Chapter 453

Translation: They seized the throne of the Edina Island too easily. Just because a thief suddenly appeared and made the king stand up and sit in his place, it doesn't mean he is recognized as the owner. But I am the Demon King. Because I stood with the heavy name of the Demon King, everyone felt fear towards me. Those who didn't want to reveal that I was the Demon King found out. Therefore, even if the whole world knows that I am the Demon King, it doesn't matter anymore, and I planned to use the fear that comes from my name as much as I want. Fear is a very powerful means of domination. "As you saw today, the warp gates of the entire continent have been corrupted to summon monsters from this world. Therefore, the phenomenon that occurred in Razzak also occurred in other islands of Edina, such as Saint Louis, Port Lambs, and Greenwind. Currently, my subordinates are trying to suppress the phenomenon occurring in those places. Edina Island will suffer some damage, but it will end by destroying the warp gates throughout the island because it is far from the continent. The reason I am telling you that I am the savior of Edina Island, which would have perished if I had left it alone, is that my rule is quite generous and warm-hearted. Obey me, and you will gain stability and peace. In the short term, I will focus on stabilizing Edina Island, which is in chaos, and in the long term, I will expand into the continent, which is covered with monsters. I will give you one day. Even if you disagree, I won't kill you. Those who do not obey me should leave. I will allow you to live as an ordinary person on the island. You can escape to the continent to avoid my rule, but once you arrive on the distant land, you will realize that there is no land to set foot on except this island." As the entire continent is in chaos, going out to the continent can only mean wanting to die. However, they may think that my words are just a blatant lie to scare them. Whether they believe me or not, whether they obey me or not, it is their personal choice. I didn't want to force them to do that. I didn't know if they would accept me, but I had a lot to ask of them. "There was chaos, and it was scary, but at this point, all the anomalies that occurred in Razzak have been resolved. There is no need to be afraid, so start the recovery immediately." Even if the chaos is stabilized, there are still many corpses on the streets. We need to focus on identifying the exact number of casualties and stabilizing Razzak. "All available troops should immediately recover the bodies and identify the exact damage status as of now. Also, immediately identify the status of relief supplies, including food stored in the castle, and report it to me." They all looked surprised at the first mission instruction that wasn't too demon-like. What does it mean to be demon-like? Do I have to sacrifice a blood offering as soon as I sit on the throne to be a true Demon King? "They may expect a certain kind of Demon King, but I will be very different from what they imagine. They were still confused about what I had ordered them to do. 'Move quickly! If you're going to die, then die. If you want to eat, move quickly, you bastards! Don't you know that time is running out?' In the end, it was the same everywhere that shouting was necessary to make them understand. The soldiers left the palace according to my orders and began to deal with the damage in Razzak. I don't know if they will do what I asked them to do well, but it's the first day. Those who wanted to leave were told to do their job and leave. * * * Late at night, one by one, they returned to Razzak. As I instructed, they all arrived at the Edina Palace. Rianna even brought the Duchess of Grants, who had been hiding in Angel Capital. They must have seen terrible things, but this situation seemed even more incomprehensible. Just until they left Razzak for another island, they had just arrived in Razzak, but now they were sitting on the throne of the Alhyun Room in the palace of that country. '...What happened?' 'I said I would occupy the Edina Islands.' That's all I said to Olivia. There are many stories to tell and we need to discuss what to do next. Rianna and Heliott both seemed mentally unstable after seeing the terrible sight. Elleris didn't need to say anything. Luruien and Gallarsch weren't that bad, but their expressions were very serious. 'To become a king in just one day... Was it really that easy?' Luruien was breathless. 'The situation was the situation, so it was easier than I thought. Anyway, did everyone handle the situation well?' 'The damage was great, but we destroyed the gates and exterminated the monsters.' They succeeded in suppressing the chaos in the four main ports of the Edina Islands. 'The local administration will take care of the damage situation, but since something like this happened, there may be riots... ' 'There are so many people who have lost their places to go... What about those people...?' Heliott said with a sad expression. 'We have to investigate the damage situation in each port. How many people have lost their homes, how many orphans have been created, and whether there are enough relief supplies for them.' It's been a headache from the beginning. 'Since the situation is like this, we won't be able to trade between continents at all. I came all the way here to keep the Empire from knowing where I settled. The Edina Islands have to be self-sufficient from now on.' I became a king to deal with the gate situation, but the country is in crisis from the beginning. The Edina royal family will be grateful to the Demon King for taking care of this painful matter in the end. We had a lot of conversations. We had to explain step by step to Irie, who didn't know anything about what had happened so far. And what to do next. Where to start. Translation:

Regarding how to take responsibility as a king for those whose lives were destroyed, it was something we had to do, even though it was something we couldn't have imagined doing until this morning. Perhaps it was the longest day I had ever experienced in my life, and I still hadn't finished it. Although we had occupied the palace, the royal family who had ruled the Edina Islands until now still lived there. It was a robbery without justification, but I am the Demon King. Just as people interpreted my actions as having evil intentions because I am the Demon King, I have no intention of securing the legitimacy of my rule by citing reasons such as the legitimacy of governance. People will think that I am doing this because I am the Demon King. We will not drive out the royal family overnight. We also need to absorb the information and intellectual basis of governance that they have about the islands they know. I climbed to the top of the palace and looked out over the night landscape of Razzak, which spread out below the cliff. The port city, where the gate incident had been resolved, was quiet. Soldiers carrying torches were seen from afar, following my orders to deal with the bodies. There were still places where smoke was rising, and the sound of children who had lost their parents crying sounded like a hallucination. Is all of this my fault? From the top of the tower, I could see the horizon of the sea beyond the port. People were probably still dying on the continent beyond that sea. This was the fate I had to face. Everyone from the temple who was not here would gradually be involved in the battle as the mobilization order was issued. Someone will die, and someone among my peers may die earlier than planned because the gate incident occurred earlier than expected. Despite the situation that had arisen because of me, I wanted to start something on this remote island at the southernmost tip of the continent to do something. Could this be the way to save someone? Or is it just creating the beginning of another war? -Aaaah! I heard a cry that I shouldn't have heard, between the city lights. -Clang. I heard the sound of waves that I shouldn't have heard. "Hey, what are you doing?" I turned my head at the sound coming from behind me, and there was Liana de Granitz. Are we still friends even though I have become a king? It was ridiculous for me to think of myself as a king even though I had only been sitting on the throne for a day. Liana stood next to me, looking down at the landscape of Razzak with her arms crossed. Liana de Granitz. Magic was important, but Liana's lightning ability was a great help in suppressing the gate incident. And it was also a great help when I escaped. "When did you know?" Liana knew that the assassination of Count Granitz was not my doing, so she saved me. "Not long ago. My mother told me." "Really?" "I thought my father was saying strange things, but a revolution? I never thought he would do something so strange." Liana looked at Lazarus with a smirk. Strictly speaking, it didn't matter that Liana knew the truth and saved me. But there was another intention besides saving me. "Do you want to destroy the empire?" Liana fell silent at my words. "If it were you, you could do it." She may have had the intention of saving her friend, but she also had the intention of saving the Demon King. I couldn't gauge how deep and dark her revenge was under her seemingly calm expression. Liana stood by my side, giving up her position as the Duke's daughter. "But you didn't seem interested in that kind of thing." I said I did all this to protect humans and I'm still doing it for that reason. The Demon King seemed plausible to join her revenge, but it probably wasn't the case. I don't want war or the collapse of the empire. However, Liana stretched and put her arm on my shoulder. "But you know, it seems like everything that you don't want to happen is happening." Translate this text, return only the translated text:

"Why is she thinking like this? 'Am I ordering the Four Heavenly Kings?' Liana looks at me with sparkling eyes. Ordering them? It's not like we're playing gang leader in the neighborhood, is it? 'Uh...what...if I were alone, how could I be the Four Heavenly Kings?' 'Find three others. Let's say the vampires are the elders...then, Heriot and Olivia's sisters...and the one from earlier? The one with pink hair? That makes four, right?' It's confusing, really. Revenge and all, why did the topic suddenly shift to this? 'Well, it makes sense. A magic knight, a psychic, and that pink-haired one, I don't know what she is, but there are four.' Ailee, Liana, Heriot, and Olivia. It seemed like Liana had already drawn up a blueprint for the Four Heavenly Kings in her head, even though I hadn't said anything. 'Hey, demon king, give me a cool nickname, okay?' -poke poke Liana puts her arm on my shoulder and pokes my side. 'You're crazy.' Liana giggles and removes her arm from around my neck. She's been holding it in while building relationships with people without revealing her true identity. She's been holding it in under the weight of guilt and pressure. It's impressive that she's been holding it in until now, and Liana pets my head as if to acknowledge that. 'Are you going to keep blabbering?' Talking to this guy made me feel like I was going back to the Temple era, where I could never go back. It was a good feeling, but also a terribly nostalgic and sad feeling. 'Anyway, I'm going. I'm tired and need to rest.' It was such a long day, and Liana stretches as she tries to leave. 'What about Cliff?' I should have asked her, but I couldn't hold it in any longer and asked. '...' 'Are you okay?' Liana's voice was subdued. 'Just...anything.' 'I didn't say anything to that bastard.' I remember making a vow of revenge against the demon king together. But when Liana found out the truth, she didn't say anything to Cliff. Maybe she couldn't share the fact that the Empire was a bigger enemy than the demon king. Liana worked with Heriot, but she couldn't say anything to Cliff. That's why Cliff will remember Liana as a traitor to the Empire and humanity. Like I'm building up a misunderstanding. Liana will also be misunderstood. Ailee wonders if it's okay and feels terrible at the thought of the misunderstandings piling up and exploding. "It has to be okay," Liana said as she went down. Because they were thinking of facing too big of an enemy, Liana didn't say anything to Cliff. Liana, Heriot, and Olivia will be remembered as traitors to the Empire and humanity. Because of that, everyone has to bear something, and I have to be able to bear what they have to bear instead. I am their king. They chose me. I have to become someone who can protect those who chose me.