Why I Quit Being the Demon King

Why I Quit Being the Demon King Chapter 317

71. The one with a red heart (5)

“Is it a scorpion’s sting?”

“It’s a power that isn’t used unless it’s a fight to the death.”

Deus nodded and shook his shoulders.

I widened my stand and raised my fists to near my chest.

I took my first stance in today’s battle.

Oridon tilted his head slightly.

“Thank you. “For acknowledging me as an opponent.”

“Well, honestly, it’s not because of your abilities. It’s because of Zeke. “You can’t insult Zeke’s friend.”

“What is Zeke to you?”

“Officially, you’re an employee, right? “He is a key member of my business.”

“Unofficially?”

“Hmm… Did you save Kadencha for the sake of humanity? Or are you just using humanity as an excuse for Kaden tea?”

“It’s closer to the latter.”

“Then I will answer that way too. “It’s closer to your relationship with a cadenza.”

“…The Demon King and the Hero are friends?”

“Is that so strange?”

“It’s strange. “Nothing strange.”

“Then it seems strange.”

“What is your dream?”

“It was a dream…

Deus remained silent for a long time in response to Oridon’s question.

And when he opened his mouth again, Oridon burst out laughing cheerfully.

OOO, too pleasant to be used as a will

‘人TT’s

Has there ever been such a painful defeat for mankind?

Half of the A-level or higher warriors were dead.

The reason the rest survived was because they did not participate in the war.

Nearly 2 million troops went on an expedition, but only about 100,000 returned.

The majority of slaves and peasants died in the battle.

Seven out of ten chivalrous men lost their lives.

Those who were lucky lived, and those who had mediocre luck died. And those who were unlucky suffered a miserable fate and brought death to those around them.

Cadenza, the chief servant, vomited blood as he stepped on human land again.

His hair had turned gray, so it was easy to imagine the pain he must have been going through.

Among the Zodiac Knights, only two survived.

It was only Cadenza and Reditz, the owner of the Shrine Spica.

The nobles and high-ranking priests who had argued for the war

looked on in shock at this dismal outcome.

However, it was difficult for even those who advocated anti-war to take advantage of this opportunity.

Even political opponents were silent about the excessive tragedy.

Anti-war nobles visited Queen April.

Queen April was close to the main camp, and the anti-war groups were out of her sight.

The leader of the anti-war movement was Duke Eroff, a nobleman with a large estate bordering the Horsespine Mountains in the north.

The old man, who turned 70 this year, was always cautious.

To tell the truth, I was closer to being indecisive. Because I was always hesitant and made decisions late.

Rather than being an anti-war propagandist, he was closer to failing to become a leading proponent. He became the leader of the anti-war propagation solely thanks to his status as a duke.

It seemed like the worst choice, but it ended up being revived.

“your majesty.”

“Speak, Lord Eroff.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Due to this defeat,

each territory is short of men. Because the number of men paying taxes has decreased, the budget has become insufficient. Above all, as the number of orphans and widows increases and the number of people who take care of farmland decreases, we have reached a point where we have to worry about harvesting.”

“You already know it without needing to emphasize it.”

“I’m sorry for causing you concern.”

“Did you bring a solution?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. “Why not free some of the slaves?”

“Slave?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Among the combat slaves who returned alive from this war, those with high military rank will be selected and their status will be elevated to commoners. “We can increase the number of farmers if we give them the wives and estates of dead farmers.”

“That’s an interesting story.”

“And Your Majesty, you must summon the Yellow Dragon Knights right now.”

“But they…

“It is for the safety of the kingdom. Nearly half of the kingdom’s knights lost their lives in this war. The number of squires and battle slaves is insufficient

. An even bigger problem is the lack of warriors. Lord Regin, the Secretary of State, is also Leo Paladin. I believe that his mighty power is indispensable to us as well.”

“You are not wrong, but doesn’t anyone know where my husband is now? I wonder how long it will take to find them…

“How about asking an old ally?”

“What if it’s an old ally?”

“Dragons.”

“ah!”

“Aren’t dragons a magical race with big wings? If you ask them, you will find Lord Regin without difficulty.”

April nodded with heavy eyes.

“i get it. “Let the ball take care of itself.”

After Duke Eroff left, Queen April was deeply saddened.

It was a war started to take revenge on the demon king who killed his father.

But rather than taking revenge,

he was in danger of losing his father’s kingdom itself.

So much has been lost.

The kingdom was as dangerous as a rotten, hollow tree.

She wiped her face.

“ Regin, I

wish he were by my side at this moment!

Queen April would be very sad if she heard this news, but at this moment Regin had completely forgotten about his family. What

can

humans say in front of golden fields ?

The thing growing in abundance on the endless plains was wheat.

In a field that had not been cared for at all by humans, only the wheat was shining golden.

The wheat has grown so plump that it looks like it could be harvested and made into bread right now!

“Those guys are weird.”

Lake said with a pouty face.

Regin, who had been staring blankly at the field, shook his head and looked at her as if he had woken up from a dream.

The person Lakhe was talking to was Zik.

“It doesn’t look like a plant. No, it’s not a plant… but it feels like a machine that someone modified. “The perfect wheat that never gets sick, never gets weak, and has roots stronger than any weed!”

Regin asked her with a puzzled expression.

“Is that possible?”

” that.

Zeke spoke on behalf of Lakhe.

“It might be a relic of the Gilded Age. “If it were their

ability, they would have worked something like magic on the wheat grains to create wheat that could overcome weeds.”

Zeke went into the wheat field and turned over the ears of wheat.

Since I worked on the farm for a long time when I was young, it was not difficult to guess the condition of the wheat just by looking at the ears.

“I came here only because I heard that there was a lot of wheat growing here during the Golden Age, but I had no idea it was still growing there.”

Lenkamp, the leader of the Yellow Dragon Knights,

rode his horse to where Zeke, Regin, and others were with an excited expression.

“This place is truly… a place I have never seen before, even in my dreams! Your Majesty! Please declare this wheat field as the territory of our Verde Kingdom right now. “We, the Knights of the Yellow Dragon, will be the guardians of this land.”

Regin nodded.

“That’s a really good idea.”

However, Zeke immediately opposed his opinion.

“The world outside the continent of Jose is too vast to be owned by anyone.

“It would be right for all kingdoms, or all living things, to come together and discuss how to use it.”

In fact, everything in life that Zeke talked about included demons.

He came to the Kingdom of Verde for a while to prevent the conflict between Regin and Deus, but his heart was elsewhere.

If you think about it, this wheat field also belonged to Deus.

It was he who declared himself master much earlier.

If you want to say it was a meaningless declaration, the method was simple. Just fight him and

win.

But is there really anything in this world that can fight and win against Deus?

Zeke himself could not dare to say that he would surpass Deus.

Director Lenkamp looked at Zeke and smiled awkwardly.

“If we were not to make this fertile land the territory of our kingdom, why did we come over those treacherous mountains during these two months? Share the results with those who did nothing for the adventure. “Isn’t that such a strange

story?”

Zeke laughed.

“The only hardship we went through was eating a few meals on the road and staying up all night for several nights, right? “If you have been so lucky, it would be good to be a little more humble.”

“Are you saying I’m frivolous? By claiming ownership of this land?”

“If that happens, a fight will break out again. No matter how large the fertile land is, it will eventually become scarce, and humans will eventually

fight among themselves to take possession of it. The Age of Gold and the Age of Silver. “They were much more prosperous than us, but their destruction was ultimately due to that terrible war.”

“Lord Zeke. You are a great warrior, but you need to listen to God more. We have been waging a holy war against the demons for a long time. War is not an abomination, it is the noblest act. How can you disparage the work of protecting humanity and the earth from demons?”

“It means that if humans start to be greedy for the land, a fight will begin between humans

.”

“How can it be greedy to demand a fair reward for the outcome of an adventure that involves risking one’s life by crossing a difficult mountain? Your Majesty, please speak. “Am I thinking wrong?”

Director Lenkamp, out of frustration, brought in Legin.

The person to whom he gave allegiance was Regin. The commander of this expedition was also Regin, not Zeke, so seeking his opinion was the quickest way to resolve the dispute.

Regin said to Lenkamp.

“Brother, you are a superhuman. Aren’t we talking about something that is morally obvious? If we are greedy for land, we will go to war. If we go to war with each other in front of the real enemy called the demons, we may end up in a war. “Isn’t that right?”

“But Your Highness…

“Think about it. Is this the last land left in this world? That’s not true. There is much more land waiting for us in the future. Even though they have it all in their hands, they don’t have the ability to manage it. Here, it would not be a bad choice to use diplomatic skills

and share some benefits. Instead, wouldn’t we be able to claim some rights to other territories that other countries seek?”

Lenkamp slammed his fist into his palm.

“indeed! Your Majesty also has excellent insight. It’s not just a land grant; it’s kind of like insurance. “Because other kingdoms may find much more valuable land, such as gold mines, rather than wheat fields.”

“You can think of it that way. Lord

Lenkamp .”

“yes! majesty.”

“Have the land manager estimate the value of this plain immediately. Since it will be presented to Your Majesty, it must not contain even a single lie.”

“All right. “I will speak sternly.”

The Yellow Dragon Knight Commander stepped down and Regin looked at Zeke and said.

“There will be no war. “Because we are not that foolish.”

Zeke couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at his words.

Humans are foolish.

It is ready to be destroyed again and again.

At that time, Zeke caught sight of Signy smiling brightly not far away.

We must move on. If you stay and look back, only hatred and stagnation will remain.

Like our ancestors who tried to go beyond space to distant stars.

no.

To a place further away than those who eventually broke down.

“Regin.”

“Yes, brother.”

“no. “I’ll take a look around for a moment and then come back.”

“Please. And don’t be too offended by what the officials say.”

“I don’t care. I haven’t seen it once or twice.”