The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 099 – The Reason Is [B]
There was a girl in a luxurious room.
The room was large enough for a person to live alone, but at the moment, it was littered with numerous books, showing a messy state.
The closer one got to the desk, the more books were piled up and the worse it was scattered.
At the center of said room was Maou Ssulal, the owner of the room.
“…”
She was doing research at the moment.
That in itself was something she usually did. Nothing was weird about that.
But what she was researching right now was something she wished for and the result it brought,
“This is…”
Ssulal put her blood in a transparent container made of a special material. Perhaps because it was repeatedly used for experiments, the desk was covered with numerous sheets of paper stained with red dots, on which a number of complicated formulas, magic circles, and dissertations, probably the results of her research, were written.
And once again, Ssulal put her blood in the container, and the magic circle shone in response.
While staring at the translucent red board-like frame that appeared midair, she seemed to type something at the same time.
As Ssulal looked at the calculated result, she sighed that she already lost count and frowned.
…As expected, regardless how many times I try, it greatly exceeds the capacity. In that case…
The Invincibility Field that the maou wished for. That god didn’t mention the price she would have to pay for that. Perhaps it just meant that nothing could be granted for free.
In any case, what she was trying to calculate was the lifespan of a maou. System wise, it would last for 1,000 years. Once that period passed, said maou would be swallowed by their own blood and perish.
But in Ssulal’s case,
“…So that’s, how it is…”
The thing that Leonhart said at that time was real.
The lifespan of a maou was 1,000 years. But in Ssulal’s case, her time would come much earlier.
The reason was that the new power known as Invincibility Field that was granted exceeded the intended capacity of the maou’s blood. Because of that, Ssulal would die in half of her intended lifespan.
And to prevent it—
“…No good. All that I can think of goes beyond the scope of difficulty.”
She could neither eliminate the power known as Invincibility Field nor use her power to force things to operate normally. It acted as the fundamental power of the maou that was derived from the power of god. If she could do something about that, it would be easier to just make herself no longer a maou. That itself was difficult, though.
Even if she carried out a succession of blood and was no longer a maou, it didn’t mean her lifespan would extend, and looking for a possible candidate was extremely difficult. She had confirmed the Skill LV of the humans she met out of interest, but she met none who had the potential to be the maou.
So it was impossible after all. There might be a solution out there somewhere, but she would need to fumble around to search for a new method, which would cost her a lot of time. It was to the point of begging God for teaching. That said, she learned the hard way that God shouldn’t be trusted, though it was a bit too late for that.
“…Leonhart already knew about this…”
Ssulal couldn’t help but have doubts about that.
The moment Leonhart heard the name of Invincibility Field, he immediately spoke correctly of the consequence of said power, even though there was no way he could have known.
It made Ssulal wonder why, but she couldn’t understand even if she thought about it. The Invincibility Field was an authority that first existed only after god made it. Even in the unlikely case he had complete understanding of both god and maou, there was no way he would have known about something that was newly created.
In that case, could it be considered prophecy or future prediction? That might be a close guess, but it spawned another question as to why Leonhart only mentioned it for the first time at that moment. It would be better if he said it before she attempted it.
It was hard to think that was Leonhart’s first prophecy. Leonhart expressed astonishment at that moment. It was as if he just recalled it at that moment—
“…Recalled it… huh…”
If that was the case, that would at least make a logical answer. He might have known it in advance. It might be something that happened in the past. He might come from the future. Perhaps he saw it in a dream.
There were many guesses— no, speculations that could be made, but none that she could confirm.
But as a matter of fact, Leonhart indeed guessed it correctly.
But whichever the case, he likely only recalled it at that moment.
It was impossible for him to know yet choose to hide it from her. Ssulal could see how much Leonhart loved her. He was still frustratingly trying to collect the golden statues even now. That meant, he knew — no, recalled something could be done using those things,
“…I guess I should be going.”
The research was over. Then all she needed to do was to decide her future.
What kind of path should she take from now on? Where would she reach her end point?
And— what would she leave behind?
—I wish I had forgotten everything.
Leonhart had another memory when he was born.
Despite having an uncertain sense of self, he had the memories of another soul. He couldn’t help but hate it.
Leonhart was himself. He wasn’t a man with a strange name who hailed from an island nation in the far east.
As his ego and mind became certain, such feelings grew stronger.
Having such memories was certainly convenient. However, there was also a despair that only those who knew could taste.
Because of such knowledge, Leonhart had learned there was no salvation in this world at an early age.
He would eventually experience despair from being born as a human race.
After all, humanity was a species created for that sake. This whole world was a toy box created to relieve the boredom of creator god. One could consider it its little garden. Within such a world, humans had the role to suffer and struggle to be better, but be murdered miserably by the end of it.
The existences of maou and majin were created to be humanity’s enemy. Leonhart was aware of their strength. He also knew there was no way for humanity to reach victory.
In the end, he suffered because he knew too much.
There was nothing good about having such knowledge. If he didn’t know that, he wouldn’t feel the despair of the world nor worry about his own existence.
His existence was the certain individual born in this world — Leonhart XXXX. He had abandoned his human names for a long time, but that individual didn’t change even as he was turned into a majin.
—Do you get it? I am still me.
Nothing felt more humiliating than having his individuality distorted.
Without such knowledge— who would he become? He couldn’t help but feel worried at the unanswered questions.
He wasn’t just an individual known as himself — he actually had no wish to use knowledge that proved such a thing. It would be better if such knowledge never had to be used.
He became a majin from a human, gained his goal, experienced being loved while he never once had, and earned his reason for living. He also gained many comrades and happiness.
That was why there was no need for such knowledge. This side of his memory was unnecessary. He had always thought that way until now.
—Yet, why after all this time… do I end up remembering things I don’t wish to remember?
The reason was simple. It was because his beloved person was in crisis.
With that as a trigger, Leonhart recalled a part of his old memories as soon as he woke up.
Invincibility Field and the knowledge related to that.
It wasn’t like he remembered everything. Therefore, he only knew a few solutions. When he tried to remember other related memories, he would be struck with a massive headache as if his head would be blown apart.
That was why he recalled the idea of using the golden statues in his knowledge.
Since it was god who granted the Invincibility Field, then it was also god who could do something about it.
Nay, to be precise, that was the only way to undo it.
That was the only solution he could come up with the limited knowledge he recalled.
However, it could be said he was really fortunate to manage to find a single one.
Therefore, he commanded — Search for the golden statue.
And even now, he continued to search for it, all while enduring the frequent headaches.
He had to do it. Otherwise, if he didn’t hurry, then Ssulal would—
He was in a race with time. He had no leisure to sleep or even eat. Those things were absolutely necessary as a human, but that was no problem for a majin. The only problems that came with it were the headaches and the irritation that erupted over time.
He no longer had the leisure to control it. Even as he realized that, he was sure he couldn’t stop it.
“—What did you say?”
Leonhart glared at the opponent who stood in front of him in the hallway of the castle.
The other party had an unusual appearance. He was a majin with a white body that look like an insect,
“………Stop.”
The one that briefly said that — was Majin Meglass.
He was the sole Majin that Leonhart fought when he was still a human, a horus majin.
But because of his silence, he was considered eerie even among majins and was shunned.
And that Meglass stood in front of Leonhart. Leonhart found that fact funny,
“…Hah, even though you never replied when I talked to you all this time, you actually tried to talk me out now?”
“…”
Meglass didn’t reply. However, his silence showed his affirmation.
Leonhart often spoke to Meglass until now. Be it about work, casual chat, or even sparring invitation. Meglass never replied, not even once, until now.
Behind Leonhart were fainted majins that had been beaten down by Leonhart. Meglass flew to front of Leonhart as if to protect them and briefly convey his business.
“…Back off.”
“Ah?”
“…Stop venting it on others.”
Meglass was talkative, which was unusual for him. But the words he said made Leonhart irritated.
“…Venting, you said…?”
“…”
Even as Leonhart asked back, Meglass didn’t reply.
And as a matter of fact, that was certainly the case.
When Leonhart saw a majin who proudly sung praises for the Invincibility Field that Ssulal brought, Leonhart drew his sword before he knew it.
The majin attempted to stop Leonhart, but resistance was in vain, and the majin was beaten down by Leonhart. However, because Meglass happened to pass by during it, said majin got to keep his life.
Leonhart also understood that in his mind.
He did, but,
“…Fu-hn, I see. Well sorry about that…”
Leonhart snorted as he apologized.
But his fighting spirit didn’t disappear,
“But you see… it’s as you said… I feel really irritated right now.”
That was why,
“You came to interrupt me like this, so you should be ready for the consequence, right? — In that case, you’ll accompany me, right?”
“…!”
Meglass managed to avoid the attack because he was Meglass.
Looking at how Meglass managed to move a great distance in the time it took for a normal person to take a single step, Leonhart’s mouth formed an arch.
“…Kuku, as expected. I guess you aren’t known as the fastest majin for nothing.”
“………You want to go for it?”
Demonic sword Orpheil. It was a demonic sword that was considered synonymous to Leonhart.
Leonhart pointed the sword that exceeded his height as he showed his teeth,
“Isn’t it fine? — Now that I think about it, you sure took good care of me when I was a human after all.”
“…”
Meglass silently took a combat stance. Things were different back then.
Leonhart’s ability already exceeded that of Meglass. Meglass himself could feel it.
However, that didn’t mean he intended to lose. Meglass showed his will through his stance.
As a horus warrior, he was prepared to fight. As Leonhart saw that, he smiled and exuded his fighting spirit.
“Hahah! Isn’t it great! You are quite capable! Then let me show my gratitude—!!”
“—!”
Along with those words, both Leonhart and Meglass took a step forward.
After a moment.
Both of them disappeared and entered a high speed combat.
Author Note:
It will be another 5 more chapters at most… I will try to update chapters as fast as I can.
Also, I might be late on replying to comments
Tsukii Note:
Hello again!
This time, illustration time again, for an obscure one that you might have missed since he didn’t speak anything.
Colas0024: https://i.ibb.co/KK7knKR/Colas0024.png
I think the obscure description above is enough, since he would reappear in the story anyway. So you can just wait for it to happen.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
