Volume 1 - CH 6

Act 1 – 6 : Queen of Darkness, Mona and Prime Minister of Nargol, Loughas

The Queen of Darkness Mona was visiting a certain place in the Demon King Palace.

「Why, if it isn’t Mona-sama! Welcome to my humble office.」

As soon as she entered the room, an old man welcomed her, the owner of that room.

That old man bowed respectfully to Mona. He looked like a normal human with a horn similar to Runfeld’s growing from his head. That old man was Loughas, who was once a big shot amongst the Gods of Darkness similar to Modes, Mona’s husband.

He, the God of Knowledge, went along with Modes to Nargol when the latter was banished from Elios.

Now he worked as Modes’s prime minister.

Despite his vast knowledge, his combat prowess was extremely weak, thus he didn’t participate in the fight against the Hero of Light.

「Raise your head, Loughas.」

Loughas straightened from his bow as soon as Mona dismissed him. He led Mona to sit in the guest chair prepared in the center of the room.

「May I ask about your business with me today, Mona-sama?」

「Loughas, what do you think about Kuroki-dono?」

「My impression about Kuroki-dono?」

Everyone in the Demon King’s palace, Loughas included, saw the fight in which Kuroki managed to mortally wound the Hero of Light.

「He’s an extremely powerful person since he defeated the Hero of Light. I think it’s reassuring to have him as an ally.」

「Yes, Kuroki-dono is extremely powerful. He single-handedly defeated that stupidly powerful Hero of Light. But, doesn’t that make you want to reconsider your opinion about Kuroki-dono?」

Loughas tilted his head in response to Mona’s question.

「Reconsider my opinion?」

「You should be aware of Casa’s prophecy, right, Loughas? She said that the Hero who can defeat Modes-sama was a man who came from the Spirit World. That prophecy isn’t just limited to the Hero since it said “Man”. And, as you’re already aware, Kuroki-dono is also a man from the Spirit World.」

「?!」

Loughas was perplexed.

「Don’t tell me… Mona-sama is…」

「Yes, Kuroki-dono is probably a Hero, too. We must prepare just in case he tries to kill Modes-sama.」

Loughas became even more bewildered.

「But, Mona-sama! You of all people should know it’s pretty much impossible for our side to fight Kuroki-dono, especially with the Demon King’s army in tatters after the invasion of that Hero!」

Rebuilding their army should be pretty easy if it was a Goblin army, with their high fertility rate, or a Zombie army, who only needed more corpses.

But it took quite a while for other, less fertile races.

The damage was devastating, especially in Runfeld and the Daemon race.

Mona remembered that the Dark Knights, whose members were handpicked from the elite of the Daemon race, were nearly destroyed by the Hero just a few days ago.

「Mona-sama, despite their long life spans, the Daemon race has a low fertility rate. It’ll take a long time for them to regain the former glory of the previous army.」

Loughas explained.

「Yes… Runfeld also got a headache because of that.」

「Also, even if our army regained its former glory, I can’t see it winning against Kuroki-dono.」

The Hero of Light destroyed the Demon King’s army.

To Loughas, it was pretty much impossible for them to defeat the man who bested that same Hero of Light, even if their army still had its former strength.

「Rather, Kuroki-dono is the Demon King’s army’s strongest weapon at the moment. He already became the Hero of the Demon race. If possible, I don’t want to consider him as an enemy.」

Loughas had a troubled expression.

He didn’t wish to pour cold water on the rising morale of the Demon race, the main race in Nargol.

「I also have the same opinion of not wanting to make an enemy of Kuroki-dono. I just want us to prepare for the worst-case scenario.」

「Uhm, Mona-sama, have you told His Majesty about–」

「No, I’ve yet to tell Modes-sama about Kuroki-dono’s potential danger. Moreover, he took a liking to Kuroki-dono, saying that they have the same kind of “smell”.」

Modes, Mona’s beloved husband, gave Kuroki a warm welcome. He didn’t even consider the possibilities of Kuroki betraying him.

「Most of all, Modes-sama is someone who can’t lie. His worry might appear in his attitude if I tell him of this potential danger. That’s why you must not tell him about this matter, Loughas. I’m telling you, the wisest person in Nargol, to think of a solution if my worries come true. Let’s start with gathering information about him so that we know his weakness.」

「I see… We need more information about him, indeed… I understand, Mona-sama. Let’s appoint someone to be Kuroki-dono’s attendant. That person will have to discover whether Kuroki-dono intends to betray us or not.」

「I’ll leave this matter to you then, Loughas.」

After saying another one or two lines, Mona left Loughas’s office. She pondered about Loughas’s attitude. He didn’t even consider Kuroki a danger to Modes’s life.

「Not even Loughas, the wisest person in Nargol, realized that potential danger.」

Mona ended up getting more irritated than before. She considered the people who came from the Spirit World as dangerous tools.

Thus, she swore to protect her beloved husband.

「Let this Mona protect your back, my beloved Modes-sama.」