The rumor mill of Holylight was abuzz with several whispers: The central nobles had been smited; the Fallen Angel had returned; Holylight would be once again ruled by the Holy Maidens; a ritual to summon a great angel would soon be held; travel roads would be carved out throughout Holylight, connecting major regions; the golden temple would be opened to the public. And these rumors reached regions that the parades had not gone through—every major city down to every little settlement was fraught with excitement over these rumors, and particularly so regarding rumors about the village of Rabbi—home of the Fallen Angel.
“So many rumors. Buzzing. While you slept,” Tron said.
“I see...” the Demon Lord said noncommittally.
“Thirsty for my blood?”
“Why would I want to drink blood first thing in the morning...? Hand me a beer. What I was drinking before,” the Demon Lord said. When Tron brought over a can from the fridge, he cracked it open. The Fallen Angel was a bona fide deadbeat. “You two are always a funny tag team.” Amusement sparkled in the Demon Lord. Tron and Kondo each had a special pair of eyes, and something about their similarity reminded him of the old arena.
His comment triggered something in Kondo—suddenly, a screen materialized before the advisor, depicting a young girl narrowing her eyes. “Konkon-kun... You said I was your one and only,” she said.
“Y-You are! Come on, Mister Secretary! Do you have any idea how difficult she gets when she thinks I’m cheating?! You’ve gone too far, sir, even for you!”
“A-All right...?” the Demon Lord said, taken aback by Kondo’s intensity.
But then, more screens popped up all around Kondo, each of them showing a different angry girl.
“After everything we’ve been through... You disappoint me, Kondo.”
“Are you cheating on me? Wanna get blasted?”
“Phoenix, indeed... I smell blood.”
“Shigrey, YuuVee, Kyo Kyo! It’s a misunderstanding! I love all of you equally!” Kondo pleaded with the floating screens.
“What are you doing...?” The Demon Lord chugged the rest of his beer.
Tron, meanwhile, was unaffected. Zero was the one who’d stolen her heart, and that motorcycling antihero was the polar opposite of the professional bedrotter Kondo.
“Well, catch me up on what’s happened.”
“Y-Yesh, shir!”
He’s lisping again... the Demon Lord noted as Kondo stammered out updates, Tron chiming in about the latest rumors in the village. Many of those updates were a natural extension of the last meeting the Demon Lord had, but some of them came as a total surprise.
“Summoning a Grand Angel...?” the Demon Lord repeated.
“Tahara’s been spreading that rumor like crazy... He’s talking about Manami, isn’t he, Mister Secretary?” Kondo said excitedly.
They’re acting like Manami’s a literal angel...? This has gone too far! the Demon Lord thought.
“He’s like, totally trolling... As if anyone but Shigrey could be the Grand Angel. Tahara’s out of his mind.”
You’re no better...! The Demon Lord was stumped; he couldn’t tell if this rumor was sincere or one of Tahara’s tactics to manipulate the angel-worshipping population of Holylight.
Kondo kept muttering, his brows pinched in confusion. “He’s in love with his sister IRL, which is super cringe. It’s called fantasy for a reason, amirite? If he’s actually down bad for his IRL sister, dude needs to dedicate himself to the blade or something. If you ask me, the sister is an archetype that...” Kondo went on, a million words a minute, speaking exclusively of sister characters from harem and hentai games, so not a single word he uttered was useful. Tron was already blinking her eyes sleepily, her head on the Demon Lord’s lap.
“Let’s table that...” the Demon Lord finally said. “We’re going to set up the Shoreline Beach area today. Kondo, you must be getting rusty. Go for a little swim when you get the chance.”
“Wha—?! Did you hear that, everyone?! It’s a fan service episode!” Kondo cheered as screens appeared around him again, an attractively drawn girl in each of them reacting in different ways. Kondo spoke with them as if they were the only real people he’d interacted with.
I feel like he’s becoming worse... Feeling a headache starting to form, the Demon Lord rose from the bed and quickly got dressed. He headed for the elevator, Kondo hurriedly following.
On the elevator, Tron asked sleepily, “Demon Lord, what is Shoreline Beach? I hope it’s delicious.”
“It’s an area modeled after Waikiki,” the Demon Lord answered. “You can swim, but more importantly, it’s rife with treasures of the sea. I’ve long been craving Empire seafood.”
“I like delicious,” Tron said.
“You won’t be disappointed. Fresh tuna, sea urchin, salmon roe, oysters, saury, sardines, mackerel, calamari, flounder, rockfish, shrimp, crab...! It doesn’t get better than that!” The Demon Lord was beaming, as if he could taste each and every one of them as he listed them off.
When he reached the ground floor, he found Aku gazing up at the stars projected on the atrium ceiling. The stars were ever-shifting, highlighting various constellations. The Demon Lord could have charged admission just for this atrium—the one and only planetarium in this world.
“Good morning, Master Demon Lord! You’re finally awake!” Aku said.
“Mm-hmm. We’re going to set up the Shoreline Beach now. Let’s go.”
“O-Okay! Shoreline...what?” Clueless to what the Demon Lord meant, Aku still happily clutched his sleeve. She trusted him so absolutely that she knew whatever change he was going to make to the village would be a positive one.
When the group stepped out of the golden temple, they were met with deafening cheers from a crowd that had formed.
“Th-There’s the Fallen Angel!”
“Wow! The rumors were true!”
“That’s why he calls himself the Demon Lord...”
“He’s beautiful...”
“And look at those three cute girls!”
“Wait a minute, Konkon-kun is a boy. Haven’t you heard?”
“N-No way... Isn’t that a snow fennec?!”
“He really rescued a divine beast!”
Their excitement crescendoed as the rumored, legendary Fallen Angel Lucifer approached them. His wings spread elegantly behind him, pulsing with dark energy. It left a striking impression on the crowd, entrancing them. The Demon Lord was secretly sweating bullets in the face of the crowd’s fervor, but managed to maintain an almost menacing glimmer in his eyes. Was it any wonder that the poor populace had fallen for him, with his long, mysteriously dark hair and beguiling eyes, and his avant-garde costume and wings as dark as night? He was mystique personified.
“They adore you, Master Demon Lord!” Aku said excitedly.
“S-Sure...”
The crowd hushed as a woman appeared—an elegant lady wearing an emerald ball gown and matching capeline hat. Unmistakable class showed in her every step, as she walked through the self-parting crowd. She was distinguished—in birth, in status, in every way that mattered. The Madam, ruler of the entirety of southern Holylight, spoke. “Mister Demon Lord. Allow me to celebrate your victory and safe return.”
“Well... No reward of victory could be better than compliments from a stunning lady,” the Demon Lord said.