Chapter 179

Return of the Goddess

I concentrated on internal affairs in Ashtaroth castle until I learned more about the ants. However, several weeks had now passed, but there was no report from Fuma Kotaro.

The enemy must be very good if someone as capable as Kotaro was having trouble with acquiring information.

Perhaps the enemy had a great tactician working for them.

The thought occurred to me, and I was apparently correct.

One night, as I fell asleep, the goddess came to me in a dream.

It was the goddess that I met when I came to this world.

She would occasionally visit and give me warnings.

And so this time too, she appeared suddenly and said,

“Ah, Ashta. It’s been awhile.”

She talked lightheartedly, as if she was just a relative of mine.

And she was eating a piece of fried chicken.

“Is that…?”

I asked. And she smiled and said, ‘Of course.’

“This is the fried chicken that your town has become famous for. Ah! It is so delicious. But it also depends on which piece you get. I feel rather sad when I get a dry breast piece.”

She then urged me to ban such pieces, but Demon King or not, I could not pass such idiotic laws.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, but quickly returned to her usual expression. Then she seductively licked her oily fingers.

‘Does this excite you?’ She asked. But I ignored her.

“Well, I didn’t come here to buy more chicken.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Obviously, to give you a warning.”

“I think that I’ve been doing pretty well, living as a Demon King.”

“I’m not here to complain about how you’ve been doing things. If anything, you’ve been doing so well that I want you to keep living.”

“I will do that.”

“I’ve been watching you a lot lately. It’s a good way to kill time.”

Was I supposed to be flattered?

As I wondered what to say, she finally got to the point, which was unusual for her.

“The thing is, I came here to save you from certain harm.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to interfere with the world below.”

“Physically, yes. But a little advice won’t hurt.”

But I had a feeling that she was still breaking the rules. However, if someone was going to get in trouble over it, it would be her. So I didn’t say any more.

“And so here is my advice. Currently, you are fighting against the ants, yes?”

“Aye. They are being investigated.”

“There are two Heroes working for them. And they are most dangerous.”

“Two Heroes, huh? That’s troublesome.”

“You have five Heroes working for you, but they won’t all be together. And so you may be overwhelmed.”

“True. But what kind Heroes are these?”

“I could tell you. But that wouldn’t be very fair, would it?”

“Perhaps. But it would help.”

“Then I won’t tell you. Besides, you’ll find out soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Heroes are staying in this town. They are old fashioned,you see. And so they wanted to see the face of the enemy leader before the battle.”

“So they are playful, just like you.”

“I suppose. Yes, they may be quite similar to me.”

“That is bad. But perhaps that means they are good people, deep down.”

“Maybe.”

The goddess chuckled.

“In any case, the Demon King you will be facing this time is very strong. You may even lose. Remember that.”

“Aye. I always feel that death is close.”

I said, and then the goddess started to grow distant. And her voice faded.

“Ah, it looks like it’s time. I wanted to talk a little longer.”

“We’ll talk again. If I’m alive, that is.”

“Yes. I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the Demon King that I chose.”

“What’s the real reason?”

“Because I made a bet with a friend, and put all of this month’s allowance on you.”

She was certainly not an upstanding goddess. But I didn’t say this, and thanked her instead.

“While it wasn’t the important part, thank you for the valuable information. I will search for them in the morning and try to make contact.”

“Good. It will be your last chance to see them before the fight. Ah, don’t tell them that it was I that told you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, there is one last thing I need to say.”

“What? A confession of love?”

“No. Your mouth is covered in grease. You should probably wipe it.”

It was from the chicken she had been eating earlier.

The goddess wiped her mouth with a napkin and said, ‘goodbye’ before disappearing.

When I woke up the next morning, I was all alone. But there was a depression in the bed, and some warmth.

At first I wondered if Jeanne had snuck in again, but it was not the case. Jeanne would have stayed until morning.

It was probably the goddess then. But I felt no affection at the thought.

If anything, I thought of her more as a sister.

She felt like a closer relation than Jeanne or Eve.

…Though, if she really were my sister, then the days would be even more chaotic.

As I thought about what I had learned during the night, I heard Eve knocking on the door.

She then pushed in a silver cart with tea and breakfast on it.

I said good morning to my beautiful maid, and told her that I was canceling my plans for the day.

She looked surprised for a second but did not object.

But she did ask for the reason.

And so I told her clearly.

“A friend is visiting from far away. And I want to talk to him about strategy.”

Eve smiled at this.

“Well then, I hope you have an enjoyable day.”

She smiled. And amidst the clean morning air, she looked like a beautiful church painting.