Chapter 1

In the western regions of the kingdom, sat a small, peaceful farming village. Peaceful, until yesterday, that is. Big red flames licked through the area, burning down everything in sight. It turned the peaceful lands into a hellish landscape.

“Phew, it sure is hot in here.”

“Even with ice magic…”

“Damn, I wish the demon lord had struck earlier. Even if we’re getting repayment, it’s still a pain.”

“Just be grateful we’ll be rich after this.”

The villagers were running, no, walking away from the center of the village, carrying nothing but themselves. An ‘anonymous’ tip had warned them that their village was next, so they had prepared themselves ahead of time. They’ve taken their valuables and stored them away from the village near their temporary shelters.

A lone figure stood on the other end of the village, watching as the place burned.

“The compensation had been sent, Your Majesty,” said a man clad in a black cape that covered his entire body.

The demon lord, the cause of all this, let out a sinister laugh. Her long hair, as dark as the night sky, fluttered in the wind. Her crimson eyes reflected the light of the flames before her. “Thank you. Keh keh keh. The humans shall fear us.”

“Umm… yeah…” The man let out a nod. He came from a tribe with short features, his height barely reaching the girl’s chest. But, despite that, this wasn’t someone anyone could underestimate. He stood near the top of the hierarchy as one of Demon Lands' most powerful mages.

Yet, despite that, his standing was nothing compared to his superior. He knew better than to defy her, although the worst that could happen would come in the form of a cut to his paycheck. Considering the amount of toys, food, and stuff he has to buy for his orphanage, such a thing happening would be a disaster. Kind of. Not really? He was sure the demon lord would cut his paycheck, but at the same time, anonymous donations appeared every so often. Something told him that more donations would come if he received a cut.

Just then, a single girl emerged from the flames. A face the demon lord recognized all too well.

“So you’re finally here, Heroes,” she said with a haughty laugh. “Time for the battle- wait, where is the Hero? No, not just the hero, where are the other two!?”

She couldn’t believe her enemies sent such an underwhelming force to face her, the great demon lord.

The girl looked up. She had her red hair tied into a bun, her light green eyes gazing at the two demons, yet the demon lord sensed absolutely no hostility from her. She held a long magic staff, yet she never saw her use it.

“Ah, Hero… yes… where was he again? Oh, he went fishing.”

“He went fishing!?” The demon lord fumed. This wasn’t the first time the heroes' party showed up without the hero. And likely, it wouldn’t be the last.

“As for the others… They retired.”

“Retired!? You are heroes! Heroes! What about our fated battle? The one spoken of in legends!?

“Why are you so fixated on that?” she groaned. “It’s just some random ancient text.”

“Yeah but- I mean, no! It’s not some random ancient text! It’s a prophecy! A prophecy! It’s fate itself! Right!?” She threw that question to the man standing next to her.

“Umm… yes?”

“He doesn’t sound so sure.”

“Yes, I mean yes.” The man scratched his head, grateful his cape hid his expression. The demon lord gave him a cold stare before shifting her gaze back to the girl.

“I can’t fight you without the hero! If not, the fateful battle wouldn’t count!”

“Oh, the hero said that he isn’t interested in being a hero. Someone else should do it.”

“That hero’s sword chose him! Him! How could anyone else wield it? This is utterly ridiculous! Ridiculous! How many villages do I need to raze for him to take me seriously!? Do you know just how much a single invasion costs? With soldier salaries, compensation, and transport fees, they're all hurting our treasury!”

“Then start killing people?”

The demon lord let out a gasp. She took a step back. “Ki- Ki- Ki- Kill!? That’s absurd! Absolutely absurd! How can you even suggest that?”

She shrugged. In the kingdom, being targeted by the demon lord was seen as a blessing. There’s always an anonymous tip on when and where the demon lord would strike, so people could prepare. They would receive generous compensation after the strike, and everyone became much richer than before.

A mysterious group of mages would appear before the attack. They would ask the people for any buildings that hold a historical value or are deeply valuable to someone. Those buildings would be protected by magic, ensuring that nothing valuable would be lost. Other buildings would be razed to the ground, and the owners would use that chance for some renovation work. It had gotten so common that the construction guild would move members to a village under threat. After the attack, they would reap the profits as everyone needed extra construction workers. The mysterious mages would also help. The village would be restored within a few days, and everyone would end up happy.

As such, the demon lord wasn’t seen as evil. She was seen as a blessing. The only reason the kingdom sent the heroes was that having to constantly be invaded was embarrassing.

“Huh, another waste of time, let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hey, demon lord, can you do my town next?”

“Your town is on the east end of the kingdom! East! How am I supposed to get there!? Also, we’re not a charity!”

The demon lord turned around with a hmph, completely oblivious to the little boy behind her. Her hand smacked right into the boy's face.

“!” The boy dropped the bundle of weed he carried, falling to his back. He looked up at the demon lord, tears forming in his bright yellow eyes.

“Eh?”

“Waaah!”

“I- I’m sorry! I wasn’t being careful!” The demon lord panicked upon seeing the crying child.

“Look, the demon lord made a child cry,” the girl said. The man with a cape nodded in agreement.

“How evil.”

“Wait, no! This is an accident! An accident, I tell you! I’m not- I mean, I am evil, but not like this.”

“Waaaaah!”

“Your Majesty… I didn’t expect you to stoop so low.” He shook his head.

“No! I tell you, this is an accident!”

The other two didn’t seem convinced, while the boy refused to stop crying.

“Now now, little boy, don’t cry…” She picked him up and began shaking him in a desperate effort to stop him from crying. The cold gaze from all around her, including her own retainer, drilled into the back of her head. She needed to get this boy to calm down as fast as possible.

“La la la, the seas of the demon lands, beautiful and black. Darkness hangs overhead, ah, such beautiful lands.”

“Is that the demon’s nursery rhyme?” the girl asked the man.

“No. Apparently, it’s a song Her Majesty created herself. Also, outside certain areas, the seas of demon lands are not black.”

“No wonder it sounds terrible.”

“It’s not terrible!”

“Waaaah!”

The song made things worse, and the child now cried louder than before. He swung his limbs wildly, his hand smacking the forehead of the demon lord.

“Ow ow ow!”

“Deserved.”

“Unfortunately, deserved.”

“Just whose side are you on!?”

As the child continued smacking, a light appeared all of a sudden from the demon lord’s forehead.

“What? Owwwww!” She let out a screech, falling to her knees. The man quickly went to her side, picking up the child before she let him fall.

“Demon lord!? What’s going on!?” The girl rushed to her side.

The demon lord held her head. “It hurts so much…” She whispered, holding in the pain. It was becoming unbearable. She fell to the ground.

“Your Majesty!”

And after a while, she finally passed out. The girl with red hair came closer.

“Is she alright?” She asked. He passed the child to the girl. The child had finally calmed down. The man brought his hand over her head. “She’ll be fine, but…”

“But…?”

He looked toward the child in her arms.

“There’s a magical link between her and that child.”

The girl let out a gasp. He paused for a moment before saying,

“That child, somehow, made the demon lord his familiar.”