After returning to the Demon King's Castle, I got off the Demon Dragon with Stella.
　In front of the main gate.

"Demon King, it's a triumphant return, isn't it?

　A girl came running up to me, her red hair in a ponytail, shaking.
　It was Lilim, the captain of the castle guards.

''Welcome home, Demon King-sama!

You're safe!

　The soldiers following behind him were all smiling.

'Thank you,'

　I respond to them with a wave of my hand.
　It's frustrating that I can't smile at them because of my mask.

　Lilim and the soldiers surround me with happy faces.

'How was the battle, Demon King-sama?'

We won with no problem. I've filled up all the holes in the wards.

That's the devil king!

Susuma-o, Susuma-o!

　Lilim and his friends frolic with riddle calls like last time.

'Refrain, you are in the presence of the Demon King.

　Stella told him coolly.

'I know you adore the Demon King, but you need to be moderate.

Well, that's fine. I like this kind of atmosphere better than the stuffy stuff too.

But the Demon King's majesty...

　You're so serious, Stella.

''Let's see, being approached by the Demon King in person and in a friendly manner too - I think it would be very effective in boosting the morale of the soldiers.

　Isn't that a bit of painful logic?

'I see. I suppose you have a point.

　I was able to convince him easily.

''The Demon King has given his permission. I take back what I said before. I'm sorry.

　Stella bows to Lilim and others with a smile.

　Yes, I'm serious after all.
　And above all, he's honest.

　Being a member of the Demon King's entourage, Stella's position should be one of the highest in the world of magic.
　But to have that straightforward apology to the soldiers.

　In the human world, I've never heard of such a person among the higher-ups I know.
　They were all the ones who looked down on people who were lower in status than them.

'Yay!　The previous demon king was very strict about that kind of thing...

　Lilim held up her hands happily.

''Oh yeah, and as punishment for being made to run a thousand laps around the Demon King's Castle for talking privately while on duty.

I know you took a pay cut for three months.

I had my benefits cut out. That was a tough one...

　Some of the other soldiers were also in tears as they spoke.

　The previous Demon King Yulisha was so strict with those below him........



　Thirty minutes later, I was in a room in the Demon King's Castle with Stella.
　This is where we had discussed the future with each other before.

''Now that we've finished repairing the wards, I'd like to move on to our next move.

''You said that it looks like there won't be any invasion by the brave men for another three months or so. In the meantime, let's set up as much of the Demon World's defense system as possible.

　Stella nods at my words.

　By the way, since it's just the two of us, I took off my mask.

　It's hard to breathe with a mask on, after all.
　It's easier this way.

You're not going to be able to find out. First of all, we need to understand the strength of our forces. Well, under the Demon King, there are seven great demon warlords, and they control the armies under them, right?

　It's mostly my knowledge as a brave man, so there may be some misunderstandings.

'Basically, I have no problem with that perception.

　Stella nodded.

''However, as I said before, three of the demon army chiefs were killed in battle. Of the four remaining, two of them, except me, are in the human world, and the remaining one is missing after a battle with the brave men.

　The bottom line is that there is only one Demon Army Chief on my side, Stella.
　That Stella has not yet regained her fighting ability.

"To begin with, it's a fundamental question...

　I suddenly thought of something.

How about if the brave men invade the demon world in three months' time, I will fight them alone and drive them all away...?

You're saying that we can expect an attack by the thousands or even tens of thousands, right?　Even for a demon king... no, not even for Master Freed.

　Oh, as I said before, you call me by my name when we're alone.

...well, um...

What's up, Stella?

'No, I'm still not used to calling you by your name. It's a little embarrassing.

　Stella's cheeks flushed and she squirmed.
　As cool as she was on the outside, the gap between the two was adorable.

I'll continue the conversation.''

Yeah.

''It's true that Lord Fried-sama has an ability that's outstanding compared to previous Demon Kings. I'd say he's an order of magnitude higher.

　And, Stella.

''But........even though you are Freed-sama, there is a limit to how many brave people you can deal with by yourself.

'Hmmm ... that's true too.'

　It's impossible for me to cover the whole wide world of the demon world on my own.
　It is quite possible that while I was fighting, a brave man invaded from another place and massacred the demons.

The best thing to do is to gather as many strong guys as possible and set up a solid defense system.

　I won't be the strongest and most invincible, and the entire demon world will be equipped with a strong defense force.
　If that happens, the humans won't be able to attack us easily.

　It would be best if a battle didn't happen as is.
　It's not that I want to conquer the human world.

　However, as it stands now, the demon world will continue to be invaded in the future.

　Humans' hatred and avoidance of the demon race is deep-rooted.
　It's the same for me.

　........or should I say, it was.

　Ending the fight is not an easy thing to do.
　In fact, it could be called a dream come true.

"Master Freed?

It's nothing.

　First, I'm going to do what I can, one thing at a time.

　For now, I'm going to protect the ones I want to protect as far as I can see.

　Whether it's a demon or a human...



　After that, Stella and I continued to discuss the defense system of the demon world for several hours.

"──For now, that's the basic policy. Is there anything else I should do?

''We have the Demon Lord's normal business to attend to, but what should we do?

Business as usual?

I'll get it for you.

　Stella walked out of the room once and came right back in.
　She placed a large amount of documents on the desk.

''........What's this?''

　I pull a face.
　It's a pile of papers more than three meters high.

''The fight with the heroes delayed the king's workload, so...''

　Stella explains with an apologetic look on her face.

''I have a few documents piling up that are waiting to be settled.

A little...?　This.........

　I picked up the topmost document.

"Well I have no idea.

　Sure, I know what it says.
　But I didn't understand the applications for public works projects, the budget resolutions of various ministries and agencies, so I didn't know what was going on.

　To begin with, I've been fighting demons as a brave man since I was a teenager.
　I've never done the paperwork itself.

''Since you suddenly became the Demon King, I'm afraid it would be difficult to understand everything from the beginning.

　Stella offered her help.

'How about we just ask you to stamp them for now while you get used to them. I've already gone through all of these documents.'

　Oh, Stella competent!
　When did I get that kind of job?

'The point is, you're just going to have to stamp around.

　That's a relief.

Thank you, Stella.

Yes?

'Because honestly, I have no idea what's going on here. I'm glad Stella was there for me.

　I laugh bitterly.

'Keep up the good work.'

"I will serve the Witch King with all my heart and soul.

　Stella bowed her head deeply.

　So, the Demon King's normal business begins.
　For the time being, it is the process of putting a stamp on a document incessantly.

　.........I paid attention to the contents of the documents, but I still didn't really understand them.

'Oh well, I guess I'll just have to learn it all by heart.

　Still, there is a lot of paperwork.

''Stella has seen all this........''

　You are awesome.

I'm sorry, man. "I'm sorry, man, this must be hard for you.

My Demon Lord...?

It's really all my job. I mean, I'm sure Stella's too busy...

　I bow to Stella.

'I'm not good at this kind of work, but I'll do my best to learn it as quickly as I can.

'Master Freed has just been sworn in as the Demon King. And you don't have to be good at everything. If there are areas of weakness, we can help you find them.

　Stella smiles.

'You have thought of us, protected us and fought for us - you have fulfilled your most important and precious duty as a king.

I'm....

　He just couldn't overlook the one who was being hurt in front of him.

　Whether they were people or demons.
　I didn't want to see the strong trample the weak.

　That's all.

''I am happy to serve you. I'll be happy to assist you to the best of my ability.''

　A king's duty, huh?

　To be honest, it still doesn't make sense to me, but....
　And also - whether or not I'll continue to live as the Demon King from now on, although I haven't reached a conclusion.

　For the sake of Stella and the others, I'll do my best.