Further observation proved that his outbursts are repeated every three hours or so. Oh, you are my little crafty Demon Lord. So fucking cute. It would work on someone else, but I'm different. Such little tricks are useless before my awesome self!

Yeah, I guess it is time to activate the Time-Skip mode. No one wants to watch someone who does the same thing over and over again for days, right? Right?

Let's see how long it will take him to give up.

A day passed, nothing changed. It seems that Demon Lords don't even need to sleep.

Three days passed - the heavy rain didn't bother him at all.

A week passed - he is still full of determination!

What the hell? Is he even human? Ah, wait a minute - he isn't. I guess us mortals can't compare to the greatest Ruler of countless Demons.

...

Another two weeks... Really? Does he want to be the protagonist so much?

At last, a change happened after the third week. It seems his (un)inspiring speech changed for some reason.

"Dear Mr. Author, if you are here - please answer already. I assure you that my will is absolute, and the phrase 'I give up' doesn't exist in my dictionary. I would be here, begging you again and again until you make me protagonist. Believe me when I say that I can do it for years. Or for the rest of my life if it comes to this."

Yeah, it is hard to deal with someone who doesn't need to sleep, eat, drink, or even poop. But, on the other hand, the power of the Time-Skip can't be underestimated either. I can just skip hundreds of years in the blink of an eye, so... Just when I thought to make him wait for another year or two, he spoke again.

"That being the case, I still don't want to waste time for no reason. My family and subordinates waited for my return for way too long. Also, can't you feel it? The Triplescape isn't safe or calm. Do you really think you are the only Author who uses our Multiworld? No, I'm afraid that soon Triplescape would be full of the protagonists making a mess out of it. This is the true Apocalypsis predicted in that sacred book! We can't wait!"

Hm, I guess what he said makes sense. But if I have my pride too! If I just talk to him now, then it would be obvious that all this time, I just watched him from the shadows. Nope, let's make everything natural. I guess waiting for years is too much, even with the Time-Skip. A week should be enough.

...

And so, a week passed. The Demon Lord repeated his "sudden" speech every three hours (what an amazing internal clock!) and changed its content a couple of times as well, but I can't see any frustration at his face. His patience deserves some respect. As expected from someone I chose! Maybe it wasn't bluff when Belial said that he would do it for years if required. Let's wait for exactly two hours after his last attempt to "catch me off guard".

...

Done! It is the moment of truth—the first contact between the Protagonist and the Author. Fated encounter!

"Pray no more, oh young one! I deem you worthy of my story and bestow you the title of the Protagonist!"

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My truly majestic voice echoed in his mind. Feel the awe of being contacted by a Higher Existence!

"Took you long enough, you jerk. Be honest - how long are you here? Is it fun to watch me, the future Ruler of all Worlds in Triplescape, to pray for you? Does it boost your self-esteem so much?"

Hah? Why is his expression full of annoyance and arrogance rather than fear and reverence? He doesn't understand his place, does he?

"Hey, listen here. You maybe be a Demon Lord," my tone was that of someone talking to a noisy kid, "but for me, you are just part of the story, not someone irreplaceable. You need me, but I don't need you."

Hearing that, he just shook his head and stood up from his kneeling position.

"It is just a common sense that there is no one more interesting than me in the whole Triplescape. Who can compare to me? Some poor orphan whose parents were killed by some evil bastards and who tries to get his revenge? Or some ignorant farmer boy who wants to bring his subjective justice on bad guys? Don't make me laugh. They are too incompetent to truly change anything even if they get all the power you can give! Making me the Protagonist isn't about helping me get riches and women - it is about changing the World Order!"

Ugh, he really annoys me with his conceited attitude. But there is a seed of truth in his words. I don't want to create a story about another stereotypic MC. It doesn't mean that I will give up on getting things straight, though.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, mate. But you know what? There is one interesting plot-twist that some authors use with great success. Can you guess what I'm talking about?"

He thought for a few seconds before answering.

"What? No, no, no. Don't make me into a woman, please! Gender-bender is evil and perverted. You can't stoop so low, right?!"

Oh, I never even thought about it.

"You understand it now? You are my hostage, dude! Though no, I'm not interested in gender-bender. By the way, the twist I talked about is 'fake protagonist'. It is when you just kill someone who seems to be the protagonist and then make someone else take their place! Like, you know. Killing adventurer and make a monster who did it true MC. People love it."

Strange, but instead of being terrified, he just sighed with relief.

"I'm lucky then. After all, this is just E-Rank World with Level Limit of 20. And, even after being revived, I'm way beyond the league of any lifeform here. Even with my Level suppressed, my Race is so strong that I'm invincible here. I really was afraid that you'll make me female, though."

What is wrong with him? Is he more afraid of being a girl than a corpse? Or he underestimates my power as an author? I checked his Status to be sure if he tells the truth. What the actual fuck? He is too OP for the beginning of the story! Aren't he is supposed to be recently revived? Shit, it seems whatever method he used to restore himself, he only lost his Equipment, Titles, and Unique Class. In contrast, his Stats, Professions, ordinary Classes, and all Abilities remained...

"By the way, Mr. Author. I guess starting our long-lasting relationships with deceits is a wrong move, so I will be honest. That thing about Triplescape being in danger and other protagonists flooding it? I just made this up. Sorry."

Huh? He isn't only conceited little brat, but also dares to deceive his daddy?

"What you just said? So all this bullshit was just to lure me out? You really know how to piss someone off. It is decided, get ready to become a girl!"

Instead of becoming meek or terrified of my threat, the Demon Lord was... bitter and angry?

"I knew it! How long have you watched me? This shit about Triplescape being in a crisis is something I said a week ago and repeated for two days. After that, I changed my speech. So, you watched me for five days, at a minimum. I'm right? Don't be too full of yourself. If you chose me as your protagonist, then some level of trust and respect should be expected. If you can't give me even this, then I'd rather wait for another Author!"

What the? He actually fooled me again. It seems his fear of sex-change is inferior to his vanity.

This really gets to my nerves, you know? Apparently, that book he used to "summon" me doesn't explain Author's abilities in detail. He thinks I can just make him stronger and luckier, just give him so much desired Plot Armor, and then he can forget about me and do whatever he wants? Hah, how naive!

"Demon Lord, ah Demon Lord... I just wanted to observe how resolute you were in your desire to become the protagonist, so I watched you praying for a few weeks. So what?"

Before he can answer, I continued my "lecture".

"Then, I just planned to talk to you for a while to be sure that you are worth the efforts to be the main character of my story. But it seems you really overestimate yourself and underestimate me. Good, very good... If you want to see a demonstration of my power so much, then let's do it."