Show Them a Fierce One - chapter 9

The small misunderstanding with Bobobawa was quickly resolved, because after Ludwig finished explaining how to use OKRs, he took out the Magic Diary and demonstrated its “proper” use.

“Go back and have Lamashitu study it. I want to see a new tool that allows several diaries to collaborate at once,” Ludwig said.

Lamashitu was one of Ludwig’s legion commanders, a mixed-blood female demon of high Demon Race lineage, with a rather unique title: “Most Ferocious of All Female Demons.” However, she didn’t seem very satisfied with this title and had sworn to eventually remove the gender restriction from it.

-“Of course, I will never be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with you, my great master, guide of the Demon Race, to whom all glory above and below shall ultimately belong.”

Lamashitu was a textbook worshipper of strength, a devoted follower of the Goddess of Wisdom. She had defected from the high Demon Race without hesitation, largely because she believed that the decaying class was no longer fit to rule the Demon Realm and should have long been replaced by stronger demons. She and Bobobawa, who worshipped the Goddess of War, were two completely different kinds of demons.

Lamashitu was also Ludwig’s most capable Alchemist, and she tirelessly wrote letters to her teachers, classmates, and friends she had once worked with in a Mage Tower, hoping to persuade them to join the great cause of Conqueror Ludwig.

“Do we, uh, need to change the color?” Bobobawa, realizing that the Magic Diary was just a tool, dared not let his imagination run wild anymore and cautiously asked his master about the color.

Although pink was supposed to be for real men, the color of this diary was a bit too bold, and the butcher felt he couldn’t handle it.

Ludwig rested his chin on his gloved hand, eyes slightly narrowed. He was in a particularly good mood today, so he didn’t mind his subordinate’s foolishness, only tapping lightly, “Did I use any word that made you think you needed to make an exact replica of the original?”

“It was my stupidity!” Bobobawa bowed his head in terror, deeply annoyed with himself. His dull brain was always less reliable anywhere but the battlefield.

Still, this was great-he had to persuade Lamashitu to make a black one.

“Green,” Ludwig normally wouldn’t care about such trivial matters as color, but perhaps influenced by Bobobawa, he thought of Anuo’s appearance and slightly changed his final answer, though it felt a bit like he was trying to cover something up. He said, “Dark green will do.”

Before Bobobawa could rack his brains to praise his lord’s refined taste with his meager vocabulary, the Ravenfolk, temporarily serving as diplomatic liaison, urgently arrived via Magic Communication.

-“The Pope wishes to arrange a private meeting with you.”

Bobobawa looked at his friend in the communication array, puzzled. Pope? Which Pope? Weren’t we already planning to break with the Dark Church and have the Undead Knights flatten the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons? Given the current state of the Dark Church, what right do they have to negotiate with us?

“The Pope of Light, from the Glory Empire,” the Ravenfolk added.

Bobobawa’s eyes widened in disbelief, like his friend on the other side of the array had just said something as absurd as “the sky should be buried underground.”

Ludwig, on the other hand, was not particularly surprised. Ironically, after news spread that the Demon Race was about to end its civil war, the first to publicly express joy was not the Dark Church, which claimed to be the final destination for all dark souls, but the Church of Light, which spread love and justice everywhere.

The Pope of Light was an old fox, yet somehow still seemed to live in an ideal world-a fool whose smile made demons’ stomachs ache, and whose frown made their heads hurt.

Ludwig had never quite decided what diplomatic attitude to maintain toward him.

Because although the Pope of Light was not a war fanatic, he was also not someone easily trusted or fooled. Ludwig couldn’t be sure whether the Pope knew his true thoughts about the gods, or if, upon learning them, he would react like the lunatics of the Dark Church, wishing to kill him for being faithless.

On the Falres Continent, sometimes having different beliefs was not frightening; it was common to worship multiple gods, and even hatred for a particular god could be met with attempts at understanding. But when it came to faithlessness, or broken faith…
That would be a grave act of blasphemy.

A Dark Pope with profound heritage was already enough to give the Demon Race a headache. If another were to be added, how would this be any different from when the Demon Race stood against the entire continent?

The Norsmo Legion did not fear being enemies with the world-they simply lacked time.

Ludwig sighed inwardly-Your Eminence truly was full of energy. If he remembered correctly, the Pope of Light had just met with the Elven Queen yesterday, and today wished to talk with him again.

Do old people never need to sleep?

Ludwig’s mind spun at lightning speed, searching for a way out of this predicament. In a flash of inspiration, he remembered that in the two Memory Crystal related to Anuo, there were also some superfluous notes, added as usual by the Ravenfolk who loved to overcomplicate matters. Among these was an investigation into the major experiences of the Elf Prince Brother’s past one hundred and eighty years.

From his birth on the Tree of Life, to his childhood in the Elven King’s Land, to studying alone at the Sky Fortress-

Everything was vivid, down to the smallest detail.

Ludwig used his Staff to summon these materials again. His well-defined fingers slowly brushed over the intelligence-filled Parchment, finally pausing on the term “God’s Favored.”

***

When Anuo woke up, it was already pitch dark outside. He was supposed to be the Guidance Junior, but in the end the Junior Student knocked on his door to remind him it was time for dinner.

On the porcelain-white face of the Light Elf, creases from the shirt he had forgotten to take off left several red marks-he hadn’t even noticed. He sat on the bed, a few tufts of silver hair sticking up, and slowly lowered his head, rubbing his stomach as if he truly was hungry. Otherwise, just now, when he saw the horns on Ludwig’s head, his first thought wouldn’t have been that, if those were croissants, they’d be delicious.

He didn’t just think it-he said it, too.

Ludwig leaned leisurely against the doorframe, patiently waiting for the Elf Prince Brother to wake up at a speed slower than one percent of the entire continent. After about five minutes, he was rewarded by the faint blush that appeared on both cheeks, like evening clouds at the horizon.

“Let-us-go-eat-dinner.” Even in trying to save himself from embarrassment, the beautiful Elf managed to sound not too clever.

Ludwig pushed his rimless glasses up lightly, letting him off for now-until, at the dining table, he passed a croissant from the bread basket onto Anuo’s plate.

Anuo: “…” This Junior Student was perfect in every way-except he was far too mischievous!

Dinner was shared by the students and the Dormitory Supervisor. The elderly Mrs. Hope was a Treant, said to be over ten thousand years old. It seemed she had been here since the day the Sky Fortress was founded. She sought neither promotion nor reward, and as she herself said: “Watching the little seedlings grow bit by bit is such a joyful thing.”

She truly regarded her work as Dormitory Supervisor as the greatest joy of her tree-life, loving each student here with equal warmth and enthusiasm.

Under her careful watch, Oak Tree Dormitory had welcomed and seen off generation after generation of outstanding talent.

Today, Mrs. Hope happily bloomed with flowers all over her head, and amid drifting fragrance, gave a brief introduction to the students present: “This year, our Oak Tree will welcome three new saplings, as well as an old friend. One new member is already here tonight, and two more will arrive tomorrow. How delightful-our forest grows bigger again.”

Everyone was accustomed to Mrs. Hope’s unique manner of speaking, and applauded in unison for the new and returning members joining them.

As for who the new student was, Anuo no longer had the energy to care. It was only now that he realized Ludwig was not the backgroundless, suddenly-rich (perhaps after some melodramatic family drama) polite Junior Student he had imagined, but a Senior Student who had graduated from here three hundred years ago.

Mrs. Hope recited Ludwig’s academic achievements as if listing treasures, proud beyond measure. Though she regarded every student she had mentored as outstanding, she still had to say Ludwig was the best of the best-unique and destined for greatness.

Anuo slowly lowered his head, feeling somewhat dejected. He thought he had done something foolish, and his new friend had even humored him, wasting an entire morning. To be honest, this made the Elf feel a bit embarrassed. But this was not Ludwig’s fault-it was his own for not understanding the situation.
Ludwig was the first to notice something was wrong with Anuo. In a deep, magnetic voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?” He looked a little wilted, like a sunflower deprived of sunlight, bowing its beautiful head of florets.

“I-did-not-help-you,” Anuo reported truthfully.

He had been so eager to get up early and work on his OKRs, not because he liked being a Guidance Senior, and certainly not because he missed the forced competition of his previous life. It was because, after his friend had carried him to and from the school infirmary late at night without complaint, he always wanted to do something for his friend in return. But it seemed he had messed up.

“No, why would you think that? Of course you helped me, there’s no doubt about it.” Ludwig was more than grateful to Anuo, even feeling a rare twinge of guilt, hoping Anuo wouldn’t be too angry after learning the truth.

Anuo was stunned, slowly turning to look at his friend. What did I help you with? His expressive eyes seemed to ask.

“Of course, this year’s Anuo seedlings are excellent. Even though it’s your first time as a Guidance Senior, you’ve managed everything so orderly,” Mrs. Hope continued her encouraging education. “I’ve already heard from Lud seedlings, and it’s truly impressive. Lud seedlings’ Guidance Senior back in the day wasn’t a very patient child…”

Mrs. Hope had always felt guilty about this, but now things were finally back on track.

“This wasn’t your fault,” Ludwig put on his usual polite mask, courteous and gentle. “I really wasn’t an easy Demon to get along with back then.”

Anuo understood slowly, but thankfully he felt he had grasped it. Just like Ludwig’s revenge shopping at the Magic Shop, he probably wanted to make up for other things he missed in his student days, and Anuo happened to fill the gap of the Guidance Senior who had failed in his duties. That was how he helped his friend. By accident. How wonderful.

Before Ludwig could explain, he noticed Anuo was already cheerful again. This Elf was just too easy to coax.

On Sunday morning, accompanied by the sounds of freshmen moving in early, Anuo heard a piece of news through the Divine Language Machine that astonished the entire continent.

Demon Realm Commander Ludwig Asmodeus was personally verified last night by Pope of Light Lucas XIV to possess both Dark and Light dual attributes as a member of the Demon Race. This was not unprecedented in Falres history, but it was rare enough-especially since this Commander was terrifyingly powerful.

It was said that the Light and Dark elements within him were in perfect balance, and his affinity for Light might even rival that of the youngest God’s Favored.

“Wow.” The youngest God’s Favored, Anuo, exclaimed in the morning sunlight. That was truly an impressive Demon.

Ludwig was standing by the door, observing the Elf Prince Brother’s reaction to the news. He had to “borrow” some of Anuo God’s Favored’s radiance, since the Dark Pope could announce at any moment that he was a non-believer, while the Pope of Light would firmly stand with the God’s Favored. “Don’t you think he stole your title? At least part of it.”

Anuo’s only thought was: That’s wonderful!

Please, if that Demon Race needs it, just take it all, don’t be shy!

Author’s Note:

*About the setting of the various churches in the story-although Light and Dark elements counteract each other, believing in the God of Light doesn’t mean you have to hunt down followers of the God of Darkness. This is a continent influenced by polytheism. Of course, there are a few extremists, like some Demons in the Dark Church. But overall, Light and Darkness in the story are not necessarily opposing forces of good and evil, but more like the coexistence of day and night. Demons can believe in the God of Light, and other races can believe in the God of Darkness. Here, the God of Darkness is more akin to the Lord of the Underworld, with the Month of Rebirth as His principal month.

*Lamashitu: Originates from ancient Babylonian mythology, a half-human, half-divine female demon, indeed the most ferocious among all female demons. Of course, there will be a lot of creative adaptation in the story, and not much of the mythological setting is retained.