SSMDTSKKYIKSSKS – Chapter 1. [Prologue]

Chapter 2. [Prologue]

 

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Granden, the capital of the western territory of the Elberian Empire.

A girl was in a room in a large mansion located a short distance from the town square.

[Hey, hey, Mother! What kind of story are you going to tell me today?]

[Oh my goodness, Charlotte is so full of energy today. I wonder if she’s trying to keep me up late at night again?]

She holds the girl with beautiful blue hair and gently caresses her head.

Charlotte, who had recently turned seven years old, was just so bright and cheerful.

It is very endearing to see a girl expressing her affection by pressing her whole body against her mother in a gulping manner.

[But I’ve already told you the funniest story I know.]

The time is already night.

With only moonlight and candles illuminating the room, she tilts her head and thinks.

[I wonder what’s good? Would you like to know the story of ‘Sword God’ which was supposed to be handed down only to the imperial family of the Elberean Empire, or the story of the legendary heroes who fought against the Lord of the Dragon Kingdom of Zenan more than 1000 years ago, or the guidance of Orphelia, the Great Goddess of Creation?]

[I’ve heard it all!]

[I’ve told you almost everything from the saga of the hero to the lore of the gods. …… I wonder if there are any interesting stories to tell.]

The mother closed her eyes for a while, thinking, and suddenly opened her mouth.

[…… Right. Today we’re going to talk about demons.]

[A demon? You mean the great man of the demon tribe?]

[Yes, it is. The demon gods are said to be at the top of all the demon tribes. The seven pillars who are said to have the greatest power among them are worshipped as “royalty” and called “demon kings”.]

[Pillars ……?]

[When you count the gods, you don’t count ‘person’ but ‘pillar’. Even the demigods are part of the gods. People are afraid of them.]

Charlotte looks up at her mother, exclaiming, [Oh!.]

[Do they have the greatest power? Stronger than of father?]

[…… Heh. As much as I’d love to give that guy a shoulder to lean on, I don’t want him to fight just any demigod.]

[Mmmm, father is definitely stronger than them. ……]

The girl, who also loves her father, gets pouty.

She said as she puckered her cheeks.

[They are very powerful, regardless of which of them is stronger. Especially the seven demi-gods called the royal family, who are considered to be of a different class.]

[Hmm?]

[For example, Mammon, a demigod who is said to be the “God of the Dead,” took on all kinds of demonic beasts and laid waste to all of his enemies. Not a blade of grass was left after they fought.]

[Mmm-hmm.]

[For example, Leviathan, the demon god who is said to rule over all things, once invaded Granden with a great number of dead people in his army. The humans were helplessly defeated. All those who died became his servants.]

[What? But there’s no one like that in Granden?]

[It was hundreds of years ago. At that time, the empire, which was close to the kingdom of Chiaro De Luna, managed to defeat the army of the dead with the help of that country’s magical creatures.]

[Ho-ho-ho.]

[Among such powerful demons, the demon king Lucifer is considered the most powerful. He is a unique being who has even high-ranking demigods as his subordinates. According to legend, the angels who attacked in the thousands and the heroes sent by the empire were all hunted down by the hands of Lucifer.]

[Muuu…… a bad guy?]

[If you only look at what happened, that may be true. But if you ask whether Lucifer’s presence has caused any damage to this country today, that is also different. He is also a mysterious being that I don’t understand.]

[I wish father would kill him.]

[I wonder if it’s his influence that makes you think of using force to solve everything like that?]

Despite her dainty appearance, Charlotte is learning swordsmanship to follow in her father’s footsteps as a holy knight.

Just recently, she showed up at a military training ground in a flash and beat up a group of soldiers who were practicing with a wooden sword.

It sounds like a joke, but this girl has the power of God in her. She possesses a power worthy of being called a divine messenger.

[Lucifer, too, is said to have had a friend, rather, a trusted subordinate,……. That is the Demon King Satan, one of the royal family.]

[Ho.]

[He was a demigod as powerful as Lucifer, and for many years, he supported Tenebrae as Lucifer’s right-hand man.]

[Hmm.]

[One day, such a mighty demon god disappeared without a trace. That was more than a thousand years ago.]

[What, ……? Why?]

Her daughter, with blue eyes twinkling, asks her curiously.

[I don’t know why. It’s not mentioned in any literature, and now that so much time has passed, few people would even know about it anymore.]

[Moo, I wonder if he ran away from home.]

[Ummm… If that’s the reason, it might be cute. Anyway, Tenebrae has lost a big presence in the form of Satan. I wonder if Charlotte knows what happened to the remaining demigods~?]

When she asked her an impossible question, the lovely girl frowned and groaned.

But she soon surrenders and buries her head in a blur on her mother’s chest.

She chuckled and patted her head.

[The Tenebrae demon tribe used to decide how the country should be governed by a council of demon gods called the royal family.]

[Council?]

[Yes. Simply put, the majority rules. For example, let’s say you want to decide whether you want meat or fish for dinner tomorrow night. The three people who will decide are Charlotte, your father, and me.]

[I want meat!]

[Oh my? But father and I want fish. The majority vote was two to one for fish. Poor Charlotte, she can’t eat meat, so she has to eat fish.]

[Moooo! Mother’s teasing~!]

[Ummm… This is the council system, sort of. But now that Satan is gone, we only have six demon gods. What would happen if there was a three-to-three split on what they insist on?]

Charlotte is thinking hard, folding her fingers with a question mark on her face.

As much as the mother liked to enjoy the adorable appearance, it was time for them to go to bed.

[Now, that’s all I have to say for today. We’ll talk more next time.]

[What? Oh no, I want to hear more!]

[No! Go to bed already!]

She hugged the spoiled little girl and finally lay her down on the bed.

Charlotte let out a happy squeal and hugged her beloved mother as hard as she could.

After kissing that little forehead, the mother gently stroke the girl’s back and pat her on the buttocks.

Then, Charlotte, who had been so energetic, put on a squishy face and fell asleep.

She muttered quietly while looking at her daughter’s sleeping face with gentle eyes as she breathed a lovely sleep,

[Satan, the demi-god of destruction and carnage. I wonder what he’s doing now.]

No one knows the truth any longer.

[Either he simply abandoned the country and fled …… or he is long dead.]

She suddenly mocked herself.

[I don’t think so. He will always be alive somewhere. –maybe in the not-too-distant future ……]

General Claude Duras, was a great hero in the war against the Zenan Dragon Kingdom.

His wife, Nastasya Duras, continued to gaze at Charlotte’s sleeping face, thinking of old events.

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