How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 5

by Yukiya Murasaki

  “I’ll come, t—”

  Diablo raised a hand, stopping Rem and the others from getting up. If everyone were gone, Laminitus would take it the wrong way.

  “...You’re right.” Rem nodded. “We have the matter with the chapel to consider. Making sure we’re in good standing with the governor and the officers is an important job, too.”

  “Oh, I see.” Lumachina nodded. She was, as it turned out, rather ignorant when it came to the subtleties of politics.

  “I’ll make sure to eat extra for your share, Diablo!” Shera said, her eyes not leaving the food once.

  “At least bring some over to my room, okay?”

  He left the platform.

  —Not being in the center of attention is such a relief!

  “Horn? Horn? Come on out.”

  Calling her like she was a cat in hiding wouldn’t make her come out.

  Diablo’s stroll led him down an alley. The main road was bustling with the festivities. Having gone from utter hopelessness to a great victory, the townspeople were overjoyed.

  —She’d probably steer clear of all that...

  If Horn was troubled, she’d look for someplace quiet.

  “Maybe the inn?”

  He returned to the inn Laminitus had prepared for them. He found the Shadow Knife there, alongside the enchanted cloak, accessories, and HP potions. Those were all things Diablo had given her. The sole exception was the Treasure Mini. And even her share of the money the governor had rewarded them for their service in the battle was left behind.

  “What is she thinking?”

  —Did she leave all her adventuring equipment behind and leave?

  No, it didn’t seem so. There would be no reason for her to remove the accessories. Even if she left with her old dagger, why leave the Shadow Knife behind?

  —Maybe she’s not planning on coming back...?

  Diablo clicked his tongue. If she wanted to leave, then he shouldn’t stop her...

  That’s what went through Diablo’s mind. People leaving him behind always left Diablo rattled and traumatized. His heart was too hurt, too fragile, to go after her.

  “But if there’s anything to say before we say goodbye, I should talk to her face-to-face...no matter how painful it is.”

  —I won’t repeat the same mistakes I made that time Shera was about to leave!

  Diablo rushed out of the inn. The sun had already set, and he could hear the sounds of cups clinking against each other in the plaza as people raised toasts in celebration.

  †

  “Ow!”

  Diablo heard what sounded like Horn’s voice. While it wasn’t as keen as Shera’s, his earing was far better than the common man’s. It came from an empty pot, where materials for war were gathered. Diablo peeked in from behind the wooden boxes.

  Horn!

  She’d fallen on her backside, looking up anxiously.

  It seemed a group of four Pantherians had picked a fight with her. If he recalled correctly, it was the gang Horn had been arguing with about her compensation from exploring a dungeon when Diablo and the group had first met her.

  One of them was particularly well-built and had a 《Red Sword》 sheathed on his waist.

  “Hey there, little Horn. Never knew you were a chick all along~”

  “Ugh...”

  “We were in the war, too, y’know. Didn’t run into very strong Fallen, though. I figured this war would last a while, but it ended so quickly... So we got all this pent-up energy and nowhere to cut loose. And we’re kinda short on friths, too. You follow?”

  “Is that right...”

  “But I was surprised, y’know? A chicken like you in the heroes’ party... That’s a joke for the ages, I tell ya. But hey, we’re lucky here, and I’m not gonna let that luck pass me by. You got a fat reward, didn’t ya?”

  “I did...but I left it for everyone else.”

  “Stop lyin’, you suck at it. C’mon, give us a little somethin’. Haven’t we always been lookin’ out for ya? Show us how grateful ya are. With cash.”

  “Even if we go on the same adventure...it’s totally different.”

  “Huuuh?”

  “Going on an adventure with them was fun! Even if all I did was get in everyone’s way, it was so much fun! All I do is mess everything up and can’t help at all, but... They’re all so...so amazing!”

  Horn’s eyes were wet with tears. The Pantherian tilted his head in confusion.

  “The hell’s gotten into ya? We’re short on time here, so leave your blabberin’ for later. There won’t be any seats left at the tavern at this rate.”

  “Who cares about your level being 80! You’re not even half of what Shera is!”

  “Well then.”

  The Pantherians’ attitudes swiftly turned darker. They went from being flippantly mocking to outright hostile. Even nobodies like them were still adventurers, so their animosity was still rather intimidating.

  “I won’t...” Horn said, drawing her cheap dagger from its scabbard, “I won’t let you scare me into doing what you want anymore!”

  “I think you’ve got somethin’ wrong, Hornie...”

  “What...?”

  “I’m willin’ to bet ya chickened out after seeing how much they’re praisin’ ya after ya did diddly squat, and ran away. You should be in the festivities now, shouldn’t you? Head of the table and all that.”

  “Uuu...”

  Horn faltered. That pigheaded strike against her confidence shattered what little courage she managed to muster.

  The Pantherians laughed loudly.

  “Do ya really belong there, though? A skulking little coward like you has no place with the big heroes! I can fill in for ya if ya want! Go on, go and introduce me to ‘em!”

  The Pantherians mocked her, saying anything that came to their minds.

  “Did you see that cute little one with the black hair? I think she’s a good fit for ya, man!” “Ya know what? I was thinkin’ the same thing!” “That Elf chick was amazin’, too! Never knew there were Elves with boobs that big...” “The only letdown is the High Priest. She’s a looker, but damn does she look like a borin’, stuffy broad...”

  Their leader shrugged. “That’s the thing, see? Wasn’t that party all the High Priest’s lackeys? Guess they piggybacked offa her, and that’s how they made their ‘big contribution.’”

  —It’s probably about time I showed myself...

  He felt like if he heard another word coming out of their mouths he’d lose it. But just when Diablo was about to move—

  Horn shouted at them.

  “Take that back!”

  “You take that back!” she cried out again, gripping her dagger. “Don’t you dare mock my...my...my companions! They’re all super awesome, you got that!? They all worked so hard to protect this town! They’re not narrow-minded hacks like you, that only ever got points by showing up at easy battles at the right time!”

  The Pantherian man nodded a few times. “Right. So, I guess we’ll remember those as your last words, then. ‘Cuz tomorrow mornin’, they’re gonna find you bobbin’ in a pond, ya dig?”

  The other three Pantherians giggled.

  “Oh boy, bro’s really out for your blood now.”

  “Ya just killed yourself, Hornie. Got yourself killed with a capital ‘K.’”

  “For now, cough up those coins. I might let ya off the hook if ya do.”

  Horn didn’t falter.

  “If I don’t fight after you trash-talked my companions...I’ll never be able to forgive myself!”

  “Ya dumb little shit! Who cares if ya can’t forgive yourself when I won’t forgive ya! Die, ya stupid twerp!”

  The Pantherian pulled out his Red Sword, cinders rising from it as it left its scabbard. He brandished the longsword over his head, and...

  Diablo repressed his desire to walk in on the fight. He wanted to believe in Horn.

  A slash ran through the air. Horn strafed horizontally, dodging it.

>   “Ah!”

  A dagger cut into the Pantherian’s hand.

  A direct hit.

  A bit of blood splattered to the ground. The Pantherian took a few steps back.

  “Shit, that hurts! Ya dumb runt! Who said you’re allowed to cut me like that!”

  —Good one!

  Diablo pumped his fist.

  “What’re ya just standin’ there for!?” the Pantherian shouted at his friends. “Pin this pipsqueak to the ground! I’ll finish her off, like we always do!”

  —Did they actually manage to level up with that setup?

  Even if Horn fought as valiantly as she could, she’d never win with these four to one odds stacked against her.

  Not to mention she was up against buff Pantherians, too. In terms of physical strength, they ranked highly among the races.

  They pressed down on Horn, pinning her to the ground. The Pantherian with the injured hand smiled vulgarly.

  “You did it now, Hornie. I’m gonna strip ya naked and shove this sword up your ass. Hey, boys, we should place bets on how deep it’ll go before she croaks.”

  Diablo walked in, stepping on the ground loudly as he did.

  “This is quite the stench. You scumbags smell like monsters to me.”

  The Pantherians turned their glares in Diablo’s direction. He stepped out from the cover of the wooden boxes, revealing himself.

  “I thought you’d know better than to walk the streets after nightfall, Horn. Don’t you know monsters can get the jump on you, even in town?”

  “B-Boss! Why are you...!?”

  The men shouted.

  “Aren’t ya from the hero party!?”

  “Tsk, whatever! Let’s just waste this guy and get his prize money! We can snag that cute, black-furred girl while we’re at it!”

  “Is how it goes. We can’t just let ya walk away after ya saw us.”

  Diablo approached the Pantherian with the Red Sword in his hand. He snickered vulgarly, his tongue dabbling from his mouth.

  “Look at the ‘big hero.’ You’re a Sorcerer, ain’t ya? Ya got no chance of winning once you’re this up close with a level 80 warrior.”

  He swung the sword, but Diablo caught it with a bare hand.

  “Compared to a level 160 Warrior-type Fallen, you’re far too slow and incredibly weak. It’s like I’m fighting a child. Pathetic.”

  The armor he had equipped now, the 《Gigantes Mail》, was focused on exponentially increasing his physical stats. He’d decided that, in this world, it would probably be a wise choice to wear it. Right before his eyes was a situation that proved that hypothesis.

  The Pantherian panicked when he noticed Diablo had caught his sword.

  “Wh-What? How!? Let go! Let go of it! Why won’t it cut you!?”

  —Because I have the 《Monarch’s Bangle》 equipped, and it cuts all damage below a certain threshold to zero. Catching a blade with my fingers won’t even cause any injury now.

  “What’s this? Having trouble against ‘the High Priest’s lackey’?”

  “Ugh! Stop mocking me... Don’t just stand there! Take him out!”

  The Pantherians holding Horn down rushed at Diablo, drawing their swords.

  “Oooh!” “We’ll kill ya!” “Die!”

  “Since you’re so keen on killing me, that means you’re prepared to be killed yourselves, right?”

  Diablo chanted his magic, and the vacant lot was instantaneously frozen in ice.

  †

  Diablo headed back to the inn carrying Horn, who was still too frightened to stand, on his back.

  “Don’t get used to it. I’m only doing this once.”

  “A-all right... I get it. So, um... Why were you there?”

  “It’s because I was looking for you. That much should be obvious.”

  “For me!? But the feast is going on right now...”

  —Like I could ever eat peacefully with everyone looking at me on the stage...

  Diablo didn’t know how Horn interpreted his silence, but tears began welling in her eyes.

  “I... I was completely useless...so I thought...I had no place on that stage...”

  “Useless? You? So what?”

  “Huh...?”

  “Did any of us ever tell you to leave?”

  “No...”

  “Do you want to leave then?”

  “O-Of course I don’t! But...you don’t need someone like me who just messes things up in your party...”

  “I care little for how others evaluate you. None of us told you to leave, and you don’t want to leave, either. So there’s no need for you to go anywhere. Am I mistaken?”

  Horn shivered, leaning against Diablo’s back. Transparent drops ran down her cheeks as she wept sorrowfully.

  “Y-You... You’re not mistaken. I... I want to stay...with you...with everyone!”

  Diablo opened the door to the inn.

  “In that case, you can stay with us for as long as you’d like. No one will ever send you away.”

  To be continued...

  Afterword

  Thank you very much for reading Volume 5 of How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord.

  I’m Yukiya Murasaki, the author of this work.

  This episode had Diablo conquering his own dungeon and gaining a huge power up. I had Rose, the Magimatic Maid, planned since the early drafts, and she finally got to appear. She’s a bit of the obsessive stalker-type, but she’s a good girl at heart so I hope you all like her.

  In the past, there was this opinion that “having stories take place underground doesn’t work in light novels,” and it seemed like putting a dungeon in would be impossible, but...having written this volume, I can’t help but appreciate the way the fantasy boom changed things. If you enjoyed Diablo’s dungeon crawling, nothing would make me happier.

  Next volume, the plan is we’ll have Diablo and his group storm the Royal Capital. It’ll be the climax of the Church arc, so please look forward to it.

  Now for some announcements: Volume 2 of the How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord manga, written by Naoto Fukuda, should be published the same time as this volume. It should be a different kind of fun from the original novel, so please do check it out.

  Special Thanks—

  To Tsurusaki Takahiro, thank you as always for the wonderful illustrations. I get the feeling you outdo yourself every single time. It’s the best!

  To Ooishi, the designer at Afterglow, thank you for your work on yet another volume!

  To my editor, Shouji, forgive me for being behind schedule again... I get the feeling you told me to hurry up with volume 5 because Golden Week was around the corner and I just told you, “Sure, don’t worry!” and only just barely made it in time. I’m sorry! And thank you for all your help!

  Thanks to all the staff at the Kodansha Light Novel Editing Department, and to the family and friends who supported me.

  And for all of you who have read this, I offer a thank you of the highest level possible.

  Thank you all very much!

  Yukiya Murasaki

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  Copyright

  How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 5

  by Yukiya Murasaki

  Translated by Garrison Denim

  Edited by Kris Swanson

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Yukiya Murasaki

  Illustrations by Takahiro Tsurusaki

  All rights reserved.

  First published in Japan in 2016 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.

  Publication rights for this English edition arranged through Kodansha
Ltd., Tokyo.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: October 2018