A white full moon that always floats in place of the sun.
A sky glowing purple and grayish clouds.
Black lightning strikes silently, brimming with high-purity mana.
The trees, with purple leaves shimmering and swaying gently in the wind, explain exactly where this is.
The Demon Realm.
This is the territory of the demons, their homeland, and a vast land that occupies one-third of the continent.
It is also a term used to describe the network of dungeons governed by the various Demon Lords.
And now, with the appearance of a new hero, the 10,855th emergency meeting of the Demon Lords has convened.
The Demon Lords, exhausted by the frequent summoning of such “emergency” meetings, took their seats.
Their gazes focused on a man seated before them, his long white hair cascading down as he sat with his eyes closed.
“105 members. Everyone is present.”
Void, ranked first among the Demon Lords, took his seat, his white hair fluttering as he moved.
“Another hero? Don’t they ever get tired of it?”
“Seriously, what is this nonsense? We agreed on a pact 3,000 years ago. They can’t even get past those lizard bastards.”
“Well… isn’t the problem that those lizards have grown weaker?”
The meeting room buzzed with each Demon Lord voicing their opinions.
“Fine, let’s invade too.”
“Can’t we just kill them all? Can’t we just live in peace?”
“Honestly, without those damn Elders, those single-species lizards would be nothing but trash.”
“Aren’t heroes basically weaklings nowadays? Let’s kill them.”
“Let’s kill them.”
Thus, the radicals leaned toward annihilation.
“But… there’s still a hero. Wouldn’t it be difficult?”
“Frankly speaking, we aren’t exactly cooperative with each other, are we?”
“I just want to smash that bastard’s face right now.”
“Aren’t the Elders the real problem?”
“Because of the Elders, we can’t even cross over, so we just stay put, right?”
“Right, they can’t come over here anyway.”
The conservatives advocated for staying quiet.
“Do whatever you want.”
“I’m not joining if there’s a war.”
“Me neither~”
And then there was the minority faction that simply ignored everything.
As the noise echoed through the room, Void sighed heavily, his face furrowing in frustration.
That sigh was like magic—instantly silencing the meeting room.
But it wasn’t magic.
The sigh contained a trace of paralyzing poison.
“…Oops, that was unintentional.”
His serene and beautiful voice, however, was terrifyingly cold and devoid of emotion, reverberating through the room.
Even though he had whispered softly, his words struck clearly even at the ears of the 105th-ranked
Demon Lord seated at the farthest end of the room.
“Could you all be a little quieter?”
“My head hurts.”
-Thud!-
Void rested his chin on one hand after speaking.
“Everyone, I’m always grateful for your understanding of my sensitivity.”
He snapped his fingers with a sharp sound.
As the sound rang out, the Demon Lords began coughing and gasping for air.
“Now, let’s continue the meeting.
Feel free to share your opinions.”
Despite Void’s invitation for open discussion, none of the Demon Lords dared to speak.
Void, meanwhile, wore a satisfied smile, while the rest trembled like leaves, nervously observing him.
They knew that any attempt to speak might result in their heads exploding, their bodies shattering, or being annihilated by Void’s unique Void Magic.
This palpable fear quickly spread among the Demon Lords like a wave.
After about ten minutes of this heavy silence, Void spoke again.
“…It’s too quiet, isn’t it?”
The Demon Lords thought to themselves:
What the hell do you want from us, you crazy man?
“Your Highness, the Princess!”
“W-What should we do?!”
“Are you all right?!”
“You crazy old hag and geezers!!”
Something feels off.
Tears won’t stop.
“W-what do I do? M-my tears won’t stop!!”
My words came out all garbled as I sobbed uncontrollably.
-Bweeeeh.
“W-what do I do!”
“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never raised a kid before!”
“If only Anuket were here in moments like this!”
“Hmm, it’s completely natural for a child to cry. It’s okay, cry as much as you need.”
Three of them were running around in a panic, while one stared at me with sparkling eyes and gave me a thumbs-up.
Are they all out of their minds?
A kid is crying here!
Shouldn’t you calm me down?
How are you going to help when you’re even more flustered than me? And don’t praise a crying kid!
-Sniffle, sniffle.
-Drip, drip.
Now even my nose was running.
This baby body couldn’t control its emotions at all.
“Hiiiing.”
A whiny sound slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Damn, I’m 30 years old! What the hell am I doing?
“Did you see that?”
“…Just now?”
“I think my heart’s been acting up lately, sis.”
“…Cute.”
Help me.
Unable to hide my frustration, I stomped my feet, crying my eyes and nose out when—
-Creak.
The door to the elders’ chamber opened.
“I’m back… P-Princess?!!”
The grandma, Anuket, who had run off earlier, came back in.
She was visibly shocked upon seeing me, rushing over to pick me up and hold me tightly.
“What are you all doing? The child is crying!”
Grandma Anuket began scolding the other grandmas and grandpas.
“If a child is crying, you should pick them up and soothe them!”
“If nothing else, at least play peek-a-boo or something!”
Then, turning to me, she conjured a tissue from her hand.
“There, there~ Blow your nose!”
“Huuuuhhh!!”
“Good job. That’s it.”
“Hehe.”
Her care brought a smile to my face despite myself.
Is this what it feels like to be the youngest?
Once she saw me smile, Grandma Anuket started scolding the others again.
“I can’t live with you siblings, you know that?!”
“Another hero’s shown up, and the humans are acting up again. I told you, let’s just invade!”
“How can you be elders if you can’t even take care of one baby?!”
Grandma Lavender, who had been hanging her head, hesitantly met my gaze and spoke in a timid voice.
“B-but our population is declining. If we go to war in this situation—”
“Where’s that pride you used to cherish so much, huh?”
“A-ah, well, that’s—!”
“Let’s just break everything. We could destroy them by ourselves if we tried.”
Grandma Anuket sighed, clearly exasperated, and retorted.
“Heroes get stronger the more you kill them, don’t they?”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
“Remember that time when we chased around that flashy hero and ended up losing even our names?”
“And when Void picked a fight with them and…”
Hearing that, Grandma Lavender clapped her hands and exclaimed, “Exactly! You said it right.”
“Even Void has been revived now.”
“That’s because we let our guard down and couldn’t stop the resurrection spell.”
The flashy grandpa tried hard to defend himself, but Grandma Lavender ignored him and turned her gaze back to Grandma Anuket, beginning another round of persuasion.
“Even behind us, there are 110 Demon Lords crawling around.”
“105 now.”
“Well, same difference.”
Grandma Anuket let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, if you’re not going to do it, then forget it.”
“Y-yeah.”
-Sniffle.
Ah, my nose is running.
Even while arguing, Grandma Anuket seemed to be paying close attention to me.
She immediately brought a tissue to my nose.
“Blow.”
“Huuuuh!!”
“Good job.”
Just moments ago, she was saying I was too cute and running away, but now, after coming back from the battlefield, she seemed sentimental, rubbing her cheek against mine.
“Ahhh, this is recharging me.”
“People might think you’re an electric dragon or something.”
“Humph.”
“Oh, really?”
Grandpa Surtr, who had come closer, chuckled as Grandma Anuket, seemingly annoyed, turned her head away.
Then, Grandpa Surtr flicked her forehead.
“Ouch!”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“I’m stronger than you, you know!”
“Enough.”
Grandpa Surtr tossed a brown cloak toward Grandma Anuket.
“Change. That one’s got a hole in it.”
“…Thanks.”
In the background, Grandma Lavender was glaring as if she were about to unleash her breath attack.
Wait, what? Have these people been like this for 200 years?
Is this some sort of bug in the system?
“Your Highness, it’s time to meet the Emperor and Empress~”
“They’re much younger than us, and they already have a kid, huh.”
“Right? Time really flies.”
“Well, it’s about that age. We just got married way too late.”
They talk about declining birth rates and all, but weren’t they contributing to the problem too?
“Our dear Princess~ When you grow up, make sure you find a good partner and don’t end up living alone like us, okay?”
Grandma Anuket said this while rubbing her cheek against mine.
“Alright, we’ve played with the Princess long enough. I’ll take her there now.”
After rubbing her cheek against mine for a while, Grandma Anuket said this and lifted me up.
“Okay, see you later.”
“Be polite.”
“Give her the cloak she changed into.”
“Alright.”
“Take care.”
They all obediently let Grandma Anuket and me leave.
To be honest, I was slightly expecting them not to let me go.
It almost felt like I’d become popular.
But, alas, that was just my imagination.
As I was carried in Grandma Anuket’s arms, I waved my hand and bowed to the other grandmas and grandpas.
You should always greet people properly.
After all, they’re important figures.
Manners are the foundation of etiquette.
And I’m a polite young man!
The grandmas and grandpas looked at me with proud eyes and waved back.
“Now that I think about it, I heard those lizards have laid eggs recently,” Void said, opening one eye amidst the silence.
The Demon Lords began speaking one by one.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that too.”
“Yes, it seems to be confirmed by those living nearby.”
Void’s lips curled into a chilling smile upon hearing their confirmation.
“So, it’s already been 500 years since I lost to that Mineral Dragon?”
Everyone fell silent.
“I heard they’re appearing in an official setting for the first time. Is that information reliable?”
“It should be accurate,” said the second-ranked Demon Lord cautiously.
Void’s eerie smile twisted grotesquely.
Without breaking the expression, Void whispered in a low voice.
“…Finally. After 500 years, I can have my revenge.”
Void’s eyes opened fully, their vacant, unfocused gaze suddenly regaining clarity.
Void.
Han Yuri.
Wait, what? I’m fucking confused