Certainly, Ellen was abnormally strong for a single person; however, my physical strength and technique also couldnât be compared to a normal person either. Iâm also a supernatural power user.
But, of course, there was a huge difference between Ellen and me. It was only natural for her to think that I would be in danger if I followed her to the Darklands to gain practical experience.
The reason she had told me not to go with her wasnât because she thought I would get in her way but because I might be in danger.
âIf you donât go with me, Iâll just go alone.â
ââŠ?â
In the end, I had to try such a strategy.
âYou told me not to go.â
You told me not to go because itâs dangerous. Why are you suddenly saying that you want to go?
That was what was written on her face.
âI donât know! Anyway, come with me! Iâm good at fighting too! Iâm not as good as you, but Iâm still good enough! Iâm going! You know I improved quite a lot, right?â
ââŠSigh.â
Ellen looked at me in shock when I suddenly said these things. She looked somewhat tired.
âWhy all of a sudden?â
It seemed like Ellen also had thought of going there, but she seemed puzzled when I told her that I wanted to go without any hesitation.
âYou said there were treasures.â
ââŠYes.â
âSo thereâs money to be earned.â
In the end, the only excuse I could come up with was money.
No, I mean, if we found something like some amazing treasure and got some money out of it, it would also help with my organization, and Airi wouldnât have to work so hard. Wasnât that good?
That was why I needed money. Ellen should also have somewhat grasped this.
ââŠLetâs go somewhere safe then; this is not the only vacation we will have.â
In the end, she just sighed as if she had given up.
*Â *Â *
Ellen reluctantly agreed to it after I told her that I would follow close to her and that I would stay in safe areas.
I insisted on going even though she told me I shouldnât go. I know I was dog scum, but when I heard her reason for going to the Darklands, I also felt like it was worth going there.
Ellen didnât know, but it was actually a lot safer for her to be with me.
I didnât pay much attention to our final exams, so I didnât do anything different even during the exam periodâI didnât care about grades.
I found myself in Elerisâs store after my classes at Temple were over. I went there with the excuse of delivering the letters. It was right after I wrote a reply to the letter Charlotte gave me.
The area really didnât get monitored at all anymore, so I could go in and out of that place as much as I wanted.
âEleris.â
âYes, Your Highness.â
âI heard that adventurers are going to the Darklands. Is that true?â
Ellen seemed quite troubled about taking me with her, but if she didnât take me, it was very likely that she wouldnât get anything out of it.
I had three people with me who were very familiar with the Darklands.
âAh, it seems like the number of adventurers has been increasing lately. Itâs probably because of the Darklands.â
And the Al Ligar Shopping Street, where Elerisâs shop was located, was a gathering place for adventurers of sorts. Even if Eleris didnât know about the situation of the Darklands that well, she couldnât help but know about places where adventures would flock to.
âAre there that many treasures in the Darklands?â
âHmm⊠The Allied Forces must have already plundered the Demon Kingâs Castle, but since the Darklands is very large, there should be treasures scattered here and there that the adventurers covet. There are more than can be found in the lands of humans, where the adventurers usually roam, at least.â
Originally, adventurers wouldnât go to dangerous places like the Darklands. However, since the Demon World War ended with humanityâs victory, they slowly gravitated towards the Darklands.
But her wording was rather strange.
There were many. That didnât mean there were a lot.
âYou donât know if there are any treasures left in the Darklands, do you?â
Eleris smiled at my words.
âThe land is just too large, so there are many things I donât know. However, since there are a lot of Demon Tribes, wouldnât they all have their own treasures? There should also be some dungeons hidden around.â
Eleris said that one person couldnât know everything about the Darklands, and that should be right.
But what did she mean about Demon Tribes?
âWerenât all Demon Tribes destroyed during the Demon World War?â
âAh, I think I know what you mean.â
Eleris seemed to have remembered again that I had little knowledge about the Great War and the Darklands because I lost my memory.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator â KonnoAren
Proofreader â ilafy
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* * *
âThe previous Demon King called upon the most powerful Demon Tribes before the Demon World War. However, not all demons had been summoned, so there are still countless Demon Tribes remaining in the Darklands. Each Faction that participated in the war probably left their successors behind as a last resort.â
It was true that the Demon King had issued a general mobilization order, but he had not summoned every demon. So, when the Demon King died, the Demon Realm collapsed, but it wasnât completely destroyed.
âThere were also some that didnât heed the call. They should be pretty strong.â
ââŠDid you not heed the call?â
âYes. This was mainly the case for Demon Tribes located on the outskirts of the Demon Realm, far from the influence of the previous Demon King.â
That was another thing I didnât know.
Those demons who lived far away from the Demon King and never saw him refused to comply with the order because the Demon Kingâs control on them fell short. They just pretended that they didnât know whether the Demon Realm was facing destruction or not, as they were far away from the War anyway.
âHmm⊠So, the Allied Forces basically did something like a focused attack on the Demon Kingâs Castle to capture it, but since a total occupation was impossible, they just withdrew after achieving their goal, right?â
âYes.â
It would cost a huge amount of money and manpower to protect the occupied areas. The human forces, including all of the Allied Forces, just couldnât afford to occupy the entirety of the Darklands.
It was also true that the larger Demon Tribes, including the high-ranking demons of the Darklands, suffered devastating damage and lost a lot of power while trying to counter the humans.
However, in the end, the humans hardly looted any other place in the Darklands other than the Demon Kingâs Castle.
And thus, adventurers were slowly flocking to the place to steal the remaining treasures of the demons who had already lost their power, and such treasures actually existed.
âWhy are you suddenly so curious about the Darklands?â
I frowned at Elerisâs question.
âWeâre in need of money.â
âAh⊠Yes.â
Honestly, although we had no urgent need for it, there were a lot of things we needed.
âIâm going to go treasure hunting during my vacation.â
ââŠWhat?â
Eleris couldnât help but be astonished at my plan on plundering my home country because I needed money.
Yeah, seriously.
Now that I thought about it, it made me look like a real bastard.
From the point of view of adventurers, they were just going out to defeat some evil Demons and bring back some treasure, but if I were to do it, things would be very different.
It would turn into the crazy situation of the heir to the Demon Realm looting the Darklands.
âIf you need treasure, you donât have to go there; I could go alone⊠Even though I donât exactly know where they are, butâŠâ
Although Ellen was a wall that I couldnât possibly cross, even Ellen couldnât compare to Eleris at that moment.
If my sole goal was to hunt for treasures, I didnât need to go with Ellen; I could just send Eleris to do it for me.
âIâm not going alone.â
Of course, treasures were nice and all, but there was something else as well.
âYouâre not going alone, you say⊠Are you talking about the kid Loyar was complaining about?â
âYeah. She wants to gain practical experience.â
It was much more important to make Ellenâs desire for practical experience as safe as possible.
It was important for me to become stronger, but in order to prepare well for the future, it was far better for Ellen, who had a much higher level of potential than me, to become strong.
Technically speaking, it was better to turn Ellen into a monster than to make myself stronger.
Eleris, who didnât seem to understand the reason behind it all, also seemed unable to comprehend that I was trying to help Ellen build up some practical experience.
Rather, if I were to go there to start the Reconstruction of the Demon Realm, Eleris would understand it even though she would dislike it, but she seemed unable to understand why I would help out my classmate like that.
âIt would be dangerous if she went there alone, so I decided to go with her.â
âThatâs⊠I understand what youâre saying, but⊠It could also be dangerous for Your Highness as well.â
ââŠI know. I canât rule over the Demons in this state.â
My Demon Domination ability was sealed while I was disguised as a human using Sarkegaarâs ring. I had to return to my original form as a horned Demon to use my ability properly.
Demon Domination itself was a characteristic unique to Arcdemons, so it couldnât be helped. However, Eleris shook her head at my words.
âIt would be the same even if you turned back into your true self.â
ââŠWhat? Why?â
It would be dangerous for me even if I could use Demon Domination?
Why? Didnât that power make demons basically harmless to me?
âYour Highnessâs power is still weak. If you were to meet an opponent you canât control, they might attack Your Highness.â
âThat wasnât the case at the Demon Kingâs castle, though?â
I mean, orcs basically jumped forward to protect me.
ââŠThey were the Demon Kingâs soldiers, right? They had already been trained, so thereâs a high possibility that the demons of the outskirts and unintelligent demons wonât recognize Your Highness and that you wonât be able to control them.â
What?!
I thought I would be invincible in the Darklands!
I had thought I would only be in danger if I sealed Demon Domination on purpose!
âActually, Your Highness canât rule over demons like Sarkegaar or Loyar either, right?â
âŠThat was right.
They followed me out of loyalty, not because I exercised control over them.
At my level, any demon could easily stab me in the back, and those who didnât know me wouldnât even recognize me.
Even if they knew who I was, I might not get the reaction I wanted.
No matter if I went with my true appearance or as Reinhardt, I would be in danger.
âEleris.â
âYes, Your Highness.â
âIs there really only one good thing about being an Archdemon?â
I bought my talents with achievement points. The ability to dominate the demons was still seriously lacking⊠I couldnât even use it in that state, and I felt really uncomfortable because I was a demon. What was good about any of it?
The Demon King Valier was such a fucking munchkin, so why was I useless?
Did I not have anything because Valier was actually supposed to die or something?
âHmm⊠Archdemons have a very long lifespan, Your Highness.â
ââŠI see.â
That was a good thing! Yeah!
It was unbelievably good, but it was a long-term advantage, so it didnât really help much with the situation I was in!
The previous Demon King was originally like me, but after living for a long time and training hard, he became strong!
The demons living in the outskirts didnât even heed the previous Demon Kingâs order. There obviously were hostile forces in the Darkland that didnât really care about the Demon King.
AnywayâŠ
I realized I shouldnât go with just Ellen alone. It would be dangerous if it was just us two.
âEleris, you should integrate yourself into our party as if you were going to the Darklands yourself. You just have to make an excuse; it doesnât have to be anything detailed.â
Eleris had already disguised herself as a former adventurer wizard, so we just had to put her in our party.
In the end, my ability to rule over demons couldnât be our insurance.
âYou could just pretend to be some kind of eccentric wizard and come protect us in case of an emergency.â
ââŠAh.â
I made Eleris our insurance instead.
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