, Kunai was like Satan incarnate.

  Adventurers

  —Somewhere in Holylight

  The hall was enormous, almost too big to be underground. This was in the headquarters of the Satanists, where the higher-ups of the organization gathered. Now, they were discussing their attack that took place a few days ago.

  “Warlkin. How is it that you failed so miserably even after deploying Tartarus?”

  “You may be a half-decent commander, but a coward will always be a coward.”

  Most of the discussion involved insults against Warlkin. However, he didn’t refute any of it, and remained silent. He was sure that if any one of them in this hall were in his place, they would have been defeated just as easily.

  “That Dragonborn had incredible powers. There’s nothing more to it.”

  He spat out, causing the commotion to grow around him. But when the figure sitting in the chair at the far end of the room raised their hand... the room fell silent. Utopia, leader of the Satanists, finally spoke.

  “I care less about the Dragonborn, and more about the rumor that the Demon Lord has appeared.”

  No one could provide any answers. They had prayed for the summoning of the Demon Lord, but not a single one of them had returned from the Shrine of Wishes. It was fair to assume that the summoning had ended in failure. In the Holy City, there was already a wanted sign being posted for someone claiming to be the Demon Lord. However, the man in the drawing just looked like an ordinary human. While his face was intimidating, it didn’t resemble that of a Hellion.

  “There was also a rumor... that the King of Devils was resurrected, but was killed by the Demon Lord, wasn’t there?”

  Utopia continued, making everyone in the room look like they’ve bitten a sour lemon. It seemed so futile that their long-awaited Demon Lord had killed the King of Devils. While even the resurrection of the King of Devils was only a rumor to them, this scenario wasn’t a pleasant hypothetical to consider.

  “In any case, Tartarus requires further sacrifice to grow its power.”

  This was a command to rain down more chaos and carnage. Everyone in the room strengthened their resolve. They considered the ailment upon their nation too advanced to cure. To them, the only course of action was to burn the whole country to the ground and rebuild it from the ashes.

  “...Let us desolate the Holy City, and sink it, and everyone in it, into Tartarus.”

  Utopia issued a proclamation for desecration. The other higher-ups rushed to their feet, and left the room to prepare for their next attack. Soon, Utopia was left alone.

  “Greole, that fool... What pebble did he trip and fall on?” Utopia mumbled into the empty room.

  —Kanpai, a bar in the Holy City

  This was the bar with the most adventurers hanging around inside at any given time. Regardless of their skill level, adventurers usually came back to the same bar they had been coming to since their start. Many would grow an attachment to the establishment that helped them through their novice days. This bar had seen the rise of many an adventurer, and a lot of successful ones kept coming back. What once started as a small hole-in-the-wall had now become the largest and best known bar in the Holy City: a rare case of a successful business where the customers and establishment grew together.

  “The Demon Lord. That was the Demon Lord, no doubt about it!”

  Mikan had been rambling on to the woman behind the bar, the owner of the establishment. She was holding a cold glass of ale in her hand, and she seemed pretty drunk already. From the looks of it, she couldn’t get the Demon Lord, whom she had met the other day, out of her mind.

  “The Demon Lord, huh...? Is he hot?”

  The owner asked, boisterously. Her name was Sammie, a portly momma-bear in her fifties. She took good care of everyone in her bar, garnering the respect of many adventurers.

  “...He was grey and foxy. I want him to fill the void in my heart. And my butt.”

  “Hah ha ha! You got a one-track mind, Yukikaze! Just grab him by the balls, you’ll get any man you want!”

  Yukikaze joined in with a precarious line as always, and Sammie cut right back with a hearty laugh. They were both sober, by the way. One would shudder to imagine their line of conversation if they had been drunk. Mikan, the most level-headed of the three, finally shouted with a beet-red face:

  “Yuk
ikaze, he’s the Demon Lord! Don’t you get it!? Besides, you’re a dude!”

  “...You know nothing, Mikan. Anyone can get pregnant if they’re a girl at heart.”

  “Is your milk spiked!?”

  The men around the bar were listening to this conversation, grumbling. How could they have stayed calm upon hearing that someone had stolen the heart of their idol.

  “I don’t know who you are... but I will find you.”

  “Demon Lord, my ass! That guy’s got some illusion of grandeur.”

  “Actually, I want to be impregnated by Yukikaze. Uwu.”

  “Shut your trap!”

  These men had formed a brotherhood outside of their respective teams as the Yukikaze Fan Club. They had created various merchandise, and had even published a few fan fics. Some of them even donned a ‘waifu cape’, with a life-size image of Yukikaze on it. Fandoms acted mostly the same in this world, it seemed.

  “Think about it. There were like three hundred Sand Wolves... He burned them to the ground in the blink of an eye! That thing is a disaster waiting to happen!”

  “...Mikan. He did save your life, remember?”

  “Urgh... Y-Yeah, but...”

  “...You should repay your life-debt to him in the bed.”

  “No, thank you! That’s all you!”

  The commotion carried on in Kanpai as it always did. Amidst the ruckus, there was a man with his sword in his lap who spoke to no one. He just kept emptying bottles of strong wine. Known as Alverd the Flashing Sword, he was a famous swordsman who would cut down any opponent with a single cut of his sword.

  “Hah! The man who calls himself the Demon Lord... Sounds like as good a stepping block as any.”

  Imagining himself cutting down the rumored figure, and the fame and fortune that were sure to follow, Alverd wore a dauntless grin.

  —Artemis, a bar in the Holy City.

  In contrast to an adventurers’ bar, this bar was a super uppity joint, frequented by nobles. The establishment was filled with tranquility, far from any commotion. In a corner of the bar, a couple of women were quietly enjoying their meal. While these two adventurers stood out among an establishment full of nobles, no one complained. They were both famously world-class adventurers with an S ranking, known as Star Players.

  The topic of their conversation wasn’t the Demon Lord, but the Dragonborn.

  “Olgan, do you really think he’s a Dragonborn?”

  One of them said, scooping a spoonful of stew into her mouth. She appeared to be a devout priestess, her clothes overflowing with a holy force. A lower-ranking devil wouldn’t even be able to approach her. Her most note-worthy feature, however, were her breasts. They looked as if they were about to burst at any instant. One might have wondered how she could breathe at all. Her name was Mynk, one of the best known Star Players. Best known to men for her gorgeous blue hair and mountainous bosom.

  “I’d say ‘not a chance’... but nothing’s ever impossible.”

  The woman called Olgan replied, eating her salad. She simply shoveled the undressed greens into her mouth. Olgan was almost childlike in stature, the entirety of which was covered with a black robe, keeping anyone around her from seeing much of her. Still, the way she stuffed her small cheeks full of salad was rather adorable. She was of a very rare breed, a mixed blood of human and Hellion... a Firebrand. Some countries hunted them, which was why they concealed her identity and travelled from one base of operations to the next. Naturally, Holylight didn’t tolerate her kind. They had only stopped by on their way to their next destination. By this time, Mynk was the only other one who knew that Olgan was a Firebrand. Anyone else who found out... didn’t live to spread that knowledge.

  “Isn’t that exciting, though? A Dragonborn who tolerates no evil.”

  “If he were real, Animania wouldn’t leave him be.”

  “A feral Dragonborn, then?”

  “Ridiculous. While I’d love to see such a creature...”

  While they were both mixed-blood, Dragonborns were revered while Firebrands were persecuted. Of course, it all seemed illogical to Olgan, and she even considered the Dragonborns a thorn in her side.

  “Rumor has it, the Demon Lord has appeared, too. The darkness within me proclaims it.”

  “You’re a priestess, remember...? What’s this nonsense about ‘darkness’?”

  “My right eye quakes... There’s no mistake. The Demon Lord has arrived to descend the world into chaos. We will be the darkness to defeat him.”

  “What in the world are you talking about?”

  Unfortunately, Mynk was in that ‘troubled anime protagonist’ phase. Perhaps this world had a law that one half of a duo had to be a weirdo.

  With the speculations of these adventurers unbeknownst to him, the Demon Lord was approaching the Holy City. At the same time, the Satanists were hastening their plan underground. The storm headed for the Holy City now seemed unavoidable.

  Ruthless Invasion

  (Looks like we’re getting close to a city...)

  Gazing over the landscape around them, the Demon Lord observed. As they approached the Holy City, he noticed less dried-up land and more lush greenery. At the same time, the road was widening, and they had passed other carriages here and there. There were more people walking along the street as they progressed, and the villages they passed along the highway were reasonably bustling.

  ...Except for one particular village. A tall fence surrounded the entire village, but there was hardly anyone to be seen in it. It exuded a strange aura, almost as if it had been abandoned. Since the village was bigger than most, its desolation was even more glaring.

  “Luna, what’s with that village? It looks kind of depressing.”

  “...That’s my village.”

  “...Huh?”

  “That’s my land, okay!?”

  The Demon Lord mulled over Luna’s answer for a moment. He had imagined Holy Maidens to be of very high status. He never would have pegged one of them to rule over such a bleak village.

  “It’s pretty bleak. Doesn’t it bother you?”

  “I’m not interested in ruling any land. Besides, someone from the Church is managing things there. There’s nothing for me to do.”

  True, that seemed like an impossible task for Luna. All of her talents relied in magic, leaving her clueless when it came to ruling a land.

  (I guess she’d just tax them like nuts and earn herself a revolution. I can already picture her ass being spanked on a cross.)

  As far as the Demon Lord could tell, while Luna excelled in magic, she was the face of the nation rather than the brain. While she was paraded around with fanfare, he presumed that Luna was diligently separated from profitable land. As Luna herself didn’t seem to have any interest in that sort of thing, she seemed like the perfect figurehead. The Demon Lord set up a Communication call with Yu to discuss the matter.

  That’s my impression. What do you think?

  I agree, sir. Most likely, nobles and the higher-ups of the Church have left her with a troublesome territory.

  Hm. In that case... There won’t be any complaints against us if we were to use this abandoned piece of land, will there?

  This village, sir?

  Technically speaking, a Holy Maiden rules it, after all. I don’t expect much intervention. That should work in our favor.

  The Demon Lord gave this justification, but the number one reason for his decision was his lack of funds. While it seemed like a gold medallion was worth a considerable amount, he didn’t expect it to be able to buy a plot of land with it. In fact, as it was the capital of Holylight, land in the Holy City was extremely expensive.

  “Luna, I want to borrow a plot of land in this village.”

  “What?”

  †　†　†

  As the Demon Lord walked into the village, he noticed that the villagers looked peculiar, like they had rabbit ears on their heads. At first, he thought that they were wearing a costume, but Luna informed him that they
were a species known as the Bunnies.

  “They’re literally rabbit-people...”

  “They say that the Bunnies were adored by the Wise Angel back in the day. So, there aren’t many of them, but they all live here.”

  “Adore, huh...? More like segregate, by the looks of it.”

  “Holylight... isn’t too kind to non-humans.”

  The Demon Lord noticed a hint of sorrow on Luna’s expression, but decided that he didn’t have time to dive into it, and looked around the village.

  (Building a hospital and treating a lot of patients in a Holy Maiden’s village would definitely clear my name...)

  He couldn’t have expected much better than ‘a Holy Maiden’s village’ as the title for his base of operations.

  “Master Demon Lord, what are we going to do here?”

  Aku asked, walking towards the Demon Lord with ease. Watching her walk brought a sensation of indescribable joy to the Demon Lord. Aku could now walk on her own feet. He almost felt like Daddy-Long-Legs.

  “We’re going to give this village a doctor.”

  “Oh, Lady Yu! People would come from all around the country to be seen by her!”

  The Demon Lord nodded in agreement. In other words, people would pay money to be seen by her. He even contemplated if he should build a Hot Springs Resort next to the hospital while he was at it. Even in modern-day Japan, the majority of people requiring medical assistance were elderly, and the elderly liked their hot springs. From what Aku and Luna had told him, bathing (whether in cold or hot water) seemed to be a luxury here. The resort was sure to be a hit.

  “How about this plot of land here, Mister Secretary?”

  “A little cramped. I’m thinking of building a hot springs resort next to it.”

  “Hot springs? How wonderful...”

  Seeing Yu’s face loosen into a smile, the Demon Lord was reminded that women also loved their hot springs. In fact, he had never met a woman who didn’t.

  (I better go for the dual-income from the hospital and the hot springs. If I sold bars of soap, they’d fly off the shelves, too. Both Luna’s and my reputation will recover, and people will be healthy and happy. It’s a flawless plan with no downsides.)