Wooooosh...
After Noir left, Adelio and Ria passed through the [Underworld Gate] together.
The moment the two of them arrived in the material world, what they saw was a Hero of the [Demonoid] race standing on high alert, along with hundreds of knights.
"...!! A-a demon!!"
"Lord Leon! Demons have appeared!!"
Leon Cromwell and his elite force, the [Magic Knights].
Since there was a chance that Jonne might emerge from the suddenly formed gate, they had been waiting here all day.
"Calm yourselves. They are not part of Jonne's faction."
Standing at the front of the knights, Leon Cromwell saw Adelio step out of the [Underworld Gate] and immediately realized he had won his wager against Jonne. He lowered his sword and relaxed his guard at once.
He was wary of the white-haired demon at Adelio's side, but since she was a demon sent by Ermesia, he trusted that she would never harm them.
"I'll handle this. You all stand by quietly."
After ordering the captains, who had been about to move in to support him, to stay back, he approached Adelio and Ria alone.
Watching him, Ria and Adelio exchanged [Thought Communication].
"Is that [Demonoid] on our side? He looks like he's carrying a Hero's Egg, just like you."
"Yeah, I know him. He's not an enemy, so you don't need to be on guard."
"Hehe, got it."
After ending the [Thought Communication], Adelio gave a bitter smile at Leon's next question.
"...Is that Contract you made with Jonne settled now?"
"The Contract itself has been wrapped up for now. But something happened while I was in hell, so she might start rampaging again before long."
Maybe because Leon's air felt oddly similar to Chronoa's, Adelio unconsciously spoke to him casually, the same way he did with her.
"I see... It can't be helped. I suppose I should be satisfied that we avoided this disaster, at least for now."
It was Leon's muttered remark that even though Jonne, a living disaster in all but name, had invaded the royal capital itself, there had been little loss of life this time, so he would settle for that.
Feeling a little guilty at that, Adelio spoke as if to reassure him.
"Still, there are other ways, so don't look so grim. If Jonne shows up again, I plan to step in then too."
In the first place, the compensation he had proposed to Ermesia had been to keep Jonne in check, and he had already decided to try talking with Jonne again. That was why he said it.
"...So there is still a chance left."
Leon Cromwell closed his eyes and swallowed a low breath.
"Very well, for now. There are things I want to ask you about Ermesia as well, so come with me first."
Then, like a man who had made up his mind, he slowly opened his eyes and invited Adelio and Ria into the castle.
*
The inside of the castle was a fitting blend of elegance and luxury.
Because the exterior of [Eldorado] was drenched entirely in gold, Adelio had expected the interior to be decorated with every kind of treasure imaginable, but to his surprise, it was clean and orderly instead.
The fountain before the main gate and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling had a restrained beauty, while the white walls and refined furniture, luxurious without being gaudy, maintained a calm elegance that never felt overwhelming.
Bang!
"That demon beside you is Blanc...?!"
The master of this place, however, was not nearly so calm.
"Are you in your right mind?! You claim you do not oppose humanity, and yet you went and released one of the Primordial Demons? How does that make any sense?!"
Leon had listened to Adelio's explanation calmly for several hours, but upon hearing the one thing he simply could not let pass, he raised his voice for the first time.
The things Adelio had said earlier—about making a Contract with Ermesia, and about being a demon who did not oppose humanity—those could be proven through the cloak he had handed over before.
But releasing Blanc from hell was something Leon simply could not understand.
"That demon is the very one who caused the Crimson Lake Incident in the Empire in the past. What in the world were you thinking?!"
As a Hero who protected humanity, and as the king of a nation threatened by Jonne, Leon knew all too well what happened when Blanc ran wild.
"...I understand exactly what you're so worried about. To humanity, the Primordial Demons are like bombs that could commit a massacre at any moment."
"Then—"
"But the reality is different."
Cutting Leon off, Adelio rose from his seat as well and continued calmly.
"Even among the Primordial Demons, there are some who don't oppose humanity. Just like there are good monsters among monsters. You know that too—that's why you deliberately altered yourself into a [Demonoid], isn't it?"
"......That..."
"And since you're a Hero, you should know even better than anyone else that humanity can be far uglier than monsters."
Because Leon was a Hero, he knew better than anyone that humanity could be more vile than monsters.
That was why he had cast aside his status, position, and power as a Hero and become a Demon Lord instead.
To protect the oppressed [Demonoid] people, it had been better to become a monster less ugly than humanity.
"And if you were really some innocent, idealistic Hero, you never would have planned to call yourself a Demon Lord in the first place."
"...!!!"
Shock flooded Leon's eyes.
A plan he had never spoken of even to his most trusted aides.
A plan he had never once put into words had just come out of the mouth of a demon he had first met only yesterday.
He had no choice but to be even more stunned than he had been when he learned Ria's true identity.
"I can help you with that plan."
But the statement that shocked him most came next.
"Because I serve Guy Crimson, the First Demon Lord."
The true identity of the demon he had considered an ally was revealed in a way he had never expected at all.
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