The Reborn Demon King and a Town of the Artemis Sect
It was quick, but a week has gone by just like that.
A big five-day-long party at our place.
After a celebration ceremony for my resurrection, my fellow inhabitants of "Hell's village" hosted a large banquet after-party.
And then it took two more days after that before the village sobered up.
"Mmmmm…"
I was lying in my bed just before lunch.
With my face buried in a pillow, I could no longer keep track of how much I sighed already.
Why?
It was because Spica has been acting weird.
"Ugh… As I thought, maybe I overdid it?"
I thought of the "play", I mean the ritual, we did from a week ago.
Spica started to avoid me ever since that day.
When our eyes met, she would turn away in a hurry Her face gets red when she talks to me, and she'd just use Lilith as a shield and hide behind her She was obviously having a loss of appetite I often saw her sighing as she looked at the sky through the windowThose were the symptoms I saw from her.
But just when I thought that I was hated, she took part in giving me the big round of applause when I finished my speech at the ceremony.
"I don't get it. Oh Spica… what is going on with you?"
I've used my demonic eyes to check on her numerous times.
However, all her statuses seemed fine. There was nothing strange about her number values.
Well, her 【Lust】 went up to 855.
I consulted Lilith since I was at a loss as to what to do, wondering if she knew anything about Spica's symptoms, but…
She just said,
"Kekeke~ ♪. It's definitely because of "that". Oh my~ Isn’t this getting pretty interesting, Maou-sama?～♪…
…The human race… often there's people like Spica who aren't very honest with themselves, you know? So all kinds of complications can come up, you see ♪"
She told me that with a grin on her face, but she didn't really give me an answer.
Anyway, if I were to change up the way things are right now…
…The first thing I'd have to do is to talk to Spica. I have to create a situation where she won't be able to avoid me!
*Dongggg*…..*Dongggggg*
The noon bell rang in "Hell's village" at that moment.
I jumped up from my bed and walked towards the dining hall with a mission in mind.
Then, I told Lilith and Spica in the dining hall,
"We're going shopping at a town this afternoon!"
And so, after lunch–
Lilith, Spica, and I teleported to the nearby town with Lilith's teleportation magic.
The town's called Artemill.
According to Lilith, the people in this town are strong believers of the goddess, Artemis.
Indeed, there was a statue of the goddess in the town.
Long hair, large doll-like eyes, and a voluptuous body…
It was no doubt the same Artemis that I hate.
Moreover, many of the people on the streets were wearing a crescent shaped necklace.
That necklace seems to be the symbol of a devout follower of Artemis.
Today was a holiday for the humans.
That also seemed to be the reason why there were tons of people on the main street.
"Hoho… This town is bigger than what I expected"
"This is the largest town in the area. Artemill is one of the center cities for trade, so it's an excellent place to shop at!"
"It'll be a delight to. As it seems, this place isn't in ruins. In contrast, the royal capital looked much worse"
"The royal capital is going through its roughest times right now…This town too… I feel like there are more guards here than before, but this town is still in a better state compared to there"
While I was having a conversation with Lilith,
"…Uuuu, shopping…it-it-it-it's almost like a date…"
Spica was mumbling something to herself. She was blushing as usual…
By the way, the countermeasures we've taken to avoid getting found out were perfect.
Spica was the princess of this country; even though she has become a demon, her outer appearance has not changed. If we just blatantly walked around the town without any measures, it could create a huge fuss.
In other words, something unexpected could happen.
However, thanks to Lilith's spell, 『Demonic Camouflage』, that problem was solved.
"I've sent Spicsan some of my magic through her hand, so she should look like a different person to the people around us. As for her former subordinates, I've already erased their memories of us so no one should be able to recognize us here ♪"
It seems that Spica had also agreed to this herself.
"Etto~ Spicsan said something like 'Since I'll be reforming this country and save everyone with my confession magic, I don't really being seen as a different person'…"
So there we have it.
Through this shopping session, I'll improve my relationship with Spica–.
With that goal engraved in my heart, we started to walk along the main street.
By the way, I was wearing a simple white T-shirt and black pants.
I have my horn retracted and I was suppressing my magical energy.
"Hehehe~♪ It's so fun even if we're just window shopping"
Lilith said as she walked with light steps.
She was wearing a neat looking white-colored one piece dress.
She was also suppressing her magical energy and her halo was removed. Her disguise was flawless.
"Hey Lilith, I…want to take a look at some armor"
Spica was wearing the armor she usually wore. She was suppressing her magical energy as well. And since her magical energy type changed due to her being a demon now, it was better for her to do so to not be detected by the humans.
Since Lilith's dress went down to her knees, I could see that she doesn't have much meat on her legs while those fragile looking legs stretched as she walked.
Putting them against Spica who was in her super mini skirt, Spica's legs were more healthy looking.
I compared the beauty of their leg lines one by one as I walked behind them.
"Okay Spicsan~♪ Let's go to an armor shop first!"
"Ehehe, thank you"
Lilith and Spica were exchanging friendly words with each other. Alright, here is my chance!
"Spica, are you trying to get a new set of armor?"
"….!"
But,
As soon as I spoke to her, she trembled and used Lilith as a shield again.
"…Y-y-yeah. T-that was my plan…"
She was giving me a stuttering response again with red cheeks.
Damnit… Even though you could talk to Lilith normally!
"Welcome, welcome!"
"These swimsuits are made in the southern sea, in the region of Rusalka~!"
"Buy two maces and get one for half the price!"
The street stores' owners were actively trying to get more customers.
And amongst them,
"Human punching bags here~ We'll take a beating for ten arti a round!"
"If you beat the store owner in arm wrestling, you get paid double the entry fee!"
"Card games here! Girls can play for free~"
There was a strange corner with things like that.
We walked through the crowd as I listened to those voices.
"This one, oh this one here! This shop is good~~!"
Lilith eventually pointed to a shop.
There were suits of armor with majestic designs placed on their display. This seems to be the armor shop she wanted to go in.
"Hoho~ they seem to have a great collection here…"
The moment I stepped on the floorboard of the shop, I could smell the metal and dust.
Inside this store that was by no means big, all kinds of armor were lined up in this narrow space.
"Oh look who we have here, it’s Lilith-san. Welcome, welcome"
"Thank you. That bondage outfit you sold me before was very useful, you know~?"
A small girl with green colored hair walked up to Lilith. She seemed to be the store owner here.
Like that, those two seem to have hit it off and got into a fun conversation.
Which means, now I should–
"S-Spica, what kind of armor are you looking for?"
Alright. I can't miss my chance to talk to her here!
"Ermmm?! Uu-um–um…"
Ah…Even when I created a conversation, she was just mumbling.
She was either glancing at me or everywhere else in the shop… she looked quite restless.
Then, with her reddened face,
"I thought that I'd sell the silver armor I have right now… and get some used armor in black…"
She replied so hesitantly.
"Hohho, black armor, huh? Is it fine to dress so demon-like?"
"…You know… it has somehow become something that I like now"
Good! We're finally having a conversation with each other now!
"Hmm. Is it 'cause you really like the food you can eat?"
"That too…But more than that…"
Still, she was avoiding eye contact with me.
"I've become someone who like bats rather than dogs, I started to think black swords look cooler, watching people fight became more fun than writing poems…And I've even taken a daring interest in different types of underwea… "
Spica caught herself before she could finish. She was blushing up to her ears now.
She was probably embarrassed because she told me about the underwear thing I bet.
"Your values may have changed after becoming a demon. However, there's no need to feel anxious. Whatever it is that you like, whatever it is that you love, Spica is still Spica, and that will not change"
I told her with a smile as I nodded.
"– No matter what you become, Spica, I will accept you honestly"
"~~~~~!!! Ah, auuu…auuuuu!"
Then, she was in a stupor.
Her face was dark red and she was stumbling about as if she were drunk.
And yet, she had a loose smile on like
That…shouldn't be a bad reaction, I think.
Alright. If that's the case, let's keep going one step further!
"Spica, this is to commemorate us becoming a family. Find a suit of black armor that you like– I'll buy it for you as a present. Don't pick a used one or something; pick something that you really like. You don't have to worry about the price"
"–?! a present… a present…from a man…."
Steam was coming out of Spica's head…she finally overheated.
…Is she alright? I've never seen her face this red up until now.
At that moment, Lilith nudged my arm.
She looked at me with an apologetic look.
"Maou-sama, ummm… that.. There's a little trouble regarding that…"
"What's wrong? I'm just giving Spica a present with my wallet– I mean, the village's budget"
"We don't have that"
"Don't have what?"
"….Money. We don't have any"
"–What…?"
When I was shocked from hearing that, Lilith pulled out a ledger.
After confirming the remaining amount of our village's budget– a cold sweat ran down my face.
"This is bad…W-what's the reason behind this?"
"The revival celebration after-party that we threw for five consecutive days. We went overboard quite a bit. Most of our budget for the year was already…"
–*gulp*.
I fell flat on the floor inside this store.
I can't believe it. The demon realm is going broke from too much partying?! From such a joke of a reason?!
"It looks like we'll have to find a way to make some money…"
"Yup. But it doesn't matter if we are wearing secondhand goods or new high-end armor…The Liliaheim demonization plan isn't going to be stopped!"
Then, I turned around and took a look at Spica.
Oh no, she's picking out her armor with such a happy face!
Her smile that I could finally see– I have to protect that smile at all costs!
"Aren't there any good ideas to make some money…?"
I was puzzled.
Ideas that can make money instantaneously.
A way to save Spica from sorrow.
Something… There must be something…!
"–!!!"
At that moment, an electric shock ran through my back.
But it was not from me coming up with any good ideas.
I turned around vigorously and looked behind me as soon as I felt it flare up and became hot deep inside my heart.
Outside the shop. On the street.
There, a dazzling, silver light was shining down.
Furthermore, a grand hymn was echoing in the sky as the people in the streets bowed down on the ground.
What I felt from that light– was an overflowing holy aura.
"This presence ….!"
Did I forget?
The bitter memories from three hundred years ago started to come back to me.
There was no doubt about it.
That divine silver light– comes from one of my arch enemies!
"Maou-sama, we have to go! Spicsan, too!"
"Ehh? H-hold on a sec?!"
The three of us jumped out of the armor shop.
Then, we looked up at the sky.
In the beam of silvery light that was coming down from the sky, a myriad of angel soldiers and a goddess descended slowly.
"Oh my, look what we have here…It looks like the rumor of Demon King Juno resurrecting in the form of a human was true. You have such ominous magical energy as usual…"
Long silver hair that reached her waist. A pair of big, innocent-looking eyes.
Through the robe that she was wearing, her voluptuous body that surpasses even Spica was standing out.
What…!
It feels like she is thiccer than she was three hundred years ago.
She held a long staff in her right hand.
The tip of it was in a shape of a big crescent.
Did the necklaces that her believers were wearing have the same design of her staff?
I could tell just by facing off with her like this–
The magical power of this goddess is incomparable to normal angels.
Also, she has an excellent ability to detect demons.
Even though we were suppressing our magical energies to near zero, she still noticed us and came down like this.
"What a place to meet in, goddess of meat, Artemis! If you want to fight then we can just settle this quickly. I will let out my three hundred years of resentment with that slutty body of yours!"
"M-meat?! Slutty body?! H-h-h-h-ow disgusting!"
Artemis's shoulders were trembling in anger.
Several of the angel soldiers behind couldn’t hold in their laughs, but it seems like the person that was laughed at did not notice.
"Her body is thiccc but as expected from a goddess of the hexagram, the amount of magical energy she has is dangerous"
Lilith said as she broke out in a cold sweat.
"Ahhh Artemis-sama, I will start praying right now….Owwww, my head hurts?!"
Spica got a headache since she prayed to a goddess as a demon.
I walked in front of those two in such a state and proclaimed,
"Ha. There is no need to come up with small money schemes when I can just take the whole holy kingdom of Artemis!"
"Humph. Demon King Juno…You don't even know your place. In these last three hundred years, even we goddesses did not slack on our magic training and research!"
Sparks flew between us as we stared at each other.
In order to activate my magic tuning, I released all the magical energy inside my body at once–