Chapter Text
Demons.
Creatures bearing humanoid forms yet possessing values and biology utterly alien to humanity. The Great Mage Flamme once defined speaking monsters as demons. Their ancestors, it's said, were creatures that called out "help me" from the shadows to lure humans close.
A dangerous man-eating race that speaks human language while preying on humans—humanity's greatest enemy.
Yet humanity fought back. With swords and magic. With every weapon and wisdom at their disposal, they resisted—only to be slowly driven into a corner.
The Demon King.
As the name suggests, the king of demons—a being of overwhelming power. Add to that his confidant, Macht the Omniscient, and the Demon King's elite guard, the Seven Sages of Destruction, whose strength existed on another plane entirely—humanity had no means of resistance.
But in that hopeless situation, a single hope emerged.
Himmel the Hero.
True to his title, a young man bearing the hero's mantle. Through him, the long war between humans and demons would reach its end. And he wasn't alone.
The human Heiter, Himmel's childhood friend and a priest.
The dwarf Eisen, a warrior.
The elf Frieren, a mage.
Four companions who would come to be known as the legendary hero's party. By their hands, the Demon King was vanquished, and peace returned to the world once more. People rejoiced and savored that peace—the respite from having their lives stolen without reason.
But time flows onward. For humans, for demons. For every living thing, it's the one thing that cannot be avoided—the most equal, cruel, and gentle force in this world.
Nothing remains unchanged. Even lives that can endure for ages. There are only those who see others off, and those who are seen off. That difference alone—
Twenty-eight years after the death of Himmel the Hero. In the northern territories.
A townscape that carries an air of solemnity within its tranquility. As if to demonstrate this, churches dot every corner of the city. Perhaps the service has just ended—many people emerge from within. Old and young, men and women. As if to show they are all devout believers, everyone carries the same object.
An ornament shaped like scales. In this world, the goddess is most widely worshipped, and her followers hold the cross as their spiritual anchor. Yet no such crosses can be found in this town's churches. Which means—the residents of this town do not worship the goddess.
"Thank you again today, Lord Lügner. Please give my regards to Lady Aura as well."
"Of course. Continue to keep your faith unwavering. All beneath Lady Aura's scales."
While receiving the words of a female believer bowing deeply, the male priest responds with an air of compassion. With practiced movements befitting his station, the priest offers prayers while seeing off the believers and residents. In this world, an ordinary, unremarkable scene. But for those not residents of this town, it would be impossible—a scene that must not exist.
It was the horns. Two horns growing from Priest Lügner's head. Not just the priest—over half the town's residents possess horns and other organs impossible for humans. Proof that they are not human, but demons. Yes, a miracle that exists only in this town—no, this nation.
The Demon Nation of Freesia.
That is this country's name. Where humans and demons coexist—a paradise, singular and absolute, ruled by Aura of the Scales—
"—Give my regards, was it? How bold of you, human filth."
In the empty church, his true feelings slip out. But can you blame him? These humans who once detested and feared demons now worship them. The foolishness of humans truly makes him sick.
His gaze falls upon the vestments he wears and the scripture in his hands. At first, he found this clownish performance tiresome, but now he feels nothing. Or perhaps—from their nature as deceivers of humans—this is only natural.
(But twenty years... such vast change in such brief time. I suppose the flow of time for humans truly differs greatly from ours.)
He recalls over twenty years ago. What began as a faith collective that hadn't even reached town status, let alone nationhood, now stands poised to become a great nation. For demons with lifespans of centuries, time that passes in the blink of an eye. Yet apparently, it was time enough for humans to forget their fear and hatred of demons. Of course, it wasn't time alone. The brainwashing—no, the training—deserves the credit.
(As expected of Lady Aura... to have foreseen this far ahead.)
He pictures his master—the absolute ruler of this nation.
Aura the Guillotine.
One of the former Seven Sages of Destruction, a Great Demon who regained her power after Himmel the Hero's death. With the hero's party unable to resist time's flow and most having vanished from the public eye, now was the time to settle old scores. Thinking this, hearing rumors of her revival, he rushed to serve Lady Aura—only to find her method of rule completely beyond his imagination.
Not to annihilate humans, but to rule them.
Of course, he understood the logic. Even if their essence is that of beasts, as a species that feeds on humans, eradicating humanity entirely would be meaningless. But the method was something no demon could have conceived.
(Equality... I still don't understand it, but apparently humans truly do seek such irrationality.)
His gaze is drawn again to the scripture in his hands.
To grant equality.
That was Lady Aura's method of domination. The complete opposite of the Demon King's rule through fear. For demons, strength and magical power are everything. Dominance established through the natural order of survival of the fittest. Thus, Lady Aura's method was incomprehensible to him—no, to all demons.
She imposed the same rules on both humans and demons.
Under no circumstances may violence be used. There shall be no conflict. If you can uphold this, equality will be granted to all.
That is the foundation of this nation's teachings—the doctrine of Aura. No exceptions. Even demons are forbidden from harming humans. Which means—in this nation, Freesia, demons are forbidden from eating humans. Demons don't need to eat humans to survive, but they instinctively crave it. Suppressing that is no simple matter. Initially, there were many incidents of demons harming humans, but they quickly subsided.
By having their heads taken by the one whose epithet is "the Guillotine."
Though the epithet "Scales" has now taken root, no word but "Guillotine" truly represents her original nature.
(Yet thinking on it now... not just humans, but we ourselves are changing.)
He realizes he's excited without meaning to be. His initial skepticism—such shortsightedness. As if to prove it, the residents—the believers—continue to multiply. Humans he can understand. Even though the Demon King was defeated and peace came, human conflicts don't disappear. The law of survival of the fittest cannot be escaped. But Freesia is the exception. Even if you can't live luxuriously, as long as you follow Lady Aura's teachings, an equal life is guaranteed. The same applies to demons. As long as they endure not eating humans, they won't be hunted by humans.
Faith for humans. Loyalty for demons. This approach resembles what humans call a god. A method of rule different from the Demon King's, possible only because Lady Aura was enslaved by humans.
(Well then... I should be heading there.)
His eyes turn to the wall clock. Just past nine. Today, after morning worship, he's scheduled to give an audience—that is, make a report—to Lady Aura. He shouldn't keep her waiting. There have also been developments regarding neighboring nations' affairs. Just as he hurries from the church—
"Oh! Th-thank goodness... you're still here, Lord Lügner...!!"
Breathless, a human woman who had attended the service clings to him. The unpleasantness makes him reflexively want to shake her off, but he manages to suppress the urge.
"What's wrong? You're in such a rush..."
He immediately dons his mask of human deception and asks. Come to think of it, what was this human's name? He can't recall immediately. Human faces all look the same. Besides, he can't remember each individual name.
"There's a fight at the market over there...! The people around tried to stop it but couldn't... Could you please mediate?"
Unaware of his inner thoughts, the woman pleads rapidly. Instantly, he grasps the situation. In short, she wants him to discipline—no, mediate the conflict.
"Understood. Let's go immediately."
He heads to the scene under the woman's guidance. Mediating conflicts—nothing unusual about that. No matter how strictly Lady Aura establishes laws, there will always be a certain number of fools who break them. It's the duty of priests—or rather, clerics—like himself to purge them. Though he's irritated at being interrupted on his way to the audience.
(That must be it...)
Soon the scene comes into view. Or rather, accurately, the sound reaches him. A terribly grating male voice. Apparently shouting. Beyond, a woman and child with injuries. The man seems to be harassing them. He sees the man is a demon, while the woman and child are human. Normally, he wouldn't care about humans, but this is Lady Aura's nation. Having violated the prohibition against violence, stopping it is also a cleric's duty. That's why, exceptionally, clerics are permitted the use of force. If persuasion works, fine, but if not, force won't be spared. Feeling his demonic instinct for combat being stimulated despite himself, yet still wearing his cleric's mask, he's about to intervene when—
"What's going on here?"
Faster than him, a young girl inserts herself into the scene. As if something interesting were happening, like some kind of rubbernecker. Twin-tailed hair, wearing a corset dress—an appearance unsuited to the situation. But to him, a familiar presence.
(That's... Linie...?)
The girl Linie, who like himself holds the position of cleric here in Freesia. As her position indicates, she too is a demon, and could be called Lady Aura's right hand—but due to her appearance and behavior, she's treated somewhat iconically in this town. He wishes she'd carry more dignity as someone who, like himself, bears the duty of managing this town.
While his thoughts wander, the commotion escalates further. Mainly through the demon men causing a ruckus. Apparently a human child bumped into them—that's what started it all. A low, ugly conflict. In a way, very demon-like. No matter how much we falsify our words and behavior, we're nothing but beasts. Normally, the weak humans—parent and child—would simply be devoured and that would be the end of it, but this is the Demon Nation of Freesia.
"Hmm, well, whatever about that. Violence is prohibited, you know? This is Lady Aura's nation. See, it's written right here in the scripture, isn't it?"
With an air of complete disinterest, Linie says this while showing off the scripture in her hand. The teachings of Aura recorded—the absolute commandments that must be obeyed in this nation. Apparently a human priest actually wrote it, but the truth doesn't matter. To break it is tantamount to insulting Lady Aura.
"What's this ridiculous book? Are demons supposed to be equal to human scum?"
"We came here because there's a demon nation, but what is this country? I bet it's just a collection of powerless demons like you, isn't it?"
Not understanding this, the demon men rail at Linie. But from a demon's perspective, that's natural. For demons, survival of the fittest is order—is everything. The human concept of "society" doesn't exist. As with the former Demon King, power and fear are the only means of ruling demons. Above all, demons can determine this at a glance.
Magical power.
The one absolute metric indicating a demon's strength. Apparently equivalent to status or wealth for humans, but demons judge capability by magical power. Thus, unlike humans, wasteful conflicts don't arise. The strong subdue the weak. The most rational natural order. In this sense, they're correct. It's Linie's magical power—the magical power manifesting externally is minimal. She possesses only about as much magical power as the lowest-tier monster. There's no reason to listen to such a demon. In fact, if he were in their position, he would have made the same mistake.
"—I see. Then you're not needed anymore."
Not realizing that Linie's appearance is camouflage for hunting prey.
"Huh?"
Was that the voice of the other demon? Or the frightened parent and child? All he knows is it wasn't the voice of the demon whose head was taken like a guillotine. Bisected too fast to even cry out. In Linie's hand, instead of the scripture, she now grips a sword. Ironically, a replica called the Hero's Sword. Its current wielder is also a demon—also a fake.
"Wh—!? What are you suddenly—"
Without understanding the meaning, the demon's companion is simply terrified. Of course. They were killed in an instant by a demon supposedly far weaker than themselves. Linie herself is completely unfazed. Showing no emotion, matter-of-fact. Yes, for Linie, spending time with her magical power restricted is natural. She doesn't understand how abnormal that is. Probably Linie is the only coward among demons doing such a thing. Even he, who should be her comrade, feels revulsion about it—but that's a trivial matter.
"But if you're not useful to Lady Aura, you're not needed, right?"
Enemy or ally to Lady Aura. That's all. Linie won't forgive those who insult her existence.
"D-don't move!? If you move, this human will—"
The fool who finally realized he'd stepped on a tiger's tail makes an even more foolish choice. The folly of taking a human child hostage against a demon. Normally a meaningless action. But if there's one slim hope, it's that in this nation, demons and humans are equal. Then this hostage becomes valid. Deceiving one's opponent—a demon's nature. He wasn't wrong. If there was a mistake—
"Nuisance."
It was that such things are meaningless before her, who imitates the now-dead hero.
In the blink of an eye, what had been a demon has both hands and head bisected, while the child is cradled in Linie's arms. Like the scene of a young child rescued by a hero. Though since Linie holding them is also a girl, it's a somewhat unbalanced picture.
That was the conclusion of this disturbance. A scene that could be called a microcosm of the Demon Nation of Freesia—
"Huh, Lügner, what are you doing here? Isn't it time for the audience?"
"Right back at you. What are you doing here?"
Finally noticing him, Linie approaches with a blank look. In her hand, a bright red apple. Munching on it—given as thanks by the child she rescued—she looks so different from the one who was exterminating demons moments ago that he questions if they're the same person.
"I just came to buy an apple. But getting one for free—what a bargain."
"I see... But you are Lady Aura's cleric. Please be mindful of your public behavior."
"I know, I know. I did my job properly, didn't I?"
Walking while munching her apple, Linie radiates not a shred of dignity. Though this is nothing new, so he gives up on pursuing it further. Warning her would be pointless, but the biggest reason is the hierarchy. Linie doesn't care at all, but she's a demon of higher rank than himself. The years since birth, gender, even Lady Aura's favor—none of it matters. As individual demonic lifeforms, he is inferior to the demon before him. Though he has no intention of remaining stagnant. Lifelong devotion to further refinement. To take his magic to ever greater heights. His master, worthy of such dedication.
"Let's go then, Lügner. If we don't hurry, Lady Aura will scold us, you know?"
"Indeed... I'll leave the excuse for being late to you, Linie."
To rush to her side, together with this girl who contrasts him in every way—