CH 95

Love Injection

Translated by Mlzkzr

Edited by Mlzkzr

“Nephew-chan, I-came-to-play!”

“Gueh!”

In the garden in the late afternoon, I was relaxing on an easy chair when Kaori appeared from somewhere and thrust at me in the stomach.

In itself, it was just a “girl diving at me”, but it worked pretty well because I was hit in a completely defenseless place.

“Geho, gehogeho!”

“What’s wrong? I get it, it’s that 『chronic shakiness』 my father was talking about.”

“It’s from a physical attack!”

I endured the pain and quipped at Kaori.

She wondered with a puzzled look on her face.

“Nephew-chan is a good joker. If I attack, a one-kilometer radius will be obliterated.”

“You’re scary, demon king-san!”

I quipped on her again in a grand manner.

A huge explosion with such a body press, a scene of world destruction came to my mind.

The frightening thing about the Demon king is that the idea of a one-kilometer radius being obliterated doesn’t sound like a joke at all.

“But more importantly, nephew-chan, let’s play.”

“Yes, yes, what is it today?”

Refusing Kaori’s invitation is useless.

I gave up on thinking about it early on and adopted a policy of going out with her quickly and ending the matter quickly.

“The servants have made the preparations, all that’s left is for us to go.”

“Got it”

I got up from my easy chair and followed Kaori.

☆

“And I regretted it.”

“Nephew-chan, what weird things are you talking about?”

Right beside me, Kaori looked into my face with a curious look on her face.

I sigh and ask back with a dumbfounded face.

“Hey, what is this? This army surrounding us”

I spread my hand and ask Kaori.

We’re now, being encircled by troops——no, being protected while marching.

It’s an army that’s composed mostly of black, including armor and armaments.

Their number is roughly 10,000. Everywhere I look, it’s soldiers, soldiers, soldiers.

“This is the Demon King’s army. In other words, my army.”

“It’s the demon king’s army! Don’t tell me, you’re not going to start a war somewhere, do you”

“Nephew-chan is being very forgetful. I can’t fight in a war because I can’t put my hands on humans.”

“Come to think of it, it was like that…… then why?”

“We’re going to an annual ritual right now.”

“Ritual?”

“That’s right”

Kaori was being little shy unusually.

“A long time ago, in a certain place, my mother did something terrible to Hikari-oneesama.”

“Though you started out as it being a long time ago, those characters are familiar to me.”

I reflexively quipped, but Kaori’s mother ―― If it’s an episode of the previous Demon King, maybe “a long time ago” is right.

“Because of that time, every year I hold a ceremony to apologize to Hikari-oneesama.”

“…… I see”

I nodded slightly.

I don’t know the specifics, but I feel I have enough for the bare minimum.

Kaori always speaks normally, but as I can tell from her earlier story about wiping out a one-kilometer area, there’s a high possibility that “something terrible” at the demon king’s level is quite important.

Speaking of apology rituals associated with that, there is a high possibility that it is a kind of “requiem ritual”.

If I could imagine that much, I thought it would be okay for the most part.

“That’s right, nephew-chan will do it for me.”

“Hah? Why?”

“Since you look just right. The ritual of apology is also an imitation of what my father and Hikari-oneesama used to do.”

“I’m also a guy, so you’re saying that visually I’m better at this.”

“That’s how it is.”

“……It’s not a dangerous ceremony, is it?”

“It’s all right. Anyone can do it if they take their time.”

“I see. Fair enough.”

If it’s that kind of ritual ―― it’s better to do it quickly than to have the conversation with Kaori get complicated.

I agreed to do the ritual as a proxy.

☆

After about half a day’s journey, we arrived at a temple in the middle of the wilderness.

The exaggerated decorative pillars spread out over a vast range and formed a circle, and in the center of them was also a pillar, which was I expected.

While the Demon King’s army surrounded such temple ―― I was escorted inside, and I entered the central shrine with Kaori.

Then a girl appeared.

She is a lovely girl who looks about the same age as Kaori, dressed in black and with long, flowing hair.

The reason I see that she’s not a human, is that her entire body is slightly transparent.

“Is this the one you call Hikari-oneesama?”

“Indeed, it’s an illusion of onee-sama.”

“I see. So what do you want me to do?”

“Pat her head”

“……Ha?”

“Pat her head”

“No, why?”

“It’s because father did it to onee-sama.”

“……Ah”

Come to think of it, that’s what she said.

Also, the thing about me being a more visual match.

I stare at the illusion.

Certainly, it looks better for me to do it than Kaori.

Or rather, it wouldn’t look like an “apology ritual” if Kaori did it.

“Do you want me to stroke her?”

“Yes. Take as much time as you can.”

“Got it”

I nod and move closer to the illusion, within arm’s reach.

I then patted the illusion’s head as the 10,000-strong demon king army watched me.

I thought it would require something special, but it didn’t, it was just an ordinary illusion that I could touch.

I continue to pat her head.

The girl was adorable and gave me the illusion of contentment, as if I were stroking my real daughter’s head.

On the other hand――I felt my arms getting heavier.

I feel like my strength is being sucked up; it’s that feeling of fatigue.

My arms are getting heavier and heavier.

……I see.

I was about to be deceived.

About what that “Take as much time as you can” meant.

『It’s amazing that your arms can move even when they’re heavy! 』

I can feel her saying such things as I continue to stroke her.

I rounded up the patting.

―― Thank you, Otou-san. (TN: Father)

Somehow, I had an auditory hallucination that the illusion had said such a thing.

Then the illusion disappeared with a satisfied look on her face.

“It’s over——what?”

When I turned around, I saw Kaori ―― and the Demon King’s army all in astonishment.

“Wha,what is it?”

Pressured by this, I ask again.

I had a bad feeling about this.

And it was right on the mark.

“““OOooohhh!!”””

“Nephew-chan is amazing”

An earth-shattering cheer rose from the 10,000 Demon King’s Army, and Kaori was innocently impressed.

“What’s going on?”

I had a bad feeling about this, that my IQ dropped slightly.

In contrast, Kaori’s tension increased more and more.

“Hikari-oneesama’s ritual is to pat her and inject love.”

“Love……inject……?”

“You’ll pat her with all your heart(power), and you can’t leave until Hikari-oneesama is satisfied. It usually takes an hour.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said I should take my time!”

“Nephew-chan did that in an instant, it’s amazing!”

“““Ooooooohh!!”””

Kaori was impressed, and the demon king’s army cheered even louder.

What the hell, I can’t believe I did that in front of this many people. ……

“You’re the God of plague, huh”

“? I’m the Demon King.”

Kaori returns innocently, but I hang my head crestfallenly.