I spoke with the fullest sincerity.
"I am most satisfied that you answered me faithfully."
"Spare my life… please… just my life…"
"Of course. What reason would I have to kill you?"
"A potion, a healing potion…"
I forced Andromalius back to his feet.
"Unfortunately, I have no potions on me. See if you can get some from someone else. But first, get up and apologize to the tavern keeper! You must show respect to your elders — honestly, what a way to behave."
Because of the wound on his thigh, Andromalius let out a string of groans as he stood. I asked him in a concerned tone, "Oh dear, are you alright?" Not that I actually slowed my pace, of course. He was probably cursing me under his breath something fierce.
"That is all I desire of you."
"Ah, yes, sir."
I supported him out of the tavern. The demons were still formed up in their ranks, but having grasped my intentions, they no longer watched the golems with such alarm. Among those in the formation, I walked over to the elderly man from the Beast Tribe.
"Keeper! This man tells me he has something to apologize to you for."
The old Beast Tribe fellow wore a bewildered expression. The other demons murmured among themselves and glanced our way. Before I knew it, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, and twice as many people now filled the square as there had been before we entered the tavern.
"Y-yes."
"He hasn't had much experience in the world and seems to have made a mistake. Won't you be generous and forgive him? Go on. What are you waiting for? Apologize quickly."
I pulled my arm out without warning, and Andromalius, unable to bear the pain in his thigh, collapsed to the ground with a thud. Fighting back groans, he slowly prostrated himself on the ground.
"I am sorry… I made a mistake."
"What a shame."
I pressed my foot firmly onto the back of Andromalius's hand.
"Grk, grrruurk!"
"If you're going to apologize, is that any way to speak! Put more feeling into it!"
"Ghk, s-sorry……!"
"That's right. Press your forehead firmly against the ground. Like that."
"I'm sorry, hic, I'm sorry……."
The apologies continued. Andromalius had slammed his head into the ground so many times that gravel, blood, and hair were matted together on his forehead. Perhaps many harbored grudges against him, because quite a few demons had gathered to gawk and snicker.
Hearing the laughter, Andromalius snapped his head up. His burning eyes glared at the demons. The demons flinched. But when I pressed down on the back of his hand, he had no choice but to prostrate himself again, screaming. The apologies went on until the old Tiger Tribe elder, unable to watch any longer, said that was enough.
"You should thank the master for accepting your apology."
"Thank you. Hhk, thank you……."
The old Tiger Tribe elder nodded. Reading his emotions, his hostility toward me hadn't completely dissipated, but the embarrassment of being the center of everyone's attention outweighed it. He clearly wanted to escape this situation as quickly as possible.
"Hhuurk, ghk……hhuuk."
Perhaps overcome with sorrow, Andromalius began to cry. My goodness, he was no different from a child. Feeling wronged even when being punished for your own mistakes — that was a child's trademark. How on earth had someone like this become the Demon Lord and caused so much trouble for so many people?
I checked the Status Window.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Name] [Stamina] [Attack] [Defense]
- Andromalius 1/5 3 3
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Only 1 stamina remained. With the bleeding from his thigh still ongoing, it would hit zero before long. I grabbed him again and personally lifted him to his feet. He wobbled, unable to keep his balance.
"Good. That's enough — I think you've done plenty. Now be on your way."
"……Thank you……."
I swept my palm across his shoulders and knees. Andromalius's face was as pale as rice water from the blood loss. He bowed his head deeply to me in gratitude, then turned his gaze toward the demons gathered in the square. He called out for help in a thin voice.
"D-does anyone happen to have a potion...?"
Over thirty demons fell silent in unison. I could feel that the silence was deliberate. In Niflheim, where strife and violence were everyday occurrences, it was impossible that not a single one of them had a potion. Yet they said nothing.
"Please, a potion... I'll repay you handsomely later. A healing spell, at least... anyone..."
Cold stares converged on him. I could only hear the murmur of whispered words. Whatever they were saying, it couldn't have been anything good.
Tears streamed down Andromalius's cheeks. Realizing that seeking help was futile, he dragged his mangled legs and stumbled toward the far side of the square. He hadn't made it more than a few steps before he fell. Crawling along with a voice choked between hiccups and groans, Andromalius dragged himself forward. The blood flowing from his thigh drew a long red line across the ground.
"Hkk...ck...hck..."
I felt like having a cigarette. Not because I pitied him or felt sorry for him—I just thought a cigarette was what you needed in moments like this. I was frustrated that I couldn't read the Demon Lord's emotions. What was that guy thinking right now? Was there nothing beyond the feeling of not wanting to die?
"Your Majesty."
Bupphae approached and whispered.
"I have a potion."
"Don't give it to him."
"But such a death is terribly lonely."
"You've turned into a philanthropist in the few minutes I wasn't looking."
I let out a faint laugh.
"I suppose death is inherently lonely, though."
"..."
"Just watch in silence."
After crawling for a while, Andromalius finally stopped. Should I give him credit for making it to the edge of the square? I could see his back rising and falling slightly—he wasn't dead yet. But that wouldn't last long. All movement ceased.
'Status Window.'
The Status Window didn't appear. That meant he was dead.
I turned around. I picked a random alley branching off from the square and walked into it. Bufue followed without a word. The moment we left the square, the demons began chattering loudly—saying things like the Demon Lord was dead, and good riddance.
We strolled down the narrow alleyway. For a while, neither of us said a word.
Bufue spoke cautiously.
"Um… may I ask why you felt it necessary to kill him?"
I disliked the heavy silence, so I answered readily.
"There are three reasons. First, he humiliated me in front of many witnesses. I might tolerate being insulted by someone strong, but I won't just stand there and take it from a weakling. Doing so would make people think I'm even weaker than him. The name Dantalion must never be taken lightly."
Rumors had already spread—demon children were running toward us from the opposite direction, shouting to each other that the Demon Lord was dead as they raced past. One urged the others to hurry, while another asked to wait a moment.
"Second, this was an opportunity to build a good reputation here in Niflheim. Once word gets out that I executed someone who had been causing endless trouble for the residents, there will be those who look upon me favorably. Among them, there might even be someone who can provide real help. After all, a king's image has always mattered."
"…That's true. But are you really comfortable saying things like that out loud yourself?"
Bufue shot me a slightly exasperated look.
"I can say it to you. Because the two of us are accomplices."
"Ac-accomplices?"
"You had a potion on hand but didn't use it to save him."
He was visibly startled.
"That was because Your Majesty—"
"Now, now. What makes you my subordinate? Whether to save a man dying right in front of you or leave him be—ultimately, that was entirely your judgment to make. So letting him die falls on your shoulders in the end. I am quite curious to see what would happen if rumors spread that the Kunkuska Trading Company stood by and let the Demon Lord perish."
Bufue's mouth hung open. After a moment, he collected himself and shouted.
"That's— that's sophistry!"
"I was joking."
"......"
Chilling air drifted precisely between the two of us. A feeling of intense revulsion radiated from the other party.
Hmm, I wonder if this guy picked up on how I just indirectly threatened the Kunkuska Trading Company. I hoped he'd noticed. Otherwise, the only way to get the message across would be through Lapis, and I didn't want to force that uncomfortable role on her.
"And the third reason is."
I flashed a bright smile.
"A secret."
"Huh?"
"I said it's a secret. Why must you pry into every last detail? Figure it out yourself."
I hummed a little tune as I walked on ahead. Waves of resentment washed over my back, but I couldn't have cared less. Even if I told him I'd killed Andromalius to slay the Hero, or to prevent the Hero from awakening in the future — would he believe me? I'd rather he rack his brain figuring it out on his own.
A man's supposed to have at least one secret to be charming, after all.
That evening, Bufue arrived at the Kunkuska Trading Company's headquarters. He'd just come back from having dinner with Dantalion at a traditional Niflheim restaurant. The seafood dishes had been delicious, but honestly, Bufue had no mental bandwidth left to savor the food.
"Good evening, Lord Bufue."
A receptionist at the first-floor front desk greeted him. She was a lovely young lady of the Tiger Tribe with lustrous golden hair — beautiful enough to serve as the company's showpiece yet capable of fighting if push came to shove. Bufue had personally intervened in the hiring process to bring her on board.
Bufue reflexively offered a warm smile.
"Working late tonight, I see."
"Oh, no, this is just what I do."
The Tiger Tribe woman flushed. Bufue had known for a while that she harbored a favorable impression of him. However, he needed to keep things clean on the romantic front — the Kunkuska Trading Company needed a figure like that too. No, to be precise, the company's owner did.
"I have something to report to the Chairman."
"Ah. I see."
Envy crept into the woman's expression.
Chairman of the Trading Company, Ivar Lodbrok.
That legendary True Ancestor held the foremost position among the seven executives of the Kunkuska Trading Company. Though the chairman was nominally equal to the seven executives and merely served as the chairperson at meetings, the woman knew full well that this was not merely nominal. Among the executives, there were those who opposed Chairman Lodbrok. But they were nothing more than a minority.
The man before her was a promising talent worthy of reporting directly to the chairman. The woman felt regretful that her meeting with Bupue had been so brief, yet she guided him all the way to the teleportation device. When Bupue drew a necklace from within his robe, a red light seeped out from the teleportation device. It was the signal that the teleportation had been approved.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. Please take care."
"Um, Bupue. If you have time sometime… I mean…"
The woman hesitated as she spoke.
"Would it be all right if I treated you to dinner sometime?"
"Dinner, you say."
"Yes! You're always so considerate toward me, and also, well… I mean, I'd like to express my personal gratitude as well…"
Oh no, Bupue sighed inwardly. The situation he had been dreading had come to pass. This was hardly the first time a woman of a certain age had confessed to him. He had to remain nothing more than a promising, well-mannered, and capable young man.
There were tasks and roles that only such a person could handle. For example, approaching the noblewomen of the Demon Realm who preferred pure-hearted young gentlemen. That was why his existence was tolerated.
'Roles like this are necessary, but it's a bit of a hassle.'
Bupue spoke as gently as he could.
"I'm sorry. I still want to focus on my work."
"Oh…"
The woman's face flushed bright red. The Tiger Tribe were famously proud. She must have been deeply embarrassed at the thought of being rejected, Bupue surmised. To ease even a fraction of her humiliation, he immediately came up with a plausible excuse.
"Miss Andelina, you are far too beautiful for the likes of me. However, with the chairman showing interest in me, I simply don't want to let this opportunity slip away. I'm sorry."
"I-I see. Of course."
The woman's expression calmed somewhat. She thought about the future of the young man she admired. Indeed, receiving the attention of the Kunkuska chairman was an unparalleled honor and opportunity. The thought that she had in any way interfered with that opportunity only made her feel more self-reproachful.
Bupue offered a faint smile.
"I'll be going now. I'd hate to face the consequences of keeping the Chairman waiting any longer."
"Oh, y-yes! Of course! I'm sorry for holding you up like this for no reason…"
"Not at all. I enjoyed my conversation with Miss Andelina as well."
With that, Bupue stepped onto the magic circle inside the teleportation device. It was a single-person teleportation. While the woman was still flustered by his parting remark, Bupue flashed one more smile and unhesitatingly activated his mana. In an instant, a red light flickered before his eyes.
The top floor of the Trading Company headquarters. A place accessible only through an extremely small number of teleportation devices. Bupue walked down a corridor of utter silence. At its end stood a wooden door. It was refined, yet etched into its surface were somewhat grotesque carvings befitting a vampire's taste.
—Creeeak.
The room was empty. Bupue strode through without hesitation, as though thoroughly accustomed to the place. Crossing the wide room and arriving at the window, he found a dozen or so coffins lined up side by side — coffins made exclusively for vampires. These days, even vampires considered coffins old-fashioned and no longer used them as beds. But Bupue liked sleeping in a coffin. Even now.
A thousand years ago, too.
Bupue selected one of the many coffins and climbed inside. The lid opened and closed without a sound. A short while later, a different coffin — not the one Bupue had entered — opened its lid. From within, an elderly gentleman rose to his feet. The man rubbed his face with his palms several times, as though washing his face.
He gazed out the window. The crimson evening of Niflheim was spreading across alley after alley.
"Demon Lord Dantalion… Now there's an interesting figure."
The old man wore the face of Ivar Lodbrok.