Chapter 1
People are said not to panic when they face a situation far beyond their ability to comprehend.
That’s because panic only sets in once you understand what’s happening.
So, to protect itself, the subconscious of the man who had become the Demon King willingly shut down his brain.
People call this a defense mechanism.
And so, all he could do was stare blankly at his own eyes in the mirror.
At those red, gleaming vertical pupils.
“……”
Impossible.
He’d been playing a game in his studio apartment just moments ago. Then he’d collapsed, woken up, and become a character from the game?
Naturally, he thought this had to be a dream.
But what was this?
He had a feeling. The feeling that this wasn’t a dream.
The Demon King’s face in the mirror rapidly paled, drained of color.
Good heavens, this is, what, how, what...
The words in his head wouldn’t connect properly.
Fortunately, he didn’t lose his mind.
Considering he’d managed to hold on without passing out, maybe his life up to this point hadn’t been for nothing.
He’d seen situations like this plenty of times in novels and anime.
As time passed, he gradually managed to calm down a little.
So, who was he now?
This much he could say for certain.
The Demon King of Lust.
That’s what this form was called.
He didn’t remember the character having a name in the original work.
He brought his hands up before his eyes, opening and closing them, turning them this way and that, and waving them around.
Pretty hands that moved exactly as he intended.
This was far too vivid and natural to be a dream.
Why did he have to possess the Demon King of all people?
Before he was possessed, all he’d done was listen to classical music while training the Demon King. That was it.
Had the Demon King cursed him or something? As if a game character could do something like that.
“Ah. Ah. Mic test. Elerelerelere.”
Pfft.
It was funny hearing the Demon King, who usually spoke so elegantly, make a sound like that.
So, what now?
Go back to his original world? Get his original body back?
Those goals came to mind, but he gave up on them right away.
He didn’t even know why he’d possessed the Demon King, and he was supposed to find a way back?
No matter how he looked at it, that was an impossibly daunting goal.
Besides, he didn’t really want to go back.
If he went home, all he had waiting was work, no one to meet, a massive pile of debt, and a body that had been wrecked long ago.
Wouldn’t going back make him crazy?
And what if the body he’d possessed was female? Was that a big deal? Actually, yes, it was.
But I was the one inside this body.
I was still a total macho man at heart.
I could just live like a man, couldn’t I?
Besides, he’d stopped dreaming of things like dating or marriage, so it wasn’t really an issue.
It was a little sad that he’d ended up a virgin, though.
Anyway, adapting to Demon King life sounded more appealing than going back.
Maybe this situation wasn’t so bad?
Haha.
Thinking that, he let out a hollow laugh without meaning to.
Still, he couldn’t let his guard down. Who was the Demon King, after all?
The archenemy of this world, and the leader of demons who knew nothing but violence.
That was the Demon King he’d possessed.
There was a much greater chance he wouldn’t be able to adapt.
Well, if he messed up? He’d just run.
Since he was in the Demon King’s body, he could probably find a way to make a living even if he ran away.
It’s not like the Demon King would be weak.
As he thought about that, something suddenly occurred to him.
“Oh, is there a Hero in this world right now?”
He’d heard that when a great calamity threatened the world, the Goddess summoned a Hero.
It’d be nice if there wasn’t one, but what if the Hero existed and this was already the endgame? Well, maybe he’d be better off dead.
He wanted to ask the crazy maid who’d rushed out earlier, but she still hadn’t come back, which was a problem.
But there was a way to find out.
A way to tell whether this was the endgame.
The hymen check.
If the Hero had already had his way with him, then he probably wouldn’t have a hymen.
In that case, fuck, he’d have to find some way to get back.
He wasn’t about to become the Hero’s cum receptacle.
“Well, should I get this over with?”
Once he’d decided to do it, it was best to start right away.
But when it came time to check, his face grew hot and his hands trembled.
He had to lift his own skirt and check. It was more intense than he’d expected.
He hadn’t even been this nervous during a college presentation. If he checked his heart rate now, wouldn’t it be over 200 bpm?
Even so, his trembling hand gradually moved lower.
This was an important procedure that would determine his future.
He couldn’t stop now.
At last, his outstretched hand grasped the skirt of his black dress and slowly lifted the hem.
One by one, pale white skin was revealed: calves, knees, thighs.
For some reason, he was embarrassed, so he peered at his lower half through nearly closed eyes.
Fortunately, there were no tally marks written across his thigh.
But he couldn’t relax yet.
He pulled down his black lace panties, then slowly opened his squinting eyes and looked carefully.
Hmm, but how was he supposed to check this?
First, he fetched a hand mirror and held it up.
The mirror was hard to see because of the shadows.
He adjusted the angle carefully, leaning his upper body back and pushing his hips forward.
Peering closely at the hand mirror between his legs, he thought he could see something that might be called a membrane.
At least the Hero hadn’t had his way with him.
This made it more likely that the Hero didn’t exist.
He’d have to ask someone once they came in for more details, but at least he’d avoided the worst-case scenario.
That fact alone made him so happy a smile spread across his face.
But his joy didn’t last long.
Bang! Someone came into the room as the door flew open.
“Demon King! You’ve finally awoken—”
She froze.
Unable to continue speaking, the woman who looked like a secretary was frozen in place.
What had the resurrected Demon King looked like to her?
A sight of him on the bed with his panties down and skirt lifted, kneeling with his legs slightly apart as he examined his private parts with a hand mirror?
And to top it all off, his face was beet red with embarrassment.
And so, the woman...
“U-Ugh……”
She grabbed the back of her neck and collapsed.
“……”
For a moment, silence enveloped the Demon King’s bedroom.
Whenever he saw posts online about someone getting caught masturbating by their family, he used to think they were idiots.
But that was him now, wasn’t it?
Drop. His hand released the hem of his skirt.
His face, slowly warming, was already burning hot.
Boom——!
It felt as if something inside his body had exploded.
The Demon King’s magical power was surging.
Crash! Bang! Crack!
“Huh?”
After a shockwave of magical power swept through, the previously intact room was left in shambles.
The woman lay collapsed on the floor.
The bed had collapsed, and the chandelier had fallen.
Various objects had been blown away by the shockwave, too.
This was fucking incredible.
The Demon King thought as he looked at the fallen woman.
Could he escape from here?
He sprang up from the bed and dashed out of the room, leaving the collapsed woman behind.
And the view inside the Demon King’s castle that opened up before him...
Whoa, shit, this place is huge.
The inside of the Demon King’s castle was dozens of times larger than it had looked in the game.
So that’s why it took so long.
There was no time to marvel.
He had one goal now.
Find the escape room.
The Demon King’s castle was treated as a dungeon in the game, so there was an escape room that led outside.
It was a feature added so players wouldn’t get bored searching for the exit to a dungeon they’d cleared.
He had to find it.
He wondered if the Demon King’s bedroom had been built near the castle entrance. It turned out to be easier to find than expected.
It was right next door?
Bang, creak, slam!
He opened the door, went inside, and quickly shut it.
Fortunately, no one was there. After looking around the room a little, he found a magic circle that led outside.
Was all he had to do stand on the magic circle?
He carefully stepped onto it, and it began to glow.
Who would’ve thought he’d have to escape already?
His life really never went right.
What if the Demon King’s army came looking for the Demon King?
He didn’t need to worry about that.
If he just disappeared, the next strongest guy would probably become the Demon King.
There were also the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army, so there was no need for him to stay here.
If anything, wouldn’t the Four Heavenly Kings be happy?
Their incompetent boss had just woken up and disappeared. They could take over as the Demon King.
There was no reason for them to look for him.
The problem was how he was going to live from now on.
If he could put the power he’d just used to good use, couldn’t he at least become an ace janitor?
Kiiiing——, the sound of the magic circle activating.
It looked like he’d be teleported outside any moment now.
He hoped it would take him near a village.
But wasn’t this a one-use thing?
Whatever. It didn’t matter.
***
Ugh, ah, uh.
His vision spun round and round, making him dizzy.
It felt like he’d just gotten out of a human centrifuge.
The Demon King lifted his head from his prone position and took stock of the area.
He saw a dense forest full of huge trees.
The clear air, free of fine dust, seemed to tell him this was a forest in a fantasy world.
The Demon King cheered inwardly at the sight.
It was lucky enough that he hadn’t been sent somewhere dangerous like the Demon Realm or a snowy mountain region.
It didn’t seem to be near a village, but he was just grateful he’d been sent somewhere safe.
But his joy was short-lived.
Good moments never lasted.
Because he heard a human voice from far away.
“Eek! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”
“W-What are you talking about? Out of nowhere.”
“You just sexually harassed me!!”
Huh? He heard an interesting conversation from behind a tree.
He couldn’t get caught up in such an interesting—no, indecent situation.
That was a day in the fantasy world—Day 1.