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Ever since I became Tristan and got trapped in this world, I’ve experienced hundreds of failures. It was so frustrating. No matter what I did, I couldn’t save this world… this world that might very well be Sora herself.

With each failure, my body and mind became more battered, and I grew exhausted. Slowly, I forgot who I really was, and eventually, I became the real Tristan and went berserk. I mercilessly eliminated anyone who stood in my way. It didn’t matter if they were family or even the emperor of this country. I simply surrendered to “Wrath” and ruled over this world like a tyrant.

I believed that the atrocities I committed were ultimately for the sake of this world. I firmly believed it was the only way, the best way. But the result of “Wrath” was a miserable failure. The future of “Wrath” was nothing but destruction. True to the nature of the Seven Deadly Sins, it led me to ruin.

However, this time, it won’t end like that. In the past, I focused on eliminating those who opposed me, but this time, I’ve brought them to my side. One by one, I’ve turned yesterday’s enemies into today’s allies.

And that includes the demons who are hostile to humans. When you think about it, they’re victims who were treated as monsters and killed by players even before humans were. In the end, we’re in the same position, facing the same enemy.

If demons form an alliance with humans, it’s obvious that it would greatly aid my strategy. It’s time to pursue cooperation rather than division. That’s why I became the Demon Lord.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m Bella Izakhel of the Izakhel Duke Family.”

“Hmm! I am Leon Peiriguris, commander of the Imperial Army!”

“I’m Baron Patrick Wolfbert.”

“I’m Ariel Rizeute.”

“…I’m Laura Elsink.”

The nobles of the Seven Stars introduced themselves and took their seats around the circular table. And the last one to sit was…

“Tristan…”

The one who spat out that word and sat down was Blanshe, wearing Tristan’s shell. Since I had to play the role of Trinity in this meeting, the only one who could replace Tristan was the calm Blanshe.

When I entrusted her with my role before, she performed well, so I thought she’d do the same this time…

“Count. Um…”

“What?”

“The reward you gave me last time… Will you give it to me again this time?”

The reward from last time was clearly referring to when I patted her head. Considering how devotedly Blanshe has helped me, refusing other tasks, it’s not too much to give her that. But I’m worried that the reward might be too meager compared to her efforts.

“If you want it, I’ll give it to you. But is that enough? You can ask for more if you want.”

“Huh?! M-more, you mean?!”

“Yes.”

“M-more rewards, like…?”

“…? Are you asking me?”

“Ugh?! S-sorry… I’m just not very knowledgeable about… that sort of thing…”

“That sort of thing??”

“It’s nothing! I’ll think about it and figure it out!”

This was what happened this morning. I thought her condition seemed unstable, but she looked too tense, almost snappy. I had told her to keep her words to a minimum, but that backfired.

To others, it probably looked like Tristan was showing displeasure towards Trinity.

“Ahem… As you may already know, this is Count Tristan Ruelberta, the supreme commander of our army. He also arranged this meeting.”

Bella stepped in to smooth things over. She, too, wants to secure this alliance, so she wouldn’t want to undermine Trinity.

Bella subtly elbowed Tristan—well, Blanshe—to give her a hint. Blanshe was trying hard not to look intimidated, but her expression was already showing signs of discomfort as she received a warning from her master.

‘This is bad…’

As much as the peace of this world is important, I can’t let Tristan’s character fall apart. I was starting to worry if Blanshe could handle this… but then I noticed someone standing behind her.

“…Hmph…!”

Helga, who met my eyes, was trying to suppress a laugh, her lips twitching. If you look at it positively, it’s like a puppy wagging its tail upon seeing its owner. If you look at it negatively, it’s just cluelessness.

Honestly, I’m more worried about Helga than Blanshe.

When I told Helga that I had become the Demon Lord and asked her to keep it a secret, I was uneasy.

“Count, really. Do you not trust me that much?”

Honestly, I didn’t.

“Hehe. I’ll absolutely keep it a secret! Oh? Count, why are you making that untrusting face? Huh?”

Maybe it’s because I’ve been in too many situations where I’ve been insulted just by my expression. Even “Patience” can’t hide it anymore.

“Don’t worry. Don’t you know I’m the most tight-lipped woman among your close aides?”

Helga puffed out her chest proudly, but I had no idea. Her supposedly tight lips were trembling as if they’d open at the slightest breeze. She looked like she was itching to brag about me being the Demon Lord.

‘Come to think of it…’

Helga wasn’t surprised when she heard I had become the Demon Lord. It was as if she had expected it.

Now that all the past has come back to me, I think she might have wanted me to become the Demon Lord. When you think about it, Helga is a character with similar scars to Tristan. She suffered irreparable wounds in the suffocating atmosphere of the Wolfbert Family, which has been obsessed with power for generations, along with family discord.

She hated and hated those who gave her those scars and this world. In past loops, she actively aided my atrocities, partly out of loyalty to me but also driven by her desire for revenge.

Thanks to me taming her this time, she’s improved a lot, but Helga was originally a character who showed boundless cruelty to anyone but me.

Her distant eyes and the scars that once covered her body may have disappeared, but the scars in her heart remain. And those scars might still harbor hatred for this world.

If I were to plunge this world into the abyss of “Despair” as the Demon Lord, she would actively support it.

But I can’t do that.

Because I’ve come to know “Hope.”

“……”

Next to the horse Bella rode, a girl peeked out. Wendy, with a visibly nervous face, was anxiously watching me.

She looked quite cute, but it was obvious she was too conscious of me. It’s more troublesome than I thought that so many people know I’m Tristan and the Demon Lord. There are too many things to worry about to keep my identity from being exposed.

In this situation, it’s best to wrap up the meeting as quickly as possible.

I casually opened my mouth.

“…I’ve heard the gist of it. If you agree to my conditions, I’m willing to form an alliance.”

“Conditions?”

“Don’t covet the Demon Forest.”

The Demon Forest is a place with a high concentration of magical energy, managed by the Izakhel Family. Over the years, influenced by the magical energy, the flora and fauna have developed a unique ecosystem different from ordinary forests.

Especially for obtaining magical wood and minerals used in crafting magical tools, there’s no better place in the empire than the Demon Forest.

That’s why successive emperors have tried to annex the barren Northern Region, the Northern Garden, into the empire.

But the Demon Forest is more than just a treasure trove of resources—it’s an essential habitat for demons.

“I know you’re eyeing the resources in the forest. But the forest is clearly our land. I can’t allow humans to set foot in it as they please.”

“I understand.”

“Of course, if you’re willing to pay a fair price for the resources we have, I’m open to selling them.”

“We’re not interested in money, so for example…?”

“I’ll exchange them for food or daily necessities that are hard to come by in the North. I’ll allow entry to the forest for those who come for such exchanges.”

“Ah, I see…”

After learning the truth of the “Autumn Tragedy,” I did some research. According to the chief of the Toin tribe, during Kyle’s time as the border lord, there was bartering between the castle’s residents and the demons. Kyle chose interaction and cooperation with demons over hostility.

“You’re Trinity, right?”

A thin female voice suddenly interrupted. When I turned my head, there was Laura Elsink, who looked younger than Wendy.

“I get that you’re the representative of the demons. But that doesn’t mean you own the entire forest, does it? Deciding things like forest entry isn’t something you can just do unless you’re at least a Demon Lord.”

“That’s right.”

“Huh?”

“I am the Demon Lord.”

For a moment, silence fell.

Maybe it was because I answered so nonchalantly.

Even Bella looked half-doubting.

“If that’s true…”

“Pfft! This girl is more fun than I thought!”

“Wait… Laura!”

Despite Bella’s attempts to stop her, Laura burst out laughing.

“The Demon Lord? Pfft. The Demon Lord isn’t something you can become overnight. Even a child can tell who the Demon Lord is. If you were really the Demon Lord, we wouldn’t even be sitting here.”

True to her nature of doubting everything, Laura aggressively raised her suspicions. But her doubts were valid.

The Demon Lord, said to be the pinnacle of evil, is a being of a completely different “caliber.” History tells us that. An ordinary human can’t even face such a supreme being.

Even sensitive animals and newborn babies can sense the Demon Lord’s presence and instinctively feel fear.

That’s why I’ve been trying not to show that I’m the Demon Lord. If they fear me from the start, it’ll only make things harder for me. Along with “Patience,” which suppresses “Wrath,” I’ve been using the self-control I’ve honed over time to suppress the Demon Lord’s power as much as possible. At best, I probably look like a high-ranking demon.

“Ah… Is that so?”

“I don’t know much, but I’ve heard you shouldn’t casually claim to be the Demon Lord. Do you think you can get away with impersonating the Demon Lord?”

Laura’s sarcastic tone should have made me feel bad, but I didn’t care. If anything, it felt trivial and ridiculous. Maybe it’s because my existence has ascended since becoming the Demon Lord.

But then, the problem erupted.

“Oh? Lady Laura, you speak as if you’ve seen the Demon Lord yourself.”

“What? Who are you…?”

When Laura looked up, there was a purple-haired woman standing behind Tristan—well, Blanshe.

“Ah, my apologies. I’m Helga Wolfbert.”

“Hey… you. Do you know what kind of place this is? Can’t you stay quiet?”

Even her brother, Patrick, was startled and scolded Helga, but it was useless.

“Lady Laura. What if that person really is the Demon Lord?”

“What?”

“If she’s really the Demon Lord, wouldn’t that be a huge mistake? Hehe…”

Helga was pretending to be nonchalant, but I could tell. She was really pissed off.

It was because of Laura’s provocative behavior earlier. To me, it was just ridiculous, but that was only my perspective. To Helga, who has high loyalty to me, it must have seemed like the ultimate insult.

But right now, I’m disguised as Trinity. She had to keep her mouth shut.

“What kind of crazy woman… Oh, no… Count. As the supreme commander, can’t you even properly educate one of your subordinates? Disappointing.”

“……”

Caught off guard, Blanshe, disguised as Tristan, was also at a loss for words and panicking.

To make matters worse, Laura’s words only fueled Helga’s anger.

“Ahaha. Why are you bringing up our Count? Is it because you’re inferior to him? You’re so busy biting at any excuse you can find.”

“A mere bodyguard knight…! How dare you speak so rudely!”

“Laura! Calm down!”

Bella, knowing Laura’s temperament, stood up to mediate.

Here, Blanshe, playing the role of Tristan, should have stepped in to stop it, but unfortunately, she didn’t have the capacity for that. She just froze in place…

In the end, I had no choice but to step in.

‘I have no choice…’

I carefully released the Demon Lord’s trait, “Despair.”

“What?!”

Laura, sensing something strange, stepped back. But within the range of “Despair,” she soon fell on her butt.

This was a process I had to go through anyway.

Regardless of Laura’s sarcasm, I needed to prove to them that I was the Demon Lord.

The air around us froze for a moment. A damp, windless atmosphere settled in.

Dark emotions began to rise from within me. It was a completely different feeling from the “Wrath” I had dealt with before.

If “Wrath” was a burning emotion, “Despair” didn’t burn or boil.

It just forcibly swallowed all emotions and turned them into “Despair.”

“W-what is this…?”

The vitality was draining from Laura’s face. She was visibly weakening.

“Despair” is a trait that nullifies all other traits. It literally devours a person’s unique personality, way of thinking, and preferences.

A person consumed by “Despair” is left as an empty shell. In other words, it’s no different from annihilating the soul.

It’s an overwhelmingly terrifying power for a single individual to possess. Even though I suppressed my power as much as possible, “Despair” spread through Laura’s body like a deadly poison.

I immediately suppressed “Despair.”

I used “Hope” as a lid to press down on the “Despair” that kept trying to leak out. Having been saved by Wendy once before, I was able to do this because I had “Hope.”

But Laura, who had been directly hit by “Despair,” was beyond help. I didn’t intend to go this far…

“Ugh…!”

At that moment, a small shadow, like a flying squirrel, leapt toward Laura, who was about to be consumed by “Despair.”

It was Wendy.

She had sensed the danger and came to save Laura.

Wendy, who had suddenly appeared, rolled on the snow with Laura.

At that moment, I felt it. Wendy’s “Hope” was saving Laura, who had fallen into the swamp of “Despair.”

It was like a warm ray of sunlight breaking through dark clouds.

Color returned to Laura’s pale face.

“Haa… Haa…”

“W-what… what just…”

“Are you okay…?”

“Huh? Uh… I think so…”

“Th-that’s good…”

“But… who are you…?”

“Me? I’m…”

“Wendy?! Are you okay?!”

Bella, who had spotted Wendy, hurried over.

“Y-yes… I’m okay.”

“I told you to stay quietly in the back.”

“Eek… S-sorry… I couldn’t help it…”

Everyone who had felt the “Despair” had already gotten up from the table and taken a few steps back.

Their gazes had changed.

Their faces were filled with doubts—could it really be? Is it possible? And their doubts converged on one word.

Demon Lord.

“Do you believe me now?”

I spoke to them, who were now on high alert.

“Thanks to you defeating Aaron, I was able to become the Demon Lord relatively easily.”

“Don’t tell me you planned this from the start…?”

“I can’t say no.”

When I leaked information to them, it was partly to imprint on them that there are demons friendly to humans, but it was also clearly intended to dismantle Aaron’s forces. Thanks to them, I easily gained control of the Demon Forest.

“Let me reintroduce myself. I am the third Demon Lord. Trinity.”

“Hah?! Don’t make me laugh!”

Laura, who had regained her senses, jumped up.

“The Demon Lord can’t just appear out of nowhere like this!”

“Laura. After seeing that, can’t you believe it? If Trinity is the Demon Lord, it explains what almost killed you earlier.”

Bella’s words seemed to convince Leon, Patrick, and Ariel. To them, I must have looked like an evil Demon Lord wielding dark magic.

And Tristan—well, Blanshe—who had been silent all along, added her seal of approval.

“I saw what happened earlier. After seeing that, we have no choice but to believe her.”

With the supreme commander’s acknowledgment, the Imperial Army’s opinion was effectively unified.

Except for one person.

“N-no, this must be some kind of trick!”

“Laura…”

“I can’t accept that woman as the Demon Lord! Not unless dirt gets in my eyes—”

Splat!

“Kyaaaah?! My eyes! S-something got in my eyes!”

“Hmm! Since there’s no dirt around, I used snow instead!”

“Whaaaat?! Leon!”

“Wahahaha! Fitting for the ‘Ice Witch’! Shedding tears as cold as snow!”

“I’m human too, you idiot! Do you think my tears are cold?! Hey! Stop putting snow in my eyes! I can’t see!”

“Why don’t you try opening your eyes now? Laura! No matter how much you deny it, it seems undeniable that she’s the Demon Lord!”

“You jerk! Let me open my eyes first before you say that! I can’t see!”

“Hmm! There’s an old saying! Not everything is as it seems!”

“I can’t see anything, you fool!”

Laura, clutching her eyes, screamed.

“Ahem…”

Bella, ignoring the scene, spoke to me.

“Shall we continue the meeting?”

 

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