And so, pitying

My name is Haakudoku. I am the right hand of Bro Gestaf who will

become a king in the future. He told me to learn a variety of things, so I

am currently serving as a lackey under Brother.

Brother is not my actual brother, but the distance felt right to call him

that, so I am calling him Brother.

…He is doing the groundwork for the desire of Bro, so he is not a bad guy

at core… No, he is a bad guy. No doubt about it. He is the epitome of

rotten.

Why, you ask? Even though I am seriously trying to get along with him,

his treatment is so bad that it makes me want to pointlessly talk about

myself in this fashion.

"Why was everyone away when I woke up… *Sniffle*." (Haaku)

There was even a note left on top of my face written by Wolfe, saying:

'Counting on you to look after the house!'…

If I remember correctly, it happened when I opened the door in order to

welcome the visitor. Instinct-sama gave an unbelievable reaction and I

lost consciousness in an instant.

I think there was a super hot lady and a handsome butler, but… that was

the same as before.

Thanks to the things that Brother prepared called sunglasses, I stopped

losing consciousness, but is this limited to Brother? I honestly don't

know.

It makes me look better, so I put them on without much issues, but

wouldn't it be better if I investigated the workings of this?

"…It would be pointless for me to try and investigate this on my own,

huh. Maybe I should clean… I finished that first thing in the morning…"

(Haaku)

There's nothing to do. I am not really interested in the stuff that is in the

shed, and entering their private rooms is a bit… I don't feel like entering

the rooms of the women, and the room of Brother… I am interested in it,

but I feel like that would be dangerous even without Instinct-sama

warning me.

In that case, I am currently alone without anything to do… Well, let's

train my right arm.

I undo my bandages and stare at my black right arm. There's not that

much difference in height between me and Bro. That's why I didn't

worry too much about the length of my arm.

But once I began using my right arm for real, I could tell the balance had

gotten somewhat bad with the devil covering the surface of it and tying

it up.

"Well, the chances of Bro's arm being injured have decreased with that,

so I am fine with it though." (Haaku)

This devil does move to a certain degree at my will. I can make the tips

pointy, make my whole arm into a sword, or spread it out to make it into

a shield…

That said, my mana is so questionably low that the quality of the

hardening is way too low. This stuff would only serve as much as

wooden equipment.

It is better than nothing against a defenseless target though, but it is no

good as a defensive measure. It shouldn't even be considered.

I need to find a cooler way to use it. My hidden trump card and my right

arm can't be used anymore. I should begin training with my left arm.

"Leaving aside how to use it, it would be for nothing if I can't deploy it

fast." (Haaku)

I change it to a random shape I thought of, and then bring it back to its

normal arm shape. Then change it to a new shape, and repeat.

It takes around 5 seconds to transform it once, huh… Bro can use two

pens with this arm. He is really impressive.

No, Bro being impressive is a matter of fact. What's necessary in my

growth is effort. I should be thinking about myself only.

If I can transform it in an instant, I could even create a curtain that

blocks the vision of the enemy, but… if I just leave it fluttering the whole

time, they would just be wary of it… No, that would still be useful?

Let's try transforming it into a hanging curtain… Nope. It is so fluttery to

the point of being extremely inconvenient. This would only hamper my

normal movements.

"It might be faster to just consult with Brother…" (Haaku)

"I have no fighting skills, so I can't give you much advice."

"Gohoh?!" (Haaku)

I unconsciously let out a weird sound at Brother and Sis who were

behind me as if natural. When I am concentrating on the control of the

devil, my concentration on the detection magic weakens!

"That was a pretty weird scream."

"So you are back now… Or more like, why didn't you wake me up?!"

(Haaku)

"Purple was together with us after all. Let me explain it in simple terms."

Brother explained to me the reason why I have been losing

consciousness. The hot lady I saw was the Purple Demon Lord, and

Instinct-sama reacted excessively to the Demon Lord.

Also, the mana of the Black Demon Lord is inside Brother. These

sunglasses make it so I can't see a tiny bit of mana.

"Is that so. In other words, the warnings given by Instinct-sama were not

directed at Brother but at the remnants of the Black Demon Lord?"

(Haaku)

"Remnants? You know a difficult word."

"I know at least one or two difficult words!" (Haaku)

"You probably thought a word Gestaf said was cool and investigated it

yourself, right?"

As expected of Brother. He nailed it perfectly. But this is relieving in a

way.

The danger I feel from Brother is because of the Black Demon Lord.

Then, that means the danger Instinct-sama feels towards Brother is on

the level that doesn't react.

I of course know how amazing Brother is, and I know for myself that he

is not someone I can underestimate.

Even if so, it is relaxing in my future interactions with him that his

existence in itself isn't something that I reject.

"But Brother, are you fine even with having the mana of a Demon Lord

inside you? It is the same as the mana from the Nether, right? A normal

person apparently falls ill when staying too long in the Nether, you

know?" (Haaku)

"I don't feel any burden in my body. On the contrary, I have gotten more

stamina since coming to this world."

"And yet, you're still so weak?" (Haaku)

"Leave me be."

I can tell just how weak Brother is even without using detection magic. I

have the confidence I would be able to win regardless of when I were to

attack. Well, I definitely can't do it with Sis being present though.

"But well, that means I won't be losing consciousness as long as I don't

see the mana of the Demon Lords." (Haaku)

"You were fine in the underground battle. You would most likely be fine

as long as you are combat ready to a certain degree."

"Now that you mention it, that's true. Hm? Does that mean I would be

able to do it if I were to look at Brother with strong resolve?" (Haaku)

I take a deep breath and take my sunglasses off.

"Ugoh…" (Haaku)

Instinct-sama really went wild. Displease spread through my whole

body as if my heart had been grabbed.

If I lower my guard, my consciousness will be taken away in one go…

but, I see… It is not impossible. I was convinced of this, so I put the

sunglasses back on.

"Looks like you have gotten a certain degree of resistance. It will be

impossible to maintain that state the whole time though."

"Haaah… Haah… But this is a good sign. Being together with Brother

means that there will be times when I meet Demon Lords. If I were to

lose consciousness at every instance, I would be worse than dead

weight. It wouldn't be bad to train this every now and then." (Haaku)

"True. It would serve as mental training in a sense, so I don't mind

helping you as much as I can when you ask for it."

"Yeah, please do. I will eventually be able to laugh in your face even

without the sunglasses!" (Haaku)

I honestly didn't like losing consciousness when looking at the face of

Brother when he was looking after me. I am happy being able to feel

growth even if it is slight.

"I feel like it would be faster to improve the sunglasses though."

"Hmph! Don't look down on how hard I can work. More importantly,

hurry and—" (Haaku)

"What are ya guys talking about?"

Someone cut into our conversation. I obviously looked at that place.

The one who was there was a demi-human woman with golden hair and

ears, and a splendid tail. She looks like a slightly more adult version of

Wolfe… Ah, Instinct-sama is taking away my consciousness.

"…Ahyun." (Haaku)

I saw the face of Brother as if he were saying 'Ah, so that really did

happen' before I fainted.

In that case, the one just now was most likely the Gold Demon Lord.

What's up with this house where 2 Demon Lords have visited in a single

day?

◇◇

"What's with him losing consciousness when he sees my face? This one

can't turn off her beauty though." (Gold)

"He is a sensitive man in a lot of ways. Please forgive him. By the way, it

is rare to see you at this hour."

We returned from Troid's place and thought about guiding Haakudoku

to the magic research lab, but to think Gold would come here herself.

Haakudoku has bad timing.

"No one was present when I moved my mind here. We are talking about

Purple, so I thought she had come to yer place, thus I have come to get in

her way, Ser." (Gold)

"Purple has gone shopping with Mix."

"What. To think Purple had the will to act together with someone aside

from Ser." (Gold)

But her getting along with Mix is a happy change. I am worried about the

treatment of Dyuvuleori, but it should be okay.

"Right. There was actually something I would like to report to you."

I shared the fact that I talked about Colorless in the castle. I also

explained to her about Haakudoku.

"I see, so that's why." (Gold)

"Is there something that bothered you?"

"At the time when ya moved into my simulated worlds, you had no mana

left after all." (Gold)

"Really?"

I looked at Ilias. Ilias nodded as if remembering.

"Yer mana is hard to even sense if you don't concentrate on feeling it. I

thought even my ability to sense mana had been numbed when we

changed bodies, but it was that ya didn't have it to begin with, huh."

(Gold)

Speaking of which, Ilias said 'he doesn't have a shred of mana', and

Rakura said 'his mana is dried'. So they weren't exaggerating there and I

really didn't have any.

"There's no actual harm as of present, right? I am sure ya would have

consulted with me immediately if that were the case." (Gold)

"True. It would be faster to consult with you or Purple in regards to the

Demon Lords."

"It could just be the remnants of the summoning magic after all. Even if

so, it can still show ya dreams. That's Black for ya. But this man… the

detection of an Illegitimate can differentiate a Demon Lord with just a

look. I am scared of the others." (Gold)

Haakudoku's talent is his ability to detect danger by instinct. There's no

one who surpasses him on this point.

That goes for the mana of Wolfe, too. The Illegitimate have a single talent

that's comparable to the Hero -to Yugura Nariya.

And there might be new talents being born even now.

"Just how many Illegitimate does Leitis have? It would be better to

proceed with this investigation as soon as possible."

Marito has already given the order to the anbus and has made them

investigate Leitis. But as long as there's the possibility of Illegitimate in

their members, we have to avoid acting carelessly.

Especially if there's someone who has an outstanding talent in stealth.

"This one would like to cooperate too, but… the anbus of Gahne are

honestly not noteworthy." (Gold)

"I didn't even know you had."

"Technically. That said, it is within the sphere of sending them into other

countries as normal merchants and bringing back information they get

from that. Not much different from a regular person." (Gold)

It is basically as if, instead of making someone disguise as a merchant, it

is more like they are having merchants do the job. It is not too suitable

when investigating secret organizations.

But they most likely can act more safely than a half-baked pro when it

comes to getting a broad picture of the nations.

"Gahne will be busy with the military preparations from here on. I am

fine with leaving this matter to the other countries." (Gold)

Considering the base of the Scarlet Demon Lord, the places that are

easier to attack would be Gahne and Mejis. Kuama and Taizu have

limited routes to move in. There's the need for Gahne and Mejis to

properly prepare for war since there's a high chance of a fierce battle

happening.

"That's right. I was thinking about telling ya this, Ser. A conference will

happen in Gahne soon regarding Scarlet. The invitation letter should

arrive to the Taizu King tomorrow. Of course, ya will be coming too, Ser."

(Gold)

"Well, I will attend, but I don't know about a Demon Lord being able to

call the kings of the nations."

The ones who know that the king of Gahne is a Demon Lord are: Marito,

Pope Euparo, and King Zenotta.

The Archbishops of the Yugura Church know to a certain degree, but we

have made them hold back from telling this information to other

countries.

If this were Earth, this information would have easily reached the ears of

the kings, but the Archbishops are trying to avoid unnecessary chaos.

If they were to spread rumors carelessly, the fact that Yugura is an

asshole would also be discovered. They can't do anything thoughtless.

"Nfufu, the letters for the kings of Torin and Serende have already been

sent to them regarding that. I am going to make them laughingstocks if

they aren't careful." (Gold)

"So you introduced yourself as a Demon Lord? Isn't there the chance

they will attack you?"

"Kuama is between Gahne and Torin; Mejis is between Serende and

Gahne. Both nations should hold them down if they were to pull

something." (Gold)

So underhanded. Gahne's neighboring countries are: Taizu, Kuama, and

Mejis. In order for Torin and Serende to attack Gahne, they would need

to go over a country.

There's obviously no country that would easily agree to soldiers from

another country moving inside their territory.

There's also almost no worries of Mejis and Kuama turning sides when

they are raising their wariness against the Scarlet Demon Lord.

"But that's only until the invasion of the Scarlet Demon Lord is present.

There's no assurance they won't cooperate once public opinion tilts."

"By that time, yer country should have taken form, right? There's no

country that would attack a nation where 3 Demon Lords are present

right after defeating Scarlet. We just have to do something about the

public opinion in that timeframe." (Gold)

Gold says this with full confidence. It is as if she is saying that, for her,

manipulating the public opinion is not a big deal at all when she can

create a variety of plans using her Ruling.

"You are awfully confident."

"Nfufu, this one has the man with 3 Demon Lords serving him after all. I

will be counting on ya." (Gold)

"So you are leaving it to someone else? Well, I will help you though."

I obviously can't abandon her. Quite the laudable personality I have if I

do say so myself. Also, I am getting used to it recently.

"I shall grant ya as much of a reward as ya want. Even me—" (Gold)

"Right. Gotta have Gahne help out Gestaf in the building of the nation."

"Such a lack of desire. Even though this one's beauty is enough to strike

a man unconscious." (Gold)

"That's only Haakudoku."

But this battle will make all the nations of the world know about the

situation. Even if the invasion of the Scarlet Demon Lord is wrapped up

safely, the flow of the world will be different from what it was until now.

"Now then, let's try waking this person up once more." (Gold)

"Please don't play with him. Look at how he has fainted with such a sad

face."

Accidents like this will be happening in the future anyways. The 3

Demon Lords on our side are people who move as they please, and don't

care at all about the circumstances of Haakudoku.

The only thing I can do here is help out in the mental training of

Haakudoku.

——-

I got the okay from the editor to post the roughs of the character designs

as publicity.

And so, I will be adding this with the published chapter.

First, the owner of Dog's Bone: Gozu.