Chapter 87

Chapter 87 \nranslated by Green Cake\n

Edited by

 

But… this is the source of the problem… I’m sure this is not something you want to beat. It’s just a ball.

 

“What should we do, Hagasaki-kun? If Maito-san keeps this, it won’t harm us, so we can take it home with us.”

 

“It’s okay to take it home. You don’t want to stay here forever to protect the source of the problem, do you?”

 

…… Yeah, well, it’s not that cozy an island, is it?

 

“I’ll [Transfer] then.”

 

Returning with the mysterious ball and the source of the problem.

 

♦

 

“Welcome back, how was it?”

 

When I returned to the shore of the lake, everyone immediately started to bite, so I let go of the ball in my hand.

 

“It was like this.”

 

As soon as I took my hand off the sphere, everyone’s spirits visibly diminished. Hmmm, I guess you all have a lot of corrections applied.

 

I felt sorry for them, so I grabbed the ball again, and everyone’s spirits visibly returned. Yes, this is kind of fun.

 

“I think this is the source of the problem. When it’s floating, it affects the corrections around it, and when someone else is touching it, it strips away a lot or all of the correction for that person alone.”

 

“I see, so it’s better if no one but Maito touches it.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

…. Hey, for the second time, I wonder if I can cry… 

 

♦

 

At any rate, it turned out that the mystery ball could be touched anywhere on the body as long as it was touched, so I asked Katori to make me a bracelet that would hold the mystery ball in place.

 

So I had Katori make me an armband to keep the mystery ball in place. For the others, too.

 

“Now we have the source of the problem. If the hero has to somehow eliminate this, then we are already demon kings now.”

 

Well… Oh.

 

“Come to think of it, [Alive Grimoire] told me to come and talk to him properly because he wants to cooperate with us if we are hostile to the temple. Can I talk for a moment?”

 

“That’s right. So we’re going to go to George’s place and explain to Sagara and the others what’s going on.”

 

That’s right. It’s a bit of a surprise when a classmate suddenly becomes the Demon King. I’m sure we’ll have a hard time clearing up any misunderstandings if they become hostile, so it’s best to lay the groundwork first.

 

“I’ll contact Saegusa and Homura-kun while I’m at it, so lend me your [Communication] bracelet.”\n

 

“Here is.”

 

I took off the [Communication] bracelet on my wrist and give two of them to Suzumoto, one to communicate with the Information Office and Newspaper Club, and the other to communicate with Homura-kun and the others.

 

Now that you’ve all gone with your two bracelets, I guess I’ll just go and give a quick report. You’re already familiar with head-butting, aren’t you? I’ll be back. [Sharing].

 

『 … Umu, looks like you got your hands on the source. You’re good. 』

 

I’m suddenly feeling kind of pleased with this book.

 

『 So, if you have the source, that means… you against the temple, right? 』 

 

“Yes, and that’s why. We’re decided to announce ourselves as the Demon Kings.”

 

In the meantime, I’m sorry to report that [Alive Grimoire] froze for a moment, and the next thing I know, the pages are flipping apart and there’s a huge commotion… seems to be the book’s way of laughing.

 

『 Yes! The Demon King, the Demon King! Did your friends think of that? 』  

 

“Yes.”

 

『 The Demon Kings will announce themselves as the Demon King… Hmm, good job. Not so good! That’s very ironic! 』 

 

Don’t flap the pages, I can’t read them. I can understand why you’re so excited, but… 

 

『 So, who will step forward as the Demon King? 』  

 

“Well, we’re thinking of playing a role like “Hahaha! I’m the weakest of all demon kings!” like that.”

 

『 No, thou shalt call thyself the Demon King. 』 

 

… ha?

 

『 You can change your appearance, can’t you? If so, there are plenty of ways to hide it later on. In addition, when the demon king finds out that there is another person who calls itself the demon king, there is still room for forgiveness if it is a beautiful girl, but if it is a man who calls himself the demon king, it will be hard for the demon king to forgive. 』 

 

… ha?

 

『 No offense, but thou shalt call thyself the Demon Lord. 』  

 

Well, uh… the way you put it… that means there really is such a thing as a Demon King…

 

“Umm, well, isn’t it bad if I touch the wrath of the real Demon King or something like that…?”

 

When I say it, the book flapped its page again and laughed loudly.

 

『 No, not even close! You want to fight against the Temple, don’t you? I’m willing to lend you the name of the Demon King or two for that purpose. 』 

 

Oh, is that so? … Yeah, well, you think you be damned if you didn’t do it, are you? Since it’s such a fun thing to do. Yeah.

 

“Okay, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll call myself the Demon King!”

 \n『 I’ll be happy to consult with you on how to behave like a demon king, so come back and report back often. Let’s start with the shape. The first step is the cloak. It’s a good idea to be flashy. I’m sure you’re familiar with embroidery for protection.

 

“Yes, well.”

 

『 The color of darkness is the best! You’re the Demon Lord! 』 

 

“Oh, yes.”

 

『 And isn’t that apron a bad idea as well? 』 

 

“No, if I take it off, my identity as head maid will be destroyed.”

 

『 Oh, really? If so, I’ll take that up with…』 

 

This is how the book’s “Dressing Like a Demon King” continued for quite a while. The book seems to be rather fond of this kind of talk. The book also touched on a lot of things related to equipment, and not only mine but also a lot of things about other’s equipment, so the book was quite… helpful. You know a lot, this book.

 

… But then again, this book is very rude.

 

You should change the name of the book to “Alive Cosplay Guide” or something like that.

 

♦ 

 

“So, you know what? I heard before that this source is something to be erased, and the hero will erase this.”

 

Then, after a break, we had a quiet conversation.

 

I feel like I can’t show it to a real person, but I’m showing the book a little bit of the bangle that I wear on my second arm.

 

『 Hmm. 』 

 

“Do others besides the temple also eliminate the source?”

 

『 I suppose it could be done, but the temple keeps the method a secret. 』 

 

… Yeah?

 

『 Yes, why again? If it’s a worldwide crisis, it would be more efficient to work with other institutions, not just the Temple. Is there a reason you can’t? 』 

 

Oh, shoot.

 

I’ve been trying to ask questions that don’t take the form of ‘questions,’ but I think I’ve asked a stupid question.

 

『 Do you want to ask that? … Hmm, well, let’s give it some thought, shall we? You know what a temple is supposed to do, don’t you? 』 

 

Oh, but [Alive Grimoire], you’re a bit rude, aren’t you?

 

“ … worship the goddess?”

 

I think George said something like that.

 

『 You’re right. The temple worships the goddess. So why would an institution that worships a goddess go to the trouble of eliminating the source? 』 

 \n\n 

And to top it all off, a magic mirror that is completely mirrored from one side and completely transparent from the other, using the application of [Light Magic].

 

… They’re going to cover their faces. Well, yes. It’s a bit of punishment to show your face and call yourself a demon king, isn’t it? Yes.

 

… Well, what about me?

 

♦

 

Dinner was grilled spareribs with seasoning, steamed vegetable salad, and corn soup.

 

The corn soup was the most annoying thing to make. Yeah.

 

And the people in the English department lab were slowly eating corn soup, bread, and soft steamed vegetables on their own. Yeah, let’s not eat meat for now.

 

♦

 

“Maito-san, try this on for a second.”

 

‘Here’, said Katori, handing it to me.

 

“……OH”

 

Metal apron… That’s it, breast armor and mail, that’s it.

 

I’ll wear it for now.

 

“…… heavy.”

 

I can’t move!

 

“Ah, I guess it’s no good… Hmm, but if I try to make it any lighter, it’ll be like a paper-like metal plate.”

 

I’ve heard that people are trying to come up with armor for me because I’m too weak, but it’s difficult. The reason is that I don’t have any corrections. A normal high school girl can’t move around in armor no matter how thin and light it is!

 

“In the worst case, you can make it into a thread, I’ll make it into a cloth and use it as an apron.”

 

“Hmm, I guess that’s what I’ll have to do, yeah. Then I’ll try to think of a headgear next time.”

 

Now that everyone has started making equipment again, I think I’ll help them make it.

 

♦

 

Although not as strong as me, Hagasaki-kun and the president also have a little correction for physical abilities. I can wear a lot more than… I can, though! But it seems to be limited to breastplates and such partial items, so the equipment is cloth.

 

All of them have already been equipped with the most powerful black and red equipment with “Giant Black Snake Scale” and “Dragon Scales”, but the embroidery is not perfect due to lack of time. But I don’t have enough time to embroider them perfectly.

 

So now, I am embroidering exclusively.

 

Or rather, all of us have collected the equipment of distributed products and are embroidering them.

 

That’s it. They’ll embroider your equipment to the point where Suzumoto’s phoenix won’t stand out!