The Demon Lord was Caught!

Demon Lord.

It was the title that the leader of all the demons who lived in the north was acknowledged with. According to the books, they were an evil species that wanted to take over the entire world and turn it into a frozen wasteland. For hundreds of years, they had always been at odds with all the other races. But despite being heavily outnumbered, they simultaneously conquered significant amounts of territory from every continent. They were a much stronger species than the dwarves, faster than the beastkin, and wielded more powerful magic than the elves. Of course, that meant they were much stronger than humans, who stood between the other three races in all three fields. The only thing that allowed humanity in general to survive their onslaught was because of the existence of heroes.

And in fact, not only were they able to survive, but they eventually won.

Thirty or so years ago, a coalition of heroes worldwide defeated the reigning Demon Lord and annihilated the entire Overlord clan of demons. This was a significant victory as they were the only ones that could take on the title. After losing their masters, the demons retreated back to their frigid lands. However, the other four races couldn't risk assaulting the demons' lands because of their casualties. After all, even a cornered rabbit would bite ferociously. Content with the annihilation of the clan, the races chose to regroup for the time being.

The plan was to build enough forces to completely eliminate the demons. However, even after many years, the final assault never happened. The situation came to a point where the demons only suffered sporadic attacks by humanity as a sport. Sure, some vengeful sentiments remained, but for some reason, they became the minority. What was the point of attacking on a large scale? There were no profits to be made; the lands that the demons occupied were barren snowfields and glaciers. Additionally, no new demon lord had appeared. The demons, a general term for several diverse species, remain fragmented and weak.

But Matthias knew that a new demon lord was about to appear. That was the whole premise of his reincarnation. He didn't think a god would reincarnate someone like him as a hero if otherwise.

As fate would have it, he would have the fortune of meeting his target early in his journey.

... There were better ways to meet if he was being honest.

"Wow, dude, look at her go. She's finished six plates already."

"Is she alright in the head?"

"Wow, rude. She's just hungry."

"No, I meant calling herself a "demon lord," idiot."

Manna raised her head. Her face looked like she was deep in thought, but he knew her well enough to be sure that she was only pretending. Expectedly, she just shrugged and said, "No idea; why don't you ask?"

They had spent the rest of the afternoon until early evening with the receptionist, who briefed them on the guild's comprehensive policies regarding parties and other regulations. This included the guild's hands-off approach to dividing the loot, the reward system, punishment, expectations, etc. Despite the intimidating number of topics, most of the content was not anything they needed to remember most of the time. Matthias even thought that they were just wasting time. The guild essentially did not care what they did within their rank as long as everybody was safe. Mysteriously, though, the receptionist did emphasize one rule while looking at Soleil.

"The guild strictly prohibits attacking other adventurers."

The punishment ranged from a fine to being executed, depending on the matter. But the state would preside over the case if it was between an adventurer and a civilian. Of course, whether or not the guild can actually identify every case of it happening was dubious. There were surely conflicts that escaped their vigil, or maybe even high-ranked parties that have skirted responsibility by using their power to have their way.

Anyway, Soleil was likely involved in that problem, which necessitated getting a replacement tag. He planned to ask about it when the moment called for it.

... She wasn't going to attack them in their sleep, right?

Matthias silently ate his meal of hard bread and meat stew while he observed their new teammate. With her cloak gone, he could take in... what was essentially eye candy. Besides her grey hair and gold eyes, she had slightly tanned skin that gave her an exotic feel. Her body was also very lean, with no sign of excess mass anywhere. Unfortunately, that also meant she lacked the curves to turn people's heads. It also looked like she was injured, as her left arm was covered in gauze. But overall, she was still an excellent specimen. It was like looking at a foreign beauty. However, all of it was ruined by all the dirt. Her face was smeared with grime and dust, and her hair had dried patches of mud on it. The brown cloak hanging on the chair was similarly battered, torn, and dirtied.

Was this truly the "demon lord" from legends? No way.

Although, to be fair, she wasn't wolfing down her food like a savage. But she did sit unceremoniously with her right foot up. At least she chewed her food properly.

After five plates, it looked like she was finally satisfied. She roughly wiped the oil from her mouth and thanked them.

"Thanks. I've been starving for a few days now. I'll pay you two back for this... when I can."

Her words and mannerisms weren't much different from that of a child or a rebellious teenager. Even when faced with the large, muscular man in the guild, she could look up at him straight in the eyes with a defiant and indignant attitude.

"Don't worry. Matt here's paying for everything, so it's alright."

He and Manna agreed they would share all their resources, including money, so that was technically the truth, even though she tried to frame it differently. Still, her audacity to say that would make even a commoner turn their head.

Regardless, Matthias waved his hand to say that he thought nothing of it. That was only true in the meantime. Since they were at the lowest adventurer rank, the requests at that time offered too little to maintain that lifestyle. If they kept that up, they would soon be unable to even afford accommodations. That was why he was already eating only the cheapest items on the menu. At first, Manna was surprised that he, who was raised as a noble, could stomach such things. But it was a nostalgic taste of a difficult life for him. It was at least better than instant noodles and day-old bread.

"Before we talk, I just want to ask wh—"

Manna elbowed him hard below the table and shot him a glare from the side. "Actually, don't," was what her eyes told him. So, perhaps due to trust or his own choice, he backtracked before he stepped on a possible landmine.

"I, uhh... I wanted to ask if you're alright with this. Circumstances kind of forced us together."

Soleil's eyes widened slightly after hearing his question. Judging by the receptionist's words, she had been a guild member for enough time to get her tag broken at least once. If Matthias was in her shoes, he would also be wary of being grouped with strangers who had just registered.

"Yeah, you two do look too young for this. But eh, I look the same way, don't I? So I don't mind. My question is, are you fine with me?"

She stressed the word "you" as she asked with a concerned tone. Then, she clasped her hands in front of her and leaned forward. "I think you've noticed, but I don't have a particularly good reputation here."

Did she mean being a beastkin, or something else, like maybe someone who went around declaring she was the "demon lord"? Or perhaps, both? It was possible that it was neither and connected to some offense she did, like what the receptionist implied.

"What happened anyway? That receptionist girl looked kinda scared of you back there."

Soleil leaned back onto her chair and shrugged relaxedly.

"I had a fight with my former party. They were being assholes, so I knocked them out. I did the guild a favor, but they decided to punish me anyway."

Her tone betrayed her indignant feeling toward what happened. While it would appear like she was hiding something to some, but to Matthias, it felt more like she simply thought nothing of it. The important thing was that the guild still accepted her as a member, so whatever it was, it wasn't enough for her to be kicked out. Regardless, the end result was that she had been without a party for a few weeks. Due to the way the guild heavily restricted individual activities, especially for low-ranked members, she could not take any worthwhile quests and had been penniless for several days.

"And because they think I'm a beastkin, nobody will hire me for odd jobs. How dare they not open their doors to the demon lord?"

"Why would the demon lord be looking for work in the first place?" was what Matthias wanted to say. In the first place, was she even a demon?

All demons had horns. As far as Matthias knew, there were no exceptions to that. Naturally, all past demon lords had them as well. Besides that, they typically also had slit eyes and unnaturally-colored skin. Among the common characteristics of demons, Soleil only possessed the eyes. Her hands did not have claws, and her head didn't have horns. Sure, she had ashen skin visible underneath her garments, which had tanned from excessive outdoor activity, but the hue was more similar to a human's than anything.

But the thing was, beastkin also had slit eyes. And sometimes, that was the only thing that set them apart from humans.

It was doubtful that she was a demon. If she was, she would have already been killed by the adventurers or the knightage.

"Well, it'll be fine. By tomorrow, we can start taking quests! Let's use that time to get to know each other better, alright?" Manna declared. Matthias felt envious of her ability to just gloss over the ridiculous things.

********************

They returned to their inn after they parted ways with Soleil, who resided in the guild barracks. Before Manna entered her room, Matthias beckoned her to come to his room. Initially, she responded by making the most ridiculous, teasing smile. A slight headache came over him, along with a tinge of regret.

He sat on the chair while Manna helped herself to his bed and got under his sheets. After a while, he knocked on the table to attract her attention.

They started to talk about menial things, such as their impressions of the guild. It was their first time inside the largest organization in the world. They also spoke about the carriage ride, a bit about their past, and their goals for the future.

After a while, Matthias finally decided to tackle why he had invited her.

"I have to ask again. What do you think? About Soleil, I mean."

"Hmm... she seems like a nice girl."

"That's not what I meant," he retorted. He was having déjà vu.

Manna chuckled and buried herself even deeper into his bed.

"Well, what's the difference between her and you trying to be a hero?"

"I'm aiming to be a hero. She says she is the demon lord. Future versus the present. Oh, and aren't the two diametrically opposite?"

After talking with her for a while, Matthias was sure she honestly thought of herself as the demon lord, despite being broke and in the middle of a human country.

"Well, why does it matter?" Manna asked with interest. "If she can fight well and work with us as a team, I don't think there'll be any problems. Plus, she looks sincere enough, don't you think so?"

That was something he also had trouble wrestling with. In his mind, he thought the demon lord would be a haughty, arrogant person. Being the enemy of all races, Matthias naturally believed in that. Of course, that was what his books made them out to be. But back in the restaurant, Soleil thanked them properly for treating her to a meal and even took it as a kind of debt that she had to repay. There was no entitlement to it, which made her even better than many of the young nobles he knew.

After a while, he realized he couldn't argue much against her. A few hours wasn't enough to get to know a person. Perhaps Manna was right; Soleil may just be eccentric.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should give her a chance."

Then it hit him. He forgot to ask Soleil what she specialized in... that was to say, what kind of "demon lord" she was. Did she fight with a sword or with magic? If she also fought with a sword, that would be troublesome for several reasons. It would help if she knew how to use healing spells; that would save them some money. Potions weren't exactly cheap.

"Healing spells? From the demon lord?" Manna laughed and then frowned. "What the hell? Don't ruin my mental image, dude."