Chapter 4

“All right, I’ll be back in a meowment!” Mako chirped. After stowing her smartphone in a back pocket of her pants, she raced off with a high-pitched boom. Mako moved way too fast for the eyes of the cursed Hero to follow, but he was able to understand that she was headed toward Tomorrow Castle to find the prince. Doubt entered the Hero’s mind as he stood there. Was telling her to kick his ass going too far? Did he really do anything to make me that angry? That line of thought lasted for about five seconds before he decided, Eh, it’s fine. He was annoying. He didn’t consider it for very long. Death didn’t mean much in this world because churches revived those who had fallen. Tomorrow Castle undoubtedly had priests. Sunege would be just fine. …I can’t believe he called the Demon Lord a pest. She’s a good person. Thinking of the Demon Lord helped the Hero calm down. He recalled what she’d mentioned about Mako’s battle prowess. If he remembered correctly, the Demon Lord had said she was the fastest in the Demon Army, had four-hit attacks, possessed elite spells, and was capable of destroying a town in no time at all. “…I might as well send Mako a message asking her not to kill him.” Unbidden sympathy for Sunege welled up in the Hero. He texted Mako, then put his smartphone in his bag and stretched, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “…Wait. This place is…,” the Hero began, but he’d noticed too late. He was currently in a famous wetland rumored to be inhabited by the strongest monsters in Beginnerland. Wandering it alone was a bad idea for someone with no combat ability. “Grrrr…” As would be expected, the creatures of the fen did not take kindly to someone invading their territory. They had been keeping their distance because of Mako’s presence, but now she was gone, and the Hero suddenly found himself faced with a kobold. The monster let fly a doglike howl, and more of its kin appeared. “W-wait, stop! I can’t fight! Time-out, time-out!!!” Perhaps this was karma. The Hero mustered more effort than he had in his entire life—fleeing. Mako had reached the outskirts of Tomorrow Castle Town. There were two gatekeepers watching for trespassers by the town gate, so she decided to observe them from the shade of a tree. The guards were standing there, yawning and complaining about their duties. They were nearly at the end of their shifts, and given that the monsters in Beginnerland were weak outside the wetland, there wasn’t much for them to do. “Wow. So this is what the castle town of a large country looks like,” Mako remarked aloud, her eyes sparkling with interest as she gazed at the settlement and the palace beyond the gate. She’d seen LMAO Castle and its surrounding village when she’d gone to pick up the Hero and had later observed the town of Lafta from the outside. However, Tomorrow Castle was on a different scale, boasting significantly more land and a much larger keep. Mako’s interest was piqued by the greater security as well. Despite the cease-fire currently in effect between humans and demons, her ears bobbed with excitement at the prospect of finding some strong people to tussle with. “I wonder if this Sunege is in there.” The grand castle towered above the surrounding town from its elevated position. There were scars visible across the entire outer wall—evidence of its sturdiness and the many wars it had likely weathered. “All right, let’s get this over with.” Mako put a little strength into her bestial legs and shot forward with a small boom once again. “Arrrrrrrrgh!” The two lazy gatekeepers were suddenly blasted aside, and a clean hole large enough for a person to pass through was gouged into the wooden gate. Mako ran straight through the castle town without slowing down, covering a two-mile road to the castle portcullis in just ten seconds. When she hit the brakes and looked back behind her, she realized the destruction she had caused. Minitornados were wreaking havoc on the shopping districts and street stalls that she had passed through, sending goods flying into the air on the strong winds. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, sorry!” Mako apologized, sticking out her tongue in embarrassment. She then turned back to the castle entrance…only to find more chaos. “Gaaaaah!” The shock wave that had been kicked up from her sudden stop had sent soldiers soaring upward, and the specially made iron castle doors flew open with a loud groan. This was only a fraction of the might of the strongest member of the Demon Army’s Four Demon Generals. “Th-there are cries in the castle town! Reports say a sudden shock wave traveled through the shopping district, and someone was sighted approaching the castle at high speed!” cried a castle guard after bursting through the door to the throne room. “That’s not all, Your Majesty! Some kind of wind has been surging through the halls and reducing everything it touches to rubble! This likely means that a monster, no, some kind of high demon has breached the castle walls!” proclaimed a panicked combat soldier in heavy armor who had raced into the room after the guard. “You fools! This is the royal palace! Make sure to bow and address the king properly!” scolded a cabinet minister stationed next to the throne, failing to read the room and fearing his subordinates’ behavior would reflect poorly on him. “…Although, if you’re that distressed, this must be no small matter,” he appended with a somber expression to make up for his outburst. Everyone gawked at the minister in disbelief. There was no time for all this formality. As was common in modern society, the higher-ups in the castle were quite annoying, expecting decorum even in times of emergency. “Could it be a demon?! How could you have allowed such a thing to traipse into my castle?! What are the guards and soldiers doing?!” bellowed the king. That’s what I just said, the soldier thought in irritation. He stamped his feet, frustrated, wanting the king to go ahead and give his orders to deal with the threat. “…Oh right! Your Majesty, please flee using the emergency escape route! I believe this to be the vicious assault of a monster, no, a high demon! You can leave this to me, your trusted minister!” the cabinet minister shouted, clearly trying to steal credit from his subordinates by fooling the king into believing he had control of the situation. The guards were beyond fed up with him. “Hey now, let’s calm down, minister. In fact, everyone should. You’re repeating the same thing over and over again. I can’t tell what anyone is trying to say through your incoherent babble,” admonished the King of Tomorrow. He looked dignified atop his throne, wearing a lavish crown and stroking his tremendously long beard. The soldiers were understandably relieved to see their ruler take charge. “There is no need to fear. Even if a monster has breached the castle walls, Sunege, my son and the second prince of Tomorrow Castle, is here. He has a strange way of speaking, but he is every bit as strong as his reputation,” boasted the king. The guards joyfully voiced their agreement. “Oh, th-that’s right!” “Sunege works day and night exterminating monsters to sharpen his skill! He’s level twenty-five! No monster in Beginnerland is a match for him!” “He does talk a bit weird, though!” “He sure does!” “Right?!” You don’t need to explain my own son’s level like you’re some no-name NPCs… Also, are they making fun of him? thought the king. It was true that his son had odd speaking patterns, however, so he let that comment slide. “Oh, hey, guys! How’s it going?” A lovely female voice suddenly echoed in the throne room. Tomorrow Castle was usually occupied almost entirely by men, so the presence of a woman there was unusual. The queen and the princess were currently away, and it was time for the other women in the palace to begin preparing dinner. Not knowing what to think, everyone turned toward the source of the voice. “Um, is there a prince named Sunege here?” a girl inquired entirely too casually. She had animal ears protruding from her red hair, fur on the back of her hands, and legs that looked just like a beast’s. “D-d-de…” Her appearance was markedly different from the women whom the gathered humans were used to. It didn’t require even a moment to understand what she was. “Demon!!!” “A—a humanoid high demon?! Sh-she’s gonna kill us!!!!!” “Eeeeeeek!” Panic spread through the room like wildfire. “Everyone, calm down! This is surely some kind of costume!” screamed the cabinet minister. “There’s no way that’s a costume! She broke into the castle! Are you blind, you self-serving bureaucrat?!” yelled a soldier in response. The room descended into a pandemonium of cries and personal insults. The king and everyone else in the room jumped back in fear and pointed their swords and spears at the blank-faced demon with catlike features. “Aww, you’ve gotta be kidding, meow. You guys realized I’m a demon, right? I thought you wouldn’t figure it out because I’m humanoid.” “It’s not hard to tell!” “Those are totally bestial limbs!!” “What’re you doing in this castle?!” “Honestly, I just want to squish those adorable furry legs!” Some spoke up with reasonable comments, while others shamelessly voiced their honest desires. The king then cut through the shouting with a calm and authoritative tone. “H-hey, listen up, everybody. There’s no need to fear. Sunege is one of the greatest knights in the entirety of Beginnerland. He will save us all.” Unfortunately, the ruler’s visibly shaking legs betrayed his confidence. His boasts had also set the bar quite high for his son. “Ooh, so this Sunege really is strong! I can’t wait to see him,” Mako said before placing something she had been holding in one hand down on the red carpet. “…Hmm?” When everyone’s eyes shifted to that thing, no, person, the shocking truth became clear. “No…” The person Mako placed on the ground was none other than Sunege, second prince of Tomorrow Castle. He wasn’t dead, but he definitely wasn’t conscious. “She defeated Sunegeeeeeeee!!!!!!!” “Why?!?!?!?!?!?!” “Whaaaaaat?!?!?!” Everyone but Mako began to wail in disbelief. Sunege had led the charge against Mako, as he was the only person in the castle capable of meeting such an assault, yet Mako had knocked him out in an instant. “Wait, what? This guy is Sunege?” the demon asked. “…Yes. He’s a strange fellow, but that is Sunege, our prince.” “Sunege… Sunny egg… Ha-ha-ha!” The soldiers began to shout some truly ridiculous things amid their terror, likely as some form of escapism. They knew they couldn’t defeat the intruder, and they all hated the cabinet minister, so most of them had pretty much checked out mentally. “You’ll die for what you’ve done, you filthy demon!!!!” the King of Tomorrow suddenly screamed. He raised his staff, an ornate rod affixed with extravagant jewels, and threw it at Mako. The girl easily dodged it, then knocked the king out with a karate chop to the head. The cabinet minister collapsed, playing dead. All still watching knew that their nation was finished. “Man, I’m disappointed Sunege was so weak. Ah, but don’t worry. I’m not going to kill anyone. The Hero told me not to,” announced Mako. The demon walked toward Sunege, who was still sprawled out on the floor. Because she had defeated the strongest person currently in the castle (which the soldiers blamed on the cabinet minister), no one moved to stop her. “Oh, those legs… My heart can’t take it…” The furries among the guards had another reason for backing down; they were too enraptured by how cute she was. “I really got my hopes up, though. I’ll be in a bad mood the rest of the day if I leave without doing anything.” Mako then conceived of the perfect punishment. She stripped Sunege’s legs bare and started plucking out their hairs one by one. “…What in the world?” one soldier uttered aloud. Nobody understood what was going on anymore. The atmosphere of the now-quiet throne room quickly turned surreal. While a bit of a digression, let’s return to the Hero in the wetland. He tried and failed to escape from the kobolds three times. Fortunately, he managed to get away on his fourth attempt. On with the story.