7th Demon Prince Jilbagias’ Chronicle of Demon Kingdom Toppling - Chapter 19.1 - It Called Persuasion

Chapter 19.1 – It Called Persuasion

19.1．It Called Persuasion

Good day, this is Jilbagias who returned from Hell with a Demon God, whose identity got revealed almost as soon as she arrived in the demon king’s castle.

「…」

Prostating.

Sofia was prostating at once on the floor.

She was trembling like a newborn foal.

「Aren’t your acquaintance’s supposed to be old people!」

「Bu~t. I should never have met this girl before though?」

Ante was also placing her hand on her forehead, tilting her head with a puzzled look on her face, as if there was a huge 「？」 above her head.

「Oi, young’un. How did you know about me?」

Sofia who was kneeling on the floor twitched upon hearing Ante’s question.

「A… At that time I… Just a newborn devil… and ended up comitting an extremely… stupid mistake.」

Sofia didn’t dare to raise her voice as she told us about her story.

「The me of that time… knew no fear… that’s why I, following my curiosity and went into your palace… and did something really stupid in there…」

「… Uhm?」

Ante was looking up as if pondering about something but then, she clapped her hands as if recalling something.

「AH, ARE YOU BY CHANCE THAT YOUNG DEVIL FROM THAT TIME!?」

「So you really know her, eh?」

「It’s an old story, that time a little devil which looked like a speck of dust compared to me came to visit my palace. That very same little devil was vandalizing my palace, reading my collection of books without returning it back to its proper place, and many other mischieves.」

「You seriously didn’t notice her after all.」

「I was taking a nap at that time.」

It seems Ante left the little devil on her own device since the latter seemed to be an interesting one.

「That’s why since the little devil is really ignorant of danger, I expelled her from my palace after teaching her a painful lesson about fear. Right?」

「HIIIIIIIIII…」 said Sofia who could only tremble on the floor. She might’ve already leaked right there if she wasn’t a devil. Just what in the world happened back then that caused her to become this scare— or rather, even that intellectual Sofia had her rebellious period, eh…

「Ma~n, how nostalgic! The little devil of that time has grown so~ bi~g!」

Ante was brushing Sofia’s head while laughing heartily, just like a grandma seeing her granddaughter.

「――So, what are we going to do about her? Shall we kill her right now?」

And then, asking such a question to me without even batting her eyelids. The hand that brushed Sofia’s head was now grabbing it instead.

「HIIIIIIII」

「W-Wait a minute.」

I massaged my glabella as if enduring a headache in front of the frightened Sofia.

――Sure enough, getting rid of the one who knew Ante’s face was an option in this matter. Rather, it was the most obvious choice rather than letting the news about me contracting the demon god of taboo.

But… How should I say, it was a little bit… too overboard.

And it was by no means because I sympathized with Sofia but… it had been decided… as if a hero like me… to her…

… Yeah, it doesn’t really matter if the one I killed was my subordinate, but Sofia was Platy’s subordinate.

「We can’t just get rid of the devil contracted to my mother as soon as we arrived in the demon king’s castle. I mean, explaining the reason is really troublesome.」

Moreover… I continued on after pausing for a while.

「… Sofia is the one put in charge of my training. I can’t just kill her right here, right now… There’s still much for me to learn from her.」

「Jilbagias-sama…」

「Uhm…」

Ante who was grabbing Sofia’s head then suddenly moved her hand toward the latter’s chin, and raised her face. Exposing her tears stained face.

「If I forbid you, can you keep this secret?」

Sofia was trembling nonstop upon hearing Ante’s solemn question.

「D… Due to my contract with My Lady, I… am at disadvantage… and unable to hide anything… from her…」

Sofia made such a declaration as if she had guessed my train of thought.

Dammit…

And I’m indebted to Sofia on top of that.

Breaking the taboo of killing my caretaker, eh… I must be able to get quite a lot of power from that…

Sofia. Your death won’t be in vain…

「The heck, it’s only on that level.」

And yet, the demon god was revealing a wicked laugh instead.

「Then, I see no problem in that… let me tell you the reason, keeping Our identity as a secret will benefit your lady instead.」

「… Eh?」

「Think carefully. You know what’s gonna happen if the news about the youngest child of the demon king is making a contract―― with a demon god, right?」

「The obstruction from the other princes will be intensified. And he might be crushed before his talent blossomed… But, that only happens if you let your contractor know about this, and things that she doesn’t wish will befall on her son.」

Sofia, who looked at Ante with an expression as if she lost all hope, got the light of hope returned in her eyes.

「But, if you never mention this matter, you won’t break your contract with her. That also includes the fact that her son―― brings a demon god, and lord of taboo palace, to the material world. This matter is better kept as a secret. Because divulging this matter… will only bring more misfortune to your lady…」

What a letdown. Means Sofia won’t tell this matter to the others since there were more cons than pros.

「 There are several misunderstandings on your part. Part of it is the fact that I want to avoid mentioning the subject of my contract but, the situation is different from you when someone of Our status makes a contract. In addition to keeping the content of the contract a secret, it is also to let the others be confused of the nature of Our power.」

「I… understand.」

「And then, regarding Our current disadvantage. Think carefully, Sofia~. Try to remember, what is that woman(Platy)’s goal?」

Ante was asking Sofia for the second time.

「… That’s to make Jilbagias-sama a demon king. That’s the unshakeable goal of my lady.」

「Exactly. Now think carefully, what is the true 『Disadvantage』 for that goal in this situation?」

「… You’re, right.」

「That’s why it’s only natural for us to hide Our identity till the time is ripe. Since he can safely raise his power as long as the content of his contract with me is kept as a secret, becoming a demon king isn’t a pipe dream. Not to mention that I promised that I 『Will turn her son into a splendid demon king』 to that woman.」

「But… But…」

Sofia didn’t seem to be convinced yet. Well, that’s only natural. She had to keep the matter of demon god of taboo and my contract a secret from Platy.

It was as if we’re having somesort of secret that would make us feel guilty.

… As I thought, do we really have any other choice than silencing Sofia right here?

No, even if I did that, I honestly had no idea what kind of explanation I had to give to Platy. Dammit, I had no other way out, eh.

「What an obstinate girl. Fine then. Let me to tell you.」

Ante brought her lips closer to Sofia’s ear with a wide grin as if she was enjoying this situation, and whispered something to the latter.

「You see. Our contract with this fella is definitely a worthless one.」

Sofia’s body trembled even greater than before.

――Why did you reveal such a thing?

Does that mean she didn’t care anymore whether the cat was out of the bag anymore? if that was the case―― It means that it was the time to seal Sofia’s lips fore――

「This fella(Jilbagias) has managed to woo me, a demon god you see. I violated the greatest taboo as the ruler of Hell―― and such.」

「Taboo, as a demon god?」

「Yes. As expected, I can’t say the details to you but… you know what I mean, right?」

「…」

Sofia’s eyes trembled as if she realized something. Her eyes were swimming as if her brain were overloaded with information.

「By the way. Do you love Hell, Sofia?」

「… I don’t hate it. It’s my birthplace after all…」

「――【Forbid to lying to your true feeling.】」

「I hate it. Like hell I can bring myself to love such desolate land barren of knowledge…」