Grimoire x Reverse ~Reincarnated Demon Romance Tale~

A Wagon-less Route I [A Glimpse of the Imperator]

{General POV}

The road pa.s.sing through Tunto and halfway between the mountains was a rough road that went up and down. It was also known as “Wagon-less Route,” because this road where even horse-drawn carriages had trouble and made concerning noises, a larger wagon would not be able to travel.

There was also one point that would make anyone uneasy about traveling this wagon-less road. There were plenty of aggressive monsters, enough that attacks were a common complaint. The demon bears and the wolf-like monsters gathered in groups, and there were undead and other wild monsters that were hard to deal with.

On such a dangerous road halfway between Tunto and Merrick, there was someone sitting leisurely on a roadside tree, reading scrolls without a care in the world. The noisy sound of rustling paper could be heard as hands slowly unrolled scrolls. These scrolls then floated out in the air and each was read carefully by a certain girl.

Sitting on a thick branch of the tree, and illuminated by sunlight from a clear sky, the girl Veloce was quickly reading through doc.u.ments. She wore her favorite frilly dress, with her umbrella by her side, and in her left hand was her favorite mug filled with soup she had bought while posing as a townsperson.

The information written on the scroll was from a Demon who was good at gathering intelligence. The capital city Eden, Merrick, Tunto, Alicanta Castle. The current situation of these places located in the northern part of the Kingdom was described in detail.

“Sigh…How troublesome…”

It wasn’t hard to understand why her muttered words were a complaint.

There are three reasons why.

One is the addition of uninvited guests.

It seemed that the the object held by the former Demon General “Gurufeil of Power” had been acquired by someone from the “Temple of the G.o.d of Light” and that person was returning to the Professor country. However, there is no reason to keep that person alive, so she merely thought it convenient the prey was coming to her. The real problem was another unexpected visitor. The Magic Librarian of the Imperial Academy. She didn’t know for what reason he was visiting the Professor Country, but even just the one alone would cause some chaos. She hoped to isolate him with her own ability.

Speaking of unexpected visitors, she really had not expected that Oni to visit the Professor Country. There was a part of her that was excited to see what that party would do, and she found herself smirking at the thought, an unusual expression for her..

Then, there was the second problematic point.

It was the absence of “Chariot.”[1] A mischievous commander of

the Makai Underground Demon King’s Army, he formed a pair with her, “Imperator.” As soon as the strategy meeting was coming to a close, he had said “Sorry, but I don’t want the sunlight of the human world to damage my face.”

At this excuse Veloce couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Surely, since this is a situation where it is the best time to crush the Professor Country, isn’t it better to do everything in your power?

However, as long as the Demon King gave his permission, Veloce could not say anything. This was a gathering of demons who were originally selfish after all, and most often the stronger one become, the more selfish its behavior. If she complained about the behavior of “Chariot,” it was more likely that she would be chastised for spending so much time alone doing research..

There was no choice but to leave the decisions to her superiors in this case.

Then there was the third problem.

This was an extension off of the second point, but since “Chariot” was absent, there was no existence that would be able to take hold of the reins of the demons drunk on their own power. Although Veloce is “Imperator,” as the army moved, far away from “Chariot” more looked down on Veloce for being a human, and considered her an incompetent tyrant. Though the reason behind this may have been her own fault. Because it was troublesome, she had procrastinated this time’s disciplinary purge.

“Even though the remaining Four Heavenly Demon Lords are coming, those two will only heed what ‘Chariot’ says – I will not even be taken seriously… I think that Oni would probably not be misled by ‘Chariot’ though.” (Veloce)

Shuten of “Power.” She thought it sounded good.

While daydreaming like that, Veloce looked at the last scroll. There was no soup left in her mug, so she thrust it into her pouch.

It was at that time.

A demon came running from the direction of Merrick. It was a minotaur with the characteristic cow head. A man with greenish fur and the appearance of someone who relied on brute strength, a loincloth was wrapped around his waist, and he had a large axe over his shoulder, the cloth grip worn ragged.

“The report to Imperator: The strength of the capitol Eden has largely been grasped. Reckless[2] of ‘Balance’ is filled with motivation, so come immediately.” (Minotaur)

…And there it was. In the first place, this was not an att.i.tude that should be taken towards the Third in command of the Demon King’s Army.

Not even bowing lightly, and talking to her as if she were a child. There is not doubt that Veloce was still young, But of the warriors of

of the Demon King’s Army, she is closest to the top in strength. Even if he mistook her for someone else, there was no reason to be treated like this. But this is the usual reaction, because Veloce is a human being.

“So, how big is the military force we have?”

However, Veloce does not choose to argue here. It is too troublesome, and because the bias is an ingrained thing if she did argue it would just become a loop, even though the whole thing was ridiculous.

That was why she usually traveled solo, wandering and researching. Because of this, there were many demons who thought she was incompetent.

“Reckless knows what he’s doing. I am also ready to trample through those humans with abandon…or else.” (Minotaur)

“Or else, what?” (Veloce)

Eventually, the Minotaur’s cow-face looked up at Veloce who was sitting in the tree above him. Seeing the brief moment of l.u.s.t flash across his eyes, Veloce sighed again. Since she was wearing a gothic lolita dress of black and white, of course all he would see is a cute young maiden in front of him.

Even though she was his boss, he continued in his rudeness.

“Wearing such a dramatic skirt, can I take that as an invitation?” (Minotaur)

“…that’s right, but for filth like you, you have been invited as an opponent for battle.”

“…you, battle…?”

Naturally, the Minotaur was indignant at the provoking remark. However, Veloce was not concerned about losing, and she had no intention of showing mercy to such a Minotaur. Although he was not very bright, it should still have been obvious that she was on level of power different from most demons. But to him, all he could see through his bias was that the “Imperator” in front of him was merely a human child with no experience. This was an indication of his inability to measure his opponent. At that time, the Minotaur took yet another foolish step into oblivion.

“…Brat, I knew you were a fool who thought too highly of yourself! What is a little human girl doing with such a prideful tone!” (Minotaur)

“……” The thin blonde girl merely shook her head.

While yelling, the Minotaur leapt forward, gripping the axe over his shoulder. As for speed, it could be said to be average among demons. The blow that followed beat up every inch of the tree, but in the end it missed its target.

Instead.

“Wh..at…?” (Minotaur)

“Is that all there is~? Hmm~ It’s not very good quality.” (Veloce)

“Huh…?” (Minotaur)

He suddenly felt as if something was missing from his hands. A light voice could be heard floating in the air above the Minotaur, and once he looked up, he could see his reflection in his axe, being held by

held by a girl wearing a bored expression,

“What…!?!” (Minotaur)

There was no sign of her using magic.

Even so, how? When did she jump from the tree branch? He was completely stunned. He thought there was no way he could be defeated in simple melee combat. That was the specialty of the minotaur.

Veloce stepped on his forehead with her toes, and he felt a sudden pressure.  However, there was no way he would die from something that could not even be called a kick.

With anger towards being stepped on, the Minotaur began to roar –

“Yes, you died.”

“…Huh?”

—Ancient Spell, Fallen Cherub of Catastrophe—[3]

The next moment, he felt an intense heat bursting out from inside, and the Minotaur exploded.

Reacting to the exploding flesh, she leaped to a tree branch further back among the trees. Then sitting down, she yawned as if nothing had happened.

However, the rain of blood and pieces of meat falling before her eyes made it impossible to ignore. It was as if a ripe pomegranate was falling, broken, but there was no unease in her expression.

Veloce put her hand into her pouch and began reading a short book while she took a break…before suddenly looking towards Merrick. There wasn’t anything particularly unusual. It was just that there seemed to be an unantic.i.p.ated visitor. That silhouette was approaching at a steady pace, and didn’t seem to be in any hurry.

Once within sight of Veloce, the mouth curved in an eccentric smirk that was visible even from a distance.

Both gloved hands struck each other slowly.

*Clap, Clap, Clap…*

“Mm~ What a nice anger you have. But it is bad manners. Imperator, you are quite inelegant.”

“What is your business with me?” (Veloce)

“Greeting me by asking what my business with you is… I had presumed the Minotaur would fail spectacularly, so I specifically came to talk with you instead.”

“Is that so…” (Veloce)

It wore black formal clothes with a tailcoat. A huge mouth that was split in a wide smile could be seen underneath a silk top hat. The eyes black as ink as if they were drawn on a skin pure white like paper had an eerie amused gleam.

Braument of “Reason.”[4] As one of the Four Heavenly Demon Lords, he was an admirer of “Chariot.”

Veloce was not pleased that such one of the two most troublesome people had approached her.

“I’m afraid because there is no amus.e.m.e.nt in your eyes. But how spirited. As usual Imperator is quite the young woman.” (Braument)

“Is that so…Somehow, did you become stronger?” (Veloce)

Though she was frustrated by his wording, this guy was not exactly being rude. However, there was something else she was more concerned about. Although it has only been about a week, his Intimidation aura had risen drastically withoutrisen drastically without her noticing.

It was an incredibly short amount of time to have that much of a power increase.

“As expected, for a little girl Imperator has keen senses even when I was hiding it. However, it is impolite to talk down to someone who is about as strong as yourself.” (Braument)

“Hubris is also terrible. I’ll acknowledge that you got a little stronger~ But least of all wound…you could not even lay a finger on me.” (veloce)

“…Is that so” (Braument)

Then, shall we fight?

As if saying that, Braument slowly directed a gloved hand towards Veloce, who wore an unintimated, calm expression like a cool breeze. This was an attribute of his that she found unpleasant, but she was curious about how much stronger he had become.

“…There is the presence of people coming from the direction of Tunto. There are about four of them. Their strength is enough to add a bit of flavor to the fight.”

“Since you have boasted about becoming so much stronger, why don’t you show me by killing all of them at once? …Ah. If you are able to kill all four of them then I will consider having a match with you.” (Veloce)

“It seems like you know who they are. It will be an elegant ma.s.sacre. Wait here Imperator.” (Braument)

“I will go get some more soup if you take too long. I hope you can kill all of them before then.” (Veloce)

“…Are you serious.” (Braument)

“It’s my real intention, so hurry up ‘Reason’.” (Veloce)

Judging that any further argument would be futile, Braument headed onward to Tunto. While holding some regrets that she should have showed off a bit more of her power, and without any confidence in her authority, Veloce let out a sigh.

“This is really troublesome. Shuten, why won’t you become a Heavenly Demon Lord?”

She spoke softly, and a soft wind brushed past her face.

“I wonder if you are unsatisfied with your salary…”

Her true intentions leaked out, without being asked after, and was lost in the wind.

Translator Notes