“Th-this overwhelming aura… it’s certainly not ordinary!”

“W-wait! We bear no hostility! For demons to tear each other apart in times like these would be the height of foolishness!”

Oh, looks like I might be able to avoid a fight.

“I’m sending a messenger immediately, so stay away from this gate. If you get any closer, we will use all our strength to eliminate you!”

“…Fine. Do it quickly.”

Hmm… trying to give off the air of a powerful figure is harder than I thought. I’ve always been more of the underdog, so I don’t really get how a Demon King should act or speak.

“Demon King! You’ve returned to us!”

After waiting a while in front of the Demon King’s castle, Libera descended from the sky. As I thought, she can fly.

She was surrounded by other demons dressed similarly to her. Since she’s one of the Four Heavenly Kings, they must be her bodyguards. At least, none of the other Heavenly Kings I saw during the summoning ritual were here.

Libera and her guards were all women, dressed in rather revealing, bikini-like outfits… It’s a bit too much stimulation for an old guy like me.

“L-Lady Libera, is this person truly the Demon King?”

“Yes! It will be officially announced later, but the Demon King Summoning Ritual was performed just the other day!”

I see. They summoned a Demon King, but when it turned out to be a human like me, who might even side with the humans, they kept it under wraps. Now that I’ve shown up with demon children, they must think I’ve aligned with them.

“Oh! Is that so!”

“How wonderful! With a new Demon King, we can surely win the war against the humans!”

Yeah… that’s not exactly what I had in mind…

“Demon King, I sincerely apologize for earlier!”

“Please forgive our rudeness!”

The two centaurs lowered their spears, knelt down on one knee, and bowed to me.

“It’s fine. You were just doing your duty as gatekeepers. In fact, I commend your loyalty.”

““Thank you!””

… I was just trying to talk like a Demon King, so they don’t have to be that formal.

“…Hey, Libera. I need to talk to you in private. Come here.”

“Yes! This body belongs entirely to the Demon King. I will obey any command. Please use me however you wish!”

“……………”

Okay, could you not say things like that? People might get the wrong idea…

See? Now her bodyguards are glaring at me with suspicious eyes!

I walked a good distance away with Libera, making sure to stay in sight of the others to prove I wasn’t doing anything shady.

…Old guys like me are always paranoid about getting falsely accused in crowded places, so we have to be extra careful.

“How did you know I was the Demon King who was summoned?”

Right now, I’m covered head to toe in the ominous black armor of the Demon King, so it shouldn’t be easy to recognize that this plain-looking old man and the Demon King are the same person.

“I have a presence-detection skill. When I first met you, I memorized your presence, and it matched the presence of the Demon King. Also, no one else but you would claim to be the Demon King and come to this castle.”

I see… so the presence-detection skill can do that. I’ve got that skill too, so I’ll check it out later.

“Demon King, I sincerely apologize for my rudeness the other day. I’m truly overjoyed that you’ve returned, despite everything.”

“No, I didn’t come back for that. I just need to confirm a few things.”

“I-I see…”

“I’ll listen to what you have to say, and if I can help, I’ll consider lending a hand.”

“Really?!”

Libera’s expression brightened instantly. With her fiery red hair, deep crimson eyes, and that skimpy, revealing outfit highlighting her figure, it’s hard to know where to look as an old man…

I don’t have any intention of helping them kill humans, but if there’s something else I can do, I might lend a hand.

“And about those kids—could you let them take a bath and give them some decent clothes to wear?”

The children were still wearing tattered rags and probably hadn’t bathed in a while.

“Those children…?”

“I found some demon children being held captive in a human town. I decided to protect them. I’ll take care of them, but I’d appreciate a little help.”

“Children of the demon race, captured by humans?! Thank you so much, Demon King! You truly are kind to the demon race!”

“I only saved them because they weren’t at fault. That doesn’t mean I’ve decided to side with the demons.”

“Even so! And it’s not just the children, but us as well. Despite the grave insult we dealt you, even though you could easily kill us all with your overwhelming power as a human, you didn’t.”

“……………”

It wasn’t out of kindness. I don’t even know the full extent of my own powers yet, so I wasn’t about to pick a fight with all the demons. I’d just escape if things got out of hand.

Even when I took down two of the Four Heavenly Kings, it was only because they were completely off guard. If they want to believe I’m a benevolent guy, well… fine by me.

By the way, the blue-skinned guy from the Four Heavenly Kings I blasted with black flames apparently survived.

“For now, keep it a secret that I’m a human. Don’t let anyone else know.”