Facing It Is the Beginning (9)

"Kururu is at the top of that other tower, over there."

The king pointed toward a small, slender tower. Its top stood a little higher than the throne room. To reach it, they would have to descend to the ground and climb the other tower, or leap from the throne room and enter through the small bay window near the top.

"Why is she in a place like that...?"

"Kururu is undergoing a trial. To receive my baptism."

"What do you mean?"

"Despite that girl's exceptional potential, she has neither the character nor the ambition to make use of it. I thought she'd be all right after I brainwashed her once... but I never imagined she'd entertain thoughts that had no place in the great goal of defeating the Demon King. I couldn't believe it when I heard it from Parna, but... how lamentable."

"So... what do you mean? What does it matter if she isn't thinking about defeating the Demon King?"

"This time, I'll brainwash her down to the deepest parts of her mind, so her will can't be undone."

The king declared this without changing his expression, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"My Skill is the power of the spoken word. Once I use it, it keeps replacing a person's will with my own until the brainwashing is complete. Unless something interferes, the brainwashing brought about by my words will continue... That's why I had Kururu isolated, so no one could interfere."

At that instant, Kagami ran toward the separate tower visible from the side of the throne room, intending to free Kururu from the king's brainwashing at once. He kicked off the ground hard, ready to leap across.

"Gah?! What was that?!"

But the moment he sprang into the air, Kagami struck something invisible and was sent hurtling backward.

"It's useless. You can no longer leave this throne room. And... don't try to break through it by force. To prevent anyone from forcing their way through, any impact you inflict will rebound back at you. That's how this barrier works."

As the king declared this, Alice ran for the throne room door, intending to retrace their steps. But the moment she reached out to touch it, the same barrier that had repelled Kagami knocked her hand away.

Menou then immediately felt along the walls of the throne room. "Looks like we've been trapped by that barrier," she muttered, her expression suggesting the king had outplayed them.

"Let us out of here! Otherwise... Kururu-san will! Kururu-san will!"

"Calm down, Alice. If his power works through words, we can interfere by calling out to her."

Kagami took a deep breath, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kururu! We've come to save you! Wake up!"

The king mocked Kagami, as if to call his actions pathetic.

"It's useless. This barrier blocks sound, too. And I've put up another barrier around the tower where Kururu is. It's not as strong as the one around this throne room, but... your voices won't reach her."

With no way out, Kagami's expression tightened slightly as he glared at the king.

"Don't worry. First, we'll talk... You came here because you had something to discuss, didn't you?"

Unexpectedly, those words left Alice and Kagami looking bewildered.

"You'll hear us out?"

"I'll listen to what you have to say. Go ahead."

The king did seem willing to listen. He made no move to attack, and Parna and Militariel stood by without readying their weapons.

Believing his words, Kagami pulled himself together and faced the king with a confident stance.

"I want you to make a ceasefire agreement between demons and humans. Let's stop fighting already. We're not so different from each other. And here we are, standing together right now—that's proof."

"Oh... You do seem to be getting along without any trouble."

As he spoke, the king began studying Alice and Menou as if sizing them up.

"But that's impossible."

The king stated this as if it were obvious.

"Why? Because demons create monsters? Demons only create monsters! Aside from that, they're no different from us! If the monsters are the problem, then we can work with the demons to figure out how to deal with them!"

"Work with the demons, you say... How interesting. For that matter, who am I supposed to make this agreement with? That demon over there? Or you, a human? Who would represent them?"

"If you need a representative... the Demon King is right here."

At those words, the king immediately turned his gaze toward the Demon King. Given the immense amount of magical power, if the Demon King was here, it could only be that person. Yet even with the Demon King standing right before him, the king's expression didn't change.

"The Demon King... agrees that we should join hands with humans! They understand that something is wrong with the way this world works! All that's left is for you to admit it, Your Majesty! That's all it takes to change the world!"

Kagami raised his voice as forcefully as he could, pleading with the king in the hope that his words would reach his heart.

"Do you know? When we defeat the Demon King... the world resets. We lose our memories of defeating the Demon King, and a new Demon King is born. All that happens when demons and humans fight is that we repeat that same cycle!"

Then Kagami told the king the truth about the world, as revealed to him by the Dark Dragon and Estellara.

"What does that mean?"

Hearing that, Parna blurted out the question, her face bewildered.

But perhaps the words were too outlandish for them to understand. The king and Militariel merely raised their brows slightly, showing no sign of alarm.

"Where... did you hear that?"

After a brief pause, that was all the king asked in response to Kagami's words.

"From Estellara... and the Dark Dragon. I heard it from the two of them, who know how this world works."

At that answer, the king smiled, then gradually broke into laughter. "Heh heh heh heh... Hahaha!"

"Exactly! That's the crucial point."

At those words, Kagami and the others—and even the Demon King—looked confused, their expressions twisting at how incomprehensible it all was.

The king spoke as if to say they were fools who knew nothing. Kagami and the others held their breath, waiting to hear what he would say next. Then—

"I know all of that, and I send the strong to defeat the Demon King in order to bring about that reset."

The king said this with an untroubled expression.

"...What do you mean?"

"I don't know how you made contact with them, but you heard it from Estellara and the Dark Dragon, didn't you? Then didn't you wonder? If demons and monsters have an entity that manages the functions of the world, wouldn't there also be an entity on humanity's side... one that exists to maintain those functions?"

Hearing that, Kagami's eyes widened in spite of himself.