The demon king Albatross is the most difficult demon to judge in the history of humanity.
It’s seen as a psychotic demon who starts wars of aggression, and also an idiot who was conveniently brought up by other demons and defeated by the hero.
That’s how some historians see it.
Regardless of the reasons, the demon king made a disorganized rabble of demons come together and created the largest dominion in the world, crowning the demon king as the world’s greatest ruler.
Some historians also see it like that.
The way humans see things changes a lot depending on their standards.
But if we were to just state facts, the demon king Albatross waged war on humans and all races affiliated with them, but was defeated by the hero’s party in the end.
For better or worse, the demon king had a big impact on this world. And this little girl in front of us now just called herself the demon king Albatross.
I get a good look at the little girl currently passed out in front of us, and she does match the features of the demon king described in literature.
The amount of magic energy I felt in cerberus’ floor was also no joke, so circumstantial evidence leads me to believe this little girl really is Albatross.
But we have too little information anyway.
Why is she here? Wasn’t she beaten a hundred years ago? Is she about to start another war?
I want answers to these three questions, at the very least.
She wakes up thirty minutes later, and gets furious when she remembers what happened.
“Attacking while I’m talking isn’t fair! Who do you think I am!?”
The crucified little girl is ranting, but attacking an enemy when they don’t expect it is a basic fighting technique.
A chivalric spirit is just sort of a goal to strive for. In reality, if you win you’re the government’s forces, if you lose you’re a bunch of bandits.
Not to mention that the teachings of Emeraude say it’s right to defeat demons.
Sephilia was just being devoted to those teachings, so she did nothing wrong.
“A loser who was buried by the hero?”
“Quiet! I am the demon king Albatross, the greatest in this world!”
The demon king is famous for her conceit.
Her instant response to that provocation makes me think it really is her.
“Guh…! Hey, human, why are you restraining me with this repulsive thing!? Release me at once!”
She’s being held to a cross by special restraints I got. It’s blue slime.
Blue slime are low rank monsters that look like amoeba, and look useless at first, but they digest trash, and can be used to keep prey in one place.
And now, it’s being used to keep this girl trapped in that cross.
Her limbs and torso are restrained, so she can hardly move. She’s trying to wriggle out of it, but there’s no way out of the blue slime. What a sad state of affairs for her.
Incidentally, I got it with Summoning Magic.
I can summon anything as long as it’s from low to high rank.
“I’ll let you go if you answer my questions.”
“Why would I? You answer mine.”
“It’s pretty bold to try to look down on us from that position, but that bluff won’t hold forever. I can wait.”
I say the words that a cliché bad guy would say, while grabbing the demon king’s small chin to turn her face towards me.
She shakes her head to shake me away, and glares at me.
“You intend to torture me?”
“That’s an option to consider if you don’t talk.”
“Kukuku, humans always claim to be righteous. You will torture a demon for your gain? Is that what you would call righteous?”
It’s so obvious that she’s trying to move away from the point by saying something kind of tricky.
I don’t really think about justice and evil, I mostly think about food on my plate.
And what right does someone who started a war of aggression have to lecture me on morals?
Whatever, she has her sense of values. There’s no point in denying it.
Then her stomach growls. I guess these intense emotions made her hungry.
I was wondering if I should torture her, but if she’s hungry, that might work.
“So even the great demon king can get hungry?”
“N-no! That was not my stomach growling, hum, it was… It just wasn’t that!”
“Yes yes. Sephilia, bring that thing.”
“Very well. Demon king, it is time for torture.”
Sephilia brings an iron board, and starts a fire under it.
“W-what are you going to do?”
There’s fear in her voice.
“What else could I be doing with a hot iron plate?”
“Make me kneel on it!?”
Eh? Scary. Is that a type of torture?
She’s convinced that’s what’s going on.
There’s fear and despair painted on her pale, sweating face.
“Guh…! B-bring it on! The demon king Albatross won’t yield to any human torture!”
“Let’s start grilling then, Sephilia.”
“Eek!?”
She shuts her eyes tight with fear, and Sephilia places horn bull meat on the plate, with the elegance of a maid.
The sound of meat being cooked always sounds so nice to me.
“M-meat?”
She looks confused.
“Do you like horn bull meat, Albatross?”
Horn bulls are magic beasts native to the Southlight region. Like red boars, these are often eaten at home.
“Eh? I-I’m fine with it. What are you thinking?”
“We’re torturing you.”
“You call this torture? You’re just grilling meat.”
“You’ll get it soon enough. Just be quiet and watch Sephilia.”
The meat was grilled nicely, so Sephilia moves it to a small plate, adds a special sauce, and tries it.
Sephilia isn’t very expressive, but she looks very happy.
“How does it taste?”
“The meat feels like it melts in the mouth, and the light vegetable based sauce is a wonderful addition. This taste is like a preview of health for tomorrow.”
The girl’s stomach is stimulated by Sephilia’s reaction, and she looks at the food while drooling.
Then she notices I’m looking at her, and tries to act unconcerned.
“Hmph? Grilled meat? How naive.
I am a demon, so I can survive by just absorbing magic energy from the atmosphere. I have no need for meat and grain like humans.
You can eat all you want, and it will do me no damage!”
She looks really jealous though.
Who said you are not allowed to eat? Little girl, food is best enjoyed with everyone.
I hold up my hand, and Albatross’ restraints start to come undone.
She’s freed from the slime, but shaken because she can’t figure out what I’m up to.
“Are you insane, human? Are you sure you want to let me go?”
“Blue slime eat waste, so they can be used to beautify too.”
The little girl was a little dirty from lying on the ground, but the slime took care of that.
It’d be best to take a bath, but there’s no bath here.
“Ooh!? My skill really is smooth! Wait, that’s not what I asked!”
She’s surprisingly good at playing along.
“Enjoy.”
Sephilia hands her a small plate with sauce.
“Eh!? A-am I supposed to eat the meat as well?”
“It’s a dueling type of torture. If your tongue slips, I win.”
“I-I see. So that’s it. Kukuku, interesting.
If you win, you can hear all the secrets of the demon king’s army. However, I am Albatross, the strongest demon in the world! I won’t yield to meat I already know is tasty!”
She expertly uses chopsticks, and tastes the meat.
“What is this!? It’s so good! It tastes a little different from what I normally eat, but it’s also so good!”
“I recommend this sauce too.”
I give her another small plate, and she fearfully tastes the meat after dipping it in it.
“Guwaaaaah!! This garlic based sauce is also great!!”
She keeps screaming because it’s so tasty.
“Are you ready to admit defeat?”
“Ahh ahh…!
Not yet! I have a second form. I won’t admit defeat even if you beat my first form!”
“Hmph, still persisting? Then I will also prepare my ultimate weapon.”
“Ultimate weapon?”
“Sephilia, bring me that.”
“As you wish.”
Sephilia brings freshly cooked rice, and the smell coming from the steam really works the appetite.
Suffice to say, its compatibility with this grilled meat is level max.
The girl is already salivating at the thought of the meat placed on top of the rice.
“The white rice that is known as the partner of grilled meat, and a staple of the Brilliant Crimson Empire? I can handle it. I like bread more than rice anyway.”
“Can you? This is rice planted by elderly farmers putting their all into it, and cooked with one hundred percent natural water from thawed ice brought from the Minerva mountain range.”
“A meal prepared with peak conditions like these has to be great!”
What I said is the clincher, and the girl folds to the torture.
She falls back, not being able to handle the supreme torture device that is about to come.
“Uu, how could it be? I lost.”
The demon king has fallen to our torture, and tells us everything.
◇ ◇ ◇
As history tells, she was defeated by the hero’s party a hundred years ago, but it was in her castle, not the Kokkoro Mine.
She only revived about a month ago, in this very space.
Apparently her soul was bound here by a magic energy linchpin, so she was unable to leave this false space, and sent out a distress signal to her comrades.
Then three weeks went by, and no one came, so she used teleportation magic to move to the Kokkoro Mine.
It was only a coincidence that she ended up in the Kokkoro Mine, so she was actually thinking about moving again if no one came.
I’m surprised she didn’t go crazy after a month in an empty space, even if she’s being supplied with magic energy from the atmosphere.
But what about another war?
“Of course I will, if I am invited! The throne is where I shine the brightest.”
She says with a really nice smile.
It’s actually shocking to me how the post of demon king feels like a fun game to her.
And she’s optimistic towards war too.
Thankfully, I can tell she doesn’t actually have clear hostility towards humans. It’s like history tells, she was propped up into a demon king by other demons.
“I had no idea a hundred years passed since my death.
No wonder no one came. Everyone has forgotten about me…”
She whispers with a really sad face.
“Sorry to interrupt you when you’re deep in emotion, but do you really think the torture is over?”
“What!? You still intend to torture me!? Have you really no heart!?”
“Kukuku, of course. You are a source of precious information about demons. Get ready for the next round.”
“S-stop!”
I take out a bed with a canopy from my Item Box, and place more furniture around this space.
And then put her on the bed.
“Demons may have tough bodies, but sleeping on the ground can’t be good. And we don’t want you catching a cold.”
After getting one last look at her on the bed, we leave this false space.
Apparently these passages are also part of it.
◇ ◇ ◇
On the way back, I start to wonder if I made the right call.
The best option would have been to slay her again, if we’re thinking about it logically, but she just didn’t seem that bad to me.
I don’t feel right killing her after we ate meat together and I empathized with her a bit either.
In any case, it’s not a problem for me to solve alone. I should talk to Isolte, the daughter of the feudal lord. I’m sure she’ll figure something out.
That’s what I tell Sephilia.
“Very well. We will perform the test again once the situation in the Kokkoro Mine has normalized.”
◇ ◇ ◇
The next week, when the Kokkoro Mine is back to normal, I hunt the skull warriors and secure my promotion to C rank.
Now I just have to keep working at it, and tackle the new thing I’ve been thinking about.
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