As the Demon Lord schemed away, a man came running through the village.
“M-Miss Luna... What a wonderful surprise. And who may these... !? H-He’s the man on the wanted poster...!”
“Yep. The Demon Lord. He’s working with me now.”
Luna declared, puffing her flat chest. ‘Working with’ was the best choice of words they came up with. She had told the Demon Lord that his face was already known through the Holy City and its surroundings via wanted posters, so they had to justify his presence here. Not that there was any bounty on him, though. The posters simply warned of a suspicious man claiming to be the Demon Lord.
(I gotta turn these rumors around...)
The Demon Lord renewed his resolve. Being treated like a criminal or a wanted man, and in a fantasy world of all places, wasn’t his idea of a fun time. Ideally, he wanted to be a tycoon, running hot springs resorts and hospitals. If he kept to doing mostly good deeds, his social standing would improve along with his finances. This was his master plan.
(Seems easier said than done, now that I think about it. But I do have the ability to build those hospitals and resorts.)
One step at a time, he planned to earn the people’s trust. Eventually, he might even become someone adored by the public. A Field Hospital was a Base that hastened HP recovery of those inside it, and a Hot Springs Resort hastened Stamina recovery. Each of them were sure to be a one-of-a-kind establishment in this world.
In order to procure the land to build those establishments upon, the Demon Lord started negotiating with the Church’s representative at the village. If possible, he planned to kick anyone from the Church out of this village. Luna aside, he couldn’t imagine the Holy Church being of any help to him. Even in modern-day, any idea with a projectable profit would have been swarmed with vultures asking for a cut.
“You’re the one the Church sent? Moving forward, Luna and I will take care of this village. Go back to your cathedral, or wherever, and tell them the news.”
He came out swinging hard, from the highest horse he could present himself on.
“Wha...? I-I’ll have to speak with those above me, to...”
“Above, huh...? That doesn’t sound right, does it?”
The Demon Lord, with an audacious grin, piled on:
“Luna, the rightful lady of the land, is willing to rule the village herself. Are you saying that you or some faceless higher-up of the Church is the rightful ruler of this village?”
With the same breath, he palmed the man’s head, pushing it down into his neck.
“N-No! I wouldn’t... This village belongs to Miss Luna...”
“Hm. It seems you’ve answered the question. Now act on your word.”
The man scrambled to his house and jumped on his horse before running out of... rather, running away from the village. Secretly, the Demon Lord was offended in thinking that his face was as terrifying as the man’s reaction indicated. But, he decided to focus on the bright side of getting rid of him. Without his interference, the Demon Lord expected to put his plan in motion as he pleased. Luna, who had been watching the ordeal, mumbled with exasperation.
“You’re weirdly quick on your feet when it comes to these things.”
“Don’t sweat it. Leave it to me and this village will see its golden age.”
“Um... Will I get more allowance?”
“Of course. I guarantee it.”
The Demon Lord made sure to wave that carrot in front of Luna’s face. He assumed that, if a homeless nobody like him were to take on these projects, he would face various interference and sabotages. Luna’s cooperation was crucial. He counted on the government not easily eliminating a village run by their face.
“Now, I would like to speak with the people... or the Bunnies, of this village.”
“Sure... But don’t you dare build some weird stuff around here.”
As a response, the Demon Lord just gave Luna a quick spank on her butt. A sharp clap reverberated through the air.
“Hwa! Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What do you think you’re doing!?”
“Hm. Nothing special. Just a celebratory gesture, really.”
“You pervert...! You’ve wanted to touch my shapely butt this whole time, haven’t you!? Admit it! Say it!”
“In your dr- Ow! Let go of my hair, you idiot!”
The village of Rabbi... where Bunnies lived in impoverished harmony. With the Demon Lord’s arrival, however, the destiny of the village had forever changed.
Merciless Invasion
—The village of Rabbi, Holylight
The Bunnies were out in the fields, harvesting carrots. They couldn’t harvest too many from the rugged land, but there were almost no other farmers on the continent that could grow carrots, giving the Bunnies a monopoly on them. Their race-specific skills helped them cultivate and grow this particular crop. Although, with the lack of rain during the past few years, even the Bunnies were unable to cultivate a successful yield.
“Kyon, how are the carrots over there?”
“No good... They’re too thin for us to put a good price on them. How about yours, Momo?”
“It’s not looking too hot. We’ll have to buy some more Water Spell Stones.”
“They’re getting more expensive, lately... The Earth Spell Stones, too.”
Holding the undergrown carrots in their hands, the two Bunnies sighed in dismay. Carrots were an expensive commodity in this country. Only Bunnies could grow them, after all. That being said, if they were forced to use more Spell Stones to grow them, they wouldn’t have much of a profit margin. With each passing year, it became more difficult for the Bunnies to make a decent living, worsening their poverty. Recently, many of the villagers had migrated east to Animania, but these two had too strong of convictions to abandon their village, as they somehow managed to squeak by. All the while, they couldn’t help but sense the incoming collapse of their beloved village. That was when the Demon Lord and Holy Maiden arrived.
“So, they really are just humans with rabbit ears.”
“I hear that Bunnies are very popular up north for how cute they are.”
“There are furries in any world, it seems like.”
“Furries...? You know, you use some weird words sometimes.”
At this moment, the impending collapse of the village seemed to run away in terror of the Demon Lord.
† † †
“I see. The problem is that you don’t have any water...”
After listening to what the Bunnies had to say, the Demon Lord looked over the field. Of course, he had no knowledge of farming, but producing water certainly wasn’t a problem for him. The ubiquitous healing item in the Game was Bottle of Water, but players could use a Bucket to obtain a large amount of water from a well. Game logic had prevented the players from using any of it without first bottling it, though. Even from a dry well, the item would simply produce the end-result of a full bucket, the Demon Lord figured. He expected no issues using it in this world.
“Wow. Look at these poor people, destitute without any help from their lady of the land. Some Holy Maiden you are.” The Demon Lord said this with plenty of sarcasm, partially in retaliation for Luna pulling on his hair earlier.
“Wh-What was I supposed to do...? They always told me not to get myself involved in worldly things like this...!”
This confirmed the Demon Lord’s presumption, that Luna was just a figurehead. They would use her as a weapon, but keep her out of anything that didn’t involve the battlefield. Revered, secluded, and kept far away from any financial matters. This wasn’t an unusual way to treat royalty in any world, though.
“Ah, Kyon, was it? Is there a well in this village?”
“Th-There is... Hoppity.”
The Demon Lord winced at the horribly clichéd catchphrase.
“...I have to ask. What’s with the contrived catchphrase?”
“H-Humans are usually disappointed if we don’t use them... Hoppity.”
“My apologies
, but please just talk to me normally.”
If he could have, the Demon Lord would have demanded to figure out who in their right mind came up with such a thing.
“And Momo, was it? Same goes for you.”
“Got it... Hippity.”
“You don’t ‘got it,’ though, do you!?”
(Dammit...! What is it with these guys!?)
The Demon Lord couldn’t help but interject, breaking his character. What’s worse, the two Bunnies seemed completely earnest. This wasn’t a joke to them.
“The well is this way... Hoppity.”
“Agh, jeez. Just take me there, already.”
Controlling the urge to yank on their pointed ears, the Demon Lord followed them through the village. The well they had showed him to was, indeed, completely dried up. They couldn’t even produce enough water to drink without using Spell Stones, let alone enough to farm.
(Now, a Bucket... is a Novice item, huh? 5 SP.)
Most likely, the cost was set low because the water produced by it was useless in the game without being bottled. The Demon Lord didn’t mind this at all... he had 265 SP remaining. Even after accounting for what it would take to build the Hospital and Hot Springs Resort, there was plenty of SP left over.
(I could craft some food and drink items... but those would be short-lived, of course.)
There were various food items implemented in the game. Cookies, Rice Cakes, and White Bread were some of the more common varieties found in the arena. He had, for some reason, also put in a bit too much effort when it came to canned fruits. There were canned cherries, peaches, tangerines, pineapples, and more. In addition, there were items like the nutritious Rice-and-Herb Porridge, visually appealing Dumplings in various forms, Ice Cream Bars, and even fictional things like Mammoth Meat and the cartoonish Lump of Meat. Even when it came to drinks, the game was stocked with Sports Drinks, Beer, Brandy, Sake, Barley Liquor, Rice Liquor, and all sorts of Energy Drinks. What’s more, there was produce like Sweet Potatoes, Russet Potatoes, Onions, and Garlic, as well as fresh fruit like Melons, Strawberries, Tangerines, Apples, Kiwis, Lychees, and Mangoes. He couldn’t possibly earn enough SP to continue producing these to feed the village, but producing a sample of some would allow the Bunnies to yield crops from their seeds. There were 1901 different items that were scattered around the Arena, in addition to the items that could only be found using skills. All in all, there were easily over 2000 items in the game.
“The word impossible really isn’t in the Empire’s dictiona-... Hm?”
The Demon Lord pulled his usual line, but realized that everyone was looking at him funny. It seemed that he was lost in thought for a while.
(Whoops. I kind of lose myself when I start remembering things about the Game.)
As if to change the subject, the Demon Lord started crafting an item.
“Let’s begin. Craft Novice Item... Bucket.”
Using the admin feature, he produced the Bucket from the pitch-black void. It looked to be built much better than he had expected.
“Wh-Where do you... get these things, anyway!? What is that!?” Luna asked.
“A fragment of my brilliance... I suppose.”
The Demon Lord dodged the question with this line. He couldn’t really explain it, after all. His best guess was that when the Still Angel summoned the Demon Lord, his powers from the game came with him. But when it came to the logistics of it all, he was clueless. He almost wanted to tell Luna to ask the very angel she worshipped.
“Now, let’s give this thing a try.”
“U-Um... That well has been dry for years... Hoppity.”
“My Bucket will come up full. Regardless of the well’s state.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, hippity.”
“I don’t understand your catchphrases, either...” the Demon Lord said as he attached the Bucket and the wheel to the well. After lowering the bucket to the bottom of the well, he pulled it right up. The wheel, of course, allowed most anyone to pull up the bucket regardless of their physical strength. As he had presumed, the bucket came up filled to the brim with water.
“H-Hold on! What’s going on, Demon Lord!?”
Luna started trembling upon seeing this. Who could have blamed her after watching a dry well yield a bucket full of water?
“Momo, look! Look at all that water!”
“No... What’s happening!?”
(So you guys can talk normal!)
The Demon Lord noticed, but only stuck his finger into the water and tasted it. Normal water, as expected. If this had been the kind of water that healed 20 HP, he would have had to scrap the idea. He didn’t see a problem in using the Bucket since the water had no effect, but he still wanted to keep it on the down-low as long as the demand for water was so high in this country that Water Spell Stones were on the market. He figured that the Bunnies should simply claim that the well was no longer dry, instead of divulging this item’s existence.
“This is a magic bucket from my country. As you just saw, it can yield water even out of dry wells,” the Demon Lord ceremoniously explained.
“I’m sure you all recognize how precious this magical item is. Just one of these could start a war.”
Even as he kept at it from his high horse, he felt a pinch of guilt remembering that he had produced it for a mere 5 SP. His claim was so far off of the item’s value in the system of the game. Still, Luna and the Bunnies seemed to get the point, as they sincerely nodded in response.
“This secret won’t leave the village... Hoppity!”
“Thank you, thank you! We can grow a healthy crop of carrots now, hippity!”
(I knew it. They’re doing it on purpose. I’m not going to acknowledge it anymore.)
Then the Demon Lord crafted another item. He didn’t think water alone would be enough when it came to farming.
“Craft Intermediate Item... Fertilizer.”
He removed a large plastic bag filled with fertilizer from the void. While it was called Fertilizer, this item was used as a part to make a bomb. Not even the Demon Lord had ever imagined it coming in handy like this.
“Use this fertilizer. I’ll leave the precise methods up to you.”
He had no clue how much of the fertilizer to use nor when to apply it. He thought it best to leave that to the professional farmers. Just like the Bucket, he assumed, the Fertilizer would provide nutrition to the soil via game logic, regardless of logistics. It was funny how an item that had been intended for crafting a weapon was now used to help give life to crops.
“Momo, this fertilizer is amazing! I feel the Force of Earth!”
“W-Wow... It’s overflowing with the Force of Bounty!”
The Bunnies clamored, but the Demon Lord didn’t understand what they were saying. He was just happy that the item seemed to be a useful one.
(This should bring some vitality back to the village. The best facilities in the world still won’t draw a crowd if the place feels depressing.)
After giving some minute directions to the Bunnies, the Demon Lord left.
“Y-You’re... not all bad, after all...” Luna said.
“Posh. I’m not a saint. I have my ulterior motives.”
“Ulterior motives? Y-You wouldn’t do unspeakable things to those Bunnies!?”
“You idiot. We’ll need some workers for the hospital and the resort. I want the Bunnies to work for me when they’re built.”
As the Bunnies were adorable to look at, he imagined that they would prove popular among the customers. Quite a few bars and casinos in the real world employed waitresses in bunny ears, leotards and fish-net stockings, after all.
“That’s the most basic of groundwork done. Let’s wait to build them until we return from the Holy City.”
“You better buy me a drink when we get there. And I’m going to go clothes shopping, too!”
“Why do you think I’ll come along on your shopping spree?”
After the Storm
After the Demon Lord had left, the Bunnies jumped to stockpiling water. They were told that the Bucket was magical, but they didn’t know how long it would last. Most magic in this world lost its effect either immediately or over a short period of time. The Bunnies were taking a natural course of action with their preconceptions.
“Bring out all the pails we have in the village!”
“The leather canteens, too!”
All of the kids, as well as the adults, started running all over the village. Everyone was desperate to secure as many buckets of water as possible while the magic was working.
“Next pail!”
“Let’s switch places. We’ll take turns pulling up the bucket.”
While the wheel allowed even a child to pull up the bucket, they were having trouble as they rushed to yank it up.
“Calm down. You just have to turn the wheel steadily.”
“O-Okay...!”
The Bunnies pulled bucket after bucket until all of the pails in their village were filled with water, but there was no sign that the magic was weakening.
“W-Will this bucket... keep bringing out water forever?”
“No way...”
Once the Bunnies started to calm down, fear began to creep up on them. Their familiar well, which had dried up ages ago, was now something unfathomable. It was as if the well had been painted in a different light than the rest of the village.
“Momo...”
“I know.”
Kyon called out nervously, and Momo responded with gravity. They now understood that, if news of this bucket got out, they could all end up dead. Holylight was already hostile towards non-human races. It was a harsh environment for Demi-Humans, like Animas, Elves, and Dwarfs. Many humans in the nation were openly antagonistic towards them. Picturing those people, Momo resolved... never to give up the bucket. If anyone tried to take it from them, the Bunnies would gather their arms and fight to protect the bucket. After witnessing its power, they had no other choice. If it came down to that, they could expect the opposition to employ any means necessary.
Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 1 Page 15