After that, we were led to a private room at the back of the shop. In the center was a splendid table, surrounded on three sides by leather sofas. On top of the table was something like a metal bucket, and inside, filled with ice, were about three bottles of wine.
“Sit wherever you like. I’ll prepare the glasses now.”
With that, the Demon King… the Black Knight took three transparent glasses from a nearby shelf and lined them up on the table. Then he sat down on the sofa to the left, so Tia and I sat down side by side on the right-hand sofa opposite him.
“Even though it felt rather vulgar as soon as we entered the shop, this room seems quite luxurious, doesn’t it?”
“Heh, this room was supervised by me. Nothing can leave from here, nor can anything enter from outside.”
“Oh, so it’s the perfect room for a secret talk then?”
“…Hmm.”
The Black Knight snorted in boredom, looking at Tia and me, who showed no signs of tension. We knew all along that we were in a place where help couldn’t come, and escape was impossible. We wouldn’t let our guard down or be careless, but it wasn’t something to fuss about either.
“Then, before our discussion, let’s toast. To our strange encounter.”
After pouring the wine from the bucket into the glasses, the Black Knight said this, holding his glass.
“In that case, here’s to the good fortune of meeting a Demon King we can talk to.”
“Eh!? Umm… what? I can’t think of something that quickly!?”
“Hahaha, anything will do… then, to Tia’s adorable confusion.”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers! Wait, what’s that? Oh, Ed, you’re so mean!”
With a pleasant clinking sound, the glasses touched, and Tia puffed out her cheeks and elbowed me in the side. Ignoring that with a smile, I tilted my glass… Oh, this is delicious.
“Wow, this is delicious! Ed, this is really tasty!”
“Yeah. It’s as good as the one we drank with Chrome.”
“Oh? You’ve had a wine that’s on par with this? Impressive taste indeed.”
“Yeah… pfft!?”
I looked at the Black Knight, who had just complimented me, and suddenly burst into laughter. There was the face of the Black Knight, who had taken off his helmet to drink wine…
“Hey, Ed, what are you doing!? That’s rude to the Black Knight… snicker!?”
“…What’s the matter with you two? Laughing at someone’s face is more than just rude.”
“No, it’s just that…”
“Sorry, I know, but that’s… that’s unfair…!”
Facing the Black Knight’s stern expression, Tia and I looked away, desperately holding back our laughter. The Black Knight’s face was naturally just like mine, but for some reason, he had grown a little curled mustache around his mouth.
“What’s with that mustache!? It doesn’t suit you at all!”
“This is my unique personality. You have no reason to criticize me.”
“Yeah, but…”
If he were about forty years old, that might have been dignified. But for a young man in his early twenties to grow such a mustache… and it’s on my face too.
“Mustache… a little mustache… Ed with a curled… Are you into that, Ed?”
“It’s not me! I won’t grow it!”
“…Was there really a need to laugh so much? Even though I’m tolerant, this is quite unpleasant.”
“I’m sorry, truly sorry. I wouldn’t have been this rude if it wasn’t Ed’s face… but Ed’s face with a little mustache is…”
“Calm down, Tia. My apologies; I’ll formally apologize. Well, individuality is indeed different for everyone.”
“Phew… Yes. Let me say sorry again.”
Whether the opponent was a Demon King or not, rudeness was rudeness. I bowed my head and apologized properly, and Tia followed suit after calming down. It would have been a natural blunder if the other party had gotten angry and left, but fortunately, the Black Knight seemed to accept our apology, nodding.
“I understand. So, you said you wanted to talk, what exactly do you want to discuss with me?”
“First, the situation… no, a confirmation of common sense. What is that ‘winged one’? Why are you protecting humans and fighting for them?”
“Hmm, that, huh?”
At my question, the Black Knight frowned in displeasure and placed his wine glass on the table.
“The beginning was five years ago. During the grand worship ceremony of the Brau Holy Kingdom, held once every seven years, a light suddenly descended from the sky. It became a winged giant, and its divine radiance caused the priests to become ecstatic, saying, ‘A messenger of God has descended.'”
“That’s quite an ostentatious entrance. Is that the ‘winged one’?”
“That’s right. Well, at the time, people called it an apostle or an angel. And that ‘winged one’ flew straight out of the cathedral where the ceremony was held, and lo and behold, it came to my castle! Do you understand? It thrust that spear into my castle, where I, as the Demon King, had been diligently and steadily cornering mankind!”
“Oh! That’s… quite an extravagant greeting.”
As the outraged Black Knight placed his empty glass on the table, I poured wine into it. Then the Black Knight downed it in one breath, raising his voice and continuing to complain.
“It’s no joke! You saw the power of that spear, didn’t you? Because of that, my castle was ruined in an instant! Even after that, spears were thrown at my painstakingly nurtured Demon King army, destroying the production bases that supported the army in no time! … It didn’t even take half a year to be cornered to the point where we couldn’t fight against mankind.”
“I see. That’s a disaster… should I say?”
“It may sound bad, but if God had just defeated the Demon King, it would be a good story for humans.”
I am a Demon King, but my position aligns with the human side. Therefore, listening only to the current story, there is no room to sympathize with the Black Knight. But, grinning, the Black Knight continues, twisting his rounded mustache.
“You’re wrong, it’s very different. Or rather, humans also seemed to misunderstand at first, but the ‘winged one’ targeted not me or the Demon King army, but simply prioritized lands rich in mana. So after ravaging the key lands I controlled, it appeared in human lands. Foolish humans apparently greeted the ‘messenger of God’ who had eradicated the threat of the Demon King with joy and cheers, but what the ‘winged one’ did to those humans was… you’ve seen it too, haven’t you?”
‘”Offer everything in this world for the order ordained by God,” huh…’
Completely mercilessly, emotionlessly. The ‘winged one’ consistently repeated the same words, probably from that time on. I make a bitter face, and the Black Knight nods with satisfaction, uncorking the second bottle of wine and filling his glass himself.
“That’s right. It was then that humans finally realized that the ‘winged one’ was not what they thought it was. They began to resist the ‘winged one,’ which was ruining the land one after another. But there’s no way mere humans could stand against it. If there is someone who could…”
“… A hero, huh? Speaking of which, what happened to the hero?”
In this world, of course, heroes exist. Up until this cycle, they should have been battling the Demon King army right now…
“The hero… is gone.”
“Gone? That can’t be—”
“He’s gone.”
To my question, the Black Knight shakes his head vigorously. Then he places his glass on the table, falls silent for a few seconds, and his mouth slowly continues.
“The hero… that man is no longer with us. He was killed by the ‘winged one.'”
“What!?”
At the Black Knight’s words, which seemed somewhat lonely, all I could do was be at a loss for words.
After that, we were led to a private room at the back of the shop. In the center was a splendid table, surrounded on three sides by leather sofas. On top of the table was something like a metal bucket, and inside, filled with ice, were about three bottles of wine.
“Sit wherever you like. I’ll prepare the glasses now.”
With that, the Demon King… the Black Knight took three transparent glasses from a nearby shelf and lined them up on the table. Then he sat down on the sofa to the left, so Tia and I sat down side by side on the right-hand sofa opposite him.
“Even though it felt rather vulgar as soon as we entered the shop, this room seems quite luxurious, doesn’t it?”
“Heh, this room was supervised by me. Nothing can leave from here, nor can anything enter from outside.”
“Oh, so it’s the perfect room for a secret talk then?”
“…Hmm.”
The Black Knight snorted in boredom, looking at Tia and me, who showed no signs of tension. We knew all along that we were in a place where help couldn’t come, and escape was impossible. We wouldn’t let our guard down or be careless, but it wasn’t something to fuss about either.
“Then, before our discussion, let’s toast. To our strange encounter.”
After pouring the wine from the bucket into the glasses, the Black Knight said this, holding his glass.
“In that case, here’s to the good fortune of meeting a Demon King we can talk to.”
“Eh!? Umm… what? I can’t think of something that quickly!?”
“Hahaha, anything will do… then, to Tia’s adorable confusion.”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers! Wait, what’s that? Oh, Ed, you’re so mean!”
With a pleasant clinking sound, the glasses touched, and Tia puffed out her cheeks and elbowed me in the side. Ignoring that with a smile, I tilted my glass… Oh, this is delicious.
“Wow, this is delicious! Ed, this is really tasty!”
“Yeah. It’s as good as the one we drank with Chrome.”
“Oh? You’ve had a wine that’s on par with this? Impressive taste indeed.”
“Yeah… pfft!?”
I looked at the Black Knight, who had just complimented me, and suddenly burst into laughter. There was the face of the Black Knight, who had taken off his helmet to drink wine…
“Hey, Ed, what are you doing!? That’s rude to the Black Knight… snicker!?”
“…What’s the matter with you two? Laughing at someone’s face is more than just rude.”
“No, it’s just that…”
“Sorry, I know, but that’s… that’s unfair…!”
Facing the Black Knight’s stern expression, Tia and I looked away, desperately holding back our laughter. The Black Knight’s face was naturally just like mine, but for some reason, he had grown a little curled mustache around his mouth.
“What’s with that mustache!? It doesn’t suit you at all!”
“This is my unique personality. You have no reason to criticize me.”
“Yeah, but…”
If he were about forty years old, that might have been dignified. But for a young man in his early twenties to grow such a mustache… and it’s on my face too.
“Mustache… a little mustache… Ed with a curled… Are you into that, Ed?”
“It’s not me! I won’t grow it!”
“…Was there really a need to laugh so much? Even though I’m tolerant, this is quite unpleasant.”
“I’m sorry, truly sorry. I wouldn’t have been this rude if it wasn’t Ed’s face… but Ed’s face with a little mustache is…”
“Calm down, Tia. My apologies; I’ll formally apologize. Well, individuality is indeed different for everyone.”
“Phew… Yes. Let me say sorry again.”
Whether the opponent was a Demon King or not, rudeness was rudeness. I bowed my head and apologized properly, and Tia followed suit after calming down. It would have been a natural blunder if the other party had gotten angry and left, but fortunately, the Black Knight seemed to accept our apology, nodding.
“I understand. So, you said you wanted to talk, what exactly do you want to discuss with me?”
“First, the situation… no, a confirmation of common sense. What is that ‘winged one’? Why are you protecting humans and fighting for them?”
“Hmm, that, huh?”
At my question, the Black Knight frowned in displeasure and placed his wine glass on the table.
“The beginning was five years ago. During the grand worship ceremony of the Brau Holy Kingdom, held once every seven years, a light suddenly descended from the sky. It became a winged giant, and its divine radiance caused the priests to become ecstatic, saying, ‘A messenger of God has descended.'”
“That’s quite an ostentatious entrance. Is that the ‘winged one’?”
“That’s right. Well, at the time, people called it an apostle or an angel. And that ‘winged one’ flew straight out of the cathedral where the ceremony was held, and lo and behold, it came to my castle! Do you understand? It thrust that spear into my castle, where I, as the Demon King, had been diligently and steadily cornering mankind!”
“Oh! That’s… quite an extravagant greeting.”
As the outraged Black Knight placed his empty glass on the table, I poured wine into it. Then the Black Knight downed it in one breath, raising his voice and continuing to complain.
“It’s no joke! You saw the power of that spear, didn’t you? Because of that, my castle was ruined in an instant! Even after that, spears were thrown at my painstakingly nurtured Demon King army, destroying the production bases that supported the army in no time! … It didn’t even take half a year to be cornered to the point where we couldn’t fight against mankind.”
“I see. That’s a disaster… should I say?”
“It may sound bad, but if God had just defeated the Demon King, it would be a good story for humans.”
I am a Demon King, but my position aligns with the human side. Therefore, listening only to the current story, there is no room to sympathize with the Black Knight. But, grinning, the Black Knight continues, twisting his rounded mustache.
“You’re wrong, it’s very different. Or rather, humans also seemed to misunderstand at first, but the ‘winged one’ targeted not me or the Demon King army, but simply prioritized lands rich in mana. So after ravaging the key lands I controlled, it appeared in human lands. Foolish humans apparently greeted the ‘messenger of God’ who had eradicated the threat of the Demon King with joy and cheers, but what the ‘winged one’ did to those humans was… you’ve seen it too, haven’t you?”
‘”Offer everything in this world for the order ordained by God,” huh…’
Completely mercilessly, emotionlessly. The ‘winged one’ consistently repeated the same words, probably from that time on. I make a bitter face, and the Black Knight nods with satisfaction, uncorking the second bottle of wine and filling his glass himself.
“That’s right. It was then that humans finally realized that the ‘winged one’ was not what they thought it was. They began to resist the ‘winged one,’ which was ruining the land one after another. But there’s no way mere humans could stand against it. If there is someone who could…”
“… A hero, huh? Speaking of which, what happened to the hero?”
In this world, of course, heroes exist. Up until this cycle, they should have been battling the Demon King army right now…
“The hero… is gone.”
“Gone? That can’t be—”
“He’s gone.”
To my question, the Black Knight shakes his head vigorously. Then he places his glass on the table, falls silent for a few seconds, and his mouth slowly continues.
“The hero… that man is no longer with us. He was killed by the ‘winged one.'”
“What!?”
At the Black Knight’s words, which seemed somewhat lonely, all I could do was be at a loss for words.
