Published: September 10, 2025
Satou here. A crisis tends to come when you least expect it. Like when you thought you finished a test easily, only to find one answer box left empty at the end—I panicked quite a bit.
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When I woke up in the morning, Arisa was nowhere to be found.
Lulu, who was supposed to be sleeping on the opposite side, was also missing.
“Ah! Master, you’re already awake?! I was planning to give you a wake-up kiss!”
Arisa appeared at the bedroom entrance, wearing an apron.
She had her usual cheerful smile.
“Smells good~?”
“It’s sweet scented.”
“Hotcakes!”
The younger ones on the bed sat up with a stretch.
“Hehe~ Today I made hotcakes with Lulu’s help!”
“Good job~?”
“Arisa’s amazing!”
“Hm, much respect.”
“Now, go wash your face. Breakfast is ready.”
Arisa theatrically urged everyone to get up and then left.
“Nana, it’s about time to get up.”
“Master, five more minutes.”
I shook Nana’s shoulder to wake her. Even though she said five more minutes, she pulled my hand to her chest.
She had been snuggling with Mia until a moment ago, so now that Mia had moved away, she must have been missing the warmth of human contact.
“Guilty.”
My moment of happiness was immediately stolen by an annoyed Mia.
Without mercy, Mia shook Nana awake and pulled her to the washroom.
Liza was probably training in the morning, as usual, since she wasn’t around.
I tidied up using purification magic and reported yesterday’s events to the relevant parties.
I had already used distant communication to tell the king and the Echigoya Trading Company about the “Demon King’s defeat” when we defeated the Demon King, but I hadn’t gone into detail.
I connected with the king, prime minister, and Echigoya Trading Company through distant communication.
My voice mode was Nameless. Since last time, I changed my tone to sound more arrogant like Kuro’s, so I have to be careful not to slip up.
“—So, the Demon King in the Master’s Chamber of the Yowalk Kingdom’s labyrinth self-destructed. There was no dungeon core in the labyrinth, but there were things called ‘Fake Core’ and ‘Doom Core.’”
“I understand the Fake Core, but what exactly is a Doom Core?”
The prime minister asked.
I answered while displaying documents confiscated from low-rank demons in a window within my menu.
“The Doom Core is a device that gathers curses and grudges to efficiently produce monsters.”
I relayed the information I found in the demon race materials.
“It seems the labyrinth’s Doom Core was collecting the grudges of the former royal family. It might be paranoia, but the previous royal capital’s poverty might have been due to collecting negative emotions from above ground.”
As for the Fake Core, it apparently supported the production of Gabo Fruits needed for breeding demi-goblins.
The demon materials said that traps inside the labyrinth were reinstalled autonomously by the demi-goblin trappers.
The demi-goblins and rats in that labyrinth were not all born there; they were brought in from outside and bred.
Though not in the demon materials, it seems the demi-ogres on the lowest floor were also brought in from outside.
Presumably, the Yowalk Kingdom’s labyrinth will gradually decline and eventually dry up.
After finishing the explanation, I shared today’s plan.
“—Today, I plan to investigate the Parion Divine Kingdom.”
“I will prepare documents for the investigation.”
“Thank you. I’ll stop by to pick them up later.”
Just as I was about to end the report and disconnect, the prime minister muttered something.
“Still, for a great demon king who threw the royal capital into chaos and created a new Demon King, that was a rather pathetic end. Surely, there couldn’t have been multiple Demon Kings hiding in the same country. That plot must have been planned by old high-rank demons.”
Those words pricked my heart like a thorn.
It was indeed hard to imagine two Demon Kings in one nation, but if you find a reincarnator who fits the conditions, forcibly give them a fitting title, and make them repeatedly use unique skills to transform into a Demon King—