CHAPTER 40
The Ex–Demon Lord and a Complicated Reunion
After that, I woke up the girls, and we set off with Olivia.
Our journey went without a hitch—leisurely, almost. It must have been because we were with an Olivia in her heyday. Any monster that tried to attack us basically posed no threat.
“What? When did she even kill that monster…?!”
“Wh-what in the world is going on…?!”
Ireena and Ginny couldn’t wrap their heads around it.
Well, Olivia’s go-to maneuver was plain and simple.
Basically, she drew her sword at hyperspeed, produced a whirlwind with her swing, and split her enemy in two. That was it.
However, her moves were much too fast for them, so it looked like the approaching monsters were all dropping on their own. There were times even I lost focus and couldn’t track her attack.
I guess this really was Olivia in her prime.
Well, after our perfectly safe travels, we arrived at our destination: the Frontline City, Aether.
As its name stated, it was a large citadel set on the front lines. Unlike the modern era, war was a daily fact of life here, so the city was protected by a sturdy wall. However…
The wall surrounding the city of Aether was personally made by the master of this region—the unmatched, genius magical researcher, Verda. It was praised as the strongest in the entire nation.
This impenetrable barrier was nothing like the ones in our era.
“Wh-what would you even call this…?”
“I guess we’ve actually traveled back in time…,” added Ginny.
Passing under the gate, the girls conversed in quiet voices as they took in the interior of the city. As if they’d finally come to grips with reality, they both seemed incredibly exhausted.
Before us was a bustle of ancient people going about their daily lives, as well as clusters of older buildings huddled together. The people of the past didn’t look all that different from their modern counterparts. The races were the same. Just like in our world, humans made up the majority of the population. Even in this era, elves, like Ireena, and succubi, like Ginny, were rare.
However, ancient attire was very different. Most modern townspeople wore soft clothing made from synthetic fibers, but the people of the past wore hemp cloth designed to wrap around your entire body. Knowing how modern styles looked, this couldn’t be called fashionable even as a backhanded compliment. Regardless of gender, these highly revealing outfits gave off “uncivilized barbarian” vibes.
Furthermore, the ancient buildings were far removed from their beautiful, precisely calculated counterparts.
“I-it’s like a bunch of blocks piled on top of one another,” Ireena commented.
“How do they make them…?”
As Ireena had said, the buildings were at the height of simplicity: big squares made up of smaller blocks. There were some exceptions, but it was safe to say all commoner houses followed this formula.
The construction method was incredibly basic. First, they used molecular-conversion magic to transform earth into building stones then utilized architectural magic to construct from their imagination. That was it.
In the present, this was considered one of the Lost Skills, but here, it was an exceedingly simple skill that any adult could use.
Under these circumstances, there was no such job as an “architect.”
“…What are you muttering about? Let’s get moving.”
“Ah, r-right!”
“Pardon us, Lady Olivia!”
As Olivia set off at a brisk pace, Ireena and Ginny hurriedly bustled after her.
They cowered before her. Maybe there was a difference between ancient and modern relationships. I found conversations with this Olivia easier to navigate, since I didn’t have to rethink everything that came out of my mouth, but it seemed Ireena and Ginny longed for the kind Olivia, who actually cared for her students.
Well, at any rate…
“Hey, Silver. Put your eyes back in your head. You’ll get pickpocketed if you look like a hillbilly.”
“Y-Yessim!” squeaked Ireena.
“Hey, Pinkie. Don’t look down. Place more trust in your friends.”
“Y-y-y-y-yes!”
In reality, this Olivia wasn’t all that different: kind and helpful, with a soft spot for kids.
Olivia, along with her pupil, brought us to our final destination: the front of Verda’s manor and research laboratory. As expected of a place belonging to one of the nation’s top citizens, it was enormous. A gate loomed at Verda’s residence…but not a single person was stationed there. It should have been locked tight, but instead, it automatically clicked open when we approached. It was both an entrance and exit that seemed to embody Verda’s philosophy that no visitor be turned away.
“…This is as far as I’ll take you. You’re on your own from here on out. I have to head back to my own domain and retrain my pupil.” Olivia made it sound like she was coldly abandoning us.
“When you meet,” she added, “show my letter of introduction. I can’t imagine Verda will treat you too badly after that. Remember, show the letter right away. Got it?”
She must have been worrying about us. This was a stern warning. We thanked my kind sister, and with some hesitance, she nodded and departed with her pupil.
As we watched them leave, Ireena and Ginny redirected their attention back to the gate and murmured.
“…I wonder what Master Verda’s like?”
“According to the heroic ballad, I think this Heavenly King is a diligent craftsman, taking great pride in the art of it, but…I’m sure the real deal will be different…,”Ginny trailed off.
Yeah, you’re right. I guarantee Verda will be beyond your wildest imagination.
In modern times, Verda made a modest impression as a magic prodigy and scholar, and the unseen power fueling the Demon Lord.
In the heroic ballad about the Demon Lord—which was apparently a worldwide bestseller now—Verda was described as “an elderly researcher of magic who was high-maintenance but had a heart of gold.”
Verda was a noble researcher who was passionate about his studies, deeply loyal to the Demon Lord, and explored the outer reaches of sorcery in search of world peace.
But that was the posthumous reputation, you see. To those who knew Verda, they might have had some choice words to exchange with the writer of said ballads. Like Yeah right, dumb-ass.
“Standing here paralyzed will not get us very far. Let’s enter,” I suggested.
At my words, the girls started to sweat, but they nodded. I was in the same boat. I would have avoided a reunion with Verda if I could help it. Though this was unpleasant, sticking with Verda was our safest bet, unfortunately.
Verda’s forces essentially supported our group from the shadows. Or rather, it was all they were capable of doing. The staff was mostly made up of scholars and researchers. They weren’t made for fighting and worked mostly in logistics and medicine. The fatality rate among this army was the lowest. If we’d joined Olivia’s army on the other hand…Ireena and Ginny would have lasted a month, tops.
Plus, Verda was called “a genius with divine intellect.” If there was anything we wanted to know…Verda would likely be able to help, especially with that self-proclaimed god.
And so, Verda it was. Even though every cell in my body was cringing—even though I would rather die than serve this genius.
But even though I really, seriously, positively did not want to do this, I had no other choice.
“…Please listen. Imagine the most nonsensical character possible. I’m willing to bet Verda will be even worse than that, but…it is better than doing nothing at all.”
Facing that mess with no mental preparation would be tough for a whole slew of reasons. If the girls armed themselves with this knowledge, it could very well be their saving grace. But they didn’t seem to get it. They basically told me what I wanted to hear just to get it over with.
I passed through the gate with Ireena and Ginny, entering the estate. A huge building in the shape of a bowl was smack-dab in the center of the sprawling grounds…with the words RICE IS LIFE! written on the top part.
I was already annoyed. I wanted to be anywhere but there. I endured the pain in my stomach and continued forward.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. With each one, I grew increasingly sweatier.
We made it to the front of Verda’s manor-slash-laboratory, and then, it happened.
KA-BOOOOOOOOM!
Without even a hint of a warning, the strange building before us was blown up into a million pieces.
““What?””
There was no way they could comprehend this. Ireena’s and Ginny’s jaws dropped to the ground, and they blinked in surprise.
…Oh, we’re just getting started. You’re in for a treat if you think this is hell.
That was right. We’d only gotten a glimpse of Verda’s hellscape.
I frowned and audibly gulped.
In that moment, a section of the blasted rubble shot up into the air…and a girl covered in soot popped out.
“A smashing success! I outdo myself every time! Another perfect experiment!” she boomed, looking up at the heavens and the cloudless sky, which stretched on forever.
One could say she looked like an oddball.
The girl appeared much younger than us. She seemed like a young child, really. A white lab coat was wrapped around her small and dainty body. It looked totally adorable. Her silky, flaxen hair was tied up in pigtails. On the outside, she was the picture-perfect image of a sweet young girl. However…
Ireena timidly approached and called out, “A-are you Master Verda’s daughter? Or his granddaughter?”
“Hmm?” The girl narrowed her large eyes, glancing at Ireena while maintaining her skyward pose. “Well, would you look at that. What a cute little guest. What brings you to my abode?”
“Ah, no, well… We have some business with Master Verda… Is he away at the moment?”
“Hmm, what a rare treat. We have guests. Come in. Welcome… Oh wait, I just blew up my house! Whoopsie!” With her arms still in the air, she stuck out her tongue, winked, and bonked herself on the head.
This time, Ginny asked a question. “U-um, are you sure this is all right? Your manor is a complete mess. Won’t Master Verda be upse…”
“Hmm? I basically eat this for breakfast. There’s nothing to be mad over! You know, this is exactly what gets me worked up! I’m exploding with genius! Literally! Just kidding! Geh-heh-heh!”
She held her stomach in laughter as if something was funny enough to warrant it. All the while still facing the sky. Ireena must have been getting tired of waiting for her.
“A-at any rate! If Master Verda is available, we would like you to call him for us!” Ireena snapped.
At this, the girl finally looked away from the sky and turned directly toward Ireena. Then, with a charming tilt of her head, she said, “If you want Verda, I’m right here.”
““…What?”” garbled Ireena and Ginny in unison.
Their expressions practically shouted What the hell is this kid talking about?
I get it, I thought. I honestly do. I feel your pain. But you know, this is reality.
Even then, Ireena didn’t seem to understand quite yet.
“Um, actually, I mean the three of us would like you to call Master Verda, sweetie,” she cooed, sweat dripping from her temples.
The girl gave a somewhat offended look and waved her arms about…
She shouted with all her might, “You aren’t listening to me! I. AM. VERDA! I am Verda! I am the beautiful magic prodigy and genius! Do you get it now?!”
Her sullen pout was endearing and suited the age of the loud girl…er, Verda.
Ireena, Ginny, and I could only give one response: absolute silence.
…The divine brain. The ultimate intellect. The greatest scholar in history. These were the hyperboles that came to most people’s minds when appraising Verda Al-Hazard. In reality, though she did possess a quick wit, it garnered many polite complaints…
“Ugh, geez! How rude! Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to judge people by their appearances?!”
Watching her throw a cute little temper tantrum, no one could ever have guessed that she was a full-fledged Heavenly King.
“Um, but, well…?”
“There’s just no way…”
Ireena and Ginny exchanged looks without even attempting to hide their confusion. That was most people’s reactions upon first meeting Verda. Even fellow ancients felt that way, so the effect was obviously greater on modern folk who had blindly accepted the idealistic image of her as truth.
Anyway, we’d get nowhere at this rate, so I stepped forward and called out to her—
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Ar—”
“Oh! What do we have here?! You smell like a rarity!” Cutting off my introduction, Verda turned to me, her eyes sparkling with the pure innocence of a child.
I knew what this meant.
As a matter of fact—
“Will you let me dissect you a little bit?!” Verda launched her attack on me like a child trying to collect rare bugs.
There was no incantation. Not even a magic circle.
She summoned a whole army of semitransparent knives around her—
Just as I realized this, they flew into a ferocious orbit.
Any ordinary person would have been taken off guard, causing them to respond too late and be sliced into shreds. However, as I had mentioned before, I knew her well.
I had been positive she’d get a strange sense when we met and try something. That was why my reaction was swift. Before she could release the knives, I cast a defensive spell. It was high-level, of course. It was called Giga Field.
Magic circles manifested at all four corners, with myself at the center. A filmy orb enveloped my entire body. A few moments later, the knives crashed into my defensive wall. The semiclear blades shattered like glass, dispersing into the air.
“Oooh! That was super-duper cool! To think anyone could defend against the Original technique of the lovely genius scholar!”
She was becoming even more interested in me. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing heavily through her nose…
“Okey-doke! In that case, maybe I’ll go for something wackier next!”
That was when a black hole appeared over Verda’s head. There was no incantation or magic circle this time, either. It was one of the scariest things about her. It was unclear whether she was using magic or not, and her moves were beyond analysis. Using the rune language I had created as a base for human magic, she devised an enigmatic power all her own. Her abilities in battle were unbelievable. On top of that, she was constantly making powerful sorcery weapons…
If she was to fight in battle, the combination of her unknown power with those weapons could make Verda strong enough to kill a god.
And that was why she was selected not as a prominent official in the Council of Seven, but as one of the leading military officers among the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Well, let’s get this experiment started!” The fiery gleam in her eyes edged on madness. She looked like a perverted mad scientist.
My army—the Demon Lord’s army—was full of her kind.
Good grief. I sighed. “I don’t mind participating…but it will cause trouble for my two companions. And this will earn you Lady Olivia’s displeasure. Does that still sound all right?”
“Whazzat? Why would Olivia be mad?”
“We came here with the intention of entering your service. With Lady Olivia’s letter of introduction.”
Verda answered, “Tch. Fine, be that way.” She gave a conceding, meek nod. The black hole floating above her head disappeared. “It’s rare for anyone to wanna work under me. Could it be? Are you big fans of me? Geh-heh-heh! I guess my time’s finally come!” she concluded all on her own.
At this point, it wasn’t necessary to add anything. As Verda laughed with uncontrollable glee, Ireena and Ginny spit out the same thing at the same time.
““What’s with this girl…?””
Yeah, I feel you so much that it hurts.
Well, after she regained her composure, Verda returned her smashed manor back to its original state. She practically turned back time. It was clearly something other than magic.
“…I guess this girl really must be Master Verda.”
“I-I’m unsure whether I still can’t believe it or simply don’t wish to…”
Ireena and Ginny were looking at each other and mumbling. Now that I thought about it, they’d been that way since we got here. There wasn’t the slightest hint of their usual arguing. There just was no time for it.
“All righty, come on in! I’m ready to hear all the details!”
“…I already said everything I need to say. Lady Olivia’s—”
“She sent you drifters over to me, right? But you know…” Verda turned her neck to look over her shoulder at us. Her large eyes held a mysteriousness that seemed to read through everything—
“…but that’s not all, right?”
In reality, her intelligence must have allowed her to see through the truth.
With a renewed sense of awe for my former subordinate, I obediently followed Verda into the manor with the others.
The interior was exceedingly simple. No strange, frivolous items were to be found anywhere. Walking farther in, we entered a room that seemed to be for receiving guests. The spacious room was set with multiple beds. Verda threw herself down on one of them.
“Go ahead and make yourselves comfy!”
Ireena and Ginny looked at me for guidance. They weren’t sure what to do.
In the modern era, it was expected to sit down across from one another on sofas and talk, but…there were no sofas in this country—or even this era. Instead, you used beds.
“Please lie down. This is part of ancient culture. You learned about this earlier in Lady Olivia’s history class, I assume?”
“Y-yeah, come to think of it, we did.”
“I always thought this was an odd custom. I wonder why this tradition took root?”
The two stretched out on the beds. I personally thought the custom was a result of the ancient people’s weird sense of generosity, but even I couldn’t say for sure. I didn’t particularly care, either.
Like the girls, I spread out on a bed and looked at Verda.
“As you have requested, I shall reveal our true identities,” I started.
Then, I told of the events that had brought us here without sparing any details: that we were from the future, that a self-proclaimed god sent us flying into this era, that we were searching for clues that would send us back to our own lives.
Anybody with even the slightest grip on reality wouldn’t have believed a word of such nonsense.
But the weirdo lounging on the bed before us was eating up our story. After all, she was a mad scientist without an atom of reason in her. Far from unbelieving, her eyes were shining.
“No way! You’re kidding?! Get outta town! Wooowieee!” Verda hooted, jumping around like some sort of hyperactive fish. “I’ve got myself not the Outer Ones or the Old Gods—but some other higher-dimensional being! To think this is how I’d get proof! Uh-oh, I’m getting pumped!”
Ireena and Ginny were put off by Verda’s violent bouncing. So was I, of course. Why was she my only choice…? I heaved a massive sigh.
Ireena spoke up. “Master Verda, the ‘Old Gods’… What exactly are they?”
Before I could answer, Ginny piped up with a triumphant expression.
“Old Gods is the common name for the mysterious beings who ruled a bygone world that goes even further back than ancient times. Lady Olivia said they were annihilated during the invasion of the Evil Gods… How about we pay better attention in class, Miss Ireena?”
Ireena puffed out her cheeks as Ginny smugly made a fool of her. I flashed them both a bittersweet smile at this charming scene.
Verda seemed to have finally chilled out. “Ahhh, I’m pooped,” she moaned before collapsing on her bed and rolling around.
“Well, anyways, I get what’s going on now. I’ll protect you guys if you want. I’ll even help you get back to your own time. But in exchange—”
I expected her to say Be a part of my experiments or Let me dissect you once in a while. You know, that sort of thing. I opened my mouth to beat her to the punch and say I wouldn’t allow it, but—
Just before I could, there was another explosion, distant and far from the manor, but then came loud, hurried footsteps. They were slowly growing closer… Naturally, Ireena, Ginny, and I immediately leaped off our beds and assumed a vigilant stance.
On the other hand, Verda was still lying on the bed, not a care in the world.
A moment later…
“GRAAAAGH!” someone growled in a cute voice unbefitting for those low tones.
The door was kicked down.
Then came the violent intruder…someone the three of us knew well.
“S-Sylphy…?!” Ireena stammered.
That was right. It was Sylphy Marheaven. Well, the Sylphy from this era.
Her clothes were standard ancient fashion. Her entire body was wrapped in a single layer of cloth that was highly revealing. Her characteristic red hair was a little shorter compared with her modern-day version, as was her height. Her chest was as small as always. No changes there.
Without taking a single glance at us, Sylphy zeroed in on Verda lying on the bed.
“I found you! There’s no escaping now, idiot!”
“Geh-heh-heh. Don’t you know, Sylphy? When you call someone an idiot, you become dumber than their opponent!”
“Wait. R-really?!”
“Pfft! As if! Wow, you’ll seriously believe anything people tell you! You’re, like, the stupidest person of all time! Geh-heh-heh!”
“Ghhh…!” snarked Sylphy, flushing red as Verda rolled around with laughter.
Ireena looked on at the two with a complicated expression. She must have been shocked to reunite with both Sylphy and Olivia; there was undeniably some heartache over someone who was basically her little sister ignoring her. I pondered over something I could say to ease Ireena’s mind.
In the midst of my contemplation…
“Agh, enough! I wanna beat you to a pulp! But I’ll hold off for now!” shouted Sylphy.
And her next sentence shook me to the core.
“Please get her good, Sis! Lydia!”
As soon as her name was called, I could hear the quiet tip-tap of footsteps echoing.
And then, a beautiful woman entered the room. And when I saw her…my heart started to pound.
“………!”
Everything around me faded to white. Ireena. Ginny. Verda. My awareness of all else vanished. In my sight, in my world, only one woman remained.
“Lydia…!”
How often had I wished to meet her again?
And how much agony had I suffered each time?
She was a sight seen only in my memories. But the woman always in my thoughts now stood before me.
And I couldn’t help but be rocked by this reality—
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