#582 The Second Demon Kingdom

Hey, it’s me again.

I love my son.

And our second child is also growing up as Platy’s baby belly grows bigger.

Everything was fine and peaceful until the Demon King came to visit and said this...

“There might be a war.”

“Peace is getting destroyed?!”

Suddenly, there’s a war.

But why?

I thought no more wars would break out in this world?

Originally, there was a war between the demons and humans that competed for supremacy on earth, and it was ended by the wise ruler Demon King Zedan in front of me. 

He and Mermaid King Arowana of the Mermaid Kingdom are close friends and allies.

With no other opposing power, who else are they going to fight with?

“...The truth is, a new nation of demons has been discovered.”

I see...

Wait, what?!

“It is a nation that thrives in a far-off place, completely different from ours. They call themselves the True Demon Kingdom.”

“The ‘True’ Demon Kingdom? That’s quite assertive of them...”

“We knew of their existence only because they communicated to us. But this is where the problem starts.”

What did this so-called ‘True’ Demon Kingdom tell you?

“We received a notice from a person calling himself the True Demon King, who seems to be the head of the True Demon Kingdom, saying they are the original demons and that we should submit to them.”

True Demon King...?

“The demand is for us to unconditionally surrender and come under their control. Naturally, we cannot accept such an unreasonable demand.”

It’s irrational, to begin with.

But when two sides’ claims are in conflict, a bloodbath would eventually ensue. 

“So once again, we, the Demon Kingdom, find ourselves in the middle of a war. The enemy’s capabilities are unknown and may surpass the Human Kingdom’s. If so, this might become the second war that could last for ages.”

Of course no one wants that.

Ever since we attained world place, we’ve been able to have fun opening up Orkubo’s Castle, a hot spring ryokan, a café, etc. If war broke out, everything would be ruined.

Wars are unacceptable.

“I concur. That’s why I’m here to ask you, too, if you have any ideas to avoid this war, Lord Saint.”

“Ask me...too?”

“I have already informed my other sworn ally, Lord Arowana. He has assured me that he will be on our side should war break out.”

Nothing’s more reassuring than knowing that the Mermaid Kingdom is willing to fight with us.

Even if no war happens, it would be a deterrent that would greatly frighten the enemy.

“Alas, nothing is absolute, and we cannot afford to lose in a war, even in the slightest. I want to take all possible measures to win. If possible, without crossing blades.”

That sounds just like Sun Tzu...!

But I, too, think the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. 

And best of all, without chaos.

I’d be glad to help if I can help preserve our peaceful days.

“You always come up with new, unprecedented ideas, Lord Saint. I would like to hear your opinion before we start something big.”

“Well, it’s hard to say without knowing whom you’re dealing with first, isn’t it?”

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

These are also the words of Sun Tzu.

As Sun Tzu taught us, we can only properly deal with the True Demon Kingdom in question if we know how big and powerful it is.

Even though Demon King Zedan’s nation has already defeated the Human Kingdom and has a powerful ally in Arowana and the Mermaid Kingdom, the chances of stronger enemies appearing aren’t zero. Take shounen manga, for example.

Therefore, we mustn’t let our guard down.

“You make a good point, Lord Saint... Unfortunately, we know nothing about our opponent. In fact, we never knew there was another nation of demons besides ours.”

“I suppose you’re right. I mean, there are those hypothetical situations where your father reveals to you that you have a brother from a different mother or something.” 

“Well, that’s reality to me, so it’s no longer a hypothetical situation...”

“Oh, yeah...!”

Come to think of it, his father is the Great Demon King Baal, and...

I digress. Let’s get back on-topic.

“I was able to get a rough idea of the history of the True Demon Kingdom from the envoy. According to him...”

About 500 years ago, the Demon King of the time was known as the Mad King for his viciousness and tyranny.

He destroyed the capital he ruled and turned it into an uninhabitable hell.

The people who lived there became refugees and wandered from place to place. 

“A new city was rebuilt where the people had left, now known as the Demon Capital. The one that perished is called the Old Capital.”

However, the people who escaped from the Old Capital split into several groups and built new settlements in the places where they ended up.

One of these is the other newly discovered Demon Kingdom.

“The group that calls itself the True Demon Kingdom is said to have escaped the collapse of the Old Capital by crossing the sea. They drifted to an isolated island and established a new nation there.”

“I see...”

“Hearing the collapse of the Old Capital, they thought that the original Demon Kingdom had already perished. Only to find out recently that this is not the case.”

“How did they know?”

“The cause is the dungeon competition in the Dragon Emperor’s Castle last year.”

“...Huh?”

That’s when the Heavenly Four from the Demon King’s Army and the S-class adventurers of the Human Kingdom competed with each other for superiority, right?

Ultimately, it ended up being a mere orientation of sorts, so how did it become the cause?

“At that time, your wife used a magical tool to broadcast what was happening inside the dungeon, correct?”

“Ah, the one that resembled TV broadcasting...”

But her research was far from complete, so it couldn’t transmit the audio and had terrible picture quality.

In the end, the match between Lady Glasya and Pink Tonton in front of the main gate became the main highlight.

“The telekinetic waves emitted by that magic tool seemed to have spread over a wider area than expected, and the True Demon Kingdom in the surrounding sea caught it. That’s how they learned of our nation’s existence.”

“I can’t believe Platy’s research brought about such an unexpected situation...!”

No wonder she’s a witch.

She wasn’t even conscious of it, yet she stirred up trouble nonetheless.

“The other side spent a lot of time analyzing the images, and only now did they finally send a envoy to us. The envoy presented an annexation without any room for argument. We come from the same race, so I won’t hesitate to welcome them with open arms, yet...!”

As I thought, the Demon King is a great ruler and wants to resolve everything peacefully as much as possible.

I’m all for that kind of policy, but...

“Want me to go?”

Veil joined the conversation nonchalantly.

“I can go there and burn their place to the ground if you want. It doesn’t matter to us dragons whether it’s a big or small country.”

“True, but still...”

Veil is a dragon, the strongest creature there is.

Her powers alone could instantly destroy any kingdom, large or small.

It’s as easy as a child pouring molten lead into an ant’s nest as a little prank.

But we can’t allow that.

“I-I appreciate your concern, Lady Veil, but this is a problem between demons. If I let a dragon solve my nation’s internal disputes, my qualifications as a king will be called into question.”

The Demon King refuses Veil’s proposal gently and politely.

“I shall accept your sentiments, and I, the Demon King, will see through the problems of my people!”

“I admire your mindset. You should also strive to set an example for Junior.”

When we saw Veil back down and calmly leave the scene, the Demon King and I sighed in relief.

“Everything will be resolved in seconds if we leave everything a transcendent being such as her, but relying too much isn’t a good thing either.”

“Indeed, the more we rely on, the more corrupt we will become...”

Let’s try again and resolve this problem with our own hands.

I’ll try to come up with something too.

Since the Demon King asked me a favor, I have to respond to his request and do my part to preserve world peace.

But after brooding over things...

Only one thought came to mind.

“As I thought, the biggest problem is that we know nothing much of the other party.”

And the same applies to their side.

I wonder if they know that King Zedan’s nation is now enjoying unprecedented prosperity, having united the earth, ending the Human-Demon War that has lasted for centuries.

If they know this and are still demanding submission regardless, I have to say they’re very confident.

“I think what we need is mutual understanding.”

I’ll provide you with a plan to see how the times have changed two groups of the same race that have long since separated from each other.