Right now, Iâm standing in front of a pile of bread, dried meat, and a large pot of cold soup by my feet . There are fruits, sake, utensils, and towels as well .
In front was a beautiful sea with a wide gulf and a slightly extended cape while there were 25 buildings that probably housed the previous Demon Lordâs slaves behind . It can be probably be used as shelter against the rain and wind but I canât really tell since I still havenât seen the insides yet .
Iâm still not sure how I should treat the slaves in this world . I can only imagine how it feels to be given just the bare minimum meals and regarded as inferior so I brought all these food with me because I wanted to give them proper meals that would fill their stomach at least .
ăYou sure are nice, arenât you? You would usually just use the slaves until they dropă
ăI think the work efficiency would fall if I do that thoughă
ăThatâs what I mean when I say kind you know?ă
The Demon Lordâs subordinate said that to me as we arrived at the island .
Before we came here though, I kept going back and forth from our house to my parentâs house in order to practice the transfer magic . I also tried out how much luggage that magic can carry .
I found out that as long as itâs within a two-meter radius from the center of the magic circle anything can be transported . As for the height limit, I was able to transport something thatâs as tall as me with both my hands raised so I guess around 2 . 5 meters . Anything that can fit inside that cylindrical area could be transported . If it exceeds that, it will get cut off and left behind .
I havenât tested it with animals and other demonkin but a part of their body would be left behind so I canât just do it w.i.l.l.y-nilly . Thatâs why I deemed it dangerous to transfer with someone unless they stick really close to me . I still havenât tried expanding the range of the magic circle yet but Iâll just try to apply what Iâve already learned for now .
As for how I filled the magic circle with stuff, I had Latte stand nearby as I activated it and let her cram as much food into it as possible .
At any rate, the Demon Lordâs subordinate sure is late . After we arrived on the island, he said .
ăIâll bring the slaves so wait hereă
I have been waiting in this spot for almost 30 minutes since he said that .
I expected him to say something like âIâll kill you if you donât hurryâ or âYouâll get lashed if you donât hurryâ to them but thereâs not even a sign of them coming via a transfer magic circle .
This is an uninhabited island so thereâs not much I can do . I can only do simple things like:
Canât I do number 3 right now then!? I did this back when I was still a kid but right now is the perfect time for it since Iâm currently alone in this vast island . I donât know when I can do this again if I miss this chance .
I closed my eyes, took several deep breaths, then planted my feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart . After that, I put my hands together then formed it into a cup then placed my cupped hands by the side of my waist as I concentrate the mana in my body . Once I gathered enough mana, I pushed my cupped hands forward then released it .
ăK*ăźăźM*ăźăźH*ăźăźM*ăźăź HAAăźăźăź!!!!ă
As I shouted that with all my might, light magic shot out like a flash . I also produced wind using magic to move my hair and clothes as the light stretches towards the horizon .
ăFuu . I might have perfected it this timeă
ăWhat have you perfected? Anyway, that sure was an interesting chant, wasnât it?ă
c.r.a.p . He appeared behind me before I noticed it .
ăH-hey, i-itâs n-nothing . J-just p-playing aroundă
I just smiled as I said that while approaching the Demon Lordâs subordinate . Behind him were around 50 human slaves with collars on their neck and both hands and feet bound by loose chains to allow movement to a certain extent .
This is the worst . It wasnât just the Demon Lordâs subordinate but even the slaves saw it . There was also a gate like a distorted s.p.a.ce behind them . Thatâs probably something like a transfer gate . I didnât hear the sound of it activating but I wouldnât have noticed it either way with how loud I screamed .
ăThese will become your property . The slaves know the continentâs common language so you should at least greet them . Go aheadă
After saying that, I had to greet the slightly dirty slaves with dead fish-like eyes .
ăAhăź, okay . Uhmăź, Iâm Caam who recently became a Demon Lord and this island has now become my territory . A Demon Lordâs dignity? I donât know of such things . Subordinates? I donât have any . Slaves? I donât need those! First thing I ask of you is for all to wipe your bodies clean . You can use the previous residentâs houses behind you . The men and women should split up into different groups and use a cloth that will be distributed to clean yourselves up . If you have family members with you, you guys should form your own groupă
There might even be children here . This is the worst . Even though they should be playing energeticallyâŚâŚ I should bring some candy with me later .
Hearing what I said caused the slaves to make a slight ruckus as I started handing out a large number of towels one by one . Then, I produced a warm ăwater ballă and told them to use it to wet the towels to wipe their bodies .
While they were doing that, I used earth magic to create a fire pit to heat up the soup I brought . I made a small table to place the food and the rest of the tableware needed for the meal as well . I also brought utensils with me when transferring here because I canât really just let them scoop up the soup with their bare hands . And besides, what kind of sick torture method is that?
There were some who looked like they wanted to eat seeing what I was doing but I wonât distribute it until everybody is finished cleaning up so I just smiled without saying anything .
ăYou seem to be a really kind Demon Lord arenât youăź?ă
He grinned as he sarcastically said that .
ăI canât treat them like objects after allă
After saying that, I saw the slaves who were done cleaning themselves form a neat line so I told them to sit down and make themselves comfortable .
ăOkay, everyone is done now, right? Iâm going to distribute the meal now . I wasnât told how many slaves so I brought a lot of it . You can still ask for seconds even after it has been distributed to everyone so please take your time eating . You can go ahead and eat it after you receive it . You may also eat it alongside your acquaintances if you have any . Well then, weâll start from you pleaseă
With that said, I started giving them a plate with bread, dried meat, and some fruit, as well as a cup filled with warm soup .
The humans started eating after that but I could feel their unease . Theyâre not conversing at all . I wonder if they were not allowed to speak or were they told not to speak when eating .
ăUhm, why isnât anybody talking? Itâs fine to make your meals more enjoyable you know?ă
They started talking one by one but one of them came and asked me something .
ăUhm, is it okay if I ask something?ă
ăI donât mind . And besides, Iâm not really sure how to treat you guys . I donât want to treat slaves roughly after all . Like I said earlier, I have no use for slaves . You guys are my partners in reclaiming this islandă
After I said that, they embraced each other as they shed tears of joy .
Ahăź, ahăź, how dangerous! You guys might step on the soup you left by your feet you know!
ăYou may think differently but arenât you quite skillful in handling your slaves?ă
ăThey stopped being slaves the moment they were put under my custody you know? Even if you say that these guys are my slaves, itâs fine if I donât treat them as such right?ă
ăYeah yeah . Iâll leave the rest to you then . Lateră
After saying that, he activated his own transfer magic then went back home .
ăWant more bread? Considering that there might be others who want seconds as well, just make do with a single piece for now okay? Soup? Iâm still not sure how much will be left so just have half a cup for the time being . Dried meat? Ahăź, you can only have one for now as well . Fruits? Children take priority okay?ă
I continued doing that until all of the food I brought was gone . After having eaten, they had a satisfied look of their faces . I can clearly see their eyes which looked like that of a dead fish up until now have regained their glimmer .
ăAlthough youâre still in the middle of your after-meal break, I would have to interrupt it because I want to get started discussing the detailed work plan for tomorrow . Iâll just have you rest properly for today . Please go back to the houses you used to wipe your bodies earlier and sleep . Unfortunately, I am unable to provide you with your beddings . I havenât even had the time to inspect if there are monsters nearby . I think itâll be fine as long as you donât go too deep into the forest but as much as I would want to declare that itâs safe, I can only hope that that is true . Also, these remaining barrels contain sake in them . This belongs to everyone . Donât fight amongst yourselves when distributing it . Now then, I will be removing your shackles so please stand in lineă
After I used that key that was left to me to remove their shackles as well as unfasten the collar on their necks and they once again jumped for joy .
ăAhăź, thatâs right . I donât mind if you escape but this island is pretty much uninhabited and apparently, thereâs a cargo ship that pa.s.ses by here once every three days so youâll have to wait for that . Even if you run inside the forest, there might be monsters and wild animals there so I think your safest option is to just stay inside the house and sleepă
After I said that, I started looking around the vicinity .
I first started by looking inside of the houses . I saw a simple looking cooking area which consists of a fire pit and a water jug as well as simple bed that was made up of stones stacked together and covered with mud to fill up the cracks . The roof was just made up of piled up tree barks and leaves until it became thick .
It will protect them from the wind and rain but since the water in the water jug has probably been sitting there for a while, I formed the contents into a waterball to throw to the sea and replaced it with clean water .
Hmmăź, from what I can see from here, there seems to be a shoal just as you enter the bay . How is that even possible with this topography? This is quite a mysterious island, isnât it?
After that, I went to visit the site of the previous residentâs castle . Taking a 10-minute walk along a side path from the housing area was a fairly s.p.a.cious reclaimed land .
The trees were already cut, the roots dug up, and the leveling of the ground was already completed . Itâs a shame that there doesnât seem to be a single tool left though . The hero probably took those with him after subjugating my predecessor .
It took me about 300 paces to cross one side it was probably around 300 meters . Itâs even wider inner castle part of Osaka Castle, isnât it? Ah, this is similar to T*kugawaâs isnât it?
There were several houses here as well . They could probably fit fifty to a hundred fifty people . Those guys were probably the ones in charge of reclaiming this area . I donât even want to think about how much those guys were exploited .
A well has already been dug up and when I tried listening to the rock that I tried throwing in it, it seems like it has water in it as well . Iâm not really sure if itâs potable though . Iâm not sure if fresh water comes this close to the sea but it might be necessary to clean the well as well .
Iâll bring the necessary things with me tomorrow . I want us to be self-sufficient when it comes to food at least . I entered the forest and tried sensing the presence of animals and searching for footprints .
There were lots of traces of excrements and footprints so I have also confirmed the existence of animals . There might even be deer, wild boars, and bears here . It would be bad if the humans donât stay wary of them . Well, I guess I should hunt something for their dinner .
After walking inside the forest for a while, I saw something black that was lumbering around . Itâs a bear . It was staring at me before I knew it .
Ah, the bear probably doesnât want to show itâs back to me . I wonder what I should do . I donât think Iâll be able to bring home such a large prey .
Ah, it stood up . Iâm not really sure if itâs doing that to intimidate me but since itâs dangerous, I guess I need to get rid of it . I shot its head with a slightly malleable stone bullet which caused itâs head to get blown off . I guess I should just leave it here for now and call the humans .
As I was going back, I saw a deer so I shot a stone bullet to its head as well . Letâs also recover it later .
Arriving at the houses, I went over to where the men were residing and told them
ăI killed a deer and a bear so I want to ask your help to carry themă
However, they were already drinking sake and all of the men in the house was already wasted .
ăAh, Maou-sama . Thank you very much for the sakeă
They said that while raising their cups to greet me . These guys are hopeless .
All of the men were already wasted . It canât be helped so I guess Iâll just ask the women . Once I reached the womenâs side, I knocked on their door . After receiving a reply, I decided to go in .
ăUhmăź, I took down a deer and a bear back in the forest and I canât bring them back all by myself so I was going to ask for help . However, the men are all drunk from drinking sake and the only ones not drunk are the children soâŚâŚă
They were scared and looked like they have given up in life but after they discussed something amongst themselves in a low voice, they finally replied .
ăGood grief, those men . I guess it canât be helpedă
ăI will also help okay?ă
They were no longer exhibiting the same fear they had earlier so I gathered 10 of them and went back to the forest . After cutting up the meat into smaller pieces, I handed it for them to carry .
ăDo you also eat its entrails?ăI asked them .
ăProperly washing and boiling it gets rid of the bad smell you know?ă
Because of that, I decided to just leave the preparations to them .
ăIâm sorry okay? Even though today was supposed to be for restingâŚâŚă
ăWhat are you talking about! Itâs more than enough for you to not treat us as slavesă
ăJust when I thought it has been a while since I ate dried meat, this time, I even get some fresh meat! Isnât this a lot better than my life before I became a slave?ă
Ahahaha, they all laughed heartily .
Un, how do I put it? Women who are around this age are quite strong in various ways, arenât they?
We didnât have a bucket for the entrails so we took a tree branch to hang the intestines and went back . As for the liver, we covered it with a largish leaf to bring it back .
Although I said I was going to bring the necessary tools tomorrow, I had to go back and buy cookware .
ăOh my, that was quick . ăSeeing me, Latte said that teasingly .
It would be bothersome to grill the meat for that number of people so I just bought some salt from the general store and several iron plates from the weapon shop so that they can do it themselves .
I also bought some wheat flour and other ingredients to make bread . The men will just have to ask the women group for some help in making dinner .
I want them to be self-sufficient as soon as possible . I want to save money for my family after all . Iâll just have to make the men who are currently drinking work hard tomorrow I guess .
Incidentally, when I gave some candy to the frightened children, they all embraced me .
The slaves before coming to the island
At the bas.e.m.e.nt where the slaves were being kept .
ăWell then, as I discussed yesterday, I will now be handing you over to your new owner which is the new Demon Lord ruling an uninhabited island . Now, go quicklyăź . There will be a whipping to those who donât hurry you know~ă
He hit the stone floor with a whip as he said that .
ăI will be creating a transfer gate to make things easier okay~?ă
(This is the worst . If weâre going to just be abused by a Demon Lord then it would be better to just get locked up in this dungeon)
(I donât want to die you know?)
(I wonder what will happen to usâŚâŚ I want to be able to protect my child at least)
(AahâŚâŚ Are we going to be used every evening I wonder? I donât have the courage to kill myself at all . What should I doâŚâŚ?)
Once everyone had finished lining up, the demonkin that was the subordinate of the Demon Lord chanted some kind of spell .
ăOkay, Iâve connected to the other side so letâs goă
After saying that, the empty s.p.a.ce in front suddenly transformed into the sea .
Once they entered the strange door, they saw a dark blue-skinned demonkin doing something . Is that guy the Demon Lord? They asked . However, what caught their eye was the food that was right next to him . They wondered if those were for them .
ăK*ăźăźM*ăźăźH*ăźăźM*ăźăźHAAAăźăźăź!!!!ă
After doing some kind of strange post and reciting a strange chant, light shot out from his hands .
ăFuu . I might have perfected it this timeă
He started talking to himself in a really satisfied tone . That was probably displaying his strength to us but n.o.body understood what just happened .
After the Demon Lordâs subordinate started talking to him, he just said a few words and turned his head in shame .
What a strange Demon Lord .
Then, they learned that that Demon Lord was called Caam . He told them he doesnât need slaves, gave them towels and asked them to clean themselves up . The slaves decided to just follow for the time being but they smelled the delicious scent of soup .
It has been a while since they smelled that so their stomach rumbled loudly as they gulped their saliva . It seemed like they would get to eat that food after they were done cleaning themselves .
While they were eating in silence, they were told that itâs fine to enjoy their meal . After they ate, the Demon Lord began to remove their shackles and collars .
What is with this Demon Lord? Isnât he completely different from the rumors?
ăItâs true . Heâs really different from the rumors, right?ă
ăIsnât this Demon Lord just a special case? From all the rumors Iâve heard, their slaves were abused till theyâre half dead and need to be saved by the hero you know?ă
The slaves continued talking about the Demon Lord while drinking sake . As they got into it the person himself came back . It seemed like he was able to bring down a bear and a dear but because they were hammered, they didnât notice and just used that opportunity to thank him .
They had bear and deer meat that evening .
Since they were in such a nice situation, they thought that they should at least work a bit harder .
After dinner, the women who saw the Demon Lord give the children some sweets and they concluded .
ăIsnât he actually just a really nice guy?ă