93 93 "Lily" (1/2)

The next thing I knew, I was there.

In the dark, in an empty space. I was alone in the world.

There's no one else. I'm alone.

Then that man appeared in front of me.

”Uh, nice to meet you!

It was a golden-haired, vivacious girl who hadn't picked up a sword for very long.

But what was more surprising was that the girl spoke to me without fear.

”You are the ...... demon who lives in this temple, right?

So this time I was just a demon.

The golden beast. The golden wolf. The guardian of lore. The fanged demon king. One of the seven worst of the world's seven wolves.

It has many titles, the simplest of which is SS-ranked demon, Sun Wolf Squall.

...... I heard about you and wanted to meet you, so I came here. I've been told by my brother that he doesn't think a newbie without a heroic title would be able to touch me, but after hearing rumors about you, I just didn't think you were such an evil demon.

I knew from this point on that this girl talking to me was a strange child.

Demons are evil.

And if not, demons are there to be defeated by men.

Why is it that demons have so much food in this world?

And can most of the resources of this world be obtained by slaying demons?

It is all part of the reason for defeating the demons.

Therefore, demons are evil that must be defeated. They are a necessary evil in this world.

And yet this child is a strange one to question it and even question the demon.

I had no intention of attacking someone as immature as her from the start, but as I listened to her, my venom completely drained out of me, and I found myself sitting still listening to the girl's questioning talk.

Can I come back here again?

After a long talk, the girl asked her that question.

I just stared at the girl quietly, not answering her question.

Perhaps she took that silence as an affirmation, or perhaps she bowed her head and left, saying only that she would come back.

From then on, it was a really strange day.

The girl came to visit me every day.

At first she would ask me questions about me, about demons, but when she felt that I wasn't interested in answering her questions, she would turn to talk about herself.

Where I was born and raised, what places I've been to and what I've done, what I felt there.

She has a family, an older brother, no parents anymore, and she wants to be a brave person to live up to her brother's expectations.

At first you slayed many demons in order to become a hero, but gradually you wondered what the purpose of slaying demons was.

Why are people and demons hostile to each other in the first place?

How long has it been going on?

What is the purpose of the hero system?

Just when you were wondering these questions, you heard a rumor about a demon.

It's a rumor of a legendary SS-ranked demon that exists in a hidden ruin in your home forest.

And that this demon will bring back to life the heroes and adventurers who challenged him to defeat them without killing them.

It's as if it has a mind of its own to face people.

And after a while, you became interested in the monster and came to see him.

And I think. I'm going to think. To become a brave man, you hunt demons to earn points. I wonder if that's really necessary. Shouldn't I hunt only the monsters I can live with? People and demons are both alive, and if people and demons can coexist in harmony, that's what's best.

The girl who says such wondrous things.

How I wish I could do it.

But that's not the role this world wants demons to play.

We demons, especially those of us who are SS-ranked, are to be defeated by men.

We are demons who exist as one of the demon kings who should be defeated by people as their ultimate goal.

The first time I answered that to the girl, she looked at me with a look of deep-seated surprise.

”You scared me. You could talk. I was surprised because you came out of nowhere.

After the girl told me that, I later realized that it was indeed true.

It seems that before I knew it, I got used to spending time with this girl and said the things I thought in my head without knowing it.

But this girl who used to talk to me while thinking that I couldn't speak is also a natural.

But it doesn't matter, and the girl smiles brightly.

But I'm glad to hear that this is the first time we've talked. It would be nice to hear from you again if you could.

I've been looking forward to the girl's arrival somewhere in my heart.

To be alone in the depths of the ruins, to give the humans who visit there a battle called a test.

That was my only role.

Not only me, but all SS-ranked demons were given this role.

It's exactly the role of a demon king.

If there's a need, I'll play that role one day.

That's why we don't need all the concepts people have.

They were family, friends, lovers, and love.

But at the same time, I envied those who possessed those concepts.

One of the factors that made them strong was always one of them.

Family, friends, parents, siblings, and lovers are there for them to shine.

I envied them for their brilliance.

So.

”Hey, Squall. Will you be my friend?

I'll never forget the shock when the girl said those words.

I am the natural enemy of mankind and the scourge itself.

You are the king of evil demons to be defeated by men.

The girl called out to me without fear.

”No?

To that question of the girl, but I tell you.

I tell you my role. People are there to defeat you, and one day you will have to be defeated by them.

That there was no way you could be friends with him.

That's not true!　I will never hurt Squall, and if someone hurts him, I will protect him!

A girl who is supposed to be much weaker than I am.

The girl spread her body wide open as if she were taking a stand for me.

I don't know about that role or anything difficult, but I think that a world where people and demons can coexist is much more wonderful than a world where people defeat demons. I believe that one day the person who can break the boundary between the two races will appear in this world to maintain the bond between them. And when that happens, I will be there to help him.

It's a feat that no human being born and raised in this world would ever be able to perform.

But if such a world could be created--

”So let's go for it and be friends with Squall. But I'm already a friend!

The girl who smiled and held out her hand.

I was so taken by the friendship she showed me that I took her hand.

That was the second mistake I made.

The first mistake was meeting her in the first place.