“I’d like to leave the task of persuading Jilbe and Lugaro to you two.”

“That might be difficult… No matter what we say, we won’t be able to stop Jilbe. Especially since, in terms of combat ability, he’s currently the strongest in the Demon King’s army.”

“As for Lugaro, since we are of equal strength, I might be able to convince him through force, but Jilbe will be difficult for us…”

It seems convincing Jilbe is the biggest obstacle to uniting the Demon King’s army.

Though I doubt humans will march into the city soon, especially after I defeated the Flame Emperor Augus, the hero of the expeditionary force, and took the demon children, I still want to unite the Demon King’s army as quickly as possible.

“There’s really only one way to get Jilbe to agree.”

“…I can pretty much guess what that is, but go ahead and say it.”

“You have to defeat him in a one-on-one duel. That’s how the previous Demon King persuaded Jilbe and brought him into the Four Heavenly Kings.”

Of course... He does seem like the type who’d enjoy a duel. His physical abilities are ridiculously high...

But this isn’t persuasion—this is physical intimidation!

“We demons typically follow the strongest. The title of Demon King is given to the most powerful individual.”

Seriously? I mean, it probably includes magic as well, but demons seem like a very muscle-brained race. I guess it’s not too different from the old times in my world, where the strongest person was the leader.

As an old man, I’d prefer to resolve this through words rather than physical strength, but talking with him is probably impossible. He tried to kill me the moment he realized I was human.

“And honestly, I don’t have any reason to risk my life fighting for the demons. Maybe I should just take the kids and live quietly somewhere where humans won’t bother us.”

“Please, Demon Lord! Don’t abandon us!”

“Demon Lord, please help us!”

As I stood up, determined to leave, Debra and Libera clung to my legs.

“No, but seriously, it’s impossible, right? Jilbe was caught off guard last time, but there’s no way I can beat him in a fair fight.”

If Debra weren’t wearing armor, I could feel Libera’s ample chest against my right leg... Why am I thinking such trivial thoughts? I’m just a cowardly old man like anyone else!

I’m starting to think the best option is to find a small demon village, hunt for food, and live peacefully with the kids. I don’t really have any obligation to help the demons.

“No! With the power you showed last time, you can definitely defeat Jilbe!”

“We will help you, so please, we beg of you!”

“…………”

To be honest, even if Jilbe is incredibly strong, I could probably escape mid-duel using teleportation magic. If I can buy a few seconds with a barrier spell, I should be able to teleport away. This old man knows how to protect himself.

The only concern is that I can’t use healing magic. It worries me a bit if I end up seriously injured. I’m not even sure if healing magic works on a Demon King. There’s even a chance that healing magic could harm me instead.

There are a lot of things I can’t test on my own regarding my skills and magic. I’ll have to get these two to help me figure it out.

“Alright, I’ll do what I can. But you two have to help me out in return.”

“Of course!”

“Leave it to us!”

“Oh, you three are looking much better now.”

“Ah, Jin-san!”

“Uncle Jin!”

“…………”

After confirming my skills and magic and practicing basic combat with Libera and Debra, the showdown with Jilbe is set for tomorrow. Both of them gave me their approval, but I wonder how it’ll turn out.

It’s nighttime now, so I came to check on Lutra and the others. After a bath and getting dressed in proper clothes, they look much better than when they were held captive in the city.

“Did you get to eat a proper meal?”

“Yeah! It was better than anything I’ve had before!”

“Yes, we ate until we were full.”

“…It was good.”

It seems Libera’s subordinates took good care of them while I was talking to Libera and Debra or training for the fight. They spent their time with the subordinates who live outside the Demon King’s castle.

“Thanks for looking after them.”

“No, it’s the Demon Lord’s orders. If you need anything, please let us know immediately.”

With that, he left the room. He’s one of Libera’s subordinates and apparently a high-ranking member of the Demon King’s army.

I didn’t notice at the time, but he was also present during the Demon King’s summoning ritual with Libera. He’s the only one among Libera’s subordinates who knows I’m human.

“For now, I’ll be staying here. We might be here for a while.”

I’ll keep the part about planning to escape if I’m losing to Jilbe a secret for now. In the worst case, I’ve already asked Libera to look after these kids if anything happens to me.

“What do you mean by ‘Uncle is the Demon King’?”

“There’s a lot to explain. I’ll tell you bit by bit, but for now, just think of me as a passing Demon King.”

“A passing Demon King? That doesn’t make any sense…”

Alex’s confusion is understandable, but it’s too early to tell them everything.

“Um, Jin-san. Thank you so much for everything.”

“Ah, like I said yesterday, I’m just doing what I want to do. You don’t need to worry about it, Lutra.”

For these kids’ sake, I’ll do my best tomorrow.