Pledge.
　That word alone conjures up an image of grandeur.
　But when it comes to the pledge that binds me, it's something else.
　It's just so random.

　It's a good thing that the details of the initial pledge are unknown because of the "specifications" that the godd*mn god says, but the opposite meaning, which is a condition of the proxy pledge, is also "approximately".

　Now, knowing that this is the way it is, let's take a look at the following pledge, which makes me nauseated and tired of looking at it.

"We hereby request the resurrection of the Demon King to reignite the demon world.

　Can you see that there is a big problem?

'That pledge, it changes its meaning depending on the interpretation.
'Or is it interpretation? Indeed ... it's exactly as you said. We wrote it with the intention of reviving the era when the Demon King reigned, but with this content, it can be taken as wishing for the previous Demon King to return.

　Not only Bihanou, but also several demon world nobles are nodding in agreement.
　By the way, in order to explain the reason for my disappearance, I've already notified the demon world nobles about the oaths.
　It's not possible to explain unless you understand that.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
　However, if they're trying to make a show of it, it could be interpreted as 'bring back the previous Demon King who once ruled the entire demon world' as Miurao says.

　In this kind of case, you can fulfill your pledge no matter which one you fulfill.
　If I use it well, I can outsmart the summoner without breaking the pledge, so the rule is originally in my favor.

　Well, after reading it carefully, I knew it was because of another interpretation.
　But poof, I couldn't think of anything...
　Normally, I wouldn't pay attention to the other world that ended.
　It's just a matter of luck if you happen to achieve your pledge.

　Also, it was a really bad idea for the demon world nobles to make a blood seal.
　When a group of people are pledged, the content of their pledges is also average in terms of the commonality of their wishes.
　But because the blood seal was clearly written, it was applied as is.

　Also, it may have something to do with the fact that the only thing that's important to these guys is that they have a Demon King to guide them.
　They don't care if the Demon King is me or the previous generation.
　The reason why Shrezzad is not included is because, as Sekhmet, aka Ushiou, pointed out, the political situation of the demon world, which I don't know, is probably related to it.

''So, sir. What does defeating Shrezzad have to do with the resurrection of your predecessor!

　It wasn't just Biouki, but also the other Demon Realm nobles spoke up.
　Good, that's exactly what we're going to talk about next.

''Let's take it in order. First of all, the existence of a demon king can be revived by satisfying certain conditions.

　These guys didn't know that the previous Demon King was a Pattern 3........resurrection type of Demon King.
　In other words, there was no offense to the guy who made the pledge letter.
　Perhaps even the Seven Demon Generals didn't know that the Demon King could be resurrected.
　And if he knew the conditions for resurrection, things would have turned out a little differently.

''The previous generation's method of resurrection was definitely 'Soul Eater'.
'Soul Eater'...?
'By feeding on the souls of the dead, they store energy for resurrection... in other words, the more dead they are, the faster their resurrection will be.

　There is a saying that the soul is immortal.
　In the different worlds I travel through, this is both right and wrong at the same time.
　Apparently, the spirits of the dead are sent to a place called Gaff's room, where they are converted into pure energy that travels through the universe.
　During this process, any memories of their lives are bleached away and mixed with other souls' energy, so they can't be called someone's soul.

　It's easy to understand if you look at my unmarked magic sword.
　That thing also collects soul energy and turns it into my instant power.
　Well, it's designed to eat and kill entire spirit bodies in order to counter counteract an opponent that can't be killed by immortality, but they'll be gone when I get to Gaff's room anyway, so it's okay.

　Back to the topic at hand, there are many different types of Demon Lord.
　In most cases, the demon king returns his soul exactly to Gaff's room, and only the part of his body that doesn't have the power to remember his life is returned to the other world.
　That's exactly what happened in "Soul Eater".

The previous demon king turned into a dead spirit and collected the energy of his lost soul. When someone died, he ate their soul and stored up the power to revive himself.
In that case, the last time we had a magical war...
It's a good feeding ground.

　Including the seven demon generals, they must have eaten a lot.
　The monsters I defeated with my magic sword were just a few of them.

Now, here's the question. Who was the being with the biggest soul in the Demon World?
''Well, you don't mean to tell me that the spirit of the previous generation ate Shrezzad's soul!
No!　Zzzzzzzz!

　A thumbs up to the astonished Bishiki.
　Well, as expected, even a child can see that!

''The rest is easy. Because I killed Shrezzad, the previous generation ate the soul of the Ancient Dragon, who was originally his own Demon Lord, and made a full recovery. As a result I unintentionally fulfilled my pledge and was summoned.
　Fortunately for me, the fortune-teller in the human world sensed the resurrection of the previous demon king. Thanks to that, I was able to return to this world as a brave man who can defeat the previous Demon King. Congratulations, sweetie. Now, do you have any questions now?

　The silent demon world nobles.
　It's an atmosphere of wanting to ask, but being afraid to ask.

''With all due respect...''

　Miura represented him and summoned his courage.

''If what the Demon Lord says is true, then the previous Demon Lord should already be in the Demon World. Why doesn't he show himself at all?
What?

　When I shrug my shoulders, Miura's eyes become dotted.

''Well you don't know why, do you?''
I don't know.

　I can imagine it, though....
　First of all, the fact that Shrezzad was defeated must have been beyond calculation for the previous generation.
　Looking at the weakness of this demon world, there's no way that Shrezzad can be defeated.
　The plan was for the previous generation to revive long after the heat of the moment had cooled down.
　That would have been thousands of years after the end of Shrezzad's life.

　Unfortunately, or should I say, "Soul Eater" can't pick and choose souls to go through... or rather, it's pure energy, so it doesn't have to.
　So, to the previous generation, it would be like being forced to wake up from sleepwalking and saying, "Mnya mnya, 1,000 years to go~".
　But I don't know if it's true.

If you want to know so much, ask him.

　It's faster and easier.

Play it safe!　I don't know where you are, so I'm going to do this--
I know.

　This time, Miura's movements completely froze.

''........What?''
If you know where your predecessor is, I can tell you. The previous demon king is very close to us.

　Aristocrats colored at my declaration.

''That's ridiculous...''
'It's a lie, it can't be that way!
Oh, my old demon lord, where are you?

　The demon aristocrats begin to murmur in anarchy.

"Shut up.

　All I have to do is blackmail him and the scene goes quiet.
　Yeah, yeah, it's a good training success.

"Bifrost.
Yes!

　Ah.
　I called him to see if he was a good guy.

Now I'm going to show you something.

　I snap my fingers and the door to the audience chamber opens heavily.

''Shall I excuse you!　I brought it to you as the Demon King ordered!

　Amidst all the attention, Sheikaku-chan came in with a nervous look on her face.
　She came in with a certain object to be served as instructed in advance.
　This is where I secretly used a certain cheat. We're ready.

'Oh, I'm sure of it.'
Didn't you eat before?

　Yes. It's the supreme junk food that I've fed Bifrosto, the Fairy Chicken.
　This time it's a masterpiece made from the bird's head meat, and I have to admit, I'd rather eat it myself.

"Come on, Bifrosto. Eat it. That's an order.
All right, all right.

　He was obviously upset, but if it's my order, no matter what, there's no pros and cons.
　I took the Fairy Chicken from the top of Sheephorn-chan's tray and Bifrosto put it in his mouth.

''Fuhaa...''

　........Yeah, I know.
　When you eat something really good, you don't have words for it.
　It's just a spontaneous exhale.

　With this I have successfully sated my bifloss appetite.

'Good. Now do what I tell you to do next time.

　Bifroth nodded silently.
　He's still a bit of a loose end.

'Appraising eye, activate...' he reminds me.
I understand.

　I've granted the Fairy Chicken earlier with the Appraising Eye Cheat.
　It should have been able to be used on Bifros.

''Yi, what on earth is this........''

　Bifroth blinks repeatedly.
　He must be confused by this new world full of information.

'Look at me.'

　But, however, Bifroth's surprise was more pronounced as he looked up at me on the throne as he was told.

'You can see it, can't you?　My magical vibrations.
Haha, yes. Golden........things like flames are rising from the Demon Lord's entire body!

　I read out the lines from the book, getting a good reaction as expected.

It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. What does your neighbor Cyanne look like?

　Normally, the target-designated cheat granted to me doesn't get through to myself.
　Only this time, I made it look special and deliberate.

''Yes. A thin smoke that looks like black darkness has formed countless rings and covers your entire body........I see, this is the demon general. It's so different like this.''

　After saying that much, Bifroth gasped.

''Demon King-sama. No way, this is........''
There he is. Turn around slowly.

　He whispered in a whisper as Bifroth moved.

'Cianne,'
I know.

　We used the same eyes.
　No matter what we saw there, we told Cianne not to move.

"...what?

　Bifroth reacted exactly the same way I did, and I almost blurted it out a bit.
　I gulped and urged him on.

"Well?
The Demon Lords are all very small, with only a hint of purple flicker to them. But ... no, no, that's not possible.
No, Bifroth. What you see is the truth. Tell everyone exactly what you see.

　The Demon Realm nobles waited for Bifroth's words with bated breath.

　Except for one person, who looked down in horror.

''It's the same!　There is someone who has all(s) the same(s) vibrations as the Demon Lord!

　The demon aristocrats' turmoil has finally reached its peak.
　But this time, they can't be quelled. It's because this is for the best.
　Even if they didn't easily believe my words, they trusted Bifrosto's reaction as expected.
　I'm sure this will be worth the effort to use the rare parts of the bird's head.

'Sacagawea, this!
Well, there's that.

　Sianne sees the same thing as Bifroth and is struck with astonishment.
　Or so I thought.
　Even I might not have noticed it for a long time if I didn't happen to look up when I was looking at the blood seal with an appraising eye.

"There's no better proof that you have the demon king's (sic) power (sic) waves (sic) motion (sic). Isn't it?

　At the same time as I stood up from my throne, the first one(s) ran to the door at an unstoppable speed.
　Of course, when I say unstoppable, I'm excluding me.

I'm not going to be able to get away with it. There's no way out of it.

　Yes, when you(...) walked in.
　Although he(...) body hit the door with a force that destroyed it, he(...) woman(...) was bounced around like a ball that hit the wall.

''Ah, ah........!

　Has my hope finally been dashed?
　He turns his teary eyes towards me, wobbling and shaking.

''That reaction completely settles it. In short, you are the previous Demon King who was once defeated by a hero, the indirect cause of me being summoned to this demon world, and the one who banished me from the demon world by eating Shrezzad's soul and resurrecting him... even though I didn't know it was so....

　Spouting long lines like a great detective in a drama, he slowly walked up to the previous Demon King.
　The Demon Lords giving way like an ocean split in half.

　Have they given up on it or are they just in gold bondage?
　The previous generation doesn't move even slightly.

And my target for now. It's checkmate........hey?

　When I gently stroked the horns (...), the girl jerked and shook her shoulders.

''Cute little maid of the sheep horns.''