Chapter 67 Everyone’s determination

After reading the Demon Lord’s letter, I just blankly stared at the mausoleum.

Despite being so full of confidence, you lost, didn’t you, Demon Lord? Even though everyone is so depressed, it is not fair for the person dying to be happy, don’t you think? Is it possible that you are reincarnating somewhere right now? Could that be somewhere in this world? If that’s so, we will all go searching for you, you know?

But there was no answer.

Putting away the letter in my pocket, I scrubbed my eyes clean. I took a deep breath and lowered my head to the mausoleum. Just as the Demon Lord was the Demon Lord for an entire life, I shall be the aide for my whole life as well. Looks like I have forever lost the chance to stop being an aide. Demon Lord, leave the rest to us. This aide shall do something about it.
After returning inside the castle, I decided to start solving problems one by one.

“Master, hurry up and become the Demon Lord.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

The great sage Gomoviroa was rolling about on her bed like a child.

“I am not worthy of a king’s vessel, you know? I’m just a researcher–and a human at that! Not happening, nope, nope!”

“Please stop acting like a child. Do you want the Demon Lord army to collapse? A lot of humans have also been affected so we can’t go back anymore.”

Master hugged the pillow and pouted.

“If you’re saying that much, why don’t you just become the Demon Lord?”

“Me?!”

“The one who defeated the true hero. You are also the person who brought up the demon city, Ryunheight. n.o.body would oppose.”

“If you’re going to bring that up then, master, you are the oldest member — you have been here since the demon army was brought up. You’re also the strongest magic user.”

But master was determined to not admit it.

“I was sleeping at the most important moment! This would just look like an usurpation.”

“No one would think that. And I was also sleeping at the important moments.”

Despite all my efforts to convince master, she just kept shaking her head horizontally.

“I-do-not-wannaaaa!”

“Are you a kid?!”

“I am not even good at going out in front of humans. I would have to go in front of them then, right? Demons are still better but I can’t go in front of humans. There is no way I can become the Demon Lord.”

How troubling. Master being this shy.
But I have known her for quite a while so I kinda understand.

I think master is probably trying to depend on me.
Having lost everything with her sworn friend, everyone is now expecting her to be the next Demon Lord and flourish.
Master is the strongest magician, an expert researcher and a very pa.s.sionate educator but she is neither a politician nor a soldier. If I had to say, I would say she is not suited for it.
And so, by talking to me like this, she is probably trying to steel her resolve.
I felt like that so I decided to accompany her willfulness to the end.

“If that’s so, there is one good way, master.”

“What is it?”

I took out the magician’s training puppet from master’s closet.

“Let’s make this dude the Demon Lord.”

“…What?”

After listening to my explanation, master nodded with a ‘hmmm’.

“I see. So you’re telling me to use the doll just when I appear in front of the humans, right?”

“Yes. With this, you could make it as nice as you want and wouldn’t have to worry about a.s.sa.s.sinations either. You could just hide from the view and give your speech with a script or something.”

It was a pattern I had seen several times in mangas in my previous life.
The one sitting on the throne would just be a doll and the real Demon Lord would be its close aide, standing beside it.
Yep, this is it.

It looked like master was thinking a bit about it too.

“I see, I see. I am scared of humans but if I can hide from view then it is possible.”

“Right?”

She thought for a while after too but then gave a big nod.
Seems like she has steeled herself while we were having this absurd conversation.

“I can’t let the army the Demon Lord spent her life for fall just because of my selfishness. I will do it with my life on the line.”

“Now that’s my honorable master!”

She came close to me and grabbed my hand with her small hands.

“But, I will feel uneasy alone. Starting with you, I would have to rely on my disciples too. Alright?”

“Of course, master. Let’s fulfill the Demon Lord’s will.”

“Hmm, let’s do that.”

She said with a smile.

And so the new Demon Lord, Gomoviroa was born.
This was very easily accepted by the whole Demon Lord army.
The previous Demon Lord had also always spoken about their successor.
And because of that, everyone in the Demon Lord army had always thought that if something were to happen to the Demon Lord, someone would succeed the throne.

Master is the oldest member, who was also present when the army was first being formed. And although she can only go all-out for a short period of time, for the time she has her mana, she is practically unrivaled.
The third division leaders were master’s disciples so they had no objection with their respectable master being the Demon Lord.
And also, the second division had also been saved twice now by master at the north battlefront. Thanks to which she is being treated as a saint by them. It seems they wouldn’t have any problem with it either.
The first division also agreed to master being the one succeeding the Demon Lord. They are respecting the Demon Lord’s dying wish. Moreover, most of the members of the first division have been here for quite a while so they have a good bond with master.
Thanks to that, collecting everyone’s opinion was surprisingly simple.

And this is how the Demon Lord army would be guided by the new Demon Lord, Gomoviroa. The memorial of the previous king and the enthronement of the new one was scheduled to be done in a few days.
However, because master would inherit the t.i.tle of the Demon Lord, the spot of the third division’s leader was vacant.

“Who will fill in?”

“You should be the one.”

“No, no, I am the aide of the first division. And besides, I am also your direct aide, you know, master?”

If I were to become the squad leader, I would have too much to do in my hands which I probably wouldn’t be able to handle.
We looked at each other and said,

“Then, let’s ask Merayne-senpai.”

“Then it’s settled.”

If it’s Merayne-senpai, the other disciples would also oblige.

I stayed in the first division and became the direct aide to the Demon Lord. When I think about diplomacy, this way is easier.
Merayne-senpai came complaining later but since it was the new Demon Lord’s imperial command, I ignored her.

“Oi Vaito, why is the person who defeated the true hero himself still just an aide?! Become the squad leader!”

“Ehh, I don’t wanna be your superior officer, Mereen-senpai.”

As I refused, she turned to face Fernel.

“Geez! Vaito, you are not cute anymore! It’s fine, I will make Fer do it.”

“It is even more impossible for me!! My experience as both master’s disciple and the Demon Lord army’s general is too shallow!”

Please give up and take on the role of the squad leader, queen of vampires.

Even with the pain still lingering in our hearts, we determined ourselves and decided to move forward and keep fighting by inheriting the Demon Lord’s will.
We will build a country where demons can live with humans.
We will still be chasing after the dream Demon Lord Fredenrichter drew.

But before that, I was requested to help master with something little.
I wonder what it is…