This chapter is short, but DEM DRAMZ!
Chapter 5
What happened to him in the few dozen days I hadn’t seen him?
Lord Conrart Weller had the same yellow and white military uniform on from before and was sitting in a seat on s.h.i.+maron’s side with his long legs crossed. Right behind the uncle of the king of s.h.i.+maron, His Highness Belal II.
According to my bad math skills, it’s only been a month or so since we were separated. Despite that, he looks a little older than before. Although, it’s so subtle that I can’t really express it in years.
“Representatives of Caloria, this is His Highness Belal II of the kingdom of Big s.h.i.+maron. Be respectful and stand in waiting,” the guide/commander told us in a great haste.
Even if you didn’t nervously tell us that we understand our position.
Right now I am only the mandated overseer of a territory of s.h.i.+maron, Norman Gilbit in a silver mask. The entire continent was subjugated by both kingdoms. In a matter of speaking, the old man in front of me is my master’s uncle and is in actuality, my boss.
That being said, I don’t want to kneel or prostrate myself before him or lick his boots. Kissing the old man’s hand would be even worse. Especially Conrad… He might not be the man I know anymore, but… I didn’t want him to see me act submissively to the man he chose as his new master.
However, if I reveal that I’m not Norman here, not just Flynn but everyone in Caloria will suffer.
I compromise and lightly bow my head. A simple greeting won’t hurt my Made in j.a.pan pride. Trying to make myself sound like a young feudal lord, I offer up salutations to start.
It’s a phrase taken straight from a New Year’s card.
“… Your Highness Belal II… uh, I am glad to see that you are in good health.”
I’ve never even recited the athlete’s oath of fair play for the summer tournament so I couldn’t think of what to say to royalty. Your Highness the Second, have you been well lately? And more importantly, what’s with ‘the Second?’ Are you a member of the Diet or an actor or something?
When I turn to Muraken who I can count on in a pinch, he was suppressing a yawn of boredom.
Amazing.
“Brave warriors representing the territory of s.h.i.+maron, Caloria, first I offer my blessings to you for your victory in ‘Use your knowledge, speed, and skill to win! The World’s Best Fighter Tournament’ otherwise known as the World’s Best.” Even if he is raging on the inside over the humiliation of his country being defeated, he could not lose his rationality on the surface. “Your daring courage and strategic fighting even struck the hearts of us s.h.i.+maron citizens.”
His beard moved while he talked. I focused on that pleasant up and down motion and desperately avoided focusing my gaze on the person waiting behind him.
“Thank you. All of my team members cooperated together and moved towards victory as one.”
I wonder if this sort of baseball tournament talk is okay.
The old man made a slight gesture with his hand and a pet.i.te man that seemed to be an attendant came forward.
“A toast to bless the Caloria representatives.”
Before I could say that I don’t drink alcohol because I’m a sportsman, Wolfram, Josak, and I were each handed their own cup. It was a stone liqueur gla.s.s with a stem. The amount inside was less than my mother uses for cooking so I gave up.
“That is the ceremonial water known as the Holy Water of Gillesby.”
Luckily, it wasn’t alcohol.
“It is the water from the well that the last king of the boastful Gillesby family, one of the three royal families of old, is said to have despaired and thrown himself into.”
“Ugh.”
Wait, wait, wait. He’s not saying he threw himself in. He’s saying that he was said to have thrown himself in. Those few words are very important.
“By the way, his corpse never surfaced.”
“Uegh.”
That’s probably because there was never a corpse to begin with. It would be childish to refuse to partic.i.p.ate in a ceremony because I was swayed by a disgusting legend. I can’t spoil the host’s mood. Prepare yourself, Yuuri s.h.i.+buya. From a worldwide point of view, even the water in the ocean is full of corpses. Like plankton.
“Th-then I’ll help myself…”
When I resigned myself and raised the gla.s.s to my mouth, Josak grabbed my arm.
“It’s something like a lucky charm, You-… Lord Norman. If you don’t mind…”
“Huh?”
He immediately swaps my cup out. It’s the one that Josak took a sip from. I reflexively start to ask why, but I instantly remember the reason. He quickly tasted it for poison and handed it to me after he verified its safety.
“But that’s…”
… doubting the important Highness who handed out the drinks. It won’t be seen as a rude act?
“We want to offer the most auspicious cup to our leader. Will Your Highness Belal II sympathize with that sentiment?”
“Of course. Now, Lord Norman Gilbit, please drain the cup.”
I was wondering just what was so auspicious about it when I noticed that there was a red object inside the water.
“Um, this… did someone’s pet goldfish end up in here…?”
It’s flapping its tail energetically.
“No, it is a lucky charm. Feel free to drink it in one gulp.”
“It’s a goldfis.h.!.+”
By some chance did Josak switch cups with me because he didn’t want to drink a leaping fish? I’m about to doubt even my precious subordinate. Okay, prepare yourself even more than you did before, Yuuri s.h.i.+buya. This is a test, Demon King. This is a test, Norman Gilbit.
“… ng… uck… blegh.”
It’s hoooorible, I’m alrea-… reflexes are terrible. I downed it all in one go so it wouldn’t hit my teeth so it didn’t actually feel like I drank Mr. Goldfish. However, it definitely wasn’t a ceremony I would ever want to partic.i.p.ate in again.
“Amazing, s.h.i.+buya. The flame of a tiny little life is going out inside of you.”
“Stoooop. I want to cry I feel so bad.”
“Now then, Caloria representative, Lord Norman Gilbit.” His Old Highness started speaking again so I once again focused on his beard. I absolutely want to look at the person behind His Highness, but I desperately restrain myself from doing so. “That was truly an impressive victory. Especially that getaway at the last curve with the ‘seep.’ It made me want to reopen the races for the first time in a while.”
Oh, is His Highness Belal II from the same village as the Sheep Master Miss Mary?
“And then the decisive battle in the third round, your fighting prowess was riveting. I could not hear your voice from the high up place I was seated or through the gla.s.s, but what was that? Was it magic that could control the weather simply by chanting a curse?”
“That was the rumored super magic. It will destroy even a new building in Odaiba.”
However, the days where people would think it was a curse are long gone. Now they would just think it was the Northern Kantou dialect. (1)
“However, how would Lord Norman, the mandated overseer of Caloria, be able to use magic? I have heard that magic power is gained from the quality of a soul, not through religious training and discipline.” I feel like Belal’s right eye that had clouded with age is glaring at me quite sharply. “It is written in the regulations that one out of the three representatives must be from the concerned region so if the other two happened to be demons it would not be considered a violation of the rules. However, I had not heard that you were born as a demon.”
“Norman Gilbit’s… in other words, my Caloria was the origin of the Wincotts. Your Highness has some knowledge of this, I a.s.sume. You have requested the Wincott poison from none other than my own wife, after all.”
His Highness’s eyes narrowed. He must have thought that the agreement would be kept confidential even when it came to her spouse.
“As you know, the Wincott family crossed the ocean and became a distinguished family of demons in a new land. However, why do people say that there aren’t any left on the continent who shared their blood!? It seems that my soul and body were abundantly endowed with the qualities of the Wincotts. Humans like that are born on the rare occasion.”
I’m full of lies. As many lies as there are G.o.ds.
“I see. So then that is why you could use something like magic in a place controlled by the particles that obey exorcism like this. What a truly enviable story. You did not retreat from having Adalbert von Grantz as your opponent and instead showed admirable courage. That man Adalbert just showed up and defeated all of the soldiers chosen to be representatives through the severe, kingdom-wide selection process. Cornering him into being unable to continue fighting was quite impressive. Thanks to that,” His Highness Belal II glanced at Lord Weller. “Lord Weller from the famous fencing family lost his opportunity to take part. Which reminds me, I could not hear from above, but I wonder what you talked about with Conrart before the match. Just what exactly did you agree upon? Or, Lord Norman, had you been acquainted with our countryman Conrart Weller somewhere previously?” (2)
“Previously, huh…”
Even though I had decided that I absolutely would not look at him, my gaze ends up meeting Lord Weller’s. He has his arms crossed as he leans back in his chair and he is twisting his foot around irregularly in his military boots drawing senseless designs in the air.
He asked something ridiculous like if me and Conrad were acquaintances. I’ll tell you, you mean old man.
Conrad and I are…
On my left side, Wolfram put a hand to his forehead and looked down. The color of his face hasn’t changed much, but his ears are bright red. Probably in anger or sadness.
“… Not personally,” Norman Gilbit with his mask shook his head slowly while grinding his teeth. “I simply felt that I had seen him in another country’s military. I had thought that maybe he was a soldier somewhere else before he came here.”
“Is that so?”
Lord Weller let an emotionless smile appear on his face and gave a short answer to the power of Big s.h.i.+maron. “I have been a soldier for a long time.”
“When I saw him,” I was clenching my fists so hard my nails were painfully digging into my palms. The skin on my neck that I had gotten healed was pulled tight with the pulsing of blood in my veins. “When I saw him, he was calling someone besides Belal IV ‘Your Majesty.’”
“Yes.”
I stared dumbfounded at his long fingers threaded together on his lap. When I’m crouched behind home base, my job is to read the minds of the other players. I’m an amateur, not even a half decent catcher, so I can’t read into all of my friends’ and enemies’ minds, but I should have at least been able to see a little bit into the person closest to me.
I can’t reach Conrad anymore.
“I ended up calling him that. My previous master always told me not to refer to him as His Majesty.”
To think that wish would be granted like this.
“As for you… I intend to strive to not call you that as well.”
Murata is looking at me. He’s probably worried that I’ll lose my cool and explode. Wolfram took a half a step towards me and laid a hand on my left arm. It was as if his body heat that had suddenly risen with his emotions was flowing right into me.
They don’t have to worry. I’m not going to lose control of myself while I’m Norman Gilbit.
“Well then, let us move on to the main event.”
Belal II had no interest in The Great Demon Kingdom except as a hypothetical enemy so he had no concern about our circ.u.mstances and simply changed the subject. He probably got tired of praising countries other than his own.
After being brought here right after the match, Team Caloria was near dizziness with fatigue and hunger. Nevertheless, I might be better off than the other two. Even though it was small, I had eaten a fish.
I might vomit. Or rather, cry.
“I am sure you have heard of the blessing bestowed upon the victors. Big s.h.i.+maron, in our graciousness, praise good effort and will grant the wish of the victor. However, you are Caloria’s representatives. Take care to make a request relating to your affiliated region. Have you already reached a decision?”
Most of the representatives likely decided what they were going to wish for before they entered. The only ones who can say that partic.i.p.ating means something are three outsiders who do not belong to a territory of s.h.i.+maron. Wolfram and Josak are bona fide third parties, but in my case it is a bit complicated.
I am the rookie Demon King of The Great Demon Kingdom, and at times I am the feudal lord of Caloria. I have a duty to the currently dead Norman Gilbit and at the same time I cannot choose something that would have negative consequences for the demons.
Before this tournament, we had decided in advance. Caloria’s power and visibility would rise and one threat to The Great Demon Kingdom would disappear from this world.
It was the plan to take back the worst and ultimate weapon in all of history that Big s.h.i.+maron was in possession of, the ‘End of the Wind.’
I took in a deep breath and said the long awaited words while holding down my dizziness. I wanted to get it over with quickly. If I don’t do that and start thinking things through carefully, I’ll end up saying something stupid like asking for Lord Weller to be released.
As long as he wasn’t there under the compulsion of someone else, my wish would never be fulfilled.
“We the representatives of Caloria wish for the End of-”
“By the way, the master I served before,” Lord Weller interrupts as if to forcefully block my wish. “Perhaps by praying to heaven, but he had been blessed with the opportunity to get his hands on a powerful weapon.”
“Oh? How powerful was it?”
Who is he talking about? What episode was this?
Belal took the bait immediately. Light returns to his cloudy right eye and his abundant beard wriggled around. So even though he had gotten his hands on the ‘End of the Wind’ he was thinking of gathering even stronger weapons?
The desire of humans is endless; there is no way to cure their unease. Even if I try thinking up a philosophical sentence like that, it doesn’t change that I myself am a big lump of desire.
His Old Highness with the grey hair and beard was completely infatuated with Lord Weller’s story.
“If utilized, it had enough power to annihilate an entire city. However, only one person was able to use it and if someone else held it, it was simply a ghastly piece of metal.”
“It is a weapon that has little use. I doubt that it would be of any use even if he has it. Although, there would be no problem if they also had control of the ‘key’ to manipulate it like us.”
“I see.”
“What, Yu-… Norman Gilbit?” Wolfram corrects himself by using the full name in an unnatural way. The problem is that he’s too beautiful to play the part of a stray demon mercenary hired by a human.
“I know why Conrad is here.”
“We can’t discard the possibility that he’s been brainwashed.”
“That’s not it. He’s the ‘key’ so he is someone that s.h.i.+maron needs.”
Belal II is curious about the weapon that has enough power to destroy an entire city. Left out of that conversation, we continue to talk in low voices to each other.
“The reason that Big s.h.i.+maron bought the Wincott poison from Flynn and attacked us and turned Günter into Okiku is because they needed the key. Isn’t that right? If they have his left arm and the Wincott poison that lets them control people at will, they can use the box whenever they need to.”
“Which means that Conrart is under the control of the poison right now? No, I can’t agree with that conclusion. In the first place, the only ones who can control a victim of the Wincott poison are members of the von Wincott family. My older brother investigated all of them, but he apparently knows where all of the members with strong blood are. Not a single one of them was on this continent. And then there are the victims of the poison… those afflicted aren’t in such good health. I’ve seen Snow Günter with my own eyes. I know how dreadful Snow and Okiku are.”
“Ah, I see.”
I remember the corpse-like state that Lord von Christ was in and a chill runs down my spine. I’ve never seen Snow Günter, but if Wolfram is saying this much it must have been particularly terrifying. If I can, I’d like to avoid seeing that for the rest of my life.
“He is here of his own volition. At the very least, that’s what it looks like to me,” Murata says mysteriously as he pushes up his gla.s.ses with his index finger. Of course, he’s not wearing his gla.s.ses. It’s a habit his fingers just remember from years of experience. “So as long as Lord Weller himself doesn’t agree, no matter what anyone says he probably won’t come back.”
But why did you have to get the key and box together in s.h.i.+maron, the enemy of The Great Demon Kingdom? Didn’t you make a vow? When you were the same age as me, you vowed to live the rest of your life as a demon.
“… Either way, I’m getting the box back. If I do then… maybe Conrad…”
“Don’t misunderstand.”
“Eh?”
Wolfram, likely having feelings the most similar to mine out of everyone else here, was staring me straight in the face. He slowly unclenches his fists, spreads his fingers and folds his arms with deliberate movements. Standing with his back slightly arched, his left foot is pointing toward Lord Weller. I’m kind of relentless with this, but is his back alright?
As for me, I was wiping the sweat off of my palms onto my thighs and ended up just staring at my feet. Underneath my borrowed mask, I was doing nothing but sighing pitifully.
“I said, don’t misunderstand.”
“What? I’m not misunderstanding…”
“Did you enter into the World’s Best to get Conrart back?”
“That’s…”
"Of course it doesn’t concern me, but what did you promise? Didn’t you promise something to that brazen woman and those dirty people at the harbor and those unsanitary children who ran with snot running out of their noses while seeing you off?”
“… I did.”
I promised that I would fight against Big s.h.i.+maron with honor as the representative of Caloria.
“Is it okay for the spoils of that being Conrart who disappeared?”
“But Wolf…”
“I feel the same.”
Of course he feels the same. His beloved brother is serving the person in power of an enemy country. It’s probably painful that he’s not trying to come back. If he could, as a little brother he would probably like to use the power of the victor to drag him back home even by force.
“But that’s not our right. It’s the right of the man whose mask you’re wearing.”
No, to say it more precisely, it is the right of those who live in Caloria and love it.
“If you’re saying that getting the box is for Conrart, then that’s a misunderstanding on your part. Don’t forget whose victory this is. Don’t forget who you are.”
That’s right. If I decided to play the part of someone else, I have to play it perfectly until the curtain comes down. The laurels that Norman Gilbit has gained belong to the people of Caloria. If I want honor, it is for his country. If I want the box, it has to be for the people.
So I can proudly return to those who saw me off at the harbor that day.
“… However, the king I pledged my loyalty to did not think to acquire that weapon.”
The conversation that had gotten conspicuously louder reached my ears as I lifted my head. With his fingers resting on his long, crossed legs, Conrad continued as if telling as story to a child.
“He gave the important part that could be considered a detonator to his subordinate and disposed of it.”
“What a foolish decision! That king and his country deserve to be cursed!”
Unbeknownst to me, wrinkles had appeared between my eyebrows.
Well excuse me. I am that foolish king. And besides, won’t you be cursed? It’s always been said that if you curse someone you should dig two graves. May all the goods in the treasure room in the country of this old His Highness turn into cursed objects.
“It can’t be determined right away whether it was a wise decision or not… However, that was a decision very much like the young king. I still believe that it was the best decision at the time.”
The one who arbitrarily decided to not return with the demon sword Morgif in working condition was me.
Conrad hadn’t made a single objection.
“…Hmph…”
What do you mean ‘I still believe?’ You went across the ocean all by yourself. And now you’re talking calmly with a man you might have fought with in the past.
I lift my heavy arm and rub Norman Gilbit’s mask with my fingers. I can’t see how it looks while I have it on, so I tried feeling with my fingers and nails and palms just how his face was.
“… Hey, listen.”
With touch rather than sight, I verified the face of the late feudal lord of Caloria. And then I raised my voice to the best of my ability and got Belal II’s attention back.
“Listen!”
“Ah, have you decided on your prize?”
“Yes, I decided. But it’s not a thing. It’s not something you can hold in your hand.”
“Eh?” Josak asked, caught off guard. He had thought all along that I would request the box.
Wolfram stared straight at his brother and I glared at His Majesty the Beard as intently as I could.
Murata lets out an annoyed but slightly amused sigh and mutters that he thought it would turn out like this.
“I, Norman Gilbit, wish for the independence of Caloria and eternal nonaggression against it.”
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(1) This is kind of a joke~ People from Yuuri’s area tend to have a hard time understanding other dialects and this dialect in particular is a bit strange. So, if someone in the city heard someone chanting a curse, they’d probably just a.s.sume it was a dialect they didn’t understand.
(2) Belal said Conrart Weller in the human name order. Usually everyone says his name as Lord Weller Conrart. It’s times like these I kind of regret not reversing demon names because stuff like this gets missed ^-^