“Are… you, the Demon King?”
“Indeed.”
Nod, nod.
At Erin’s words, the Demon King nodded.
Then, she stretched her hand forward.
The excessively long sleeve of her robe slipped down her arm.
She moved her arms a few times, then slightly opened her mouth in wonder and exclaimed, “This is the body of a human… I still haven’t fully adapted, so even moving my arms feels awkward.”
She had long pink hair, with eyes of a much deeper pink hue than her hair.
She wore a tattered black robe that somehow gave her an oddly adorable appearance.
At first glance, she looked like a cute human girl, but the black demon horns protruding through her hair proved she wasn’t human.
On her back were tiny wings, so small one couldn’t imagine they’d be capable of flight.
***
“Eri… nghhh…”
“Little bunny, why are you so out of sorts? Are you hungry?”
“Th… tired…”
While Ophel was trying to comfort the rabbit, who had somehow slipped out of her arms looking unusually listless, Linnea cautiously approached Erin.
“Excuse me… According to historical records, the Demon King is said to emit such overwhelming magical energy that it’s hard to even breathe in their presence… Is that girl really the Demon King?”
“You heard what the Demon King said earlier, didn’t you?”
Come to think of it, that girl mentioned something about ‘the divine plain truth’ being applied to her.
‘Could it be… the divine powers transformed the Demon King’s appearance entirely?’
‘Since the divine entity likely doesn’t literally exist, it would mean the priests of the Order were behind this transformation… But could they really possess such capabilities?’
‘There’s no way…!’
It seemed impossible.
‘If that were the case, then the girl wasn’t the Demon King but merely a normal girl arranged by the Order. But then, what would be the purpose of such an elaborate deception?’
‘More importantly, there was an even bigger question.’
‘Setting aside her horns, how would one explain the wings floating behind her?’
While it was not impossible with magic, Linnea, having once aspired to become a mage, could tell there was no trace of mana in the surroundings. If this were magic, it must have been cast beforehand.
But maintaining such a natural phenomenon—someone’s wings floating effortlessly—seemed implausible.
As Linnea wrestled with her confusion, Luca stepped forward cautiously.
“Um… Demon King?”
“Speak, human.”
“It’s about something that happened not long ago—”
“You’re referring to the incident where my kin were harmed, are you not?”
“Ah, you already know.”
The Demon King gave a bitter smile.
“I deeply regret that incident and am equally grateful. I heard it was you, Erin, who acted tactfully to prevent things from escalating.”
“That is correct.”
“You must have been frightened, unable to even communicate with them. How did you manage that?”
Erin met the Demon King’s gaze firmly and replied without hesitation, “Because it was the will of God.”
“God…”
The Demon King repeated the word several times as if amused.
“I am the vessel of God and His sole servant. Whatever the One True God, Igogodon, desires, I will fulfill without question.”
“Indeed, God… It was God who bestowed this human body upon me.”
The Demon King fell silent for a moment, then took a few steps closer to Erin.
With every step she took, a tiny sound—like the chirping of a chick—echoed with her movement.
“At any rate, I wanted to thank you for that matter. Thank you—”
At that moment—
Thud!
The Demon King stumbled over a stone and fell flat on the ground.
“Are you alright?!”
Ophel hurriedly ran over to help the Demon King, whose eyes glistened briefly.
She bit her lip, trembling slightly, then sniffled and brushed off her dirtied knees.
“This human body is more inconvenient than I thought. To be tied to the earth like this… it must be a pitiful existence. I suppose it explains their aggressive tendencies.”
“Not necessarily,” Ophel replied.
“You see—”
She knelt down on one knee to meet the Demon King’s gaze.
“Being tied to the earth might seem limiting, but you could also think of it as being rooted. We bear responsibility for this world we’re anchored to and live with that in mind.”
“…I see.”
“Regardless of the circumstances, it appears that the Demon King has obtained a human body by the will of God.”
“Given that you can speak so casually with me, perhaps you’re correct.”
“Then welcoming you must also be a trial bestowed by God. I, Ophel Aichel Transrente, as a paladin, vow to escort you with honor.”
Ophel stood up slowly and extended her hand to the Demon King.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the Demon King stretched her tiny hand toward Ophel’s much larger one.
Grip.
The warmth of another race flowed through the Demon King’s hand… It was comforting.
***
As the Demon King and Ophel walked together, holding hands tightly—
Thud!
Crash!
“O-Ophel !”
Though Ophel’s resolve was admirable, the problem was that she wasn’t much better at walking than the Demon King herself.
***
“Here, please have a seat, Demon King.”
“…Thank you.”
The Demon King plopped down onto the mat Luca had prepared.
Facing her, Erin and the others knelt down respectfully.
At the dungeon’s entrance, where magical energy seeped out, the sight of grown women kneeling before a petite girl presented an image full of contrasts.
After a brief moment of silence, the one to break it was Erin, the saint chosen by God.
“Demon King, may I speak first?”
“Go ahead.”
“We have come here guided by divine revelation. God led us here, and meeting you in this place is proof of His will. If there’s anything that comes to mind, we’d be grateful if you could share it with us.”
The Demon King, after hearing Erin’s words, felt she might understand what Erin was implying.
‘The will of God—the one who used their power to prevent bloodshed.’
Piecing together the situation from the conversation with God’s intermediary, the Demon King cautiously voiced a bold thought that came to mind.
“Erin, we do not wish to be enemies with your kind. Are you aware that my kin who emerged from the dungeon never attacked you first?”
“…Yes, I was aware. In fact, when I received the will of God, I had a vague sense that might be the case.”
“I wanted to communicate with humanity, with your kind. I thought if we could state our demands, the matter could be resolved without bloodshed.
However, I was told that to humans, I appear incredibly threatening—so much so that merely meeting my eyes would drive them into madness and rob them of reason.”
The Demon King paused briefly before continuing.
“When I was contemplating whether history would repeat itself, I heard the voice of God—or rather, the voice of God’s intermediary. They said they would share a plain truth. At first, I didn’t understand what they meant.”
“I see…”
Erin slowly nodded before asking, “Are you saying that demons and humans can coexist?”
“That is correct. The continent is vast, is it not? While I do not expect us to mingle freely in your territories, I believe there is enough room for us to live alongside each other.”
In a situation where none of the knights, including Ophel, dared to speak, Erin cautiously nodded and met the Demon King’s gaze.
“I believe your intentions are noble, Demon King. If it were possible, we humans would like to live in such a way too.”
“Your response does not sound entirely positive.”
“I apologize. However, there are aspects of this situation that are difficult for us humans to accept.”
“That is understandable. After all, is that not why I was given a human body—to address such concerns? Speak honestly. What is it about my kin that makes them unacceptable to your kind?”
‘Though, I can probably guess…’
“Guess, you say?”
“From a human perspective, my kind appears ferocious.”
Erin couldn’t respond.
It was true—monsters were inherently terrifying.
The more powerful the demon, the greater the fear it evoked in humans.
Without the divine “plain truth,” the idea of sitting face-to-face with the Demon King—the pinnacle of demonkind—would have been unthinkable.
Still…
If “having this conversation” was the will of God…
Erin felt she might understand why Igogodon had orchestrated this situation.
“You are correct, Demon King. To us humans, your kin… monsters are beings of fear and dread.”
“I do not intend to mock the instincts of living creatures. My kin do not readily accept your kind either.”
It was the same on both sides—both saw each other as fundamentally different.
“However, my hesitation is not solely due to the fearsome appearance of your kind.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m referring to the traditions of your kind. This may be offensive to you, Demon King, but it is not the appearance of demons that troubles us the most—it is your customs.”
“Our customs?”
The Demon King tilted her head, as if she couldn’t understand what Erin was talking about.
She looked as if to say, “What have my kin even done?”
Erin, wearing a much more serious expression than usual, cautiously explained what she knew to be “common knowledge.”
“Things like… turning a lake into a pool of blood by spilling human blood until it runs red, then hanging severed human heads over the lake and feasting on human flesh afterward. Or performing rituals where weak demons who fail to kill humans are burned alive to inspire others…”
The Demon King blinked, looking completely perplexed.
“And according to our historical records—”
“Wait a moment, Erin. Forgive my rudeness for interrupting, but I believe there’s a significant misunderstanding here.”
“A misunderstanding?”
At that moment, the Demon King felt she finally understood what God’s intermediary meant when they conveyed the will of Igogodon.
[Igogodon: You know, sometimes the simplest solutions solve the biggest problems.]
[Igogodon: All they ever wanted was sunlight, but they couldn’t say it, so they kept fighting instead.]
The thought made her chuckle involuntarily.
Indeed.
For centuries, demons and humans had clashed because they never talked to one another.
But as God said, the solution to such problems was often surprisingly simple.
“I swear on my honor as the Demon King—our kind has no such customs.”
“Is that so? Then why do demons leave their dungeons to hunt humans? As we understand it, your kind needs the magical energy in dungeons to survive. We assumed it was to satisfy destructive instincts.”
“Destructive instincts… I understand why you might think so. The previous Demon King awakened the primal instincts of demons, waged war on humanity, and seized territories by force. With such records left behind, it’s no wonder those ideas became widely accepted. However, the truth is different.”
The Demon King paused, her pink eyes gleaming as she prepared to say what her kind had been unable to convey for centuries.
“It is sunlight that we long for.”
“Sunlight…?”
“Without sunlight, we cannot properly absorb magical energy. Except for a few higher beings, most of my kind cannot fulfill their lifespans and die in agony. That is why we emerge from the dungeons. What we need is sunlight. That is the most crucial reason for our actions.”
The Demon King conveyed the true longing of her kind—something that had gone unspoken for centuries—to Erin.