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Chapter 43 The Demon Lord Returns "This is as far as we can go with the ship. Walk on the sea surface from here on"
"Alright. Thank you"
"Be careful, Al. The relationship between humans and demons is truly exceedingly low now after all"
"Yeah, I"ll be plenty careful"
After greeting the two, I jumped off the ship to the sea surface.
I had the magician from the Order of Silver Wings apply water repelling black magic again, so I was able to land on the water surface this way.
I expect to arrive at the demon continent before the black magic breaks if I run from around here which is the outskirts of the continent.
――Worst case, I should be able to get there by swimming even if the black magic runs out.
"Now then, let"s go"
I pointed my back towards the ship and ran off.
I would be noticed even if I approach quickly, so there"s the likelihood that I"ll be found even if I run sluggishly instead.
If that"s the case, then aiming for stability with half the speed and raising the level of secrecy would be safer.
And, though I was cutting corners with running, I"m confident I"m faster than the adventurers around here.
Thus, I headed to the demon continent where Isvel and the others are waiting.
"It"s the return of our great demon lord! Show your respect!"
"""Yes sir!"""
Once the Demon lord Isvel put her feet on the demon continent, the demons meeting her simultaneously corrected their posture, drawing the palm of their hands to their right chest.
That was the demon"s basic salute.
"We have been waiting, Isvel"
"Gidara… forgive me for being absent"
"And thus you have returned. I will not complain any more than this. However, you have heard it from Phantom did you not?"
"Yes. If the situation recovers, then you will formally allow the demon lord succession, wasn"t it?"
"That is correct. We are currently standing in such a predicament that we have to offer such a negotiation to you"
With Gidara at Isvel"s back and Phantom at her side, they continued down the path created by the saluting demons.
And then before them was the figure of a man impolitely blocking their way.
"Well, if it isn"t milady Isvel, I welcome you back"
"Sadore…!"
Flowing blond hair and an ominously well ordered face.
And the man who showed a slight smile as if he was making a fool of everything, Sadore Barragan, stood in front of Isvel.
"Sadore! As much as you may have the status of a captain, blocking the path of the demon lord is unforgivable!"
"Calling a demon who had abandoned her demon lord duties a demon lord, I have problems with showing respect like I had until now you see. At the very least, it is impossible for me to recognise lady Isvel as the ruler so peacefully"
"Why you――!"
Just when Gidara was about to leap, Isvel restrained him with her hand.
"Cease it, Gidara. Never mind this person"
"My, how cold. We, as demons and as the demon lord army, ought to respect each other, don"t you think?"
Gidara"s anger reached the top towards Sadore for saying something he did not mean.
Isvel, while keeping an exceeding calmness, gently restrained Gidara who was truly trying to commence an attack now, and pointed her other hand to Sadore.
"My coming back is not for the sake of coming back to be the demon lord again"
"Hum. Then why did you intend to return?"
"I shall tell you――"
A large lump of ice was shot out of Isvel"s hand.
Sadore opened his eyes wide in surprise, and was made to take that without being able to dodge it.
"So you immediately inserted your arms in between. As I thought, him being a captain was not for show"
Isvel, while calmly a.n.a.lysing him, tried to advance in order to finish off Sadore.
However, the instant she took one step, a man and woman who were in the row of the demons, drew their swords and leaped at Isvel.
"I won"t let you"
The swords of the two demons stopped at a straight line, touching Isvel"s neck and body.
Phantom thrust himself in between and acted as a deterrent by placing their hands on their hearts.
If they were to rob Isvel of her life, then Phantom would rob them of theirs without a moment"s delay.
The opposite held true as well.
If Phantom were to try robbing the two of their lives, the two would kill Isvel even if they would become a sacrifice.
" …That"s enough, Pallette, Campus" (パレット;paretto) (キャンパス;kyanpasu) (help me give them actual names)
The collapsed Sadore, slowly raised his body.
The two demons who were called by him by name, lowered their swords and slowly separated from Isvel.
Due to the two having separated from Isvel, Phantom too dropped his stance, but their surroundings continued to be wrapped in a tense atmosphere.
"An abrupt offensive, how cruel of you. Well, it"s fine. There must be times where even lady Isvel would go mad. The tolerant me will forgive you for this"
"There"s no such need to have you forgive me however"
"Is that so. Then I will recognize this as a personal loan"
" … I don"t know what you are thinking, but I"m here to stop you from doing as you please. Don"t think you can do whatever you please anymore"
"I shall engrave that in my mind. Well then"
Sadore took the man called Pallette and the woman called Campus, and left this place.
Glaring at that, Isvel finally relaxed her shoulders when the figures of the three were no longer in sight.
"Baring full animosity aren"t they"
"To think they would actually show a strong att.i.tude in public… He must be going genuinely hostile"
"Gidara, are all the others in the second unit obeying Sadore?"
"Yes. The entire second unit is under Sadore"s control. Were we go on a head-on collision, war will be unavoidable"
" …Is that so. You"ve done good work, Gidara. You may rest for a while, I will deal with the present matters first"
"No, but――――I understand. I shall take some time off then"
Gidara tried to object, but he reluctantly withdrew from Isvel"s look, which did not let him consent or refuse.
Once Isvel sighed once, she began her natural advance.
Phantom accompanied behind her in attendance.
"Phantom, do you understand the organisation of the current demon lord elite guard units?"
"Yes, to some extent however~. First, the first unit are all present you see~. The captains of the third to fifth units have left the demon continent in order to search for you, milady. They should return in a few days"
"So our military force will be the soldiers from the first unit and third to fifth units, you all――and Gidara"
"Getting the elderly fired up I see~. And also the Hero isn"t it?"
"…"
Hearing those words, Isvel"s expression was slightly cloudy.
"I would like to tie up this situation before Adel is here as much as I can. I don"t… want to make him fight anymore"
"So you don"t want to get a human involved into a demon"s conflict after all?"
"That"s not it. Adel has genuinely… fought too much. No matter how excellent the person or how tough the person they are, their spirit would get worn down. Someday, his excessive accounts until now will absolutely be settled… And I"m afraid of that"
The man called Adel was a man who had always continued fighting, from the time of the previous generation demon lord until now.
His power as a Hero that he finally obtained by unreasonably cramming it into his young and inexperienced body.
He continued to handle power that was beyond human power, with a body that could not fully take control over it.
Although he mastered it now, the time for him to pay the compensation for that will come someday.
What Isvel was afraid of was that.
" …I have let Eleira wait at the port, so let"s get in contact with her. To make sure that she would take the Hero around with a small detour "
"I"m sorry for this, but I entrust it to you"
"No, not at all. I do consider Sadore an eyesore myself , you see~. I mean, he has the same character as me, talking in respectful language. Let"s make him leave through the strength of the demons, without relying on the Hero"
"So it wasn"t completely out of self-interest… well, you are trustworthy, so I do not mind however"
The two went towards the demon lord castle.
Their fight with Sadore would not be so far away.
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