The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 25 – Majin Kayblis [A]
—Ludo-Rathowm Continent
There were many creatures that existed in this world.
At the top, there were maou and majin.
Compared to them, other creatures were overwhelmingly vulnerable in this world, and there were no creatures that could compete with them.
Therefore, there was no one who could bind them. Maou and majin were known as incarnations of violence.
However, it was oncesaid that there was always an exception to everything.
And there was such an exception among majin.
“…Alright, there’s nobody here.”
There was a round creature that looked around and acted with utmost care while scurring about.
He was a majin, despite how he looked, and he was not just any majin either.
“Kaguh…fuh, dried meat after training sure is delicious…kafuh kafuh.”
The majin was biting into the dried meat he procured from the kitchen of Maou castle.
He was the first majin ever created by the first generation of maou, Kluff Kluff, about 3000 years ago.1
He was a majin turned from a lis, asub-species of round ones, belonging to the first protagonist race. .
Kayblis—he was known as the oldest and the weakest majin.
Because of that, Kayblis was treated unfavorably among majins.
Because he was so weak, he was disrespected and bullied by the other majins. The cycle had repeated since the beginning, and every time a new majin was created, he ended up being bullied by as many majins as there were.
Kayblis, despite being a majin, was not very strong when he became one; it was to the point where other creatures could easily beat him, and was considered a shameful majin because of it. He was also aware of it himself, so to survive he chose to desperately run away and seek favor from those stronger than himself.
Even so, Kayblis continued his efforts to become stronger. Every day, he would go out to defeat those weaker than him and keep training himself. Although he didn’t know whether it would actually make him strong, Kayblis could feel his growth despite being branded as the weakest.
However, it didn’t change the fact he was still the weakest. He still spent his days hiding and running away desperately to survive the day.
But still, Kayblis felt it was easier to live recently. Thinking of the person responsible that helped him, he smiled inwardly.
“I don’t get bullied as much recently… it’s all thanks to Leonhart, Guahaha!”
Indeed, the reason he had an easier time living was due to Majin Leonhart.
He was the first human majin created by Maou Ssulal 200 years ago. Majin Leonhart also served as one of Four Elite Majins and the demon army officer. His strength was far greater compared to Kayblis, and he was among the top powerhouses among majins.
When Kayblis first met Leonhart, he tried to gain his favor just like he usually did. Kayblis told Leonhart that he was his fan and wanted to be his minion. When he did that to other majins, they might’ve been ill-mannered and acted unscrupulously, but unlike other majins, Leonhart didn’t bully him. On the contrary, he appeared to treat Kayblis as an equal, fellow majin. He had no idea what Leonhart had honestly thought about him, though.
Therefore, he was neither affirmed nor denied when he declared himself as his minion. Kayblis preferred that. It wasn’t like he was seriously trying to become his minion anyway.
Perhaps because Leonhart didn’t actively deny Kayblis’s self-proclamation, the other majin gave a little face to Leonhart about Kayblis’s treatment. Many majins thought that Leonhart was above the rest. He was the favorite of Maou-sama, and his power was greatly superior compared to them. Once it came to a fight, Leonhart would turn aggressive, much like the time when he killed Majin Gillium. Then there was also the matter of his position as one of the Four Elite Majins and the demon army officer, which made it harder to go against him.
Kayblis used Leonhart as a cover. He stood beside Leonhart whenever there was a gathering with fellow majins, and he would often escape their wrath by making excuses that he was called by Leonhart-sama for an errand whenever a problem arose. By doing so, the demon generals and demon captains who looked down on him would immediately change their expression the moment they heard Leonhart’s name, to the point it was laughable.
In all the 3000 years of his life, the recent years were the easiest time to live in. He could do his training safely to some extent, and perhaps because he regularly gave presents to Leonhart, he was given some flexibility to a certain degree.
“Really, what an easy guy.”
“Who did you call an easy guy?”
“Of course it was…”
Kayblis suddenly stiffened as he noticed the person who was talking to him.
The majin had blond hair, red eyes, and carrying a demonic sword in his back, Leonhart stood there.
“Le-Leonhart-sama?! Si-sisi-since when were you…?”
“Aa? I just passed by now.”
“I… I see.”
It seemed he wasn’t listening. Kayblis wiped his sweat in relief.
Kayblis then changed his tone to gain his favor as he usually did.
“Then, do you need any help from me? If there’s anything, I will do my best to help, yes.”
“No, I’m just looking for my apostle, so you don’t have to help. Sorry to stop you.”
“…A-aah, no no, you don’t have to worry about that!”
Kayblis was reminded as he heard Leonhart’s words.
The other day, Majin Leonhart made an apostle. It was a woman apostle known as Carol.
It made Kayblis think.
Keh, you even made an apostle… things sure are great for being a strong majin-sama, huh?
Apostles were created through a blood contract where a majin would share their power. That would mean the majin would have slightly reduced their power by doing so. However, for most majin, the power decrease they suffered from making an apostle was negligable.
Of course, things would be different if they created a lot of apostles. Basically, the more apostles they made, the more the majin’s and apostle’s powers would drop, and their dominating power would be weaker. It was said it was because the blood of the majin became thin.
Such a thing was impossible for Kayblis. The action of sharing his strength and resulting decrease of his own power was an unthinkable action, and he also had no such leisure.
Well, perhaps I might consider making one when I’m strong enough though…
At the very least, it was unthinkable to make an apostle in his current condition.
Therefore, Kayblis did feel jealous about Leonhart, but it wasn’t enough to sway his spirit which had been tempered for a long time.
Kayblis humbly responded to him.
“I will tell you if I find her! I am Leonhart-sama’s minion after all! hehehe…”
“…Well, okay. I’ll be going, but tell me if you see her.”
“Yes! I understand!”
Leonhart didn’t faze and responded naturally to him, and walked away as Kayblis agreed to inform him.
“…So he goes.”
As Leonhart’s figure eventually disappeared, Kayblis whispered in a small voice. He was complaining to Leonhart inwardly.
There’s no way I would go through trouble to search for her. Gufufu…!”
Of course, he only said honeyed words as courtesy to Leonhart. He wouldn’t go out his way to search for the apostle. He might inform him if he happened to see her though, just to gain his favor.
However, he thought he had enough favor from Leonhart as it was. He didn’t send all those presents to Leonhart for nothing.
“…I guess I’ll continue to train.”
Kayblis then decided to continue to improve himself and went out for it—suddenly.
“—Oi.”
“Heh?”
Kayblis leaked out a stupid voice as he was called once again. He thought it was Leonhart again. Perhaps he returned since forgot something to tell me? Kayblis turned around only to see his expectation overturned.
“Ah… wha-wha-wha what is it, both of you?”
“Hey, Kayblis.”
“You still look the same as usual.”
Kayblis immediately bowed his head to the two majins and spoke humbly. However, both of them merely looked at Kayblis with cold eyes.
Both of them obviously knew that Kayblis was the oldest majin. The two majins were turned during the previous era of Maou Avel. They were majins who bullied Kayblis on a regular basis.
Therefore, the things they did from here on—was just their usual antics.
“Don’t just stand block the way, ORA”
“—gh… kaha“
As one of the majin swung their leg, the impact ran through Kayblis’s body.
He then rolled on the ground like a ball, until eventually losing momentum and stopped.
Seeing that, the majin who kicked Kayblis found it funny and laughed.
“Kakah, as usual, it’s hard to think you are a majin. You’re way too weak.”
“You’re right…”
“U… guh…”
The other majin muttered in agreement as they watched him writhe.
Kayblus cowered to endure the pain. For the majin who did it, the kick could be considered a simple love tap; it was too weak to be considered an earnest attack. However, even that much was considerable violence for Kayblis. They must have found that fact funny. The two majins expressed their joy.
“My bad, Kayblis. We’ve been stressed recently, you see. It’s all because of Leonhart, your boss.”
“Well, that’s a lie, though.”
“gh! …ah, uh…!”
Even as they said that, the two majins lightly bullied Kayblis.
As Kayblis managed to somehow endure the pain, he understood the situation by such remarks.
These two majins were rebellious toward Leonhart. Leonhart was a majin favored by the maou who was immediately promoted into the Four Elite Majins and given the title of demon army officer soon after he was turned into majin. His position was overwhelmingly higher compared to other majins. His combat power was also overwhelmingly stronger than them. On top of that, he was using that position to command them to do various things.
And these two majins hated that fact; they were typical majins. They were egocentric, violent, and playfully using their power to tease and kill other creatures. Basically, they were fellows who wanted to live as they pleased.
Because of that, Leonhart’s existence irritated them above all else. They couldn’t go against him, they had no choice but to obey him, their relationships were terrible, and due to the high status of Leonhart and the fact he got along with other majin like Camilla and Galtia it made them feel that much more stressed about it.
Therefore, Kayblis was chosen to vent their stress. It wasn’t an uncommon thing to happen.
Damn it… you’re just venting your anger, aren’t you…!
Even as he cursed inwardly, Kayblis couldn’t let it leak out of his mouth. If he did, his life would be in danger. Therefore he could only endure. Just as he always had every time it happened.
Besides, the majins who bullied Kayblis didn’t put him directly within their line of sight. They would just spit curses as they liked, bully him until they were satisfied, and would walk away. Therefore, enduring like this was the best course of action. Kayblis was convinced of that.
However,
“Uh…gh, kafuh…”
“Kayblis sure flew well. It sure is fun kicking him around.”
These majins still bullied him even now. The end wasn’t in sight.
It… it’s about to.. get… dangerous… I have to stop them.
If it continued on like this, he might be dead in the near future. Perhaps his prayer was answered, as the other majin who was watching called out
“Isn’t it about to die?”
“…a…fuh…”
That’s right! Just stop it already! I’m already half-dead. You should be satisfied since you already did this much. That’s why, stop it!
Kayblis shouted inwardly as he was lying on the floor.
However, the next word he heard was enough to shock Kayblis.
“If he’s dead, then that’s fine. There won’t be any problems.”
“—?!”
Those words easily came out of the majin’s mouth. They said it so nonchalauntly, and it was clear they didn’t care about Kayblis’s existence.
“Since he is this weak, we can just say he just got killed by a random human, or he was already dead when we noticed him. Nobody would be troubled if he died anyway.”
“…You’re right.”
The other majin indifferently agreed to that opinion. These two majins truly thought so, rather than being compelled by malice. Nobody would feel troubled even if Kayblis died. Neither Maou nor other majins would reprimand them for it.
Hah? Oi… is this how I meet my end…?
It was too sudden. His life was about to be taken away just because of their whim—no, they just didn’t care whether he lived or died to begin with.
—I…maybe, I’m about to die?2
At that moment, the moment Kayblis understood his fate, he went crazy inside his heart.
Noooo! No way! No way! No way! Anything but death…!
Kayblis endured all sorts of humiliation, but that was the one thing he couldn’t tolerate. Therefore, despite his injuries, he desperately moved his shivering body and mouth to speak.
“Uh— guh— I— I’m sorr—“
He uttered an apology, and tried to crawl away to escape from that place.
However,
“Ah? What do you say?”
“Ah!”
His words failed to reach him, and the majin kicked him like a ball once again.
“Did he say something?”
“It must be his usual crap. Oi, Kayblis!”
“…Aa…”
Kayblis already had no strength to speak, and the majins who saw that felt a little troubled about that.
“A-ah, did you overdo it? What should we do about this?”
“He’ll be dead even if we leave him alone, and it’s too troublesome to heal him.”
“Hm… then let’s kill him for the time being.”
Kill him for the time being. Kablis heard such humiliating remarks.
Sto-stop it! I have endured this for 3000 years! I can’t let it end here…!
Then the majin raised their leg to trample Kayblis. The moment that foot landed, that would mean death for Kayblis.
Da-damn it… to die in this place, while being treated like trash…!
Kayblis was already more than halfway to his doom.
The majin gathered their strength into their feet, attempting to playfully crush the life of the majin who lived over 3000 years.
However, it wasn’t Kayblis who ended up getting kicked.
“Gh—Gah?!”
Suddenly, the majin shreiked in a voice of agony as it received an impact and flew away.
“What just hap—?!”
“Aah?! Who the heck did—?”
The other majin looked at the intruder who suddenly disturbed them—and their expression paled.
The kicked majin somehow managed to regain their posture, raised their voice in anger toward the one who attacked them, and just as they confirmed who it was—their eyes went wide.
And Kayblis also looked at the person who allowed him to somehow keep his life in this world.
It was a blonde, red eyed man who couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else.
His black coat was worn without closing its front side. There was a blue demonic sword hanging on his back
“To think I would come across such a scene.”
He was one of the Four Elite Majin and the demon army officer—Leonhart.
He was a majin who had connections with them.
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