My name is Luciferago.

　The man who was to become the Demon King.

　He was the former Demon King's eldest son and legitimate son. Normally, he should have followed in your father's footsteps and become the Demon King.
　But in reality, that was not to be the case.

　This was because his youngest brother Zedan had staged a coup d'etat.

　I had high hopes for my youngest brother, who was said to be good at his job and would become a great general if he was sent into battle, and a great prime minister if he was used to run the country.

If that's the case, I'll just leave the Demon King to you," he said. I was joking, and then he really took away the Demon King's position...?

　No, as a matter of fact, most of my subjects have sided with Zedan.
　They said that Zedan was more suitable for the position of Demon King than I, a fat boy.

　Because, like my father, I am a culture lover and art advocate. I held balls day after day, as if I wasn't going to be beaten by my father, and I had many literary painters in my salon.

　It was a dissipation of money.
It is said that he felt a sense of crisis: "If he continues to be the witch king, the demon kingdom will collapse. That's why my brother had a sense of crisis.

　That's why he made Zedan, the most talented brother of all of them, rise to power.

　You're exaggerating. Didn't you just melt half of the national budget?
　That's why I've been downgraded from being a demon king to being a provincial lord of a small and humble estate.

　So now, I should be the Demon King, but I've been downgraded to the position of the lord of a small provincial estate, and I'm living a modest life.
　Well, normally I would have been killed by the crown prince who lost a power struggle, so I should be grateful for the fact that I'm being kept alive even if I'm a tamer.

　However, the management of the fiefdom is also done by a deputy, and I can't touch it at all, so it's really tame.
I'm keeping you alive out of pity, so please keep quiet until you die of natural causes.

　I thought that if he was still alive, the situation might change and he might have a chance to come back, but he couldn't.

　Zedan was originally a very capable man.
　At one point it seemed like a good opportunity to get back into the swing of things with his disappearance or something, but nothing like that.
　He immediately blitzed back in and wiped out all the sycophants who had gotten carried away by the slightest opportunity.
　This time I erased the remnants of the rebellion that I couldn't get rid of when I became the Demon King.

　Immediately after that, the Human Kingdom was destroyed, and the Human-Devil War ended.
　Having achieved a feat that none of the previous Demon Kings had been able to accomplish, Zedan's regime was now on a firm footing.
　He's successfully married off his wife and made an heir, so he's got no chance.

　It's all over.
　I was on the verge of desperation, thinking that my hymns will remain hymns forever, that's when I started to feel desperate.

　I received a letter from our actual demon king, Zedan.
　I was super scared.

　After all, it was from his younger brother who had made sure he was completely dominant as the Demon King.
There's no more reason to keep your brother alive, so it's time for you to die. I sent you a bottle of poison as well.

　However, there was nothing included in the package that seemed to be poisonous, so I opened the package and read it fearfully...

The invitation.

　It was named.

''It's been a long time since I've held an exhibition. Your brother Luciferago was particularly fond of such events. I would like to renew our friendship.

　There were some requirements in there.

　You've got to be kidding me!

　They didn't even like it but they were shoved deep into the countryside and made into lords in name only.
　And they were called out on a whim to come up to the capital and say, 'Oh, I see.

　I am the pride of the man who was to become the former Prince of Demons, the Demon King!
　You may be a loser, but you will not flatter a winner!

　........I'm not afraid of being caught and executed the minute I return to the Demon City or anything like that.
　I'm sorry, I'm lying, that kind of development is seriously the scariest thing I've ever seen!

　Out of pride and fear, I ignored the request from this youngest brother.

　Some time later, I received a letter from my father as well.
　It was the father of the previous Demon King who was now retired as the Great Demon King.

''My dear son,'' he said. I heard that you haven't responded to your brother's request. Is he too weak to hold a brush? Is he so weak that he can't even hold a brush? I want to see my beloved son for a long time, so this is a good opportunity for you to come. You really love fairs, don't you? During the reign of the Demon Prince, you hosted the fair for 17 months in a row.

　Your father must be a retired old man who has now had all his power taken away by Zedan.
　It's not surprising that he was ordered by Zedan to take part in the luring.

　As the eldest son, he was the most beloved son by his father. He was spoiled by your father and branded unworthy of being the next Demon King.

　I will not go to the Demon City even if my beloved father asks me to do so!

　And so I rejected all invitations and retreated into my territory for a few days....
　He's coming...!

　　　　* * * *

"Who the hell do you think you are to ignore me when I say 'come'?

　This me, Luciferago, the former first choice for the next Demon King.
　He has a broken holy sword at his throat.

"You think you have the right to refuse the Demon Lord's request?　If you're thinking it, that's a hell of a lot of hubris. So much so that it's not even worth keeping alive.
Hiiiiiiii...?
You don't want me to have to come all the way up here. You know that I am a pain in the ass, don't you?　And you're putting all this time and effort into me, and you're selling me a fight?
We don't sell them!　I'm not selling it!

　This is the man who can unabashedly threaten me, who in this day and age would have been the Demon King.

　Belfegamilia.

　Aren't you the Fourth Heavenly King now?

''Didn't I tell you when I kicked you out of the Demon City?　It's His Majesty's mercy to keep you alive, and you have to remember to thank Him every day?　So why are you ignoring the Demon King's letter?　Were you so stupid you couldn't even read?
"No, but...?　It was said that if you step on the soil of the Demon City again in the future, I won't let you live...?

　That's right, right now, right in front of you!

Of course the Demon Lord's order takes precedence over this, right?　You're incompetent enough to make that level of judgment, that's why you're going to fail the city.
Excuse me?
Well, I knew you were incompetent and I didn't do anything about it, so I'm to blame. I had to put up with a lot of hassle in order to get to you. Now you have a choice. You can die here and now, or you can go up to the capital and be executed in front of the Demon King.
Doesn't that mean we're going to die anyway!

　Truly terrifying.
　In the new kingdom represented by Zedan, the most frightening of all is Belfegamilia.

　On the surface, he plays the role of a lazy, useless person, but when he goes behind the scenes, he does everything in his power to get rid of anyone who gets in his way.
　The reason why the somehow sweet Zedan is somehow able to serve as the Demon King is because Belfegamilia is playing the role of the demon demon behind the scenes.

　I was their political rival, so I know this best.

　If Zedan hadn't stopped him, Belphegamilia would have killed all of my brothers and sisters who had a shot at the Demon King title.
　After Zedan stopped me, his threat to kill me if I showed even the slightest suspicious movement was very scary.

　I was also too scared that some of my younger brothers, who didn't understand the threat and were complaining about it, didn't hear from me at all.

　Zedan wrapped himself up in benevolence, and Belfegamilia tightened it up with rigor.
　It is the balance of these two that makes up the bedrock of the current kingship.

"Then let's get going. Neither I nor the Demon King has time to waste on scum like you.
Hi....

　Thus, I had to step on the soil of the Demon City, which I thought I would never be able to step on again while I was alive.

　　　　* * * *

　When I actually arrived in the Demon City, I was unexpectedly warmly greeted.

''Brother!　I'm glad you came!

　And it was the Demon King himself.
　My youngest brother, Zedan, embraces me with his arms outstretched.

''I was worried when you didn't respond to the letter I sent you!　I didn't expect you to come in person...
''Well........we're deep in the mountains......so communication is inconvenient......?

　Even in the audience, Belphegamilia was glaring at me from behind, so I treated her as a 'vassal' rather than a 'kinsman of the king'.
　Otherwise, there would be no life.

''I am a subject of His Majesty. I fear too much hospitality is too great...!''
What do you mean? You're my brother!
"It is His Majesty's mercy that I am alive and well when I should have been put to death for interfering with His Majesty's supremacy. I have no choice but to repay this favor with loyalty.

　That's the correct response, right?
　You're not going to kill me, are you?

　I glanced back and saw Belfegamilia nodding.
　'Good!

'Well then let's get to the exposition right away. Your brother loves expositions, you know!　Belfegamilia will come with you. Today, the three brothers will enjoy themselves to their hearts' content!
"It's a pain in the ass, but I'll go out with you.

　Zedan said it so smoothly........
　Belphegamilia's true identity is one of the many sons that his father Baal gave birth to by women from all over.

　His mother was a maid of low rank and was not recognized as the heir to the throne, but when he showed off his abilities, Zedan found out about it and called him in.

　Maybe that's why he's so strict with the rest of the Demon King's family, except for Zedan.
　For some reason, Zedan was the only one who was given special treatment and responded to the officer's request, which is why the Demon King Zedan was born.

　In response to his achievements, Zedan publicly adopted that guy, a commoner, into the lineage of the Fallen Sacred Sword Fiagelp and took him as the Fourth Heavenly King.
　It was a procedure that could only be done by someone who was connected to the Demon King family's bloodline, even if it wasn't officially recognized.

　In any case, as long as Belfegamilia was around, Zedan's position as the Demon King would be secure.

　　　　* * * *

　Well, that's about it....
　Exposition fun!
　Super fun!