“...Well that’s obvious.”
“Whaaat!? Nooo!”
“It is quite obvious.”
“Very obvious.”
Even Diablo thought the queen was in the right.
“...If we are to summarize our situation,” Rem began wrapping up the discussion, “we have multiple issues, like the oath to the Dark Elves and the forest’s condition. But it all comes down to Shera marrying an Elf. But, with the way things are, she’ll have to marry Drango.”
“Auuugh...” Shera let out a peculiar moan.
“You don’t like him? He looks to be a very capable Elf. Though I’ll admit he looks more like an Orc than an Elf.”
“Uuu... It’s not about it being Drango... There’s someone else I want to be with forever...”
“...You mean Diablo?”
“Y-Yeah...” Shera gave him a fleeting glance.
Diablo almost blushed in response.
—No, no, no, no...
He remembered his past experiences, and would never misunderstand things and think someone had fallen in love with him.
Never.
—I mean, it’s Shera. She’s probably thinking something like, “I want to go on adventures with him forever.” This isn’t romantic love. If I fool myself into thinking she does love me, once it comes down to doing adult business, she’ll just back off and say, “I didn’t mean it that way.” Shera may have a mature body, but mentally she’s still a kid!
“...You do realize Diablo is a Demon?” Rem furrowed her brows.
“I-I do, but—”
“...It’s just one dumb thing after another with you... Are you a crossbreeding fetishist? To think you’re a pervert on top of being dumb. Yes, a lewd Elf...”
“Th-That’s not it! The person I always want to be with just happens to be from another race!”
“...You are aware of what a king and queen are supposed to do together, right?”
“Huh? They pray to God to make the forest bountiful. Then they listen to people in need, and protect the ‘important thing’ God left us.”
—Rafflesia did mention that. What exactly is this “important thing”?
“...Those are important, yes, but isn’t there an equally significant duty they have to fulfill?” Rem shook her head. “You can’t be this ignorant... Royalty and nobility have the important duty of producing their progeny.”
“P-Progeny!?” Shera took a step back, blushing profusely.
“...They have to make children. Or do you intend to let the Greenwood dynasty end at your generation?”
“I don’t, but...I really thought this through!”
“...An Elf and a Demon can’t produce children together. That is purely fact.”
“It is, but that’s not absolute.”
“...They can’t normally produce children. That’s why no matter how much affection and kinship you feel toward someone from another race, it can never blossom into romantic love. In many cases, it’s the same as someone being the same sex as you. But maybe you’re simply misunderstanding your own feelings because Diablo has saved you so many times.”
“I’m...misunderstanding...?” Shera seemed confused at her own budding emotions.
Rem took a deep breath, grit her teeth, and clenched her fists.
“...I realize this must be painful, but I’m telling you this directly, exactly because we’re comrades: Shera, you should pick an Elf man to marry. If you don’t like Drango, you should tell your mother that. But for the sake of the kingdom, and for your own sake, you should pick a husband everyone will respect. That’s what I think.”
“B-But, but I... But...” Shera stood with her breath stuck in her throat, her eyes darting about.
“...Just calm down. Think this over carefully. You may be dumb, lacking in foresight, and utterly shallow, but you do know what matters most. I’m sure you’ll come to the right decision. I believe in you.”
“But does that really count as believing in me!?”
“...Do you really understand? Even if you are royalty, you can’t give away land without the people as one with the decision. Do you intend to forfeit an oath you swore your life on!?”
“Aaaaaah... I know, buuut...”
Shera looked to be at wits’ end. She was never a clever one, and was now torn between her feelings and her duties on top of that. Up till now, Diablo may have wandered through this inescapable maze alongside her, sharing in her anxiety. But he wasn’t troubled any longer.
“A question, Shera. Answer me truthfully: Do you truly wish to walk alongside me? Put aside your duties to the kingdom and this oath. Declare here and now if these are your true, honest feelings.”
“Erm... I don’t really know yet... But I want to see just how much I can do, and how far I can go. And I don’t want to do it alone. I want you and Rem to be by my side. I mean, we’re comrades after all!”
She hadn’t changed since the day he met her. There was no end to her desire to challenge herself, seek out new frontiers, and be among her friends. She was a lonely Adventurer who craved the company of her comrades.
“I see.” Diablo nodded. “I understand perfectly. That was all I wanted to... No, there’s actually something else I should ask you. You just said it’s the Elven king’s duty to defend an ‘important something.’”
“Mmm? Yeah, I did.”
“Just what type of ‘thing’ is that?”
“Aaah... I don’t know actually.”
“You never change, do you...” Diablo shrugged.
“...I swear!” Rem shouted in annoyance. “How can you not know about something that influences your life so much!?”
It seemed harsh, but Rem was this angered by Shera’s carelessness because she truly did care for her.
“Ahaha...” Shera’s ears drooped in dejection. “Mother told me once that I’ll ‘understand when I see it.’ At the time, we didn’t think I’d be queen...”
“...If you’re so curious, you should first be interested in what’s around you. Did you really run away from home without even understanding the circumstances?”
“When I was still here, all I did was run away from my brother...”
“Yes... He was a very troubling person, so I can’t say I blame you. I see life wasn’t all that easy for you either. I sympathize.”
Shera smiled sadly at Rem’s words.
“Why don’t you check now then?” Rafflesia suggested. “If the queen said you’ll ‘understand when you see it,’ that means you’re allowed to see for yourself. I don’t think checking what it is will do any harm.”
“You’re right! Since we’ve come all the way, I may as well find out!”
Surprisingly enough, it seemed the ‘important thing’ was right in their vicinity.
“...Isn’t this a burial mound?” Rem cocked her head in confusion.
“It is, but the important thing is here too.”
With an expression that seemed to have completely forgotten her doubts from a moment ago, Shera walked into the deepest part of the underground chamber. She was one who fundamentally loved exploring new and unknown things. She was optimistic, assertive, and brimming with curiosity.
“...Should you really be doing this with the wedding being only two days away, and you still not having made a choice?” Rem asked with an unpleasant expression on her face.
“We shouldn’t let such trivialities bother us.” Diablo tried to soothe Rem’s anxiety. “If there is a legendary treasure in this place, it’s only natural to want to see it.”
“...You’re right. I, too, am an Adventurer.”
“In the end, whatever comes will come. And, no matter what...”
“...Diablo?”
Shera reached for the furthest wall.
“Here I go...”
She placed her hand against the holy mark on the wall, then began reciting words in a language Diablo hadn’t heard before—like an incantation for a spell.
“Rood terces nepoi.”
In Diablo’s ears, t
he language of this world sounded like his own mother tongue, but what Shera just said didn’t sound even remotely familiar. The logic of how it was all translated was beyond him, to begin with... Those could be utterly meaningless words, for all he knew.
But, if this was where the Elves kept their ‘important thing’ hidden, it made this place a vault. That meant whatever Shera just said was the password.
A shrill sound echoed through the underground chamber. Diablo felt a dull pain inside his ears. A pale blue light began emanating from the holy mark on the wall, magical energy flowing through it like water filling up a ditch. The blue light curved, split, and intersected, drawing an intricate pattern over the wall.
“...Is this a magic circle?” Rem whispered.
Rafflesia narrowed her eyes. “I’ve never seen this type of magic circle before...”
“Mmm?”
The pattern struck Diablo as somehow familiar. He recalled the magic circle that appeared in Faltra’s skies when Krebskulm had awakened.
—It’s so similar...
Resembling a magic circle that appeared when a Demon Lord had awakened...
But despite being of a similar type, there were some differences to it. Diablo was a Sorcerer capable of incredible spells, but that was only because he’d increased his in-game level. He wasn’t actually knowledgeable about this world’s magic, and couldn’t derive any information from a magic circle. All he could do was stare as things unfolded, as if watching a game’s event movie, and marvel at its quality.
The magic circle seemed to have been completed, having spread over not only the four walls, but the floor as well.
Then, their field of vision completely changed...
†
A desolate, barren field spanned before them. A red, rust-colored land spread out for as far as the eye could see. Cracks ran through the soil, without a single blade of grass to be seen.
The sky was dyed crimson as well. It wasn’t just a sunset; the clouds themselves were red and cast a gloomy shadow over the surroundings.
“What...is this place...?” Diablo looked around nervously.
“Mother calls it the 《Terminus》,” Shera answered. “It’s my first time here though.”
Was it teleportation magic that brought them here? Or was this an illusion? Diablo’s field of vision shifted altogether, but the others were still here. Not just Shera, but Rem, Rose, and Rafflesia too.
“...The Terminus. I’ve never heard of this sort of mechanism being in an Elven burial mound.”
“This is amazing. I can’t hold back my surprise...”
“...Just to make sure, there are no problems with you showing this place to members of the other races, like Diablo and me, right?”
Shera’s face froze in a shocked ‘ah’ at Rem’s words.
“Maybe it isn’t!?”
“...You didn’t ask the queen for permission to bring us here!? Aaah... Fine... We’ll pretend this never happened.”
“Thanks. It should be fine so long as you don’t say anything though! You keep it a secret too, Rafflesia!”
Rafflesia said nothing, merely looking off in the distance in a daze.
“Rafflesia?” Shera walked up to her, waving a hand in front of her eyes.
“Whoa!?” Rafflesia jumped with a start. “Wh-What is it...”
“U-Umm... Are you all right?”
“Y-Yes... But of course. I was just a touch surprised it seems.”
Rafflesia and Shera laughed nervously.
Diablo lowered his gaze, looking at something half buried into the ground. He picked it up, finding it to be a giant crystal.
“Master,” Rose approached him. “That is a Summon Crystal for a 《Force Hydra》.”
“What!?”
“It has no level restriction, but it does for race. Only Elves may use it.”
“What is this doing...”
Rem also knelt down, digging up a rapier from the ground. Despite being covered by red dirt, its intricate design was still easily noticeable.
“...What about this one?”
“That is an 《Acid Orion》, a sword enchanted to have its attacks inflict the 《Corrosion》 effect. It requires a level of 160 to wield.”
Rem’s eyes widened in shock. Diablo was startled as well.
—A level 160 restriction!?
The max level in Cross Reverie was 150, so no existing player should be able to equip this sword.
As Diablo suspected, this world wasn’t based on Cross Reverie at the time he’d played it. The level limit was bumped up once every six months or so, and his initial suspicion was that this world was based off the game. So maybe when the game implemented its next set of features, this world would be updated along with it? Which would mean the level limit was much higher than Diablo imagined. Whether a limit even existed was dubious at this point.
“...Is this an Elven treasure vault?” Rem looked around. “It’s different than what I imagined. If anything, it looks more like a waste disposal site to me.”
“The Elven royalty must not understand what these treasures are. There’s no list documenting them, and you have to dig up the items first. But there’s normally no way to appraise an item by sight. We can only do it thanks to Rose.”
Rose was the only Magimatic Maid that existed in this world, as far as Diablo was aware. He doubted the Kingdom of Greenwood even had one of them.
“Rose is happy to know Rose is of use to Master.” She bowed her head respectfully.
“Yes, your work is commendable.”
With her body still bowing, Rose’s shoulders shivered. Her breathing turned nasal and wild. Diablo’s words seemed to have put her in a state of excitement.
“Diablooo~ Over here! Here, come here!” Shera called out from afar.
“Hmph... It seems the items lying around here aren’t the ‘important thing.’ These are no doubt Elven treasures however.”
“Though it’s hard to understand why Elves would treat them this carelessly.”
As Rem and Rafflesia spoke to themselves, they and Diablo moved toward where Shera was currently standing. They could see that the ground suddenly cut off ahead of them.
A cliff.
A great chasm was open before their eyes, forming a large valley. While it could only be described as a valley, its other side was so far away they could hardly make it out. It was so deep they couldn’t make out the bottom either.
“Th-There!” Shera pointed downward. “That’s the ‘important thing’!”
Looking at the bottom of the ravine, they saw something black. At first, Diablo thought it was a water deposit, but he soon realized he was wrong.
Monsters.
At the center was a mysterious sphere, several times larger than Diablo. Cable-like wires were coiled around it, squirming over it like tens of thousands of serpents.
“...I-Is...!? Is that...a Demon Lord!?” Rem took a frightened step back from the cliff.
“What!?”
“...Ah... I, hmm... I’ve never seen it before, but that’s what it feels like to me... Maybe because one has always been so close to me?”
She touched the pouch on her waist, as if to affirm it was still there. The remnants of the Demon Lord sealed within her had been transferred to the Divinity Crystal stored inside.
“Wait, by Demon Lord, you mean a Demon Lord!? A real one!?” Shera asked, as if clinging to them in fear.
Even Diablo himself was disturbed.
—It’s a new monster, so I don’t know what it is if its name isn’t displayed!
Unfortunately, this world didn’t come with any convenient features that made a window pop up with the monster’s profile and information. He turned his gaze to Rose for help, but she just looked down at the ravine silently. She was his treasure vault’s guardian, so she was keen when it came to items, but probably wasn’t as knowledgeable when it came to monsters.
Rafflesia, however, opened her mouth to speak, as if whispering to herself in the va
cant expression of someone wandering through a daydream.
“The 《Demon Lord of the Heart, Kardia》... They are the origin, that which brings upon the flame of life... The power to reshape this world...”
“Hey, if you know what it is, speak up!”
“Huh!?” Diablo’s voice seemingly made Rafflesia come to, as her expression was washed over with confusion. “Ah, no... I was merely recounting an old story I’d heard once... That’s the name of the Demon Lord once sealed in these lands.”
“So that truly is a Demon Lord after all. The Demon Lord of the Heart, Kardia, you said?”
“In all likelihood.”
Hearing their words, Shera’s face lost all its color.
“A D-D-Demon Lord!?”
“Please calm down, Princess Shera. While that is indeed a Demon Lord, they are still sealed.”
“R-Right...”
“They do seem to be stirring, if only a little... But if they were revived, I doubt we would be unharmed. So I speculate.”
“I’m so happy it’s sealed...”
“...So the important thing God entrusted the Elves to protect was the Demon Lord,” Rem said, her gaze fixed on the Demon Lord.
“So it seems. The seal itself should probably be somewhere nearby.”
“Err, I think it’s this? Elosnoc.”
Shera spoke in that odd language again, and a rainbow-colored jewel orb, roughly the size of a basketball, appeared in mid-air. A multiplex of rings surrounded it, like the rings of Saturn.
“Ah... This...is amazing...” Rafflesia said, her eyes wide. “I’ve never seen such a large Divinity Crystal. Truly fitting for the container of a complete Demon Lord!”
“Ah...” Shera looked at the rainbow-colored orb.
“What’s wrong, Shera?”
“Well, this seal is like Greenwood’s forest. God gives it power. But now that Father is dead...”
“Wh-What!? Isn’t that bad!?”
“The seal shouldn’t break today or tomorrow, but it is getting weaker.”
Shera said it lightly, but it was a fairly big deal: The Demon Lord’s seal was weakening! If Greenwood went without crowning a new King, the seal would eventually break.
“...I now understand why the Queen is forcing her daughter into marriage and is being this impatient about it,” Rem said, wiping sweat from her forehead. “This has to do with more than just the forest’s blessings.”
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 7 Page 15