Kuro no Maou

Her young figure that remained unmoving on the bed brought upon a sense of both concern and abnormality.

“Kurono........”

At times, Lily would speak that name as if remembering again.

Her green eyes that seemed to have lost their shine, crossed the line of sight with Kurono’s black eyes.

There was no one else on the bed except Lily.

But Kurono’s eye, only Kurono’s eye, was there.

In Lily’s line of sight was a container that was lying by the pillow.

That container that originally contained a potion for restoring flesh still had that transparent liquid but in it, a single eyeball was also present.

The eyeball with the jet black pupil, it was the left eye that Kurono had lost.

After Lily woke up from the battle with the Apostle, she had found a chance and had secretly collected Kurono’s left eye that fallen away.

Thanks to being stored in a regenerative potion, the eyeball that had been pierced by the arrow had recovered.

But to return this back to Kurono’s left eye, all the optic nerves will be needed to be connected properly so in any case, it was a level of healing magic not doable for Lily.

Thus, it had conveniently become a part of her collection which she could gaze at silently whenever she wanted to.

“Sorry.......i’m really....sorry.........”

They were words of apology which she had spoken countless times but of course they would never reach Kurono who wasn’t even here.

But even then, after practicing apologising countless times towards the eyeball and Kurono’s smell that lingered on the bed, Lily had finally become slightly calmer.

Or maybe, she had already dried up all her tears.

“Sorry.......Please don’t.......hate Lily.”

She had let go of her adult consciousness long ago and returned to her child consciousness.

But just as how Kurono had once explained, the child Lily and adult Lily were not different personalities. There was only a change in their mental age.

Just because she had returned to her child consciousness, it’s not like she had forgotten having been rejected by Kurono and neither would it have any change to her passionately burning feelings of love.

In fact, it was in her child form that she had fallen in love with Kurono. She hadn’t fallen in love with him after calculating and appraising things like his appearance, personality or abilities.

Lily’s young heart that was fully devoted towards Kurono was currently swaying with anxiousness that couldn’t be borne by a normal child.

No, in fact she might have been lucky if she was actually a normal child. She wouldn’t have kept on being worried about it just because her loved one had slightly rejected her.

But, Lily who was definitely not ‘normal’ was currently being tortured by anxiety and fear that could burst open her heart itself.

And, after some more time of this never ending pain had passed, the sound of the wooden door being knocked came to her ears and Lily slightly brought her consciousness back to reality.

“Lily-san.”

It seems the visitor was Fiona, Lily concluded after hearing that voice that she had heard more than enough.

But, right now, Lily did not have the will power to answer back to her nor did she have the will to do so.

“Lily-san, Kurono-san has come back.”

Just when she was about to sink back into her consciousness, hearing those words, Lily stiffened.

“Ku, Kurono......”

Her thoughts began to revolve rapidly.

I want to meet Kurono. That desire filled her head instantly but, at the same time, it was a fact that she had been rejected. Lily controlled herself from jumping out from the bed.

“Let’s have dinner together.”

Lily was currently conflicted, but since she had not given any sort of reply to Fiona, words of inviting her came from the door again.

“Kurono-san is not angry at Lily-san that’s why you can be relieved and come out.”

Those words inserted a ray of light inside Lily’s heart.

But, all of her imaginations that she had done till now rejected those sweet words. She ended up doubting the truth of those words.

“Lily-san? I’m entering okay?”

Since Lily gave no reaction at all, Fiona became impatient and opened the door.

For Fiona, it was a fortunate thing that Lily did not have the attention to do something like lock her door.

“Are you sleeping?”

Since Fiona suddenly entered into the room, Lily barely had enough time to quickly hide the potion container with Kurono’s eye underneath the bed.

“uu!!”

Lying down face down on the pillow, she raised a voice of protest towards Fiona.

“So you are awake. C’mon, Kurono-san is waiting for you, let’s go.”

“uuyaa!”

Lily resisted by flapping her small wings and limbs.

Even Fiona who had no skill of reading the atmosphere could understand from Lily’s actions that she is still afraid of meeting Kurono.

“Kurono-san is really not angry at you, Lily-san. In fact, he is worried about you. If Lily-san doesn’t show her face, he’ll be sad, you know?”

“uu......really?”

Raising her face that had been buried in the pillow, she glanced towards Fiona.

Those eyes had become completely red due to crying too much.

“It’s true. That’s why let’s go meet Kurono-san with a smile.”

If she had been able to say that with a smile, Fiona would have gotten 100 points for that smile but as expected she said that with her usual sleepy looking face.

But still, it still had enough effect to move Lily’s heart.

“......un.”

Lily readied herself and got up.

In her heart, anxiety and expectation intertwined and maybe because she was in tension, her movements were somewhat awkward and clumsy.

“Then, let’s go, ah, you should wash your face first.”

She couldn’t show her reddened face to Kurono, Fiona gave a surprisingly sensible opinion and led Lily while pulling her small hand out of the room.

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.

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(Kurono POV)

I am currently in one corner of the diner of [Cat’s Tail] and was currently heavily reflecting upon things.

“Kurono......welcome back.”

Lily said that with a completely unenergetic voice and her eyes were slightly red as well.

There’s no doubt, she was crying.

And the reason for that is without a doubt my mental state for the past few days.

Outside, I did say things like ‘Don’t worry about me’ and ‘I’m fine’ and ‘I am sorry’ and was supposed to not make them worry but that was only what it was ‘supposed’ to do and didn’t really get through to Lily.

It’s obvious after all. Lily possesses strong telepathic powers, I couldn’t fool her just with outer words.

And the result of that was this. I made her worry so much that I made her cry.

And though she didn’t cry, I did make Fiona worry as well, no, in fact, she must have been more worried stuck between the depressed me and the crying Lily.

“I made both of you worry, I’m really sorry.”

I could only bow my head right now.

Nevertheless, I could apologise to them like this only because I have finally regained some peace of mind and I’m in a much better condition compared to the me of this morning.

“No, it’s fine as long as Kurono-san is energetic again.”(fiona)

I felt relieved towards Fiona’s expressionless face that seemed to imply that she was not worried at all about us.

“Kuronooo,uuu!”

While caressing Lily’s head who was clinging to my chest,

“I’m really sorry Lily, I’m fine now so there’s no need to worry anymore.”

I thanked this compassionate tender-hearted fairy with words filled with my feelings.

And while we continued with our heart-warming contact, Fiona, who was the calmest here, cut to the chase and talked towards me.

“So, what exactly happened with Kurono-san? Looking at that left eye, I doubt you only calmed your heart.”(Fiona)

My left eye didn’t have an eyepatch anymore, and had an eyeball that had a working vision.

It was obvious for her to think that there was some kind of reason and connection behind the restoration of my mental state and my eyesight.

And, I had no reason to keep my experience of that time a secret towards my party members.

Well, even I don’t know what exactly happened there though.

“——I see, ‘Divine Protection’, is it?”

After I was done explaining, Fiona gave a reaction as if she could understand that rather than denying it.

“So, what do you think? Is Mia really a God?”(kurono)

I thought of talking about it but, while being depressed, meeting and god and having been awakened and energetic again really sounds something out of a religious text.

Saying this from a Japanese’s feelings, using the weakness of my mind and heart, I was being fooled and tricked.

“Mia Elrod. I have not heard of a God with that name. Well, I’m from the Republic in the first place so I don’t really know much about the [Black Gods] of Pandora in the first place.”

The only ones we know are the names of the Gods that had been named by the members of the adventurer alliance.

“Then, what do you think, Lily?”(kurono)

I asked towards the fairy who was still firmly sitting on my lap.

“Mia? Un, umm, un........”

Lily muttered while thinking and making such sounds.

But, seriously speaking, Lily is the one here with the most knowledge about the [Black Gods].

After all she is a possessor of the DP of [Fairy Queen Iris]. She should at least know what kind of power is a DP.

“Ah!!”

Lily raised her voice like that, a *ting* sound effect appeared in my mind.

“Did you remember something?”

“Un, Mia Elrod is the name of the ancient Demon King!”

Hearing that answer, I found it even more suspicious but considering it more thoroughly, I could remember only one thing from hearing the word [Demon King].

“Could it be, the one that completely unified Pandora in the ancient times?”(kurono)

“Un!”

So it really is the legend of the ‘ancient Demon King’. I see, so that Demon King’s name was Mia Elrod.

I had heard that the Dragon King of Daedalus had the ambition to unify whole of Pandora as he admired that Demon King, when I was learning things about this other world at the Irz village at Village head Shione’s house.

The legend of the demon king is famous enough that everyone in Pandora knows about it.

In the first place, the dungeons were classified as [Ancient] as the same time when the Demon King was active and the existence of the dungeons and the demon king always appear as a set together in legends.

“In ancient times, it was said that he who accomplished great deeds in this world would ascend to the throne of gods. If it’s a person from legends, it wouldn’t be weird for them to have actually ascended towards godhood and become able to provide DP to others.”

It was a theory I had heard before.

Vulcan’s DP [Wolfegand] was a giant wolf monster and Su-san’s DP [Hanzoma] was a legendary assassin.

Gods don’t give birth to gods. Living people or monsters are sublimated as such existences upon death apparently.

Then, if it was a person that was the only person in the history to have unified Pandora, it would be weird if such a person did not become a God.

“nn, but, there’s no one who has received the divine protection of the Demon King, you know?”

As per Lily’s explanation, many people in history have tried to receive Demon King Elrod’s DP. Even the infamous Dragon King also tried but, each and everyone had failed completely.

Reversely speaking, if there was a person who had received the Demon King’s protection, that news would quickly spread all over Pandora, even a small village like Irz would get that news.

By the way, Lily had heard such rumours appearing three times after she was born but apparently all turned out to be fakes.

“Now this really has become even more suspicious.”(kurono)

I am not stupid enough to proclaim “Yeah! I’m the first man to have received the Demon King’s DP!” here.

A demon King that is extremely famous yet no one has been able to receive his DP. Rather than thinking that I really have received something that amazing, it’s more plausible to think that that child simply used that name falsely.

“But, even if she wasn’t the actual Demon King, it seems it’s true that Kurono-san really has received some sort of DP.”(Fiona)

“No, though my left eye did heal perfectly but—–“

“That red eye isn’t Kurono-san’s right?”(Fiona)

I felt a slight unease when Fiona pointed that out.

True, this eye isn’t mine. It was that child’s left eye.

No, that’s fine. What’s troublesome is the ‘red’ part.

“Wait, is my left eye red?”

“Yes, that too a completely bright red colour.”

Want to confirm? Saying that, Fiona brought out a mirror from her hat.

While awkwardly thanking her, I looked at the mirror.

“Wha, What the hell is this!?!”

There, I could see my own deep crimson eye.

Since it had been comfortable working as my left eye, I thought that it had also become black like my right eye but apparently Mia really did shift her own eye as it is.

“It looks cool Kurono-san.”(Fiona)

“Kurono’s cool!”(lily)

As cold sweat flowed down my brow, I stared at myself who had suddenly become a possessor of heterochromatic eyes.

Is this real? Even those fucked up masked men did nothing to my looks but to think that I’d get an image change at such a time..........

“un, well, as long as I can see properly, I guess it’s fine.”(kurono)

That’s right, what’s important is the end result. If I were to complain for such a thing, I would incur divine punishment even if Mia wasn’t an actual God.

“That’s true, I don’t know whether that child was actually the Demon King but you should still be thankful for that eye. From what I’ve heard, you should also understand the true form of your DP as well.”(Fiona)

Just as Fiona said, I’m not in a situation where I am perfectly aware of the truth.

Afterwards, Lily also told me that by conducting a ritual in a temple where the black gods are enshrined, one could know whether one has really received some kind of DP and what kind of power has been received from that DP as well.

Only, if the DP isn’t strong enough, it’s difficult to distinctively know about it and the ritual will be a failure and a waste of money as well. It’s a bit of a dirty business. I guess all religion related business are like this no matter where you go.

In any case, to know whether I have really gained the DP of the Demon King, first I’ll have acquire a DP strong enough so that the ritual doesn’t fail.

And until and unless I know what this ‘trial’ is that Mia spoke of, nothing will begin.

Let’s just be happy that I got my eyesight back and a possibility to attain a DP.

“For the time being, I have no idea what this trial is so let’s work normally as adventurers rather than wasting time aimlessly looking for it.”(kurono)

Since I had revived(?), we need to seriously discuss how to live in Spada.

“Un, let’s go on a quest together!”(lily)

“Oh, this is the first time we three will take a quest together, right?”(Fiona)

Well, things happened after all.

It’s not like gotten completely over it, I haven’t forgotten it either but, I have recovered my drive to do things, that’s it.

From here onwards as well, the days of being haunted by nightmares like today would continue but I won’t do something that would make Lily cry.

“I’m also looking forward to working together as [Element Master] as well but——“(kurono)

It’s fine, I can still move forward.

It’s fine, I still have comrades that would walk with me.

“I want to become stronger so let’s take on difficult quests that would test our abilities. How about it?”(kurono)

“un, Lily is always together with Kurono!”(lily)

“Yes, I have no problems with it either.”(Fiona)

The two readily consented with me.

“I want to become strong enough to defeat an Apostle.”(kurono)

“Lily’s will work hard together with you as well!”

“Yes, this party really might become strong enough to take down an Apostle I think.”(Fiona)

Thanks for the reassuring words.

With this I continue with our adventurer lifestyle without any hesitation.

“Alright, let’s work hard to level up together!!”(kurono)

Next time, next time definitely, along with those thousands of religious fanatics of theirs, I will kill an Apostle with these hands.