Demon Lord.

It was the title that the leader of all the demons who lived in the north was acknowledged with. For hundreds of years they had always been at odds with all the other races. According to the books, they were an evil species who wanted to take over the entire world and massacre everyone. They were a species that were much stronger than the dwarves, faster than the beastkin, and wielded magic better than the elves. Of course, that meant they were much stronger than humans, who stood between the other three races. The only thing that allowed humanity in general to survive their onslaught was due to the existence of heroes.

And in fact, not only were they able to survive, but they had won the war.

Thirty or so years ago, humanity’s heroes defeated the entire Overlord clan; the only ones that could take on the title of Demon Lord. It was their first complete victory. After losing their masters, the demons all retreated back to their frigid lands. However, because of their casualties, the other four races couldn’t risk assaulting the demons’ lands. Even a cornered rabbit would bite ferociously. Content with the annihilation of the clan, the races chose to regroup for the time being.

The plan was to build enough forces to completely annihilate the demons from the face of the world. However, even after many years had passed, the final assault never happened. The situation came to a point where the demons only suffered sporadic attacks by humanity as a kind of sport. Sure, there were some vengeful sentiments remaining, but for some reason they were a minority. What was the point of attacking on a large scale? There were no profits to be made; the lands that the demons occupied were barren snowfields and glaciers. And sure enough, no new demon lord had appeared. The demons, a general term of several diverse clans, remain fragmented and weak.

But Matthias knew, for a fact, that a new demon lord was about to appear. That was the whole premise of his reincarnation. And its defeat would be his payment to the god who gave him a new life.

As fate would have it, he would have the fortune of being able to meet with his target early in his journey.

“Wow, dude, look at her go. She’s finished four plates of food already.”

“Is she alright in the head?”

“Yikes. That’s rude. She’s just hungry.”

“No, I meant calling herself a “demon lord”, idiot.”

Manna looked towards the ceiling. Her face looked like she was deep in thought, but in reality, she only spent a fleeting moment of pretending before answering: “no idea, why don’t you ask?”

They had spent the rest of the afternoon up until early evening with the receptionist who briefed them of the guild’s policies with regards to parties. This included the guild’s hands-off approach to dividing loot, the reward system, punishment, expectations, and other such things. Despite the intimidating number of topics, most of the content was actually not anything they needed to keep in mind most of the time. The guild essentially did not care what they did within their rank as long as everybody was safe and happy. Mysteriously, though, the receptionist did emphasize one rule while looking at Soleil.

“The Guild strictly prohibits attacking other adventurers.”

The punishment ranged from a fine all the way to being executed, depending on the matter. But if it was between an adventurer and a civilian, it would be the state who would preside over the case.

Soleil had likely been involved in that kind of problem, which necessitated having to get a replacement tag. Matthias wasn’t clear on the specifics. He planned to ask about it when the moment was right.

Matthias silently ate his meal of hard bread and soup while he observed their new teammate. Besides her hair and eyes, she had a slightly tanned skin that gave her an exotic feel. It was like looking at a foreign beauty. However, all of it was ruined by all the dirt. Not only was her face smeared with grime and dust, her hair also had dried patches of mud on it. The brown cloak that covered her entire body was similarly battered, torn and dirtied.

Was this truly the “demon lord” from legends? He doubted it.

Although to be fair, she wasn’t wolfing down her food like a savage. Instead, she sat straight on her seat and used a fork and a knife like a normal human being – that was if finishing a steak half the size of her head in four bites was normal.

At least she chewed her food properly.

After five plates, it looked like she was finally satisfied. She gently wiped the oil from her mouth and thanked them.

“I appreciate you treating me to a meal like this. I promise to repay your kindness as soon as I can.”

Her words and mannerisms weren’t much different from that of a noble. Even back when she was faced by the large, muscular man in the guild, she looked up at him straight in the eyes with a defiant and dignified expression.

“Don’t worry. Matt here’s paying for everything, so it’s alright.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Sad as it was, that was the truth.

Matthias waved his hand to say that he thought nothing of it. Of course, that was a lie. He knew enough about spending to know that the low income of low-ranked adventurers was far from enough to break even with their current spending. If they kept that up, they would soon be unable to afford accommodations. That was why he was already eating only the cheapest items on the menu. While people would think that it would be difficult for a noble to adapt, for him it was a nostalgic taste.

He just hoped that that wasn’t Soleil’s normal appetite.

“Before we talk, I just want to ask wh—”

Manna elbowed him hard below the table and shot him a glare from the side. “Actually, don’t,” was what her eyes told him. So, perhaps due to trust or his own choice, he backtracked before he stepped on a possible landmine.

“I, uhh... I wanted to ask if you’re alright with this. Circumstances did kind of force us together.”

Her eyes widened slightly after hearing his question. It was a normal concern. If Matthias had been in her shoes, he would also be wary of being grouped with a bunch of strangers who had just registered. Judging by the words of the receptionist, she had been a member of the guild for enough time to get her tag broken at least once.

“Indeed. You two look quite young. But I digress; I look barely older than you two do. And personally, I welcome your assistance. However... are you fine with me?” She clasped her hands in front of her and leaned forward. “I am not exactly someone with a good standing here.”

Did she mean being a beastkin, or something else, like maybe being someone who went around declaring she was the “demon lord”? Or perhaps, both?

“What happened anyway? That receptionist girl looked kinda scared of you back there.”

Soleil leaned back onto her chair and shrugged relaxedly.

“I had a fight with my former party. But I assure you, I was justified in raising my hand against them, yet the guild decided to punish me as well.”

She refused to elaborate further. While to some it would appear like she was hiding something, to Matthias it felt more like she simply thought nothing of it. The important thing was that the guild still accepted her as a member, so whatever it was, it wasn’t enough for her to be kicked out. Regardless, the end result was that she had been without a party for a few weeks. Due to the way the guild restricted individual activities, especially for low-ranked members, she was unable to take any quests and had basically been penniless for several days.

“And because they think I’m a beastkin, nobody is willing to hire me for even odd jobs. How dare they not open their doors to the demon lord?”

“Why would the demon lord be looking for work in the first place?” Matthias wanted to say. In the first place, was she even a demon?

All high-ranked demons had horns. As far as he knew, there were no exceptions to them. Naturally, all past demon lords had them as well. Besides that, they typically also had slit eyes and unnaturally-colored skin. Among the common characteristics of demons, Soleil only possessed the eyes. Her hands did not have claws, and her head didn’t have horns. Sure, she had very pale skin, which had tanned from excessive outdoor activity, but the hue was more similar to a human’s than anything.

But the thing was, beastkin also had slit eyes.

It was highly unlikely she was a demon. If she was, then she would have already been killed by the adventurers or the knightage.

“Well, it’ll be fine. By tomorrow, we can start taking quests! Let’s use that time to get to know each other better, alright?” Manna declared. Matthias felt envious of her ability to just gloss over the ridiculous things.

----------------------------------------

They returned to their inn after they parted ways with Soleil, who resided in the guild barracks. Before Manna entered her room, Matthias beckoned her to come to his room. Initially, she responded by making the most ridiculous, teasing smile. A slight headache came over him along with a tinge of regret.

He set on the chair while Manna helped herself to his bed, and even got under his sheets. After a while, he knocked on the table to attract her attention.

They started to talk about menial things, such as their impressions of the guild. It was their first time inside the largest organization in the world. They also talked about the carriage ride, a bit about their past and their goals in the future.

After a while, Matthias finally decided to tackle the reason he invited her.

“I have to ask again. What do you think? About Soleil I mean.”

“Hmm... she seems like a nice girl.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he retorted. He was having déjà vu.

Manna chuckled and buried herself even deeper into his bed.

“Well, what’s the difference between her and you trying to be a hero?”

“I’m aiming to be a hero. She says she is the demon lord. Future versus present.”

After a while of talking with her, Matthias was quite sure that she thought of herself as the demon lord, despite being broke and in the middle of a human country. Was that why the guild staff looked like they didn’t want anything to do with her?

“Well, why does it matter?” Manna asked with interest. “If she can fight well and can work with us as a team, I don’t think there’ll be any problems. Plus, she looks like a sincere person, don’t you think so?”

That was something he also had trouble wrestling with. In his mind, he thought the demon lord would be a haughty, arrogant being. Of course, that was what his books made them out to be. Being the enemy of all races, he naturally believed in this notion.

But back in the restaurant, Soleil thanked them properly for treating her to a meal, and even took it as a kind of debt that she had to repay. There was no entitlement to it, which made her even better than a lot of young nobility in his mind.

After a while of thought, he realized that there really wasn’t much he could argue against her.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I should give her a chance.”

Then it hit him. He forgot to ask her what her role in a party is... or perhaps, what kind of “demon lord” she was. Did she fight with a sword, or with magic? If she also fought with a sword, then that would be troublesome for several reasons. It would help if she knew how to use healing spells; that would save them some money. Potions weren’t exactly cheap.

“Healing spells? From the demon lord?" Manna laughed and then frowned. "What the hell? Don’t ruin my mental image, dude.”