■ The Third Request □
According to Ozma’s explanation, the Dragon Tribe was originally a fallen race of wingless dragons known as Earth Dragons.
Among these Dragon Tribe members, there were extremely rare cases where individuals were born with wings. To distinguish them from ordinary dragons, they were called Celestial Earth Dragons or Celestial Demon Dragons.
“So, you’re saying you want to defeat that winged lizard, Ozma-nim?”
“…It’s embarrassing, but yes.”
“Just to ask, what’s your record so far?”
Barnett, who was standing nearby, answered.
“34 battles, 34 losses.”
In other words, she had never won a single fight since birth.
“…Are you the type who thinks that even if you keep losing, just one victory would be enough?”
Ozma glared at me.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, average win rate… no, never mind.”
Come to think of it, the next Demon King would be chosen by the Goddess of Power, so no matter how much I argued here, nothing would change.
After all, the one who wins in the end is the stronger one, right?
Instead, I decided to ask something else.
“Why do you want to become the Demon King, Ozma-nim?”
It was the most fundamental question.
No one had ever forced her to become the Demon King by threatening her.
Yet, she voluntarily wanted to become the next Demon King, even abandoning her natural gender.
Although the Demon Tribe respects strength, from what I’ve observed over the past few days, Ozma is more self-aware than one might think.
She must already understand that it’s realistically difficult for her to become the Demon King.
Perhaps my question was unexpected, as Ozma blinked her eyes and looked at me.
Then, she chuckled and lay down on her back.
The training ground was made of dirt, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Since I was a child, it’s been my dream to become a great Demon King like my father.”
This was unexpected.
Simply wanting to be like her father, she had been training hard every day, seriously aiming for the position of Demon King.
I thought there would be a more complicated reason.
“At first, I started training hard to get revenge on those who said a woman couldn’t become the Demon King, but now that’s just one of many reasons.”
As she said this, Ozma stretched her right hand toward the sky.
“There are countless strong people in the world I haven’t met yet. I want to surpass them with a single sword and reach the top. That’s the dream I’ve had for a very long time.”
“…Would you like me to teach you how to fight?”
Ozma looked at me as if I were crazy.
“Where did that come from?”
“Just… I got interested.”
There wasn’t a shred of ulterior motive.
[[#]]The weapons I mainly use are my hands and feet.
Of course, I’m not completely ignorant of swordsmanship, but with a Sword Master right next to me, it would be like trying to teach a butterfly how to fly. So, I decided to teach her something else that could be helpful.
That something was magic, my most confident field.
“Ozma-nim, how much do you know about magic?”
Without much thought, Ozma answered immediately.
“It’s the act of a practitioner manipulating the mana that exists in nature to their liking, isn’t it?”
“Correct. But to be precise, that’s limited to elemental magic.”
Just as there are various types of rice within the category of rice, such as white rice, barley rice, and bean rice, there are also quite a few different systems within the category of magic.
“Do you know about dark magic?”
When I mentioned dark magic, Barnett, who was standing next to Ozma, asked with a surprised expression.
“Caldlasth, how does a human know about dark magic?”
I smirked and asked back.
“Do you want to know?”
“No, not really. It’s just that even among demons, it’s a forgotten magic, so it’s intriguing.”
Generally, dark magic, a secret art of the Demon Tribe, is treated as forbidden.
The reason is that it can summon beings from another dimension into this world.
To put it simply, if elemental magic is about mixing internal mana with external mana to create a desired form, dark magic is about paying a certain price to borrow power from an otherworldly being and wield it as if it were your own.
Unlike elemental magic, which is heavily influenced by one’s own talent, dark magic’s core lies in how strong a being you can contract with.
Moreover, since it involves borrowing someone else’s power, unlike elemental magic, one can become strong in a short period.
“However, it comes with risks.”
If it were easy to learn and had no risks, it wouldn’t be forbidden.
“…Why is that?”
In response to Ozma’s question, I slowly extended a finger.
“The reason is simple. You never know who you might contract with.”
If you’re lucky and can contract with a benevolent ancestor spirit or a kind elemental, that’s one thing. But if you’re unlucky and summon a demon or an evil god, you might end up worse than dead.
If the being summoned through dark magic is particularly malevolent? Then an emergency would be declared across the entire continent.
Of course, such a powerful being wouldn’t bother to peek out just because a mere mortal summoned them, but in all things, there’s always a ‘what if.’
Humans and demons feared the calamity that could be summoned due to this uncertainty, and thus dark magic became forbidden.
If I hadn’t found the last remaining copy in my master’s study, I would have only known it as mere knowledge.
“If you wish, I can teach you. Dark magic is one of the fastest ways to become strong, as far as I know.”
Ozma then made a conflicted expression.
Well, it was understandable.
If you present a path to quickly become strong to someone who has been stubbornly training hard, it’s natural they’d be conflicted.
If she were the type to not care about the means, she would choose to learn dark magic.
That would be convenient and not bad, but…
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll decline.”
Ozma firmly shook her head as she said this.
I asked her why.
“Why is that? You said you wanted to defeat that Celestial Dragon.”
Ozma nodded silently.
“That’s true. But I don’t want to become strong by borrowing someone else’s power. It would make all my efforts so far meaningless.”
“Are you in a position to be picky, Ozma-nim?”
“That’s exactly why I have to decline. If I give in to temptation and try to become strong easily, it would mean admitting that my limits are only that far.”
She looked at me with steadfast eyes.
“I want to defeat Gav with my own strength.”
Based on the conversation so far, she was a fool.
But not a bad kind of fool.
“Very well.”
I gave up on teaching Ozma dark magic.
“Then, instead, would you like to learn elemental magic from me?”
“Elemental magic?”
I nodded and confidently told her.
“Ozma-nim, you suit being a mage more than a swordsman.”
[[#]]Another week passed.
During that time, as a temporary teacher, I had been rigorously teaching Ozma when I was finally summoned by the Demon King.
Entering the office with Camilla, I saw that Ozma had already arrived and was sitting on the sofa opposite the Demon King.
For a moment, I couldn’t understand the situation and blinked in confusion. The Demon King, who had been enjoying a cozy tea time, spoke to me.
“Come and sit.”
“Yes.”
I quickly sat on the sofa the Demon King pointed to.
The Demon King then handed me a teacup and asked.
“I hear you’ve been teaching my daughter magic lately?”
“Ah, yes. From what I’ve seen, Ozma-nim has a talent for magic.”
“Oh? My daughter does?”
It felt like a parent-teacher conference, and I answered with a slight sense of pressure.
“Yes. Her magical progress is quite fast; she’s already reached the 2nd tier.”
“Already at the 2nd tier in just a week? Impressive.”
No parent dislikes praise for their child, and the Demon King was no exception.
Seeing him so openly pleased, it seemed he hadn’t called me here to scold me for teaching magic.
“…By the way, why did you summon me today?”
When I cautiously asked, the Demon King muttered, “Ah, let me gather my thoughts,” and pointed to Ozma sitting beside him.
“The thing is, my daughter will be attending the inter-tribal exchange meeting in my place soon. Originally, I would have sent Barnett as her escort, but this year you’re here, aren’t you?”
The Demon King seriously requested of me.
“Please be her escort for the time being.”
