Chapter 19 – Episode 19 ― Reconstruction of Likeability (4)
Episode 19 ― Reconstruction of liking (4)
“You are worm-like bastards. The fruit eats up animals, humans, and even our forest fairies.”
Seeing Lauca’s story in the game, Roan felt strange.
Bondi, she is a heretic even among the forest fairies. So even after she was rescued with her princess, she never returned to the forest. After wandering around in the human world, at the persuasion of the princess, she organizes a party with the hero and returns to take revenge on the demon king.
However, according to Lauca, she seems to have a strong sense of fellowship with the forest fairy.
“So you slaughtered?”
If you don’t know, you should ask. It’s not the main attacking character anyway, so there’s no need to fill all the favor points.
However, I want to at least get rid of the possibility of becoming a hero’s ally. Knowing about her outside of the game will give her more room to like her.
It was a thought I had while spending close to 15 days with Grunent, Diobe, and the demonic sword Fiora.
These are ‘living things’. It wasn’t a ‘character’ that was all CG or text in the game.
And with her fluttering, the living, breathing Lauca poured out enough fury that she could feel it even on her skin.
“Slaughter? Slaughter?! The first thing you did was slaughter! Does the word slaughter make sense to trash demons like you? The people who took care of me, the people who were my friends… You killed them all!”
Her cries were desperate. The demon king looked down emotionlessly at Lauca who was writing her evil. Behind her, the pattern of the Demon Lord engraved on the door of her office flashed like Roan’s eyes. As if watching her with her demon lord.
The demon king said quietly.
“My people were there.”
“… What? This crazy…”
“They raided a family early in the morning, locked them in their house, and set it on fire.”
“Do monsters like you have a concept of people? Bastards who eat their own people!”
“Their children were also in it.”
“What…”
For the first time, Lauca’s voice died down. She didn’t make a sound, but she felt Dio Ve, who was standing behind her, take a small breath in her.
The demon king said with one arm resting on his chin.
“It is a pity that your acquaintances or your own people were eaten. But let’s change our stance. From my point of view, you are the murderer of my people who hunted to feed their children. They even brutally murdered children.”
Roan’s expression wrinkled and he met Lauca’s eyes, who were staring blankly at him. The demon king’s right hand, not supporting her chin, fluttered her report on Lauca.
“After that, I killed every one of the villagers. After being caught by the guards, he killed several guards in the process of being transported to the capital. Don’t they have a family? Are they really all evil?”
“… What, bullshit… Are doing it! You guys are eating other people now!”
“Because there is nothing to eat.”
Roan’s lightly sighed confession made Lauca’s expression even more distorted.
“You mean you can eat people if you don’t have anything to eat?”
“The forest belongs to forest fairies. The fertile land belongs to man. The demons were left with only land that was devastated and did not grow anything even if they farmed. You know that the whole village was slaughtered. Did they have a proper place to live?”
At her unexpected words, she listened to the demon king and looked back at her memories. Apparently, the village was in a remote place at the edge of the forest.
The land that the forest fairy abandoned because nothing could be grown.
So, the remote place where he had to stay after being kicked out by his own people.
Embarrassment appeared on Lauca’s face when she realized that the Demon King did not lie. With ‘Detection’, Roan noticed that Lauca’s mood was different from before.
“In a situation of starvation, those who are weaker than themselves are closer to prey. Aren’t you, a forest fairy, the one who best accepts and understands the world of the weak and the weak? Because it is nature But you are strangely different from other forest fairies. Do the forest fairies really approve of your attitude?”
The last words are the lines the princess said to Lauca in the original game.
Lauca is not like a forest fairy. No hair color, no emotional behavior. So she was shunned by her own people.
And because she was different, unlike the forest fairies, she got involved in human life and was able to confront the demon king to protect the world.
“Forest fairy.”
Lauca, who was gritting her teeth with a lowered gaze, raised her head. Her name is not yet on the report. Roan decided to wait until she gave her name.
“The price of the lives of your dead acquaintances and of my people will be different for you and me. That’s why it’s hard to accept even if you ask us to understand. But at least I think I know what you value and what makes you different from other forest fairies. I heard that forest fairies do not consider anyone other than their own kind as friends or revenge targets.”
“…”
“You seem to have cared for humans.”
A tear fell from the corner of Lauca’s eye as she looked up at the Demon Lord as if to kill her.
She must have remembered some happy time in the past.
Roan said in a low, subdued voice.
“I too feel sorry for the lives of our demons, who can survive only by eating cannibals. To your own people, to humans and to you forest fairies. So I banned cannibalism in this castle. If possible, I intend to give human slaves a chance to live.”
“… You are speaking the truth, Demon King.”
After some hesitation, Lauca’s spit out words were a little late.
“Believe it or not. You are free.”
Roan shrugged her shoulders slowly.
“I’m thinking of giving a chance to you as well as the human beings who are imprisoned. If you were strong enough to defeat the demons and guards, you would be on the strong side for a forest fairy. I saw your potential. Like the slaves in my castle, if you help me with one thing, I guarantee your life and a decent life. How are you?”
“… What?”
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a question. In the first place, it would have been an absurd proposal to Lauca to release the armed opponent and offer the job.
“Among the humans in this castle, there is a princess from Merde. She is my concubine.”
Lauca’s eyebrows furrowed. In that expression, her hatred for the Demon King is revealed without filtering. However, Roan’s words did not waver.
“In my castle, human slaves are being educated. It will soon be deployed all over the city. However, there are people who do not like this sudden change. Even inside my house, I can’t keep an eye on everything. And among those humans, the one with the highest rank is that princess.”
As if trying to reveal her true intentions, Lauca looked at the faces of the demon king and the human behind him, Diobe.
She quietly nodded her head. It is an admission that everything is true.
“There may be demons in her that are targeting her. As you know, humans are fragile. A demon of average strength can kill a human with a few hits. So she needs someone to look after her by her side. That’s why I was looking for someone who was female, strong in arms, and not a demon.”
Diobe suddenly noticed that Lauca didn’t say anything. The red-haired forest fairy was listening to the demon king.
Looking at the demon king’s back, she wondered inwardly.
“I would like to propose to you the task of escorting Princess Grünent, Forest Fairy. If you’re willing to accept the job, I’ll let you live with the princess after undergoing the magic to suppress your powers for a while. If you think you are compatible with the princess, then I will solve the procedure and give you a weapon. If you do the work, of course you will get paid.”
“… If you refuse…”
“I have to go back to where I was.”
Recalling the dark prison, Lauca put on a poisonous expression. Roan waited in silence for her reply, reading the prison report listing her tortures.
After turning a couple of pages, Lauca spoke in a completely different voice from the first.
“… I will. That thing.”
“Diobe.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Take the decision you just made to the soldier outside. Report to her sheikh Viena and tell her about her forest nymph’s…”
“Lauka.”
Unexpected words, Roan and Diobe looked at Lauca together. The forest fairy was looking at the floor, so the demon king and maid couldn’t see her expression.
“It is my name. Lauca.”
Seeing that the favorability rating went down to -99, the demon king smiled. It was a soft, elegant smile.
He turned his gaze back to Diobe.
“Take care of Lauca’s recruits. Diobe.”
“All right. Your majesty.”
Diove naturally led Lauca out of her office.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay!’
Contrary to his blunt appearance, the demon lord’s inner self was dancing a twist of joy.
Even in the game, Lauca did not like her original hero. Instead, she finds out if the code was right with the princess who escaped prison together. The princess and Lauca soon become close friends.
If he stayed with the princess, Lauca would be more harmful than now. She had met the princess a few times, and her liking had noticeably increased during that time. She will be a good influence on Lauca.
‘How can I get my salary? The HR manager will take care of it… ?’
As Roan thought about the future as he saw Diobe re-enter the office, a question suddenly came to his mind.
“… Diobe?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. A soldier took Lauca with him.”
“How much do you get paid?”
In response to Roan’s question, Diobe, who had an affinity rating of -80, made a subtle expression. At that moment, the likability value also began to fluctuate from -80 with a loud beeping sound.
Roan was taken aback.
‘Oh, did I touch something wrong…’
Soon Roan knew why.
“Your majesty. I am the body of a prisoner. That’s why we are providing lodging instead of salary.”
‘Omg! Uh no heck… Oh god, did I step on a landmine!’
The demon king’s shell only slightly frowned. Roan, who was silent for a moment, managed to get his words out.
“… How long have you been working?”
“About 4 years and 2 months.”
“… I’m sorry. Don’t tell the maid. Get paid in the future. I will make it possible for you to receive what you have not received so far.”
And! Favorability has risen dramatically!
It became -60!
Roan tried to hide the smile that was trying to escape.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
There was not much change in Diobe’s expression, but his liking was honest.
‘Also… , Capital is great.’
*
“There, a skeleton dressed in fancy clothes! Just show up!”
“Barbara, that’s already the fifth time…”
“Leave it.”
Grunent laughed and dissuaded Carol. After returning from prison, Barbara tells her that the Skull Wizard saved her. The first version was crude, but the explanations became more and more detailed, and now it has become a handmade psalm.
It was a stimulating story in this castle where there are not many pleasant things to do.
Perhaps if the target was a human knight rather than a skeleton, the genre of that story would have been romance.
‘To what extent is it already being protected within the castle?’
Grünent once again admired the power of the Demon King. Changing policy is not easy. It’s hard to make up your mind and get people under you to do it.
But the Demon King is doing just that. How long would it take to change something similar in Merde’s castle? It takes strength and logic to overturn the nobles’ opposition. I need money for the actual work, and I need a trustworthy servant to take care of the practical work.
Above all, we need a monarch who has the right beliefs and stands by his word.
‘And the Demon King seems to be able to do that.’
Sitting on the sofa, Grünent tilted his teacup. It was of a much lower quality than he was drinking at Merde. But Grünent liked the scent. A cup of tea she could enjoy modestly would satisfy her now.
“Your Highness, Princess. This story, ma… , Please do it to His Majesty!”
“Huh?”
“I couldn’t properly thank him last time, so I want to find him. Will you help?”
“Hmm, what should I do?”
“Your Highness.”
It was Barbara who assumed the position of the youngest among the ladies-in-waiting. Grünent gave a small laugh at her cute clinging.
‘Yeah, me too… Wouldn’t it be nice to express my gratitude as well?’
Thanks to that, the ladies-in-waiting saved their lives several times. Grünent pondered what she could present as a gift within the items available here.
It was then.
“Your Majesty has arrived.”
The voice of the demon maid came from outside the door. The maids stood up in surprise, and Grunent, who had set down the teacup, also stood up slowly.
The demon king, wrapped in a black cloak and uniform, entered the room. Although all black, his face and eyes seem to glow like a well-polished statue. With light but controlled steps, Roan headed to the sofa across from Grunent.
The princess with +12 favorability bowed her head to the demon king.
