Dual Life ~Hiru wa Yuusha Party, Yoru wa Maou Gun~

Chapter 32 – The Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s Army (2) 

“I can’t believe it. One of the Four Heavenly Kings, dozing off during the award ceremony for the Order of Merit. It’s unheard of! Had it not been for my illusion magic to deceive the attendees, it would have caused quite a commotion,” murmured Astarte, holding a vial of mana potion in her hand, as she lectured Mirage in the conference room of the Demon Lord’s castle. 

In the end, Mirage had skillfully fallen asleep while maintaining a standing posture, and Astarte, realizing this, had used illusion magic to craft an image of him accepting the award. 

Mirage, on one hand, wanted to use his all-nighter as an excuse, but as a demon, it would seem unnatural, so he quietly pretended to reflect on his actions. 

“I truly owe you, Tarte. I was lucky to be the last recipient of the award.” -Mirage 

It was the same on the battlefield; using illusion magic for an extended period against a large number of opponents consumed a tremendous amount of magical power and placed a heavy burden. However, since Mirage was the final recipient of the honor, the ceremony ended promptly after his award, requiring only a short time for the illusion magic. 

If it had been earlier in the ceremony, Astarte’s magical power would undoubtedly have run out, and the fallen medal would have abruptly appeared at the feet of Demon Lord Lilith, causing quite a stir. If it had been for a few individuals, Astarte might have made herself invisible and retrieved the medal, but due to the excessively large number of attendees this time, she needed to concentrate on the illusion magic. 

“But seriously, rather than us, it’s rare for you to make a mistake in a public setting like this. I thought you were reliable in those aspects,” Rafale commented with a puzzled expression, addressing Mirage, who sat next to Astarte. 

The conference room was already filled with the Four Heavenly Kings and their subordinates, seated in chairs arranged before the round table. The chair in the twelve o’clock position of the clock was reserved for the Demon Lord and remained vacant. Going clockwise from there, the Four Heavenly Kings and their subordinates occupied the seats, with the east, west, north, and south positions respectively. 

There was no predetermined seating arrangement, but due to Mirage’s avoidance of Cruel, who sat in the south position, it naturally resulted in Rafale sitting beside Mirage in the north position. Mirage’s discomfort with Cruel played a part, but the main reason was Astarte. 

The Golden Horn and Silver Horn demons had an ancient history of being bitter rivals to the point where their compatibility was the worst imaginable. One wrong step, and they could still end up fighting to the death. It was strictly forbidden in the Demon Lord’s army to assign Golden Horn and Silver Horn together, which emphasized the severity of their relationship. 

“Heeey, heeey, Miraaageee, don’t you have any snacks today~? Bedi’s hungry~,” interjected Bedivere, the young girl seated to the right, her voice muffled as she leaned forward on the round table, demanding snacks. 

There was no clever excuse for dozing off, and if he could deceive them with this, he thought it would be a small price to pay. Thus, he decided to go along with Bedivere’s laid-back words. 

“If it’s strawberry tart, which has become a secret boom in my territory, I have it. Please, everyone, help yourselves. Since we have this chance.” -Mirage 

With those words, Mirage used teleportation magic to summon strawberry tarts and forks onto nine plates, including the vacant ones. 

One by one, everyone expressed their gratitude and began indulging in the sweetness. 

In truth, apart from Mirage and Cruel, all the members, including the Four Heavenly Kings and the Vice-Captains, were women, and they had a particular fondness for sweet treats. 

It had become a familiar sight that during each meeting, Bedivere would request a snack, and Mirage would treat everyone. Secretly, it had become a source of joy for the women. 

Astarte, who loved strawberry tarts, savored each bite while keeping their expression hidden, but her face was filled with happiness. 

The cause of the boom was the male soldiers of the Illusion Army who devised a plan to bring gifts in order to see Astarte’s smile. 

As a side note, most of the soldiers, unable to approach the busy Astarte to strike up a conversation, resorted to tears as they stuffed strawberry tarts into their own stomachs. It had become a spectacle of the Illusion Castle. 

“Oh, what do we have here? You’re eatin’ somethin’ tasty, aren’t ‘cha? Of course, ya’ prepared my portion too, right, Mirage-tan, the Napping Beauty?” Demon Lord Lilith entered the conference room and, with her first words, expressed her sarcasm towards Mirage. 

Astarte’s illusion magic had little to no effect on powerful individuals such as the Demon King.  

Those with advanced mana manipulation skills could quickly sense the intrusion of others’ mana within their bodies and deflect it with their own mana. 

Although it couldn’t be completely nullified, they could resist to some extent. It was this natural reaction that unintentionally revealed Mirage’s dozing off to a select few. 

Most of the Four Heavenly Kings, their subordinates, and the leaders of the security forces were familiar with Mirage’s personality, so it didn’t cause much of a commotion. However, it was inevitable that there would be some sarcastic remarks, such as those coming from Demon Lord Lilith. 

“Ah, I am sorry for earlier. As an apology, besides the strawberry tart, I have also prepared Yokan[1], a delicacy from the East. I’ve also brought matching green tea to complement it, so please enjoy,” Mirage said as he stood up and bowed his head to Demon Lord Lilith. He had flawlessly prepared himself to please her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkan 

Demon Lord Lilith, as evident from her attire and fan, had a keen interest in Eastern culture and was particularly fond of items originating from the East. Yokan had become one of her favorite treats, so Mirage believed that presenting it would silence any further complaints. 

In the first place, the Order of Merit itself had been somewhat of an imitation by Demon Lord Lilith, loosely based on a human kingdom’s system. It hadn’t been such a grand affair initially. 

As the size of the Demon Lord’s army swelled, it gradually became a ceremony of honor, much to the confusion of the one who started it in the first place—Demon Lord Lilith. 

Incorporating various cultures and systems from both demons and humans, Demon Lord Lilith was experimenting to see if they would be accepted by the current generation of demons, sometimes starting things on a whim. 

“As expected a’ Mirage-tan, ya’ truly know what I like. You’re a wonderful man. Whenever ya’ feel like it, propose to me, I’ll marry ya’ any time ya’ know?” Demon Lord Lilith said, teasingly. 

With that casual remark, Demon Lord Lilith, who had taken her seat, wagged her tail happily as she began to enjoy the Yokan. Upon hearing the mention of marriage, a few of the women in the room seemed momentarily frozen while eating their strawberry tarts, but Mirage remained oblivious and started savoring his own sweet treat. 

As Mirage sliced through the tart with his fork, the gradual disappearance of the strawberry tart, little by little, by use of a small gate, was truly a magical sight to behold. 

“Well then, let’s start the meeting,” declared Demon Lord Lilith, clapping her hands. Thus, the annual meeting of the Demon Lord’s Army High Command began. 

The contents of the meeting were not significantly different from previous years, mainly consisting of a review of the past year’s events and the setting of new goals. 

The Four Heavenly Kings and their subordinates reported on successfully integrating various races and the number of accomplishments. They also discussed issues that had arisen within their territories and the solutions that were implemented. 

Due to the diverse characteristics of the demon races, while general guidelines were established, the specific methods were mostly left to the Four Heavenly Kings and their subordinates. 

Considering that demons had a long lifespan and were patient beings, major changes within a year were uncommon. However, this particular meeting featured several important reports. 

“It appears that recently, troublesome individuals have emerged among the foolish humans. It seems there are impudent entities being groomed with the intent to target you, Demon Lord. As if we haven’t already suffered enough at the hands of that court magician, Farsa! How far! Will these humans go! To interfere with us!!!” exclaimed Cruel, the ruler of the southern lands, becoming increasingly agitated as he reported, gradually adopting a peculiar way of speaking. 

The southern region of the demon territories bordered many human-ruled countries, leading to fierce conflicts and providing the highest amount of available information. 

It had been about a year since Julia was officially recognized as a hero, and fragmented information about the Demon Lord’s Army was starting to reach them. 

By the way, Mirage, also known as Farsa, would perform covert operations to reduce the damage whenever Cruel’s forces attempted an invasion, gaining intelligence in the process. 

“Hmmm, they’re aimin’ to defeat me, the Demon Lord, eh? It seems humans have come ta’ detest us. I suppose they desire those ancient civilization technologies,” Demon Lord Lilith remarked. 

Within the demon territories, numerous ruins from ancient civilizations lay dormant, and the Demon Lord’s Army possessed many magical tools that couldn’t be replicated with modern technology, such as the Communication Orbs. 

Enchanting objects infused with magical power, known as magical tools, exhibited various effects. These tools were crafted by magicians of both the human nations and the demon clans. However, they paled in comparison to the artifacts from the era of ancient civilizations. 

As a result, numerous countries, driven by their ambitions for military and research purposes, kept a keen eye on the ruins within the demon tribe’s territory. This desire, coupled with the long-standing animosity between humans and magical beings, became a cause for conflict. 

Although the Demon Lord, Lilith, criticized Cruel’s actions, she had appointed him as one of her Four Heavenly Kings, recognizing his significant contributions in defending against human invasions. 

Regardless of his methods, Cruel demonstrated exceptional personal abilities and leadership skills, commanding the forces against three neighboring countries simultaneously. It was undeniable that he was highly competent within the ranks of the Demon Lord’s army, despite his challenging temperament. 

“Having ancient artifacts so prevalent in our demon territory is quite intriguing. Although these out-of-place artifacts can be useful, it would be better if we didn’t encounter ancient diseases like the Wolf Demon Clan did,” Rafale remarked, expressing an unexpectedly serious opinion. The others nodded in agreement. 

The term “out-of-place artifacts” referred to the items, including magical tools unearthed from ancient ruins. They were also known as “OOPArts,” objects that could not be replicated with current technology and were deemed to have originated from a different era. 

The main topic of discussion in the current meeting revolved around the outbreak of the Black Skin Disease within the Wolf Demon Tribe, which had been recently discovered. 

“Thing is, tha’ things brought about by ancient technology ain’t always good. As mentioned in tha’ reports gathered up by Mirage-tan ‘n Tarte-tan, if we confirm any cases of skin darkening in each territory, we gotta swiftly report ‘n take preventive measures. The research results from tha’ medical team will be continuously updated, so y’all gotta to stay informed.” -Lilith  

The infection, which had led to fatalities within a week, was not limited to the wolf demons, unbeknownst to the Demon Lord’s army. The possibility of it occurring in other territories, beyond the lands of the wolf demons, needed to be carefully considered. Although the current incident happened to involve wolf demons who did not venture out of the forest, the importance of immediate action in case of an outbreak in a different location was self-evident. 

With a contagion rate of ninety percent within two months, it was clear that a misstep could lead not only to a crisis within the demon tribe’s territory but also to a worldwide pandemic. Given the horrifying nature of the Black Skin Disease, its discovery, the establishment of a treatment method, and the prevention of its spread, Mirage’s achievement in receiving the highest honor—the Grand Cross—among the decorations for distinguished service, was undoubtedly a result that everyone agreed upon. 

Among the Demon Lord’s ranks that had endured for centuries, Mirage was only the third individual to receive such an award. However, as he had been dozing off during the ceremony, it was understandable why Astarte was furious. 

As a side note, it was Astarte who had devised all the congratulatory speeches using illusion magic during the award ceremony. 

“Hey, hey, Demon Lord-sama~, what’s that ‘ho-ren-so’ thing? Are we making a quiche or something?” Bedivere, who had delegated the reporting duties to her deputy as usual, made her first contribution to the meeting with an absent-minded question. [2] 

During this meeting, Bedivere, renowned for her physical strength, appeared rather clueless with her content. A quiche was a dish made by filling pie or tart crusts with various ingredients such as spinach and bacon, and it was said to have originated from a human country located to the south of the demon territory. 

Previously, Bedivere had tasted a quiche as a treat from Mirage and had taken a great liking to it, often requesting her assistant, a female oni-demon, to make it. Mirage had meticulously taught her the recipe in a hands-on manner. Since then, Mirage had been receiving meaningful glances from Bedivere’s assistant, which couldn’t be dismissed as a mere coincidence. 

“Bedi, ‘ho-ren-so’ stands for ‘reporting, contact, and consultation.’ It means that if something happens, we should properly inform the Demon Lord. Let’s make sure to follow that,” Mirage responded to Bedivere’s question in a familiar manner. 

“Hmm, it doesn’t concern Bedi anyway. I don’t caaare. But hey, let’s wrap up this meeting soon. It’s soooo b-o-r-i-n-g~,” Bedivere retorted with a careless attitude, and her arms began to flail on the round table, throwing a tantrum. 

Since earlier, the crease between Astarte’s eyebrows had been deepening rapidly, but she held her patience, knowing that her counterpart was one of the Four Heavenly Kings from a different territory. 

Rafale’s tolerance was already wearing thin, but her deputy, a dragon demon, somehow managed to placate her. 

Beside Bedivere, the female adjutant of the oni-demon tribe, also wore a troubled expression. However, it was the dozing man who made a move at this moment. 

“There, there, Bedi, be a good girl and try to endure a little longer. If you do well in the meeting, I’ll give you a reward later. So, let’s stay quiet, okay?” 

Mirage lifted Bedivere’s small body and sat her on a chair, placing her on his own lap. He began to comfort her, gently stroking her head. 

Bedivere narrowed her eyes in contentment, leaning against Mirage and relaxing. 

“If Mira-ju says so, I’ll be quiet. Bedi is a good girl, you know~.” -Bedivere 

Among the many demon tribes, the oni demons, who surpassed all others in strength, were a combat-oriented species that determined their leader through battles. They were not only superior to the dragon demons in terms of physical strength but also considered the strongest among the demon tribes. It was said that a single punch from them could shatter mountains. However, the little girl sitting on Mirage’s lap was a notorious troublemaker even among the oni demons. 

From a young age, she awakened her powers and swiftly defeated the adult oni demons as well as the previous Four Heavenly Kings, leaving them in complete defeat. Since becoming the tribe’s leader, she had been living a self-indulgent life.  

However, after growing attached to Mirage, she had become considerably more composed. While she continued to trouble her female assistant, she performed her duties as one of the Four Heavenly Kings to a certain extent. 

Mirage’s lap had become Bedivere’s designated spot over time, and this scene had become a familiar sight to everyone else. 

“I apologize, Mirage-sama. I’m sorry for the trouble our princess has caused.” -Oni Demon Assistant 

“Oh, it’s no problem. By the way, I managed to get a recipe for a dish Bedi might like, so I’ll visit and teach her again—Yow!” -Mirage 

Whispering to each other so as not to be heard by others, Mirage and the female assistant resembled a married couple with a child. With Bedivere sitting on Mirage’s lap, the female adjutant leaned against him, whether it was intentional or not, it was unmistakable that her ample bosom pressed against him 

However, Astarte, sitting on Mirage’s left, forcefully struck his side with her elbow, and a strange sound leaked from beneath his mask. 

“Both of you, please concentrate since the meeting is still in progress.” -Astarte 

Under Astarte’s intense presence, Mirage and as well as the female assistant straightened their postures, and the meeting continued without further interruptions. 

Of course, as a punishment for falling asleep, Mirage found himself obliged to obey Astarte’s orders, and it goes without saying that Rafale, and for some reason, Bedivere and Demon Lord Lilith were also handed out obligations they could not refuse. Mirage let out a particularly heavy sigh, realizing that his reading time would be further reduced.