"I'm too busy..."

"Ji, Uncle Jin, are you okay?!"

"Ji, Jin, are you okay?"

Today is my first day off in a long time. I think my last break was about a month ago...

The Demon Lord's army is like an ultra-black company that would make the original world seem easy...

"Hey, old man. If you collapse here, you're just going to be in the way."

"Hey, Alex! Jin, if you don't mind, why not sleep in my futon?"

"Uncle Jin, just wait a little while while I set up the futon!"

"Ah, I'm fine now. I'll sleep a little later, so there's no need to bring out the futon. Lutra and Beane are really kind and good kids. Here, I brought some sweet snacks for you two. Enjoy eating them together!"

Ahh~ Spending time like this with the kids really helps relieve the fatigue of daily life.

Leave the Sunday dad alone!

"Hey, old man! What about my share?!"

"Don't worry, Alex. There's plenty for you too. By the way, I heard you always train late at night. The war between humans and demons has ended, so there's no need to train that hard."

"It's fine! Just because the war with humans is over doesn't mean it matters. If something happens, I'll protect you two this time!"

"I see... that's a good attitude. I'll be rooting for you."

"Hmph..."

One way or another, it's been a year since I was summoned to this world.

After defeating the hero and capturing the Empire's Shadow Clan, the war ended really quickly. After capturing all the masterminds, the Shadow Clan, and their accomplices, and forcibly teleporting them to the high-ranking officials of each human nation with video evidence, the matter was quickly settled.

...Well, it probably had something to do with the fact that I destroyed a huge castle in the center of the empire in broad daylight.

I found out that the Shadow Clan was also connected to the Emperor of the Empire, and it pissed me off, so I did something flashy to show my strength... I don't regret it, though. Of course, I made sure to evacuate everyone in the castle!

A Demon Lord suddenly appearing in the center of the most influential human empire, and destroying the royal castle... Well, if a guy like that asks for a ceasefire, you have no choice but to comply. After all, if he does something wrong, he could suddenly appear in your own country's castle and destroy it...

That's how a ceasefire was quickly agreed upon between the humans and demons.

"Demon Lord, I apologize for disturbing your break. Actually, there's something I need to discuss with you!"

"What, is it an emergency?"

"I'm sorry, but that Jilbe guy has gone off on his own again and is heading in a completely different direction from the development plan..."

"...Let's just let him do what he wants."

That's right, the reason my job as the Demon Lord has been so busy recently is because of the new settlements. While the humans and demons signed a ceasefire agreement, the demons had their land taken by humans, so there's not enough land or fields.

Although some villages were returned by the humans, there's still not enough land, so the demon territories started cultivating new land.

Jilbe's energy for revenge against humans had nowhere to go because of the ceasefire, so we thought we'd have him channel that energy into development. But it turned out he was better at it than Debra or I had imagined, and together with his troops, he progressed with development faster than we expected.

...However, we need to be careful because they often head to places completely different from the development plan.

"No, no. That's not it..."

"Alright, alright. I'll contact Jilbe via telepathy later."

"Yes, thank you!"

Jilbe does follow my orders as the Demon Lord. Sometimes I force him to train, but it's good exercise for an old man like me.

About a month after the hero was captured, he was returned to his world through the Hero Return Ceremony. Afterward, I forced the Shadow Clan to tell me how the Hero Summoning and Return Ceremonies worked, but it turned out to be pretty much the same as the Demon Lord Summoning Ceremony.

The Empire had a large stockpile of magic steel crystals needed for the return ceremony, but it took some time because we had to gather information and make sure everything was alright.

By the way, by the time the Return Ceremony happened, the hero was mentally half-ill. Of course, if you don't get any exercise and are confined to the same place eating and excreting every day, it's only natural you'd go crazy.

Considering that he slaughtered more demons than necessary in the war and the feelings of Jilbe and the others, it's hard to completely forgive him, but he was also a victim, forcibly summoned to this world to fight in the war. I hope at least he can reintegrate into society in his original world.

"Demon Lord, I apologize for disturbing your break."

"What's wrong, Lugaro?"

"The negotiations have concluded without incident. Lord Sandor has asked if you'd like to have dinner with him and me tomorrow or the day after."

"Good job. Tell him I'll be at his mansion tomorrow night."

"Understood."

Alright, this is a nice invitation. To be honest, eating with the higher-ups is a hassle for work, but going out for drinks with Sandor and Lugaro is fun. I'll prepare some good alcohol.

After the ceasefire agreement, we've started trading with the humans. I leave the basic negotiations to others, but I often have to personally handle important matters. Talking to the country's bigwigs is really annoying... even though deep down, I'm just an old man.

Although Lugaro had a grudge against humans, the war with the Shadow Clan had caused him a lot of trouble, and now he's actively involved in negotiations with them. Surprisingly, he seems to get along well with Sandor, the lord of a certain town, and sometimes the two of them share drinks when I'm not around. It's surprising.

In the end, it seems the Shadow Clan and the masterminds were executed by the allied human nations. The ones who actually started the war are already dead, and their descendants continued their roles for generations. They didn't try to stop it and instead used the war for their own gain, so it's their own fault.

"Ji, Jin-sama! I apologize for disturbing you during your break!"

"Libera? What's wrong?"

"No, no. I heard the Demon Lord is off today, and... I’m off too. So if it's okay with you, would you like to go on a date?"

"...Ah, Libera. I'm really sorry, but I'm exhausted today and was planning to rest."

"S-sorry! Forget I said anything!"

"I'm sorry. But I was really happy to be invited. Next time I have time, let's go on a date."

"Yes, yes! I'm looking forward to it!"

For some reason, I've been receiving strong advances from Libera and the succubus Madre. Honestly, I have no idea what they see in an old man like me...

But for now, there's this guy who's not sure how to respond to their advances. He's too busy with other things right now.

I also need to start thinking about the two of them and our future. I have enough magic steel crystals, so that includes returning to my world.

But for now...

"Hey, Alex! You ate Beane's share of sweets!"

"Waaaah! Big Brother Alex is such an idiot!"

"I-I'm sorry! Look, Beane, I'll give you one more of these!"

For now, I’ll enjoy my simple daily life with my kids!

And someday, I want to create a world where demon children and human children can join hands and play together.

I don't think humans and demons, who fought each other until a year ago, can join hands right away, but 300 years ago there was a country where humans and demons coexisted. Little by little, let's aim for that.

I'm extremely busy right now, but I'll do my best to make it happen!

Old men get things done when they need to!

-End-