chapter 18
18 – Villain from Back in Time – 2
Demon world is strong self-esteem.
The strong demons have everything, and the weak demons are constantly exploited by the strong. Even, even life.
If you listen like this, it sounds like a very ideal society that runs according to each person’s ability, but in fact, it’s not a particularly good system.
The strong are few and the weak are many. Most of the low-level demons residing in the Pandemonium cannot find a single mate in their lifetime.
Conversely, a high-ranking demon like my father monopolizes multiple females. The strong enjoy polygamy, but the weak demons may not be able to mate even once until they die.
Since I was born, I have been in a position of strength. It’s not that I’m strong, but the name of ‘Lucifer’, a duke in the north.
However, that’s only the case when looking at the entire demon realm. In the family of Lucifer, the Duke of the North, I belong to the weak.
This is because the competition for succession to the household headship is very fierce. The fact that the father, the head of the household, did not clearly determine the successor also played a role.
My brother and sister are three boys and one girl. At the top is Adela, the eldest daughter, and below her is the eldest brother, Leonard, and me.
As I said before, the demon world is a strong self-esteem. Absolutely, according to the principle, the title of head of household should be held by the strongest person.
The problem is that the strongest person is Adela, who is a woman. In the first place, Adela alone is over 1,000 years old, so how can I, my eldest brother, or Leonard surpass me?
Originally, the father, the absolute strong man, reigned as the head of the Northern Duke family, so there was no need for a successor. Because my father possessed magical powers so strong that he didn’t need an heir.
That’s why he didn’t have any more children after giving birth to his daughter, Adela.
However, the curse of senility came to the father who reigned for too long. I wonder if it’s old age to live close to 500 years after saying I’ll die soon, but my father urgently called the female demons and made three children. That’s how I was born, my eldest brother, Leonard, and I, who are 20, 9, and 9 years old, respectively.
And, I am the weakest of these three heirs.
When I was young, I thought that the reason was simply because I was innately incapable of mana manipulation.
Who would have known that the reason could be in the food prepared by my mother-in-law.
Dalgrak-.
Take a fork into the meat, and cut the meat with a knife to make it easier to eat.
When you put the piece of meat in your mouth, the flavor of the salty seasoning and the gravy of the meat harmonize and fill your mouth.
Who would have known that in this bliss of beauty, there would be a mysterious poison that blocks magical powers?
They say that the worst thing in the world is to play with food, and my aunt has been doing that for over ten years.
In order to establish his own son as the family head, he tried to eliminate a kind of competitor. The big brother and the little brother knew that fact and went along with it.
Because of that, in my previous life, I had to spend most of my childhood and youth disconnected from magic, so it wasn’t a bad attempt.
In the end, their plan fails miserably. When I went out to subdue monsters in Masurim, both the eldest and second brothers were killed. From then on, my restraints disappeared, and my talent for manipulating magic began to bloom as if it were in full bloom.
Looking back now, it was truly deplorable.
I couldn’t kill those who touched me with my own hands.
In this episode, I will never make such a mistake.
“It sucks… .”
“Oscar, you shouldn’t hiss while eating.”
As she plucked and chewed the turkey with all her heart and soul, Adela spoke softly. Again, a principledist is a principledist.
However, I do not hate Adela. I don’t really like things that are naive, but Adela has her own convictions. It is said that they do not commit naeronambul, which is the biggest flaw of principleists.
“Ah, sorry. My uncle’s cooking is so delicious that I don’t know what to do.”
“Is that enough?”
“Your mother’s cooking skills are the best in the demon realm. Especially when it comes to cooking turkey, become the best in the world.”
“I didn’t know you were so good at cooking turkey. Let’s eat somewhere.”
Adela held out her fork with a look of anticipation. It was the moment her sharp fork was about to touch the tender meat on my plate.
“for a moment! Adela!”
The mother-in-law jumped up and hurriedly grabbed Adela. Beads of dry sweat formed on her forehead.
Hey, this is pretty fun too. It’s very savory to see my aunt shedding a cold sweat.
“Eat mine.”
“no. How can I eat the food of a laughing adult… .”
“But you have to steal and eat the youngest to use it.”
Adela waved her hand and refused, but her aunt reluctantly took her portion of the turkey and handed it over to Adela.
It should be. It is a survival of the fittest demon world that says that the victim is bad no matter what, but you won’t be able to confide to Adela, who is a staunch principleist, that you poisoned your meal to keep the eight-year-old youngest child in check.
It can be said why she is dangerously involved in a family meal that everyone eats together, but from the point of view of her aunt, she has no choice but to do so.
A guy like me has been very vigilant since childhood, so I never carelessly took food that others gave me.
The only chance my mother-in-law could aim for was during a family meal where everyone had a meal together.
“Um… If you say so… .”
Adela reluctantly ate the meat her aunt handed to her.
Then he tilted his head. It’s delicious, but ‘Is this enough to make a fuss like that…’ ?’
“Kick-kick.”
“Why are you laughing so lightly?”
“The situation is really interesting.”
“… I got the wrong head too… .”
Adela has been having a strange misunderstanding since earlier. My head is perfectly fine, but why do you keep treating me like an invalid?
“Please do so, sister. Originally, the youngest is a bit vulgar, isn’t it?”
I’m about to nail it down that I’ve never hurt my head, but a sturdy demon sitting in the front seat cuts off and enters.
This is my older brother, Letavis.
Letavis, Leonard, and me. You can think of these three as three half-brothers.
“You talk a lot during meals. Be quiet and concentrate on your meal.”
“Yes, I will take it upon myself.”
“I’m sorry, aunt.”
When her aunt, who was sitting at the table of honor, spoke softly, Adela and Letavis apologized politely and began to eat the food off the table.
Dalgrak-.
From the outside, it was an ordinary dining table. We are a good, harmonious family.
However, don’t be fooled. That everyone except for Adela and Mother is black on the inside.
Maybe even now, I’m watching with bated breath to see if I’m swallowing properly.
They made a big mistake.
Being immersed in the bond of family, making enemies and not killing them?
Even if you cut off a limb, biting it with your teeth and tearing it off will solve it.
I’m going to reattach even those limbs after I’ve returned.
“Kick-kick.”
“Oscar.”
“Oh, the laughter is out of control. Kick kick.”
happy.
I am happy to imagine that I will be able to take revenge for the failure in my last life, in this life.
Already looking forward to that day. I kept imagining how my actions would affect the future, and that I would kill them as soon as possible after I got information from the Grand Duke of Nambu.
Oh, the habit of smiling doesn’t go away even when you’re young.
Still, I need to exercise some restraint now. Because the worries and concerns in Adela’s gaze at me are getting worse and worse.
Enemy-.
To keep the arsenic from leaking out, they gorge themselves on soups, sandwiches, rye bread, and so on. The sweet flavor, spicy aroma, and chewy texture fill the mouth.
I’ve been taking it until now, but now there’s nothing wrong with taking more poison.
Above all, it compares too much with the poor food they ate for 111 days in Tartarus.
okay! This is food!
How about mixing it with poison! I have a taste!
Even if I get my revenge on Letavis and Leonard, I will never kill my precious aunt. For me, I have to cook it for a long time until it stops breathing.
*****
“Lord, my great and noble godmother.”
“Saintess, are you praying again?”
“That you, who always showed me the way, put me in such a dark place.”
“It’s true, it’s not the Lord who imprisoned the saintess here, but the demon king? Why do you keep confusing the devil and the lord?”
“You must have given me an assignment to find my own way forward.”
“It seems to me that they just said to quietly cut their heads… Eh, what am I going to say to the saintess?”
The saintess was a person who stood in utopia.
A utopia pursued by those who seek and revere goodness. The person who seemed to have been created from that utopia was the saintess.
“Does Joker feel that Tartarus is dark?”
“Yeah, very much.”
“you’re right. Tartarus is an abyss filled with darkness.”
I mean, it was a deep thought. A human being called a saint.
“Because I saw it with my physical eyes. Since it is a space without a single light, it is natural that it is dark when viewed with the physical eye.”
“Still, it got a bit brighter after the saintess came.”
“However, if you close your eyes and look with your mind’s eye, it’s a little different. It is only when you close your eyes that the warmth, warmth, and love like a stone flower standing still in this desperate prison come into view.”
“hmm… I don’t understand what you just said.”
“I, this foolish servant of the Lord, realized that he looked at the world only after he had foolishly lost his bodily eyes.”
Not a word, not a single action, never spat out.
“Isn’t that just saying that you want to see the saintess as she pleases? You see what you want to see.”
“If you say so, I will be right.”
“Ah, what is it?”
“One, that is the path I am walking on. In the darkness where I can’t see an inch ahead, I’ve found my way, and I want to pioneer it.”
Even when dealing with the hero, even when dealing with the devil, even when dealing with the traitor Vincent, even when dealing with the West Duke Lilith, she always had the aftermath in mind.
It was different from simply saying that it was emergency. No matter what object the saintess saw, she saw through it in a straight line, and with her small head she was penetrating everything in the world.
On a topic that can’t be seen in front of you, that is.
“No matter what obstacles you face, never forget them.”
“what.”
“Joker finds his own path and moves forward. Because living life is a human being, not a state. Of course, Joker-sama is a demon.”
“Isn’t that blasphemy? Can I stop saying that? I mean, ignore God and live as you please.”
“The Lord gives us direction in many ways, but he never confirms that only that way is right. It is up to us to judge, act, and take responsibility.”
When we were together in Tartarus, the saintess often made noise about catching floating clouds.
At that time, I threw them away without much thought.
After becoming the current situation, the words of that time come to mind for some reason.
Right now, I am at a crossroads.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of futures are spread out before me. I, who know the information of the future, am not omnipotent, but I am omniscient, and I can succeed in this life that failed in my previous life.
There are many futures.
The ultimate utopia I aim for is chaos and madness, just like in my previous life.
In this life, I want to add a slightly different seasoning to it.
light.
Or, love.
I thought that even evil should have dignity.
Now, I’m going to mix love into it.
A loving evil, how novel is this? It can be a really interesting goal.
Some may dismiss it as a lunatic’s gag, but originally, a dream is to catch it grandly. Even if that makes little sense.
However, all of the foregoing are abstract concepts. The attitude of living life, the attitude of life can’t be the final goal. Even if you don’t have a plan, you must have a goal.
If so, what should I aim for?
Going back in time, back to 500 years before my death, what should I look forward to?
… … .
stupid question
Didn’t the saintess tell you? Join the reading club at Eden Academy in 500 years.
Didn’t you realize when you were on the guillotine? I would never be able to awaken the love the saintess showed me by myself.
500 years.
It is still unknown what to prepare for in between.
That goes by faster than you think. I know because I have lived once.
So, lady.
At most 500 years, I will wait patiently.
Let’s meet soon.
Looking forward to it already.
“Kick-kick.”
I got up from my seat and dusted off my pants. It is to slowly depart for the southern part of the Demon Realm.
First of all, I need to dig up information about this strange phenomenon I’ve been experiencing. Information is the most important and useful thing in the world.
Basrak-.
So, I went to the closet, took off the clothes I was wearing, and changed into a complete street outfit.
Took-.
As I took off my pants, I heard the sound of something hard hitting the floor.
I wanted something, so I put my hand into the pocket of my pants, and I felt a hard cuboid through my palm.
No, it was different from a cuboid.
“uh?”
I fiddled with it with a dazed noise. It was because the more I kneaded it, the clearer it was, the more I was shocked by its appearance.
Less-.
I grabbed it with trembling hands and pulled it out of my pocket. And I confirmed it with my own eyes.
It was a fairly familiar thing.
I saw it in Tartarus, so I couldn’t get used to it.
A stick in the shape of a cuboid, and another stick about half its length attached horizontally.
A long string of 12 cm in height, 7 cm in width, and beads connected to each other to form a shape.
Light but heavy weight, sharp edges, and pitch-black black that symbolizes the people under the shade.
The true identity of the object was a black cross that the saintess always carried in her bosom.