Chapter 51: King of the Demon Tribe Nation
In a chamber of the Royal Castle of the Demon Tribe Nation.
The room was in disarray, a reflection of its master’s fury.
“Damn it! Damn it all! Everyone here is completely useless!”
The new king of the Demon Tribe Nation shouted as he kicked the furniture in his office.
His rage stemmed from a recent defeat in a battle against a new Summoner who had appeared in the Admos Kingdom. He had believed that with the limited time since the Summoner’s arrival, he could eliminate the threat, but the operation had spectacularly failed due to the Summoner’s unexpected prowess.
Thus, the king, who had devised and executed the plan, was now consumed by anger.
“Y-your Majesty, please calm down…”
A close aide attempted to soothe the furious king, but his words only fueled the flames of the king’s wrath.
“How can I stay quiet about this?! If I had just gone to the front lines from the start, we would have won!”
The aide hastily denied the king’s claim.
“N-no! You are the king of the Demon Tribe Nation! It is unacceptable for you to be on the front lines!”
“Shut up! If my subordinates had done their jobs properly, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
This new king, while indeed one of the most powerful magic users in the Demon Tribe Nation, lacked the foresight necessary for leadership. He still believed, with all his heart, that victory was within reach if only he had fought on the front lines himself.
The aide let out a small sigh, careful not to let the king notice.
Unaware of the aide’s exasperation, the king continued to rampage until he finally sat down in his chair, breathing heavily, and began to scratch his head in frustration.
“Ugh! If I had known it would be like this, I never would have become king! The strongest should be the king, but if the king can’t fight on the front lines, it’s just a loss of strength!”
The aide thought to himself that this was indeed true.
There was no law stating that the strongest should be king. The next king was simply the one designated by the previous monarch. That was the only law.
The former queen, Meileen, had not been appointed by the previous king. After the previous king was defeated by Kenta, the Sacred Staff, the symbol of kingship, was transferred from Kenta to Meileen, and she was recognized as queen by the nobles of the Demon Tribe Nation.
The nobles had high hopes for Meileen’s intellect. Having opposed the previous king’s expansionist policies, she prioritized stabilizing the nation, and they believed she could restore the crumbling Demon Tribe Nation.
In response to their expectations, Meileen began to stabilize the war-torn nation after the conflict with the Human Tribe.
The nobles thought that with Meileen at the helm, the Demon Tribe Nation would recover in the not-so-distant future.
However, that hope was soon shattered.
Meileen’s brother, Mekido, rebelled against her.
Mekido argued that for the king of the Demon Tribe Nation, military strength was paramount. He claimed that since Meileen lacked that strength, she could not govern the nation, and he forcibly dragged her from the throne.
When this news broke, the nobles were devastated. They never imagined that a brother devoid of any intellect would ascend to the throne.
From that point on, the Demon Tribe Nation began to provoke the neighboring Human Tribe nations whenever they had even a slight increase in military strength.
The skirmishes with Weimar were part of this trend.
They initiated the next conflict before fully stabilizing their own territory.
Dissatisfaction with Mekido grew among the nobles of the Demon Tribe Nation, especially as it was said that Meileen could have restored the nation in half the time it took Mekido.
If things continued like this, the muscle-headed king would lead the Demon Tribe Nation to ruin.
Something had to be done before that happened…
While the atmosphere of discontent was rising, Mekido himself remained completely oblivious.
His image of a king was entirely shaped by his father, who was said to be the strongest in history.
His father possessed magical power unmatched within the Demon Tribe Nation.
Mekido believed that was why his father became king.
In reality, the previous king excelled not only in strength but also in intellect. He was skilled at commanding his subordinates and managing internal affairs, and he would even take to the front lines when necessary.
Mekido, however, had completely ignored his father’s intellectual qualities, fixating solely on the notion that a king should be powerful.
As a result, he had stoked the fires of discontent within the nation and now faced a blunder in foreign affairs.
The aide thought to himself that this king was hopeless. However, Mekido’s followers were nearly as powerful in magic as he was, making a coup d’état unlikely.
The aide could only watch in disbelief and disdain as Mekido muttered to himself in his chair.
What on earth was he mumbling about? The aide strained to listen and caught Mekido saying, “If it had come to this, I should have let my sister be queen and fought on the front lines myself…”
The aide felt a deep sense of frustration. If he had thought that way from the beginning, they wouldn’t be in this situation.
If no one else were present, he would have let out a grand sigh.
But with Mekido right in front of him, he held back.
Suddenly, Mekido’s expression brightened, and he stood up.
“Wait! I can find my sister and have her become queen again!”
His face lit up with what he believed to be a brilliant idea. The aide was momentarily speechless.
After having just ousted her from the throne, did he really think she would listen to him now?
And if she did agree, did Mekido truly understand that it would put his life in danger?
…Looking at Mekido’s excited expression, the aide concluded that he did not.
Just as he was about to offer some advice, a soldier burst into the room.
“Excuse me!”
“What is it?”
“Your Majesty! We just received a report from the intelligence unit!”
“Understood, let them in.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldier entered and stood at attention before Mekido, reading the report from the intelligence unit aloud.
“The Summoner from the Admos Kingdom challenged the former Summoner to a duel and was defeated!”
“Huh? Seriously?”
The Summoner from the Admos Kingdom was the very source of Mekido’s irritation.
Hearing that this person had challenged the former Summoner and lost, Mekido instinctively stood up.
“And? What about his life or death?”
“Sir! It seems he was killed in battle.”
“…”
Upon hearing this report, Mekido slumped back into his chair as if all strength had left him.
“Your Majesty?”
“Ah, I don’t know. It feels like my revenge was snatched away from me.”
“…Is that so?”
“Wait, the former Summoner is from the same hometown as the current one, right? Can someone so easily kill a person they met in another world?”
Mekido furrowed his brow after saying this.
“Looks like I can’t just leave that guy alone. He’s also my father’s enemy… I’ll have to take him down eventually.”
“Indeed! I also believe he is a dangerous presence. And I think the Human Tribe shares the same opinion.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems Admos is planning to conduct another Otherworld Summoning to take down Kenta Maya.”
Mekido looked at his aide after hearing this report.
“What do you think about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is the third Otherworld Summoning in such a short period after decades of none. Is that really okay?”
“…I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I don’t quite understand what you are wary of.”
Mekido scratched his head at the aide’s response.
It seemed to be a habit of his.
“Honestly, I can’t explain it well in words, but… it just feels wrong.”
While Mekido lacked the ability to govern as king, he was adept at reading the atmosphere and sensing subtle discomfort, especially in combat situations.
For him to say he had a bad feeling about this, even without knowing the reason, was significant.
“…It seems we should be on guard.”
“Yeah… Hey.”
“Yes, sir!”
“The Otherworld Summoning can only be performed in Lindor, right?”
“Yes! That is correct!”
“Then send the intelligence unit to Lindor. If anything happens, have them report back immediately.”
“Understood! I will take my leave!”
After the soldier exited the room, Mekido’s expression shifted from one of rage to one of seriousness.
“…What is it? What am I feeling anxious about?”
As he muttered that while gazing out the window, Mekido’s aide decided to muster his resolve and support the king a little longer.