It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

34. The Influence of the Reborn

What’s the point of knowing the Demon King’s favorite food? It’s just personal preference. Should I observe how my companions eat dragon meat and see if they enjoy it?

Dragon meat is the highest-grade brand meat in this world. It’s naturally delicious, and even I like it. What a useless piece of information!

“Is there anything else?”

“I heard that the Demon King has beautiful handwriting.”

“Why do you know that?”

“It seems that the Demon King’s communication with the demon tribe was through letters. A paper with orders written on it, such as ‘attack this place,’ was discovered.”

“Did they dislike meeting in person?”

“They seemed to be very cautious. Even the four heavenly kings, the Demon King’s subordinates, didn’t know the Demon King’s location.”

I see. So the Demon King has beautiful handwriting.

What about Tras and Sasha? Both of them have beautiful handwriting. Tras is a skilled artist and likes to draw. He’s dexterous and said that he naturally developed beautiful handwriting because he was from a noble family and had to write documents.

Sasha was conscious of her handwriting because she was a researcher of magic and wanted to show her work to her teacher, Maxwell, and other scholars. She didn’t want to be criticized for her handwriting.

This information is also useless for finding the Demon King.

“Didn’t the previous brave warrior find the Demon King? How did he do it?”

“It seems that the 5th generation brave warrior Harold had exceptional intuition. He said, ‘My sixth sense tells me the Demon King is here. I can feel the cosmos! Follow me!’ and found the Demon King.”

“……………”

“It seems that the party didn’t doubt the brave warrior’s words because he had found the four heavenly kings using his intuition before.”

“That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

───Brave warrior Harold seems like a local from my hometown. Nobody in this world talks about the cosmos like that. There must be more information about brave warrior Harold that remains. I’ll investigate later. For now, let’s focus on the Demon King.

“Is there any other information about the Demon King?”

“It seems like they enjoy cooking. It was revealed through the exchange of letters with the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Is that all?”

“This is the last piece of information. It seems like the Demon King dislikes alcohol.”

There’s not much information, but it feels like it’s biased. Where did they get this information from?

It would be ideal to know the Demon King’s magic and combat style, but that’s too much to hope for.

The fact that they enjoy cooking is honestly irrelevant. Disliking alcohol? Sasha and Tra, whom I suspect to be the Demon King, both like to drink.

Noel can also drink. The only ones who can’t are Darl and Eclair. Darl said they can’t drink because of their internal organs. They wanted to drink but were strictly forbidden.

I think the king was afraid of getting drunk and speaking carelessly. The king is really cautious (stomach-ache friend).

Eclair has a low tolerance for alcohol, doesn’t he? He lost consciousness after taking one sip. It seems like his body can’t handle it.

This information about disliking alcohol has completely destroyed my thoughts. Was I wrong to narrow it down to Sasha and Tra? Should I consider Eclair and Darl instead? No, people’s preferences for food can change. It’s possible to develop a liking for something later on.

I’m overthinking things. First, I want to know the source of this information. Durandal was stuck in the Reg Legacy for 500 years, so the only opportunity to learn about the 5th Demon King was during the 5 years I traveled with him. But I didn’t know about this information. Where did he learn it?

“Durandal, where did you learn this information?”

“Do you remember Master researching at the Alcadia Kingdom’s library?”

“I think he was researching the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Ah, I remember. But there wasn’t any detailed information about the Four Heavenly Kings or the 5th Demon King in the library.”

“It wasn’t a book, but a conversation between scholars.”

“A conversation?”

“Yes. When Master was researching at the library, I overheard two scholars discussing the 5th Demon King. I mentioned it earlier, didn’t I? My ears are very sharp, so I could hear it!”

It’s rude to ask where the ears are. Alcadia Kingdom’s library… Ah, I remember. I don’t recall the contents of the conversation, but I remember feeling annoyed when they started arguing while reading books. The library’s director immediately kicked them out.

Those two people were scholars. If Durandal’s words are true, they must have been researching the 5th Demon King. There’s a possibility of gathering useful information.

“Durandal, do you know the name of one of the scholars?”

“I only know one. He was called Professor Raven.”

“I’ve never heard of the name, but if he’s a professor, I can investigate and find out.”

“Probably.”

If I get the chance to visit the Alcadia Kingdom, I’ll look into it. It might not be necessary if we figure out who the Demon King is before that, but it’s an option.

For now, the information I’ve gathered is “likes dragon meat, has beautiful handwriting, enjoys cooking, and dislikes alcohol.” Yeah, I still don’t get it.

As for the Demon King, it’s fine for now.

“Did the scholars also mention anything about Hero Harold?”

“They did. The scholars were saying that Hero Harold’s mention of ‘cosmos’ is something we should investigate. It must be some kind of power!”

“I see.”

I think it’s unlikely to find anything even if we investigate. Even if that power exists, it’s not from this world.

It’s a waste of time. We should just give up.

“Did Hero Harold have any connection with God Mira벨?”

“I think he did. The first Demon King, the previous Master, and Hero Harold all mentioned God Mira벨’s name, so there must be some common point.”

“I see.”

“Does Master also have a connection with God Mira벨?”

“That’s what Durandal thinks.”

It seems like the first Demon King, Takeshi-san, and Hero Harold are all reincarnated. At least three people have come to this world. I have more questions to ask Mira벨. I also want to ask about Eclair.

Will I be able to ask everything when we meet next?

There are many things I want to discuss, and I want to meet Mira벨 soon, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

“You mention God Mirabel, and that brings up one of the Four Heavenly Kings, don’t you think?”

“The Four Heavenly Kings too?”

I thought there were more. The Four Heavenly Kings, too.

In history, the Four Heavenly Kings have been defeated by brave parties and replaced. The only ones who haven’t changed are ‘The Undying Queen’ Silvy Empire and ‘The Red Dragon’ Drake.

Silvy can’t be killed because she’s immortal. Drake is simply strong, and when he senses disadvantage, he retreats. His judgment is accurate, and brave parties haven’t been able to defeat him.

“It seems ‘Principal’ Kobayashi, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was involved with Mirabel.”

He’s definitely a reincarnator. And I think he’s Japanese.

Why is he calling himself the principal?

Maybe it’s better to call him Principal Kobayashi-sensei.

“Has Kobayashi already passed away?”

“Yes, he has. He was one of the initial Four Heavenly Kings. He contributed to the demon tribe’s acquisition of magic, it seems. Kobayashi was extremely skilled at teaching, apparently.”

That’s why he’s a teacher.

“Is it because of Kobayashi that the current demon tribe exists?”

“That’s right.”

I won’t say reincarnators are bad. The fundamental cause is the church’s worshiped god. The god intentionally created discrimination, which has continued to this day.

Even so, the influence of reincarnators has reached the present, which is terrifying. If reincarnators didn’t exist, what would this world be like?

God’s plan might have kept the demon tribe as slaves. Instead of fighting demons, humans and elves might have clashed, which is highly likely. In reality, while demons are hiding, they frequently engage in small-scale conflicts.

It’s foolish to think everything will settle down nicely. Even within the same race, differences in values and religious conflicts have led to years of strife. If the races are different, the gap is even larger. Conflict accompanies the development of civilization. It’s not a dream, even in another world. In the end, what we’re doing isn’t much different from our past lives.

Will the traces I leave behind also affect the future? I don’t want to leave behind a dishonorable legacy, like being stabbed by a brave party.

Let’s take it easy tomorrow. Although I don’t feel physically tired, I’m a bit mentally exhausted. If I move, it’ll be just a light warm-up.

Well, I don’t want to be honest, but let’s accumulate our strength and then take a break.

───This feeling of fatigue is something I’ll never get used to.