Volume 3 Chapter 1, “Demon King! What’s going on, Demon King!!”
——– The Demon World, on a Retreat by the Lake
Disciple Bard: “Hey! Hey!”
Disciple Bard: “What’s with this worn-out house, dammit. Eh? What’s this?! Food?! Why is it so sloppy? Oi! Are you there? Get up!”
Disciple Engineer: “Yaaaawn. What’s up?”
Disciple Bard: “I’m back.”
Disciple Engineer: “Oh? Where from?”
Disciple Bard: “I told you I was going to the City of the Gate!”
Disciple Engineer: “Really? Now that you say it, I haven’t seen you in a bit.”
Disciple Bard: “You haven’t seen me in two months! You damn engineer! I know you haven’t eaten yet, so I got you some home-cooked food. Here, there’s tea too.”
Disciple Engineer: “Thanks. Yaaawn.”
Disciple Bard: “This is what always happens when I leave you alone.”
Disciple Engineer: “No choice. I’ve had to study crafting and designing, maintaining and testing. Civil Engineering* is quite a daunting task. I can’t even say I understand even one book out of the entire library that our teacher left us. I haven’t even really understood Flood Control*.”
Disciple Bard: “I told you not to drown yourself in all those texts. No matter how much you learn, if you don’t try to apply it, it’s useless.”
Disciple Engineer: “Even if you say that… Civil engineering is nothing like music or art, you need quite a bit of manpower and money to do it. For someone like me, with barely a penny to my name, there’s nothing I could possibly do on my own.”
Disciple Bard: “If you say something like that, I guess you’re just being lazy…”
Disciple Engineer: “Don’t say that. I’ve just finished fixing up the Irrigation* system for the nearby village.”
Disciple Bard: “Oh right. How did that turn out?”
Disciple Engineer: “Well, the productivity has gone up. Civil Engineering isn’t something that can be completed instantly so I’ll have to observe this order for a few years before I can say anything concretely, but I would say the productivity has gone up significantly. Now we’re just waiting for the river to bring the fertilisers to the fields.”
Disciple Bard: “Wow, looks like you did a good job.”
Disciple Engineer: “Well. — Mmm, this is delicious.”
Disciple Bard: “And how much did they pay you?”
Disciple Engineer: “Not bad. Take a look.”
Disciple Bard: “Wow! It’s a sack of gold! We’re rich!”
Disciple Engineer: “Heh.”
Disciple Bard: “Wow, this is really not bad.”
Disciple Engineer: “When I wasn’t making any money, it must have been really troublesome for you.”
Disciple Bard: “Well, yeah. I mean, a poet is paid daily.”
Disciple Engineer: “These are my earnings over a long period of time. It’s the same amount of effort as moving a mountain.”
Disciple Bard: “I see… Then, I’ll save these for you?”
Disciple Engineer: “Yeah, sure.”
Disciple Bard: “…”
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Explanation
Civil Engineering: Different from mechanical or electrical engineering, civil engineering involves the reshaping of the natural terrain (the earth, the rivers, the shorelines, etc.) in order to make things more convenient for society or to prevent natural disasters. Civil engineering is a field of study which deals mostly with the construction of facilities (bridges, dams, roads, ports, etc.) for the good of society.
Flood Control: This refers to the protection of lives and livelihoods from floods caused by rising water levels in rivers and from strong waves. To achieve this, floodgates and dams are built, and larger projects such as completely altering the course of a river can be done. On a side note, altering the water network for ease of water transportation or irrigation, such as the building of locks or canals, is referred to as Water Infrastructure and is distinct from Flood Control. However, in real life, civil engineers may be called on to construct facilities which execute both of these functions at the same time.
Irrigation: This refers to the provision of water for agricultural purposes, such as by building canals from rivers or pumps.
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Disciple Engineer: “…Yumyum.”
Disciple Bard: “So this was a one-time thing?”
Disciple Engineer: “Yeah.”
Disciple Bard: “—What should we do?”
Disciple Engineer: “Hmm, we haven’t decided on the next contract. And without our teacher around, it’s going to be fairly difficult to secure one.”
Disciple Bard: “Yeah…”
Disciple Engineer: “I’ve got a few projects I can source around for, but if you wanted to do something on a larger-scale, like mass irrigation or the construction of dams, canals, or even roads, you would need the approval and sponsorship of a Khan of one of the bigger Tribes. I’m just a civilian after all, so I don’t have the connections.”
Disciple Bard: “What an impoverished profession.”
Disciple Engineer: “What are you saying? Civil Engineering is the King of professions.”
Disciple Bard: “Heh.”
Disciple Engineer: “Our teacher said that.”
Disciple Bard: “That’s because she’s prone to saying lofty things like that…”
Disciple Engineer: “She’s a genius.”
Disciple Bard: “She acts like one because she’s very lofty.”
Disciple Engineer: “She’s a genius.”
Disciple Bard: “Fine, we’ll leave it at that. Here.”
Disciple Engineer: “Eh? What’s that?”
Disciple Bard: “Let’s move.”
Disciple Engineer: “Where to?”
Disciple Bard: “You haven’t got any work, right? The City of the Gate has got some beautiful scenery right now. And you can also try to find work in repairing the City Walls and roads. Trade is rapidly increasing there, so they’ve got a lot of tax revenue. Furthermore, there are lots and lots of different Tribespeople residing there. A young Fairy maiden like myself and a young Banshee engineer like you will surely find work to do.”
Disciple Engineer: “That’s true.”
Disciple Bard: “What do you think?”
Disciple Engineer: “Well, apart from our teacher’s books, I don’t have a lot I need to take with us.”
Disciple Bard: “So shall we go?”
Disciple Engineer: “There’d better be some massive project.”
Disciple Bard: “I think I’ll bring one Saga* with me. I can feel a good wind blowing on our trip!”
——- The Kurultai, the Demon King’s Pavilion
The Demon King: “Well, well.”
The Chief Maid: “Your Majesty…”
The Demon King: “I didn’t expect that they would have such a hand to play. I was too naïve… I was also relying on my position as the Demon King.”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “…I’m sorry. We’d just gotten the discussion to a good point before this happened. At this rate…”
The Hero: “No, that is my responsibility.”
The Chief Maid: “Hero…?”
The Hero: “I failed to warn you about it. — The Mage asked me to look for a copy of The Demon Annals and research it. I completely ignored that. — It’s my fault.”
The Chief Maid: “…”
The Demon King: “No, that’s not it. We were so focused on obtaining the ceasefire that we forgot to consider other paths which the Kurultai could have taken. The result is that now I am powerless.”
The Hero: “Don’t say that.”
The Chief Maid: “That’s right, it’s too early to give up.”
The Demon King: “But what can we do in these two hours? Since he’s nailed the final into our coffin, any attempt I make at contacting the other Khans will just look like I’m desperately trying to save myself. The only thing we can do now is try to make sure that no one can contest the seat.”
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Explanation
Saga: These are epic poems from Northern Europe. They are massive works of literature that rarely feature deities or gods but focus mostly on the exploits of brave men. In today’s context, strong works of writing, particularly those with sequels, are often termed as sagas as well.
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The Hero: “You mean kill them all?”
The Demon King: “That’s right.”
The Hero: “But that really defeats the purpose.”
The Chief Maid: “Why? Didn’t you say before that in the past there were examples of Demon Kings who would obliterate the Khans who refused to listen to the word of the Demon King?”
The Demon King: “But there was only one.”
The Hero: “In other words, to achieve a consensus, it is possible to destroy the one remaining opposition to the motion. We do have extreme methods such as obliteration at our disposal but in the end, if we’re not able to achieve the support of the other seven Khans, we would have to obliterate all of them.”
The Chief Maid: “…”
The Demon King: “In this situation, let’s assume that four of the Khans agree to vote for me. Especially if they find out that I sanctioned the kill of that Khan, then I definitely wouldn’t have the support of those other four Khans.”
The Chief Maid: “That’s…”
The Demon King: “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not going to support me now, but we can’t count on my position as the Demon King. The King of the Pale knows this as well. My position is not stable, and if there are any divisions as a result of this decision, then the entire Demon Race might fracture as well. We may be thrust back into a chaotic world…”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “This will be a momentous occasion, but all we can do now is watch and see…”
——– The Kurultai, the Grand Pavilion
The King of the Pale: “Right, it’s time.”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “Don’t worry, it’ll turn out fine.”
The Chief Maid: “But, but—”
The Hero: “Protect the Demon King. We may have another chance yet.”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “The sun has gone down.”
The King of the Pale: “Well then. The green rays of the sun have died down. The deadline has come.”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Shall we make a decision?”
The Baron of Steel: “Let’s.”
The Cyclops: “…Understood.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “…”
The King of the Pale: “In that case, since I brought up the motion, let me begin. Whether or not we Demons want to go to war or not, we are currently at war. The Humans could invade us at any moment. At a time like this, to have a weak-willed Demon King is tantamount to treason against our people. We the Tribe of the Pale vote to impeach the Demon King.”
The Queen of Fairies: “The Tribe of the Fairies would like to acknowledge the contributions the Demon King has made. Not only has she stopped the in-fighting between the Tribes, she has also made widespread paper and other civil technologies, and truly enriched the culture of the Demon World.”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Culture? Bah!”
The Queen of Fairies: “We may be small in stature, but that is what is important to us. Every fairy under the light of the moon, in the glistering forests, supports the present Demon King whole-heartedly.”
The Demon King: “…”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “To us, the Tribe of the Fang, might is right. We will follow the most powerful person. In times of war, we display our strength, and in times of peace we merely reserve its use. The present Demon King has yet to personally take part in a single expedition, so I cannot say anything for her abilities. We cannot support a person whose strength remains unknown to us. We the Tribe of the Fang vote to impeach the Demon King.”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “With regards to the war, we have already voiced out our opinion. What would happen if the Demon King were to change? We cannot guarantee that the next Demon King will not be a battle-crazy extremist, or one who is willing to exercise wanton destruction, unlike the present Demon King. We have always advocated solving our disputes with the Demon King using personal communication, without resorting to elections. This is the unwritten law of this world. In support of the stability of the Demon World, and to respect the institutions which we live by, we the Tribe of Banshees support the Demon King.”
The Baron of Steel: “My Tribe requires the treasures which are overflowing in the Human World. We thank the present Demon King for helping us to see just how valuable these are, but we cannot cooperate with humans after all. They operate in a different manner from us Demons, and without any kind of long-term contract or rights, my Tribe is afraid of the possible abuse, exploitation, and other despicable acts that may be committed by these self-righteous Humans during our interactions with them. We cannot co-exist with humans after all. — We, the Tribe of Automatons, vote to impeach the Demon King.”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “We, the Tribe of Fiends, will take the middle ground on this matter, as always. In other words, we abstain.”
The King of the Pale: “Hmph, you’re just trying to play both sides so you’ll never get burned.”
The Cyclops: “…The Demon King… is too small… We feel… someone bigger… is better than someone… smaller. That’s why… we feel that changing… the Demon King is better… than keeping her…”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “Four…”
The Chief Maid: “It’s over…”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “The movement to impeach the Demon King has been agreed on! We now enter the era of a new Demon King!”
The Baron of Steel: “A new Demon King…”
The King of the Pale: “Let us commence it immediately. But a twenty year reign, it’s not very long. It’s not short either. There hasn’t been a case where the Demon King’s throne is empty, but the previous Demon King is still alive.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Shut up.”
The King of the Pale: “Huh? What are you saying? My lord. It has already been decided. Just what do you intend to do about that?”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “I said shut up!” Breathes fire.
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “…?”
The King of the Pale: “Then I shall shut up. So, what do you have to say?”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “I haven’t voted yet.”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “What are you talking about? It’s already been decided!”
The King of the Pale: “That’s right. So even if you support the present Demon King, nothing will change. You’ve done nothing.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “I didn’t say that. We are one of the oldest and most ancient of the Tribes in the Demon Race, the Tribe of the Dragons. Why do you initiate such proceedings without even consulting us first!”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Because the result won’t change…”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Shut up! I’m not talking about that. Do not take my Tribe lightly! That is what I’m talking about!”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “You could have just said that at the start.”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “Indeed.”
The King of the Pale: “Hmph. Well. Fine. That’s a valid point as well. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say. But I’m certain whatever you have to say will not influence the result of this Kurultai.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “…”
The Queen of Fairies: “Please give us your final view.”
The Demon King: “…”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “Vote then.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “…”
The King of the Pale: “What are you keeping quiet for! Didn’t you tell us not to treat you lightly, but now you’re keeping all silent and not saying a single word. This is a waste of time. Give us your answer!”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “That’s right! You’re taking this whole Kurultai for a pack of fools with that attitude.”
Door slams open.
East Fortress Base Commander: “Hope I’m not late.”
Aide-de-Camp pants.
The Demon King: “Eh?”
The Hero: “The Base Commander…? Why—”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Then I will speak. As the Khan of the Dragons, allow me to introduce to you, the newest Tribe to the Demon Race.”
The King of the Pale: “Wh-what are you saying! At such a critical moment!”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “New Tribe?! I’ve never heard anything about this!”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “You’d best explain yourself.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Of course. In that case, you’d best hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Ah, uhhh, what’s up. Wait, no. I mean. Good day to all of you, I am the East Fortress Base Commander. I am here to join the Kurultai as one of the Great Demon Tribes.”
The Demon King: “Join…?”
The King of the Pale: “What are you talking about! The Kurultai has always been limited to the Eight Great Demon Tribes, it’s the highest office of the entire world. How could a completely unknown Demon like yourself even hope to join us!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Uhh, actually, I’m a Human.”
The King of the Pale slams the table.
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Human?!”
The Cyclops: “Human…!”
The King of the Pale: “What is this about, Fire Dragon Lord!”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “What are you talking about? Just what is a Demon anyway? Anything which lives in the Underground World can be called a Demon. This guy lives in the Underground World. Therefore, he’s a Demon. It doesn’t matter if he’s also a Human.”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “What kind of lousy reasoning is that!”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Just where is it written in The Demon Annals that Humans are not Demons?”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “…! Ahahahahaha!”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “What purpose do you have at this Kurultai!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Right, I was gonna, I mean, I was about to get to that. I would like to be a Khan.”
The King of the Pale: “A Human as a Khan?!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “That’s right. I represent the Tribe of the Gate, with 48,000 Tribesmen, I make my request to join this Kurultai.”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “…”
The Baron of Steel: “Wh-what…”
The Queen of Fairies: “…Forty eight thousand?”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “That’s right. This Kurultai is a conference for the Demon King and other powerful Khans. It was never decided that it was just for us eight Tribes. Do you remember? The Automatons themselves only joined the Conference about six generations ago.”
The Baron of Steel: “We won that, right.”
The Cyclops: “That was… the result… of a war…”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “There doesn’t need to be a war. Any Tribe with more than 40,000 tribesmen is allowed to join the conference as long as he has the support of two other Khans.”
The Queen of Fairies: “Forty thousand…?”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “Don’t be foolish, how can such a small race take part in the Kurultai?”
The King of the Pale: “That’s right! What kind of authority does he carry with so few tribesmen?!”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “This is not something I have decided! It is clearly written as a stipulation in The Demon Annals. That’s all!”
Aide-de-Camp: “Allow me to explain this clearly. Umm. The stipulations were all written quite a time back and in accordance to the demands of the period, right? So in other words, when this stipulation was created, forty thousand was a fairly large size for a Tribe.”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “The times…”
The King of the Pale: “Who cares if it’s a stipulation! Forty thousand? What kind of fool would agree to that! How can we acknowledge the power of such a tiny Tribe?!”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “But stipulations are stipulations, and stipulations are absolute, aren’t they?”
The King of the Pale: “—!!!”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “How can you use some obscure stipulation to call this motion and then object to a different stipulation halfway through the conference. That’s just unfair.”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “Ahahahahahaha! Stipulations! Stipulations! Stipulations are important, aren’t they, King of the Pale?”
The King of the Pale: “Agh! Agghhhh!”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Who would support such a thing! A Tribe controlled by a Human!”
The King of the Pale: “That’s right! Who would!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “I’m counting on you, old man.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “I will stand behind him. I just need one more name…”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “Ahahahahahaha! This is funny, this is very funny. I will stand by him. I’m sure the Queen of Fairies would have done it anyway, but I will lend my support to this human.”
Aide-de-Camp: “Here is the census for the entire 48,000 members of my Tribe. It also includes the resumes of the Self-Governing Council of the City of the Gate. With the addition of the official seals of the two Khans, all the necessary paperwork has been compiled.”
The King of the Pale: “What if I object?”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “There are no stipulations for objections. Once the paperwork has been filed, this guy here is the Khan of the Gate. He may join in the conference and has the right to speak and vote.”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “Hahahaha! What now?”
The Demon King: “!”
The King of the Pale: “…Don’t tell me.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “On the matter hitherto discussed, we, the Tribe of the Gate believe in peace and prosperity. We have many Humans residing in our City, and they have been working hand-in-hand with their Demon counterparts. Of course, there have been many inconveniences and disturbances. And many other things have happened too. But through it all, we can still stand strong next to each other, bar a few scuffles, eat from the same rice bowl, and bear the same weights together.
“Fiends, Fangs, Fairies, Dragons, Banshees, Demons of the Pale, not many, but Giants and Automatons too. There is only one rule in my City. Comrades for prosperity. I… No, we the Tribe of the Gate, vote to retain the present Demon King.”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Right. Then we have half of all the votes.”
The Hero: “Base Commander! Base Commander! You son of a gun! I had no idea!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Sorry, Hero… I mean, Black Knight. I had to change many horses just to get here. Two hours? I barely made it, let alone have time to stop by the Demon King’s Pavilion.”
The Demon King: “Just like that… I will never forget what you have done for me today… I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused you.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “It’s fine. You hunted down that damn Commander after all. Right, Demon King, I should be thankful towards you.”
The Demon King: “No, no, let us be as normal.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Hoho, what’s this? That’s a very pretty smile you’ve got there.”
Aide-de-Camp: “Alright, so what’s next?”
The Fire Dragon Lord: “That’s right. Shall we proceed with the rest of today’s conference?”
The Witch-Queen of the Banshees: “Indeed, my Khans?”
The Silver Tiger Lord: “Heh! Enough! I’m leaving!”
The Chieftain of the Tattooed: “Alright. Let us call for a recess.”
The King of the Pale: “Excuse my displeasure.” Spits.
The Fire Dragon Lord: “Gahahahahaha!”
The Queen of Fairies: “How great! The Demon King is still the Demon King…”
——- The Kurultai, in Front of the Grand Pavilion
East Fortress Base Commander: “Ahh, so I made it in time. I really had to rush. Demon King and Black Knight, you two had turned so blue, I was wondering what was going on.”
The Hero: “Haha, I suppose so.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Hahahahaha.”
The Hero: “The Mage passed you The Demon Annals?”
Aide-de-Camp: “That’s right. But it took us some time to read through the whole thing. That’s why when we heard something was amiss, we rushed here as fast as we could.”
The Demon King: “And you flew over here by horse…”
East Fortress Base Commander: “I’m glad that we could be of use. But that Fire Dragon Lord really did us a huge favour back there.”
The Demon King: “I’ll be sure to thank him later.”
The Hero: “Yeah, he saved us.”
The Demon King: “Of course he did, I’ll make sure to do the necessary etiquette.”
The Hero: “How rare it is for the Demon King to be so thankful.”
The Demon King: “What are you saying? I’m a very thankful person.”
The Chief Maid: “Well, well.”
The Hero: “In any case, let’s go back to the pavilion to rest.”
East Fortress Base Commander: “My throat is dry and my stomach is empty.”
Aide-de-Camp: “And we’re really tired.”
The Chief Maid: “I will prepare a pot of tea as soon as we return. Your Majesty, shall I use our best Roasted Red Tea in celebration?”
Arrows whistling!
The Demon King: “?”
The Hero: “We’re under attack?! Where?!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Arrows! It’s an ambush!”
Aide-de-Camp: “So many arrows! At this rate…”
The Chief Maid: “Your Majesty?! Your Majesty?!”
East Fortress Base Commander: “Her Majesty is under attack! It’s an ambush! Guards! Guards! What are you doing!!! Secure the perimeter!!!”
Royal Guard: “!!! Secure the perimeter!”
Royal Guard: “All personnel protect Her Majesty!”
The Demon King: “Ah… Hero…”
The Hero: “Demon King!”
The Chief Maid: “Blood! Demon King!”
The Hero: “Oi! Demon King!!! Demon King!!!”
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