The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 4 - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE

Commence the School Trip

Despite having been reborn well into the future, my daily routine was no less chaotic.

All that had reached a climax with an adventure we’d just settled, when a self-proclaimed “god” had blasted me, Ireena, and Ginny back in time…where each of our hearts were touched by unforgettable memories.

I honestly think the experience aged me a few years.

I could only hope our school trip would go off without a hitch.

Not that there was any reason to worry. Even though I lived an extraordinary life, it wasn’t like I was constantly accosted by trouble. I was just going to stretch out my legs and go with the flow.

I strolled through the main drag of the ancient capital, Kingsglaive, with my classmates. We were heading toward our first location, one of the nation’s elite research institutes.

The height of knowledge could be found at these facilities.

Citizens began their educational journeys in academies, where they first experienced being students. For a handful of years, they all engaged in their studies until graduation, when those in pursuit of higher education advanced to universities. Only students who met the prerequisite grades and conditions were offered a chance to join a research institute, where they could devote their lives to the pursuit of knowledge.

These facilities researched a variety of things…though the primary focus was on magic. Apparently, the one in Kingsglaive was the most prestigious research institute in the nation, known for publishing new discoveries every year.

The man who came to greet us was the head of the Kingsglaive Research Institute and universally known for his knowledge of magic. The elderly dwarf sported a bald dome and a very impressive mustache.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, I’m Dr. Norman. Genius of the millennium.”

He stood at the front of the courtyard entrance at the institute, sunlight gleaming off his head.

Self-proclaimed geniuses weren’t anything special…but Norman was an exception. He had managed to do the impossible, including recreating the Lost Skills that no one had been capable of using anymore by developing modern magical equations.

Norman guided us around the institute. The building was designed for the sole purpose of research, and not an inch of the edifice was left unused. Research apparatuses overflowed from the rooms, crowding the hallways.

“The diagram on this wall represents the first Lost Skill I recovered: magic extraction. This completely transformed our world. The rest is history.”

It was no exaggeration to say his research was revolutionary on a global scale. This discovery had led to the development of goods powered by magical ore, which have become indispensable to modern life.

“And this diagram is on electrothermal energy. This one is about energy conversion. And this—”

Norman boasted about his own accomplishments.

I noticed everyone looking at him with complete veneration.

Based on the standards of this generation, his feats were exceptional. Still, I kept finding myself wishing there was more.

I must have been an open book, because Norman suddenly glared at me in the middle of his humblebrag…I mean, his explanation.

“You… You’re Ard Meteor. Prodigy in the making. Already famous in the royal capital. You’re… I wish this wasn’t the case, but you’re the genius rumored to surpass me… Me!”

“What? Um… Erm. No, you must be mistaken…”

“You got that right! The greatest genius in history! A master mage! My Ard!” Ireena boasted.

“Our Ard,” Ginny clarified. “A higher existence that puts others to shame. Unfortunately, even Dr. Norman cannot contend with him. Uh-huh. Our Ard is a marvel to behold!”

Ireena and Ginny glared daggers at each other in between praises.

…Their attitude must have touched a nerve, because Norman’s temple started to twitch, making his dwarven features sterner.

“Oh-ho. That makes me less enlightened than an earthworm. Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Not at all! I—”

“Fine! I’ll show you true genius!”

“Ah, actually, I—”

“Follow me! I’ll regale you with some unreleased research! Let’s see if you can declare yourself greater then!”

Listen when people are talking. Norman wasn’t even giving me time for a proper reply.

“…It’s not on the schedule, but why not?” Olivia decided as our teacher and chaperone.

The students obediently trailed after Norman to check out his research in progress, snaking down the hallway and into a room of the facility—

“Wh-what is this?”

“I-I have no idea, but…it’s really gross…”

The students whispered among themselves. They were appraising their new surroundings with caution and disgust.

The room was lined with tubes, leading to a series of containers housing baby animals.

Air bubbles burbled out of their mouths in the semitransparent green solution in which they were immersed… At first glance, anyone would grimace at the sickening sight.

That said, it wasn’t anything special to me. But…I was a tad surprised.

“What do you have to say for yourself, Ard Meteor? These are—”

“Homunculi, right?” I finished his sentence, which must have annoyed him.

Norman clicked his tongue in displeasure and kicked air. It didn’t take long for him to flash me a triumphant look, though.

“Hmph. A child prodigy, huh. You’re not like those commoners. You’ve immediately grasped my research. Which is why you can’t stop yourself from trembling at my genius, I take it?”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

I wasn’t sucking up to him or anything. I really thought it deserved my praise.

To think a modern human would be researching the same field as me! I could hardly believe it.

“This is my life’s work! If I’m successful, we will stand head-to-head with the gods! We will be able to create life! Produce unlimited human capital! Live in immortality! Based on historical references, even the Demon Lord gave up on this challenge! It is this very problem that I am attempting to solve!” The elderly dwarf guffawed, stretching his arms out.

His little speech contained one error: I had not, in fact, given up on this experiment.

I had completed my research. From top to bottom. Until there was nothing left for me to study.

That was why I’d spiraled and destroyed my findings.

I had studied Homunculi in an effort to revive my lost companions. I had been under the impression that would free me from my loneliness.

But…even though the forms in which they were reborn were the same, their personalities couldn’t have been more different.

Obviously.

After all, their spirits were mismatched. Since the spirit holds all the information that makes up a person, I could only recreate specimens bearing an accidental resemblance to my companions.

With my hopes dashed, I’d abandoned my research to vent my unfocused rage.

…Well, the past was in the past. It was time to move on.

The important takeaway was that Dr. Norman was an undisputed genius.

According to a certain theory, anyone could create Homunculi through the mastery of all magical subjects. It was the natural end point and took me over a hundred years to get there. This man had achieved it in mere decades.

He really was something else—

“Bwa-ha-ha! Speechless? I don’t blame you! Even though your brain is second-rate, I know you can see me for the genius I am! It didn’t take me long to understand chaos theory, which—I might add—took the Great Demon Lord years to develop! I’ve honed my magic and—”

“Wait. Chaos theory?” I accidentally said out loud.

…You know, humans had a tendency to try and fix their mistakes. For whatever reason, they even went out of their way to right other people’s wrongs. It was likely attributable to a particular sin: pride.

That must have been what motivated me…

“Why bring up chaos theory?” I asked. “Homunculi are based on the Third Law of Unpredictability—”

It only took me half a beat to realize I’d said something I should have kept to myself.

“Wait. The Third Law of Unpredictability? That’s—Huh?”

Norman froze for a moment before looking down and clutching his head.

“No… Hold on. By applying chaos theory to the Law of the Underworld… Wait. Is the Third Law more efficient…? What? In that case…”

Something bad was about to go down. With that premonition, I hastily tried to make my escape.

“Aaaaard Meteooor! Are you implying the spirit created from chaos theory is incomplete?!”

“Um, no, I, uh—”

“You’re telling me you know the flaws of chaos theory, huh? That’s why you mentioned the Third Law! Tell me I’m wrong!”

“No, um—”

“You’re right! Using the Third Law… Wait. Back up. If we apply the Third Law, the limit… Huh? Is it different from my hypothesis…?”

…The elderly doctor was a genius. A rarity. If he had been born in ancient times, we would have heard about him in myths.

That was why he had managed to reach the same conclusion as me.

Basically, he knew his life’s work was more hackneyed than he’d thought.

“But that’s only if you apply the Third Law… Then I’ll just use another… No… There’s no other theory to apply… In that case… No way. I can’t believe it…” He continued to mumble. “Heh. Hee-hee-hee… Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…”

He looked up at the ceiling with wide eyes and laughed.

“Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh-heh! Bwa-ha-ha-ha! I see…! I guess this was the only thing my research could accomplish…! Decades of work—for nothing…! Ha! I wasted my youth in pursuit of an answer…! With nothing to gain…! Ha! Ha! Ha…!”

…Oh, Norman. I sympathize. I was in your shoes once.

Tough luck. It sucked to spend all your time on something, only to find out it was worthless. Trash.

“Ah! That’s it! I’ve got an idea! I’ll quit being a researcher and go back to being a child! I’ll relive my youth! All righty! First up: hunting for bugs…! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!” Norman started flapping his arms.

“Buzz! Buzz!” he hummed, beelining out of the room. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Life’s a big bubble!”

“D-Doctor! Please stop!”

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! …Hey! Who put this here?! I can’t hunt for bugs with this here! Hi-yah! Take this!”

“Th-that’s our experiment from last year!”

“Stop him! Somebody! Anybody! Stop the doctor!”

…What a hot mess.

“D-Damn, Ard. I knew you were amazing, but this is something else…!”

“I can’t believe he owned the Dr. Norman!”

“He’s got both brains and bewitchery…! Ard Meteor…!”

The students turned toward me with respect.

“Heh-heh! I’ve been telling you all along. Ard is the best of the best! There’s no one ahead of him and no one catching up behind him!”

“Talent by Ard, for Ard, and because of Ard!” Ginny chirped after Ireena.

They flashed big smiles, saying the incomprehensible.

“…Do you think these animals are edible with a little heat?” Sylphy asked, drooling.

“I knew it.” The sister figure in my life, Olivia, gripped my shoulder, beaming down at me. “This brings back some good old memories! I remember when that brat would break down scholars’ souls and add them to his growing pile.”

Even though her smile could have belonged to a goddess…I knew something was lurking behind it, and it wasn’t pretty.

“Ha. Ha-ha…”

I offered a dry laugh as Norman rampaged down the hallway.

…Since we were sidetracked by these surprises, we had fallen behind schedule. By this hour, we were slated to visit the next location, but it would have been too reckless to leave Norman in his sorry state.

I cast a spell to restore his psyche, and he instantly relaxed… As soon as he stopped going berserk, though, he glared at me through his tears.

“D-damn you…! Don’t you dare forget: You’re nothing compared to my masterrr!” Norman howled, the skin on his bald head flushing red. He jabbed his finger at me. “Perfect timing! The revered scholar is paying us a visit! Any minute now! That will mark your end!”

My master. The revered scholar.

…If his master was from this generation, no one could surprise me.

But for some strange reason, I had a bad feeling in my gut. A sixth sense, if you will. An alarm was blaring in my head, warning me to get out of there.

“Unfortunately, we cannot afford to fall further behind schedule. I hate to inconvenience my classmates, so if you’ll excuse me—”

I tried to wrap things up and make my exit as quickly as possible…

“Yoo-hoo! God is gracing this small wooorld!”

…but my fate must have been set in stone, because the master in question was before me, barging through the door and making her entrance.

Though she had the form of a delightful girl, I could see a craftiness in her eyes that was beyond her years.

Norman greeted her with a superficial smile. “Oh, master! It’s been so long!”

“Gweh-heh-heh! Bald as ever, Nor… Erm, what’s your name again?”

“Norman! It shouldn’t take you this long to remember it!”

She gripped her stomach in laughter. No clue what she found so funny. Her golden locks swayed, and Norman sycophantically rushed over to her.

“Well, Ard Meteor?! Are you sorry now?! This is my master. The smartest person in history! God among scholars! The Divine Prodigy! The one who surpasses any genius! Her name is—”

“Verda! Al! Hazard! Or call me God for short!  ” Verda chanted, looking at me upside down in a bridge pose as if she were ready to do a backflip. For whatever reason.

She flashed me a pearly smile.

Verda Al-Hazard.

A genius. A natural disaster. Invader of the divine sphere. The ultimate brainiac… There was no avoiding the girl with many nicknames.

After all, she used to be my subordinate.

Verda Al-Hazard. In ancient times, she was one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

“Oh me, oh my. What do we have over here? …Well, if it isn’t Livvy! It’s been forever! How are you?”

“…Good,” Olivia answered, looking like she’d aged a few years. Her beast ears were pressed flat to her head in irritation, but Verda smiled at her before gazing at us.

Ireena and Ginny jolted in place. After all, Verda had given them a hard time during our trip to the past.

It was natural for them to be on guard against the same thing happening again.

“And look what the cat dragged in! Sylphy! A little reunion today, huh?”

“Jeez. I can’t believe I’m running into you…,” Sylphy groaned.

It didn’t seem like there was any connection between this world and the ancient one that we’d been sent back to recently. They must have been parallel timelines, meaning this marked our first meeting with Verda. Consequently, there was no reason for her to go out of her way to ruffle our feathers…or so I thought.

“Hmmmm?” Verda zeroed in on my direction, cocking her head to the side.

“…Can I help you?” I asked in a relaxed stance, but I was a ball of nerves on the inside.

This was bad. With Verda, it wouldn’t be strange if she figured out my identity. If that happened, my hard-won villager persona would have been for nothing…!

Verda stared as my hands grew slick with sweat.

Would she notice?

“Quite the genius! What do they call you?” she asked as a smile spread across her young face.

…I haven’t been busted yet. Huh.

I let out a huge sigh of relief inside. “Ard Meteor. To be in the presence of greatness, Lady Verda, has been my greatest fortune.”

I bowed to her…and she didn’t press me any further.

Am I right to assume she didn’t uncover my identity? I glanced at her face, sweating.

On the other hand, Norman ran up to her in tears. “Master! That brat has an ego! With my very ears, I heard him proclaim himself a god among scholars! Show this rude kid who’s the true prodigy!”

“Oh? I can’t just drop that.” Verda stared at me hard and smirked. “Okay! I accept your challenge!”

“No, please wait, Lady Verda. I—”

“But not right now! I need a few days!”

“Wait! I didn’t—”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh! Enjoy the school trip to your heart’s content! The final day will spell your end! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Like master, like pupil. Neither listened to a damn thing coming out of my mouth.

“Hey! Did you hear that? Ard got in a fight with Lady Verda.”

“He’s really in for it this time.”

“Nuh-uh! Ard’s gonna show her a thing or two!”

“Yeah! No one can stand against him!”

Nobody around me could have cared less about my feelings.

“Heh-heh! This school trip is going to have us wired from adrenaline!” Ireena predicted.

“Taking down a Heavenly King… Whoops, I’m drooling just imagining it,” Ginny muttered.

“Do your best, Ard! I can’t wait to see Verda get wound up! It’s been a while,” Sylphy cheered.

I managed a dry laugh as they gazed at me expectantly.

—At this point in time, none of us knew Verda wouldn’t be the only one who spelled trouble for me, I started to narrate in my head, pretending to foreshadow the events to come.

I prayed in my heart my thoughts wouldn’t become reality.