Chapter 4 (1/2)

The Lazy King Chapter 4: Ira

Part 1: Just Re it pisses Me Off

In novels, I’ve read that there’s nothing more troublesome than an incompetent yet hard worker, but if you’ll letthan a ridiculously competent slacker

The De of Sloth, Leigie of the Slaughterdolls- is perhaps the best fitting for that phrase in the world One of these guys is h

Of the ones who ally to the Great De『Kanon Iralaude』, a total of 19 have reached Deinal Sin of Sloth, there is only one

Compared to a norly powerful, and while it changes based on the Skill Tree, all of them are extremely useful Therefore, the Demon Lord who advanced his Sloth Skills to the lily, classified as a precious existence, and that formed a sort of buffer zone where no one could really say anything against his behavior

I must follow my orders, and produce results But he doesn’t seem to want cause any insurrections, and all he does is just lie around How annoying

The current Great De, Kanon-sama is a Demon Lord that is connoted with Ira The Ira attribute specializes in offensive power, and its single targeting power far surpasses the Gula series, which is also said to boast high offense However, the Acedia Series, annoyingly enough, is said to be the only Skill Tree out of all of them that excels in pure stamina All demons have some Defensive skill or another, but the Sloth Tree far surpasses coard

Pointless VIT that seems to have been thrown in for no real reason, on top of a presumptuously enormous amount of HP What’s more, they have specialized resistances to attacks of every attribute, and status abnormalities With their explosive VIT, they rarely ever feel pain

On the other hand, they’re lacking in Dexterity, and Offensive power, but I doubt such a thing is necessary

Without any round, like shellfish in the sea, those guys just exist there without doing anything

Why must aste our oer to try and chip at those existences that reses of old probably thought along those lines

Fro of Sloth as a subordinate was one of the greatest mistakes ever committed by the first Great Demon Lord

They are without a doubt detriainst that indestructible wimp just continues to build up without end I’ve collected an indescribable amount of Wrath, and while it’s been almost a thousand years since ainst a specific so ever before

Those were the contents of the regular report I subet killed She burst into laughter It was the first tih to this extent

The Great De’s hand-picked corps that acts as her eyes and ears, the『Order of Black』

The Deh by various processes, eration to say they’re the ones leading the Great Deuard

In reality, about one fifth of the world’s Des were once part of the Order, and when you think about how the current Great Deinated from it as well, it’s easy to understand just how refined of a history this Order has

The members that make it up are sent out in different squadrons to look over the actions of the De- by the desire they held, was it likely for them to quietly obey another or not We observe their conduct in great detail, at ti warnings, at tins of rebellion before they can carry anything out

But as we are dispatches, it’s an exceedingly dangerous mission where we have to serve another Deence isn’t permitted

Even so, after receiving top-class reports for my military service, I, Lize Bloodcross, was unable to understand why I was sent alone to do the h I governed Wrath, just as Kanon did, I couldn’t understand thesent to watch over Sloth, the complete opposite nature It was unbearable

Originally, inspections were to be carried out by Demons of the same attribute, or at least by ones of similar nature While it , I am completely unable to comprehend his divine will I’ a protest Even if that is to end in my death

On a giant throne of obsidian, Great Dehed soout of her eyes, as she propped herself up with her staff

Kanon-saht was close to a man’s, and the personification of her Wrath, her crimson hair the color of the flames of hell boiled and let off fumes like lava The tips of it tickled the armrests of the throne

Even with a few meters between us, the exalted atmosphere I sensed was proof of the unfatho

But her authority is quite wasted In various ways And as I ood mood

She clears her throat, and stares at me with her red hot eyes

“And, Lize Bloodcross If that be the case, then what exactly is it that you want?”

“Yes, it is ie-san it to the other Demon Lords loyal to you”

I stated as on

Perhaps she had expected my objection She immediately threw out a reply

My objection was in opposition to the Great Dee for er in her eyes

“I see… then ill kill hioverns Sloth, he ht How shall we kill a Demon Lord like that?”

“That is…”

That in itself was the reason I spent severalhim

I do possess General level power, and my attribute is the onesuch attacks, of all things… that De

As if he was saying that there was no need to pay any mind to attacks of my measly level

Just re it pisses me off

Hot blood circulated through my body with my Soul Core as the center, and my vision was dyed red I took deep breathes to try and calm myself, but it didn’t have any effect

“Ku ku ku, by the look of it, you’ve already tried it yourself…”

“… Yes, I understand that I have overstepped my authority, but I was unable to hold back my Wrath…”

Kanon-sama received those words with eyes filled with pleasure

“I’ll permit it Ku ku ku, Lize… you resemble… the me of the past”

“!? Yes… ‘tis an honor”

Just what does she mean?

I cannot understand Kanon-sary My thought coain, and I instantly kneel before her

With an expression co of hereyes

“Anyways, Lize That man won’t die… of course, if you find a way to kill hi on you”

“… Yes I will put in e”

On her sudden words, I hurriedly corrected my posture, and from her sudden expectations, I hid my face

Will I ever be able to live up to such hopes?

The Demon Lord of Sloth has peerless powers, and in his speech, loyalty to the Great De, and his treatment of me, a direct ement of interest

Against that Demon who’s shut himself in his own closed world, what is it that I can do?

Is there anything I can change in the slightest? No matter the time, I’ve always cut open my own path with my oill, but I have no confidence for myself on this trial

Our affinity is… just too bad

“Good… I understand your plea But there is a reason you were appointed Leigie’s observer Find it out for yourself”

That was soht I feel on the back ofmy head isn’t permitted

Itfurther would be foolish

“Yes Please excuse me, Lize Bloodcross All is as Kanon-sama wishes it”

“Good Then s of a ruler So learn Study it, understand it Thea Demon”

“Yes… without fail”

There was no playfulness in the Great De’s words

Her each of her direct, passing words were engraved in my Soul Core

But I cannot understand what she htest

So…?

Fro it caused my predecessor, a Demon of Sloth, to abandon his responsibility As someone with the polar opposite nature, just what am I supposed to learn?

Perhaps by the ti’s expectations

I lower h the door, Kanon-sama spoke

Another voice unbefitting the De of Ruin A tired voice

“Lize, once you return to the Castle of Shadows, go tell Leigie-Niisaain”

“… Eh!? Niisama!?”

I definitely did not have to hear that

I turned around in a panic It seems Kanon realized what it was she had just said, as she was clicking her tongue With a grim expression, she pointed her staff at me

The sin of Wrath, said to return everything in the world to ash

The glint in her eyes was like a raging fire, as if to block any objection from me

With this pressure, I was able to get out but a feords before ave in

“Kanon, just now…”

“Onwards, Lize Bloodcross! Don’t… trouble me any further!”

“Y-yes!”

As if she was driving me away, she slammed the doors

Angry words fro rare The two guards standing in front of the Great De, but they turn eyes filled with sy forward

I see… Even if he’s a rare Sloth Deoverns Wrath leaves him be…

Wrath’s direct attack ability is second to none, but on the other hand, it’s hard to keep followers unharmed

I get the feeling I just caught a gli’s black history It’s a bit dejecting

Part 2: Go to hell!

Today, once again, the De was at peace

Even though thesun had risen, the bed reie, and he isn’tto question whether he’s still alive

Ever since the Great Dee him, but no matter how you look at it, this Demon Lord is just way too much of a Sloth

There are tiie-sama has never slacked on his duty

Is that supposed to be the difference between a nor According to the others of the Order of Black sent to watch Demon Lords, they’re just a bit further out than normal Demons, and it see to pursue their own attributes as ie Really, he should just drop dead

In an irritated state, I started writing in my Demon Lord Observation Diary

I unintentionally openedThis is quite severe

There… isn’t a single thing to report

He doesn’t train his skills, and without any training, I doubt he’ll go step into a battle He doesn’t establish communication with his retainers, and he doesn’t participate in the war councils Everything revolves around the people working outside of his watch I ale type ofdifferent frons, but Does not Govern』

(TL: This is apparently a line from the political doctrine of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations)

No, it’s just that he isn’t thinking about anything at all

Are you even conscious of what your role in all this is, De~ Mon~ Lord~ Sa~ Ma~?

How does this arether? No, seriously

It was just too pitiful that er As a result, for er rowth I’m not happy about it at all

I sat irritated in lared scornfully at the bed

Even when I’ this htest…!?

And while that was happening, the clock hit a certain time, and the source of all evil appeared cart-in-hand

She opened the door without ant bearing In a soft voice, she alerted him of that time

It was the closest connection Leigie’s army had to their Demon Lord It was…

“…Leigie-sama, it’s time for your meal…”

The maid

She wore dated office worker clothing, and was a prim and proper beautiful Demon I don’t know her Attribute, but she doesn’t look suited for battle, so I guess she ht not have one

In the categorization systeory of De but the innate instinct to cause harm to others, but occasionally, a Demon without such desires is born of them

In that case, what coinal Sin There are also child Demons whose spirits are too is, but for therow up in that state is rare I’ve heard that it can happen, though

If that girl actually embraced soie-sama Because this Demon Lord is trash

Her name is Lorna She doesn’t have a last Since I was dispatched here, she’s the one I’ve had to interact with the most

Her wide pretty blue eyes, and the golden hair that was evenly cut at her shoulders were her e, if not a little younger

At the sairl spoils that Deie-sama will never work no matter how much time passes

I’ve protested ti her work For a girl like this to be wasted on a demon that does not but covet indolence, ‘tis the end of the world If it turned out that this girl was actually the one pulling all the strings, I don’t think I would actually be surprised

I honestly think this world would be a better place without her But she doesn’t die There’s no worry of her falling in battle Because she doesn’t go out in the battles

On Lorna’s whisper of food, the Dean to project out of the covers His eyes are half-closed, and he’s still lying face-down This is the only tiularly see that h he’s unarle point of dae I know because I’ve tried it a few times

Just what sort of Skills does Sloth have?

Within all the Skill Trees held by the Demon Class, the one with the least information about it known is without a doubt the Sloth Skill Tree

Demons of Sloth don’t usually use skills by choice If you ask why, it’s precisely because they are Sloth And so, a majority of Sloth’s skills aren’t widely known Of course, aly record down their skills either It’s no real mystery why it’s a mystery Don’t Screw With Me!

Just what thoughts are going through their heads as they continue to pursue that laziness?

Just what are they trying to do by cultivating a set of skills that they’ll never use?

Every ti soulfed by a feeling of weakness Just die already

The scarce information that’s been passed around denotes that Sloth skills excel in endurance, and that they have skills that allow thehter Dolls Leigie-sa life to dolls But that’s about it

That h information in a sense Ito use a skill anyways

With his eyes closed, Leigie-sama opened his mouth

Lorna accepted that action with a bea smile, scooped up some food with a spoon, and inserted it in his

One surprising thing was that this Deer to eat!

Just quit it already! Like hell this thing is a De out there!

Even if you’re successfully fulfilling your cravings, APOLOGIZE TO ALL THOSE DEMONS WHO COULDN’T BECOME LORDS!

I grit my teeth, and screaer In various ways

And Lorna, you need to stop too!

It’s that The ie, as well as those of the other De so I’m included And that makes me pissed off all the more

As I stood up by reflex, Lorna turns her eyes to me

As I sigh, she gently sets the spoon on the plate, and puts her hand on her hip, as if worn out

“Day, by day, by day Just what is it that you’re so dissatisfied with?”

With that gesture, I heard so snap somewhere in my head

Leigie yawned

“What? Me, dissatisfied? There should be a li fun of me!!”

Just because he’s a De me…

I lose my rationality for awith my blood

Just how much must I bear with? Why must I live like this… If Kanon-sama won’t dispose of him, then I’ll settle this in her place…

However, even when I’ve reached a stage like this… he won’t pay me any mind

With his eyes still closed, he sways his head back and forth I’o kick that head like a soccer ball

Daive hile scratch

Then to give him a scratch, all that’s left is my『Ira』 Skills

I take deep breaths, and try toabout my head

It creates too , so I can’t use it in battle, but let’s take soather up power

With e as the fuel, I’ll obliterate my enemy That is the basis of『Ira』 skills

“Looking down on me… in Kanon-sama’s place… I’ll beat you to death…”

The『Ira』 skill I have with the highest output

Fire born from a Demon’s heart, my Soul Core, well up from my feet, and rise into the heavens as a pillar of flames

On the Skill Tree, it’s an upper class skill ranked S Of the skills I can use, it’s the most powerful

『Rage Flame』

Lorna winced as she was buffeted with the high temperature with that came as a side effect

The blast sends the tableware flying, and it crashes into the wall before shattering into small pieces

While it may just be an aftereffect, it’s a heat beyond what a norins to burn, and the roo meat She scowls, steps back, and covers her skin, but this isn’t a heat that can be avoided by so of that extent

“… Lorna, ht up in this”

“… It’s useless With『Wrath』 of that level… you won’t be able to breach Leigie-sama’s『Sloth』”

… Looking down on me

I suppress the feeling of the fla myself, and raise it to a heat I’d never attained before The barrier protecting the ceiling shatters, and the stone aboveto the floor

Words are taken as fuel, and the inside of ets redder and redder The flae to a shade of crimson mixed with black

The cuff of Lorna’s clothes ignite, and the flame starts to spread

But without even trying to put it out, she continued to pat Leigie’s head He hadn’t even opened his eyes Her mouth approached his ear

And she voiced some unbelievable words

“Leigie-saer sister If I’m ever to dissapear, it’s set that she will be the one to take care you you in my place”

“I see”

Lorna doesn’t see any care to her own life

And the Lord of Sloth doesn’t have a hint of interest towards that fact Leigie doesn’t even open his eyes… He doesn’t even look at Lorna’s face

“Idiotic… you plan to die here?”

“Ku… I do not have anything to block what you’ve over there, Lize No matter what I do, it will kill me in the end That is all”

While withstanding the pain, her words ca more fuel to my flames of wrath

The flaulfed in it Lorna doesn’t try to cover herself With her body alight, she continues to gaze at the closed-eyed Leigie

The flaer in itself Their nature was different than si for them to be called flames of hell, the ability to turn all matter to ash In this orld, they’re perhaps what has the greatest destructive capability They even surpass the ic fire used by the Spirit Race

Inforet of my flames enters my head

Lorna’s body constructed of Soul only has a slight fire resistance froh as she becomes food for the flames

The reason she’s still alive is that this is only a secondary effect with not even a fraction of the skill’s power

If I released the skill, then even if I didn’t aim for her, she would easily…even easier than a scrap of paper, her soul and all else would turn to ash

“Ask your lord to save you”

“You’re … a mistake Lize Bloodcross”

Her entire body burns away bit by bit, and her head dressed in charcoalshe was still alive With those burnt eye sockets, she looked at me

What was in her eyes was nothingness Her entire body disappearing, she lets out not a single screareet an inevitable de I had ever seen before

And like that, Lorna smiled

“… Sloth is… without thinking anything… without creating anything… without saving anything… without letting your feelings beas you wish it”

The all-iie was, even with the fla hi at all

Not a single hair on his head, or a single patch of skin was burned Even though there’s no sign of hi any sort of skill!

In front of his eyes… even when the loyal De!

Even when everything in his world is being reduced to cinders!

That fact made my mind leave me

It felt likein this world wasn’t enough That sort of anger penetrated my head The heat of the flames increases even further

At that ie opened his eyes for the first time, and murmured

For the first time, his eyes turn towards me His expression seems troubled

“… It’s hot”

What the hell is he saying… this one…

I can see that his face is stiff Words I cannot understand A way of life I cannot understand

Without an iota of hesitation, I activated the skill

“… Go to hell! Leigie!”

“… I see”

With an unpleasant expression, Leigie sighed

He turned the palm of his hand to le word

“Iyo”

That was the first moment I had understood that the De the Skill name

Right before it hit him, with a speed much faster than my own skill

What was supposed to protect my soul, the Mental Pollution Resistance skill was instantly breached without being able to offer any resistance in the slightest My instincts told me

The ih to shake hts went all over the place

The heat inside of my head was instantly cut off

As if those feelings had been a lie, a hole was pierced through my heart What should have been there was the er turned off, and died out The flas, the fla had been a dream

“What… did you…”

I look at my palm, from which the black flame had disappeared

I should… have been angry I definitely had been e to the ground

My o, I should have been in a rage, but… now I don’t really care

The disparity betweenshi+vers down ap within my mind

My knees give out on round that had rapidly cooled after losing its heat

I don’t understand I don’t understand anything I don’t understand et so angry? My memory won’t provide me with those answers

Without paying any mind to my worries, within the ashes, and with a troubled expression, in his tattered bedding, Leigie rolled over

There is only one theory that could possibly explain this abnormal situation

… This is… a Skill of Sloth

Lying on his back, Leigie’s eyes turned in my direction

But without saying anything, he closed them

His impudent behavior lit another spark within me

Say so already…

Part 3: Who the hell Does He Think He’s Supposed to Be?

“Are you not going to killyou?”

“… If you want to die, then go do that by yourself Ah, but first, go tell them that they should send a Sloth next time”

Hah

Leigie let out a troubled sigh

With those words, I became certain that my own actions had absolutely no effect on this Demon Lord

He really is a man with no hopes of salvation Kanon’s tired words float in my mind

A skill to overwrite one’s cravings with Sloth

That’s my conjecture as to the skill this Demon Lord used only once I don’t even know its name

At that moment, the hell within my heart was completely buried up

And if that’s truly the case, then that is… the strongest skill for a Demon I mean, a Demon’s battle ability rises in proportion to the extent of their longings Just as er, to rapidly increase its output

It’s not so limited to Wrath, the others are the same Without a thirst for material possessions, Greed Skills are unusable, and without hunger, Gluttony Skills won’t have any decent firepower

His skill is bullshi+t Normally, a skill of this type would be blocked by the Mental Corruption Resistance on the Basic Demon Tree, but this Demon Lord somehow breached it in an instant That means that skill can’t be blocked by standard means, and that skills that can’t be withstood by it truly do exist

I’m not sure if it’ll work even on a Demon Lord, but if it does, then even Demon Lords would be played with like children And I don’t want to think about it, but perhaps the one who holds the seat of Great Demon Lord, Kanon-sama, is the same

No, e er, so his poould be even ainst her

When I think of the anger s that will burn for eternity, but if I think about ould happen if it were suddenly extinguished in battle, I cannot help but feel fear

Its effect? Its range? Its scope? Its conditions?

Challenging this Deerous What’s le power When you think about how I have dozens of Wrath Skills, while there’s a difference in trees, I can’t help but assume this Demon Lord has much more than that

Leigie-sa behavior is poison to erous

It’s likely that Kanon-sama knows this as well That’s why I was dispatched This De troublesome like start a rebellion, but in the million to one chance…

If I cannot obliterate him with Wrath Skills… the other Skill Series which fall behind in pure offensive poon’t be able to break his defense

He said it was hot That means for a split second, my power definitely had some effect on this Demon Lord It’s impossible for the current ain the power to inflict dae on him

I need to sharpen my blade

While looking at this man, who possesses unfathomable power, I’ll refine myself That is likely Kanon-sama’s… intent

And at the saood use of this man’s resources, to benefit the Great De these Sloth Skills on our side is more than reliable

Taking on these two challenges simultaneously is my mission, and my trial

Once I’ve overcoained powers incomparable to what I’ve used up until now

We were moved to another rooie turned over in his sleep

In my eyes his form was now that of someone I couldn’t underestimate

It seems that the bedroom I burnt up is in the ie’s ar already

At that tile Demon came in

It was a girl wearing a maid uniform Her atmosphere was a bit sier

She looked at Leigie-sama, who refused to pop his face out of the covers, took a quick glance at me, and approached the bed With a face identical to Lorna’s, she smiled

“Leigie-sama! Please~ Wake~ Up~!”

Of all things, she began recklessly shaking the cover the Demon Lord had burrowed under

The sirl as probably the sister she was talking about only carried a similar air, and her actions were completely different This is a fraud

That’s no way to treat that guy, I ?

At her violent treatment, I unintentionally tried to restrain her when I was supposed to be on the other side

What the hell is this

“!? Wai…can’t you be a little quieter!?”

“? Ah! You muct be the Lize-san oneechan told me about! I’m called Hiero I’ie-sama!”

“Eh, ah, yes”

Without stopping her hand, the girl called Hiero turned only her head to look at me

She’s not displaying the appropriate attitude to the one who burnt her sister to death No,flower

Even if she’s a Demon, she should have at least a bit of affection for her family Just like I have a sort of loyalty to the Great De

Of all things, she started speaking in an innocent voice

“Thank you veryOneechan! Because of that, it’s finally co, so I was getting worried!”

Her feelings were just too twisted Her lack of visible

Fro, to when I was assigned here, I’ve never seen emotions like these

“Y-you… are those the sort of words you’re supposed to direct to your sister’s killer!?”

“Eh? Well…”

On an to think

And the answer ca at all

“Lize-san, you’re too soft If you’re going to try killing her, you have to do it properly…”

“Eh…?”

Her skirt fluttered as she sat on the edge of the bed From under her skirt that was much shorter than Lorna’s, I saw healthy, tanned skin

As if soe

How does that er one like this?

(TL: This kusu is laughter Not sobbing)

“Kusu kusu kusu, she was still alive… Good grief, oneechan doesn’t knohen to give up… her luck sure was great Even if it wasn’t a direct hit, for her not to die instantly after taking the『Ira』 of a General Class De to have to contain er!”

What shocking news She was burnt black, but lived!?

No, that’s not it That isn’t it This Demon… what did she just say?

“… Contain yourself even longer… could it be, that you…”