Demon King Daimaou: Volume 3

by Shoutarou Mizuki

  “I bet the whole thing’s a hoax...”

  —Huh? Wait... No, this isn’t good. Did I just do something really mean to Hiroshi?

  Akuto opened his eyes.

  Yukiko was sobbing as she ran away, and Hiroshi was looking down at him. Akuto saw straight into his tear-filled eyes. His expression was indescribable — it was like nothing Akuto had ever seen before. He wanted to forget about it as soon as he could, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. Every time he thought about it, he’d be filled with regret.

  But Akuto’s gaze locked with Hiroshi’s for only a second before Hiroshi ran off crying after Yukiko, ignoring the people around him.

  —Ah crap...

  Akuto regretted a lot of things that he’d done since coming to this island, but this was the one that he regretted the most.

  ○

  “You idiot! Do you have any idea what you just did?”

  Junko slapped him across the face. He’d been kicked and punched, but never slapped like this before.

  “I... regret it.”

  Akuto bowed his head. Junko was standing in front of him with one hand on her hip, glowering at him.

  “If you regret it now, then why did you lose control back there? They may have misunderstood, but the villagers didn’t do anything wrong. They were right to come complain after one of their children was hurt. The problem here is that you were so focused on acting righteous that you couldn’t forgive them for being weak!”

  “I know... No, actually I just realized that. I didn’t know before. I can’t really explain it, but...”

  Akuto looked down at his feet as he spoke.

  The villagers had all left. They’d decided that this was too stupid to waste their time with. Keena had run after Hiroshi. She’d probably be able to bring him back just fine. And now Akuto was in one of the dorm rooms being lectured by Junko.

  “You mean you don’t understand how it feels to be weak, right? I’m sure you don’t!”

  “No... I understand... or at least, I thought I did. I was a poor orphan, and I’ve been through a lot.”

  Akuto looked so depressed that Junko found it hard to pressure him any further. She put a hand to her head and looked away as she started to speak.

  “My father once told me that when people are training themselves to be more powerful, they become unable to forgive the weak. You don’t have a very forgiving personality to begin with, anyway.”

  “I don’t?” Akuto said. He seemed genuinely surprised.

  Junko chuckled.

  “How can you be forgiving when you’re always obsessed with doing the right thing?”

  “I see... You’re right.”

  Akuto put a hand on his chin as if he was just realizing this for the first time. Junko started to laugh.

  “Come on, why are you taking this so seriously? This isn’t like you.”

  “Don’t laugh. You and I both have this in common.”

  Junko’s face turned red as she froze. She mumbled to herself quietly.

  “Stop it. This is why I can’t just leave you alone.”

  But Akuto heard her, and nodded.

  “I always appreciate it.”

  Junko stopped moving and stared at him.

  “I-I’m scolding you, you know.”

  “I know. I’m listening, and I’m grateful.”

  “You don’t sound like somebody who’s being scolded. You should be crying or something.”

  Junko’s voice started to rise in pitch.

  “I’m listening to you. I think that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

  “No, I’m starting to think that’s wrong. You should be resisting so that I can punch you.”

  “It doesn’t count as resisting if you tell me to do it.”

  “That’s right... I guess we’re done then. You should be more forgiving. And you need to go apologize to Hiroshi.” Junko coughed and changed the subject. “By the way, where was Korone? If she was there, things would’ve gone better.”

  Akuto’s expression turned serious, and he explained what had happened to Junko.

  “Seduction? Fired? I see... I did think she was acting strange.” Junko remembered her last interactions with Korone, and blushed. “A-Anyway, I can’t believe they’d do something so cowardly. You should file a complaint and get her back.”

  Akuto nodded. However...

  “But the seduction aspect aside, if the government decided to fire her, we have to obey that. What’s the right thing to do?” he said.

  Junko sighed.

  “You’re the one who said you’d make sure everything worked out, right?”

  “Yeah, you’re right. That was what I decided. But it feels like they want me to rebel against the government... Is there any way out of that?”

  “Strength comes with responsibility,” Junko said cheerfully. “If you don’t want to be the Demon King, then study hard and get an important position in the government. Now, you’re going to apologize to Hiroshi, right?”

  With that, Junko shooed him out of the room.

  ○

  Meanwhile, Keena had caught up with Hiroshi. He didn’t want to go to the village or back to the dorm, so he was just wandering aimlessly through the forest. It was inevitable that she’d find him quickly.

  “Listen, Ackie didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

  Keena was walking a few paces behind him.

  “I know that. That’s what makes it hard.” Hiroshi sat down, too tired to walk anymore. “I know it’s my fault for being weak. So what he’s saying is right. And I can understand why everybody’s laughing.”

  “But you’re better at magic than I am, and you have more friends, right?” Keena crouched down in front of him.

  “That’s not what I mean. Maybe I just don’t like it when everybody has these expectations of me. I’m not as strong as they expect me to be.”

  “They expect you to be?”

  “Part of it is the fact that they expect so much from me, but part of it is... This is a weird thing to say, but I hate the idea of ‘justice.’”

  Hiroshi raised his head as he spoke.

  “Justice?” Keena repeated, confused.

  “I guess I mean, I hate people who force their idea of justice on you. Most of the village is like that... It’s a tiny village, so we have all these weird rules to protect it. And that’s what everyone calls ‘justice.’ But even in our small community, that can cause conflict...”

  “Oh, I kind of know what you mean.”

  “So once I get strong, I realized, I’ll probably end up on the side of the people who make the rules. No, I guess I’m never going to be strong, so there’s no sense in thinking about that.”

  Hiroshi laughed weakly.

  “Nah. You really are strong, Hiroshi. But you’re kind, so you don’t want to get strong and hurt somebody, right?”

  Keena smiled, and Hiroshi blushed and turned away.

  “S-Stop it. That’s not true.”

  “But you’re strong and kind, and that’s why you fought to help Ackie, right? You even got hurt once.”

  “I got hurt because I’m weak.”

  “That’s not true. You were trying not to hurt the person you were fighting, right?”

  “You’re giving me too much credit...”

  “Huh? But you’re the hero, right?”

  “You know I’m not the hero. I hated that so much, that’s why I...”

  Hiroshi stood up, as if he’d just realized something.

  “Alright, I’ll prove that the legend is just a bunch of crap. Come with me. I’ll take you to where it’s supposed to be.”

  Hiroshi started walking.

  ○

  Meanwhile, at the Academy...

  Fujiko was woken up by a message from Junko. It was still 7:00 AM.

  《There’s something I want you to check for me...》

  Junko had asked her to look into Korone’s removal. Not only was she in a bad mood after being woken up, but Fujiko had had v
ery little contact with Korone. There was no reason for her to accept.

  “Out of the question. Why would I do anything for that meddling Liradan...”

  Suddenly the person on the other end of the line changed. Junko knew that this would convince her.

  《It would mean a lot to me if you’d help...》

  “Akuto!” Fujiko gasped, and her attitude immediately changed.

  “Yes, of course! I’ll find out all the answers you need!”

  And then Fujiko headed for the underground labyrinth.

  “...And so that’s how it is.”

  Fujiko told Peterhausen what Akuto had told her. Even with her network, she couldn’t peer into the inner workings of the government. It would be faster to ask Peterhausen, who had the same capabilities as a god. Peterhausen knew a lot about this world, but the level of information was so great that he would only reveal what you asked him about directly. Fujiko didn’t know if that was just how his powers worked, or just who he was, but at least she had figured this out.

  “I can’t access the core government logs.”

  “Logs” in this case referred to the records of human actions that were recorded by mana in the brain and transmitted to the gods. This was what the gods used to judge humanity. And Peterhausen was the god of the black mages, who were opposed to this. He was supposed to have the capacity to record the logs of every human being.

  “Don’t you have everyone’s logs?”

  “If that were possible right now, the government would have been overthrown a long time ago. You need to register with a god, in a process called baptism. There’s no need for baptism to offer your logs to me, but you need to be aware of me and want me to have them.”

  “I should’ve guessed...”

  “But rumors are starting to spread, and I’m starting to receive logs. But still, I have no information from anyone related to Korone. Though even if I did know it, I couldn’t say.”

  “Why is that?”

  Peterhausen grinned.

  “I have the same duties as a god. I’m forbidden to share the logs to protect the rights of those who give them to me.”

  “That’s surprising.”

  “Black mages are all about equality. They don’t peek at the logs or take advantage of them, like the government does. You’re a black mage, aren’t you?”

  “I like to take advantage of things like loopholes and extenuating circumstances.”

  “You’re a very naughty girl... By the way, was that your only question?”

  “That’s right. If you can’t help me with Korone, I’ll investigate on my own. As for me personally, I’m a little curious about Akuto. I think by now he should be ruling that whole village.”

  “That matter is a bit problematic for me.”

  “Huh?” Fujiko said, confused. “Does someone like you even have problems?”

  Peterhausen nodded.

  “The reason I decide on a master is to give him the ability to control me. I don’t normally act on my own at all. But my master lacks the will to completely control me, and so I am incomplete.”

  —That means...

  That explained a lot to Fujiko.

  “When Akuto becomes the Demon King... Or rather, when he decides of his own will to become the Demon King...”

  Peterhausen nodded.

  “That will be when he decides to destroy the present order, and create a new one. That is the moment I desire.”

  —That will be the moment the Demon King is born...!

  Fujiko shivered with excitement. Akuto wasn’t the Demon King yet, but the key was in his hands.

  “That explains why they’d resort to seduction.” Fujiko licked her lips. “I still want a revolution. This just means I’ll have to work even harder at seducing him myself...”

  “I’m glad to hear that. It’s something I want to see too. But right now, there’s a problem...”

  “A problem?”

  “You see...”

  ○

  “So this is the lake?”

  Keena let out a cry of joy as she looked at the beautiful lake. It was pure blue, and surrounded by white sand. It was small enough that if you stood in front of it and turned your head to the left or right, you could see the whole thing. It was a beautiful ring of blue and white surrounded by the green of the mountains.

  “That’s right. This is the lake in the legend.”

  “It’s so pretty. I can see why there’d be a strange legend about it!” Keena said excitedly.

  But Hiroshi shook his head.

  “No. Don’t you think it’s weird that there’s white sand and water that’s this blue, even though we’re in the middle of the island?”

  “Really? I don’t know.”

  “I’ll tell you why then. This is actually part of the ocean. There’s an underground cavern that connects this to the sea.”

  “I see!”

  Just as Keena spoke, they both heard the loud “ROAR!” from the mountains near the lake again.

  “Kyah!”

  Keena put her hands over her ears and dropped to her knees. But Hiroshi calmly explained.

  “There’s a part of the cavern that’s above the water, and it’s connected to the mountain. The hole is filled with air, and once a year, the tides make a loud noise that echoes through it. This year, it’s especially loud. That’s why everyone believes in the Demon Beast, you see.”

  “Huh? Is that why?” Keena looked up at him in surprise.

  “Yeah. I’m not good at swimming... I guess you knew that. So I came to this lake, which everyone avoids because of the legend, and practiced here. When I did, I ended up almost drowning... and then I found the part of the cavern with air in it, which was the only reason I survived. That’s when I discovered the secret of where the sound was coming from. When I was in there, it was really loud.” Hiroshi laughed. “And like I said before, this island’s only been around about a century. He’s dead now, but my grandpa was one of the first inhabitants. So only I know about this secret.”

  “Secret?” Keena repeated, and Hiroshi pointed to the narrow road that ran around the lake.

  “That road leads to the cave I was talking about. And there’s a shrine in the cave that has the Sign of the Hero.”

  “Huh? Sign of the Hero?”

  “Stupid, isn’t it? My grandpa made the shrine. His name’s on it. And the Sign of the Hero is this tiny sword stuck in a stone. Supposedly only the hero can take it out. I tried to take it out as a joke, and I couldn’t. When I told my dad about that, he got mad at me in a weird way. He was like, ‘You need to study more.’ That’s why I ended up going to the Academy. But now I think you understand that it’s all a big joke. I mean, my family basically invented the legend, right? It’s all so stupid...”

  Hiroshi was laughing, but the tears were gradually building up in his eyes.

  “So I... It hurts when they tell me I’m the hero. It’s just something my family made up. And when I did my own occupation exam on the first day of school, I arrived after everybody else, and got mine done late. Do you know what it said?”

  “Was it something bad, Hiroshi? No, I don’t know.”

  “It said I was going to be a hero. But the teachers kept it a secret. That’s because... unlike the Demon King, I don’t think they believed it. Funny, huh?”

  Hiroshi’s voice fell.

  But Keena looked straight at him.

  “No, I don’t think it’s funny.”

  “Huh...?”

  “You believed that Ackie was the Demon King, right? That’s because you want to believe you’re the hero, right?”

  Hiroshi wasn’t sure how to answer.

  “N-No, because then...”

  Hiroshi tried to deny it, but he couldn’t come up with a reason. He’d always admired strength. He didn’t care if it was good or evil, he just wanted to be strong. That’s why he’d admired Akuto’s bold attitude. He’d felt like if he was with Akuto, he could become strong. But whenever he was conf
ronted with his own weakness, he’d always run away.

  When he realized this, Hiroshi couldn’t speak. But Keena just smiled at him.

  “Hey, let’s go see this shrine.”

  “Huh? But it’s...”

  “Don’t worry about it. Come on, okay?”

  He hesitated, but Keena grabbed him by the hand. She ran down the road that Hiroshi had pointed out.

  After following the empty road for a while, they came to an open space, where there was an entrance to a cave.

  But Hiroshi and Keena saw someone standing there, and stopped.

  “Huh?”

  Both of them were confused. But the man looked so suspicious that they dropped their voices low.

  The man was staring at the lake. His back was turned, but even from behind they could see how unusual he was. He was wearing a long white coat, even though it was summer. And they could see how muscled he was even through the coat.

  “Wh-Who is that?!”

  “I don’t know, but he looks pretty weird,” Keena said.

  “There’s nobody like that in the village.”

  “I bet not...”

  Keena and Hiroshi hid themselves in the bushes by the side of the road.

  Suddenly the man opened his coat.

  “Hey, is that...”

  “He looks like a flasher...”

  And then the man began to scream.

  “Lake! Answer my cry!” he yelled.

  He wasn’t just shouting — it was a scream, a meaningless, primal scream. He took deep, belly-filling breaths. It was very loud, and very annoying.

  “NISHUGYUUUOOUUUWAAHHAGYOOIIIMOOODOIIMAOOUKOKOROBO OOJIBOTSUGAMOMORUEOTOTSURIROOFUEEMADOIIMODOOOMEDOO!”

  Since he was far away from the village, there was no need to worry about bothering the villagers. Maybe that’s why he was so loud.

  When he finally finished, Hiroshi and Keena looked at one another.

  “Wh-What the heck was that?”

  “H-He’s really craz...”

  And then the man spoke.

  “My voice is in great shape today. I guess that’s enough warming up, though.” He started to shake his open coat.

  And then the coat began to make noise. It must’ve had speakers embedded inside, and very powerful ones at that.

  Hiroshi and Keena put their hands over their ears. The noise was louder and more unpleasant than the man’s voice.