The Pope's Perspective "Surprised that I became the Demon King?"
Once Lady
I had never once invited Lady Ariel to this room, but for someone like her, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if she already knew the layout.
Her unhesitating act of drinking another person's wine — was that the arrogance befitting one who stood at the apex of this world?
That wine was a precious vintage that could never be obtained again, but what could I do?
"Of course I am. Lady Shiro must have stayed quiet because she thought it would give me a shock. What a terrible thing to do."
I never could have imagined that Lady Ariel had become something like the Demon King.
Even though I knew she had begun to take action because of the Labyrinth nightmare incident.
Which only meant that this person becoming the Demon King carried enormous significance.
"Yeah. I think Shiro either didn't bother because it was too much hassle, or she simply forgot to mention it. I don't really know what goes on in Shiro's head, but there probably wasn't any deep meaning behind it."
If Lady Ariel said so, then I would accept it at that.
That Lady Ariel had become the Demon King should have been discernible even from fragmented information.
The fact that I hadn't reached that conclusion simply meant my thinking had been shallow.
I knew the importance of that information, yet I was too foolish to arrive at the correct conclusion from what I had gathered.
Lady Shiro was certainly not to blame.
After all, she was someone on the Demon race's side.
There was no reason she would hand over Demon race intelligence to us, who could be called representatives of the Human race.
"So then. You didn't summon me here for small talk. Please, tell me what it is you want."
"Hmm~. I'd be perfectly happy to spend the time catching up on old stories, you know~"
Lady Ariel ignored my prompting and tipped the bottle back.
Her slender throat bobbed up and down as the contents of the bottle steadily vanished.
"Pwah! Delicious!"
"It is one of the finest pieces in my collection, after all."
"Hohoho. For someone who's nominally the Sovereign of Gluttony, you certainly do have a nose for the good stuff."
In high spirits, she drank even more.
"
Almost too quietly to catch, she asked me this out of the blue.
My answer was already decided.
"It is too late for that. From the very beginning, I never had the right to choose my answer. This fool who abandoned the Goddess and chose the path of Human survival — I have no right to choose any other path."
"I see."
Silence.
Only the sound of Lady Ariel drinking echoed through the room.
"The only ones left who know the truth of the past, besides us, are Gyurie and
"They were all great people."
"Great or not, it means nothing once they're gone. Lady Saliel never wished for that."
"Even so. They followed their convictions and resisted this world until the very end. I envied them. Even though I knew that such a thing would never be permitted of me."
Lady Ariel's former comrades had been strong.
Not just in combat ability, but in heart as well.
Perhaps it was the strength of their spirits that was the true secret to their power.
That conviction — the desire to save the Goddess.
But they were gone now.
They could not be reincarnated.
They had sacrificed every last fragment of their souls.
"Well, I'm one to talk, I suppose. I'm about to go against Lady Saliel's wishes myself, so I can hardly cast judgment on them."
Lady Ariel said this with a sorrowful look.
The oldest of the Phantasmal Beasts, who had been the only one to uphold Lady Saliel's will and watch over the world until now.
How much inner turmoil must there have been in acting against that will?
Such feelings were beyond even my capacity to imagine.
"I will kill Potimas."
A flat voice.
Her killing intent was so vast that, paradoxically, it sounded devoid of all emotion.
Potimas had gone too far.
He had already crossed a line with Lady Ariel, yet he had managed to provoke an even greater fury.
"We can't bridge the gap between us. But on this one matter, let's cooperate."
"Of course."
There was no way we could pretend the past never happened and join hands.
Lady Ariel and I had already walked too far down paths from which there was no turning back.
Even as we acknowledged each other, our roads would never converge.
Still, for this one matter, we could cooperate.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend — wasn't there a saying like that in
"And after that? Shall we have ourselves a grand little killing spree?"
"That is something I would very much prefer to avoid."
She said it in a joking tone.
Yet that was surely the future that awaited us after the Elves were brought down.
We could cooperate for a time.
But we were enemies.
No matter how far we went, we could never truly come together.
And so, we would have to settle things.
If Lady Ariel had become the Demon King, then it was surely to bring this phase of the world to a close.
At that time, I would be nothing but an obstacle in her path.
If so, our clash was inevitable.
In the current Lady Ariel, who had chosen to act even against Lady Saliel's will, the very concept of restraint no longer existed.
She would pour her entire being into achieving her goal.
Terrifying.
My chances of winning were practically nonexistent.
And yet, I had to face her.
It was all for the Human race.
To remain true to the oath I once swore — to protect the Human race even if it meant blaspheming the Goddess.
"Thanks for the meal."
Lady Ariel set down the empty bottle.
A wine bottle with a magnificent label but nothing inside.
It was so much like myself that a dry, bitter laugh threatened to rise up from within me.