Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? 252

No good deed goes unpunished?

252 – The Curse of Kindness

「Shiro-chan. So is it true that you’ve been getting up to all sorts of things then?」

The first thing the Demon King asks for, is to demand an explanation. Contrary to the playful mood the Demon King normally always has, she has a dark, preoccupied and dignified voice like you would not believe. Well, that’s the Demon King’s original voice for sure. Before she degenerated by intermingling with one of my clones. Indeed, this is where Balto bows his head in fear, sort of thing. Before the present Demon King, there’s only a very few who wouldn’t be fearful. If you have no need to be scared, then you sure need a lot of resolve. If I’m not the one scared here, it’s going to be one of them, isn’t it? I’m on the “no need to be scared” side though.

Without replying to the Demon King’s question, I open my eyes. The Demon King grimaces for a moment, that’s all. She endured the fear from my eyes.

「What are you playing at?」

A very cold sounding tone. Depending on your answer you won’t get off lightly – that intent comes across clearly to me.

「Secrets.」

Saying that while pointing at Kuro, I lightly dodge the pressure from the Demon King. The Demon King changes target to him.

「What does this mean?」

Kuro stands there unmoving with his arms folded, with his forehead furrowed. Clearly he’s wavering between whether he should answer or not.

「After coming this far, being secretive would be equivalent to betrayal I guess.」

Kuro breathed a heavy sigh, then he opened his mouth speak as if in resignation.

「I’ll start with the conclusion. The degradation of the souls circulating in this world has become severe.」

Hey, isn’t starting from the conclusion jumping ahead too far? Is there someone around who can comprehend the situation from only that?

「How severe?」

There was one! Ehh? Was the Demon King always this quick thinking? Or is it that? As soon as she goes into serious mode she gets smart, or something?

「A portion are already showing signs of soul collapse.」
「Why did you keep this from me?」
「If I’d told you, then what?」

With the heavy atmosphere, both of them sink into silence. Ahh, so uncomfortable. Mind if I leave then? That’s a no, then? Okay then.

「Answer me honestly. With the actions I’ve taken as Demon King, will the recovery of MA Energy be completed?」
「It’s impossible.」

Kuro answers immediately. The Demon King sits with her head down, shoulders trembling.

For her to become the Demon King, just how much determination did she have and hoped for, I can’t even begin to imagine. However, after honouring the Goddess’s directions for so long, this Demon King who watched over the world for so long, for the first time she took action against the Goddess’s will. For this Demon King who honours the Goddess more than any other, that definitely required some serious determination. All the more so since she knew that if she became the Demon King, it was almost certain that she would die.

This is where, I shall show the way.

「In that case we simply destroy the System.」

To the two driven into a hopeless blind alley, they’ll receive my suggestion like it is a dream, I’m sure. Naturally, they’ll completely jump at the offer.

「What do you mean?」
「For the energy used to maintain the System, the MA Energy comprises about 90%. In short, if we can simply supplement the missing 10% from somewhere, then by dismantling the System, we can meet the demands of the MA Energy.」

It’s simple. It’s the System that D, that rotten fiend, developed. It’s not something that you can capture by a frontal assault. There’s definitely a backdoor. Considering D’s personality, the sneaky bastard, then at a place you can’t normally reach, there will be a hidden backdoor.

「Is that, even possible?」
「Shiro-chan, can it be done?」

The two gaze at me. Doubt on the one hand, hope on the other.

「It can. As preparation for that, I had to sacrifice the lot that Kuro had isolated.」

That’s actually not true though. But since it’s not necessarily incorrect then if I say it like this, Kuro will then read too much into it of his own accord and should come to a misunderstanding.

「So, that’s why you did that.」

There, you see.

「I’ll complete all the preliminary work myself. What’s left, is to secure the missing 10%. So that it’s possible to top up a shortage in case of a miscalculation, it’s necessary to target meeting the demands of 15% of the MA Energy.」

How would you achieve that? Cause a war, and in addition to that, one on an unprecedented scale in history. The plan that the Demon King is advancing, needs to be enlarged still further. Also, there’s one other thing.

「Enlarge the scale of the war. In addition, kill the Hero.」

Kuro reacts to that with a twitch. That’s right, Kuro would respond to the killing of the Hero. However, I can’t yield on this.

「Before the System collapses, bring about the end of the Hero System. With the Energy collected from the Hero System, I expect an improvement of about 3%.」

While 3% might sound small, in reality it’s a huge amount of Energy. I want to secure that no matter what. Besides, if I can get rid of the Hero, the survival chances for the Demon King will raise with just that.

The Hero exists to defeat the Demon King. That is a law that disregards the difference in ability. The Demon King will always be beaten by a Hero. Even if the current generation’s Hero is beaten back, then the next one, or the one after. With each passing generation, the likelihood of the Demon King’s victory decreases. It’s not a matter of status or skills, it’s because it is established that way. I cannot conceive that the current Demon King could lose to this generation’s Hero. I cannot conceive it, but it’s better to make doubly sure.

「I guess, such a sacrifice is needed.」
「What started it all, was the negligence of Kuro as the administrator.」

At my words, Kuro’s expression becomes twisted. I sure am cruel. It’s certainly true that if Kuro had done the right thing then the current situation would never have occurred. However, Kuro could never have done such a thing. Like with the Demon King, he’s a pathetic man who prioritised the Goddess’s kindness.

Because of that kindness, the irony is that this world is teetering on the brink of destruction. You could even say it’s a farce. That’s why, I shall destroy it all.

I’m not lying to them. If the System can be compensated for, the Energy needs of this world can be met. However, to destroy the System means that the skills and statuses of this world will be lost. For that which is rooted in the soul, that means nothing other than the forced removal of them. Accordingly, those with many skills, those with high status values, at the time of removal there will be a heavy burden on the soul. Like with sensei recently.

I’m not lying to them. If the System can be destroyed, the world will be saved. However, in compensation for that, that will result in the death of a large amount of this world’s population. I am simply staying silent on that.

Translation notes:

“Mind if I leave then? That’s a no, then? Okay then.” – to be clear, this is Shiro talking to herself in a weird way.