Demon King's Perspective Watching Gülie accept my actions despite his troubled expression, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
Since persuading Gülie had been the biggest hurdle to getting things moving, this success was a major breakthrough.
The fact that Gülie had, at least in form, become my subordinate as part of the natural flow of our conversation was also a big help.
Now I could put Gülie to work like a draft horse, with his consent.
I'm sure he has complicated feelings about it deep down, but now that he understands the necessity, he'll cooperate even if reluctantly.
In a sense, you could say I've succeeded in winning over my most troublesome enemy over to my side.
I had steeled myself for the possibility that it might come to a fight with Gülie.
In that case, my defeat would have been inevitable.
There was part of me that thought that would be fine, but if possible, I wanted to live and fulfill my responsibility.
Until now, I had only taken passive actions.
I had my subordinates — the Queen Taratects stationed across various regions — produce offspring and thin out the population as needed.
Beyond that, I had positioned subordinates around the
Of course, that all turned out to be wasted effort.
The barrier surrounding the Elf Village was something even I couldn't breach.
This latest affair drove that home painfully.
While my former brethren exerted themselves for the world and perished one by one, I had hidden away in the shadows, using "I'm following Lady
The power I had accumulated over such long years.
The time had come to repay the debt of all those years spent refusing to look at reality and running away.
I had told myself that if Gülie defeated me, so be it — and if this power returned to the world through that, that was fine too.
I never expected that another worst enemy would help me avoid even that.
I glance at that former worst enemy.
A white girl with a blank expression throughout.
Features so perfect they seem artificial.
Those unsettling eyes bothered her, apparently, because she'd closed them partway through, giving her an even more doll-like air.
Hmm.
What a beautiful girl.
From my perspective as the person who used to inhabit that body, I wasn't aware of being such a beauty in my past life, but seeing it now from the outside — yeah, she's gorgeous.
There are traces of my current appearance in there too, so it's not a perfect replica of my past life, but even so, she's strikingly beautiful.
How was I not aware of this when I was her?
I find it genuinely baffling.
And despite technically being half the same existence, I honestly can't read what she's thinking at all.
Her expression doesn't change, she doesn't say anything.
Whether she's thinking about something or thinking about nothing.
I can't even tell that much.
She might be mulling over every detail, or she might be completely blank — with her, it could go either way.
Her mood swings are too violent for any prediction.
She's basically loyal to her base desires, so keeping her fed should keep things problem-free for a while.
Well, this unpredictability is exactly what led to Gülie falling in line, so I guess it all worked out?
"Alright then, let's begin. First, shall we head back to Demon territory?"
"Ah, sorry, but I'm going to step away for a bit."
"Hm? Why?"
"I want to thoroughly inspect every corner of the world again, to check whether any other survivor facilities like this one exist."
"Ah."
That's actually a good idea.
I hadn't expected a facility like this to have survived either.
I thought most of them had been destroyed during the system's operation.
I doubt there are any more like it, but it's worth a thorough search to be safe.
"Then I'll leave that to you, Gülie."
"Mm. It would also be best to completely destroy this place when we leave."
"Right."
If the Human race were to discover it, it could become troublesome.
Whether Kumo-chan finding it was a good thing or bad... I'm not sure.
Hmm.
I should probably stop calling her Kumo-chan soon.
She's technically an ally now, after all.
"Shall we go, then?
"Neither."
Hm?
She spoke!
Oh — oh, right. Yeah.
Of course she can talk.
It's not like she's unable to.
Mm-hm.
But why does she hate being called by either name?
There shouldn't be any particularly bad memories attached to her real names...
"Then what should I call you?"
『How about Shiroi?』
D, who had been silent until now, interjected.
『As she is technically a candidate for my kin, I went ahead and gave her a name befitting a god's chosen — how does it sound?』
After a moment of thought, the spider girl slowly nodded.
Her expression didn't change, so I can't tell what she thinks about it, but the name seemed to satisfy her.
"Then can I call you Shiro?"
A nod of approval.
Shiroi-chan has a bit of an awkward ring to it.
"Oh, then I'll call Gülie 'Kuro.'"
"How does that follow?"
I'd come up with it on the spot, and Gülie retorted with exasperation.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. You're the legendary Dragon God, aren't you? Your real name isn't widely known in legends, but who knows where your identity could get exposed — you should at least use a fake name."
I fabricated a plausible-sounding reason.
Gülie considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded as well.
"If that's the case, I suppose it's fine."
Ah, he just got tired of the hassle and gave in.
That's his weakness — he caves under pressure.
That's why he always ends up with the short end of the stick, and why things keep going wrong for him.
It's very on-brand for him, though.