I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17

 

Late at night. A small inn in the Kingdom Capital.

 

It didn’t look particularly sanitary, but it was sufficient environment to relieve the fatigue accumulated from long periods of camping.

 

When I unpacked my luggage and ordered a meal, what came out was a stew of unknown contents. Just as I was trying to overcome my reluctance and bring it to my mouth.

 

“Have you heard that rumor?”

 

The Inn Owner, who had brought the food and was returning, sat down in front of a Drinking Man who was drinking alone at the front table. My gaze naturally turned toward them at his booming voice that I couldn’t help but hear even if I didn’t want to.

 

“What rumor are you talking about?”

“Oh my. It seems you haven’t heard yet. Tsk tsk…”

 

When the Drinking Man replied while familiarly tossing a snack into his mouth, the Inn Owner clicked his tongue while pushing the plate aside.

 

“My friend. How would I know if you suddenly say that? Don’t keep me in suspense and tell me quickly.”

“It’s about the Hero.”

“Hero? If it’s the Hero, then Ruin…”

 

Just as the Drinking Man was about to reply with his face flushed red from alcohol, the Inn Owner cut him off.

 

“No, not that Hero. They say a new Hero has appeared.”

“Does that make any sense? How long has it been since the Demon Lord was defeated, and now a new Hero? Are you saying the Demon Lord has been resurrected?”

“Just listen first.”

 

The Drinking Man gulped down his alcohol as if he was hearing nonsense. The Inn Owner glanced around briefly, then leaned toward the man and whispered.

 

“You know Belive Territory, right?”

 

It was then that my intention to quickly finish eating and go up to my room changed.

 

“Belive, Belive. Was that the small city in the Southern Kingdom where a door to the Demon Realm appeared?”

 

Belive Territory. It was the very place where I had faced my first trial not long ago.

 

Though I had safely passed the trial and left the territory, I couldn’t help but be concerned about it.

 

“They say something big happened there. The Lord apparently tried to massacre the Territory Residents by branding them as servants of demons.”

“The Lord? Did he eat something wrong? Why on earth?”

“I don’t know that much. There are also stories that the Religious Order was involved…”

“Don’t go around saying such things! You’ll get yourself in big trouble!”

 

The Drinking Man seemed to sober up instantly, slamming the table and looking around. However, the Inn Owner just continued talking while sweeping up the food crumbs that had spilled from the shock.

 

“That’s not what’s important right now. Didn’t I tell you earlier? It’s about the Hero. A Hero appeared, defeated the mad Lord and Soldiers, and saved the people.”

“Is that really true? Well, that’s fortunate. But calling that person a Hero?”

 

The Drinking Man asked while wetting his throat, seeming somewhat embarrassed by the Inn Owner’s reaction.

 

“The moment someone who was unjustly imprisoned was rescued! When asked about their identity, they apparently answered like this.”

“What did they say?”

 

As the Inn Owner picked up a snack with his hand and ate it, drawing out the time, the Drinking Man urged him on as if anxious.

 

“‘I am the Hero.'”

“Pfft!”

 

At the Inn Owner’s completely unexpected words, I couldn’t help but spit out the water I had in my mouth. Fortunately, the Inn Owner and Drinking Man, who were completely focused on their conversation, seemed uninterested in me.

 

Inside me, the Demon Lord who was sharing my senses burst into laughter.

 

-Has the rumor already become that distorted! Ha, humans are truly amusing.

 

The Demon Lord’s laughter echoed noisily in my head.

 

As the Demon Lord said, the rumor was considerably distorted. The Lord’s actions of trying to eliminate the Poor People and develop the city had become attempting to massacre the Territory Residents, and my answer revealing myself as a Dark Mage had become claiming to be the Hero.

 

While the former could be understandable, what process could possibly make the latter happen?

 

-Information about Heroes is always top secret. The Religious Order and Empire work together to control it.

 

That was the first thing the Demon Lord said after his laughter that had continued for a long time.

 

Because of that, I missed the conversation between the Inn Owner and Drinking Man, but the topic had already moved on to something else. I pushed aside the half-remaining stew and asked the Demon Lord.

 

‘Top secret?’

-Until they pass all trials, a Hero is just a slightly exceptional human. It’s to prevent me from knowing in advance and preparing countermeasures.

 

Thinking about it, most people didn’t know of the Hero’s existence until just before he declared his conquest of the Demon Realm.

 

The reason was revealed by the Demon Lord’s words.

 

The absolute certainty of killing the Demon Lord. Until receiving assistance from the laws that constitute the world, the entire Middle Realm works to protect the Hero.

 

‘If it hadn’t been that way, if I had known of the Hero’s birth in advance, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up becoming a Dark Mage under Master…’

 

The Demon Lord ignored my contemplation and chattered again.

 

-Anyway, the fact that such rumors are circulating is quite interesting.

 

Does this mean the upper echelons of the Religious Order and Empire aren’t controlling the rumors? Perhaps they don’t have the capacity, or something big has happened.

 

From my position of being chased by the Religious Order’s Holy Knights until recently, this was quite welcome news, but the Demon Lord dismissed it with a snort.

 

-That possibility doesn’t seem very high. Either they’re leaving it alone because they don’t believe the rumors are true, or perhaps…

 

The Demon Lord paused for a moment.

 

Was he mimicking the behavior of the inn owner who had been stalling for time with his words earlier? If so, the effect was certainly there. Despite the noise of the inn, I had no choice but to focus on the Demon Lord’s words.

 

-It’s the intervention of another force. Someone is deliberately inflating the rumors.

“Are you certain?”

-Whatever the case, one cannot judge with limited information. This matter will be resolved soon.

 

As the Demon Lord said, the lack of information would soon be resolved.

 

The reason I had deliberately come all the way to the Royal Capital, taking several weeks.

 

A pawn to guard the Demon Lord’s precious treasures and grow influence in the human world to help with the trials.

 

It was to meet the subordinate prepared for when the Demon Lord, who had been defeated by the Hero, would rise again.

 

* * *

 

The next day. I slipped out of the inn as soon as dawn broke.

 

Though it had been a long-awaited rest after being pursued by the Holy Knight Order for an extended period, my body that had grown through passing the trial had most of its fatigue relieved with just a short rest.

 

It felt as if I had become a different person. The change was incomparable to my previously frail body.

 

It was hard to believe this was the change from passing just one trial, though there were some concerning points.

 

“If I change like this every time I pass a trial…”

 

The changed eye level due to increased height, the length of my arms and legs. Changes as if I had aged 2-3 years at once. Though I had adapted considerably, it still felt awkward from time to time.

 

According to the Demon Lord, there were more than ten stages of trials remaining ahead. If I changed like this each time, by the time I finished the trials, my height might double or I might look like an old man.

 

-That story again. I already told you not to worry about such things.

“But…”

-At least the Heroes who fought me didn’t deviate greatly from human appearance.

 

Even with the constraint that he couldn’t lie, it wasn’t something I could feel reassured about.

 

After all, there was no way the aesthetic standards of the Demon Lord, who was a demon, would be the same as humans. From his perspective, could he even distinguish between my face and that of the inn owner I saw yesterday?

 

-How absurd.

“Tell me magic that prevents aging or can change appearance.”

-…Your problems are not just one or two, but being overly worried is the worst of them. It would be easier if you just moved without useless thoughts like before.

 

By “before,” he probably meant during the trial.

 

When I laughed it off feeling embarrassed, the Demon Lord sighed and spoke.

 

-I know hundreds of types of magic that show such effects, but learning them now wouldn’t be good. They could adversely affect your mana flow and weaken your power.

“…”

-And if it were magic that could simply change appearance, wouldn’t I have already taught it to you?

 

However, contrary to the Demon Lord’s words, I had no memory of learning such magic.

 

Even now, all I had learned from him were Soul Magic, Spirit Command Magic, and Deception.

 

-Have you never thought about why it’s called Deception and not Stealth?

“Huh?”

 

I had never thought about that specifically. I was just making good use of the magic I had learned to secretly infiltrate the bookstore.

 

-Deception is magic that goes beyond simply hiding appearance and presence, deceiving perception itself as desired. Depending on how it’s used, you could become an old man over eighty, or even a completely different race.

“That’s…”

 

It was magic for deceiving and tricking others, literally the most fitting magic for a demon.

 

No wonder the magic circle was excessively complex. As expected of the Demon Lord, each magic he taught was extraordinary.

 

-So hurry up and move. Wasting time like this defeats the purpose of leaving early in the morning, doesn’t it?

 

At the Demon Lord’s urging, I started walking again. However, heading to the destination wasn’t easy.

 

Of course it wasn’t. This was my first time coming to the Royal Capital. The roads were connected in complex ways, and there were so many people it was overwhelming.

 

The Demon Lord also seemed to have never been active in the Middle Realm, so he wasn’t much help.

 

Eventually, after wandering for quite a while, I decided to stop a passerby and ask for directions.

 

“Excuse me, do you happen to know where the Black Moon Trading Company is?”

“Black Moon Trading Company?”

 

The middle-aged man with a gentle impression looked me up and down, then chuckled.

 

“You too?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Go down that big road to the right and you’ll see an obviously large building… it’s next to that.”

 

The middle-aged man then turned around and said,

 

“Good luck.”

 

Ignoring the strangely unpleasant feeling that was creeping up, I headed in the direction the middle-aged man had pointed. Along the way, I suddenly asked the Demon Lord a question.

 

“That subordinate, is he a demon after all?”

-Hmm. You could say yes, and you could say no.

 

If he’s a demon then he’s a demon, if not then he’s not – what could that mean?

 

-He’s a demon and human at the same time. More precisely, you could say he’s a demon in a human body.

 

The Demon Lord began with that and continued his explanation.

 

One of the extremely rare races even in the Demon Realm. He said it was a parasitic life form that takes over and moves within a host’s body.

 

Hearing his explanation, I thought it seemed similar to the current Demon Lord, but he dismissed it, saying the Demon Lord was completely different.

 

-When their lifespan ends, they can transfer to a descendant’s body, so I judged they could build their power without suspicion over time.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of such a race existing.”

-As I said, it’s an extremely rare race even in the Demon Realm. Now it has become the only remaining demon…

 

The Demon Lord muttered bitterly.

 

Just as I was thinking it was natural since the world he ruled had been completely destroyed, a question arose in my mind.

 

“Then, that one demon is all that remains now?”

-That’s right.

 

That was certainly the result of this Hero’s conquest of the Demon Realm. But there was also a Hero a thousand years ago. Surely the Demon Realm was conquered then too, so how were the demons able to flourish again?

 

I pondered briefly then closed my mouth.

 

It wasn’t immediately important, and it would likely be an unpleasant memory for the Demon Lord to recall. If necessary, he would tell me about it later on his own.

 

-It has the characteristic that its power varies drastically depending on the host. Since it’s in a human body now, its combat capabilities probably aren’t very high, but it was truly a demonic creature.

 

After walking for quite a while listening to the Demon Lord’s story.

 

-According to what I hinted at beforehand, the visit should be hundreds of years later, but given the amount of wealth it possessed, it should have formed quite a large power by this point…

 

I found the building the middle-aged man had mentioned. How tall and large it was, a building that made Belive Territory’s Inner Castle look ridiculous… next to it.

 

[Black Moon Trading Company]

 

A completely crumbling shack. Only a rather fancy signboard hung there, out of place.

 

A shabby building that was no better than the slum buildings I’d seen in Belive Territory.

 

-….

 

The Demon Lord couldn’t continue speaking.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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