#495 The Strongest Heavenly Four’s Visit

It’s me again.

We have an emergency.

Belphgamilia has paid a visit to our farm.

He’s one of the demon army’s Heavenly Four and is the strongest among them.

He’s even said to be more powerful than his nation’s ruler and, in fact, could even be called the strongest of humanity.

Belphgamilia is also the illegitimate son of the former demon king, and if he wanted to, he could usurp the throne himself.

He has never had anything to do with our farm, and as such, has never visited us before. But now, we’re here welcoming him.

Why so sudden?

I did think such a day might come, but the fact that he came without warning is unexpected...

I don’t feel that it is typical of him, either, so...

“Lord Belphgamilia?!”

“The army commander appointed for the first time in several hundred years...?!”

“To think a big shot like him would visit this farm...!”

Our demon students are equally surprised to see Belphgamilia’s presence.

They must know him well since they were also part of the army.

The human and mermaid students, on the other hand...

“He’s a Heavenly One? Doesn’t he look kind of weak?”

“He looks pretty out of it to me.”

“He doesn’t seem to have much spirit overall. Isn’t it anticlimactic calling him the demon army’s strongest?” 

It’s true that Belphgamilia always tries to slack off provided the opportunity, and there is not a trace of high spirits in him.

An amateur won’t sense even a glimpse of his hidden strength.

That’s just the kind of strength he possesses.

Only similarly strong people would notice and fear him.

As proof of this, in contrast to the nonchalant students, there were those who felt extremely tense upon Belphgamilia’s visit—the orcs and goblins.

“What is this ominous bloodlust...?!”

“So obvious, yet so elusive... I’ve never felt such an eerie presence before!”

“Despite all that, his strength is clear. Its gravity is too strong to hide...! Is this what it means to be truly strong...?”

Those who know, know, I guess.

Not only the orcs and goblins but also Pochi and the rest of the wolf pack reacted as soon as they saw Belphgamilia.

“Grrrrrrrrr...?! *whimper*”

Can even the wildest of beasts see into the depths of the strong?

“That man is stwong...!”

Even the earth spirits seemed to have noticed.

Why?

Anyway, let’s leave the reactions of those around and focus on Belphgamilia himself.

“Wow, nice place you have here. It’s quiet and peaceful. I wish I could laze around in a place like this all year round.”

Thank you for the compliment.

But no one is lazy here, except Veil!

“So, what brings you to our farm today?”

“ZZZZZZZZZ....”

“Don’t sleep!”

I took my eyes off him for a moment, and he put up a hammock and started sleeping!

Talk about agile!

He’s really used to lazing around!

“But as long as you’re on this farm, I won’t tolerate laziness! Wake up!”

“Wah!”

I flip over the hammock and drop Belphgamilia to the ground.

“ZZZ...”

“He’s still asleep?!”

Is the ground no different from the bed to those who have mastered true laziness?!

“But please wake up! What did you come to our farm for?”

“Ahahaha, sorry about that. This place is just so cozy...”

Belphgamilia finally woke up after I shook him by the shoulders like crazy.

This guy is a mess.

He’s clearly the same type of person I’ve met over and over: the type you could never have a proper conversation with!

“Right, that. Of course I came here for a reason. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone out voluntarily, would I?”

“That’s not something to be proud of, is it?”

“I’m not, but I’m a man who puts his life on the line to be lazy. No one can interfere with my laziness. Depending on who they are, I might kill them if they do.”

He doesn’t look like he’s saying that for the sake of it.

“But what if they’re someone I can’t kill even if I wanted to? Frankly, I’m vulnerable toward such people, especially when they make a fuss. No basic measures, either.”

“Basic measures?”

As in, when it comes to killing them?

“That’s why I’m here today. I wanted to ask you guys to do something about someone who disturbs my indolence, who I want to kill but can’t...”

“Pardon?”

Without any further explanation, he hands me something.

It’s a skull.

Weather-beaten, too.

“......?!?!?!”

Why am I suddenly being handed a skull?

What’s going on here?

This isn’t even a horror story.

He could be surprising or scaring me with this for all I know, but it’s too sudden that my comprehension can’t keep up.

You have to understand the weirdness of the situation to be scared, right?!

What am I even lambasting for?!

“As expected of a man acknowledged by the Demon King. You didn’t even scream when you were given the skull. You’ve got guts.”

“Well, I’ve had something more shocking before, so...”

You know, like Songokufon’s... uh, severed head...?!

Compared to that impact, a typical skull with all of its raw stuff scraped off is nothing new.

“So what is this skull?”

Do you want us to identify the victim by restoring it?

We don’t do that kind of forensic work, though.

“Hey! Ever heard of manners, kid?!”

“Huh?!”

The skull... it started talking!

Now, anyone would be a little surprised by this.

“How dare you treat me like an object! I’m the great Emperor! The Emperor Lifeless King!!!”

“Ahhhhh! Seriously, what is this skull?!”

I know it just introduced itself, but still...!

“It’s the Emperor Lifeless King. Or at least, the ruin of what he once was.”

Lifeless King?!

You mean, the same as our friendly neighbor?!

“One of the World’s Two Greatest Calamities. By absorbing a dungeon’s stagnant mana, these monsters have transcended their human existence and gained a false sense of eternity. He’s one of them,” says Belphgamilia, nimbly grabbing the skull.

“But this skull is quite different from the Lifeless Kings I know of...”

No, on second thought, I already know an eccentric fellow.

Like the cat, for example.

“If I were to point out its biggest difference... I’d say it’s that he’s only a skull. Aren’t the other body parts normally intact?”

It’s like those plastic models that you have to buy per part or something...

“It’s a long story... He’s already been defeated and lost his power.”

According to Belphgamilia, this emperor had ambitions and wanted to invade the entire world. 

The time was just after the Human-Demon War. He was just about to raise his army when he got annihilated on the spot.

“You defeated him?! Wow!”

“No, it was a passing traveler who defeated the emperor. After saving the world from the impending crisis, he left without a word.”

Damn, that sounds cool...

I wonder who’s this hero who lives in mystery?

“I was just ordered to clean up the mess. That’s when I recovered this skull...”

Okay, so let me get this straight.

A nameless hero defeated the Emperor.

But what’s terrifying about Lifeless Kings is that you can never kill them even if you beat them.

This monster, who survived even after the rest of his body was crushed, is about to cause a new uprising.

“Mwahahahahaha...!”