Chapter 60

I’ve heard that voice before. This is the second time.

The first time was in the middle of the defense battle of Menonu City. His leisurely stance, surrounded by a multitude of monsters, was still fresh in my memory.

“You…!”

“I told you, didn’t I? That we would meet again someday.”

With those words, the man peering into my face—the Demon King—narrowed his red eyes and revealed a cruel smile. Seeing me frozen in surprise, his grin only widened.

“Hmm… Judging from your reaction, it seems I’ve successfully surprised you a bit.”

A bit?! I’m totally taken aback!

“Why… why are you here? Do you have business in this shop?”

“No. Didn’t I tell you? I came here to meet you. As promised.”

Right, when we met last in Menonu City, he did say something along the lines of “We’ll meet again someday.”

I thought I had misheard, and didn’t give it much thought until now…

Seeing me fall silent, the Demon King furrowed his brows.

“What? Did you forget our promise?”

“Of course, I remember. I just didn’t expect to run into you here, so I wasn’t prepared.”

It was such a blatant lie… Well, it’s not a lie, is it? I didn’t forget, I just misheard, so it’s safe, right?

Inside, I was breaking out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the Demon King didn’t press the issue.

“…..Hmm.”

The Demon King slowly removed the hood he was wearing. Spilling out from under the hood was deep green hair. When the sunlight hit the hair, it took on the deep blue-green color of a clear lake, or it changed to an emerald green, like a jewel beetle’s wings. It was a hair with a curious color.

The green hair was probably waist-length. However, thanks to his tall, slender physique and the lean muscles on his body, he didn’t come off as feminine. What stood out more were the horns on either side of his head. The hood was likely worn to hide these.

Now that the Demon King’s face was exposed, looking at his straight nose and elongated pupils, I swallowed nervously.

The dark crimson eyes, like blood-soaked porcelain, had vertically slit pupils. It was an appearance that was both ominous and divine…

Still, looking at him, he really does resemble the standing card from “Change the World”.

That’s kind of touching.

I remembered the graphics of the game “Change the World” that I used to play in my original world, and the various stories about the Demon King and the founding of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom.

The Demon King and this country, the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom, are inseparable.

“Change the World” begins when the protagonist is summoned from the modern world to the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom and is told, “As the savior, fight the resurrected Demon King and save this country.”

Three hundred years ago, a Demon King led the monsters to plunge this land into chaos. To subdue the Demon King, a hero was summoned from another world, and he fought the Demon King. However, the hero failed to completely defeat the Demon King in the end.

But the hero mustered all his strength and managed to seal the Demon King for three hundred years. Afterwards, with that achievement, the hero united the people of this land and established the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom.

But this year marks the end of that seal, and monsters have started to proliferate in the country again. In the game scenario, one of the knight orders in the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom collapsed after a battle with a wyvern.

Due to this heavy loss, the leaders of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom decided to conduct the “Summoning Ceremony” again. And so, the protagonist is summoned as the current “Hero”.

As for why they summon people from other worlds, according to the secret arts passed down in the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom, when a person from another world is summoned, they appear with unique powers and a large amount of magic power that the people of this world don’t possess. 

Apparently, the energy from crossing worlds is granted to the person being summoned… I don’t remember much of the difficult explanation, but it’s enough to remember that “Just being summoned by the ceremony, a person from another world can gain cheat abilities.”

As a person from another world who doesn’t have any cheats, this is a story I’m quite envious of. Especially since the Demon King is right in front of me.

“…..You look confused as to why I’m here.” The Demon King looked down at me with a cold gaze.

While wondering what to do, I glanced towards the other side of the counter. Thankfully, the bespectacled shopkeeper hasn’t noticed me yet. I heard her exclaim, “Found it! Wait, is this mandrake powder?”, so she probably won’t be back for a while.

“Yes, it’s strange indeed. Why would someone like you come to see me?”

Leaning against the counter with my arms crossed, I faced the Demon King. If I didn’t do this, my body felt like it would start shaking.

Watching me, the Demon King narrowed his eyes.

“It’s obvious. Your black hair and black eyes….. those colors that don’t exist in this country, in this world…”

The Demon King’s face, as he murmured these words, was full of bitter regret.

“Are you also – summoned from ‘another world’ just like the hero? And you seem to be of Eastern descent just like the previous one,” he questioned.

I was a bit hesitant, but decided to answer his question honestly. After all, with my black hair and eyes, there’s no use trying to hide it…

“Yes, that’s correct. I, too, like the ‘hero,’ came from Japan.” 

 

But, perhaps that choice might have been a mistake. The demon king, hearing my answer, distorted his face even more.

“Hmm… I thought that after 300 years, the humans of this country would become a bit smarter. It seems I was too optimistic.”

“….Wait, what are you talking about?”

“It’s clear, isn’t it? The summoning ritual. You were also summoned to this country by these incompetent people.” 

His red eyes burning with hatred, the demon king made this declaration with a voice filled with curses. But his words were completely off the mark.

I hastily interjected, “Wait, you’re misunderstanding something. I was not summoned here by the people of this country.” 

“Why would that not be the case? If you were not summoned by the people of this country, then why are you here? How did you come to this world?”

“Well, I don’t exactly understand that either…”

I mean, that’s precisely what I want to know! Why did I come to this world? One day I just woke up inside a pirate ship’s hold.

“I can’t explain it well, but at some point, I found myself in this world. But the place where I woke up wasn’t in some castle of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom, there was nobody around me when I woke up.”

As I explained, the demon king nodded solemnly. “Hmm, I see.” 

Oh, did he understand? 

“I see, you’ve thought this through. They must have manipulated your memory with mind control magic after the summoning. It seems they have learned a little bit of cunning over these 300 years.” 

Wait, he doesn’t understand at all! 

“No, that’s not it. I wasn’t summoned by anyone, and no one is to blame for me being in this world.”

“Then, what’s with your outfit?” 

My outfit? You mean… the uniform of the Black-winged Knights? 

Wait, what? Is he saying that the uniform doesn’t suit me? 

“What you’re wearing is the military uniform of this country… it belongs to those who are part of the Knights. Despite saying that you weren’t summoned, aren’t you in this country, fighting battles that have nothing to do with you for the sake of these people? Just like the hero, aren’t you being used at their whim?” 

“That’s not the case. I chose to be part of the Knights on my own accord.”

Unfortunately, I’m not contributing to the Knights as much as you’re suggesting! 

“… This is going nowhere.” The demon king clicked his tongue. 

But, indeed, our conversation is not aligning. The demon king is convinced that I’m a ‘person from another world who was summoned here,’ and I’m denying it.

The problem here is that, while I am indeed a person from another world, I cannot prove that I’m not the ‘person from another world who was summoned here’ as the demon king suggests… 

When asked, “So how did you come to this world?”

All I can say is, “I don’t know.” 

However, there is one thing I understood. Through “Change the World,” I knew about the demon king’s character and past… But actually meeting him, he’s not as bad as he seems. Well, there was a reconciliation event with the demon king in the main game after all. 

Although the monster horde rushed into Menonu city because of the demon king’s resurrection… 

Whether that was his intention or not is a different matter. Depending on how you look at it, at that time, because the demon king was there, the monsters followed his instructions and returned. 

Alright! Continuing this conversation will just lead to more non-alignment, let’s start from there and broaden the conversation! I read in a book that when conversation with someone new becomes awkward, find something good about the person and verbalize it! 

“You’re a good person, you know.”

“…….What?” 

At my abrupt words, the Demon King widened his eyes. Then, he stared intently at my face. 

“The reason I came here… from what you’re saying, it’s because you’re worried about me, right? Just like the previous hero, you think I was forcibly summoned to this country, don’t you?” I said. “Ah, no, you don’t have to say anything. Just knowing that you’re a kind person is enough for me right now.” 

I unwound my crossed arms and leaned on the counter behind me. My shoulders were starting to go numb from the tension. 

“But you’re misunderstanding one thing. As I said earlier, I wasn’t summoned to this world. I didn’t come here of my own accord either. But I’ve never been forced to do anything or had my actions restricted in this country.”

In fact, I’m the one who’s been causing trouble for everyone, getting lost and inconveniencing Felix, and having Gazelle take me to various delicious food places! 

Should I be more careful?

“But… it should be impossible to visit this world without a summoning ritual.”

The Demon King’s hateful expression softened a bit. But he’s still looking at me with a puzzled face. 

Hmm… Well, yeah. 

From the Demon King’s point of view, he must be wondering “How did you get to this world then?” 

But I can’t explain that… but to prove that I didn’t come to this world through a summoning ritual, what should I do… Oh! 

That’s right, I figured it out! 

There’s only one piece of evidence that can prove I’m from another world but not a summoned hero! 

“I don’t have a cheat ability.”

“What? A chea….?”

“Ah, no. Well… I don’t have extraordinary magical powers or abilities like the previous hero or you. That should be proof enough, right? People from other worlds who are summoned by rituals receive heroic powers worthy of being called “heroes” or “saviors.” But I don’t have any magic powers, skills, or divine protection.”

The Demon King’s eyes were even wider than before. 

Good, this is going well! 

“The people of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom have performed the summoning ritual twice in the past because they needed a hero with extraordinary powers. But I don’t have that kind of power. That should prove that I’m not a summoned person from another world.” 

The Demon King was staring at me, trembling.

Hmm? Something’s off. 

“You just said “like the previous hero or you”. And also “two summoning rituals”, the Demon King said, before continuing, “That means… you know that I am the first person from another world who was summoned – just like the previous hero. Why? How do you know that…?”

The Demon King stared at me in shock. 

In response to him, I smiled silently with just my lips. 

Oops, I screwed up!

I, I’m such an idiot! 

I was so focused on presenting the evidence that I blabbered about something I shouldn’t have…

The Demon King standing before me is looking at me with confused and bewildered eyes. 

“I remember you once called me “Ritzheim Magic Kingdom’s King”… No, even if you knew that, how did you know that I’m also a “person from another world”? Exactly who are you?”

“Huh… Yes, that’s right.”

I can only give a dry laugh at my own stupidity.

What, what should I do? Should I just tell the truth?

“If you’re asking how much I know… well. I know that you were the first person to be summoned to this world from another world. And that the previous hero, who was from your hometown, felt sympathy for you and decided to seal you away instead of exterminating you.”

“What…!”

The Demon King’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Well, it’s not unreasonable. This is a story that dates back to the founding of the Ritzheim Magic Kingdom, and furthermore, it’s something that hasn’t been passed down among the common people. Likely, not even Gazelle or Felix know about it. 

But, I do.

Because I’m a human who came from a world different from this “Demon King” and “Protagonist” in front of me. 

I’m a person who has played the events of this world over and over again in the RPG “Change the World”.

“…How on earth do you know such things? That is an event that the people of this country have buried in the darkness of history.”

“That means not all people were like that. A group of sensible people had recorded the events that happened to you and the hero’s decision.”

“…”

What I said is not a lie. 

In the story of “Change the World”, the protagonist and his comrades attempt to develop potions and elixirs. 

Potions and elixirs were not unusual in the past, but they were lost after the battle with the Demon King three hundred years ago. 

In order to retrieve the method of making them again, the protagonist and his team go to a neighboring country to take on an event… and in doing so, they learn a part of the lost history. 

The “hero” who defeated the Demon King three hundred years ago, and the protagonist who was summoned as the “savior”. 

But, before them, there was another person from another world who had been summoned to this world. 

That was the Demon King. 

Normally, you wouldn’t understand the circumstances here unless you go to the dungeon in the neighboring country and get the diary in the hidden room, but… well, that’s why I’m not lying, right? 

It’s true that the people of that time had left a record of what had happened to the Demon King, right? 

I never said I had it, did I? So it’s not a lie, is it? 

“Hmph…I see. If you know all the events, it will be quicker.” 

The Demon King, who had been silent for a while, looked up and fixed his gaze on me with a cruel smile. 

Then, he reached out one hand to me.

Eh, a handshake? 

“What is your name?” 

“…It’s Takumi.” 

“Takumi, huh. Alright, Takumi. Come with me. I like you. Together, let’s take revenge on the foolish humans who selfishly summoned us to this world.” 

It was an unexpected job offer. 

 

But of course, there was no way I could agree to such a dangerous headhunting in this situation. I glared at the Demon King. 

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not like, summoned by someone in this country against my will.” 

“But you didn’t come to this world on your own volition, did you? Then, there must be someone who summoned you to this country. Probably that person has sealed your memories. I don’t know why your abilities didn’t manifest… or perhaps due to some malfunction, your memories are missing.” 

My brilliant idea was refuted in just a few minutes. What a disaster! 

But at this point, it seems pretty impossible to convince him that I wasn’t summoned by anyone. What should I do? 

“Takumi…You called me a ‘kind person’ earlier.” 

The Demon King approached me as I was on the verge of burying my face in the counter, holding my head. 

When he stood in front of me, his tall figure cast a shadow, darkening the room. It felt as if night had suddenly fallen. 

And then, his eyes, as red as blood, were silently glowing as they stared at me. 

“The one who called me that…you’re the second one. The first one was my wife. I fought for her. I accepted my fate to live in this country because she was by my side. But…the humans in this country…” 

“…Demon King…” 

“…If you say you know everything, you understand what I’m saying, right? If you stay in this country, you’ll just be used and discarded.” 

“…”

The voice was filled with such bitterness.

Without thinking, I reached out to the Demon Lord, but the faces of Gazelle and Felix flashed through my mind, and I hastily pulled my hand back. 

It’s tough, but I shouldn’t sympathize with him here. I shouldn’t let his feelings sway me and lose sight of my own position.

“Demon Lord. I appreciate your concern for me. But I am—”

“Takumi-san! Sorry for the wait! I’ve finally found the tea leaves!”

An energetic shout accompanied the glasses-wearing waitress as she burst from the room behind the counter.

…Oh yeah, she was in the middle of brewing tea, wasn’t she? I completely forgot!

“Wha—?! Oh, customer!! I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you at all…! I’ll get your tea right away… Ahh, oh no!”

Splash

Upon noticing the Demon Lord, the glasses-wearing waitress became flustered and knocked over the cup on the tray. The impact splashed the tea onto her apron and me.

“Whoa”

“Ahh!!!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Takumi-san!!!! I can’t believe what I’ve done…!”

“No, it’s okay. Are you alright though?”

Fortunately, the tea wasn’t too hot. 

My uniform is dark, so it’s fine, but the waitress’s apron is pure white, so the tea stain stands out clearly.

Hmm, what gets out tea stains? Neutral detergent?

“…..Sigh. “Clean“.”

With teary eyes, the flustered glasses-wearing waitress and I, trying to calm her down.

Then, a sigh mixed with an exasperated voice echoed.

At the same time, a fresh breeze blew through the shop.

The next moment, the clothes of the waitress and I were as clean as if they were brand new.

“……This is……”

“Wow, amazing! Is this “Clean” magic!? To think it could make our clothes this clean… Did you do this, sir?”

“…..Yes, I did.”

Looking over, the Demon Lord was looking down on us with a somewhat deflated expression.

The glasses-wearing waitress, seeing her and my clothes suddenly cleaned, turned to him, bowed her head with a sparkling smile. “Thank you so much! I’m sorry to have troubled you… I’d like to pay you for the use of your magic. How much should I pay?”

“……I don’t need money. I have no use for this country’s currency.”

“Oh, how modest of you…! Then, if there’s anything you like, please let us know. We’ll present it to you for free!”

“No, that’s not what I meant……”

Facing the beaming glasses-wearing waitress, the Demon Lord seemed somewhat at a loss.

Seeing this situation was quite amusing, so I was watching from afar, when the Demon Lord glared at me. He seemed to want my help.

“Sorry to interrupt. This guy is an acquaintance of mine… He has an urgent matter to attend to today and needs to leave soon. So, we’ll have to postpone the thanks till next time.”

“Eh?! I see… I’m sorry for not realizing earlier and causing trouble when you’re busy……”

Uh-oh!

Now the glasses-wearing waitress looks downcast!

In a panic, I turned to the Demon Lord and sent him a message with my eyes asking for help. Shrugging his shoulders, the Demon Lord reached out and drew me close.

Whoa, whoa!?!?! What’s this posture?

“Don’t worry, miss. The fault lies with me for not greeting you.”

“No, that’s not it at all……”

“I’m an old acquaintance of this man. Therefore, there may be a time when I meet you again. Let’s talk about today at that time.”

“I, understood! So you were a friend of Takumi-san. Then, if you can’t come to the shop often, I will send my thanks for today through Takumi-san!”

“Ah, please do that.”

As the conversation ended, the demon lord released his hand from my body. Just before his body left mine, his fingertips smoothly caressed my waist. The touch lingered unpleasantly on my skin.

When I looked back at the demon lord, he formed a smirk on his lips.

“Takumi, that’s it for today. We’ve both lost interest, haven’t we?”

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

Right. This atmosphere doesn’t make either of us feel like continuing our previous conversation. The bespectacled shop assistant is something to be feared.

“However, I will come to see you again in the not so distant future. At that time, I hope to hear a pleasant response from you.”

Saying this in a dignified manner, the demon lord put his hood back on, turned his back on us, and left the shop with a swift stride.

The shop assistant and I watched his retreating figure in silence.

… A pleasant response, does he mean me going along with the demon king?

But that is a choice I will never make. While I can’t help but sympathize with his circumstances…that’s a different story.

I love the people of this country. Gazelle, Felix, Iris, the knights, and the members of the White-winged Knights such as Leon and Rei, and Ortoland, the captain of the Yellow-winged Knights…I will never betray them to go with the Demon King.

…What can I do to make the Demon King understand this?

A part of the people of this country made a mistake in the past. But no one from that time is here in this era. Now, only people who are living their lives to the fullest live in this country.

…What should I do…

“Takumi-san…”

“Hm?”

“Um… the customer said so, but were you really uncomfortable? I am truly sorry for being extremely rude to your friend…”

The bespectacled shop assistant slumped her shoulders. To reassure her, I patted her shoulder lightly.

“No, not at all. You did a great job.”

***