Suddenly waking up, I found myself in a spacious black space—no, on a throne.
“Elroad Empire’s Avalon Royal Castle, right…”
“Exactly, welcome Kuroha Mao. I’ve been eagerly waiting for your second visit.”
On a pitch-black throne that looked like it was made of solidified darkness, sat a charming child-like figure that seemed unfit for such grandeur.
Wearing a military uniform that resembled a school uniform, along with a massive cloak that spread out to the floor, the outfit was indeed the same as when I had come here before.
Yes, it was the ancient Demon King, Mia Elroad, who had appeared to bestow upon me a new blessing.
“I’m glad you recognized the completion of the trial.”
“Of course! Your performance in battle was magnificent!”
With a broad smile, the Demon King applauded. The sound of a single pair of hands clapping in this vast space only intensified the sense of emptiness. Maybe I was being sarcastically mocked.
“I never anticipated that you would achieve the second and third trials simultaneously,” she said.
Far from sarcasm, I felt an overwhelming surface-level absurdity.
“I hope you won’t look at me so suspiciously. As I mentioned before, the occurrence of the trials was simply how things are.”
Even gods cannot interfere with causality; everything is as nature intended. That was the conclusion.
“But it’s understandable to be doubtful. After all, the trials put your friends in peril.”
Indeed, my earlier concerns when I received the first blessing had already come true.
There was no denying the trials. However, I couldn’t bear the thought of involving my friends and people I knew in the dangerous battle against the monsters—especially since the Greedg army had inflicted significant casualties in both the castle and the village.
If it was truly my trial that had dragged them into this… no, stop. Once suspicion starts, it never ends, and there’s no way to prove anything.
What I truly needed now was not suspicion towards Mia but gratitude.
“Thanks to the first blessing, I was able to protect everyone. Thank you so much for lending me your strength.”
“Hehe, you’re too kind. Perhaps that’s how my descendants were swayed as well.”
“…Descendants?”
“Nel-chan.”
“I didn’t sway her at all!”
What a twisted perspective. I had deepened my friendship with Nel properly, yet that way of putting it was too much.
Mia flashed a mischievous grin, and I felt that anything I said would end in futility.
“By the way, how do you know about Nel and me?” I asked.
“It’s unreasonable to assume I wouldn’t notice when you flirted so openly in front of others.”
“Well, we weren’t flirting!”
“Come on, showing up on a horse for a double ride at Ischia Castle.”
“That was the only means of transportation we had!”
“And you hugged Nel-chan after breaking the curse on the Monster Legion.”
“I did that because she was about to collapse from magical exhaustion.”
“Oh, and at the Great Arena, you carried Nel-chan out in a princess carry, right?”
“I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away…”
It was something I had done in the heat of the moment, but now that it was pointed out, I felt incredibly embarrassed. No, I really am sorry, God.
“It’s alright; as a god and as an ancestor, I’m not the sort to meddle in someone else’s romance.”
“Call it friendship instead. I often find myself mistaking Nel’s kindness and defenselessness.”
“Yeah, I won’t meddle.”
Mia remained tight-lipped. She probably had something to say about my excuses. But there was no need to avoid my gaze so blatantly.
“However, you watched the tournament too.”
“I’m a god, so I can see everything!”
Indeed, I figured she must have been reverently watching my battles from the throne room or a heavenly place like the clouds.
There’s no way she was munching on popcorn and enjoying the match like a spectator.
“Then I suppose I should offer proof of conquering the trials.”
Now the time has finally come. The proof being specific monster parts, as previously explained. This time, I had prepared them myself.
Although this seemed to be a dream, the shadow space was clearly linked to reality.
I summoned the two already dismantled pieces from the opened shadow.
“The jaw of Greedg and the spine of Slowsgil; this is definitely them, right?”
What appeared before me was a large lump of red rock—at least that’s how it seemed, but this was the jaw of Greedg, more precisely, the lower jaw. The menacing array of sharp teeth pointed upwards evoked terrifying memories of the giant mouth aimed at me.
Even though it was called dismantling, it was still covered in flesh and shell, simply cut off from the upper jaw.
The other proof, the spine of Slowsgil, was a beautifully clean bone akin to a skeletal specimen.
After shooting down Slowsgil, the purplish lightning covering it had perfectly vanished, leaving behind only the skeletal remains of a Lamia with a human upper body and a snake lower body.
Simply separating the shattered skull and lower body was much easier than cutting out Greedg’s enormous lower jaw. If Lily and Fiona hadn’t helped, it would have taken much longer.
“Indeed, I’ve received both proofs: ‘Jaw of Greed’ and ‘Spine of Sloth’.”
Like the proof of Raspun’s ‘Fist of Wrath’, both began to glow and crumble.
The ‘Jaw of Greed’ glowed orange while the ‘Spine of Sloth’ shimmered with a purple light as they were absorbed into the throne where Mia sat.
This was the offering, so the second and third blessings should now reside within me. When I wake from the dream, I’d surely recognize the new abilities I had gained.
I could already make pretty good guesses as to what they would be.
The Greedg associated with the earth attribute, and the Slowsgil associated with the thunder attribute—without a doubt, these two would be treated as pseudo-attributes converted from black magic power.
However, the true power of the Demon King’s blessing lies elsewhere.
“Hehe, it seems you’ve already grasped what the next blessing will bring.”
“Yeah. Nel taught me a bit about modern magic aside from ‘Strength Enhancement’.”
Indeed, based on the modern magical systems, the answer was clear.
“Then, without being too cryptic, can you at least tell me the name from now? I still need to practice since activating ‘Flame Demon King’ is still somewhat precarious.”
“Thank you, I will work hard—oh, by the way…”
Hearing the mention of practice reminded me of something.
“What’s wrong?”
With a cute, tilting head resembling Young Girl Lily, Mia asked, and I candidly shared a certain concern.
“Actually, when I returned to Spada, Wil told me there would be a triumphant parade. I’m not sure what to do.”
“I see, you did have quite a remarkable achievement!”
Rescuing the students and defeating Greedg were not accomplishments I achieved alone, but I recognized that I was the one who stood out the most. Unlike last time, I had made sure to deliver the final blow as well.
The recent happenings led to the king of Spada personally leading the Knight Corps to rescue. I, who had guided the resolution, would be the main event of the parade. Wil was incredibly enthusiastic about making me the star, so declining was not an option.
Of course, I didn’t lack the desire to take part either. After all, as a man, one does aspire to be a hero.
“But a triumphant parade feels nostalgic…”
Mia seemed to gaze far away.
She was likely reminiscing about past glories, but given her youthful appearance, it looked more like she was reminiscing about a fun day at an amusement park.
Yet, Mia was indeed a legendary Demon King who had achieved countless victories in ancient times.
“I thought you would have plenty of experience with parades, Mia. I was hoping to get some advice.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Kuroha Mao. Just because it’s a triumphant parade doesn’t mean you can get carried away; it could lead to embarrassing moments. If you get too carried away doing peace signs, it’s a no-go.”
“Did you do peace signs?”
The Demon King pouted and exercised her right to remain silent. Ah, she must have done peace signs. She probably struck a double peace sign with a smug look on her face.
“Anyway! The star of the parade must carry themselves properly!”
Mia rose bravely from the throne, bursting with a strange enthusiasm that somewhat overwhelmed me.
I thought it would be sufficient for her to casually share some tips or mindset for the event…
“Alright! I’m going to train you so that you won’t be embarrassed no matter which parade you join! You can’t leave until it’s over!!”
“Are you serious…?”
Thus, I became fortunate to receive parade guidance directly from the legendary Demon King.
But well, this meant I would be perfectly ready for the main event. The people of Spada waiting to welcome me would surely erupt in cheers and applause.
“Okay then, here we go! Take one!”