I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess - Chapter 175



175 – Prepare for Winter (2)

Eligos was a demon king with the exact image the people of the empire had in mind.

Intuitive power in an appearance that is intimidating even to look at.

The form of the Demon King that is commonly thought of mostly originated from Eligos.

However, the ‘demon king who attacks humans for fun’ did not start with Eligos.

In fact, Eligos wasn’t the type to find pleasure in trampling on the weak.

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It was true that he was a belligerent demon lord who attacked humans without warning, but he never tortured or abused humans he captured without reason.

So, the image of a cruel and terrifying Demon King was created by Barbatos.

The Demon King’s Castle looks like an old castle.

Barbatos sang as he walked down the dark hallway.

As the verse ended, a small, soft-looking hand entered the man’s mouth.

“Ten little children went to eat. One choked, so there were nine.”

The man choked to death just as Barbatos sang.

While the man turned pale and died, Barbatos laughed with the face of an innocent child.

It was as if she was a noble lady who had seen a cute cat.

“Nine little children chopped firewood. They split themselves to make eight.”

As Barbatos, smiling broadly, flicked his finger, the other man was split in half.

So accustomed was he to playing with humans that he could easily kill them without even a drop of blood on his clothes.

The butler in uniform who was following her asked cautiously.

“Lord Barbatos, I’m sorry, but there aren’t many toys left in stock. They’re running out very quickly this time. What do you think I should do?”

“Is that so? It’s okay, just leave it alone. You’re going to play a bigger game now, right?”

“Yes, then, should I send the rest of the toys without sparing them?”

“Yeah! Let’s play with them all now. If you gather your hair like a flower garden, it’ll definitely look pretty!”

The reason Barbatos continued to attack humans was mostly for fun.

He freezes humans to the point where they don’t die with his unique coldness, and then when the war is over, he brings them to his Demon King’s castle and uses them as ‘toys’.

So, in Barbatos’ Demon King’s castle, there was even a special pen set up to raise humans.

Some Demon Kings even choose Barbatos as the Demon King who would be saddest if humans went extinct.

Are you going to cry sadly like a child who has had his toy taken away?

“Baal said, ‘Prepare for war, I won’t interfere this time.’ So this time, the other demon lords won’t interfere either. The others are just those who tremble in fear whenever Baal says a word.”

“That is a valid point. Then, how far will you advance this time? I will inform my staff in advance.”

“Until I fill up my hut! I want to destroy about five human cities. I definitely want to go further than any place I’ve been to so far.”

Barbatos walked forward with a brisk stride, lifting up the hem of his skirt.

The butler’s servant followed her with a pleased expression. At the end of the hallway was a balcony where night had fallen.

A gentle breeze blew past Barbatos’ collar.

“Should I kill that insolent man now? What was his name… what was it?”

“I am Carlton Malthius, a human swordmaster who has the imperious right to take up arms against Your Majesty.”

“Yeah, that’s right! But I didn’t hate it. Sometimes it’s fun to flinch when you step on something, right? The more dangerous the fight, the more fun it is.”

And the moment the Demon King of Cold stood on the balcony.

Kuung. An endless army rolled forward to welcome the monarch.

There was one thing notable about Barbatos’ army.

It is the most taciturn and static army among all the Demon King’s armies.

In stark contrast to the young and energetic appearance of the Demon King, there was not a single word of small talk among the soldiers.

The reason was that they were all living but not living corpses.

An ice doll that moves only on Barbatos’ orders.

That was the identity of that army.

“Hmm, I feel like the numbers are a little lacking. How much is it for all of that?”

“There are about 30,000 in total. Are you curious about the organization chart?”

“No. I don’t care. You’ll have to take care of that yourself, Lerazi. I think the numbers are a bit lacking. Where would be a good place to fill them?”

Moreover, it wasn’t only humans who feared Barbatos.

Even to the demons, Barbatos was a symbol of fear.

Because they didn’t want to become Barbatos’ ice dolls either.

No matter how evil a person is, they don’t want to become a living corpse.

In other words, her army was largely created by force.

Just as humans were toys to her, the demons were consumables that needed to be replenished periodically.

“Sabnak has been eating Bepar recently and growing in power. It’s not too far away, so how are you, Sabnak?”

“Is this the Demon King that I can kill?”

“Yes, I have completed the review.”

“Okay then. I guess I’ll just go with that guy.”

Barbatos stretched his proud arms towards the sky.

Before she knew it, she was holding a halberd in her hand.

It was a halberd made of ice the color of the light sky.

“Let’s go!”

* * *

His hot breath touched my skin and dispersed.

A hand full of strength presses down on my back and I clench it into a fist.

The world I see is filled with one person.

Red eyes trembling slightly. The corners of the eyes curved like crescent moons, and then the corners of the mouth curled up into a round smile.

Our lips exchanged breaths, leaving a gap barely wide enough to fit a finger joint.

“… … Your morning greeting is quite extreme.”

“I’ve always wanted to try it. Like waking up and rushing in. Isn’t it refreshing and nice?”

“It was a very refreshing experience.”

Sigh, laughter naturally burst out.

A morning like any other in Archduke Illencia.

─What was supposed to be started out a little differently.

As soon as I woke up, I thought I saw Sirien and she covered my lips with hers.

I felt like I had just had some lemon-flavored tea, and the sour scent still lingered on my lips.

After our morning kiss, Sirien lay in bed and acted spoiled instead of waking up with me.

“You’re not going to get up?”

“I don’t want to get up. If I do, I’ll have to go to work again.”

“Even if you don’t like it, you have to do it. If it’s really hard, should I help you out a little?”

“No. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. If you really want to help, come to my office with a snack sometimes. When no one is around.”

Sirien seemed to have decided to cling to me, wrapping her arms and legs around my waist.

I was aware of her hardships, so I gently stroked her hair.

Sirien usually liked having the back of her head stroked rather than her bangs.

It was like that because when I touched my bangs, all the care I put into arranging them got ruined, but when I touched the back of my head, it felt like I was being supported, so I felt at peace.

Anyway, I thought she liked it so I gently loosened the nape of her neck.

“Okay. I wish time would stop like this… … .”

“How much is it like that?”

“It’s not a big deal. Barbatos has been messing with the surrounding Demon Lords again. He does this every time he attacks the Empire, but this time it seems to be different in scale. An invasion is now a done deal.”

As soon as I started to feel a little better, Sirien started complaining as if she had been waiting for me.

She was the type of woman who wouldn’t even blink an eye at something so trivial.

Seeing him being so upset, it seemed like he must have been busy lately.

This means that the weight of the throne is by no means light.

After Gamigin made his bombshell declaration, the southern part of the empire was literally put on high alert.

A big shot like Barbatos can have such an impact that the power structure within the Empire can be completely changed every time he goes to war.

A prestigious family with a long history is destroyed and falls into ruin, and the territory that was carefully cultivated becomes a wasteland.

Recently, the nobles of the South have been spending every night in anxiety.

“Our clans are making a fuss about whether the West is okay, and the South is crying out for a little more help. These days, the North is starting to get a little more chaotic because the demons are starting to come down.”

“There’s chaos everywhere, really. The central government won’t just sit still.”

“I told you so. If you go back to the office now, Russell will have piled up another stack of papers.”

When the war with the Demons broke out, the person the nobles relied on the most was the Grand Duke of Illencia.

The family that has been blocking the demons for the longest time. Recently, due to their record of killing Eligos, all the nobles of the empire have been trying to contact Sirien.

Letters pour in like a tidal wave from all over the empire every day.

But even though he was a Syrian, he couldn’t respond to everyone’s request.

The Grand Duchy of Illencia is the spear of the west, not the shield of the south.

Helping other fronts is something you can do when you have the ability, not an obligation.

I’m not saying I want to completely ignore it, but… … This time, Barbatos’ momentum was different.

Before a full-scale invasion, Barbatos always clears out and absorbs the surrounding demons.

Normally, it would have ended before the Empire’s eyes could even catch sight of it. But this time, it seemed like they had no intention of ending it with the nearby demon tribes, so they were hunting down several demon lords.

Because of this, in the empire where spring flowers were just beginning to bloom, one saying was spreading like a fad.

Prepare for winter.

The Demon King of Cold will come.