Demon Queen
“You accomplished a great number achievement, tossed the Divine Power Stone into the God’s Lake and became an S Rank Adventurer, right?”
“……Aah”
Levia raises her umbrella and walks over briskly.
In order to become an S Rank Adventurer, an amount of achievement that’s befitting of thatーーexperience points, so to speak, is required.
As for those experience points, it’s not being distinctly stated, ‘if you do this it’ll go up’.
The number of monsters subjugated.
The subjugated monsters’ strength.
The difficulty of the quests cleared.
If you fulfil some requirements, your Adventurer’s rank goes up.
And then, along with the rank, the occupation that becomes that Adventurer’s strength also becomes stronger.
“Did you know that Adventurers have a limit?”
“……Limit?”
“Humph. There are you and me, moreover, several other S Rank Adventures as well, but not anybody can become this. A Rank is the limit for most people”
“However, according to the General Registration Building’s regulations, it’s said that the final destination is the S Rank Adventurer, you know?”
“It is probably because the General Registration Building’s fellows do not know, that they say that. However, you have not heard the reason as for why that is as far as it goes, right?”
I’ve not heard of it.
But that’s, just because it doesn’t matter to me what the reason is.
Why I was given the power.
Why I get stronger if I hunt monsters.
I didn’t think to want to go as far as to know the reason just because I was given the power.
It’s in vain even if I think about such inconsequential matters. It’s the truth that that’s what I thought.
“It’s because I’m not interested in those things. However, there are also those among them who are questioning it in detail, isn’t there?”
“I suppose even the employees, even the Adventurers, there is not one who knows the exact answer. Butーーif there were to be somebody who knows the answer to that, it will probably only be the Divine Cult Body(Hephaestus) lot that safeguards God’s Lake”
“Hephaestus. Those people who serve God huh”
“Humph, that is right. The God that ended the wars that were taking place around the world and changed the brunt of this world, where humans hated each other and stole from each other, towards the monsters that cannot communicate through wordsーーthose who worship the God of Guidance, Hephaestus. And the ones who safeguards the God’s Lake that gives the strength to fight to the people, as they are called”
“But what are you saying is the matter with them? Those guys just do things behind the scenes, they hardly come out to the public, right?”
If the Adventurers are the receptionists, the Divine Cult Body is the stagehands.
Apart from managing the special door that opens when we go to God’s Lake and accompanying us, we have neither any particular acquaintanceship nor do we know what they’re doing.
I guess they’re offering prayers or something, to the God of Guidance, Hephaestus or something.
Nobody thinks anything more of it.
“But if you think about it conversely, we will become unable to go to God’s Lake if there is not their guidance”
“That’s true. However, even if we don’t go to God’s Lake, it’s not that our powers will be lost. A Divine Power Stone that’s bequeathed once will continue to shine. If there’s light, the power dwells, we were told that by them, you know?”
“ーーWell then, where is that power coming from? You obtain power if you toss the strange stone into the mysterious lake called, ‘God’s Lake’. No way such a convenient thing exists, right?”
The rain continues falling.
She, who holds a black umbrella up, continued grinning broadly.
“You, what are you trying to say?”
“It is simple, really. I want the God’s Lake that gives us power. Because I will be able to monopolize the power if I steal that God’s Lake”
“What stupid thing are you saying. You will make enemies of the entire world if you do such a thing, you know?”
“Precisely so. Hence, I am searching, for somebody strong to fulfil that objective for me. Naturally, I am referring to somebody who possessed the same strength”
Levia who laughs in a way that reeks of a lie.
“Those who become your comrade won’t necessarily have the same objective, isn’t it?”
“Naturally so. However, that is fine, our objectives are diverse after all”
“Our?”
“Those who want to become strong. Those who want to protect something precious. Those who want to take back something that disappeared. In order to fulfil those objectives, absolute strength is necessary. Hence, we form a pact and move together for the sake of our objectives”
“Is that a guild?”
“Humph”
An immediate answer.
It doesn’t seem like she’s lying.
However,
“You have joined《Sunset’s Bond (Sunset’s Bond)》even if it’s just in appearance. And yet, isn’t it strange for you to talk about guild?”
In the case that someone leaves the guild they’ve joined, they’re unable to join another guild for a month.
I don’t know since when has she joined the guild, but even if Levia leaves Sunset’s Bond now, she can’t return to her former guild immediately.
However, Levia wasn’t that worried about it.
“I would be unable to join another guild due to the regulations, if I had joined a typical guild like you. However, if I had joined a dark guild, which those who deviated from an Adventurer’s path gather, it is not impossible to join two guilds”
“Do you perhaps, belong to a dark guild?”
Levia grinned broadly.
It’s not that typical guilds and dark guilds are being split distinctly, it’s just that Adventurers, who are unable to join a typical guild, they form the dark guild.
And then, the contents of the quests are different as well.
Typical guilds wholly take on quests that subjugate monsters; quests that make it easier for people to live their lives.
On the contrary, dark guilds’ quests have killing people as their objectives; their objects of subjugation aren’t monsters but humans.
The『Goliath Fortress Invasion Battle’s Traitor』that I received this time around, is a grey-zone quest.
The target for this is also humans, but the objective that’s being listed clearly is,『Find the traitors and seize them』.
However, had it been『Find the traitors and punish them』, or, 『Find the traitors and kill them before the requester’s eyes』, the requester won’t be able to commission it at a typical Quest House. There’s no way, but to request it at a Quest House somewhere where you’re able to commission dark quests.
“I thought that those who belong to dark guilds are dangerous people, but they’re surprisingly normal huh”
“That is prejudice. We undertake dark quests because the rewards are bountiful. Well, there are also several of them though, who like to kill people”
“It’s comprised of mostly those who like to kill people, right?”
“Well, I shall leave it to your imagination. So, will you not come along with us?”
Levia who holds her hand out to the front.
I wonder why it came to this from this sequence of events.
I shake my head while being dumbfounded.
“Impossible. It’s meaningless to attach to you guys’ dark guild. It’s because I have not any discomfort with this lifestyle”
“Humph. No discomfort, huh. However, you do not intend to be an Adventurer forever, right?”
“What?”
“Undertake quests for people’s sake and make money from day to day. Adventurers are such things. But you know, you are not the same as those fellows. You are a chosen one”
“Is that, the leader’s calibre or whatever that you were talking about?”
“Indeed. Those with strength stand on top of people. It holds true for any era. In the era where humans were fighting against each other, in the era where humans stole monsters’ livesーーand then, in the upcoming future hereafter as well”
Levia is a young girl.
However, her speaking style, moreover, her mannerism, it is by no means young.
It’s something that wears the skin of a young girl, that’s the kind of feeling I get.
I’m curious, about what kind of course throughout her growth did she walk.
“Few received the S Rank’s title. Most of them aren’t Adventurers, but became those who lead kingdoms, or, those who unify Chivalric Orders. Are you fine with remaining as an Adventurer?”
“I have no interest to rule a kingdom”
“Even you, have those whom you want to protect, right? ーーAlways be together with, like the slaves?”
“……Even they, don’t particularly wish for me to become a king or whatnot”
“Is that so? A kingdom, it is a fortress to protect yourself, and those who are precious to you. It is not that you can protect them all the time, right?”
It’s true.
However,
“I have no intention to be together with you guys. You guys who kill people and steal their powers”
“What a stubborn fellow. In that caseーーit cannot be helped”
Levia, who’s always grinning, seemed as though she’s smiling just slightly ominously.
So I sensed the danger and jumped behind.
“Your strength is a threat, there are plenty of those who want that power. If you will not become our comrade, that power, I shall make use of it to my heart’s content so that you cannot obstruct our objectives”
In the instant that Levia brings her hand out in front, groups of monsters with occupations show up.
From the stairway that I came up, from the sky, monsters appear.
Ogres are a given, there are small sized monsters, there are bird species monsters, even groups of monsters that shouldn’t be inhabiting this Goliath Fortress appeared.
“As I thought, it’s you who’s controlling these fellows huh!”
“My occupation, it is one who leads monsters,『Witch (Hegariatte)』. My wish, my orders, everybody listens to all of it. It is somewhat similar to you, who commands a countless number of swords, do you not think?”
“It doesn’t matter if they’re similar or not. Infinite Sword Dance (Endless Sword)!”
I take the swords out from another dimension and thrust the swords at the monsters that encircle me from all directions.
Shrieks of each and every different monsters. However, Levia was looking and smirking at that.
“It really is an amazing power. However, those swords are not infinite, right?”
“It goes for the monsters that you are controlling as well, isn’t that right?”
“Now then, I wonder how it is”
I don’t know what’s making her laugh.
It’s just that, the monsters that Levia controls doesn’t diminish.
From the land, from the sky, as though she’s gathering the monsters around the world, the monsters are massing on this land.
Relic’s collapsed figure is no longer visible.
And then, Levia, who’s controlling it, does not try to move even a step from her spot.
I’m unable to summon Infinite Sword Dance inside something.
Hence, when I attack, it’s absolutely necessary to summon the swords in an empty space and thrust the swords.
And yet, wherever I summoned the swords, monsters that Levia control will undoubtedly show up and break the swords. Even if I can target Levia without my swords breaking, monsters that stick closely to her and become her sacrifice show up.
Levia who doesn’t move even a step. Her appearance is as though,
“Queen of the Demonic Monsters1”
Perhaps my words had reached, Levia blushes happily.
“It is not the Queen of the Demonic Monsters, it is Demon Queen. It is more congenial”
“Governing monsters……what is it that you want to do”
“It is not really particularly different from you. I just want to be together with those who care for me”
“……Are you saying that those guys to me, is to you, the monsters that become sacrifices for you?”
“They are not sacrifices. BesidesーーI was raised by monsters, so to me, more than humans, monsters are way gentler existences”
- In the original text, Egil refers to her as, ‘魔物(Mamono)の(no)王様(Ou-sama)’.
魔物(Mamono) means Monsters. の(no) is a particle. 王様(Ou-sama)’ means ruler.
So it’s supposed to be Queen of Monsters.
However, in the original text, she calls herself ‘Maou’, which is commonly known as ‘Demon King/Lord’.
So in order to incorporate the ‘Demon’ of the ‘Demon Queen’ title, I wrote it as Queen of Demonic Monsters.
