NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
Chapter 19: The Name of Persuasion
Well, it turns out that when I secretly returned with a Demon God, my identity was instantly revealed by my attendant—I’m Zilbagias, the Demon Lord’s Prince.
“………..”
I’m bowing down.
Sophia is sprawled out flat on the floor.
And she’s trembling like a newborn fawn.
“I thought you only knew the veterans…!”
“How bizarre. I don’t recall meeting anyone like that!”
Antedeixis, with a finger on his forehead, tilts his head in confusion.
“Hey, you! How do you know me?”
At Antende’s interrogation, Sophia on the floor flinched suddenly.
“Ah… At that time… I was just born and… I was far too foolish…”
In a quavering voice, with her face still down, Sophia begins to talk.
“I didn’t know fear… So, out of curiosity, I snuck into your palace… What an atrocious rudeness…”
“Hm…?”
Antende, who had been staring into the air, suddenly clapped his hands.
“Ah! Perhaps you are that little imp from back then!”
“You really remember, huh?”
“It was a long time ago, but a tiny little imp came to my palace. She scribbled all over the walls, scattered my books everywhere, and did as she pleased.”
“You didn’t notice until it got that far?”
“I was napping, you see.”
He also mentioned he found it amusing and let it go for a while.
“And since you seemed to be completely fearless, I decided to teach you what fear is before kicking you out of the palace. Right?”
On the floor, Sophia trembles pitifully, whimpering, “Hiii…” If she weren’t a demon, she’d probably have wet herself right there. What on earth did she go through… But really, even now, the sharp and intellectual Sophia had such a bratty past…
“Wow! How nostalgic! The little imp from back then has grown up so much! You’ve gotten bigger!”
Laughing heartily, Antende is stroking Sophia’s head like an overly affectionate relative.
“—So, what shall we do with her? Kill her?”
He asks me with a straight face while his hand, which had been patting Sophia’s head, smoothly grips her neck.
“Hiii!”
“Wait, wait!”
Before the pitifully shaking Sophia, I rubbed my temples to stave off a headache.
—Choosing to eliminate someone who knows Antende’s face, that option certainly exists. Considering the risk of revealing that he’s a forbidden Demon God, it’s only natural.
But… how should I say it, that’s just too…
No, it’s not like I’m developing any emotional attachment to Sophia or anything… there’s no way that could be the case… As a hero like me, taking on such a trivial demon…
…Well, if it were a direct subordinate of mine, that would be another matter, but Sophia is under Platy.
“Right after coming to the Demon Lord Castle, I can’t very well eliminate a demon contracted by my mother. In the end, I’ll need to explain my reasons.”
And… after a slight pause, I continued.
“…Sophia is my tutor. I can’t afford to lose her here… There are still many things I need to learn.”
“Zilbagias-sama…”
“Hmm…”
Antende, who had been gently grasping Sophia’s neck, suddenly grabbed her chin and lifted her face up. Her tear-filled, pitiful expression was on full display.
“You. Can you keep this a secret if I forbid you to speak of it?”
At that solemn inquiry, Sophia trembled.
“W-well… According to my contract with my lady… I am forbidden from revealing anything that could lead to her disadvantage…”
Sophia looked as if she was reading her own death sentence.
This won’t do…
After all this time, I’ve received so much care from her.
The taboo of harming someone who has cared for me for years, huh? It certainly sounds like I could gain quite the power…
Sophia. I won’t let your sacrifice go to waste…
“Is that all it is, then?”
However, Antende laughed wickedly.
“Then there’s no problem… Because keeping my true identity secret will rather benefit that woman.”
“Huh…?”
“Think about it. The Demon Lord’s youngest son has made a contract with a Demon God—what do you think will happen if that gets out?”
“The interference from other prince factions will grow even more intense. They’ll crush me before I even have a chance to sprout… But I could tell only my lady and stop the information there.”
As the conversation went on, the fear began to fade from Sophia’s expression, replaced by a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.
“However, the fact that you haven’t done that suggests you’re avoiding probing into the details of the contract. Summoning a Demon God—a forbidden lord of the palace—into the human world through such a contract. It’s certain that the contents are something terrible. If so… it poses a high risk of bringing disfavor to my lady…”
Her words began to taper off. Since she could understand that much, she couldn’t help but speak up.
“There are a few misunderstandings. It’s true that I want to keep the contract details confidential, but the circumstances for someone like you who is bound to serve and someone of my stature are different. Secrecy can also heighten the aura of mystery and gain power.”
“That makes sense, but…”
“And about the disadvantages: Let me ask you, Sophia. What is that woman’s ultimate goal?”
When questioned again, the serious Sophia reflected.
“…It goes without saying. For Zilbagias-sama to become the Demon Lord, and for my lady herself to secure her position as well.”
“Correct. Then in this case, what can be considered a ‘disadvantage’ is something that goes against that goal, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Then keeping my identity secret makes sense. By concealing the contract details and thereby increasing my power, it will raise the chance of becoming the Demon Lord. Plus, I promised, didn’t I? To make that woman’s son into a ‘magnificent Demon Lord.'”
“No… But…”
Sophia’s face suggested that she was struggling to accept it. Well, that’s understandable. After all, I could tell Platy about being a forbidden Demon God, but still keep the contract details secret.
Not doing that implicitly acknowledges that there’s something to hide.
…Am I seriously left with no choice but to eliminate Sophia here?
No, even if that’s the case, how would I explain it to Platy? Damn, I’m in a dead end.
“Stubborn little thing, indeed. Very well, I’ll enlighten you.”
While enjoying the situation, Antende grinned and whispered conspiratorially in Sophia’s ear.
“I’ll admit it. The contract I made with this girl is indeed horrible.”
Sophia visibly began to tremble.
—Why reveal that?
Does he no longer care about revealing it? This means—ultimately, to silence her—
“This girl deceived me, the Demon God. Commanding me, the ruler of the Demon World, to commit a colossal taboo.”
“A Demon God, committing a taboo?”
“That’s right. I can’t divulge the details, but… Understand?”
“………..”
Sophia’s eyes flicker, calculating. Her thoughts were racing, trying to piece everything together.
“By the way, Sophia, do you like the Demon World?”
“…It’s not that I dislike it. It’s my homeland, after all…”
“—[You are forbidden to deceive your own feelings.]”
“I don’t like it. That desolate land has nothing but ignorance…”
Like a prey being constricted by a venomous snake, Sophia struggles painfully.
“What is it you seek?”
“…I want knowledge. To raise my power even more…”
“You don’t want to die, do you?”
“I don’t want to… die. There are still books in the library I haven’t finished reading. I want to grasp the truth of the world and one day become a Demon God of knowledge…”
Tears trickle down Sophia’s face.
“Ah, I understand, I truly do. The feeling of seeking power. You were such a tiny imp back then, and now you’ve become so remarkable…”
While gently stroking her head, Antende—contrary to his kind tone—had a rather…
“The contract details are horrible. However, the resultant influences and their direction. The fact that I was dragged out here.”
He continued to whisper, slowly injecting poison into her with each word.
“—However, none of that contradicts that woman’s objectives. A bright girl like you should be able to understand, right?”
“……….. Yes.”
“Then let me ask again. Is there a need to reveal all the truths to that woman?”
“……….. No, there isn’t.”
“Good.”
Nodding in satisfaction at Sophia’s tearful response, Antende affirmed.
“Good girl. Continue to serve well… as my contractee alongside your master.”
Hmm. Platy said that demons bound by contracts never betray, but that doesn’t seem to hold true…
Well, regardless, this is all irrelevant to me since I won’t be contracting with any more demons.
“Ah, by the way, I’ve made arrangements for her to consider me some high-ranking demon.”
Suddenly, Antende turned toward me, and I quickly picked up his words.
“Ah yes. The Demon of Restrictions, Antende that’s what I’m presenting myself as.”
“Wha… What the?! How could you…! A Demon God—what a blasphemous thing to do…!”
Sophia’s eyes widened in shock. Antende shivered as though electrified.
What? Is that such a big deal in the demon world? It’s hard to get my head around this difference in values…
Well, whatever the case, satisfied that he had persuaded Sophia, Antende plopped back into me.
Wow… what a bizarre introduction…
—Looking at Sophia, sitting on the floor with a vacant expression, I ponder.
I lost track of what the conversation was about somewhere along the line, but what was all that about, Antende?
“Hehe. This one has grasped it. The fact that our contract may bring some disadvantage to the Demon World.”
…Destruction of the Dark Portal.
“Although she probably wouldn’t understand the specific details, she got that it’s something terrible. Fortunately, it seems Sophia doesn’t have much attachment to the Demon World. So it seems she’s willing to overlook it.”
Since Sophia enjoys her life here in the human world, she really couldn’t care less about what happens to the Demon World. A very demon-like rationalization.
But keeping the report from Platy is quite something. Is it a loophole in the contract?
“No. It’s nothing like that. Such arguments are mere nonsense. If there’s even a slight chance of it being disadvantageous for the contractor, there’s an obligation to report.”
Huh…?
“But this girl—this cute little imp has decided to distort her own perception to save her life. For a Demon of Knowledge who seeks truth, that’s quite a setback… She once said she wanted to become a Demon God, but that path has probably drifted further away. Understanding this is why she was crying. Well, it’s certainly a lot better than ending it here though…”
…
“A demon who can twist a contract and prioritize her own interests—a taboo. She has dyed her hands in it.”
He laughs in a low voice.
“Thanks to that, I’ve been enriched…”
—With lost eyes, Sophia sits there helplessly.
That image overlaps with my own.
Having made a contract with a forbidden Demon God, I might actually be just as pathetic as she is.
But—what does it matter?
My goal is to destroy the Demon Lord Kingdom. As long as that’s fulfilled—I have no interest in my own ending.
Until I destroy the Dark Portal, Antende will be my ally.
Then it’s fine. No matter how things turn out.
Even if I face whatever end awaits me—
“Zilbagias!”
As I was lost in thought, the sound of footsteps approached rapidly from outside, and the door to the room swung open violently.
Platy storms in with an expression of rage.
For some reason… she looks like a yakuza who just found out that the gang she’s been fighting has allied with another rival gang…
“—This just got troublesome.”
What now, is there still something troublesome to deal with?
“It seems someone from another prince’s faction witnessed your return and reported it.”
With bared teeth, Platy growls.
“They mistook your grown-up self for someone else… In the end, what I thought was that I had finally gone mad waiting for Zilbagias to return, and thus was trying to groom another child as my own…”
I have never heard such a dreadfully ominous tone.
I didn’t realize a voice could exude such anger and hatred.
“So, Zilbagias!”
“Yes?”
“You’ll need to prove your bloodline now.”
“Huh? What?”
“Sophia!”
“Y-Yes!!!”
Called by her name, the dazed Sophia jumps up straight.
“We’re accelerating the schedule. Zilbagias will undergo magical training.”
Magical training to prove my bloodline? What logic is that? It’s been five years since I was reborn as the Demon Lord’s prince, but I still don’t quite understand much about the Demon Race…
“This seems like it’s going to be quite interesting.”
Only the Demon God seems to be laughing heartily within me.