“The Demon King, huh…? It’s only natural to be curious. After all, Bruno, you’ve fought the Demon King’s Ten Fingers multiple times, and in some cases, even tamed them.”

Jennifer adjusted his glasses with a click.

The gentle impression he had earlier completely changed, and now, his keen, scholarly eyes—those of a seeker of truth—were fixed upon me.

“Yes. But no matter how much I investigate on my own or listen to Icicle, I can’t seem to grasp anything solid. It’s as if the concept itself is elusive…”

The Demon King, ruler of monsters.

Since humanity considers the Demon King to be an absolute evil, gathering stories about them isn’t particularly difficult. Legends, books—there are plenty of sources that pass down information about the Demon King to later generations.

But when you put them all together, it all becomes a muddled mess.

For instance, some records describe the Demon King as a giant, while others claim they are a bewitching beauty. There are even books that insist the Demon King is a pitch-black slime.

Hoping to find some clarity, I asked Icicle—who should be more informed than anyone else—but even she didn’t have an answer.

To my surprise, even she, a supposed executive under the Demon King, knew almost nothing about them.

She said she had spoken with them a few times through a curtain, but beyond that, their true identity remained a mystery.

It seemed strange to serve under such a figure, but apparently, the Demon King possessed something that naturally compelled monsters to follow them.

Because of that, neither resistance nor defiance ever crossed their minds. Instead, they were driven by an almost religious sense of duty to obey.

“The likely reason for this confusion is that records of past Demon Kings have been mixed together. As far as I know, there have been around six Demon Kings before the current one. That means the one presently residing on Demon King Island is the seventh.”

“They’ve changed that many times!?”

Jennifer had noticed the discrepancies while compiling various legends about the Demon King.

And through his research, he came to understand that, like Heroes, the Demon King also undergoes succession.

If that many different Demon Kings had existed, then it was no wonder their image was so hard to pin down.

“Is there a reason this isn’t widely known?”

“To put it bluntly, it’s because it’s inconvenient for rulers. If people realized that no matter how many times a powerful calamity is defeated, another one will inevitably rise, who knows how they would react?”

That made sense.

Reality isn’t like a story where the Hero defeats the Demon King and everything wraps up neatly in a happy ending.

Even if a Hero were to defeat the Demon King and bring peace, the world would still continue.

But that doesn’t mean they can simply ignore the Demon King.

Because if they don’t defeat them, the monsters will continue growing stronger, and the damage inflicted upon humanity will only escalate.

Rey had been learning from the greatest minds across the kingdom to prepare for the battle against the Demon King.

However, she hadn’t sought aid from the neighboring Célie or the Empire.

Even though unity was necessary to defeat the Demon King, human nations struggled to align even in such times.

In that sense, they lagged behind the monsters, who were completely unified under the Demon King.

“We know the Demon King exists, and we even know where they are. So why doesn’t anyone just go and defeat them?”

“Of course, there’s increasing demand for a subjugation. Now that the existence of the Demon King has been made public through the Demon King’s Ten Fingers, nations can no longer ignore the issue. One reason I am stuck in the royal capital is that I am expected to serve as a specialist in Demon Kings and monsters. Though, I don’t actually know everything…”

Jennifer took a sip of his tea.

Finding it lacking in sweetness, he added more honey and let it slide down his throat.

Perhaps the sugar reinvigorated him, as he looked slightly livelier than before.

“The real issue is that reaching Demon King Island is extremely difficult. Fighting powerful aquatic monsters puts us at a major disadvantage, and the reefs make it nearly impossible for ships to land properly.”

I had heard about Demon King Island before.

Even reaching it is a challenge, and the Demon King’s Castle, said to be located there, is so impenetrable that it’s a popular subject in plays and fairy tales.

If they can’t even get there, then subjugation isn’t even an option.

Simply reaching the Demon King is impossible as things stand.

“On top of that, uniting forces under the Hero’s banner is proving difficult. The kingdom suffered the greatest damage, but the Empire remains complacent. They see no visible harm and thus fail to grasp the urgency of the situation.”

When the Demon King’s Ten Fingers rampaged with their monsters, the kingdom was forced to reveal Rey as the Hero. (Incidentally, the reason why us Saviors are receiving so much attention is largely because of Rey’s involvement.)

Yet even with the Hero revealed, unity remains elusive.

Many nations prefer to wait and see, thinking that if the kingdom weakens due to monster attacks, they might benefit from the situation.

I hate to say it, but humans are deeply selfish creatures.

“Besides, compared to past Heroes, Rey is… far too weak. Even if she made it to the Demon King’s Castle, the chances of her winning are, frankly, slim.”

Right now, Rey’s strength is somewhere between a low-tier fighter and myself.

We don’t know exactly how strong the Demon King is, but given how she couldn’t even scratch Ivy, it’s clear that defeating the Demon King would be an insurmountable challenge.

“We’re lucky that this Demon King isn’t particularly aggressive.”

“Not aggressive? That’s not how it seems to me…”

“From your perspective, perhaps. But compared to some past Demon Kings, this one is relatively tame. The third Demon King, for example, is infamous—many stories about brutal Demon Kings actually stem from his reign. He slaughtered Heroes as infants to ensure his own safety before launching an all-out war, and for over a century, he ruled over humanity.”

…That actually happened?

With all the monsters rampaging and my battles against the Ten Fingers, I hadn’t really thought about it before, but compared to that, this Demon King does seem less overtly evil.

“So what should we do? Can we really just stand by and do nothing?”

“Monster aggression is worsening. At this rate, in less than a year, all monsters will rise one rank.”

“That’s… disastrous!”

Even the weakest monsters would become significantly stronger. The consequences would be unimaginable.

“Then, Jennifer, what do you think we should do?”

“We cannot remain idle just because the Demon King hasn’t attacked yet. Considering the ecosystem’s balance and the emergence of new Ten Fingers, subjugation is imperative.”

As he concluded his explanation, he added one final thought:

“Young ones like you and Ivy should worry as much as you like. Ponder and struggle. Even if your conclusions are wrong, that’s fine. As adults, it’s our duty to allow you that much.”