“What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have black tea. Lillias’s black tea is quite famous, you know.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
I’m currently sitting in the Student Council Room, guided here by a rather flustered professor who rushed in during class.
Shortly after, the Demon Lord, who was shouting in the courtyard, arrived here as well, thanks to the guide.
So now, I’m face to face with the ruler of the demon race on the Karab Continent—the Demon Lord.
‘Is she really the Demon Lord…?’
The sight of the Demon Lord perched on the sofa across from me lacked any sort of majestic aura befitting her title.
With elegantly flowing silver hair, she was savoring the black tea brought by the Student Council President.
She looked like a high school girl; if anything, maybe a middle schooler.
Yet, the massive black horn protruding from her temple screamed that she was not your average girl.
“Mm~ This black tea is delicious as always. I should take some with me when I leave later.”
“Ah, yes…”
She just came to sip warm black tea right away.
She took a bite of the scone and exclaimed, “Hmm~!” while relishing the dessert.
‘I’ve never seen a Demon Lord in a game before…’
This was my first glimpse of the Demon Lord, who had been shrouded in mystery.
To be honest, I was slightly disappointed at her ordinary girl-like appearance.
More than that, the reason I’d gone through so much trouble to challenge the Tower of Tarros was all because of her.
And with her looking like this, it felt frustrating.
‘No, wait… According to the prophecy, isn’t the Demon Lord supposed to be male?’
The prophecy from the demon side indicated that the child of Raphne and the Demon Lord would rule the world.
Meaning, she should be able to get Raphne pregnant.
In other words, the Demon Lord should be a man.
“Umm? What’s this? You’re staring at me in a rather lewd way, are you interested in my body?”
Noticing me observing her carefully, the Demon Lord, Reynesis, blushed and smiled playfully.
“No, I have someone I’m going to marry, so I have no such intentions at all.”
“Hmm… That’s a rather dull response. You’re such a boring man.”
Having a fiancée at times like this is a real blessing.
In the past, I would have blushed with indignation and embarrassment, but now I have three women I need to take responsibility for.
I have no intention of indulging in her teasing.
‘By the way, she really is a girl.’
However, the Demon Lord wasn’t entirely wrong. I was examining her body side to side.
To see if she actually had breasts.
Or whether something that shouldn’t stick out was indeed sticking out.
After all, she’s a demon. It could be some kind of illegal body modification.
She could potentially be a male in a female body.
But after a detailed inspection, she was indeed female.
Though, I haven’t examined her closely yet, so who knows.
‘Could this be a result of altering the past?’
I don’t know the mechanics behind it, but the Demon Lord must have been a man before the past was changed.
At the very least, she should have had the body parts needed to impregnate a woman.
That’s why the kingdom was cautious about the prophecy.
Yet, the Demon Lord in front of me is a woman.
The only assumption I can make is that the gender of the Demon Lord changed when the past was altered.
Or…
The Demon Lord herself changed with the alteration of the past…?
Those questions flitted through my mind, but I had no way of knowing right now.
After all, only I and those three women know that the past has been altered.
If I suddenly ask her, “Why are you a girl?” I’ll just be thought of as a weirdo.
So the only thing I could ask now was this:
“So, Your Majesty, what brings you to me?”
I couldn’t understand why she came to me unless I heard her out first.
Perhaps it might come off as a bit rude.
But then again, she’s the king of the demon race from the neighboring continent.
I shouldn’t treat her badly, but neither do I need to bow deeply.
I couldn’t even grasp etiquette anyway.
“Ah, we’ll go into detail once my companions arrive.”
Fortunately, my question didn’t come off as too rude, and Demon Lord Reynesis answered me with a friendly smile.
“Before that friend arrives, how about I tell you something you might be curious about?”
“Something I might be curious about…?”
What could be so interesting?
I tilted my head, wondering as Reynesis grinned and said:
“Yes, for example… why I am ‘the Demon Lord’.”
“……”
I couldn’t hide my surprise upon hearing her answer.
Why Reynesis is the Demon Lord.
That might indeed be something I’d want to know.
The problem is, understanding that question means…
I know the past was altered.
“Ahahaha! Finally, a fun reaction! Much better than the earlier joke!”
It seems she found great amusement in my wide-eyed expression as I broke into a cold sweat.
“Do you… know something?”
“Of course I do. Very well know, actually. I know that you changed the past by conquering the Tower of Tarros.”
In that instant, the eyes of the once innocent-looking girl changed.
They lit up like a cat’s, glistening with the thrill of a newfound hunt.
“And that you changed the past and erased the prophecy laid upon our demon race.”
“……….”
Feeling a tinge of anxiety, I shifted my hand towards my Subspace Pocket.
If things went south, I was ready to draw out Tirpione, my strongest ally.
‘Why does she remember the prophecy…?’
Questions upon questions circled in my head.
First and foremost, I wanted to know if she remembered the world before the change.
And whether she was the very Demon Lord who was fixated on that prophecy.
“Ahaha! Just joking! Don’t make such a scary face! I’m merely a guest here to make a request of you!”
That tension fizzled away, rendered harmless by Reynesis’s infectious laughter.
What is it? Is it fun for her to toy with me?
“Hahaha!”
She seems to find my reactions amusing.
Her laughter reminds me of a first-year troublesome girl.
“The reason I mentioned the prophecy is simply to share information before that friend arrives. So please, feel free to listen.”
“……You know about the prophecy, which means… do you remember before the past was changed?”
I let my shoulders relax, taking a sip from my warm teacup, then asked.
The Demon Lord smiled and readily replied.
“I have no memory of it at all!”
“……Huh?”
Then how…
“While I don’t remember, I know someone who does.”
“Then did you hear about the prophecy from that person?”
“No, that’s a bit different regarding the prophecy.”
Clink.
The Demon Lord placed her cup on the table, grinned proudly, and crossed her arms.
Then she replied defiantly.
“In the first place, I became the Demon Lord after defeating my older brother, who was supposed to be the Demon Lord. So, while I don’t remember, I do know about the prophecy!”
“…Huh?”
I’ve been reduced to asking stupid questions repeatedly.
The pace of this story is too fast.
But embedded in Reynesis’s words were various pieces of information.
With that information, most of my questions began to unravel.
So the Demon Lord in front of me is a different person than the one who ruled the demons before the past was altered.
The previous Demon Lord was her brother… which means it was her real older brother.
‘So that’s why she’s a girl…’
Also, according to her, she erased the prophecy, preventing her brother from becoming the Demon Lord and ultimately took the throne herself.
‘I thought it would just change instantly.’
I began to grasp the general idea of how the past-changing works.
Certainly, since Raphne’s case has taught me that the memories that existed are overwritten when the past changes…
It’s only natural for the same thing to happen to the Demon Lord, too.
“My brother, Arleus, was originally the first heir of the 13th Demon Lord.”
Reynesis went on to explain the rough situation.
“But being the first heir does not guarantee that you will become king. Because of that, I had been preparing to take my brother’s place for quite some time. I persuaded the elders to support me and gained the total trust of the commander to acquire military power.”
She spoke as if recounting fond childhood memories, her tone reminiscent of playing in the playground.
“Then one day, I received a letter. It said that a prophecy favoring Arleus would soon appear. That he would ascend to the throne due to that prophecy.”
“…The person who sent that letter…”
“I don’t know. It suddenly just appeared on my desk. Maybe it was the Blessing of the Goddess.”
Hearing the Demon Lord talk about the Goddess seemed utterly out of place.
“Anyway, thanks to that letter, I personally killed the old hag who was to disseminate the prophecy! Therefore, it never appeared, and I safely became the Demon Lord.”
Her generous sharing of all the information cleared so many of my questions.
So it’s assured that the prophecy, without a doubt, won’t come true.
In other words, Raphne is no longer in danger.
Relieved, I finished my black tea.
“…But what exactly is your reason for telling me this?”
There was no need for her to disclose such information to me.
However, Reynesis certainly stated it was to share preliminary information.
…Then she’s telling me that she plans to ask me something after revealing that information.
“Oh, I’ll speak about that once my companions arrive.”
“…About those ‘companions’ you’ve mentioned since a while ago.”
I cautiously asked about her companions, sensing an uneasy atmosphere.
Just then,
—Creeeak.
“Oh, they’ve just arrived.”
The door to the Student Council Room opened up, and the companions Reynesis mentioned appeared before me.
“Phew… Your Majesty, you shouldn’t have run out so suddenly.”
“Ahahaha! It’s because I was so curious to see the famous artisan you were talking about!”
He spotted Reynesis sitting and enjoying tea, and a relieved smile spread across his face.
Soon after, he locked eyes with me and smiled.
I felt quite taken aback at his face.
“It’s been a while, Ken. How have you been?”
He was supposed to be the main target of Emily at this academy.
And with the past changed, he had vanished from here.
Adrian Arnold Lilias.
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