風雲再起
Disturbance
(Literally translates into Rallying The Situation)
In a dimly lit, stone-paved, empty space illuminated only by torches.
Rather than saying the mood is heavy, it’s the atmosphere itself that is filled with evil.
In such a space that only a demon would love, stands one man.
He is the First Prince, as well as the Prime Minister of Aigina, Kimon Moe Aigina. [TN: I LOL’d at this name]
This gross fatso is the next King of Aigina.
One could tell at a glance that he’s the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to make use of any resource in his possession.
Right now, he’s standing in a place where he normally should not be standing, and he's chanting a spell that he should not be chanting.
In front of him, a magic square is drawn in the ground; it’s repeatedly flickering at random intervals.
Those intervals gradually become shorter, and the density of magical power in the air also increases.
“This is the moment!”ーーis what one would normally expect to hear at a moment like this.
However, that's not the case.
The flickering light suddenly goes out, and the amassed magical power in the air pops like a balloon.
「Damn it! I failed again. Why? Why can’t I summon it!」
Kimon curses.
「I was able to summon my partners with this before! Why can’t I now! I even prepared offerings!」
At the center of the magic formation lies an unconscious, naked woman.
Even though she’s not restrained, the woman is limp, not moving a muscle.
「Did the conditions change? I guess it can’t be helped, since I was summoning such a high-class fellow. Let’s call for those lower-class ones instead. I should be able to summon those using my own strength」
Saying so, he begins chanting again.
The incantation has rhythms like that of a song.
The magic formation begins flickering, and the tension in the air returns.
「Uu……」
Seeing the woman groan, Kimon’s lips curl up.
And thenーー
「So noisy, who are you!」
A man emerges from the magic formation.
It’s definitely a male, but it’s not human.
Its limbs and body size are the same as a human, but its skin is dark blue, it has sharp fangs, and there are horns growing from its temples.
「You turd, were you the guy who summoned me?」
「Correct. I am Kimon Moe Aigina, the First Prince of Aigina Kingdom」
「Heh, a prince, huh. I didn’t know such an old-fart of a Prince existed」 [TN: Ossan Ouji]
Kimon’s eyebrow twitches.
He shows an obvious look of discomfort. To him, “an old Prince” is a taboo phrase.
To the point that, if someone were to joke about this 40 year old prince and somehow let that joke reach his ears, they'd be lynched.
Kimon holds down his anger.
The reason is: he has a favor to ask of this demon.
「Let me cut straight to the point, did the summoning conditions change?」
「Hah? Were you trying to summon those High-class guys?」
「Yeah」
「Give it up. The higher-ups recently banned all connection to the Human realm. They’re not gonna answer you, no matter how hard you try」
「They banned it? Why?」
「It’s because of a certain Cursed Swords Wielーーoops」
The demon covers its mouth with its hand.
「What? Just tell me」
「It’s nothing. Anyways, we’re not gonna be getting involved with humans for now. After all, up to the big-wigs…」
「I don’t even know how long they'll be keeping this up. Right……you look to be in your 20s, so you’ll probably die at around 50~60 years old, anyway」 [TN: This is still the demon’s line. The next one is the prince’s. I curse this dumb formatting]
「Don’t screw with me! I’m not gonna just sit and wait!」
Kimon is enraged.
「Time will go by in the blink of an eye, kekeke」
The demon laughs.
Needless to say, the lifespans of demons are much longer than human’s.
To them, a few decades are but a moment.
「That said, I’m going back. Just so you know, you can forcefully call them, but they won’t cooperate. Bye」
「Wait!」
「Hah? I said that I’m not gonna cooperate」
「Are you find with that?」
「What?」
「A few decades of not interacting with humans, won’t you starve?ーーis what I want to ask」
The demon falls silent. Kimon smiles.
By interacting with humans, demons receive life force and energy, sometimes even souls.
All of the above are used to satisfy their hunger.
In other words, it’s their food.
「The big-shots have food to eat even without interacting with humans, but what about you guys? Isn’t it painful not to eat for decades?」
「……yeah」
「Work with me. Just keep it quiet, and you’ll be able to eat a little. If you’re careful, they won’t catch you. Or would you prefer just watching your bosses stuffing their mouths with food?」
「……I don’t know if we can really do this unnoticed」
「That depends on you, no? Sneaking behind your superiors' backs is something common to every world, don’t you think?」
「……you have it tough in your own way, I guess」
Both of them laugh.
「If you don’t go too far, they’ll probably just overlook it」
「Alright, if you’re going that far, I’ll lend you a hand. In return, I expect good compensation!」
「I’ll prepare it accordingly at market price」
「Keke」
「Fufufu」
They form a contract.
It’s a contract with the purpose of avoiding the Cursed Swords Wielder that nobody knows about.
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