Chapter 1

Act 1

“You’re the Demon Lord, aren’t you?”

I stood frozen, taking in the words Emperor Gilzerius had just thrown at me. It felt as though the audience chamber had become filled with an eerie aura radiating from the emperor. Of course, that was just my imagination.

The man sitting on the throne before me didn’t have any noteworthy powers. He didn’t possess exceptional martial prowess, unrivaled sorcery, or mighty ayakashi to serve him. The emperor was nothing more than a weak, fragile human. Yet despite that, through his cunning intellect and cold, unyielding will, the man could accomplish anything.

The monster hidden behind an unassuming face continued, his smile plain and ordinary. “Did you not expect that? Though I’m often given too much credit, I myself am neither particularly strong nor wise—just a dull man born to imperial blood. Nevertheless, Iam the ruler of this vast empire. It’s only natural that I would look into who humanity’s enemies are.” The emperor’s smile turned into something more pitying.

“It would be one thing if you had remained hidden, but surely you can’t expect to go unnoticed after all you’ve done. I’m told they’re quite fond of you in demon territory, Seika. It seems you possess not only magical power, but also the qualities of a leader. Ah, and before you misunderstand, I was not the one who toyed with that volcano. Heh heh, I apologize for my son causing you a headache twice now.”

It appeared the emperor’s intelligence network extended into demon territory. That wasn’t surprising—the empire had slipped a spy into the devil royal palace, so there was no way he would be ignorant of what was occurring in demon lands. Which meant he had known all along that I had visited demon territory as the Demon Lord and united the young rulers there.

Although he likely wasn’t aware I had personally quieted the eruption, it didn’t change