Became the Emperor of the Demon Realm Empire
Chapter 2: The Demon Lord cannot defeat the Hero
Lately, the atmosphere in the Demon Lord’s castle had been eerily silent, as if a mouse had died.
The emperor’s prolonged seclusion had halted executions, imposed a ban on alcohol, and naturally, noble banquets had been postponed indefinitely.
And then…
“Can I not ease your mood with my chest?”
In a particularly solemn annex of the castle, the four Grand Dukes had gathered for a rare meeting.
“Enough about that damn chest of yours. I’ll rip one of those prized tits off before you know it.”
“Hmph…”
Sitri snorted but kept her mouth shut.
Though she called her vulgar, deep down, she feared that envious sister might actually tear her breasts off. More importantly, the castle’s atmosphere was unusually tense.
The weather reflected the emperor’s state of mind.
While thunderstorms and downpours had raged before, this was the first time thick, dark clouds had plunged the castle into a two-week-long polar night.
……What could have driven the emperor to this?
With the empire’s internal affairs in chaos, the emperor’s absence was critical.
They had to step forward and resolve this crisis.
“U-Um…”
At that moment of shared frustration, Echidna cautiously raised her hand.
The quietest among them speaking up naturally drew everyone’s attention.
“Echidna. Do you have any insights?”
“N-No. Maybe His Majesty is just tired and resting…?”
“……”
“I-I mean, socializing can be exhausting! Maybe His Majesty is just… worn out?”
Her voice grew smaller, and Echidna’s neck shrank like a turtle’s.
Cecilia nodded thoughtfully.
“That makes sense. His Majesty’s consciousness spans the entire demon realm. It’s only natural he’d be fatigued.”
“Huh? No, I meant—”
“You think too deeply, old hag. To me, big brother seemed scared of this ‘hero’ business.”
“Endymion, I told you not to call me old hag—”
“Oh! Now that I think about it, Endymion is the one who has been by Your Majesty’s side the longest. What do you think? Do you think Your Majesty would feel better if I offered my breasts?”
“……”
Echidna watched them with bated breath.
“They’ve all lost their minds…”
It seemed she was the only sane one here.
The thought of having to befriend these people weighed heavily on her heart.
“Endymion. Refrain from insulting His Majesty. He would never retreat from something as trivial as a hero.”
“Well, if you say so, old hag.”
“Call me old hag one more time, and I’ll smash your skull.”
TAP! TAP-TAP!
Cecilia clenched her fists.
But now wasn’t the time for anger. He voiced the worst possibility, one no one else dared consider.
“If His Majesty’s seclusion is related to physical harm, this concerns the entire demon realm.”
“Big brother is sick? That’s stretching it, don’t you think?”
“I-I think Lady Cecilia’s theory has merit…”
Three hundred years was an impossibly short time to conquer the demon realm, yet the emperor had done it.
No one present was unaware of what he had lost in those brutal wars.
“Regardless, it’s undeniable that His Majesty’s body needs rest. We must never forget that day.”
A somber silence fell.
About two hundred years ago, during the height of the demon realm’s conquest—
Hilde, the emperor’s loyal sword and their comrade, had suffered irreversible wounds and fallen into critical condition.
“His Majesty’s order was to never antagonize humanity until the demon realm was conquered. He still blames himself for that mistake.”
The emperor’s fury had caused sudden climate shifts and famine across the continent.
And just once, he had unleashed his power upon humanity, erasing an entire kingdom overnight.
Only then did humans stop provoking the demon realm.
“Back then, the recoil left His Majesty bedridden for ten years. As long as we live, such a thing must never happen again.”
“Old hag, that incident was—”
“I said stop calling me old hag!”
“Hehe, flat-chested old hag.”
Cecilia bristled at the sudden rudeness.
As Sitri giggled, Endymion scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Ah, fine. Let’s change the subject. I’d like to hear more about this ‘hero’ born recently.”
“…You seem quite interested in the hero?”
“Well, I can’t say I’m not. I was once human, after all.”
“……”
Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
It was true—Endymion had once been human.
She tried to gauge his intentions, but his skeletal face betrayed nothing.
“This hero is called the ‘Promised Hero.’”
“Have you discovered what divine blessing they’ve received?”
“That’s what I plan to find out next.”
Cecilia silently observed Endymion ’s disappointment.
In truth, she already possessed all the information about the hero.
But she hadn’t disclosed it, because even His Majesty had yet to be informed.
“This might be a bit dangerous.”
She hugged her teddy bear tightly.
According to her findings—
The blessing this hero had received was ‘immortality.’
***
“This is the end.”
TAP—!
I moved the chess piece with telekinesis.
The white knight’s advance put the opponent in check, turning the tide in my favor.
I shifted to the other side of the board.
“You thought it was over? Not even close.”
I sacrificed a black piece to break the encirclement, a ruthless gambit to maximize gains.
“Even a worm will turn, huh? Then I’ll just—ah, boring.”
WHOOSH—!
I set the chessboard on fire and flopped onto the bed.
This chess set, a tribute from the Dungeon Merchant Guild, was supposed to explode with confetti upon checkmate.
But since every match ended in a stalemate, I never got to see it.
“…I should make a decision soon.”
Days of seclusion had yielded no answers.
This world I’d been reincarnated into masqueraded as a hero’s tale but was, at its core, an eroge.
Both were problematic.
In hero stories, the Demon Lord’s death is inevitable. And in eroge, where the goal is to satisfy players’ lust, the demon faction is inherently disadvantaged, because if demons are too strong, the NTR content becomes unplayable.
“There should be two heroes—the player and the protagonist.”
According to intel, only one hero has appeared in the human kingdom so far.
With no player, the NTR hero protagonist shouldn’t exist either.
“But the number of heroes doesn’t matter. Even if hundreds suddenly appeared, we could crush them.”
The real problem was the Promised Hero.
Unlike the protagonist, this one wasn’t a failure—but a true hero.
Blessed by the gods with eternal life, each death only made them stronger, inching closer to transcendence.
Social eradication was meaningless.
Endless killing would only fracture their mind, not destroy them.
Sealing them away would just build resistance.
Eliminating humanity while sparing the hero was also futile, as long as the hero lived, humanity’s extinction would only bring ruin to all.
And most importantly—
‘“Retirement is impossible.”
The Demon Lord’s rule is lifelong.
Only when a stronger demon claims the Demon Lord’s soul can power change hands.
Having absorbed countless defeated Demon Lords’ souls, my existence had grown too vast to hide.
Which meant—
“There’s no choice but to face them head-on.”
Right now, the hero’s power is negligible.
As the demon emperor, I must show a willingness to coexist peacefully rather than crush them with force.
Fortunately, my empire has never launched an unprovoked attack on humanity.
“Establishing diplomatic relations is the only way.”
With that, the path was half-decided.
Who would oppose an era of coexistence between demons and humans?
First, those obstacles had to be removed.
“…No time to laze around.”
I opened the grand doors and stepped out.
The emperor’s chambers spanned an entire floor, with a central staircase visible immediately.
“We will attend to you.”
Silent as statues, succubi followed behind.
They draped a dragon-embroidered cloak over my shoulders, while others adjusted my disheveled hair.
“Your Majesty.”
By the time I reached the palace gates, I was the flawless emperor once more.
“To the annex.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With the royal guard trailing, I crossed the gardens.
To establish relations with the human kingdom, I first needed my vassals’ opinions.
“Of course, most of them despise humans…”
Not that their opinions would change my decision.
