If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord: Volume 6 (Premium)

by CHIROLU

  There were no tears in Platina’s eyes as she silently trembled. Her big, gray eyes emotionlessly reflected the faces of those priests looking at her as a criminal with abusive, cold gazes.

  Smaragdi let out a groan seeing that normally so expressive girl make such a face, having to hold himself back from wailing. Swallowing down emotions so strong they made him feel like he was going to cough up blood, he simply watched as the innocent Platina was disparaged. Because it was to save his daughters, he desperately endured what would normally be unbearable.

  The judgment was announced. Through arguments so foolish he felt the word “foolish” wasn’t even close to enough, his young daughter was ruled a great criminal. And before his very eyes, one of those priests broke off her left horn, the same color as her father’s.

  In that way, a young girl was marked with the brand of a criminal.

  By the time that his beloved daughter was returned to Smaragdi’s arms, she was in an even worse state than before. Curses that Smaragdi could never let his daughter hear whirled around in his heart towards those priests who could drive a young girl into such a corner and yet still look down upon her as a criminal.

  Smaragdi expressed his intention to leave the country alongside his daughter, who had been sentenced to exile. If he hadn’t done so, then he would never have even been able to hold her in his arms again.

  Chrysos, who was determined to become the new king, and the grand priestess, Mov, were forbidden from meeting with Platina, who had the disgrace of being a “criminal” thrust upon her. So that neither of their daughters would have to be alone, because of their love for both of them, their parents had chosen to separate.

  The anxiety of having lost that other half who had always been by her side only seemed to torment Platina further. She clung to Smaragdi, the only person she had left, like a baby.

  “Rag...” Platina said in a voice so faint it was difficult to pick up, but even so, Smaragdi didn’t miss it.

  “What is it?”

  “Is Latina a bad girl? Do Ryso and Mov... hate Latina now, because the prophecy said she’s bad?”

  Smaragdi’s heart screamed out from having his daughter ask him such a question. He felt a feeling that went beyond mere hatred for all of the priests in that place.

  Even so, for his daughter’s sake, he hid the contents of his heart and responded in a kind voice, “That’s not it, Latina. Mov and Ryso both love you dearly. You’re precious to them.”

  He would guide this girl until the bitter end. He reminded himself that that was the duty he must carry out.

  “They both think of you as precious. Just like how you feel about them, you’re every bit as important to them.

  “...then... why...?”

  While sensing the meaning behind her trembling voice, Smaragdi touched the base of the horn that his daughter had lost.

  “To protect you, and Ryso, too.”

  They had made this choice in order to protect their precious daughters. To make it even just a little more likely that the girls would have a happy future.

  “I want you to never forget this: Ryso adores you, Latina. And the same goes for Mov and myself, too.”

  As she was now, Platina didn’t react much even to Smaragdi’s words. There was no helping that, though. The wounds she had suffered were simply too great.

  Smaragdi once more stroked the broken horn of the girl in his arms, not only unable to move, but not even able to react, and started walking. They exited the temple which he had always wanted to take her out of, though not ever in this manner.

  “Guru...”

  Aspida and the other pupils who adored Smaragdi had been waiting near the temple’s entrance. Their faces were all full of concern for Smaragdi and his daughter. Though there was of an aspect of disgust towards criminals with only one horn amongst devils, they instead looked pained to see such a young girl as Platina suffer such a great wound which would never disappear.

  “Please, take a number of us along with you.”

  “This is not something you should bear on your own, Guru.”

  “So please...”

  Hearing his pupils all speak out unanimously, a faint smile crossed Smaragdi’s face. If the era were to come when they held true power, then this temple and nation would change at least a bit.

  And so, he couldn’t accept their proposal.

  “Rather than worrying about us, I’d like you to lend your aid to Chrysos and Mov from now on.”

  The ones who would be responsible for this nation in the future were people equally as precious to Smaragdi as the girl he held in his arms.

  “Mov and Chrysos will be in need of as many people they can trust as possible... After all, I’m no longer able to be helpful to them... I’d like you to think of this as my will.”

  He knew it was an unfair way of phrasing things. Having been told such a thing, his pupils looked down, seeming troubled as to how to respond.

  Even so, he wanted them to support Mov, who would be in charge of the country from now on, and Chrysos, who would become the nation’s ruler, in order to move the country in a new direction.

  “As a teacher, I’m truly grateful... to have students such as yourselves.”

  Smaragdi looked over his pupils with a gentle smile, then turned his back to the temple and slowly walked away. Even though he felt their gazes on his back, Smaragdi didn’t turn around even once.

  He was obviously aware that it was reckless to head off on a journey with his young daughter with such a minimal amount of luggage. To start with, the amount of luggage Smaragdi could carry by himself was limited. It was a journey carried out without a sufficient amount of equipment or provisions. And naturally, there was no way that the sentence of exile faced by a great criminal from the harsh country of Vassilios and the town of the same name would be so light.

  Even so, he walked onwards, leading his daughter by her hand.

  As Platina was still young and Smaragdi lacked a robust physique, their journey didn’t proceed as planned. Even so, they still advanced onwards, bit by bit.

  Smaragdi’s goal was to reach a nation of humans.

  In Vassilios, a country of devils, it was impossible to know where the Second Demon Lord’s retainers could be hiding. It was difficult to tell such things just by looking. That was a big reason why he hadn’t decided to live in hiding in any of the villages surrounding town.

  And... if nothing else, rumors would spread.

  While Vassilios was a closed off nation, as he had lived close to the central seat of government, Smaragdi had been able to obtain a little bit of information on other countries.

  Apparently the neighboring country of Laband currently has a hero, the antithesis of a demon lord... In order to protect this child from the Second Demon Lord, I’m prepared to grasp at any straws that I can.

  Surely a hero would have no reason to extend a hand to save a child from another race. Smaragdi wasn’t that much of an optimist. But even so, he would play any hand he could for the sake of protecting his child.

  As her father, he intended to do anything he could for the sake of his innocent, beloved daughter, who didn’t grumble or complain even on this long journey, which she was unaccustomed to. Teaching Platina healing magic was one example.

  As a sort of play, he even now taught her how to control mana. For devils, who could all use magic, it was deeply tied to their lifestyle.

  Even so, it was normally unthinkable to teach a child of less than ten to use magic. But since he had no idea what would happen or when under their present circumstances, Smaragdi constantly trained her in the words making up chants, so that she could defend herself. Rather than simple chants, he had taught her proper, beautiful ones that could be used as a foundation for casting any magic. Using attack and defensive magic was difficult. If she ended up running out of mana and fainting, that could actually place her in even greater danger.

  Platina hardly ever even smiled anymore, but at those times, her expression
grew just a little brighter, which was another big reason he did so.

  Seated atop Smaragdi’s knee, Platina repeated after her father with some difficulty, and a light of the Holy attribute lit up in her hand.

  She was naturally curious and desired to improve herself, and so it seemed that even under these circumstances, she still found joy in learning new things. Sensing his daughter’s strong power to live on, Smaragdi praised the girl and hugged her tight.

  “You’re amazing, Latina. You really are a spectacular child... I’m so proud of you.”

  Smaragdi had started to become aware of her ability, worthy of being called a “power to live.” She was sensitive to ill will. It had been displayed throughout their journey, and helped save Smaragdi, who wasn’t used to traveling. Platina could sense where magical beasts were, and was able to sense when flora and fauna were poisonous.

  Smaragdi himself was the one who had raised her and taught her all kinds of things. He was able to sense that rare and unusual power was something akin to the divine protection granted by the gods.

  “...That’s right. Chrysos wasn’t the only one who was prophesied to become king,” Smaragdi said with a sigh of realization. She wouldn’t be the First Demon Lord. And he was also aware that the thrones of the other demon lords were all currently filled. However, this girl would also surely also become a demon lord.

  Demon lords were chosen by the gods to become one, and were in turn protected by fate.

  In that case, he should use all of the time remaining to him in order to guide this girl.

  Smaragdi didn’t have an overly strong constitution to begin with, and over the course of the long journey, which he was unaccustomed to doing, he had become out of sorts in various ways. That was to say, he had caught an illness.

  Illnesses couldn’t be recovered simply through the use of healing magic. Knowing that, Smaragdi chose to use magic as life-support for his failing body. It most certainly wasn’t a solution to the fundamental problem. Even so, in order to remain by his daughter’s side until the very end, he kept on fooling his body and pushing himself too far, day after day.

  And so, by the time that the end drew near, Smaragdi didn’t even know what his own illness was.

  “It’s alright, Latina. You’ll definitely be happy someday.”

  He made sure not to show his daughter a pained face.

  “I can still clearly remember the day you were born. When you were born, there was a rainbow... a large, beautiful rainbow spread across the sky.”

  He spoke words of blessing. Words that were a prayer.

  “Rainbows appear in the sky when the gods are looking down over the land. You... both of you were born with the gods watching over you.”

  Those words were full of a desire that this girl become happy. They were full of a hope that this girl wouldn’t be driven to the depths of despair and become a “Calamity,” hating and wishing to destroy everything.

  “So you’ll be fine. You’ll definitely be happy. That’s all that I want.”

  The man once called “Guru” prayed for that, thinking that if he at least had the power to guide her properly through her life, he hoped he had done so.

  “It’s alright.”

  Even so, he had wanted to be there for her longer. With a smile, he hid those regrets and pain that he couldn’t help but feel. He had often felt that if he gently smiled, it would also help to calm Mov and his daughters.

  He looked up powerlessly and saw a deep forest spreading out wide. Between the trees, he could see the sky.

  “Ah...” He let out a sigh. He wasn’t especially devout, but he couldn’t help but think of this as a mercy from the gods.

  He could see a rainbow.

  Even at this moment when he had to let her go, this girl was being protected by the will of the gods. She would surely be saved. That was what he believed.

  “See, there’s a rainbow. You’re protected by fate.”

  And so, he prayed. He was powerless, unable to do anything else, but even so, he prayed for his daughter’s happiness.

  “Please, please be happy.”

  Up until the very end.

  “From now on, I’ll be watching over you from the other side of the rainbow, as well.”

  †

  Sitting in front of her father, who had stopped moving, the young girl was at a loss.

  She didn’t know what she should do.

  Her gentle parents and her twin sister who she was closer to than anyone else, her other half, had been the entirety of her world, and now she had lost everything.

  She didn’t even know how to cry. Even if she shed tears, there were not gentle hands around to comfort her anymore. She thought that perhaps it would be best to simply sit by her father’s side and let herself rot away, too. After all, there was no longer anyone left who needed her.

  However...

  Her father’s final wish was for her to be happy. She didn’t know what she should do, and she couldn’t imagine that she could ever become happy. But to deny that possibility would be to deny her father’s final wish.

  And so, she stood.

  She decided to try her best to fulfill her father’s last wish.

  And then, that girl who had kept on struggling all on her own met him.

  That encounter had been the start of everything for that girl, who had had the mark of a criminal thrust upon her.

  And thus, our story began.

  †

  “You are the Eighth Demon Lord’s retainer, yes?”

  When she saw the young man also known as the Platinum Hero in that place where she had forseen her own demise, she was incredibly calm.

  Her intention wasn’t to be praised as the Purple Lady Oracle, or to be thought of as a saint who would even sacrifice her very life for the sake of king and country.

  Those countless expectations were nothing but a heavy burden. She wasn’t looking at things so philosophically, nor was she such an excellent, perfect person.

  Even so, she put her very life on the line, risking everything in order to select the best possible future so she could protect her child.

  And it was also atonement for having sacrificed that man she loved, who was already gone from this world. If she broke along the way and threw everything away, then she would lose the precious daughter she had with him.

  She couldn’t let the loss of that beloved man, who was surely no longer anywhere in the world, be in vain. She would never let that come to pass.

  And so, she wasn’t acting as the exceptional Lady Oracle, but as a single mother wishing to protect her child.

  She would sacrifice herself for the sake of her country and her people living there. That was certainly also her intention. Her beloved daughter was there, after all, striving to lead the populace as their king. Even if she couldn’t be by her side, she had decided to do what she could for the sake of that child and the country she led.

  The youth with the nickname containing the word “platinum.”

  Her meeting with him met that she was progressing down the path towards the ideal future that she wished. That they were moving towards a future where those girls could surely be happy. That they were being rewarded, for all the choices they had made, her and him.

  When she learned of the existence of the Eighth Demon Lord, which existed outside of the natural order, she had realized the true meaning behind the prophecy that her daughters had received. Just as had been predicted, both of those girls had become “kings.”

  Furthermore, the demon lords were being led to ruin. That enemy who was her hated enemy... That daughter of hers would grant the dearest wishes of a great many people.

  To her, one with the power to see the future, it was a future she could believe in.

  She was also aware that she would never again meet the man who she loved. She sensed that he was no longer anywhere in this world.

  She also wanted to meet her beloved daughters just one more time, but she knew that wish wouldn’t b
e fulfilled, either.

  Even so, meeting this youth was a blessed opportunity.

  This was the man who was chosen by Platina, her precious daughter she was separated from when the girl was still young. It was proof that she was still living in good health.

  And this man was desperately struggling to get that precious girl back. She felt assured that her daughter was very precious to him. Surely this youth had no way of knowing how much relief that tale spread throughout the human race, “The Tale of the Platinum Hero and the Fairy Princess,” had brought her.

  That girl had found and chosen a special partner. She would surely have a happy future ahead of her. That wasn’t a prediction from a priestess with divine protection from Banafsaj, but rather the wish of a single mother for her daughter’s happiness.

  The young man in front of her removed the glove on his left hand. She was also aware that that was proof that girl had made him her retainer, a show of her trust in him.

  It was proof that one was under the control of the demon lord who was their master, so that “name” that was a symbol of the strong compelling force held over them and the fact that they were a retainer, their lord’s possession, was etched in a place close to their vitals.

  However, that girl had placed this man’s “name” on his left hand, an extremity. To any demon lord or retainer of one, it would be utterly obvious just how deep the trust was between these two.

  Even while thinking all that, when she saw the “name” engraved there, she was more than a little surprised. Seeing that nostalgic name in such an unexpected place, her expression shook, even though she had grown accustomed to hiding how she felt.

  There was no helping that. After all, she had only allowed herself to show her feelings, to be herself, in front of that person.

  “You have been my hope all this time. In that noble girl’s future, I saw the results that I sought... And at the end, I met you.”