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[? Round] All the Rivers Run to the Sea
I had the role of the Demon King. The Demon King Pedonar, waiting for his turn behind the stage, was shattered by this fake appearance. But it didn’t make sense to me.
“Isn’t it strange that the Demon King loses his place just because a fake…?”
Just because someone impersonated, the king didn’t mean the real king was kicked out of the palace. So, how about this Demon King?
“If I was an ordinary Demon King, it is supposed to be that way. Whether someone impersonates him or not, his loyal servants will support him. But I’m just a stage actor, not a king.”
A villain actor who moved according to the program written by the director and producer, the Fantasy God. He was waiting for his turn to fall rather than planning a scheme and raising an army to sweep away the arrogant hero. But then there was a problem.
He was being kicked out of the waiting room due to a system error! The actor who was memorizing the script was driven into the streets without knowing what had happened.
“I’m a little sorry about that.”
Why does the hero have to apologize to the Demon King? I had a little problem with that, but I had taken someone else’s job, even if it wasn’t intentional.
“It doesn’t matter. I like this place much more than the shabby single room where my luggage was waiting. By the way, I’m not a trespasser. I came here because this was the only place to hide without being noticed by anyone until the end of this festival.”
“Exactly….”
No matter where the Demon Lord Pedonar hid on the continent, the chance of encountering a graduate wasn’t 0%. However, the fourth and fifth floors of dormitories were an exception. Heroes below S-Class weren’t allowed to enter at all. No graduates questioned this, and even if they wanted to sneak in, they were blocked by the system and couldn’t access it.
System. Starting with stats like game characters, this world was being protected and controlled by something surreal. This was also one of the influences of such a system. If an unauthorized person approached the fourth or fifth floor, they would be kicked out through the back door of the dorm. Whether flying in the sky, crawling on the ground, sneaking in, or whatever…
Therefore, the Demon Lord came in with permission from the system. Or perhaps even the system hadn’t expected this.
Think about it. Wouldn’t it be funny if the fearsome Demon King attacked the dormitories of the heroes and was exiled while climbing the fourth-floor stairs with full dignity? So it is very likely that they gave him a permit.
“Hero. As I must say, I’m not the Demon Lord Pedonar you remember. I am just one of the countless fragments of a soul. It’s interesting, by the way. I came here because I was curious about what kind of hero acted as the Demon King, but I didn’t expect him to be my son-in-law.”
“Who’s your son-in-law?!”
“That’s what I wrote on your soul.”
“Who said you could doodle there?!”
“I’m telling you again; it’s not me. Another piece of me judged you to be my son-in-law, so I wrote it down. But I don’t think it was in vain. Because I trust myself, so, you can call me father-in-law.”
“Who’s my father-in-law?!”
Even before, he kept saying, son-in-law. That’s because he wrote, ‘He’s my son-in-law. Mine!’ on my soul! If anyone saw it, I would never get married for the rest of my life. How could there be such a terrible curse in this world?
“Son-in-law, you’re very shy. Was her preference a cute guy? I’m so disqualified as a father. I can’t believe I didn’t even know that.”
“What the hell…”
“First, let’s eat and talk. This isn’t something that I who never dies or perishes would say, but isn’t it all about living?”
I agreed with that. The angel chef who was waiting while watching us finally approached.
“It’s the first day, so I didn’t know what Graduate Student Kang Han-soo likes, so I randomly selected the menu. Your breakfast is smoked salmon and kiwi dressing salad, slime pudding, and Mandragora juice.”
Not a woman, but a man, the angel chef explained the menu to me as I sat at the same table with the Demon King. It didn’t mean that he would cook from now on. Instead, he served dishes preserved by high-dimensional magic that stopped their flow of time.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Breakfast was summoned on the plates on the table. He was more like a magician than a chef. The angel’s appearance was also beautiful, like a lead actor who would star in a cooking drama or movie. However, this food was truly made by the angel in front of me. By looking at the colorful decorations, I could tell that a lot of effort was put into it.
“That’s a lot.”
There was no problem with my stomach as it was like a black hole, but it was enough to make me tired of eating. The chef spoke indifferently.
“If there are any leftovers, we will share them among us, so don’t worry. Ah! It doesn’t mean you have to leave it unconditionally. Eat as much as you want. Still, I hope you enjoy the Mandragora juice and slime pudding.”
“Oh! It looks like a piece of art.”
I didn’t answer that. The Demon King who made eye contact with me raised a fork and continued.
“Hero. Don’t refuse and eat.”
“Tsk.”
I was completely dissatisfied to see him recommend it more naturally than the chef, but the Demon King was right. He wasn’t even the enemy who killed my beloved family, right? So I had no reason to let my blood boil as soon as I saw him.
First, let’s eat and talk! After eating some smoked salmon with salad, I poked the translucent pudding on the plate with my chopsticks.
Squish, squish~
“Oh….”
It was as the angel chef bragged. It was a dessert that perfectly recreated the texture of slime. It tasted really good, too.
However…
“It’s a little sweet to my taste. You put too much Romanceia honey to make it feel like slime. But this recipe is amazing. I can’t believe you put three delicacies of the universe in your dessert.”
The Demon King, who took a bite of the pudding, gave a food review with sharp eyes.
“To even notice that…! It’s indeed worth cooking.”
The angel flapped his wings and smiled with satisfaction. How about my food review?
“But I like it better if it’s slimy…”
I missed the great touch of Master Mollan. I also learned how to write professional food reviews. If you don’t want to hear that you’re ignorant of the barbarians of the Fantasy World, you need to get used to the social gathering of nobles. But that and this were a different matter.
Even if I only listened to the conversation between the Demon King and the angel, there were quite a few ingredients that I didn’t know. Herbs and licorice that originated from beyond the galaxy…
In times like this, it’s better to shut up than pretend to know even a little bit. This is all from experience. After dessert with a slimy texture, Mandragora juice arrived as a mouthwash. Mandragora, huh? It’s a plant grown in the ground like radishes and carrots, whose roots scream when pulled out.
For reference, it’s used as a medicine. So, I don’t expect the taste of this Mandragora juice to be delicious as well. I had to think of it as a nutritious food like yam juice. I drank it all the way.
“Kaaaaaaarrrgh!”
It tasted like screaming.
Oh, my God! Oh! God damn it! How in the world could it taste this…!
How about the Demon King who drank with me?
“What a lovely voice.”
I thought he drank it almost at the same time, but the Demon King just pretended to drink it and took his lips off the juice glass with a chuckle.
*
After eating.
I met the Demon King in the living room. He was alone, but Saint H and the others were standing behind me. The spirits seemed to have a lot to say to the Demon King they hadn’t met in a long time, but I ordered them to shut up.
“My son-in-law. It’s not something that I, the apex of all demons, would say, but you treat your subordinates too harshly. You could be betrayed at the decisive moment that way.”
“I don’t care.”
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I would make them regret being born, after all. I left them alone because I was confident that I would win even if everyone betrayed me and isolated me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have appointed them as spirits.
“I don’t know what Scioscia’s taste is…”
“Hey, Demon King. No matter what your daughter says, I have no intention of becoming your son-in-law.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I don’t care.”
“…Huh?”
“There was a time when I cared about my daughter. There was a time when I told someone to beat me if he wanted to take my daughter. But that spirit and love had fallen before time. Although, I feel like if she could get married and bring a cute grandson in my arms, I wouldn’t have any other wishes.”
“Ah, right.”
I forgot his age because the Demon King Pedonar looked like a businessman next door. His race was the first demon. If so, wasn’t he a more primitive man than Homo sapiens or Australopithecus, the progenitors of modern humans? As a teenager, I didn’t know.
“Once we were fighting for the supremacy of the universe with the first angel, we also had tendencies to fight and avenge. But now, there’s nothing more important to me than having my daughter married off. I thought she’d find a good man and get married over the years…she didn’t do it till the end.”
“You talk too much.”
What a load of rubbish.
“Impatient hero! I’m sure you’ll experience it someday. However, I also thought little of this as a young man, so I won’t say any more. Well, then, I’ll have to pay for the meal as the older one. Ask me anything.”
“How do I go beyond the dimension?”
“It’s such an unexpected question. I thought you would ask about the truth of the world or the identity of the Fantasy God.”
“I am a pragmatist, after all.”
What good is knowing such things? Would they appear in an interview or entrance exam? Nothing was more important to me than going back to Earth.
“You know the universal way that demons cross dimensions. But to understand this, you must first know how the world is formed. In other words, you need access to the truth of the world.”
“I don’t know the history of cars, but I can drive.”
“But you need to learn how to drive. Right?”
“…”
My lips were tightly shut in front of the Demon King, who smiled hatefully. It was questionable how the Demon King of the savage Fantasy World knew how to drive a car, but it wasn’t wrong.
“I am the first living being miraculously born among the dark matter of the universe. And my sister was the first to survive the dazzling explosion of a supernova. The names demons and angels were given a long time ago. A noble angel to the victorious race and a mean demon to the loser. History is written by the winners.”
“Is the Fantasy God the first angel?”
“I’d say so.”
The answer was a bit daunting, but the Demon King didn’t deny it.
“But is this important information?”
“You need to know this so we can move on to the next step. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’re good at studying.”
“I’m average!”
“I’m just trying to say that my grandson must be cute because he will resemble your personality and will be very smart because his abilities will resemble Scioscia. Haha!”
“This man-demon is really…!”
…We were able to get back to the point after a while.
“There was a time when I was aiming for supremacy in the universe by overtaking my sister. The second-born dark child rebelled against me. Yes, that kid is Scioscia. It was a suggestion to stop doing meaningless things like being the ruler of the universe and live quietly…I was also young at that time.”
As a result, the first angel and the second demon had conspired. Light and darkness. The two forces merged for the first time. This had indeed produced a surprising synergistic effect. Although the formula is 1+1=2, and the power of friendship is expressed as 1+1=3. The combination of two opposing forces created an absurd calculation method of 1+1=10.
Then…
“A monster that fully embraced this power was born.”
“The First Hero?”
“That’s right.”
It was said that the First Hero was truly incomparable, even to the point that the Demon King, who was aiming for supremacy in the universe, was beaten alone by him.
“That’s the origin of the ability.”
“Hmm…then can my abilities be recovered, too, sir?”
“Suddenly, your tone has become more polite.”
“Because I need something.”
“Haha! I’m glad you’re honest. So cute. To start with the answer, recovery is difficult. Even the first angel can’t do that. Again, abilities were created by combining light and darkness. She can share the darkness she took from me with the others, but she can’t get it back. The same goes for light mixed with darkness. My consent is essential to recover those abilities.”
But the probability wasn’t 0%. In other words, I had to take one side to maintain my abilities. The first angel, or the first demon. Because if both hate me, I will lose my ability. Instead, if either side was favorable, the fear of losing those abilities disappeared. Politics were necessary, though.
“So what about the dimensional shift?”
“You’re persistent.”
“Teach me now!”
“What have you heard so far? First, you must obtain the consent of my sister, who has taken away most of my dark power. You will receive a pass made in the form of a skill. That’s the only way out of this world that’s protected by an ability-equivalent system.”
“Ah…!”
I just saw it yesterday! The Pizza Deliveryman. He had said that he had been permitted to move through the dimensions. If so, who was the boss he got that authority from?
The Fantasy God.
It was very simple. But it was also devastating news for me. I didn’t put up with the Demon King’s useless chit-chat just to hear about this…
“There is another way.”
“Oh! What is it?”
“…I didn’t want to say this to my son-in-law, but you’re really stupid. What have I told you so far…?”
“Yes… what is it?!”
“I told you that there are two creators of abilities. I was only deprived of my powers after losing to the First Hero, the prototype of ability.”
“Ah! Scioscia…!”
Now, the Demon King looked satisfied. All of the explanations so far had been for the sake of plausibility, and this must be the main point. I knew it.
“So get married. I’m sure you’ll be happy with no regrets.”
It was a truly remarkable example of how all the rivers flow back to the sea.