Chapter 314 : The Authority on Kicking Down the Door of One's Own House

"..."

I looked at the man in front of me.

The one who had proudly taken the throne in a kingdom where the leader was decided by strength.

The giant called the Demon King.

His sharp eyes and fierce impression.

Eyes that felt a strong fighting spirit.

In those sharp eyes, a burning passion and a desire for battle seemed to be boiling.

Here and there, the traces of numerous battles were engraved.

And with two horns pointing upwards, and the other two curved downwards.

The man with a total of four black horns on his head.

To me, he looked more like a general who had never been defeated in a hundred battles than a king of a country.

Just by looking at him, I felt like I could understand what it meant to command a battlefield.

If such a person were to lead an army from the front, it would surely bring great courage to his allies and a great blow to the morale of his enemies.

The sword that was leaning against the desk was a huge two-handed sword that looked difficult to wield even with one hand.

To think that he would swing that on the battlefield...

'Hmm.'

I could see why he was called the Demon King.

From the perspective of his opponents, it would be nothing short of a nightmare.

So, it meant that he had not a single resemblance to that crybaby who cried at the drop of a hat.

No matter how I looked, I couldn't find a single place where he resembled Viola.

To the point where I wondered, 'Are they really father and daughter?'

I wanted to ask about it.

But if I asked if he had picked her up from somewhere, I felt like he would just gore me with those terrifying horns, so I decided to hold back.

"Uh, um. So, you're saying that Viola ran away from home? To the demon realm."

"That's right."

"..."

The face that had looked like an undefeated general had changed to that of a father with a troublesome daughter.

"Sigh..."

Viola's father, who was sighing deeply.

I had wondered what it was about, since it was about tracking, searching, and securing a person.

It was a request to find his runaway daughter.

"Why don't you go and get her yourself?"

"That girl. Do you know how quick-witted she is? Maybe because she's an archer. Her senses are very sharp."

The Demon King grumbled.

"The moment I set foot in the demon realm, she knows like a ghost and hides. And she's so good at hiding. If she's determined to hide, no one can find her. Maybe because she used to play in the demon realm all day when she was young, there's no one as familiar with the demon realm as she is."

'No, is the demon realm some kind of playground?'

I let out a hollow laugh because it was so absurd.

The Demon King was talking about that terrifying demon realm as if it were a children's playground.

"So what you thought of was..."

"I figured there was no other way but to make her come out on her own."

The Demon King's sharp eyes were fixed on me.

"Ashuban, you."

"Yes."

"I heard you fell off a place called the misty cliff."

"That's right."

"You were lucky to survive."

"I was lucky."

Aktir scratched his head.

"But that girl believes you're dead. She says no one can survive falling from that cliff."

"Hmm."

That's not wrong.

Since I was as good as dead once.

"After you fell off the cliff, Viola came back here crying. And since then, there hasn't been a single day when she hasn't cried."

"..."

"So... I thought that if she saw with her own eyes that you were alive. My daughter might be able to stop crying, so I called you, just in case."

"I see."

"Will you... accept the commission?"

Aktir looked at me with a pleading expression.

I met his gaze for a moment and then turned my head to the side.

I exchanged glances with the striped saint, Siri.

"..."

After seeing Siri nod at me, I turned my head back.

"Of course I have to accept. I came all this way, crossing the sea and the black desert, with the intention of accepting."

The Demon King's face brightened noticeably.

"Before that."

I pointed at the commission request with my finger.

"Here. The reward is left blank. What does that mean?"

"Ah, that. It meant that anything is possible as a reward."

"Oho?"

A blank check for a reward.

This is tempting.

"Just say the word. I'll give you anything."

I took my back off the backrest and leaned forward slightly.

"'Anything'?"

"Yes, anything."

I glanced at the two-handed sword that was leaning against the desk.

The Demon King, who had noticed my gaze, laughed heartily.

"I heard. You beat up the terrifying magical beasts in the north and held the turquoise sword of the Gray Lion, the Grand Duke of the North and the guardian of the northern wall, and you rejected his offer to become his successor with a single word."

Not only did I reject it.

I was so angry that I flipped the desk.

"And, you broke the wings of Hope's most brilliant light, the shining angel, and held her pure white sword in your hand."

I nodded.

"That's me."

The Demon King's eyes lit up.

"I heard you have a small hobby of holding each of Ophosis's famous swords once. Is that true?"

"You know me well."

"I did some research. I heard about you from my daughter until my ears were about to fall off."

"So, can I?"

The Demon King, Aktir, suddenly threw his head back and laughed heartily.

The startled Siri flinched next to me.

Aktir grinned at me.

"You, the more I see you, the more I like you. I can see why Guston recognized you as his successor."

I blinked at the unexpected remark.

"Do you know the captain?"

"Of course, I do. He was a straightforward man. I've never seen a man as manly as him."

No, this guy.

He said he had traveled around before founding the mercenary corps.

How far did he wander?

"Did you... fight him?"

"Of course. I fought him until I was sick of it."

Gulp.

A dry swallow.

"Who... won?"

"Are you curious?"

"Yes."

The Demon King, Aktir, grinned and said.

"If Guston had decided to stay here, he would have been the one to sit on the next throne."

"...!"

"But well. He was a man like the wind who didn't like to stay in one place, so he kicked my offer away without a second thought, saying, 'You do that kind of thing'. And the last I saw of him was when he left one day without a word."

"Did the captain win?"

"He won, and he lost. To be honest, we were evenly matched. Was it 30 wins and 31 losses? He left when he was ahead by a narrow margin of one win. And then he'll go around telling people that he won."

Aktir grumbled and badmouthed Guston.

So, to summarize his words.

The two were rivals, and good friends.

I was amazed by Guston all over again.

I knew he was amazing, but to think he was a man that even the Demon King acknowledged.

...Looking at it like this, they seem to be similar in some ways.

"Ah! Then the reason why Viola came to the Sherwood Mercenary Corps was...?"

"She often watched me fight with Guston. Sometimes she would even act as a referee. I remember she followed him around and became close with him while he was staying here. It seems she went to find him because she thought of him, and then ended up staying."

"...Well, I'll be."

No wonder the two seemed particularly close.

Was it a friend's daughter ↔ dad's friend relationship?

"Anyway, the Demon King's sword can never be held unless you are a suitable successor... but since this is a national emergency, as the king of the Kingdom of Sorrow, I declare a state of national emergency and will make an exception and allow it."

"? A national emergency? Is something wrong?"

"Ahem! My precious daughter, who is so precious that it wouldn't hurt to put her in my eye, has run away from home, so how can it not be a national emergency!"

"...Can you just decide something like that on your own?"

"I'm the king. The king's command is absolute. If you don't like it, you can be the king."

I clicked my tongue softly.

"...What a mess."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

I took out a pen and said, filling out the blank space on the commission request.

"I won't ask why your daughter ran away from home, since it's a family matter."

"Mmm."

"Instead, I have to ask before I take the commission."

"What is it?"

I raised my head and looked at the Demon King.

"If Viola says she will return to the mercenary corps with me, will you let her go?"

"How can I stop her? She ran away from home and went to Maia before."

Ah, so she ran away from home to come to Maia?

This girl. The scale of her running away from home is different.

For Viola, running away from home meant either holing up in the bottomless demon realm, or going over to another country.

The Eight Sword Master of running away from home, the authority on kicking down the door of one's own house, the master of making her dad's heart ache.

That was Viola.

"Or, she could get married and settle down here."

"...Pardon?"

I was surprised by the sudden nonsense and looked at Aktir.

He was nonchalantly spouting nonsense.

"Why, then you can naturally hold my sword, so you can choose something else as the commission reward, right?"

"No..."

"Honestly, don't you have any thoughts? Viola seems to have a great liking for you. The only time that girl cried like that was when her mother passed away."

I cut off Aktir's nonsense with a single word.

"Don't talk nonsense. Viola is not that kind of girl."

"Then let's put Viola's feelings aside. What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Be honest. My Viola, I'm not just saying this because I'm her father, but isn't she so pretty that it would be a shame to be second? That girl resembles her mother a lot. Strong, and pretty too. She's the perfect bride, I tell you."

"..."

"Be honest. I'm saying this because I like you a lot too. A man should be confident wherever he goes. Don't you think so?"

"..."

"The successor recognized by Guston, and the spirit to reject the offer of the Grand Duke of the North with a single word! And the martial power to defeat the apostle of Hope! I can't help but acknowledge it! Honestly, that sparkling guy is tough for me too."

The leader of the Kingdom of Sorrow, the Demon King Aktir, leaned forward and said in a suggestive tone.

"So, what do you think?"

The Heavenly Demon chimed in with a serious tone.

[My disciple, this might really be your last chance. Answer carefully.]

Careful, my ass.

The moment I opened my mouth to answer.

"No!"

Siri shot up and shouted.

"Big Brother has a lot of things to do! He has to break the heads of magical beasts, and the heads of the Dark Heaven Society! And, and there are a lot of people waiting for Big Brother in Maia! And there are so many commissions coming in! Uh, so, so...!"

Two pairs of round eyes turned to the two-timing saint who had been listening quietly until now.

Siri, who had been chattering away in indignation, hung her head and muttered in a mosquito-like voice.

"He can't get married now..."

Siri, whose face had turned bright red, quietly sat back down, and I looked at her blankly.

"Hahahaha!"

The Demon King burst out laughing.

And then he said in a soothing voice, smiling.

"Alright, alright. Was I too hasty?"

"Yes..."

"I was half-joking, so don't take it too seriously. I can't force someone who doesn't want to. It's not right."

"But... Big Brother said no, but you kept insisting..."

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I seem to have offended the young lady's feelings."

"I-I'm not a young lady!"

The Demon King, who saw the indignant Siri, laughed heartily.

"Alright, alright. We'll continue this conversation after we bring Viola back."

"No, why do you keep saying that when I said no? If you keep doing that, Siri will get angry again. If you want to see the wrath of Siri, who receives the love of both Hope and Ketel, then go ahead and try."

"If Viola says no, I'll back down cleanly. But, if Viola says yes, you shouldn't just say no, but think about it seriously."

The Demon King looked at me with serious eyes.

"Got it?"

I clicked my tongue and handed him the commission request.

"Well, I'll be. Alright. Alright, so please sign it first."

"Should I do it here?"

"Yes."

I quietly watched the Demon King, who was signing the commission request.

No matter how I looked, he didn't resemble the crybaby Viola in the slightest.

Well, since there was no way Viola would say she would marry a crazy person like me, I just had to bring her back and get this persistent marriage-minded old man off my back.

Aktir said, returning the pen.

"There."

"Yes."

We each took one of the two completed commission requests.

"Are you tired?"

"Not really."

"Then let's go to the demon realm right now. I don't know when those empire bastards will attack again, so I'll guide you to the front of it myself..."

Boooooo—!!

The sound of a horn was heard from outside.

"Oh my, speak of the devil. The empire bastards are here. Tifri outside will guide you."

Aktir immediately grabbed the vermilion sword that had been leaning against one side and ran out of the two-story Demon King's Palace.

When I looked out the window, the demon race, at the sound of the echoing horn, were running out of their buildings, each with a weapon in hand.

Among them was a man who came out with a large axe on his shoulder, an old man who came out running, swinging a hammer, and a woman who came out running with a kitchen knife in her hand, as if she had been in the middle of cooking.

All of them had an unreadable light sparkling in their eyes, and an undisguisable smile on their lips.

"Wow!! It's war!!"

"It's time to crush the blind followers of the light!!"

"Let's go!!!"

They rushed toward the east, where the grand sound of the horn was coming from.

And at the forefront was the Demon King, holding a huge, two-handed sword that shone with the light of the sunset in one hand.

"Hahahaha! Follow me!!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The army, which had not even formed a line, raised a cloud of dust and quickly ran to the east.

Although their appearance was varied, a disorderly mob, and haphazard.

Their momentum was superior to any other army, and their fighting spirit pierced the sky.

"Wahahaha!!"

"Arrrrrrrrrrr!!"

"Hororororororororo!!"

"Kiyathou!!"

In a word, the entire nation was a bunch of battle-crazed lunatics.

Siri, who had been looking out the window with me, muttered.

"...Scary."

(End of Chapter)