Chapter 7 Lesson1-13 - Tale of the Seven Lords (Part 1)

After dragging me for what seemed like an eternity, Levi came up to a set of doors. He opened one of the doors and threw me in, letting me land on the hard floor with a thud. I got up and saw Levi looking nervously outside before closing and locking the door. "...Why were you nervously looking outside before closing and locking the door?"

"...What's that now? You want to know why I looked around to see if anyone was watching before I closed the door? Why do you THINK I did it?! Isn't it obvious?! Imagine what would happen if someone saw me inviting you into my room! A human who doesn't even look like an otaku, but a normie! You know what people would say, right?!" Levi pointed a finger at me, looking at me with disgust.

"Um, actually, I'm an otaku, too. I mean, I might not be a hardcore otaku, but I am an otaku nonetheless." I didn't know much about being an otaku, but I do really enjoy video games and anime, and I even started getting into manga. " Really? You are...? W-Well, if you think that means I'll give you special treatment now, you've got another thing coming! Because I won't!" Levi smiled, but then turned cold, crossing his arms across his chest and puffing out his red cheeks. 'Is he actually acting like a tsundere right now?' I didn't want Levi to see me blush, so I turned around and noticed a huge bookcase, filled to the brim with thick hardcover books that were as big as encyclopedias.

One of these ginormous books caught my attention, so I inched closer so I could read the title. 'The Tale of the Seven Lords: The Lord of Shadow Awakens? Sounds interesting!' "What is it, human? What're you looking at? Wait, that looks like...The Tale of the Seven Lords. Are you a fan of that, too?" I looked away, wanting to say yes, but I just started getting into manga, and I didn't want to lie to Levi. "Huh? Well...I never heard about it... But it looks like it's really interesting."

I rubbed the back of my neck, giving Levi an awkward smile. Levi's enthusiasm quickly changed to utter disbelief and disgust. 'Oh no, I feel a very long ranting lecture coming on.' "...Excuse me? You don't know TSL? And you call yourself a human?! Just how clueless ARE you?! How could you not know?! Just the fact that you don't know TSL alone is proof that you've been wasting your life! So, I'm going to do you a favor and teach you about TSL. Make sure you pay attention!" Levi gestured for me to take a seat in a nearby bean bag chair, and after I was seated, Levi grabbed a volume of TSL and sat in another nearby bean bag chair.

"The Tale of the Seven Lords, otherwise known as TSL, is a series of fantasy novels written by Christopher Peugeot. It's a heroic epic spanning 138 volumes, and it's the most widely-read fantasy series in the world. There are even theatrical versions, an animated series, and feature films, too. And it's been translated into a total of 182 different languages. The 1990s theatrical version was an utter disaster, owing to the fact that they added several characters that were NOT present in the original manuscript. At the time I was like, "This producer totally needs to crawl in a hole and die!" But then the 2015 version came out, and it was AMAZING! Better than amazing! If you ask me it showed that needlessly cramming a female lead in there alongside Henry was a bad idea. That's not what he needs. What he NEEDS is a friend who really understands him, and the 2015 version proved that. Also, the most vital element of the story is that each of the seven lords is so unique. They're all so interesting in their own peculiar way. That's what makes TSL so great!" I could feel a headache coming on as Levi continued his talk about TSL. 'I am understanding a lot of what you are saying Levi, but I think this is a bit too much info to cram into my head in one go. At least you are truly passionate about TSL.'

"The lords are all brothers...the oldest is called the Lord of Corruption. He doesn't come across as being so bad at first, but he's always plotting and planning in secret. The second oldest is the Lord of Fools, a scumbag who'll do anything for money. The third oldest is the Lord of Shadow, a brooding recluse. The fourth oldest is known as the Lord of Masks. He masquerades as a high-status, upstanding member of society, but underneath it all, he's an inhumane monster. The fifth oldest, the Lord of Lechery, only ever thinks of sex. The sixth oldest is the Lord of Flies, and he only ever thinks of food. Then there's the seventh oldest, called the Lord of Emptiness. He's weird...you never know what's running through his head!" While Levi talked about the seven lords, I wondered if the seven lords were based off of Lucifer and his brothers. 'If so, maybe I should read it to learn more about the brothers, even if most of the info and plot are fictitious.'

"It seems most people like the oldest lord, the Lord of Corruption, the best. Everyone always talks about how great he is. But not me. I like the third lord way more. Of course, I like Henry too. He's the protagonist. He's almost as great as the third lord. The second lord is total scum, a hopeless degenerate that leads a life of extravagance and indulgence. He's always causing trouble for the third lord. He's got these magical pigs that can give birth to solid gold piglets, and he treasures them above all else. So, Henry goes and talks to the pigs, and using his wit and powers of persuasion, he convinces them to leave with him. Then, he leads every last one of them away, and presents them to the third lord as a gift! Wow...I mean, they're SUCH GOOD FRIENDS you can almost feel it! It's enough to make you cry!" Levi started to tear up as he mentioned the amazing friendship between Henry and the Lord of Shadow. 'Levi, I really like you, so maybe one day we could be friends, maybe even BEST friends.'

"Oh, and then there's that one really awesome moment when the two of them realize they both like and respect each other, and they high-five! I Just LOVE that part, you know? I wish I could have a moment like that. ...I wish I could be like the third lord. I may be a recluse like him, but we're totally different, because he's got an amazing friend like Henry. Check it out. See that goldfish in the fish tank there? He's actually named Henry. I love TSL so much that I couldn't help naming him after the main character. But I can't really high-five a goldfish, can I?" Levi was happy, but he grew upset when he spoke of how he couldn't high-five with his little fish buddy. I wanted to say something to cheer Levi up, but I didn't want to interrupt Levi's talk about TSL.

"The original author of TSL, Christopher Peugeot, he's actually a human, you know? That's why I'm so jealous of you guys. Humans are so lucky. You've got subscription services that let you watch your favorite anime anytime, you can go to Akihabara whenever you want... Why do only you guys get to experience all the good stuff? I mean, humans' whole concept of pleasure originally came from us demons, you know? We gave it to you. So, why can't we have a little of that back now, huh? I mean, I want to be able to go to a Japanese maid café, too. I want to hear the maids welcome me as if I'm the master of the house, to have them draw ketchup hearts on my fried rice omelette, to experience the magic of it all. I want to cosplay as Henry, and then go stand in the center of Akihabara, or maybe under that one building in Tokyo that's shaped like upside-down triangles." I understood what Levi was saying about how humans get to experience the wonders of Japan and why he was jealous of them. 'If it's any consolation Levi, I live in the United States, never experiencing any of the things I wanted to do in Japan. If we become friends, maybe we can go to Akihabara together!'

"And once I'm there, I want to perform Henry's super-powerful signature finishing move for all to see and say the incantation that goes with it. I want to shout it at the top of my lungs! ...Actually, you know what? I want to BE Henry!" Levi's eye burned with the desire of wanting to be Henry, and I respected him for knowing what he wants and his desire to pursue it. "You know what, you're right. Screw all the normies! Who needs 'em?" I was a bit of a recluse, wanting to shut myself in my room to play video games and watch anime, so I felt like I understood Levi and wanted to support him. "Yeah, screw 'em!"

Levi got up from his bean bag chair, more fired up than ever, and went to his bookcase, wanting to show off his TSL collection. I was happy that I could connect with Levi in some way. He may be a demon, and I am just an ordinary human, but that doesn't mean we can't get along. I remembered how this happened, with Mammon ditching me and using me as a "sacrifice", and I was still angry, but glad he left so I learn about Levi. 'Mammon, I will let you off for now, but if you do something like that again, you'll be wishing you never met me. Anyway, I wonder if Levi would lend me a few TSL books.'