I emerged from the back gate and confronted Leanne.
　He looks straight at me as if he's going to shoot me, and my spine bubbles up.
　I feel the air tremble.

What are you, a child? ......

　But that quickly loosened when he saw me in my child form.
　Apparently, he doesn't realize that I'm a former Fourth Heavenly King.

"What are you doing here, boy?
Haha ...... I was just walking around and wandered in. ......
Well... It's all beasts here. There's probably people over there. I'll take you there.

　And so Leanne approaches me.
　When did you become so nice as to give directions to a kid you don't know?
　But there's no reason to go along with Leanne.
　And the beastman has good instincts. I'm sure they won't recognize the old me, but you never know.
　I hurriedly waved my hand and refused.

"No, thanks!　I can go home by myself!　Besides, you were training with your sword, right?

　LeAnn reacted to my words with a twitch.

"...... Why do you know that?
It's easy. It's easy. You're dressed for movement and there's a lot of grass under your feet. And you've got swordflies on your palms.

　Besides, it's probably the same kata training I was doing earlier.
　It's a way to channel the power into the ground to see how powerful it is.
　The grass was all over the place, trampled and overturned.
　It's obvious they've been at it a long time.
　LeAnn, who had been listening to my narrative, laughed at me.

"Hmm, this is surprising. I'm surprised you could see through that. You're good, kid.
"Haha, I know what you mean.
I'll give you a guess. Boy, you are a martial artist, aren't you?　I've seen that you've been taught by some pretty good masters.

　LeAnn says with a proud look on her face.

"Right. That's great, sister.

　Well, you're half right.
　My dad taught me a few things, but nothing really useful.
　But if I don't, I'll have to make up an excuse.

"Well, my guess is as good as mine, isn't it?

　I was momentarily taken aback by Leanne's carefree smile.
　He smiles like this.
　When he was a Four Heavenly Kings, he was always sullen, but he's become much more rounded.
　While I'm admiring her, LeAnn sits down at the same level as my eyes.

"My name is Leanne. Leanne-Barbarossa. As you can see, I'm a beastman.
I know. You're the Beast King. We had a brief glimpse of each other yesterday, remember?
Oh, you're the boy I saw through the window. I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about that. ...... But you're not surprised at all when you're dealing with beasts, are you?
Yes, I know that some beastmen are good. Some beastmen are good.
Leanne's fine. I think you'll be a good friend.

　LeAnn said and held out her hand for me to shake.
　You really are a different person than you used to be.
　Or maybe he just likes kids.
　Of course I shake his hand.

"By the way, boy, what's your name?
"Ranga.
What?

　When he heard Ranga's name, Leanne's face tensed up for a moment.
　I hastened to add.

My father liked the Demon King, so he named me after him. It's just too much, hahaha. ......
"...... I see. I'm surprised. Actually, I once fought side by side with the Demon King Ranga. It's a name that I have a strong connection with, so I got upset.
"Oh, really? I see...

　Careful, careful.
　Leanne used to be an enemy of mine.


　You'll have to be careful who you say your name to.

"By the way, Ranga, it's a good thing we're here. I'll show you something good.

　Leão said and put his hand on the sword at his waist.
　Why is he suddenly trying to pull out his sword?
　Is it possible that he sensed something from me with his beastly sense of smell?
　Maybe it's time to settle old scores?
　LeAnn pulls out her sword without regard to my retreating back.

　--It's a black blade with a red, suspiciously shining edge.
　The hilt is embedded with magic stones and decorated with dragon claws and fangs.
　The red and black color of the sword was familiar to me.

"The demon sword, Kibaou. It's the sword that the demon king Ranga, who gave you your name, once used.

　--The Demon King, that's exactly the sword I used to love.
　I've been looking for it before the battle with the heroes, but I couldn't find it, so I assumed someone had hidden it, but why does Leanne have it?
　You can't be sure that he was the one who hid it,......?
　I'm not sure what to say.

But in the battle against the heroes, the demon king could not use it. He was the most hated of the Four Heavenly Kings. The other kings hid it.

　So it was Levanov.
　He's the one who set me up back then.
　It's no wonder he hid the weapon.

When I found out, I tried to find and deliver the Demon King. But in the end, I couldn't get to him in time, and by the time I got there, he had run out of steam and been defeated.
"Heh, heh ......, yeah, what the heck .......

　It was an astonishing fact.
　At that time, I believe LeAnn was leading an army against the humans in the castle.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.

"I wanted to save the Demon King and my allies. I wanted to save the Onion King, my ally. I ran hard to do that ......, but I couldn't make it.

　And you came to me alone?
　And to save me? ......?　I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like he's telling the truth.

I challenged the heroes to battle alone, but they were no match for me and I lost. The only reason I still have this is to remember my weakness at that time. To remember my allies who fought and died alone against the brave men.

　Leanne grasped the Demon Blade King and continued to speak.

"After the war ended and the Demon Lord's army collapsed, I led the beastmen to live. However, the barren land of the Demon World could not provide enough food for all the beasts. Then I looked next to me and saw that the human city was very rich and full of food. If it had been me, I would have fought to take it. I would have sacrificed a lot of people and worsened the situation of the beastmen. Or worse, they would have perished. That Demon Lord wouldn't do that. He would have chosen the path of least sacrifice and most of his men would have survived. ...... I was troubled by this thought. I wondered what he would do. ...... As a result, I thought it would be best to make peace with the humans.

　It's true, if I were in the same position, I might have done that.
　The demon king's army has been destroyed, and there is little reason to stay in the demon world.
　Then, the most efficient way is to coexist with humans.
　But it must not have been an easy decision.
　After all, they had been killing each other until now. It's unlikely his men would have been so willing.
　--I'm sure Leanne went around trying to convince them.
　Hard, earnestly, patiently.
　If the chief beast king did so, no matter how bloodthirsty the beast king's army was, they wouldn't be able to ignore him.
　But I can't believe that the proud LeAnn would do such a thing. ...... Things change when they change.

I'm sorry to hear that.
"Yes, but there was one person who agreed with me. My sister, Syria.

　-Syria, I roll my eyes at that familiar name.
　Even though she was the sister of the Beast King Leão, she had a very gentle personality.
　She was a woman who treated everyone with kindness and equality, and seemed to embrace everyone like a holy mother.
　Not only the beastmen, but even the other members of the Demon King's army would give her a glance.
　That was the Beast King's sister, Syria.

She worked here in Alethia to be a bridge between the beastmen. I'm sure she went through a lot of hardships at first, but she never complained. Thanks to Syria, the people of the city understood that there were good people among the beastmen. A few years later, someone asked Syria to marry him. It was Nerval.
"What?　Well, Nerval's dead wife is .......
Yeah, in Syria.

　A sad expression appeared on Leanne's face.
　I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this, but I'm sure you've heard of it.

I'm not sure what to make of it. I had some thoughts, but I continued to work for peace so that her death would not be in vain. Nerval also swore an oath to the late Syria, and he built hospitals and orphanages, and did his best to help the beastmen. His persistent efforts finally bore fruit, and this peace conference was realized. For the sake of the beastmen and for the sake of the deceased Syrians, ...... we will make this conference a success. ......!



　LeAnn is looking straight ahead.
　You can't help but be taken aback by that dignified expression.

I don't know what I'm talking about when I say "......". I don't know what the heck I'm talking about.

　I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.

I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone what I just told you.
Yes, of course!
"Good girl.

　Leão smiled and put his hand on my head.
　It was a strange feeling to be stroked by the Beast King.

I'm not asking you by name, Ranga, but ...... is the Demon King angry that you took his sword without permission?
No, I'm sure the Onion King doesn't mind. I'm sure he doesn't mind. On the contrary, I'm sure he's happy that you replaced it and tried to deliver it to him. I don't think he's going to use it anymore, so I think it's better for Leanne to keep it.
...... Well... I hope you're right. Yeah.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　I was surprised that Leanne thought of me as an ally.
　I thought he hated me for sure.
　The fact that he had come alone to save me at that time was a bit touching.
　In any case, the Demon King would have been taken away by the heroes if he hadn't been killed, and I have no complaints if Leanne uses it.

"Ranga-sama!　Where are you?

　Amira's voice echoed in the gloomy air.
　It seems she's come looking for me.

"Well, it looks like you're here. You'd better get going.
"Okay, bye!　Leanne!

　I waved to Leanne and ran off.