#1205 The Demon King’s Miracle Ball 

I am the Great Demon King Baal. 
But everyone calls me an idiot. 

They say I deserve the nickname because I once came dangerously close to destroying the Demon Kingdom. 

Still, such a claim feels like an exaggeration.  
If I were really capable of leveling a whole kingdom on a whim, I’d have been wiped out countless times by now.  
After all, I’m far from the most foolish Demon King in history. 

…Right?  
I’m pretty sure I’m one of the more sensible ones among my predecessors. 

There was that Demon King who lost a war against the Human Kingdom and had more than half his territory taken.  
Another entrusted so much power to his underlings that they staged a coup and usurped the throne.  
And the pinnacle of incompetence: a Demon King who obliterated his own capital with some half-baked ritual. 

Compared to those legendary dunces, my little faux pas is practically adorable. 

So, what did I do that was "so foolish"? I simply loved culture and championed it with every coin I could muster. 

You could say it was the mark of an enlightened ruler.  

I threw myself into nurturing the arts. Painting, literature, music, and the like. 
 

I poured treasury funds into grand exhibitions, competitions, carnival parades that echoed with marching feet, and nightly balls under rainbow-hued lights.  
It was a spectacle so vivid that even now, if I close my eyes, I can still see it all. 

And that is why I’m considered an idiot.  
All that spending on culture strained the nation’s coffers until there wasn’t enough funds left to fund the war against the humans. 

"If you increase the cultural budget one more coin, you’ll have to slash war funds, and we’ll lose," warned my finance minister.  

But I refused to believe him. My army has been winning for centuries! The only thing holding us back was that blasted sacred barrier around the borders.  
Without it, we’d have crushed the humans. 

Surely, a little shortage of funds couldn’t break our undefeated streak.  
Besides, I thought that if I encouraged the people’s spirits with art and festivity, vitality would carry onto the battlefield and bring us victory. 

...They called me a fool for thinking so. 
But one morning, everything fell apart in an instant. 

All thanks to a coup. 

And orchestrating it was my own son, Zedan, one among the dozens of princes I fathered. 

Because I was blessed with so many children, when I heard "Prince Zedan’s leading a rebellion!" I thought, Who? Which one’s Zedan again? 

The only princes and princesses I remember clearly were those born to queens who were smart, beautiful, and with whom I’d spent many years. 

Thinking back, Zedan’s mother was…well, rather dull.  
She never cracked a smile when I met her, and everyone gushed, "Oh, she’s just very serious," so from that day on I took "serious" to mean "boring." 

She was high-born, so I couldn’t refuse her, and our union produced only Zedan.  
Growing up with a mother so sober and earnest, Zedan himself was never much fun. I overlooked him while lavishing attention on my other children. 

When news of the coup reached me, I figured he’d revolted out of spite for feeling neglected; some brat nursing a grudge, brandishing a sword.  

But the truth was far different. 
Zedan’s aim was to save our army. He’d judged that my policies had driven us to the brink of defeat and that I was the root cause. So, he struck to remove me. 

I later learned that he was the only prince brave enough to fight on the front lines, personally rallying our soldiers and holding back the human invasion.  

Whereas I was in the capital, hosting festivals and exhibitions. 

The people’s loyalty and hope all poured into Zedan.  
Though I’d thought I’d served the kingdom well, its citizens chose him instead. 

At first, I assumed the rebellion would be crushed quickly, but it only grew. The army, the government, even the common folk rallied to Zedan’s side and cheered my deposition. 

Worst of all was my trusted right-hand, Chief Lucife Focale, who’d helped plan the coup. When I confronted him, furious and ready to accuse Zedan of treason, Focale cut me off: 

"By saving Prince Zedan, my lord, you have in fact preserved your own life and honor." 

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  
Ungrateful wretch, I wanted to shout, but time would show me his words were true. 

At that moment, the Demon Kingdom's treasury was on the verge of collapse.  
I, the Demon King, had paid no heed to the finances and cared only for culture.  

I’d barely ever set foot on a battlefield; the war’s fortunes baffled me.  
The front lines had been overwhelmed so badly that if Zedan hadn’t held them himself, human armies would have carved deep into our homeland. 

Had things gone differently, I would have lost my life the moment I abdicated as Demon King. On top of that, I'd be remembered in history not just as a fool, but as a "blundering idiot," a "witless disgrace," and every insult in the book. 

It was Zedan who saved both my life and my honor. 

His aptitude as Demon King far surpasses mine. 
After toppling me and taking the throne for himself, Zedan used his full authority to rebuild the army and, in no time, turned the tide of a war that had been going badly for us back to even. 

Though he initially struggled to unify his subordinates, having seized power through drastic means, he pulled off an overhaul of the administration using a mix of strict and lenient tactics. 
In the end, he conquered that relentless Human Kingdom, achieved peace—a dream the demon race had held for centuries—and rose to be called the greatest Demon King in history. 

I treated Zedan coldly. Even though he was my own son, I paid him no mind. 
I have many sons and daughters, and I thought I had shown a fair amount of love to some of them… but now I understand just how heartless I was to him. 

Even so, though he had every reason to cast me aside, Zedan gave me only the bare minimum punishment necessary. He let me keep the title of Great Demon King and enough wealth to live out my twilight years in peace. 

That mercy likely comes from his inherently serious nature. Had he truly wanted to, he could have displayed my severed head in the town square to declare his justice to the world. 

But Zedan values virtue. 
And that's why I’m still alive. I mustn’t ever forget that. 

…Hmm? What’s this? 
A messenger from the castle? That’s rare. 

Zedan wants to see me? 
That's unexpected. 

Being ousted in a coup would make anyone hold a grudge, but if he’s reaching out, I can’t very well turn him away. 

After all, I'm only alive today thanks to his mercy. 

Well then, time to fulfill one of the few duties left to an old man in retirement. 

*** 

And so, waiting for me at the destination is... 

Zedan, radiating a fierce aura like he’s standing on a battlefield. 
And this place... isn’t this the farm we visited once before? 
What’s he doing here? 

"Father... I've been expecting you. Thank you for making the journey." 

D-Don't mention it...! 
Why is his voice all low and trembling like that? 

"I know it's rude to summon you when I should be the one visiting, but there’s something I can only do here." 

Something he can only do...? 

"I want you to catch this." 

Zedan raises his hand, winding up with everything he has... 

"Demon King Flame-Slaying Dark Dragon Shot!!!" 

A wave of pitch-black magic shoots out from Zedan, blasting in every direction and completely obliterates a huge boulder in the distance. 

What was that? 
A finishing move? 

"This is the ultimate miracle ball I’ve perfected! Once you catch this, Father, I will finally grasp the secret of playing catch!!!" 

Upon hearing this declaration, I understood. 

I’m going to die here today, aren’t I? 

You kept me alive just for this moment, didn’t you, son?!