Chapter 223
“Seere.”
Nahun cautiously called out to Seere, but she had a decidedly angry expression. Nahun thought it was inevitable that she was upset.
‘It’s my fault, anyway…’
After the chaos from yesterday, he had explained the situation to the soldiers of Malepare who came running at the loud noise, handed over all the evidence, and even written a statement-like explanation of the events. He had been detained until he received word that Malepare could go back after receiving the report.
Thanks to this, Seere had to wait for almost 2 hours in addition to the previously mentioned 20 minutes, and by the time Nahun arrived, it was so late that he had to go to sleep for the general meeting.
Right, he hadn’t done anything last night. Seere had waited for him with some preparation to wash up and get her mind ready… Effectively, Nahun had stood her up.
So, there was only one thing Nahun could do. He had no choice but to break out in a cold sweat and try to calm her down.
“W-Would you like to go on a date next time?”
“…Hmph.”
“Maybe something delicious…?”
With a flick of her head, Seere turned away. Nahun had a shocked expression, but Seere walked away towards the meeting room, ignoring him. Watching her, Nahun muttered to himself.
“…I think she’s going through a late adolescence.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When did you arrive?”
Nahun was startled by the voice of Citri from behind and turned around to see Citri grinning, as if they had witnessed a unique sight.
“There are times when you don’t notice when someone approaches?”
Nahun scratched his head slightly and relaxed his expression. He certainly hadn’t noticed Citri approaching. Seeing Nahun like that, Citri seemed to have roughly grasped the situation and changed the subject.
“I heard you had quite a ruckus yesterday?”
“Has that story already spread?”
“It didn’t spread; it came to me. They couldn’t capture you, so they handed over the cleanup to Malepare’s forces, and when I went to explain, they mentioned it. It seems you encountered two assassins.”
“…Whose work was that?”
“Hm? I don’t know. I wish I could have figured out the mastermind… Wait, do you know?”
Nahun nodded at Citri’s question.
“I’m fairly certain.”
“Hey, then you can just reveal it right here. Good timing.”
“I’m not the Demon King; what good would it do?”
“Weren’t you with Seere?”
“It happened before I was with Seere.”
“Oh, really?”
“And I have no proof. I’m just confident, but this isn’t a situation where solid evidence has appeared. Just in case, I did capture those two and handed them over…”
They likely wouldn’t speak. These individuals had even tried to take their own lives in front of Nahun. No matter what kind of torture they faced, they wouldn’t open their mouths.
“I suppose they might be able to create evidence on that side.”
“Hmm, okay. But Seere went alone; aren’t you going to check on her?”
“…I’m fine. I think it’s better for me to keep my distance right now.”
“What’s up? Why did you fight again?”
“It’s not a fight; it’s more that I was the one at fault.”
“Couldn’t you have treated her a bit better?”
Nahun acknowledged Citri’s playful reprimand and nodded obediently.
“Let’s go into the meeting hall. We have to attend, after all.”
“I believe so. By the way, where did Gremony go?”
“Gremony went ahead.”
“Is that so?”
Nahun moved ahead of Citri a step and said, “I’ll go first. I don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“Yeah, okay.”
As Nahun entered the meeting hall, he felt piercing gazes on him. At first, he thought it was Seere’s sulky stare, but it wasn’t.
‘…I guess he’s surprised I’m still alive.’
It was Vilred. He looked at Nahun with a mixed expression of surprise and horror. The fact that Nahun was alive meant that his shadows had failed, so it was understandable that he would be shocked.
Nahun made eye contact with Vilred and smiled before heading to where Seere sat.
There was still some time before the meeting began, so the seats were sparsely filled. Seere was with Gremony, who had arrived early.
“Oh, look who’s coming.”
“……”
Gremony acknowledged Nahun first, while the sulky Seere merely glared at him without any further reaction. Nahun politely greeted Gremony before standing behind Seere.
“…Seere.”
“……”
“You know I had my reasons. Can’t you let go of your anger now? I promise to make it up to you later…”
“…I’m not angry for that reason.”
Nahun’s eyes widened. Seere turned her head sharply to look at him. The point of her gaze was precisely on the bandage he had placed on his cheek, where the dagger had grazed him yesterday.
#
Whatever he had applied to the dagger, the overwhelming regeneration unique to high demons hadn’t healed the wound. So, he had no choice but to resort to standard treatment with his stock medicine. Seeing the wound, Seere spoke with a pained expression.
“It’s because you’re too reckless, Teacher.”
“…Huh?”
“What if you keep getting hurt? Can’t you please be a little careful? What will you do if you get seriously injured and can’t come back?”
Nahun blinked in surprise. He had told her about the assassination attempt but hadn’t explained how he got hurt. He had definitely chosen to capture the assassin quickly last night, even if it meant getting hurt. While the damage was minimal, it was certainly not a safe choice.
“If you keep putting yourself in danger, I will keep getting angry. That way, you’ll at least pay attention to me and won’t go off anywhere else.”
Seere said this and turned her head away again. Hearing her words, Nahun stared blankly at her white hair.
‘She was angry because she was worried about me?’
He thought it was because she was upset about being stood up, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The real reason Seere was mad was because of Nahun’s reckless behavior.
Though the wound he had was not too significant, she was implying that if he continued this way, he might someday get seriously hurt. Just like how he had offered his neck to Mikael before.
Understanding the reason why Seere was angry, Nahun slightly lowered his head and whispered to her.
“Seere.”
“……”
“I’m sorry…”
Just as he was about to apologize, the most powerful four Demon Kings arrived simultaneously at the meeting hall where most of the Demon Kings had gathered.
Beelzebub von Deus.
Agreas von Dio.
Basago von Dearty.
Samygina von Seos.
With the arrival of the most powerful and influential Demon Kings, all attention in the meeting hall turned towards them. Nahun sensed that the meeting was about to begin, so he quickly offered a brief apology.
“I’m sorry. Let’s talk in detail after the meeting.”
“…Alright.”
Seere seemed to have calmed down a bit and responded readily, turning her head forward. Nahun took a moment to gather himself and straightened his posture. He cast a quick glance at the gathered Demon Kings.
‘The ones who attacked Citri were likely commissioned by Vilred.’
It would have been better if things were kept at a moderate level, but if they kept poking, they would inevitably react. Nahun thought about handling Vilred appropriately as he watched the mightiest Demon Kings take their seats.
The chairperson, Beelzebub, struck his gavel and declared.
“From this moment, we will commence the temporary conference of the Demon World for post-war procedures regarding the Great Demon War.”
The meeting had begun. As soon as it started, voices eager to raise agendas erupted from here and there. This was understandable, as the damage from the Heavenly Demon War had been significant for each of the Demon Kings.
In particular, the mid-to-lower ranked Demon Kings were vocal in seeking to alleviate their damages and maintain their standings.
“Our troops are seriously damaged for bravely fighting on the Holy Kingdom front. Please understand that…”
“We also faced the Imperial Army…!”
Voices poured in from all directions, creating a bit of chaos in the meeting hall. Beelzebub, who seemed to be quietly listening to those discussions, struck his gavel once again.
“Silence.”
At Beelzebub’s voice, the hall fell silent in an instant.
“I have yet to say anything. Why are you speaking first?”
No matter how much they ranted, they couldn’t measure up to Beelzebub’s exploits. He had bought time against Mikael, allowing the remaining allied forces of the Demon World to retreat safely.
“And the hierarchy has already been established.”
“Excuse me?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Of course, it’s not finalized. It’s more of a draft, so it can be seen as a measure to minimize the time spent determining hierarchy.”
The Demon Kings seemed slightly puzzled by Beelzebub’s actions, but reassured by the fact that it was not final.
“We will ask for the opinions of the Demon Kings with voting rights here and make the final decision. We cannot hear from all the Demon Kings.”
“!”
That statement essentially meant that only the opinions of the Demon Kings within the top 12 would be heard to determine the rankings of the others. Normally, such a thing might not matter in a conference, but given the situation following the Heavenly Demon War, there were many other Demon Kings who had something to say, making this a poor choice.
“What kind of nonsense…!”
“This is a decision made too unilaterally!”
In reality, the Demon Kings couldn’t hide their dissatisfaction. Especially the remnants of those who lost Demon Kings like those ranked 20th or 25th. They had lost not just personnel but also powerful figures like Morax and Bune. Though they had appointed successors as new Demon Kings, maintaining their hierarchy was essential for rebuilding their powers.
Thus, it was only natural for them to greatly resent the idea that their opinions might not be reflected at all. However, Beelzebub didn’t seem inclined to change that notion.
“This is a procedure to expedite the meeting. And wouldn’t it be better to discuss a draft first? Don’t you think?”
While it was worded nicely, it was essentially telling them to shut up. The protesting Demon Kings had no choice but to fall silent in the face of Beelzebub’s almost coercive words.
“I will now reveal the draft.”
Beelzebub handed over the document he held to Samygina. Samygina nodded slightly and snapped her fingers. A gigantic spirit then devoured it, transforming it into the shape of paper and floating at the center of the meeting hall.
[
1. Beelzebub von Deus (-)
2. Agreas von Dio (-)
3. Basago von Dearty (-)
4. Samygina von Seos (-)
5. Marbas von Garth (-)
6. Malepare (-)
7. Barbatos von Eishval (1↑)
8. Phynox von Bog (1↑)
9. Bué (1↑)
10. Kusios (1↑)
11. Lezargie (2↑)
12. Vilred (-)
13. Eli Goru (1↑)
14. Botis (2↑)
15. Seere von Debata (31↑)
16. Vashin (1↑)
17. Salenos (1↑)
18. Furson (1↑)
19. Aiphros (2↑)
·
·
·
30. Gremony von Due (18↑)
31. Citri (18↑)
·
·
·
]
The contents of the draft were clearly visible to all the Demon Kings. Nahun was slightly surprised and thought to himself.
‘…Is this possible with spirit magic?’
It was a showcase of Samygina’s extraordinary usage of spirit magic, which was considered the pinnacle of its kind. As Nahun was impressed by the magical versatility, Seere spoke up in surprise.
“…15th?”
“Hmm?”
Then, Nahun belatedly looked more closely at the ranking list and was slightly shocked. Not only was Seere’s name within the top 20 as Phynox had said, but she had climbed to the elevated rank of 15th, which had previously belonged to Jepar.
It wasn’t just Nahun and Seere who were shocked by this. Particularly the lower-ranked Demon Kings, who had been suppressing the divine Seere von Debata, and the 20th-ranked Demon Kings who had seen their ranks flip in an instant expressed significant opposition.
“Ah, no? Is it really rising 31 spots?”
“Wait, that seems too high a rank!”
“Silence!”
However, those who had been protesting clamped their mouths shut at Beelzebub’s fierce voice. Beelzebub spoke.
“Considering Seere von Debata’s contributions, I deemed that position appropriate. However, this is a draft. It is not the final decision.”
Beelzebub looked around at the ten powerful Demon Kings seated around him. With all the Kings present except for Amon, Beelzebub asked them.
“I would like to hear your opinions on this ranking.”
“I’m in favor~.”
“I think it’s reasonable.”
“I oppose!”
And the first to voice opposition against Beelzebub was none other than…
“I cannot accept this!!”
It was Vilred.
