Whew, we're in big trouble...!

　It is Prince Arowana.

　Hakkai the Orc will continue to report on the prince's journey of training.
　It's now, however, just after a female student who came on a field trip and returned home.

　Prince Arowana has just returned from the dead, sandwiched between Master Ardheg and Songgokphon.

"I really thought I was going to die...!

　I suppose.
　Just snatching both Ardheg-sama's Breath and Songgokphone's Manakanon was enough to kill you.
　I'm amazed that you were able to dodge them all while they were flying around like a storm.

"Tadaimaa!

　Master Puffa, who had sent the female students back to the farm, also returned with transition magic.

'Alright, let's get going this time.
Where are you going today?
"To tell you the truth, Lord Zedan, the Demon King, once told me. If you're ever in the vicinity, I'd like you to stop by and say hello.
?
That's just around the corner.

　I can't just ignore the request of the Demon King, can I?
　Then will that be our destination today?

''I'm going to brace myself!
""Oh."

　　　　* * *

　We have arrived.

'Hey master, are you sure this is the right place?'
''Hmm, the place that Lord Zedan showed us should be right here...?

　But what a desolate place we had arrived at.
　There wasn't even a village, let alone a city, and on top of that, not a single plant or tree grew.
　It was a place that should be called a lifeless wasteland.

　Why did the demon king make us come to such a place?

To lure him out and attack him?
Lord Ardhegg!　You're full of shit!　Only Zedan would not be the one to use such a nasty trick!
I'm sorry...!

　Master Ardhegg has been Shunned.
　He's so weak for a dragon.

　In the meantime....

"Oh, you are a traveler, aren't you?

　From the wilderness, where it was thought to be empty, a human emerged.
　........A human?

'He's probably lost anyway, right?　I will give you the direction of the nearest village, so you must leave in a hurry. If you leave now, you may arrive at nightfall just in time.
No, my lord, we are...!

　Anyway, Prince Arowana explains how he came to be here, saying that he's fortunate that there were people here.
　As you would expect, to prevent the story from getting too big, please keep your origins and the Demon King a secret.

　Explaining...!

Ho!　So you are the prince of the mermaid kingdom that the Lord of the Devil's Hall reported to me!
!

　The prince blurted out an explanation.
　It seems that he knew everything.

Master, what are you...?
That doesn't matter. I've already been instructed by the Demon King to show you the mermaid prince, who is training to be a warrior, when he arrives. You may look around as much as you like.

　With that, the person who lives in the wasteland starts to walk away, asking you to follow him.
　If you look closely, you can see that he is a shabby but dignified middle-aged man in his late forties.

I don't know if there's anything to be learned from looking at this wasteland.

　It was truly a wasteland.
　No plants or trees grew there, no beasts lived there, and there were no rivers with water flowing through them, so it seemed impossible for a person to live in such a place.

'Why does your husband live in such a harsh place?'
Or should I say, the karma.
What?
You can only live so long in this place. And I have a job to do right here.
Is it...?
Is it a frontier?

　Reconstruction?
　Here comes a phrase that sounds familiar.

"Look over there.

　The master was the one pointing, and several of us were wielding the hoe.
　It seemed they weren't the only ones living here.

'Ho, are you working on the farm?'
No. No, I haven't even reached that yet.
Yeah?
They put wheat husks in the ground. "That's not all they do," he said. Crushed fish bones, ashes from burning firewood, rotten vegetables, etc. Rotten vegetables rotten.

　Organic fertilizer.
　At the saint's farm, in addition to the hyper fish manure, food scraps are also mixed into the fields to nourish the soil.

'This area is a wasteland as you can see. As you can see, the area is a wasteland, and there is no life in the soil. So we have to start by bringing the soil back to life.
I see...?
And at the same time, we are drawing waterways. When that is completed, we will be able to produce our own food.

　They will take many years to complete.
　On the farm of the Saints, the hyper fish manure promotes the growth of the crops and allows them to be harvested in the blink of an eye.
　Waterways, too, can be advanced by the strong muscles of our Orcs, but in the hands of ordinary humanity, it will be the advance of ants.

　Isn't such a difficult and unpredictable thing to do, the true pioneering work?

Great!

　Prince Arowana, I am somewhat excited.

'Great work!　This is the first step to national grandeur. I can understand why Lord Zedan wanted me to see it!
As far as I'm concerned, it's remarkable that you recognized it at such a young age.

　Her husband squinted dazzlingly.

I didn't realize it until I was this old. When I came to this place, I was reminded of the fact that I was not capable of standing above others...!
....

　Prince Arowana's expression changed, as if he noticed something in his master's tone of voice that seemed to regret his own half-life.

'....With all due respect, you are a human race, aren't you?
How. You can tell by the color of my skin.

　It's true that there is a big difference between the human race and the demon race in the color of their skin.
　But it's unthinkable in common sense that there are human race in the demon kingdom.
　What could it be?

'I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but aren't you once the man-king of the human kingdom?'
"[?

　Prince Arowana's point astonished everyone on the trip, including me.
　That's because the Human Kingdom had already been destroyed by the Demon King's army, and its king was supposedly executed.

　Our gaze was focused on a single human race.
　The person in question let out a dry laugh.

I don't like it," he said, "too sharp. It would be unbecoming of a king, wouldn't it?
So that's it then?

　This really is the king of the Human Nation, the one who was supposed to be executed.

"I was supposed to be killed, but by the mercy of the Demon King, I am alive for the rest of my life. But through the mercy of the Demon Lord, I've lived the rest of my life.

　Ostensibly, it's dead.
　It would be more convenient for the rule of the human kingdom.

''Lord Demon King is indeed a merciful ruler. He gave me a chance to live, and gave me a meaningful job.

　That's the work of pioneering in this land.

I feel like I'm learning what a real king is here. It's all too late for that. I hope that I can serve as a reminder to young kings like you so that you can learn a lesson.
No, sir, I don't think so.

　Prince Arowana took the former Human King's hand.

He said, "I'm not your enemy, my son. You will learn what it means to be a king the way you live your life. And I can see why Lord Zedan sent me here.
Your daughter....

　Master Puffa interrupts.

'He's living somewhere else. I'm fine for nothing. What can you tell him?
''The lettuce rate...?!''

　Hearing this, the former Human King's eyes grew brighter.

''I see........!　So the Demon Lord has kept his promise not to treat his daughter with disrespect.......!
So, what's the message?
No, that's not necessary.

　The former Human King interrupted him with a reserved smile.

In her mind, I am supposed to be dead. "In her mind, I am supposed to be dead, and we must not confuse her unnecessarily. I don't want any unnecessary confusion. No one.

　They all nodded at the former Human King's gesture of holding up his index finger in front of his mouth.

The life here is not as hard as it looks. I'm sure you'll find that the life here is not as tough as it looks. He'll even provide you with food until you're able to eat your crops here. The only thing I can do here is to continue to imitate the king that I couldn't do when I was on the throne.

　　　　* * *

　Thus we said goodbye to the former Man King and departed from the settlement.
　He intends to live out his life in the shade, never to appear on the stage of history again.

　Deciding that it was good for the country he once ruled and for the world as a whole.

'That's another form of kingship, isn't it? I learned my lesson...!
Well....!

　Prince Arowana and Master Puffa stood side by side and talked with each other.
　This experience, too, will serve them well when they are in a position to rule the people.

　This journey may be coming to a close.