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I wash my face, sit down on the bed, and exhale.

Even though I am in a hygienic place, this disgusting viscous feeling is still clinging onto me and I can’t wash it off.

Hostility comes in various shapes.

I can brace myself for hostility that directs their blade from the front, however, the kind of hostility that’s like a blade being pushed at your back the whole time while they have their arm wrapped around your shoulders has a discomforting pressure to it.

It was an official event, so acting accordingly isn’t that strange of a thing. But nobles, merchants, and knights headed to that place while switching their atmosphere to adjust to that location.

The royal family members that I met today weren’t faking themselves, but changing themselves. This is similar to the self-suggestion of an actor, as if they are a character in their play. It is pretty similar to my Comprehension.

They erase their original self, and form the personality they want in a state of emptiness.

There’s no need to go that far for daily life.

Having a mask on that looks nice for your surroundings should be enough. There’s no need to go as far as erasing your own emotions to deny your own existence.

“An environment that requires this, huh…”

It is obvious why they are doing something like this: it is when they can’t be true to themselves.

They have a strong view that their true selves must not be known in order to compete for the throne.

They understand that being poked there would become fatal.

If the outside and the inside are way too different, it isn’t that difficult to detect the sensation that this is a made-up personality if you have experience in this.

That’s why I could notice the temporary personality of the royal family members.

Also, I noticed the faint presence of their real selves deep inside -the hostility that has judged me as a hindrance and wants to eliminate me.

“Shishou, are you okay?” (Wolfe)

“Yeah, I am okay. It has been a while since I have dealt with opponents like this, so I got a bit of whiplash there.”

That’s right.

Creating a completely different self wasn’t that strange of a thing in my original world. I was acquainted with a good amount of people that excelled in hiding their real selves like actors and scammers.

It is as if I am remembering the past sensations and it is honestly discomforting, but…this is pretty much like a trade disease.

If my opponent is like that, I have to take an appropriate stance.

“But to think all of them saw you as a hindrance, Mister Friend… Is that true?” (Mix)

“There’s a part of them that doesn’t want their country to be ravaged as royalty, but there’s no doubt they were all considering whether to eliminate me. In that case, it would be better to assume that they all have a face that they can’t bring out.”

If there was only one person directing hostility towards me, I would have been thinking about my future plans with an evil face right about now.

But I didn’t expect everyone to be like that.

I can’t tell who is the helper of Nektohal thanks to this.

They probably have a strong information network if they are sending spies at me without reservation, and they probably can deal with fights, too.

Dealing with all of them at the same time most likely won’t simply wrap up with being tough work.

“You seem troubled?”

“Hah?! Purple-dono! You already came back?” (Mix)

Purple must have been listening to what we were saying, she entered the hospital room with an awfully confident face.

Dyuvuleori is by her side, too.

She has a basket that looks like it is a gift… I hope that’s not fruits.

“I simply had a bit of business to take care of in the Mejis Nether, you know? Here, I brought you a rock with a somewhat interesting shape as a gift, okay?” (Purple)

“A-Alright. Thanks.”

She chooses her gifts like Washekt, oi. Ah, but this rock really does have an interesting shape.

Let’s secretly add it to my collection.

“And so, you want to unveil the darkness that the royal family of this country holds, right? Then, it should be my turn, right? I can use my Enticement to—” (Purple)

“Let’s not.”

“…Why?” (Purple)

“It is not that bad to show off the threat of the Demon Lords. However, it is not like we are trying to become the enemies of humans. Using the power of a Demon Lord is the same as attacking the royal family. They won’t just say let’s get along after sucker punching them in the face, right?”

The reputation of the Demon Lords in this world is pretty bad.

Well, me holding admiration towards them as an earthling is also questionable in itself though.

Anyways, I should be extremely careful about moving Purple and the others as Demon Lords.

Their names are not fake, so it should be possible to Entice all the royal family members with the power of Purple.

However, that power is only allowed for a Demon Lord, and it is an unknown power for humans.

Even if they were freed from it, it is hard to have them believe it.

Interactions in the future will come with heightened guard if they were to think that it wasn’t that the people accepted it, but that we made them accept it.

Having a bad impression is unavoidable with the bad reputation of Demon Lords.

“You won’t treat me like a harmless Demon Lord, right?” (Purple)

“You could say that. But I also have no intention of having you be treated like a Demon Lord that must be eliminated. I appreciate the offer, but just increase your stash or something for now.”

“…I see. Got it. Then, it should be okay to just accompany you for a while, right?” (Purple)

“If possible, I would like you to help out in the research of Nora or something…”

“It should be okay, right?” (Purple)

“…”

“It should be okay, right?” (Purple)

“Yes.”

It wouldn’t be good to have her simmer down when she is burning with motivation and have her work far away.

It is honestly a lot more relaxing to leave the chores to Haakudoku though.

“Your approaches have gotten a lot more aggressive now, Purple-dono. The direction has changed though.” (Mix)

“It would be boring for both of us if he were to always get away without a care, you know? If Dear doesn’t feel like it, then I have to put some spin to it myself, right?” (Purple)

“I will try every now and then.”

Now then, what should my policy be here?

Investigating the throne candidates one by one, and bringing them in as allies after judging they are not enemies would be the better choice.

However, they have judged me as a target of elimination at this juncture already, so it is highly possible they will be trying to obstruct us in some way.

The interference will get worse if we take too much time, and we will lose the leeway to find allies.

We are dealing with the royalty of the major power that is Serende.

We can’t just turn enemies just because they hindered us. That said, we can’t just let a person that joined hands with Raheight roam free.

“You seem to be in a bad mood?” (Purple)

“That’s not my intention though…”

“…I see, so that’s how it is.” (Purple)

She seems to have come to some sort of understanding.

…Aah, I see.

Wolfe was worried too, but I must have looked different than normal. My state just now was closer to the state of before I came to this world -the state before I wished to live safely.

Purple must have understood what kind of enemy we are dealing with this time around after seeing my state.

It is not like there’s differences in way of thinking just because it is a different world.

It is because the people in this world can live in a straightforward manner that there’s a lot of people who live simple lifestyles.

That’s why they are easy to read and my techniques of conduct I learned on Earth were useful.

But there’s muddy human relationships similar to Earth in this world, too.

It is because the common people managed to get leeway in their everyday life that they obtained knowledge, and began to learn methods to drag others down.

It is just that it is kept only between royalty in this world.

Once there’s no need to fear monsters and they are not troubled with food, the lifestyle of the people will be enrichened.

When that happens, the people who can only live in the present will obtain the leeway to bend.

If that goes on, this world will eventually…

“?!”

I was concentrating on my thoughts and couldn’t react.

Purple had put a finger between my brows..

“Furrowing your brows. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t go away, okay?” (Purple)

“…Didn’t you say you want me to look a bit older?”

“That’s true, I guess?” (Purple)

This time she used both hands to create creases between my brows.

This is most likely not her messing around, but her attempt to soothe my heart.

So that’s how much it showed in my face…

“You don’t need to force it out.”

“That goes the same for you, you know? You still have leeway. It is not like you can’t use me, but that you are not doing it. If push comes to shove, it is okay to go at it without a care for the means, you know?” (Purple)

“…”

“I don’t mind if you aim to live safely, you know? But I don’t want that to lead to you losing your wiggling room and it ends up in a result that you alone can’t take back. If you are falling, let’s do it together and with smiles on our faces, okay?” (Purple)

Can’t take back… I must avoid a result like the time with the Scarlet Demon Lord no matter what.

I must be aware that I would be hurting their hearts even if I shoulder everything by myself.

“There’s nothing more reassuring than having a Demon Lord help out.”

“How about you aim to become a Demon Lord, too? If you do that, we can hold hands forever, you know?” (Purple)

“I will think about it once I am scared of my lifespan.”

“I will do my best to make you think that, okay?” (Purple)

I have learned how comforting this straightforward feeling is in this world.

I have the resolve to value it, protect it, and not let it warp.

But what about me?

I have understood that their way of living is wonderful, and yet, I am not aiming to be the same.

I am aware of this… The fact that I can’t change this way of living of mine no matter how much I try.

I think about wanting to be by their side, but I am drawn back about standing in the same spot.

How much guilt would I feel if they were to get warped and muddied because of me?

I don’t want to comprehend that.

“Alright, I have decided what I will be doing. I will begin by making contact with the royal family member that I can tell is relatively different and is easier to take in.”

“Fumu… So Prince Chisante?” (Ilias)

“Lady Ratzel, that’s a shallow read. Mister Friend would rather go for Princess Yumis, who is a girl.” (Mix)

“It is Prince Nuphsa. Good grief. He was the one who cared for the country the most within those people.”

The personality he is showing outside being completely different means that his true heart is far apart from that.

The one I should pay attention to is Prince Nuphsa who didn’t try to play appearances despite using his masked personality.

It means the mask of Prince Nuphsa is that of an introverted prince that only thinks about the domestic affairs of the country.

Prince Nuphsa is devoting himself solely to the country.

But his way of acting towards the king and its citizens is bad.

He should be able to act like a social prince if he can fake himself to that degree.

I find it hard to believe that he is excluding that out of preference alone.

What is it that he would want to protect even if it means lowering the trust his surroundings have of him?

I still don’t have enough pieces to be certain about it.

“Well, we will be taking action in full once Melia-dono and Masetta-dono are back. Yox-dono would have to use a cane if we were to move too much.” (Mix)

“That would be a great help. I won’t say much if it is just going to a banquet, but eyes will be needed on your actions if you are going to be investigating the royal family in full.” (Yox)

The voice of Yox that rang from the other side of the partition felt like he was on the verge of sighing.

We did tell Yox before going to the banquet.

We normally should be refraining from doing stuff like touring ruins and going to a banquet when Melia and the others are not present.

They are matters that can be wrapped up with ‘that much is fine’ for Yox, but that won’t slide for the influential people in Mejis.

“Can’t let your eyes go even for a moment. Is Mejis in love with Dear?” (Purple)

“Don’t joke around. But well…there’s no doubt they are attached to him. There’s no way the people of the Yugura Church would be able to leave be the person that can eliminate the Demon Lords forever.” (Yox)

The matter with Raheight where I undid the Demon Lord transformation by calling him by his name has already been reported to Mejis.

Mejis has the book with the name of Blue written down in Japanese.

Basically, they think I would be able to eliminate Blue, who created the Kuama Nether, immediately as long as I cooperate.

By the way, there have been a number of people who have proposed to Pope Euparo to entertain me in Mejis as a reward for subjugating Raheight.

There are other books left by Yugura Nariya. If there’s books of the other Demon Lords within those… It is obvious that’s the intention they have, but I have no intention of riding along.

If I were to go, it would just be to show up in the home of Rakura… No deep meaning behind it, okay?

It is human nature to want to use something once they know it is present.

They would throw away the peace of an individual like trash for the sake of this.

“I am impressed that you can say that without feeling embarrassed, you know? That makes it easier for me though? I can act like a Demon Lord without any reservations against people who are trying to use Dear.” (Purple)

“I am personally against it though.” (Yox)

“Oh my, the captain of the holy knights is saying he will overlook the Purple Demon Lord?” (Purple)

“Don’t misunderstand. I think you should be eliminated if you are an enemy of humanity. But that shouldn’t be done by using him, but by the people of this world…the people of Mejis who hold a grudge against you.” (Yox)

“…I see. Then, I will prioritize you when that happens, okay?” (Purple)

Yox has the experience of polishing himself. That’s why he knows the worth of piling up experiences.

The reason of being of the holy knights is to protect the land of Mejis and its people.

The retribution towards Purple who left deep scars must be part of that duty of theirs.

They certainly might be able to put an end to the long years of hatred if they were to find the book that has the name of Purple.

But if that were to happen, the worth of what they have polished for all their lives would drop drastically.

“You can freely promise what you want, but how about not doing that in front of me who is doing his best so that that doesn’t happen?”

“Oh my, it is a matter that can be solved by you stopping being human and living together with me in a remote place forever, you know? Aren’t you just piling up work for a matter that can be solved by simply accepting my everything? And yet, I am not even allowed to bark back?” (Purple)

“Alright, argue more. Clear away all your grievances. But keep it at only verbal arguing!”

“Mister Friend…you are so weak.” (Mix)

Running away is my default option. I would obviously be weak. I would of course compromise where I can.

“I don’t feel like it when told to do it though.” (Yox)

“Right. I will just clear away that resentment in some other way, okay?” (Purple)

I would like the nursing to be done by Dyuvuleori, but I doubt that will happen.

He doesn’t have any authority.

Ekdoik, Haakudoku, please come back quickly.

——

Author: This time I will be showing the character design of the leader of the 3 adventurers, Pashuro.

There are some that would say ‘Eh? He was the leader?’, but there’s no way the battle junkie Girista and Ekdoik, who only had killing Rakura in his mind, would be able to fill the role of leader.

He was a dangerous guy that would change his tone in seconds, but he was unexpectedly good at looking after others.

But he was whimsical, so there’s no telling when he would get tired of you, so it is a man that you wouldn’t want to make the leader if possible.

I am planning on publishing the design of Ekdoik next.

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