漫画大王

Chapter 16

“By any chance, did you have any connection with me back then?”

Come to think of it, Eleris had figured out who I was right away. Of course, as a high-ranking vampire, she might have interacted with me a few times before.

“I-I worked as a private tutor...” Eleris muttered softly, avoiding eye contact.

“...So you were super close to me?”

That should mean that we were quite close, right?

“It was only for a very brief time, though. My abilities were insufficient to teach you properly...”

It seemed that my temper was so bad that she’d had enough and quit.

“The past is the past, Your Highness. You should focus on the present.”

Eleris seemed to want to prevent any further inquiries about my past. I had definitely been a scumbag, but just how much of a scumbag had I been?

“Hold on. Do the other agents know me personally as well?”

“Well, yes, they certainly do...”

Eleris grabbed my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes.

“You are the last Archdemon, Your Highness. They know well what matters the most.”

What the heck? That was frightening.

***

The Demon King was dead, and the Great War had ended in victory for the human alliance forces.

Unfortunately, the group of heroes on the human side had fallen in the valiant battles against the Demon King and the Four Demon Lords.

Then, the princess had returned, and the news had spread far and wide.

The streets were filled with throngs of cheering people, celebrating the fact that no more people would die in the war against the demons, and the return of the First Princess they’d thought was dead.

Jubilant cheers of victory were probably ringing out throughout the entire continent, not just the imperial capital.

“Well, that’s great.”

“I beg your pardon...?”

“The people. They’re filled with joy and kindness!”

Eleris and I were walking down the street, and I had just grabbed a free chicken skewer from the exuberant skewer stand owner.

Thanks to Eleris’s disguise spell, to everyone around us, I appeared as an ordinary boy. Eleris had used her own camouflage magic on herself as well.

The victory in the Great War seemed to have turned even the underhanded, profiteering street markets into a place where store owners gave away goods for free.

Eleris, couldn’t understand why I, someone who had been a major figure in the defeated country and had lost everything overnight, was happy about getting a free chicken skewer. She was relieved that the war had ended, but my expression of joy seemed to confuse her.

“If you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it,” I said.

“Oh, yes.... Your Highness.”

Ironically, my spirits were even higher than hers.

Hey, the Demon Realm perishing had nothing to do with me. Well, not really.

I was just a kid being protected by a beautiful vampire. That’s it, nothing more and nothing less than that!

Deep inside, I wanted to continue living in peace like this until the end of the novel, comfortably and peacefully under Eleris’s care. Of course, I knew that was almost impossible, however.

“Are they all gathered?”

“Yes. They are all waiting for you to arrive, Your Highness.”

We were currently assembling the remnants of Gradium’s demon factions.

—Long live the Empire!

—Hail to the princess!

—Hail to Artorius!

People elated by the news of victory were all celebrating.

“Hail!”

I also shouted “Hail” in response, and that’s when Eleris finally pulled my arm down.

“Your Highness! Please restrain yourself!”

“Why? It’s fun!”

“I can’t stand this, really...”

It was amusing to tease her.

Of course, when I thought about my true identity in the real world, that of a middle-aged man, I immediately felt embarrassed about what I had done.

***

There was something in the imperial capital that other cities didn’t have: Magic Trains.

It was like a fantasy version of a subway. Overly-advanced and massive, it was the imperial government’s response to the inability of warp gates, carriages and just walking to handle all the transportation needs within the capital.

A cheat-like feature of medieval fantasy—an eco-friendly train that ran on Magic Stones. Ridiculous, you say? Too convenient a setting? Who cares, it works here, haha! It just does, and I made it so!

If a subway could run on Magic Stones, why couldn’t they make cell phones out of them, you ask? Haha! I don’t know.

I could only say this because I could see it functioning right in front of my eyes.

I’d made the blueprint of the city exactly like Seoul, so naturally, the subway routes were also similar to Seoul’s subway system.

We needed to head south towards Bronze Gate, so we headed to the station to catch the Magic Trains.

To get to Bronze Gate, we had to take the subway from the Aligard District station. It was as simple as going from Yongsan Station to Express Bus Terminal and then to Banpo Han River Park.

The route was not only convenient, but easy to understand. There was no need to complicate it with an overly complex map; otherwise, not only the readers, but even I would find it hard to understand. Convenience for the writer should always come first, you know!

I felt proud of myself for being a lazy writer. If I hadn’t included fanciful devices like Magic Stones, I would have had to take an ordinary carriage, or simply walk. Setting the story so that it took place in Seoul got rid of unnecessary work, and I’d also know exactly where everything was.

Inside the moving train, Eleris mumbled from beneath her hood, “I think people are truly amazing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“They can create incredible things like this train.”

I mean, I did technically make this myself so I took it as a compliment to me. After all, I managed to create something like this with just a few sentences; perhaps I was some kind of god!

I guess I was a god at last. The god who’d died from high blood pressure after reading hate comments, also known as the god of stupidity.

“Given our exceptional magical powers, wouldn’t it have been wonderful if demons had created more things like this, instead of destructive magical weapons?” Eleris muttered in a self-deprecating tone.

Indeed, the magical prowess of demons seemed to be superior to that of humans. However, demons used magic more for destruction than for daily life.

As a result, despite having great power, the Demon Realm seemed desolate, rather than prosperous. There had been no structures that seemed to belong in a city within the vicinity of the Demon King’s castle, just the solitary and towering fortress.

In the human empire, however, countless people gathered and lived together. Magical tools that assisted their lives were abundant, and you could see examples of magic being used for the benefit of humanity.

Perhaps Eleris’s constant comparison of her life here to her life in the Demon Realm and had realized how harsh it was for demons.

As a result, she might have eventually felt that the Demon Realm was a flawed world. In the end, therefore, she would be more delighted by humanity’s victory than a demon victory.

I had a sense of what was on Eleris’s mind. A world where weapons were created solely to kill their enemies, compared a world where individuals pooled the power they possessed for their own happiness.

Eleris found joy at the end of the war and in humanity’s victory, but at the same time, she couldn’t be happy about the downfall of the Demon Realm.

She gazed absentmindedly at the passing scenery with an expression that held a certain sadness.

It didn’t matter what the place that you were to return to was like. Even if you didn’t have the intention of returning, not having a place to return to could be saddening in itself.

***

The riverside where the Hound of Irine stayed was well-maintained. It had lush green grass, and people were strolling along the well-paved walkway.

For common folk who didn’t have the means to go far, this park along the river was a picnic spot that was always within reach.

“This place always puts me in a good mood,” Eleris remarked.

Despite the strong sunlight, she wore a faint smile. It seemed that Eleris could definitely endure the sunlight better than I thought.

“Indeed. It would have been even better if that particular scene over there wasn’t visible,” I added.

“Ah... yes...”

—Blargh!

—Uwaghhh!

—Hey! You little bastard! I caught you red-handed just now! How many times are you rolling a three, huh? This is rigged!

—Rigged? I lived my whole life without telling a single lie, you lunatic! I rolled a three because I rolled a three! It’s that simple!

As we walked along the riverside, we encountered a group of people involved in a heated argument under the Bronze Gate Bridge. Their voices were loud and filled with profanity, and they seemed to be arguing over something trivial.

People rarely ventured to this area, and it was relatively dark and damp compared to other areas due to the heavy shade.

A group of beggars were indulging in drink, vomiting, eating, playing dice, and quarreling openly and in broad daylight. In the rare case that someone passed by, a few beggars approached them and urged them to buy a piece of candy from them.

“So, the one thing that sticks out and doesn’t seem like it belongs to this peaceful scene, also happens to be our ally, and a significant source of income?”

“Yes... that’s right... Your Highness.”

They were the ones begging, so why did I feel embarrassed instead?

I didn’t want to get any closer to them.

“Hey there, young lady! How about buying some candy from us?”

One of the beggars sneaked up to us, extended their dirty hands, and pushed a piece of candy toward us. It seemed like we had become targets as well.

Eleris, who didn’t seem keen on rejecting them, let out a deep sigh and accepted the candy.

“That’ll be five coppers.”

One gold coin was equal to one million won.

One silver coin was equal to ten thousand won.

And one copper coin was equal to a hundred won.

That was roughly the corresponding value. Considering that, five hundred won for a small piece of candy wasn’t exactly cheap.

But was candy even common in this world? Weren’t refined carbohydrates something that could only be found in modern-day society?

Despite this, there was a beggar selling candy right before my eyes.

‘It is what it is.’ Any logical thinking was pointless in this world.

Eleris seemed to hesitate over giving me the candy she’d bought for five coppers, as she wouldn’t be able to eat it herself.

“It’s too dirty for you to eat, Your Highness,” she said, shaking her head.

“Well, I’m not a fussy person,” I said.

“...”

I didn’t particularly crave it, but I wasn’t a picky eater as well. Nevertheless, when I made that comment to Eleris, she looked at me with slight surprise in her eyes.

Well, perhaps having elements of the “mangnani” genre in here was not so bad after all.

One of the features of being inside a mangnani genre was that you would get complimented just for acting like a normal person. People would wonder, “What happened to you? Why are you not causing trouble today?” and praise you for it.

Because of this, being reborn into someone who was a complete “douchebag” was already a merit in itself. If you were reborn as one of the highly anticipated prodigies of the century with tremendous abilities, you would ironically be at a huge disadvantage, because people would have high expectations of you. You’d hear comments from people like, “You’ve changed and don’t work as hard as you did before.”

Becoming a douchebag who receives praise just for breathing, versus becoming an elite prodigy who gets scolded for doing nothing but breathing—the former was overwhelmingly better.

Being reborn as someone who was already perceived negatively from the start was really an advantage in disguise.

I wonder what the actual prince would have done in this situation. Would he have already shown open disgust toward the beggars before they even approached him?

“Would you like to eat it, then?”

“Sure, why not?”

I unwrapped the candy Eleris had given me and put it in my mouth. It had no distinct flavor, just sweetness.

“Did I like sweets?”

“I recall that you did, Your Highness.”

“Hmm.”

I wasn’t really into sweets, but they seemed more appealing now that I’d spawned into a younger body.

The beggars who approached us were now approaching others, persuading them to buy their candy once again. Most of the time, people bought the candy not because they wanted to eat it but to shoo them away.

It really was an unpleasant sight to watch, but regardless, their actions contributed to our spy activities budget so I didn’t care.

No, scratch that. It was still extremely distressing to watch.