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“Uguo… That felt terrible…”

What I saw within my vision was an endless white space.

It looks like I have arrived in the space where the Colorless Demon Lord lives, but it seems like my memories all around are unclear.

I remember that the Colorless Demon Lord told me he wanted me to meet Yugura Nariya, and I agreed to that, but…my memories feel distant as if I have a hangover.

“…That’s by design. Don’t think badly about it. My space can’t be entered by your normal person, you see. I did get you past the troublesome barrier, but it was rough on a normal person, huh.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord snapped his finger by my side and the scenery around changed completely.

The world was given color and form, and there was a place I have seen before.

“…The office that I borrowed from my old work.”

The design is that of the small office I used for my personal work in Japan.

The difference would be that there’s no scenery outside the window.

“A world that I shaped up from the memories I read from you. Stuff like electrical devices(?) can’t be used, just for your information.” (Colorless)

“…So it seems.”

I tried pressing the power button of the PC there, but nothing happened. In the first place, the LED that are illuminating the room also feel off.

When I look closely, I could tell that this is a space that was recreated from tracing someone’s memories.

“I prepared an environment you are acclimated to so that your brain can work as best as possible. See, you should be able to use this one here to a decent degree, you know?” (Colorless)

“…Another nostalgic thing.”

What he threw at me was a tobacco brand I smoked before and a 100 yen lighter.

If he can analyze my tastes too, it should be possible to reproduce stuff like this as well.

I tried lighting one up and it certainly did taste like tobacco, but the uncanny sensation made it feel bad.

“The recreation is perfect though?” (Colorless)

“It feels weird that the tobacco I haven’t smoked in a while feels good. Tobacco is the kind of thing that you have to get into the taste of again after you haven’t smoked for 1 year.”

“You sound like a hassle of a woman.” (Colorless)

I was in a position where I could choose what to be dependent on, so I wasn’t that attached to smoking which I began doing because of an acquaintance.

If I want to mitigate the stress of my daily life, I would go for things like coffee and sweets. Things that wouldn’t be disliked by my surroundings fit me more.

I did try to take in a tobacco routine at one time, but if I were to run out of them when I need them, it could become terrible, so I stopped it, which was a good memory.

“There’s no need to do something like this. I am always in my best state with a fishy dude like you by my side.”

“That’s great to hear. Now then, I will give you a simple explanation of the circumstances.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord sat on the sofa for visitors and brought out popcorn from thin air.

That’s also from Earth, so it must be a fake created from mana.

It might be convenient for diets.

“It is about what Yugura Nariya is trying to do, right?”

“It would be better to explain from the beginning. It will be a bit of a long story…” (Colorless)

◇◇

Me and Black Sis are a family that lost their country.

War was rampant everywhere at that time, so it wasn’t that unusual of a story.

But it is not like I was in despair since the moment I was born.

It is not like there weren’t any countries that extended their hand to the refugees and tried to coexist by cooperating with each other.

Even if you won the war at that time, it was extremely hard to maintain the land you stole.

That’s why they would win over refugees, and leave the protection and management of remote land to them.

The country provided a place to live, and we would contribute in what we can at that place. There was a hierarchy, but it is not like we were oppressed that hard.

It is not like we had the blood of royalty or were given preferential treatment from connections of our fallen country, but our family was kind of the representatives of the village allotted to us.

If problems happen, Pops and Black Sis would be the first ones to go there, discuss the matter, and solve it.

Pops and Black Sis were naturally liked by everyone.

Me? I was a gloomy guy at that time, you see.

I would wander around outside the village when I had time and would pick up stuff like rocks.

And so, it was the job of Black Sis to find me and bring me back to the village.

Those kinds of days repeated, and that guy suddenly showed up.

Black Sis and I found Yugura collapsed in a forest near the village.

His face and attire were clearly of different origin.

Black Sis thought he was a spy of a foreign country or an exile, so she brought him back.

He at first couldn’t even speak the common language when he woke up, but he began speaking fluently one day all of a sudden.

Black Sis noticed that this was from magic and saw through Yugura’s talent.

Yugura told us about how he came from a parallel world, and that his objective for now would be to take it easy.

I didn’t believe him completely regarding the parallel world matter, but I could only believe him after witnessing how abnormal the magic he was learning was.

He was way too docile, so we stopped being wary of him, and Yugura ended up living together with us.

He used the power he obtained to help us out without reservation, and didn’t look for repayment.

He was treated like he was a weirdo, but it didn’t take long for the villagers to also accept him.

This was a time when Yugura could live the life he desired at the very least.

But the era didn’t allow that.

The neighboring countries gained power and tried to attack our country.

We were prepared for that since we knew that would happen eventually, but…reality was trashier than that.

The country that provided us with refuge used our village that was near the borders as a trap.

They purposely created a hole in the protection that we desperately made, and invited the enemies in.

Not only were we forced into a disadvantageous battle, they themselves set on fire the outside of the village.

What happened last was a slaughter that didn’t care about enemies or allies.

This is the action the country took after getting the cooperation of Yugura, and Pops and Black Sis began to have influence in the villages and towns in the vicinity.

It was horrible how thorough they were.

Yugura was invited outside the village and was on the verge of being assassinated after all.

A lot of friends died. Pops and Mom died. Black Sis was heavily injured, and everyone was in despair, thinking there was no hope for her.

But Yugura rushed there and used resurrection magic, resurrecting her into a Demon Lord.

Everyone was happy at that time.

Black Sis, who we thought was a goner, came back completely fine after all.

Just not being able to say her name was a cheap price to pay.

But you should know what happens next if you know a bit about the history of this world, right?

Even if her body was now livelier than before, she was still pissed off.

She was angry at the country that betrayed them, used them, and threw them away, and desired power for revenge.

Yugura gave Black Sis power: the magic that he had created in secret until now…power that could destroy the world.

Yugura was also angry at the country that betrayed us, so he thought nothing about Black Sis taking revenge and the country perishing. There was no resistance at that time.

Black Sis turned the surviving villagers into demons and destroyed the country.

The world didn’t know of the arrival of a Demon Lord at that time, so the only thing they thought about it was that the country they were targeting had fallen all of a sudden.

They began to take away land and invade, forgetting themselves, and Black Sis was going to do the same, but…Yugura stopped them.

The village had already fallen. He said there was no need to push themselves to fight.

Black Sis hesitated at first. She could at least understand that only her and ten or so demons would take too long.

And so, they moved to a corner of the continent, created a Nether, and began creating soldiers that are the monsters.

Yugura was worried that the anger in the eyes of Black Sis didn’t disappear despite having accomplished her revenge.

The anger of Black Sis wasn’t only directed towards the country, but the world that continued those damn fights, and all the people who are living in them.

I tried persuading her a whole ton, but I couldn’t bring her back to how she was before.

There was no reason not to wield the power she had to take revenge after all.

Yugura decided to search for a method to bring Black Sis back to a human -to take her power away.

But the resurrection magic that goes beyond the laws of the world to reconstruct a person into a Demon Lord was too strong.

Undoing the resurrection magic would just return her to a corpse just like Raheight.

He created several new Demon Lords with the excuse of increasing the allies while continuing his research.

He made people, who might become the enemies of the world, into Demon Lords, so that Black Sis didn’t shoulder all of the sins.

What happened afterwards is just as it is written in history.

Black Sis couldn’t endure it anymore and attacked people, and the other Demon Lords took that opportunity as well.

The world was on the verge of collapse.

Yugura stopped the research, became a Demon Lord himself, and wiped out all the Demon Lords for now.

But Black Sis had become way too strong -to the point that even Yugura had a hard time against her as a Demon Lord.

She could also hasten her resurrection by her own will just like Raheight did when he became a Demon Lord.

That’s why Yugura used the Mana Eater to seal Black Sis. In order to buy time to find a way to return Black Sis to a human without having to pay the price for undoing the resurrection magic.

◇◇

“Nothing will remain if Black Sis destroys everything. Even if Black Sis were to return to normal, there wouldn’t be a future ahead. And so, this was a painful choice for Yugura too.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord spoke sadly.

It is most likely because he couldn’t cut into the relationship between Yugura Nariya and the Black Demon Lord.

His own sister was imprisoned by revenge and he couldn’t stop her from trying to destroy the world.

He could only leave everything to Yugura Nariya.

Him helping out Yugura Nairya in this way must have been because he thought this could help in saving the Black Demon Lord even if just a bit.

“And so, he spread the Yugura Church, created those so-called Illegitimate, and continued his research while leaving countermeasures for the other Demon Lords, huh.”

“Yeah, but Yugura tried to change the approach in the middle. He didn’t try to undo the resurrection magic without a price, but return them to before the resurrection magic was used.” (Colorless)

“That’s where space-time magic that can return to the past comes in.”

“Yeah. But the first time he got a warning from that damn God. Yugura went against it and was killed.” (Colorless)

If that was all, Yugura Naruya would have thought of some other way to save the Black Demon Lord that’s not space-time magic.

But he didn’t do that and decided to use space-time magic again.

Something must have happened in that time frame.

That’s…

“After resurrecting, he decided to make it so space-time magic can be used instead of finding a new method?”

“So it seems. There should be obstruction from that God, but Yugura said ‘I shut them up’.” (Colorless)

He made a god shut up…

I don’t know what method Yugura Nariya used, but it looks like he succeeded in making this so-called God that created this world concede.

Rather than using pure brute force, Yugura Nariya must have done something that made that God decide it would be better to let him use space-time magic.

“…Just to confirm here, but what exactly are the effects of space-time magic?”

“You can apparently send the user’s memories into the past. In other words, the Yugura that just met me would be able to obtain the memories of the present Yugura.” (Colorless)

“History would definitely change.”

The past Yugura Nariya with his future memories would not make the Black Demon Lord a Demon Lord by any means.

If that happens, there won’t be any Demon Lords appearing. A time paradox would happen and this world would get switched into a new one.

“He apparently has adjusted it so that he can send the memories of one more person back…my memories. That would apparently make it faster to change history.”

It would be a lot more simple to have a helper than going alone if they want to save the Black Demon Lord.

The Colorless Demon Lord has been chosen as that helper, so he at least is being trusted by Yugura Nariya.

“Isn’t that fine with you?”

“—It is far better than Black Sis being like this for the rest of her life -in her broken state. But redoing everything just…feels wrong, you see. I thought that maybe you might have a good idea…” (Colorless)

It is not bad for there to be no tragedies. But making it so there was no tragedy to begin with is also a tragedy in itself.

That said, it is natural for the related party to want to redo things if they can.

Yugura Nariya has the means.

It is the same as not being able to persuade the Black Demon Lord.

Basically, it is about whether you can persuade someone to not redo things when they have the power to, just like how they tried to persuade someone who had the power to take revenge to not take revenge.

“I personally wouldn’t want the present to disappear. If history changes, it would mean everything I did in this world will be treated as not having happened after all.”

If the Demon Lords aren’t born, the major countries won’t be born. Yugura’s Illegitimate won’t exist. It would mean Ilias and the others would disappear from this world.

It is not like there’s no chance for them to be born in a different environment, but that would at least not include the life they have been living until now.

“That’s the spirit! Well then, counting on you! I have called Yugura here, you see. I think he is going to show up anytime now.” (Colorless)

“…Hah? No, no, wait a moment! Why have you already called him?! I don’t get any time for preparatio—”

“Good grief. I am busy here and you call me because there’s an urgent matter… Uwa, what’s with this interior design? Hm? Who’s this person?”

There’s the Colorless Demon Lord and now Yugura Nariya. Do they think showing up as if they were there to begin with is cool or something?

The person standing there has the appearance of the Yugura Nariya I saw in the Hero Index before.

His hair color has changed into a white one that shines faintly like Wolfe though… No, in this case, would it be more accurate to say Wolfe’s hair resembles Yugura’s?

“I—”

I was about to talk to Yugura Nariya, but I realized after looking at those eyes: I can’t persuade this guy.

No matter what words I throw at him, I won’t be able to bend his will.

When you look at the eyes of someone, you can at least tell just how strong of a will they have towards their beliefs.

It is easy for things like a firm attitude and a resolute determination to reside in one’s eyes.

This is shown remarkably in Yugura Nariya.

He tests out a lot of things by himself, understands them, and accepts them.

I have seen eyes like those in Japan.

Cunning beasts that even reckless people who carelessly advance in the path of evil would try to avoid being enemies of. Beings that don’t allow any other choice than not fighting them.

He looks younger than me appearance wise, but the years he has on his path must have been immeasurable.

“Treating me like an old man is so cruel. Or more like, you are Japanese, huh. I didn’t imagine I would meet a compatriot in a place like this.” (Yugura)

“…So you can even read minds.”

The secret technique of the Yugura Church to see through lies. This is done by observing the fluctuations in the mana of one’s body.

My body has the mana of the possession spell that’s used for conversations, and the mana of the Black Demon Lord.

Yugura Nariya was the one who taught them that technique, so it is natural for the person himself to be able to use it.

I did imagine he would be able to read even more than that, but he can see through the mind of someone to this degree…

“Aah, so that’s how it is. Black called you here, huh. That’s why you don’t have your own mana. I didn’t explain that stuff to her after all. I wouldn’t have had the time to anyways. I am impressed you managed to defeat Scarlet like that.” (Yugura)

This time around he managed to say a fact that I didn’t even think about.

He probably read my memories.

This is most likely a superior version to Dyuvuleori’s Stomach of Perplexion, but I didn’t feel like he did anything to me.

“Can you not peek into the head of someone that much? It doesn’t feel good.”

“Aah, sorry, sorry. Whenever I meet someone for the first time, I end up wondering what they are thinking. I could tell you are harmless, so that’s enough. And so, you were called here by Tedoral to persuade me, right? Are you leaving already?” (Yugura)

I thought who the hell was Tedoral, but the Colorless Demon Lord looking away must be that Tedoral-kun.

It is not like he has been turned into a Demon Lord, so he has a name.

But I have been checkmated a second after meeting him.

He is already someone that I can’t shake with words, and yet, he  can also see through my mind and memories, so there’s no mind games you can play here.

If I am to believe Yugura Nariya, he is not reading my mind now, but if he does feel something’s off, he will read my memories again and I will be done for.

I am literally a harmless civilian for Yugura Nariya.

Then, what should I do?

Should I just bite my finger and wait for the world to end?

“—No, I have given up on persuading you, but I don’t plan on leaving just yet. I may not be able to persuade you, but I can give a suggestion.”

“I see. No wonder Tedoral would rely on you. That’s an interesting response.” (Yugura)

It is not a joke. Why would I have come all the way here?

As if I will let you turn everything pointless.

I will struggle until the very end even if I understand that it is impossible.

“Yugura Nariya, let’s have a match before you end this world.”

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