Chapter 315: Demonkin sure Are emotionally weak
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The demonkin cast his head down while trembling as he listened to Sword and me talking.
What’s wrong?
Sword and I looked at each other.
“H-Hmm? I mean, I just mentioned my general view of things, so it might not apply to the demon king country’s circumstances. His Majesty the Demon King might be a dungeon core, but maybe he’s trying to invade a human country for some sort of reason? …Oh right! It might be for the sake of attracting customers! Because the humans have mostly stayed away from the demon king’s castle, he could have ordered the demonkin to meddle with this Kingdom, believing that it’d cause the humans to visit his castle in response! Or maybe he might have concluded such a contract in ancient times. That’s why the people called braves over here, who have been summoned from another world by this country, are sent over to the demon king’s castle, and the demon king’s country also urges this country to send visitors by sending in small teams into the Kingdom!”
Once I told him so in order to cheer him up, the demonkin’s trembling became even worse, and he almost looked like he was going to start bawling any moment. No, maybe he’s already crying?
Sword whispered, “Listen, you might have intended to console him, but instead you delivered the finishin’ blow, crushin’ his heart completely.”
Why!?
＊
After meeting Smith and this guy here, I finally understood.
――Demonkin are ridiculously weak on the emotional side!
They might have been pampered like mad across all their life, with everything proceeding their way as soon as they just wished it.
And then, once the humans appeared and didn’t answer all the wishes by their little country of sweet dreams, the demonkin might have become upset, and started to hate the humans, wanting to get rid of them.
…With that said! It means Smith was a totally normal boy for a demonkin, huh!? Rather, he was picked up by humans, and had his heart broken by experiencing all sorts of things amidst human society. And yet, he overcame his trauma, stood back up on his own feet, and succeeded in becoming a lady killer in order to fit in among the humans. …I see, I can totally understand why that guy was the last boss in the hidden route of the shojo game.
I admired Smith while recalling him fondly.
“Hmm, I see, I see. So demonkin are basically spoiled brats. Smith was actually normal for a demonkin before starting over. Rather, he reformed his ways due to getting scolded to an extent, and strengthened his heart so much that he could reign as best lady killer of the academy. I must correct my view of you, Smith!”
Hearing my comment, Sword’s look became oddly distant.
“…Well yeah, that guy’s heart sure has become strong. Even though he had succeeded in hidin’ by erasin’ his presence out of fear for bein’ discriminated as demonkin, he was discovered by you of all people and had his heart entirely shattered. But, despite that, he immediately recovered and became popular while usin’ that little sister of yours as reference. Quite incredible, I gotta admit. It’d have been impossible for me.”
While Sword and I were having a lively conversation about our memories of Smith, I gently stroked the demonkin, who was kind of crying, to soothe him.
＊
The demonkin bawled like a little boy.
Since it couldn’t be helped, I made him stop by passing him a soy milk shake with a shot of brandy. He started to talk while drinking his shake.
It seems like he’s one of the demonkin sent to this country by his homeland to directly meddle with it.
＊
――Demonkin braves were born as 『Braves』.
His Majesty the Demon King knew who was born with that element, and designated those people as braves. Those demonkin were raised and trained as braves. And then they would cross the desert with a do-or-die preparedness while accompanied by eight chosen ones as brave companions.
The initial plan was to infiltrate the capital and strike when there was an opportunity, but all his companions died during the desert crossing, and even he, the brave, was on the verge of death ―― or so his story went.
＊
Sword and I exchanged a look. And then I asked the demonkin while feeling a tiny bit excited, “In that case, you’re strong? The demonkin, who had attacked the capital last time, was apparently so strong that only Sword could drive him away, so you must be strong as well, right?”
He answered while looking downhearted, “……I thought I was strong. That’s why I believed I could cross the desert. But one of my comrades after the other collapsed, and so did I. If I hadn’t been saved by you guys, I’d have died out there.”
I waved it off, “Don’t worry about that part! Since I saved you at great pains, I’ll transport you all the way to a place where you can have your fight! …Oh, right! I’ll take you to the capital! By all means, please summon a dragon and assault the capital! And once I defeat you and the dragon, I’ll be able to rise to S-Rank, just like Sword! Yahooo!”
When I jumped up while throwing my hands in the air at the end, Sword slapped his forehead and the demonkin cried again.
“…Your truly pathetic. Don’t kick folks who are already down for the count!”
Sword dropped a fist on my head.
Ouch!
I looked at Sword sullenly, “…I mean, he was planning to attack the capital anyway, no? Isn’t it kind of me to tell him that I’d enable him to accomplish his original objective? Of course, he has resolved himself to fight against humans, and surely he didn’t believe he’d come out of this alive. Since he hates humans, he’ll be able to fight to his heart’s content without any bitter feelings. I, on the other hand, don’t particularly dislike the demonkin, but I hate pampered crybabies! Yep! Since we hate each other, we’ll be able to enjoy our battle to the fullest! Ouch!”
Sword dropped a fist on my head once again.
＊
I stroked the weeping demonkin once more to calm him, and made him stop by handing him a cookie sandwich ice.
“Here, this tastes great as well, so stop crying. …You’re just like a kid in the body of an adult, aren’t you? Good grief. …Demonkin are fairly beaten and weak creatures, huh? Even if your physical abilities might be high, your emotional strength is ridiculously low, isn’t it? Sword, you could have had an easier fight against the demonkin in the capital if you had used insults and mental attacks instead, you know? I’m sure, your opponent back then would have cried uncontrollably from just getting teased a bit. So much so that you’d have trouble making him stop crying.”
“I don’t wanna have any such troubles. In that case, it’s much easier to just duke it out.”
Sword clearly hated the idea. And while pointing a finger at me, he looked at the weeping demonkin and soothed him, “You got it, right? This is the strongest creature on this planet. You can’t win against her, no matter which weapon you use. And defeatin’ her with magic is impossible, too. A dragon poses no threat to her and she specializes on mental attacks. That sort of dreadful, peerless being is currently presidin’ in this country. …Go back to the demon king’s country and report about what you’ve seen here. Of course, I don’t mind accompanyin’ you to the capital either, but you’ll never beat her. Instead you’ll be tormented and made to cry by Indra, you know? You’d hate that, no?”
What a terrible thing to say.
The demonkin lightly nodded at Sword’s remark and continued to silently eat his ice cream.
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