There on the roof of the Dolkness estate, stood the man in question. His silky, golden hair swayed in the wind, and he stood there in his ornate military uniform, his overly decorated long sword unsheathed.
“Now is the time for us to come together,” he said in a gallant voice. “As king, I will protect the world from calamity!”
Who that? The first king wasn’t very kingly, but this man was somehow incredibly king-like. The king had been a man who was awful in a lot of unfortunate ways, including his intelligence, his appearance, and his behavior, but... Who is this? Is this someone else?
Patrick and I were confused by the appearance of an unknown person, and the regal man spoke to us with a valiant look on his face.
“At this point, there are no differences between enemies and allies. Let us let go of all constraints and work together!”
He seems so regal, but...he doesn’t seem like the first king of Valschein... I looked to the Demon Lord for confirmation if that was really the first king, and he had an obvious scowl on his face.
“You. What happened to your ambitions of destroying the kingdom of Valschein?”
“Many innocent people are facing a crisis. I don’t have the time for my own plans. I want you to help as well.” With that, the king bowed deeply.
Seeing his archnemesis act so humbly made the Demon Lord scribble something into his notebook with incredible fervor.
“Save me, Yumi-Yumi! That guy’s not selfish at all! He’s so scary!”
The Demon Lord had said that the first king changed in the Kingdom of Twilight. And just as he’d said, the man had completely changed. So I couldn’t tell if this regal man actually was the king. What a pitiful sight... Wait, is he pitiful?
“Isn’t it all good if he’s acting normal now?” I asked the Demon Lord instead of writing back.
“It’s not! The way he’s acting... Something’s off!”
For the first time, the Demon Lord’s reactions in the notebook and in real life matched. You hate this that much? It was probably difficult to accept the king’s current state since he knew what the king used to be like. For me personally, it felt quite convenient. I could either have two dangerous elements or one dangerous thing plus a person who was cooperative about handling said dangerous thing. The latter was obviously preferable.
I turned to Patrick, hoping he would agree. “This is better, right?”
“If I had to choose, I guess...”
Huh? We had another member to help take down Left Yumiella, but Patrick didn’t sound too happy.
The hero nodded satisfactorily upon hearing our conversation. “I’m happy to be fighting together, Yumiella and... I don’t think I’ve heard your name.”
“I’m Patrick Ashbatten.” Patrick introduced himself to our ally, but...the hero suddenly jumped backward and put his hand on his sword.
“Ashbatten?! Wh-What did you come here for?!” As the once-confident king suddenly became flustered and confused, the Demon Lord had also distanced himself from Patrick and was now hiding behind the hero.
“Why are you using me as a shield?!” the hero exclaimed. “I may be strong, but I’d rather avoid fighting an Ashbatten.”
“You’re the one who upset Ashbatten! Act like a king and take some responsibility!”
The hero and Demon Lord were pushing each other forward, trying to save only themselves. So you guys are friends after all.
This was quite the rare sight. It was probably the first time Patrick was the one people were afraid of when we were standing next to each other.
The two were likely afraid of his ancestor, the Lord Ashbatten from their time. There was no need to fear someone who’d died so far in the past. I wanted to explain that, but the Demon Lord seemed to realize it on his own.
“Wait... The Lord Ashbatten from our time should have already passed, no?”
“That’s true! I knew I could count on you. You’re my top vassal after all.”
“I was surprised because you jumped to conclusions. Use your head more.”
The hero’s appearance was overflowing with regal dignity, but his true personality was starting to crumble that image. They were both speaking quite naturally to each other at a close distance, so maybe they had partially returned to their past selves.
Though they were terrified of his ancestor, Patrick didn’t seem bothered and had begun to speak to them. Patrick’s so good at handling weirdos.
“You said something about protecting the world from calamity, right? Our goals are the same, but depending on what method you are trying to use, we may not be able to help you.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but as king, I aim for what will bring the most people happiness. I’m not in a position to be picking and choosing my methods.”
The hero was suddenly acting like a king again. The moment he began speaking to Patrick, the Demon Lord made an incredibly sour face, so their behavior from earlier seemed to be temporary.
The conversation between the non-black-haired members continued.
“That thing up in the sky is Yumiella. I can’t get rid of her by force.”
“Even if she’s someone important to you, it’s obvious that she’s a threat to this kingdom...”
So that’s the direction this conversation is headed in. I wasn’t as worried about myself as Patrick was, so it took a moment for me to catch up. As the hero spoke, I realized that they were debating whether they should take me down or not, but his tone suddenly changed midsentence.
“...so I shouldn’t be debating what method to use and just stop her, but...no. Then nothing will change.”
“Nothing will change?”
“That’s right. I’m a perfect king who can save all. There’s no point if I don’t make everyone happy. If I don’t save everyone, including the evil beings who’ve become inhuman monsters, I’ll just be repeating my mistakes...”
This is bad. I’m not sure why, but the hero is about to join Patrick’s side and defend Left Yumiella. Just like he said, she’s an evil, inhuman being, so she needs to be stopped, even if it means taking her down. But it’s okay. I, the right side, am stronger!
“We should just take her down! Since I’m the one saying it, there’s no doubt that it’s the right solution!”
“But I—”
“It’ll be fine. She might go back to normal after a quick punch.”
“I see... You may be right. There’s no guarantee that the worst-case scenario will play out. As king, I shall hold out hope and fight back until the end!”
Well said, Hero! The hero had returned to his sparkly, regal self and was fired up to defeat Left Yumiella. The only problem was Patrick. He was still firmly against my plan, and he declared his opposition to me defeating myself.