Chapter 69
“Ah, ahaha… So, that’s why you came all the way from the Demon King’s castle to here, Demon King-sama.”
“That’s exactly right!”
The girl who claimed to be the Demon King… hearing her story, I awkwardly nodded.
For now, I was at a loss for words, unsure what this situation was about.
At the very least, it was clear that this Demon King-sama was a demon.
Her appearance, brimming with demonic energy, made it obvious.
The appearance of demons isn’t bound by their age, so this form was possible.
Recently, a demon had stolen Galliard’s Maple Leaf Story, and even played Demon Slayer, so it was somewhat understandable.
If I were to concede a million times, I could even accept that this Demon King-sama was the actual Demon King.
However,
“That doesn’t mean it makes any sense for the Demon King to actually come here! Does it?!”
“Hmm? But it’s not yet time to send the entire Demon King’s army to the middle realm. To break such rules, more demonic energy must accumulate in the Demon Realm first.”
“Oh… I see.”
Then, Demon King-sama pulled out her demon sword, explaining how she crossed over.
A demon sword obtained long ago during her time in the human realm.
She learned to traverse dimensions using this sword through her adventures in ancient ruins and records.
However, it was different from the periodic invasions of demons.
At most, it allowed one or two demons to cross at a time.
And this time, the Demon King herself had come personally…
All for Maple Leaf Story.
“Well, um… I’m glad you had fun playing.”
I picked my words carefully and said that much.
To be honest, this situation was incredibly dangerous.
The Demon King was now inside the Illusion Magic Tower.
If she were truly the Demon King, just a flick of her finger could bring this tower down.
Of course, I wasn’t idly sitting here, offering gratitude.
As soon as the demon approached, I used illusion magic to ask Hina to call the other Tower Masters.
But before Hina could even leave the tower, it was already sealed off.
The Demon King-sama had used her demonic energy to block all exits.
She seemed like a friendly girl on the surface, but her actions made the back of my neck feel cold—no, like a blade was pressed against it.
“A-anyway, the story of Demon Slayer… it has nothing to do with you, Demon King-sama. It’s set after the war between humans and demons, you see. It just happened to include characters like that.”
“I see… But this Demon King-sama was deeply moved!”
“I-I see. So, what exactly is it that you’d like to do?”
Above, the illusion mages were signaling desperately.
It meant all communications to the outside had been cut off.
Smiling brightly, she had thoroughly severed every line of communication.
Moreover, the main server artifacts for each game were housed at the top of the Illusion Magic Tower.
If those were also disabled, the world would be thrown into chaos.
Scribble scribble
Rain was signaling from above.
Thankfully, the game seemed to be operating normally.
For now, other mages in the game would request help.
“I heard there are other games too! Humans seem to enjoy them greatly, and Demon King-sama wishes to try them as well.”
“Oh, is that so? As much as you’d like…”
I showed her all the other games.
The Demon King-sama picked up COL with an intrigued expression.
“This is the one humans play together in groups, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
Her tone was strangely a mix of Rikal and JeBbit’s.
Surely, Rikal wasn’t pulling some kind of prank.
“Hmm!”
Demon King-sama logged into COL.
When entering the illusion game, the body is left defenseless.
However, none of us dared to touch the Demon King-sama.
Galliard once felt killing intent even while playing a game.
Besides, we illusion mages lacked combat abilities altogether.
In moments like these, I cursed my innate attribute.
Scribble scribble—
At that moment, Hina signaled from above.
She had contacted the Emperor and Electra in Maple Leaf Story and COL for help.
This meant the Tower Masters and Imperial Army would soon arrive at the Illusion Magic Tower.
Since the Tower Masters were in the same city, they’d arrive in less than a minute.
Finally, I felt a bit of relief.
And then, the Demon King-sama returned to reality after finishing a round of COL.
“It’s a bit challenging, but… this is truly fun!”
“Th-that’s a relief.”
“Hmm… by the way…”
The Demon King-sama stroked her chin as if contemplating something, though she obviously had no beard.
Meanwhile, outside, an enormous surge of mana could be felt.
It seemed the Tower Masters had arrived.
Swirling mana.
They were likely trying to destroy the barrier created by the Demon King’s demonic energy.
The moment that mana exploded outside,
The sealed doors of the Illusion Magic Tower opened,
Bang—
“How did the Demon King—!”
“We wish to buy this game as well!”
The Demon King-sama cheerfully shouted.
The Tower Masters, bursting in, looked utterly baffled.
***
“So, that’s really the Demon King, is it?”
Somewhere within the Imperial Palace.
We gathered in a place the Emperor described as the most secretive in the palace.
The group included the Emperor, me, Rikal, Leo, a Cardinal from the Holy Kingdom, and a few key royal aides.
After responding late to our call for help, the Imperial Army brought us to the palace.
Of course, the Demon King came along but was said to be waiting quietly.
The slow-moving Tower Masters hadn’t followed.
“What should we do now? The deity remains unresponsive. This was an unforeseen event, so…”
“How many centuries do you estimate it will take before the demon invasion occurs?”
“What are the current chances of defeating the Demon King?”
“If it’s just the Demon King alone, with the combined efforts of the Tower Masters, the Imperial Army, and the Holy Knights, I believe it is entirely possible.”
They were discussing the matter gravely.
Perhaps, as they said, this might truly be an opportunity.
The Demon King, appearing as a young girl, had foolishly crossed into the human realm alone.
Moreover, there hadn’t been enough time for demonic energy to accumulate, so now was their chance to strike.
“But the Demon King only expressed a desire to purchase a game,” I interjected.
The serious expressions on their faces turned toward me, unchanging.
“That’s the incomprehensible part. Why would the Demon King cross into the human realm alone just to buy a game?”
“…Could it be a trap? Perhaps this is a ruse to make us lower our guard, and she has hidden forces ready to ambush us… Commander, immediately search the surrounding areas for any ambushed demons or traps!”
“However, if it’s COL, even demons would find it irresistible…”
The conversations began to spiral out of control.
Some speculated that the Demon King might be using herself as bait to lay a trap.
Outside, the Emperor’s orders could be heard as knights moved swiftly.
Yet, from what I could see, there was no intention of attacking.
The fact that she had been waiting patiently all this time was evidence enough.
Unable to watch any longer, I spoke up.
“I believe she truly came to purchase a game. How about we just give her the game and send her back?”
“But even so, that’s problematic. What if this wicked demon does something malicious within the game?”
“Exactly. What if they ruin the game entirely?”
“Wicked demons are sure to do such things.”
“It could be an attempt to ensure we humans can’t play games anymore.”
But the prejudice against demons was far deeper than I had anticipated.
“Players cannot tamper with the game system. Additionally, I can restrict any malicious behaviour immediately.”
“But those wicked demons…”
“If it’s those wicked demons, they will surely…”
“We must never hand over the game to demons…”
Opposition erupted solely because she was a demon.
I still couldn’t understand their reasoning.
Perhaps it was because I had listened to the Demon King-sama’s story earlier.
A life lived as a half-human, half-demon.
She must have faced such discrimination wherever she went.
And it was evident that the Demon King-sama hadn’t come to the human realm with any invasion plans.
As she said herself, she simply found the game enjoyable.
“No. I will give her the game.”
“…What are you saying, Riot?!”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Master Illusionist, why would you…”
“I sincerely believe the Demon King came here for the game. She enjoyed it. There doesn’t seem to be any intent to ruin our game or use this as a distraction for an attack. By now, it should also be clear that there are no hidden traps or ambushes.”
“There are indeed no traces of traps or demonic energy,” the Knight Commander reported to the Emperor.
“And have you considered the potential damage if we attack the Demon King now? The capital itself will likely be destroyed. Such a battle with the Demon King would demand immense sacrifices.”
“But still…”
I made my decision and stood.
The Demon King hadn’t come here to attack.
Her wariness toward us was because of what humans had done to her in the past.
As someone who creates games, my job is to let those who enjoy games experience them freely.
And so, I left the imperial palace.
Even after that, the Imperial Court and the Holy Kingdom continued to keep an eye on me.
But as time passed, they eventually dropped their suspicions.
***
The Demon King Lumia returned to the Demon World, carrying an abundance of illusion games.
“What a peculiar human…”
In truth, she had heard every conversation within the imperial palace while she waited.
No matter how discreetly they whispered, the Demon King’s ears were sharp enough to catch it all.
As always, humans like the Emperor and the Cardinal hated and discussed attacking her.
All she wanted was to enjoy a game, yet humans still loathed her.
However, she had no intention of causing a disturbance.
If humans attacked, she would simply retreat to the Demon World.
Even as the Demon King, she wasn’t yet strong enough to defeat all of humanity alone.
Still, amidst all this, there was one human with a different opinion.
The game creator, Riot.
He neither despised her nor insisted on attacking her.
He simply acknowledged her desire to play the game and handed it over.
A truly peculiar human.
In her entire life, no human had ever spoken to her that way.
Her previously gloomy mood lifted slightly.
And Riot, ignoring the Emperor and others, ultimately gave her the game.
It didn’t seem like he had any ulterior motives.
“If only all humans were like that…”
Though Lumia had endured much pain and found it hard to trust anyone,
Somehow, he seemed genuinely different.
Of course, that didn’t mean she planned to befriend humanity or anything.
Yet, it left her with a strange feeling.
“Everyone, gather around!”
Back in the Demon King’s castle, she distributed the games to her demons.
“…You want us to play something made by humans?”
“This primitive nonsense…”
The demons were no different from humans.
At first, none of them wanted to touch something made by humans.
But their bodies were honest.
After trying it a few times, the demons became hooked on the games.
Soon, an enormous gaming craze swept through the Demon World.
“Gaaah! Losing like this is unacceptable!”
“Level 176? I died because I couldn’t beat a simple mushroom? Waaaah!”
“I’m not sleeping until I break my losing streak!”
“You’re truly a god…!”
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment