The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 3 - Chapter 46

CHAPTER 46

The Ex–Demon Lord and the Imminent Truth

The self-proclaimed god had given us two objectives.

Find the singularity to fix history.

And meet the Demon Lord.

We thought accomplishing these two things would allow us to go back to our own time, which was why we had made meeting the Demon Lord our main priority and decided to work under Verda to gather info on the singularity or whatever. As a result, we’d unexpectedly reunited with Lydia and found unexpected success…thus accomplishing our second goal.

Or so I’d thought.

“There’s another Demon Lord?” I was trying to piece together what my past self before me had just said.

…To me, the Demon Lord was my past self. In other words, Varvatos. I had no memory of anyone else besides me going by that nickname.

“…What’s wrong?” asked my past self simply.

“It’s nothing. I’m terribly sorry for blurting such nonsense,” I replied quickly, eager to end the conversation. My past self seemed to sense something, but that also must have been why he didn’t press further.

…It was better that I avoid having to explain this other, unknown Demon Lord as much as possible. From Varvatos’s reaction, everyone knew about this “Demon Lord.” If it had been news to him, questions about the Demon Lord’s identity would have inevitably arisen.

And even if this past self of mine did believe me…it was hard to tell how he’d react. In this era, I was a king first and foremost. I would do anything to protect my nation and my people.

Meaning…it had made me ruthless. How he’d react to someone from the future who came to change history…even I couldn’t say. He was liable to see me as a threat, put me under surveillance, or if I was really unlucky, try to assassinate me.

And so…she was the only one I’d ask for details.

And by that, I meant that genius and walking natural disaster.

After that, we finished our chat and returned to the Frontline City of Aether. Ireena and Ginny were silent the entire way. Like me, they were bewildered by the Demon Lord issue.

That was why we headed to Verda’s in hopes that she could clear things up. To Lydia and Sylphy, I offered a plausible excuse: “Lady Verda is our temporary master, and it is our duty to report on the happenings of the palace.” We had taken our leave.

And now, back to the present.

We were in a reception room of Verda’s combination manor-and-lab, explaining the situation as she lay on a bed.

“Ah, I knew it,” she said blankly.

“What do you mean?”

“Our Demon Lord and the one you call by the same name isn’t the same person. When you first said you wanted to meet the ‘Demon Lord,’ I was all confused, but now I understand.”

“…If you knew, why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I tried? But then, Sylphy came barging in, and I lost my chance. Well, I could have told you a number of times after that…but let’s be honest, I didn’t really care either way!” Verda rolled around on the bed. It ticked me off…but if I hit her every time she stressed me out, I’d never stop.

I cleared my throat and tried to press Verda for more info on the Demon Lord.

Here was what I managed to glean:

First, the Demon Lord suddenly appeared about three years prior from the area between the Outer Ones’ domain and our own. This figure took control of the land near the nation’s borders, without permission. That land was incredibly close to our current location, Aether.

Second, the Demon Lord had the power to produce monsters. Therefore, their military forces were entirely composed of beasts… And even if those troops were killed off, they could be quickly replenished.

Third, the Demon Lord’s goal was unclear—with enemies spanning as wide as the Outer Ones and demons…to us. Even all proposals to negotiate were denied. Furthermore, these actions shifted the historical timeline as I knew it… From this situation, the “singularity” mentioned by the self-proclaimed god seemed to be pointing toward this “Demon Lord.”

Fourth, this foe was keeping a close eye on us. Varvatos had attacked once but failed to fell the Demon Lord. Since then, this mysterious figure had been surveilling us without bringing about any unnecessary conflict.

The Demon Lord held the power of immortality, and we were trying to figure out an explanation for this secret. We were either going find the reason for his immortality…or… Hm. Well, I didn’t imagine we’d have to subjugate him as long as we stayed in our lane.

…Among these four points, the biggest factor for us was the fourth one.

“We’ve misunderstood this ‘god.’ Find the singularity to fix history. And meet the Demon Lord. We had understood these as separate goals, but…it seems they are one and the same,” I said.

That was why the “god” had said it that way… As for the condition we had to fulfill to return to our own time…

“We have to conquer the Demon Lord, who is shifting history, and return this world to the way it should be. That is our condition, but…”

“If Lord Varvatos couldn’t beat the Demon Lord, how can we…?” Ireena murmured dejectedly with knit eyebrows.

She was right.

If even Varvatos at his height couldn’t kill this foe, there was no way I could go out and do it on my own now. Meaning we’d need backup to topple this Demon Lord.

“…We’ll deal with them using the combined forces of the Vardia Empire, His Majesty, and the Four Heavenly Kings. Otherwise, defeating the Demon Lord will be impossible.”

As for the Demon Lord’s immortality, which Verda had mentioned, I had an idea. Even my past self had already hit upon something: He could eliminate the Demon Lord, if he was willing to shoulder the risks.

Yet, he was leaving the Demon Lord be, which could only mean one thing.

My past self didn’t see the Demon Lord as a threat. As always, he considered the elimination of the Outer Ones the top priority.

…It was a good call.

Unlike the Outer Ones, who reigned over us as our mortal enemies, the Demon Lord was no more than a minor threat. In that case, this figure wasn’t a target worth taking a risk to crush. It wasn’t just that: It’d only be natural for him to think the Demon Lord wasn’t even the one he should be suppressing.

If the Demon Lord possessed the power to continually spawn an army, it’d naturally become a war of attrition. Even supposing we did manage to win in the end…the demon army would likely launch an assault on our exhausted forces in an instant. If it came to that, would we have enough power to repel the enemy? No one could say.

The important thing was that there was a risk—even if it was the smallest one in the entire world. And it was undoubtedly a risk my past self had no interest in taking.

Whether past or present, I was more cautious than anyone and as cowardly as a fawn.

“…Motivating His Majesty to take action will not be easy.”

“You’ve got that right. Var’s got a stupidly strong sense of responsibility, after all. He cares about the lives of even our lowest soldiers. Well, he’s a nice guy, so I guess I can’t hate that about him… It’s gonna be real tough getting Var to do what you want, you know.”

We couldn’t help but fall silent at Verda’s words. A curtain fell over us for some time… Finally, it was Ginny who broke the silence.

“Why don’t we tell the Demon Lord…I mean…His Majesty about our true identities? If we can explain the danger of the Demon Lord that way…”

I stroked my chin as my thoughts churned in my mind.

The risk of having our identities coming to light would always be something we would have to consider. However…we already had no choice. As Ginny had said, aside from running straight out there, there wasn’t much else we could do. Nonetheless…

“Let’s go with Ginny’s suggestion. However…we have not yet gained enough of his trust to carry it out. His Majesty is a cautious person. There is no way he will lend an ear to those who do not have his full confidence.”

“So you mean…we should work even harder to get him to like us?”

“That’s correct. After we’ve distinguished ourselves, it will be necessary to persuade him…but please leave that part to me.”

He was my past self in every sense. I was the one who knew how to convince him. If we could rack up achievements, we might be able to win him over… That was what I hoped anyway.

“The issue is finding an opportunity for these great accomplishments. We have already dried up that well.”

Oh, it would be fantastic if some major enemy could conveniently come knocking, but— Just as I thought it impossible…

“HEY! ARE YOU HERE, ARD?!” boomed a violent voice.

The door came crashing down. Into the room came…Lydia, looking somewhat agitated. She glared at me.

“It’s war! We’re leaving tomorrow! Fight with me on the front lines!” she barked.

Her tone didn’t give me much room to argue. Taking this all in, I flashed her a smile.

“Understood. While I possess very little when it comes to ability, I’ll face the situation with resolve and conviction.” I gave my consent with zero hesitation. It was amazing how a chance to further our success had just fallen into our laps.

From the way Lydia was acting, the enemy was a well-known fighter. If I could get their head, I could bring it back as a convincing souvenir for my past self.

“So then…who might our opponent be?”

It didn’t matter who it was. I would definitely defeat them. But I thought I might as well know.

“Mevilas. The Curse King, Mevilas.”

At that name, my response was instinctive.

“You said ‘Mevilas’…?!”

The Curse King.

And one of the reasons why I’d killed Lydia.