TWEM Vol. 7 Chapter 15 Part 2
Tendo and I looked at each other and smiled at Fran’s words, and answered.
“Of course.”
“A-Are you sure…? I don’t mind, but humans are the enemy of demons. If I reveal your identity in front of this crowd, what will they say—”
I interrupted Fran and began to speak.
“We have no say in what Fran decides to do.”
“Fran, as Haruto said earlier, this is no longer just about the demons. As long as we have to join forces, we have to eventually reveal our identities. It’s just that now is the time.”
“Tendo is right. And isn’t it time for humans and demons to join hands and fight together? And what’s wrong with cooperating with someone who was an enemy in order to survive? Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend.”
Fran smiled at our words.
“Hehe, thank you.”
Fran then turned to face the crowd.
“Listen up!”
Amidst the loud cheers, Fran’s crystal clear voice silenced the room.
“This battle is not only a problem for us demons. It is a battle with the fate of the entire world at stake. That is why I want to join hands with the humans and overcome this crisis.”
The crowd becomes uproarious at her words about working with humans.
“Join hands with humans?”, “It’s impossible,” voices of denial and anxiety rose from the crowd.
The voices gradually grew louder, but―
“Quiet!”
Once again, Fran’s words silenced the crowd.
Fran then gestured to me and Tendo.
“It was only recently that these two became my aides… many of you have seen them fight against Lauren and Gyuray.”
As Fran said this, voices could be heard saying things like, “I’m sure they were the ones who took on the monster army alone,” and “Are they the black knights who came to help us?”
I nodded, and Fran nodded back with a determined look on her face.
“These two are the ‘humans’ who cooperated with us demons.”
The square was buzzing.
Well, our appearance was clearly that of a demon, and I didn’t think anyone would believe her if she suddenly told them that we were humans.
But—
“Take off your rings.”
As Fran instructed us, both Tendo and I removed our rings at the same time.
In an instant, we returned to our original forms.
Seeing this, the commotion grew even louder.
“This man is not Ten, his real name is Tendo. He is a human – a hero.”
Tendo changed his black armor to a silver-white color that even felt divine.
And when Fran said “hero,” various voices were heard from the crowd.
Most of them said, “Aren’t heroes our enemies?”
It was probably common knowledge among the demons that human heroes were those who came to defeat the Demon King. Considering that, this reaction was only natural.
However, this didn’t get the conversation going, so Fran spoke up.
“Have you forgotten? The fact that this hero saved everyone. Don’t forget that. This person is next.”
With that in mind, he took a step forward.
“This person’s name is Haruto. I call him Haru, but he is the strongest human, and even stronger than me, the Demon King.”
After Fran’s introduction, the crowd exclaimed, “Is that really true!?”
“It is true. I’m no match for Haru.”
Well, I’m definitely stronger than Fran.
“Besides, those who were at the battle saw it. Haru easily defeated the army of the Four Heavenly Kings and Lauren. He also cornered Gyuray and fought on equal terms with the resurrected Alogis… His blade is not aimed at us, but at the Evil God. There is no one who could be a stronger ally than him.”
Having said that, Fran’s expression became serious.
“As the Demon King, I make decisions to help everyone. If you have any objections to my decision as the Demon King, please speak up. If you can defeat me, you will be the Demon King from today on and you can do whatever you want.”
Everyone was silent at Fran’s words. That was because they knew that they couldn’t defeat Fran, the current Demon King.
“Then let’s hear a few words from the two of you.”
Fran gestured with her chin for Tendo and me to say something.
Tendo and I exchanged glances for a moment. Tendo took a step forward and spoke.
“I am Tendo Koji, the hero. I came to the Demon Realm with Haruto here as a representative of the humans. Of course, I did not come here to defeat the Demon King, but to negotiate for peace. But when the issue of the Four Heavenly Kings came up, we decided to cooperate with the Demon King Fran, and that’s how we ended up where we are now.”
After a pause, Tendo continued.
“Some of you here may hate humans. But I want to help you so that this world doesn’t end! I want to believe in the demons. I believe that we can join hands and create a peaceful world. Please believe in humans!”
The room fell silent.
As you would expect from a hero. It was a great speech.
Fran, standing next to him, looked pleased.
Meanwhile, the crowd didn’t know what to say and remained silent—
“Now, it’s Haru’s turn.”
“You’re still having fun, aren’t you?”
“I wonder.”
When Fran gave me a mischievous smile, I took a step forward and said, “Well, never mind…” and looked around at the people.
Does Fran really think I’m going to make a great speech that would touch the hearts of the demons?
I don’t think I would, and I couldn’t. Who would want to hear such a speech?
If someone was to make a speech, Tendo, the hero, was enough.
So, I began to speak slowly.
“I’m Haruto, the adventurer. As Fran said earlier, I’m stronger than everyone here. This is a simple fact.”
Some of the demons who heard my words looked as if they wanted to say, “You’re exaggerating!”
Fran and Tendo both had wide eyes, as if they never expected me to start with such a story.
But I didn’t care and continued speaking.
“So, let me ask you… are you afraid to join forces with humans? Or, does your pride prevent you from joining forces with those who were once your enemies? …If either of the above applies to you, then your resolve to fight was limited. It’s the same as being afraid of the Evil God and being afraid of Alogis. As Fran said, if you want to run, go ahead.”
I laughed like a madman.
“But what will we think when we see you running away? Maybe the humans will think you’re a coward.”
Then, they started shouting insults at me, like, “Don’t make fun of us, you silly human!”
“You don’t like to be made fun of by a human like me, do you? I don’t like being made fun of by strangers either. I understand how you feel. But—”
I continued.
“If we run away, we’ll lose. Besides, do you think the Evil God will end it by destroying only the human race? If He wants revenge on the gods, it’s possible that the whole world will be wiped out. If humans and demons don’t unite now, who knows when they will! Those worthless Gods don’t matter. Let’s show those Gods that we are no weaklings.”
As I said this, the square was filled with loud cheers of “Woohoo!”
Fran looked at me with a smile.
“I see. You’re pretty good, aren’t you?”
“I just thought it would boost their morale. They don’t want to lose to humans.”
“Yeah, demons are hot-headed. They get motivated when they’re provoked.”
Next to Fran, who looked satisfied, Tendo had a grim expression on his face.
“Haruto, you almost scared me.”
“Yeah, me too. I thought I went a little overboard during the talk.”
While we were talking, Fran slapped me and Tendo on the back.
“Haru, and Ten. We’ll prepare for battle here. So you should return to the human kingdom for now.”
“Yeah, that’s right. We’ll use teleportation to get there, but I think we’ll come back separately. After all, teleporting with a large army will consume a lot of magic power. If we have time, I think we can create a gate-like spell and bring the army all at once.”
“That’s absurd…”
Fran looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, but then she turned serious.
“Then I’ll leave it up to you. I’d like you to deliver a message to the human kings.”
“Tell me anything.”
“Then, ‘Demon King Fran Vampir promises to do her best for world peace.’ Well, it will probably have to wait until this battle is over.”
“Okay… well, that’s right, Fran.”
“What is it?”
“Shall we go over there together and talk to the kings? I don’t know what King Perdis will say, but if all goes well, we should have a chance to talk to the kings of every country.”
Fran thought deeply when I said that.
“Yes. If Haru teleports, he can come back right away, so there won’t be any problem with the time. That would be better, is that okay?”
“It will be fine. There are some things that can’t be conveyed unless you say them directly.”
“You’re right. I’ll leave it up to you then.”
“Okay. Well then, let’s go back and get the king’s permission first.”
Thus, Tendo and I used teleportation magic to return to the capital of the Kingdom of Perdis.