The Kobold males swung their fists in the air.
“Oh!”
“Definitely win!”
“Oh!”
“We are here, to win!”
“Oh!”
“Fighting spirit!”
“Oh!”
“Can’t hear you!”
“Ooooh!”
This isn’t so much of a speech as it is a pep talk.
They were apparently not at all in a mood to discuss things reasonably. Even if he were to explain the pros and cons of his suggestion, Diablo doubted they’d listen to him. When he brokered peace between Greenwood and the Dark Elves, he was able to persuade them with reason. The Elves were intellectual, after all.
But the Kobolds were agitated before the war and were more overflowing with savagery than usual. After a few more cheers, Boldboss said:
“We now do ritual before war!”
“Ooooh!”
“Some will die in war. But your souls live on in offspring!”
Wait, whaaaat?
Diablo leaned forward. Didn’t he just say something suspicious?
Boldboss then slapped Fennely’s behind loudly.
“Hiyaaah!”
“Good curves! Fine behind to birth strong warrior!”
The male Kobolds cheered loudly.
“Even if we die, our souls eternal...!”
And as he shouted those words, Boldboss reached for her clothes, pulling them off, revealing Fennely’s unclothed figure to the crowd.
“Naaaah~”
It was evident from both her reaction and those around her that this was no accident. This was the ritual, apparently. Fennely was blushing red but seemingly understood this, making no effort to hide herself.
“I will pour soul first,” Boldboss said, undoing his loincloth.
“...Yes.”
With an ecstatic expression, Fennely’s gaze focused on a single spot.
In the second floor section, Rem and Shera were blushing.
“...What..?!”
“What are they doing?!”
The two couldn’t understand what the Kobolds were saying, and what was happening made no sense to them. Even Diablo, who was listening in on the speech, was having trouble keeping up with the situation.
“Apparently, that’s the ritual.”
“...Impossible!”
“They can’t!”
Their opinion made sense, but this was from the perspective of the races’ value system. Rejecting the Kobolds’ culture wasn’t right.
Wait, no, this was a ritual for increasing their fighting spirit. If we’re stopping the war, we have to do it before the ritual ends.
“Wait!”
Fennely opened her legs and Diablo nearly fell over the ledge as he leaned in to look.
Whoa, that was dangerous!
He jumped down, but falling flat on his face would have been lame.
“You...” Boldboss glared at him.
“Hmph. I’ll be interrupting this.”
“Look if want. Fennely get excited by more people looking.”
For real?! Wait, no...
“I told you to wait.”
“Guest, this important ritual for warriors.”
“You’re all wrong! You’re leaving behind children in case you die in the war? Fools. You should be ashamed of yourselves for coming up with such a foolish plan!”
Boldboss growled audibly at him.
“You call me fool?!”
Convincing them through reason wouldn’t work after all. Diablo took out his staff, the Tonnerre Empereur.
“From what Fennely told me, the strongest among you is the most important person in the group. So if I win...”
“You challenge me!”
Like Diablo thought, reason didn’t work here. The moment Boldboss started letting off bloodlust, he lunged at Diablo.
He’s quick!
His front leg—no, his fist came flying. Had Diablo not been trained by the Swordmaster Sasara, he wouldn’t have even noticed he was being attacked before his head was plucked off. But Diablo blocked the blow at the last moment with his staff. Still, it knocked him some five steps back.
He’s not just quick—his blows have weight to them!
In terms of a skill type, he was similar to a Pantherian grappler. Swift and powerful. The optimal warrior so long as the enemy was within arm’s reach. But right now, there was still a gap between them.
Causing the tunnels to cave in would be bad, and he couldn’t use any wide area attacks because they would hit Fennely and the other Kobolds.
“Try this, then! 《Lightning Bullet》!”
“Haa!”
Boldboss jumped away, avoiding the spell and launching a fist at the same time.
What is this, a fighting game?!
A large jump punch. He then unleashed an attack combo of a medium standing punch into a heavy punch into a finishing move. Boldboss’s finisher fired off a ball of light composed of compressed SP, 《Shining Blow》. An attack the Paladin Captain Batutta once used on him.
So he was a level 100-or-over grappler. It wasn’t for nothing that he was the chief of a clan that fought against the kingdom of Lyferia despite having such small numbers.
The Kobolds that appeared in-game used weapons, and despite appearing in large numbers, were mooks with low stats. Was Boldboss special, or were the others like him too?
No, I doubt that.
If they had two hundred warriors over level 100, they wouldn’t need to rely on a spriggan. They’d beat Lyferia’s army even if it charged at them in the tens of thousands.
“You dodge my attack, guest!”
“I should hope you don’t start claiming you weren’t fighting seriously afterwards!”
Diablo was currently over level 100 as a warrior. Boldboss overwhelmed him when it came to speed, but not to the point where Diablo couldn’t block him at all.
“Me always fight at full strength!”
“Do you, now? My apologies, then. I was trying to see if you were an opponent worthy of witnessing my full strength.”
“What?!”
“Can you dodge this?!” Diablo unleashed a spell. “《Burst Rain》!”
Shining magic circles spread out in midair, that promptly began spewing out countless fireballs. The spell’s charge-up time was slow... But it wasn’t an attack one could easily avoid.
“Nngaaah?!”
The Kobolds watching over their fight all raised their voices in shock and took a step back. The women screamed. Diablo did calculate the angle properly so that it wouldn’t hit anyone, but...
“Fennely!” Boldboss cried out.
That momentary distraction cost him, as a fireball hit him square on. As he fell to his knees, Diablo turned his staff into the magical sword Tonnerre Empereur: Libre and pointed its tip at him.
“You were quite the quick one, but that’s not enough to win.”
“Grrr... I, lost.”
He took his loss fairly. Diablo looked at the female Kobolds.
They’re not hurt, are they?
He took care to keep them out of his spells’ range, but he was still anxious.
Fennely was frozen in place, her legs still spread open with her hands extended toward her privates.
“Ah... I... What do now...?” she asked with tears in her eyes.
“Get dressed, for goodness’ sake!”
Rem and Shera came down from the second floor and covered Fennely with a blanket.
†
Diablo stood on the large hollow’s platform. Next to him was Boldboss, now drained of fighting spirit. Rem and Shera escorted the female Kobolds to an adjacent room, given that a massive battle could break out depending on how the talks went.
Ugh... I just had to get on the platform in the heat of the moment...
Diablo hated nothing more than being the center of attention. Thankfully, his would-be audience right now was all male Kobolds. All of them having fox heads curbed the pressure he was
feeling. There was something healing to the sight. Like a village of foxes.
“Tell us. Why interrupt ritual?” Boldboss asked.
He thought he had already told him, but apparently Boldboss really wasn’t listening back then.
“Attacking Caliture with a force of this size is suicide.”
“Can’t know how fight goes until try.”
“Lyferia has people on their side that can beat a spriggan. Do you still think that way?”
That wasn’t technically a lie. He simply didn’t tell the Kobolds that he was actually talking about himself.
“What?! There’s no way Humans have someone like that...!”
“What makes you so sure? It’s only natural to assume whoever came down that road came from Lyferia’s capital.”
“Uuuu...”
And I guess the Order of Palace Knights might have some people that could beat a spriggan.
He’d heard they’d hunted a huge-class Thunder Dragon once before. They were definitely a party of people over level 100, though Diablo didn’t know if they’d show up in the southern frontier.
“I will not mince words. If you attack, it will be tantamount to recklessly rushing to your deaths. Desist.”
“You try help us?”
“Wrong! I am a Demon Lord! Be it the races or the Therianthropes, I save no one. But I happen to feel charitable. I will meet with Caliture’s governor and have him acknowledge your residence on these lands.”
“What?!”
Not just Boldboss, but the rest of the Kobolds all reacted with shocked uproar.
“Humans acknowledge us?!” “No need for fight?!” “Really, Demon Lord?!”
“Hmph... What say you? Will you have faith in a Demon Lord?”
The Kobold males quieted down, awaiting Boldboss’s response. His brows were furrowed seriously.
“Why Demon Lord do so much for us?”
I owe you for a bed and breakfast...
But that wouldn’t be Demon Lord-ly. Instead, Diablo laughed indomitably and flapped his cloak.
“For I am simply too powerful! The conflicts of the weak are trifling noise to me. So I will do away with it as I might brush off a fly buzzing in my ears! Or do you intend to challenge a Demon Lord at his full strength? I would blast your tunnels to bits!”
Boldboss sank into thought, but he wasn’t one for thinking to begin with.
“Fine!” He shook his head wildly. “We obey who strong. Will let you handle!”
Phew... Diablo sighed in relief internally.
It seems he’d successfully stopped the Kobolds.
He headed for the room the females were taken to.
“It’s decided.”
He peeked in without knocking, since there was no door...
“No!”
...when he was suddenly urged out of the room by Shera’s voice. Looking ahead, he saw Rem and Shera, blushing profusely with their faces red.
“...You can’t come in, Diablo.”
“Wh-What?”
The two stood in his way, hiding the room from his view, but he could see Fennely behind them. Her face was blushed and she was panting heavily.
“Haa... Haa... Nnn... Ooh... I... don’t think can... restrain...”
“Stay calm, Fennely! Keep your wits about you!”
“I don’t really get what’s going on, but you can’t, okay?!”
They couldn’t understand each other, but Rem and Shera were trying to calm Fennely down.
Wait, did I just walk in on something crazy?!
The other females were similarly blushed, while others seemed a bit more collected. In other words, those that were caught up in the ritual’s atmosphere were actually...
In he●t?! They’re in he●t?!
Diablo broke into a cold sweat.
“Th-They must have gotten a cold! Since they’re not dressed properly! You foolish little things! Wrap yourselves up in warm blankets, drink something hot and rest! The Demon Lord allows it!”
“Nnn...” Fennely twisted her body. “It... itch down here...”
“Yes, a cold!”
“You should rest, Fennely!”
Rem and Shera bobbed their blushed faces up and down in fervent nods.
So this is Therianthrope culture... Diablo pondered as he swiftly left the room.
Chapter 3: Going to Caliture
The next day, with Fennely recovered from her estru... or rather, her cold, she guided them out of the Kobolds’ forest. The storm had cleared and it was sunny out. The season was cold enough for the tips of the northern mountains to be covered with snow, but the region was kept warm by the winds of the southern seas, making it pleasant enough. Deploying her summon beast, Turkey Shot, to the skies, Shera confirmed a mountain that served as their landmark and pointed ahead.
“They said to head behind the white-headed twin mountains toward the noon sun, so it should be this way.”
“...It’s one o’clock, it’s already moved a bit west.”
“Do you have a watch?”
“...I don’t need a watch to have an estimate grasp of what time it is. Though I can’t tell exactly how many minutes past it is.”
“Wow, Rem! Your stomach’s really good at telling the time!”
“...My stomach has nothing to do with this.”
“We just have to keep walking for half a day in this direction, right?! There’s also the marks on the trees here and there.”
Shera briskly walked across the forest. She was an Elf, despite appearances, and was used to walking through forests.
“...It would take the Therianthropes less than half a day to get back out to the road,” Rem said with a frown.
“Think we’ll reach there during the afternoon?”
“...They can outrun a deer, so it’d be impossible for us to move at their pace... We should be prepared for it to take us a full day.”
“Awwwww... I wanna sleep on a bed~” Shera dropped her shoulders in disappointment.
Even this girl, who aspired to be an adventurer and loved traveling, had grown tired of this long journey. Diablo then decided to change the topic, asking a question that had been troubling him for some time now.
“Just what are the Therianthropes?”
Cross Reverie had a distinction between the races (the Humans and the demis), Fallen (which included the magical beasts) and the wild beasts. The Kobolds were monsters that fell into the wild beast category. So were beasts divided into animals and Therianthropes?
Rem brought a hand to her mouth.
“Perhaps... it would be best if we discussed the Therianthropes for a bit.”
“Hmm.”
“...To begin with, as you know, Lyferia is a country ruled by Humans. The demis live in it, too, but that’s because they’ve been allowed to do so.”
They were in the minority, but he did spot Elves and Pantherians living there.
“...Lyferia is the strongest country on this continent. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the continent is ruled by Humans.”
“So it seems.”
“...The demis they acknowledge as part of the races are the Elves, Pantherians, Dwarves, Grasswalkers, and Demons. Among them, the Elves are said to be closest to the gods, and are treated as a bit more special than the others.”
“And the Demons are treated differently for the opposite reason.”
“...Yes. They’re abhorred because it’s said they have the blood of the Fallen running through their veins. But the other races—Pantherians, Dwarves, and Grasswalkers—were once considered Therianthropes.”
“Oh?”
That wasn’t part of Cross Reverie’s lore.
“...That was before the kingdom of Lyferia was founded, long ago. But since those three races learned to speak the Humans’ tongue, they were admitted into the races.”
“By the Humans?”
“...Yes, by an ancient king of the Humans. That king made that law, which is why the races are what they are today. Conversel
y, races that did not learn the common language were treated as beasts.”
In other words, they were judged to be non-Human and have been treated as monsters by the kingdom of Lyferia ever since.
“An oppressive story if I’ve ever heard one.”
“...Rulers are all oppressors to some extent. Not just the Kobolds, but the ogres, dryads, and lamias are widely treated as Therianthropes. Some also count the giants, trolls, and orcs among them too, but it becomes harder to define at that point.”
“Hmm... I see.”
According to this definition, the races were limited to those who could speak Lyferia’s common language. The Fallen and magical beasts turned to particles of light upon death, and the beasts were those who were neither this nor that. There was no method of distinction between regular beasts and Therianthropes.
“...Researchers categorize giants and trolls as Therianthropes because they attack the races on sight. Their biology doesn’t allow us to coexist with them.”
“True enough.”
Giants devoured the races. Or rather, they were a race that fed off of everything that was smaller than them and moved. Trolls and orcs were only male, and took advantage of the races’ females to reproduce, which was understandably not part of the game’s lore.
These examples weren’t things done out of malice, this was simply their nature. Peaceful coexistence with them was difficult.
“...Still, there are many lifeforms out there who look far different from Humans, like birds, fish, and insects. They have wills of their own, some sort of communication method, and can feel pain... but I think treating them all as the races wouldn’t be right.”
“If you take that way of thinking far enough, plants are living beings, too... And we can’t live without eating anything. There’s a difference between eating the races and eating birds and fish, after all.”
She nodded.
“This was why the ancient king made his decree. ‘Those who cannot speak the tongue of man are beasts.’ And in that regard, perhaps it wasn’t out of mere oppression. Someone simply had to draw the line somewhere.”
Compared to Diablo’s old world, this other world had many more races that stood on the border of man and beast. There had been many times so far that his world’s values didn’t apply in this one.
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 11 Page 7
