Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆Goddess of Wisdom and Victory, Rena.

「That was a close call, Rena」

Someone called me when I'm about to reach my house in Elios.

When I look at the direction of that voice, a man is standing on that place.

「What's your business, older brother?」[TL : she is calling him "Aniue" which can only directly translated as "older brother" without any cute meaning behind it]

I asked god Alphos, my twin older brother’s business in his coming to see me.

I'm in a bad mood. I really hate this god-brother of mine. Though our appearance resembling each other, the character is extremely different. [TL :……………..]

「I heard that dark knight is aiming for your life, Rena」

「Rather than that, how did you hear such things？ 」

I said with a slightly displeased mood.

「Yeah, I just knew about such things, you see. That dark knight is just a small problem」

「I'm aware that he is a problem」

Alphos is shaking his head.

「Just a moment ago, he single-handedly destroyed the chivalric order of holy knight」

「EH？」

The chivalric order of holy knights is comprised of individuals handpicked from the elites of angel race and the heroes of human to serve under the godking, Oudith.

It's the elite force of Elios, and the strongest chivalric order in this world.

The one who could be their match might be just the chivalric order of dark knights serving under Modes.

So one can imagine just what kind of a person is one who can single-handedly destroy the chivalric order of holy knight, right？

「It's because the skies around Elios is under their jurisdiction, right?. Naturally, the skies of Holy Republic Lenaria also fall under their jurisdiction. He used flight in these skies」

The sky is the juridiction of the gods. Basically, no one, except for birds, can fly in these skies without permission. And I, at the least, managed to make those heroes to not fly in the skies.

Needless to say about the angel race, the heroes of the human race also guard the skies by riding on a pegasus. Trespassers will definitely be caught by them as long as they are flying carelessly.

「And then, he annihilated them in a battle when they tried to arrest him. Well, I'm not surprised by the person who defeated the hero who annihilated the chivalric order of dark knights to be able to do at least that much」

Alphos said detachedly.

I recall the dark knight Diehart. His appearance made me unable to connect him with a subordinate of Modes.

His masculine face with a slight shadow on it along with his dark hair, almond shaped eyes accentuated by his dark pupils. Why’s someone so handsome like him serving under the ugly Modes?

「You seem so happy hearing about him, Rena」

Alphos is saying so.

「EH! ？Is that so？ 」

I'm touching my lips.

「And then, what will Oudith do then？」

I tried to distract the conversation.

「Ah, he reconciled with Modes, you know」

「RECONCILED!?」

That was an unexpected word.

「Did he make such a decision without assembling the gods？」

The decision of the gods, normally called as the summon and decision of Oudith, is the way to restrict the gods belonging to Elios.

The summon and decision of Oudith doesn't mean that Oudith could make any decision that he liked. Oudith will make the final decision based on the most votes that came out during the congregation. Oudith would then have to act in accordance to that decision. Since no one would abide to Oudith if he doesn't do so.

「I don't remember participating in any meeting where they made such decision」

Though I have no obligation to participate in such a meeting, there's a chance that they would have made an unfavourable decision without my knowledge.

Thus, I was never absent from such meetings.

And then, there should be a message sent to each gods when the meeting happened. Without that message, the decision made in the meeting would be invalidated.

「You're wrong, Rena, Oudith is the only one who reconciled with modes. Therefore, there's no need for the other gods to abide by this」

「What does that mean？」

Certainly, it might be a good thing if such a meeting didn't happen.

「Maybe the condition for the treaty is for Oudith to oppose you」

「Certainly, maybe you're right」

「That's why Oudith might be offering an exchange for him to not invade Nargol with the destruction of summoning tools owned by Modes」

「WHAT DID YOU SAY！！」

From the viewpoint of the agreement, only Oudith won't invade Nargol, but Oudith is the king of gods. If Oudith doesn't make his move, no one in Elios will.

In essence, Modes is tied by a non-aggression pact with Elios in exchange for his summoning tools.

「For Oudith, that dark knight and hero are even more troublesome than Modes, since the dark knight’s a monster who single-handedly annihilated the entire chivalric order of holy knights, after all. That's why he considered the disposal of the summoning tools owned by Modes so that there's no more summoning beyond this」

「Then, what about the heroes and the dark knight who have already been summoned？ They should be a problem, right？」

「Ah, I'm here to pass you the message that you'll be the one taking care of them. Since you're the one who summoned them anyway」

They poked at the right place.

At first, this matter was supposed to be done easily, and I was supposed to send them back to the spirit world as soon as they defeated Modes. But, the dark knight appeared right at the last moment.

Moreover, we lost all of the summoning tools.

It's been decided a few days ago that summoning is banned along with the further manufacture of magic tools.

Mobilizing the heroes beyond this point might become a dificult matter.

「Wait a minute, I'm not the one who summoned Diehart！！」

The one who summoned him is Modes, so I have nothing to do with him.

「Yeah, that is true, but Modes mentioned that the action of the dark knight depends on your hero. That's why it still ended up on your head」

Even if Oudith won't invade, it'll be the end if Modes was attacked by the hero first. It's natural for Modes to demand such a condition.

「Thus, I came to tell you about that, Rena. We wish that you won't make the hero to move in a way that will deter Elios」

I couldn't reply to that.

Seeing that I am capable of defeating Modes, I have to control the action of the hero. Any wrong action by them will cause me to lose my position in Elios.

「Understood, older brother, let me to do something about the hero. And then, if that's all you want to say, will you get off my sight now?!!」

I replied toward him with an angry voice.

「Sorry but, there's another matter, you see」

「And what could it be！？」

I'm glaring at Alphos. But my older brother won't flinch with only that much.

「When will you get married, Rena？ 」

「Huh？」

What the hell is he talking about?

「Is that a message from Oudith, too？ 」

「Nope, just an older brother worrying about his still yet-to-wed little sister」

I think it's none of your business.

「The male gods of Elios, everyone of them is a dishonest jerk. I have no intention to marry such jerks」

The male gods of Elios, ALL OF THEM have mistresses. How can I tolerate them, who keep adding mistresses while proposing to me.

And then, amongst them, the one I hate the most is this OLDER BROTHER of mine. He is a bachelor and yet has more than 2000 mistresses. And I hate those woman swarming upon my older brother, too.

「Oya, there's those honest-to-the-bone male gods too, you see」

「I hate the ugly ones even more」

Sincere or not aside, the only ones who are left aside from those dishonest male gods are the ugly male gods.

That's why, I'm still single.

「If it's not a god, is it the hero？」

「That's impossible, he is just like you」

In some way, Reiji is similiar to Alphos. That's why, I can't bring myself to like him.

「That's harsh. If that was the case, who can become your husband then？ 」

I'm silent for a while before replying to him.

「………NONE！！」

My older brother then showed an exasperated gesture with a light smile on his face.

「In that case, I have no other choice then. Let this older brother that you hate to take his leave then. See ya, Rena」

When my older brother turned away. I'm glaring at his back.

And then, I shake my head while pondering about his question.

Why did Diehart’s face suddenly appear in my mind out of nowhere？

◆The Female Comrade of The Hero, Chiyuki

We lost the means to go back.

Never did I think that the summoning tools would be destroyed.

After that, we chased after Shirone who left us behind to face Diehart.

In the first place, for me, Shirone’s life is even more important than Rena. Shirone, who rushed to protect Rena, might have become a fool who came to sacrifice her own life.

We lost her so many times while chasing after her due to the spartoi that we encountered along the way.

Reiji wasn't in his normal condition, so Kaya could do nothing but stick closely to Kyouka who was already crushed by the might of liquor. We, who lost almost all of our vanguard, were forced to a close match. Moreover, Rino and I, who have high firepower, can't use our magic since we were inside a building. Thus, we were having a hard time against the spartoi.

And then, what we saw when we finally arrived inside the room was Diehart standing still in front of the crying Shirone.

Diehart sheathed his sword and then left when he saw us.

Later, we heard from Rena it seems Diehart misunderstood the fact that Rena is going to summon a new person. Thus, he came to destroy the summoning tools.

But the truth completely betrayed our expectations.

The information must have been leaked out from somewhere, right？ But, that question was resolved by Nao. It seems that a small animal was frequently sneaking into the temple nowadays.

There's no doubt that this small animal might be our enemy’s familiar. And then, it turned into a misunderstanding when he saw Rena who made the preparation to send us back.

Nao apologized to everyone since she had only noticed that later. But, it was too late and no one cared about her carelessness anyway.

It seems Diehart’s goal was just to destroy the summoning tool, and no one die during that raid.

That's why Shirone was also saved by that fact.

After reuniting with Shirone, I scolded her. That’s just how much we were worried about her.

Shirone was apologizing while crying.

Though Shirone trained in martial arts, she was, in fact, a frail girl. Moreover, though she could manage it somehow or another while holding her sword, that frail part becomes even more prominent once she loses her sword.

From Shirone’s story, we understood that she was completely defeated by Diehart. We noticed again about how powerful Diehart was.

Even if Reiji’s injury is healed, the subjugation of demon king must be postponed for a while.

By the way, though Reiji also wanted to scold her, he had no qualifications to do so since he would be facing Diehart later.

Nevertheless, we have way too little information about Diehart. Though he is similar to Reiji in the matter of disliking useless killing, everyone who point their sword toward Reiji will definitely die while in the case of Diehart, he doesn't even kill the one who direct their swords toward him. Isn't that completely un-heinous-subordinate-of-demon-king-like?

Or else, could it be that he’s similar to Reiji and won't kill woman? Even if that is the truth, it won't explain why he put the temple knights to sleep without killing them.

As I thought, he’s truly an enigmatic subordinate of the demon king. That demon king Modes is just shutting himself inside Nargol without doing anything while his subordinates are the one doing the conquest. The damage caused by the subordinates of that demon king is horrible. We saw how horrible the situation in a country that got attacked by his subordinates. In fact, what's with that Diehart anyway?

But, I, who was unintentionally thinking about that couldn't help but wonder that there might be more to it.

Even more important than that, we have to think about what we have to do after this.

We can't repair the tools for summoning nor can we get the new one.

That's why we are currently left with no choice but to look for someone who can use summoning magic to send us back. In addition, we already confirmed with Rena that there’s another person who can use it.

When we asked Rena about the information about that person, she only say that she had no idea about that person except for the fact that he’s capable of using the summoning magic. Though her strange expression at that time worried me, well, so be it.

The fastest method is to to look for the pervert who assaulted Kyouka to find that person. Though, I'm personally against it, it can't be helped.

I heaved a sigh.

◆Demon King Modes

「I see, so lord Diehart has that kind of relationship with a woman around the hero, huh…. I put you in quite a trouble, Nut」

「It’s my duty」

Nut gave his gratitude to my praise.

I received this information from Nut standing on the shoulder of Rugaas, who was standing in front of me just a moment ago.

「Then, what about the current situation of lord Diehart？ 」

「Yes, it seems that nothing much has changed on the surface. But…」

「But？ 」

「I think he’s similar to your highness when you just came to this land」

「I see…」

Though I don't know what happened in the temple from Nut’s report, I'm sure that it might be something unpleasant regarding that woman.

I was crying at that time. Of how much I'm hated.

I could get back on my own feet since I was driven by my desire to make Mona.

For the sake of creating Mona, I needed several other materials, Rena's hair for the secret arts of life creation(Pygmalion) and one’s nature of magical power, and then mix it together with the tool made by my friend, the god Heibos.

I could persist on myself to make my own goddess who won't lose to the goddess of Elios who drove me out.

And the result is Mona.

When I think about Mona.

「Deyufufufu」

「Uhm…. What's the matter, your highness？ 」

Rugaas is calling my name with a worried face.

I was thinking about my night with Mona, and then unintentionally let out such a voice.

Forget it for now, forget it for now.

「Oh, sorry, it was about lord Diehart, huh」

「Ah, yes」

「Let's give a goddess to cheer on lord Diehart, then」

「Someone like Mona-sama？ 」

I nodded at Rugaas’s words.

I want lord Diehart to stay in this Nargol as long as possible.

And then, I want him to protect this Modes and Mona.

In that case, what should I do？

The best thing I can offer to him is a woman, right?

Moreover, the gods of Elios should have banned the creation of fake goddess.

In that case, he'll turn into the enemy of gods, too. And then, he will settle in Nargol whether he wants it or not.

Someone as strong as him, who can annihilate the chivalric order of holy knight on his way back to Nargol, isn't a scary person as long as I can enlist him as my ally.

My lips naturally formed an evil smile.

「Gufufufufufufu」

「Uhm, your majesty…」

Rugaas is calling me with a worried voice while I kept laughing.

◆Dark Knight Kuroki

The room given to me in the Modes’s demon king castle is extremely spacious.

But then, the only furnitures inside such a spacious room is only a desk, a carpet spreading below, and a bed.

I don't know what should I say to the demon with bear-like face, my exclusive attendant. It seems I just need to mention it as long as I need something.

It seems I am already receiving VVIP treatment in Nargol.

Though it doesn't mean that Nargol is poor, it isn't a beautiful land either. The scenery outside the windows is dreary with gloomy air drifting around.

And then, it seems Nargol is unsuitable for procuring the ingredients for food. Even the bed is special when compared to the bed of the elves who took care of me in the middle of my journey.

But, it seems that this bed also of the finest quality in Nargol.

I felt that it seems my living condition isn't that much better than when I was in Japan.

What should I do from now on then. I lie down on my bed.

I knew the situation of Shirone. Shirone and the rest didn't know that they can't go back with that summon arts.

They were deceived by that goddess Rena. Maybe they'll be in danger as long as they are under Rena’s care.

Should I help them？

No, there's no need for me to help them. The art of manufacturing summoning tools was banned by Elios a few days ago. At least they won't send them back to the spirit world.

Moreover, it's too roundabout. I have no intention to harm the heroes blatantly. And then, when I heard that Rena won't send them back, I didn’t have to worry about threatening them anymore.

That's why, I think it's okay to ignore Shirone and the rest for the time being.

I shake my head while denying my idea just now.

To be honest, I don't want myself getting too involved in it. This is the truth.

Moreover, what do you think I should do to save the sad Reiji?

Since they should have been banned from attacking Nargol, I should stop worrying about them. Yup, let's do that.

Anyhow they should have tried to do something to our side, but I'm alone while they have an advantage in numbers. It's the truth, it's not like I'm jealous of them or something.

….No good, let's change the topic now.

Let's think about what should I do from now on.

First is to look for a way to return, too. Though Modes said that he'll look for it, maybe it won't be found immediately.

For now, I’ll have to live in this world.

Then, I noticed that there's a possibility that I'll live in this world for a long time.

It was an unpleasant premonition because I have no comrade in this place.

I thought that I would need a comrade since I have to live in this world for a long time.

Though Modes is there as my comrade, it’s slightly different from what I want.

As expected, I'm jealous of Reiji. He has a lot of comrades.

Moreover, all of them are beauties.

And then, I remember about Modes’s promise.

A clone of the goddess.

Maybe it's time for me to get my reward from Modes.

Moreover, a cute girl if possible for me to get over many things.

Yosh, let's ask him.

I definitely want to get a cute girl, or so I thought.