The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 005 – Ssulal’s Declaration
—Maou Castle
Located in the eastern part of the Ludo-Rathowm continent was the Demon Army’s base of operations.
The Maou Castle was where Maou Ssulal resided, and was built by the demons as the world had been ushered into the SS era.
In one of the rooms within, there was a study which featured several bookshelves along with other furniture, such as chairs, desks, and beds lined up.
There were many hidden magic traps set within the private study room of Maou Ssulal.
There were two powerful beings inside.
One of them was Majin Leonhart. This handsome and sturdy man with golden hair had greater power compared to his days as a human. His pair of sharp eyes were fixed on a certain spot with unwavering focus.
The other powerful being was the one and only owner of this room, the lord of this castle, and also the ruler of this world— Maou Ssulal.
She looked like a cute, petite girl at a glance, but the power she possessed exceeded any living being with exception of the gods.
This girl was staring down her majin subordinate without faltering.
The maou tried to give a certain order to said majin for the n-th time. She slowly opened her mouth.
“Leonhart, you are to—”
“I refuse.”
“ . . . !”
At that moment, Ssulal’s voice of rage echoed.
“Ugh! Why do you refuse?!!!”
Maou’s words shook the room. The aftermath alone was enough to make the creature tremble in fear.
However, Leonhart curtly replied with a reluctant expression,
“…No, why should I serve as the supreme majin directly…”
I, Leonhart, was granted a glorious transformation into becoming a majin and brought into Maou’s private room inside Maou Castle.
I had accepted myself for becoming a majin, but I had to think about stuff regarding my duty and how I should act henceforth.
However, all I could do at present was fight. I might be able to command the army to some extent, but the Demon Army had demon generals who possessed the wisdom to do it properly, so I doubt I would need to do that often.
Because I was a majin, I had a high position among those in the Demon Army. However, I was still a newcomer amongst majins.
While I wouldn’t be considered a mook, it was clear I would end up as someone who would play the middleman between the Demon Army and the other majin officers… rather, that seemed like it would be appropriate.
That was what I thought, but before I said it, this Maou Ssulal-chan did things contrary to my expectations.
Supreme majin.
If we explain it literally, it would be the top amongst majin. The greatest honor a majin could achieve.
For that position to be suddenly thrusted upon a human majin like me— it would only lead to bullying— especially if it’s considered by my past life’s standards.
Rather, it would be great if bullying was all I got. If things went poorly, I would be challenged all over again by another majin. If I was unlucky enough to be challenged by one that was stronger than I am, I would end up dead.
Meanwhile the very person who ordered such a thing, Ssulal, just looked up at me angrily.
“Rather, why are you going against my order!? Didn’t you pledge loyalty toward me earlier!?”
“Well… I did pledge that, but… see?”
“You’re being awkward! You have to keep your promise properly!”
“Ah, uhm… yea, that’s right”
“Then just agree with it! Otherwise, I will use absolute authority to make you do so!”
“What kind of threat was that…”
Then just use that absolute authority to order me. But I won’t say that out loud. If I really did say that I really would end up becoming the supreme majin.
“Rather, as for the major premise… What is the supreme majin again?”
“The greatest title a majin can earn. I just made it up.”
“Why do you seem so proud of that? That’s not what I meant. What I mean to ask is, what sort of things does this position go about doing?”
So, the supreme majin was made by Ssulal, huh. First time I’d heard of it. [Tsukii Note: according to the proper history of the Rance series, it wasn’t. It was made during the GL Era, the maou 2 generations after SS, used it as her way to favor specific majin and to grant them privilege as a special one. The majin granted this title were not necessarily the strongest, but definitely most trusted/ favored compared to all other majins by said maou standard. There were only 3 supreme majin ever recorded over course of Rance series]1
“Hm… There’s nothing special regarding work. I might ask you to manage some things, but you don’t have anything special to do.”
Ssulal continued her words.
“Unlike the Four Elite Majin, you don’t have to be strong anyway.”2
“What was that? So could anyone do it?”
If my knowledge was not mistaken, they were supposed to be the strongest amongst the Four Elite Majin, but was that not the case?
“That’s not the case, well, it depends on maou’s inter… no, favor… no, that’s not it.”
Ssulal seemed to try to find the proper words to answer my question.
“I mean… since I made—“
Ssulal answered in a loud voice, seemingly finding the excuse she wanted.
“Yes! You are the first majin I made! So you’ve become the supreme majin.”3
“ . . . ”
What was that supposed to mean?
Did she mean she wished to keep the majin she made close to her side?
As far as I had remembered, the only majin with such a title was . . . Gi, and . . . Hornet, I guess? [Tsukii Note: The correct answers according to the official storyline were Gi, Ramon ‘C’ Burksham, and Hornet. Remember the middle one, especially its middle name, since it would appear much, much later in this fanfic (which I honestly didn’t notice until I searched about it).]4
In regard to the similarities the supreme majin shared, it was hard to say since there were so few of them, but both were indeed majins that were created in their respective era of maou.
But, there should be tons of other majins made in said period, and I doubt that was the sole reason for it.
No, that was wrong. Perhaps, there was a simpler reason. Only a maou could decide who would be the supreme majin. So the possible reason might be—
…The majin that Maou liked the most, huh.
…No, but see.
While it didn’t feel bad to be thought of as such, I couldn’t ignore the demerit this decision would produce.
If only there was something more convincing.
“Well, could you at least be a little… something about that?”
“? What do you mean by something?”
“One would be thought of poorly if they were suddenly granted the greatest position, right? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until other people recognize said person to be worthy first?”
“…Hm, you’re right…”
Ssulal closed her eyes in thought.
Then suddenly, there was a knock in the door.
“Maou-sama. It’s about time…”
Ssulal responded to the voice that seemed to come from either the demon captain or demon general.
“…I know. Leonhart, let’s go.”
“Go, you say, is there anything to do outside?”
Ssulal answered my question half-heartedly, while she was still in thought.
“…It’s your debut.”
The audience room of Maou Castle.
In this room lies the throne where maou sits. It was already filled with important people of the Demon Army.
There were executives of the Demon Army, the demon generals. Accompanying them were several demon captains.
However, tucked away from everyone else were the few who waited observantly— the majins.
While their numbers were few, if you exclude the maou, they were powerhouses who were amongst the absolute strongest in the continent. Even if someone were a member of the Demon Army, they may not carelessly approach them.
All you might do was to send a look of awe and respect toward them.
Within the small group, two majins in particular garnered a lot of attention.
“ . . . ”
Majin Meglass.
Meglass was an alien horus, who came to this continent, before transitioning into a majin.
It hardly spoke, so it’s hard to tell what its thoughts were.
However, it was known he was the fastest warrior who joined since the previous Maou Avel Era and was awe-inspiring in the Demon Army.
Although, when compared to Meglass, there was another existence that gathered even more attention. In fact, she was revered almost as much as the maou.
“ . . . “
It was not only her intimidation and power that permeated the surrounding area; her overwhelming beauty was captivating.
Her long pale hair seemed like it felt smooth on her white skin.
Her body emanated the charm of a woman, and her facial features stole the breath of those who saw it.
What stood there was the embodiment of a woman with the golden ratio.
Majin Camilla.
She was the Crown of the Dragon, the second generation of the protagonist race. Originally, she was a platinum dragon before being turned into a majin.
The majin, who was the trigger of the Last War of the previous era, lazily gazed into the void.
There was another majin hiding in the corner of the room, glancing toward Camilla.
“Ca-Ca-Camilla-san. You’re as beautiful as always. It’s so dazzling…”
He was the oldest majin turned by the first generation of maou, Maou Kkluf Kkluf.
Majin Kayblis.
He was a majin turned from a lis. Even though it has been over 2000 years since he became one, he was known as the weakest majin due to his incompetence in battle. In fact, it was to the point where he would often lose against demon generals or even demon captains.
There were several majins present. All of them were standing by while awaiting maou’s appearance while intermittently glancing toward Camilla.
There’s no one who paid Kayblis any attention. It was not limited to this situation, but it always was like that.
The only time others took any interest in him was when they bullied him.
Kayblis muttered to himself without caring about such things.
“Maou-sama sure is late…”
The same thoughts occupied everyone’s mind. It was just nobody actually spoke of it, but everyone thought about the majin who was the reason for Maou’s delay.
To introduce the new majin. That was the reason Ssulal gathered them all here.
Putting demon generals aside, no majins would actually bother to come just for that reason, but since the Maou had ordered it they had no other choice. If her mood soured due to that they might have ended up being killed.
There was nobody absent and everyone had gathered on time. It wasn’t as if they had no interest in the new majin at all, so their thoughts wondered about the new majin.
While they were waiting, rumors had begun to spread amongst the Demon Army.
It had been said that the new majin was formerly a human called the King of the Sword.
The other majins had only heard a thing or two about him but the demon generals were afraid of that fact.
While the demon general’s main role was to command the army, their personal strength was amongst the upper rank of the elites.
It was the King of the Swords who had killed several of them alone—and now that person has turned into a majin.
However, as much as they feared him, they were also elated. If such a person were to become a majin and ally, surely they would be a reliable person.
“It’s a human majin huh… Is that person stronger than I am?”
Kayblis wished for said majin to be weak, but knowing he couldn’t expect it, he let out a sigh.
In the first place, Maou Ssulal was also a human. Even if she was weaker compared to Kkluf Kkluf and Avel, Maou was still a maou.
Even if humans were weak, it was a different story if they became a majin. Kayblis was discouraged regarding that fact.
Well then, how should I gain his favor? Just as Kayblis thought of that.
“—!” “—!” “—!”
The demon captains, demon generals, and majins all felt it at once.
A massive pressure was being emitted that overshadowed even the strongest person on the site, Camilla.
“…You sure kept us waiting”
Maou Ssulal.
As she slowly entered, every one of them bent their knees like a vassal welcoming their lord.
As she accepted their greetings, everyone stole glances at him.
A human came from behind the maou.
However, since they also belonged to the same kind, they understood it instantly. Even if he took the form of a human, he possessed a presence that couldn’t be hidden within.
…So that was the new majin.
Everyone recognized him.
He had blond hair and red eyes. He was a young man who dressed in black.
The two approached the throne as they received a number of gazes.
As Ssulal arrived at the throne she announced,
“You may stand up.”
Everyone stood up after that short word.
“I will introduce him to everyone. He is…“
Then, Ssulal stopped her sentence for a moment to look sideways at the majin.
She then declared with a clear tone,
“Majin Leonhart. The new member of the Four Elite Majin.”
“—!?” “—!?” “—!!???”
Everyone got noisy at Maou Ssulal’s word. No, strictly speaking, nobody spoke.
Every one of them was astonished within their hearts. That about sums it up. The one most surprised though, was the very majin that was introduced, but nobody noticed that.
But that was not the end of their surprise.
“Also… I will grant him a new post of demon army officer.”
While everyone was surprised by that, there was one who failed to restrain their mouth.
“Pl-please wait a moment!”
Tsukii Note
Plot Divergence
The Post of Supreme Majin was created ahead of time, as opposed to the original timeline where it was created during the GL Era, 2 Maou Era away from the current one. [Highlight text to view spoiler.]
Post of Demon Army Officer was created. It never existed in the original timeline.
Also, the gallery
Lis: The subspecies of the eldest race of the Ludo-Rathown continent, the round ones. The final type monster was created during the heyday of the era where the Round Ones were the First Protagonist Race of the Continent.
The image: https://i.ibb.co/LP3kHkG/Lis-D-D.png
Camilla: https://i.ibb.co/4tDHjHB/Camilla.jpg
Kayblis: https://i.ibb.co/pZ0bp2r/Kay-chan-X.png (current)
Spoiler: Kayblis [Later from GL Era onward] [Highlight text to view spoiler.]: https://i.ibb.co/zSQffss/Kayblis-Rance-X.png
