The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 5 - Chapter 70

CHAPTER 70

The Ex-Demon Lord and the End of Life as He Knows It

A campaign only ends once you’ve returned home.

It was an old battle proverb that warned soldiers not to get too comfortable just because they had won. Our situation wasn’t exactly a campaign…but well, the results were very similar. I would remain focused and vigilant of my surroundings until we arrived back home.

Fortunately, we were able to use Verda’s small teleportation device and return to Laville without any further incident.

…And by some stroke of divine luck, it didn’t break down and send us flying into the future.

It was safe to say that the incident at Megatholium healed some psychological traumas that Ireena and I had carried with us all our lives. However, little else was resolved by this event.

I’ll jot down all the biggest developments here.

First, the continental peace treaty.

It was the reason behind our visit to Megatholium. However, it had been nothing more than Lizer’s little excuse to lure me into his trap. Thinking back on his plans, it seems unlikely that he was ever hoping to go through with it.

At any rate, thanks to the mess in Megatholium, the peace treaty is no more. The citizens are bummed, and it hurts my heart to know it’s my fault in a way.

Next, the situation in Laville.

As I mentioned earlier, we’d only gotten a chance to address some psychic damage dealt to Ireena and me. There was no way to solve the fact that classified information had reached the ears of the general public.

Weiss the Heroic Baron and his daughter, Ireena. The whole continent knows the damning information that they’re descendants of the Evil Gods and that the palace was involved in their cover-up. I guess the only good thing was that no one knows they’re the real royal family…but that puts Queen Rosa in a tough spot.

Many turned against her after the incident in Megatholium, and I knew it wasn’t long before a rebellion would break out.

Since I’m the underlying cause of it all, I considered taking responsibility in some way, but…Olivia beat me to it.

By acting as a national adviser and advocating for Rosa, Ireena, and Weiss, she was able to quell the public. As a result, it was decided that governmental affairs would be jointly managed by Olivia and the royal family.

Even though Olivia has been living a quiet life as a teacher at the Academy, she’s still a Legendary Apostle. The public has faith in her, and her actions have calmed the nation’s fervor.

Last, I’ll explain the state of affairs outside Laville and bring this journal entry to an end.

While we were frantically trying to calm our own uproar, a big problem had broken out across the rest of the continent. The holy nation of Megatholium called upon each nation to join them in an alliance against Laville. I hear Lizer is the leader and chairman, but…I doubt it’s really him. It must be a substitute that masked figure set in place.

If they form this alliance, our country will be in jeopardy. Once that happens, Megatholium will declare war on us, and it’ll only be a matter of time before they attack.

Many of the smaller nations have shown interest. They must have figured there was no way they could pass up a chance to tap into our land and resources.

As for the other Five Powers…

The Vyheim Empire was the first to react. Seeing as they’ve always detested the Evil Gods and demons, they must think our deeds are unforgivable.

For now, it looks like the neighboring Republic of Goldenia has expressed their sympathies. Our relationship with them is deteriorating. Even so, Buffer is an extremely cautious person. He’s been looking at the situation with a sharp eye and keeping his position flexible.

That was when Olivia championed the royals, Ireena, and her father in front of everyone. After they decided to govern Laville together, Zelos, the president of the Federal States of Saphiria, offered to form a treaty with us.

To be more accurate, he offered it to Olivia, not Laville. He’s a descendant of one of her relatives and a follower of the Black Wolf Order, which basically worships her.

Naturally, we accepted his proposal. Zelos came here to meet with Olivia, and…I can’t stop thinking about their exchange.

He had stared at Olivia, bowed before her, and started to weep. She responded by looking down on him with a complicated expression.

…I can’t help but feel this treaty is going to be a huge problem.

At any rate, now that Saphiria has shown they’re on our side, Goldenia is expressing pro-Laville sentiments. It must put Buffer in a tough position.

The Federal States and the Republic are in an alliance, which means they have an extremely close relationship. The two share imports and exports and prosper from this exchange. In terms of the balance of power, the Federal States of Saphiria has the upper hand. Goldenia considers one of the resources specially grown in Saphiria to be an indispensable import. On the other hand, although Saphiria has a high demand for many of Goldenia’s resources, the same can’t be said of other nations.

If the Republic of Goldenia joins the alliance against Laville, and the Federal States of Saphiria decides to break it off with them, I can’t imagine the losses they’ll suffer.

Naturally, opinion within Goldenia itself is sure to be divided. There must be some who thought they could join the alliance, destroy Laville and Saphiria, take the land for themselves, and flourish more than ever before. I’m sure of it.

Risk and return. Buffer must have weighed the scales and decided he would observe the situation as our supporter.

Then there’s the savage king of the Asylas Federation…but he’s being oddly quiet. He’s neither joining the alliance nor siding with Laville. I have no clue what he’s thinking. Maybe he’s just being a pain in the ass.

…Anyway, you might say that this situation is all because of Olivia. Now that she’s helping run Laville, Saphiria and Goldenia are on our side. We don’t know what’s going on with Asylas, so only Megatholium, the Vyheim Empire, and some small rabble nations have joined the alliance against us. They don’t have the power to fight us, so they’ll probably stay back for now. Still…I imagined they would eventually break their silence.

The die has been cast. Before we left for Megatholium, the continent had indeed been working toward coming together as one. But now, pro- and anti-Laville factions are glaring at one another, and the Asylas Federation is watching from a bird’s-eye view as it waits for a chance to strike.

…This continent we call home is entering an era of chaos.

Well, I will put down my pen for now.

On the fourteenth day in a month marking summer’s end.

Signed,

Ard Meteor

“…Phew.”

It was late into the night. I sighed with fatigue as the lamp nearby flickered dimly.

“Just finish up this last sentence, and…yeah, that should do it.”

I had picked up a habit of journaling recently. This was just another effect the holy nation had left on me.

I sat at the desk in my room, wrote out my thoughts with a quill pen…and finished that day’s entry.

“Nghh…” I let out a quiet groan and stretched my limbs. Then, I looked over at the large bed in the center of the room.

“Zzzz… Arrrd…”

“Zzzz… Zzzz… Heh. Hee-hee-hee… Zzzz…”

“ZZZZZZ… Cough! Hack…! That’s so you, Big Sis Lydie! The Demon Lord pitched that ball to you, and you cut it right in half…! ZZZZ!”

Three lovely ladies were asleep on the bed. I was happy they all seemed to be having pleasant dreams.

“…I’ve rarely been sleeping at the same time as them.”

That was all thanks to my new obsession. Journaling could be a fascinating activity. It felt great to have a sentence finally come to you after careful deliberation. Ginny usually wrote novels and short stories for fun, and I could see why she was so into it. I’d completely fallen for the charm of writing, becoming completely engrossed with honing my new craft.

As a result…I hadn’t been getting much sleep lately.

“Yawn… This is bad… When I get hooked on something, I end up going all out…”

I wanted to be careful not to make a total ass of myself like I did in my old life.

“Well, I guess I better hit the hay, too.”

I extinguished the lamp illuminating my desk, and the room was pitch-black. I walked across the large room to the bed and quietly went to lie down.

Ireena’s sleeping face was right next to me. Her dreams still seemed peaceful.

…The incident with Lizer had changed the world. You could say this created small shifts in our own lives, too. Unsurprisingly, there were people in the Academy who refused to welcome Ireena, and more than a few relationships had soured…but life was good.

I understood this was a gift from my big sister. I couldn’t ever thank Olivia enough.

However…even Olivia couldn’t keep it going forever. There was no doubt that, at some point, this would all fall apart.

When that happened…I would take responsibility. This was all because of me, so when that time came, there would be no hesitating.

I was saved during the fight with Lizer. Everyone had rescued me. So next time, it was my turn to protect them. And for that, I…would be willing to throw away my life as a typical nobody.

…The life of Ard Meteor was coming to an end.

I closed my eyes and let my consciousness drift away.