The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 3 - Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

The Ex–Demon Lord and the Legendary Champion

“What…?! Sis? Lydia? Does she mean…?!” blubbered Ireena.

“Th-the Legendary…?!” added Ginny.

Both of them balked, sweating bullets, at the woman in front of the broken door.

The object of their gaze took a single glance at Verda, sighed quietly, and closed her eyes.

She was essentially the crystallized form of beauty. Her long, pointed ears symbolized she was an elf. She was tall for a woman, coming in at around 175 celti. Her taut body and womanly softness were concealed by a thin cloth. Her entire face obeyed the golden ratio, and her long, silver hair was one of her distinctive features.

Her name was Lydia. Lydia Viigensgeight.

The reigning example of one who etched her name into legend as the mightiest of heroes. The first Champion and most exalted of all warriors. And my one and only dear friend after I became known as the Demon Lord.

In that next moment, Lydia suddenly opened her clever, almond eyes wide.

“Damn you, Verda! How many times are you gonna make me tell you that I don’t have enough rearguards?! You little nitwit! You think you’re better than me?! Yeah?! Spit it!” Lydia spewed in her angelic voice. Her long, silver hair swayed as she barged in toward Verda, lifting her and forcing her to stand on her feet.

“Sally twice as many troops! If you don’t, I’m gonna ram my arm right up your asshole and directly to your brain! You hear me?!” Lydia yanked her up by the collar, bringing her real close as she stared menacingly. Just like a town hoodlum.

Ireena and Ginny stood frozen in shock, unable to process the crudeness that lay beneath her beauty.

“…That’s the Legendary Champion?”

“Sh-she’s so different from the depictions in the heroic ballad… She can’t be…”

You see, those depictions of Lydia were bad enough to make you want to berate the author, too. The girls had believed in that false image and just been hit with a dose of reality. Lydia was in no way the paragon of virtue the present world made her out to be. She was beautiful on the outside and a vulgar, greedy delinquent on the inside. As expected of Sylphy’s big sister, she was the world’s greatest…no, history’s greatest idiot.

…As soon as I saw this huge jackass, I instinctively felt an urge to cry.

So it was true. I had really returned to the past.

I’d been able to return to a world with Lydia in it.

In a single breath, my unrest had transformed to wonder. On the other hand, Lydia and the others continued their little argument.

“Come on, relax, Lydie. I think the support troops are at an optimal number. My super genius led me to that—”

“Who do you think you’re calling a genius? You’re a bean sprout! Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten—you said the same thing in that war and then we ended up taking more damage than we anticipated?!”

“More than we anticipated? No, not at all. There’s no way I’d ever miscalculate. And that’s because—I’m   a   geeeniusss! Geh-heh-heh-heh!”

Lifted by her collar with her legs dangling midair, Verda roared with laughter.

Lydia was reaching her wit’s end, rattling Verda’s petite body around as she ranted and raved. Sylphy stood next to them with a proud look on her face.

“You got this, Sis! Oh, you never lose your cool, even when you’re up against some real wacky perverts!” waxed Sylphy, admiration gleaming in her eyes. But she must have sensed something because she suddenly whipped over to look at Ireena.

“…Hmm? You look like Lydia. Could you be long-lost sisters?” With one hand on her chin, she peered at her.

“N-no, I, um…,” stuttered Ireena. She mustn’t have known how to deal with this Sylphy.

This exchange between the two was terribly precious and kind of fun to watch.

…At any rate, judging from Lydia’s anger, it seemed we had arrived at a point in time before the Battle of Aralia Plains had been settled. By this period, we had already defeated several Outer Ones, and the fight was in full swing. We were protecting our vast nation, rising up as a world superpower, and rushing toward the end of the war with the Outer Ones and demons… That was what I remembered.

At the time, I had left the matter of the war largely up to the Four Heavenly Kings and the Champion army, which was led by Lydia, devoting myself to internal affairs. My band of oddballs—and their human capital city—was pushing us toward a golden age, and I had already intentionally excused myself from their ranks.

It had been a turning point that differentiated the middle and end of the long war.

The Aralia Plains was controlled by the demons and covered a large sprawl of land. There, the demons had erected fortress towns and citadels. Through a joint effort between Lydia’s and Verda’s armies, they subjugated the area, laying down the foundation for us to usurp the continent.

The armies didn’t seem to get along from the outset, but they were a surprisingly good fit for each other. In the end, they had gained control of the Aralia Plains with incredible skill in a little less than two years.

By the way Lydia was yelling, I guessed we were halfway through the war.

“Listen. To. Me. Something bad is coming. My senses are tingling!” Verda screeched.

Lydia was still shooting daggers at her. Even Verda was starting to get tired of resisting her, with her eyes narrowing in exasperation as she sighed.

“Hmmm. Fine. Use those three.” Verda pointed to us to conclude her jaw-dropping statement.

Lydia finally noticed our presence. “What the hell?” she barked, twisting her neck to get an eyeful.

She directed her attention straight…to me.

Her eyes narrowed sharply in an instant. However, she didn’t say anything in particular and shifted her gaze to look to my side. Standing next to me was Ireena.

“…You.” Lydia’s features softened slightly. Could it be she was surprised? At any rate, she clearly held a soft spot for Ireena.

…Wow. Sylphy is right. Ireena and Lydia do look remarkably alike. I thought the same thing when I met Ireena for the first time, but…

Could it be the two were possibly related?

…No, there’s no way. Immediately meeting Lydia’s descendant postreincarnation? That would be too good to be true, I thought, as Lydia’s gaze suddenly shifted to the side…and caught sight of Ginny.

“—gh! Whoa! Whoa, whoa! You’ve gotta be kidding me! What the hell was I thinking?! I’ve been in the same room as this VIP all along!” Lydia buried her face in one of her hands before throwing her head back to look at the heavens. With a long exhale, she lobbed Verda’s tiny body away from her and approached Ginny.

“Um? What?” Lydia’s target was drenched in sweat, turning toward me with eyes that pleaded D-did I do something?!

…Nope. Nothing at all, Ginny.

This was…her worst habit.

“Your name, miss?” Lydia looked down at Ginny. Her vulgar language softened to one of utmost propriety. It was a lovely voice that enraptured young and old, male and female. Ginny’s cheeks flushed as she answered:

“M-my name is Ginny. I-it is a great honor to meet you, renowned Champion…”

“Ha-ha-ha. No need to be this formal. Oh, I’m not so great. No… I cannot hold a candle to you, a beautiful blossom.”

…Ugh, enough already. It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed this kind of scene. I’d smack this deviant’s head if I could. I’d have to resist here, though. Patience, Ard.

…On the other hand, Ginny had no intel on Lydia’s ulterior motives, and her cheeks deepened in color.

“A-a flower? I’m not…”

“No. You are an alluring woman. Your features are fair. Your figure is stellar. And besides—” Her gaze shifted slightly downward, landing on Ginny’s plush breasts, ripe for the picking.

In an instant, her eyes filled with wickedness.

At last, her true self came to the forefront.

“What do you say, miss? How about I show you to my villa after this and we have some fun?”

“……What?”

Though Lydia was beating around the bush, the intention in her invitation was clear…

It must have come as a shock, because Ginny’s face flashed with surprise and uncertainty.

On the other hand, this bisexual pervert was piling on the seduction.

“What a reaction… Don’t tell me you don’t have experience with this type of thing. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. An inexperienced succubus? You can’t ask for more. Now you’ve really got my attention. Geh-heh-heh,” Lydia chuckled, closing the distance between them as she talked, cornering Ginny physically and psychologically.

Lydia snaked her arm around Ginny’s waist, drawing her close enough to kiss her. From an aesthetic point of view, it would appear that a ravishing beauty was embracing a lovely young girl… In reality, it was a tableau of a young girl falling into the evil clutches of a lustful mage.

As if her instincts were kicking in, Ginny’s expression turned to one of fear.

“Eek! Pl-please, let me…go! H-hey! Where do you think you’re touching?!”

“Geh-heh-heh. Nice ass.”

Lydia wasn’t even trying to hide how disgusting she was anymore. Since they were both women, Lydia felt entitled to feel Ginny up without restraint.

Puzzled, Ireena tilted her head. “Hey, Ard. Why does Lady Lydia like Ginny so much?”

Why, you ask? That’s because she’s a pervert who loves big-breasted beauties more than anything else in the world.

“Ah… Wait! N-not there…! I’m saving that for Ard…!”

“Hmm? Is there someone special in your life? Geh-heh-heh. That makes it better! Once you sleep with me, I promise my skills will take your little heart! Geh-heh-heh-heh!”

I finally couldn’t take this degenerate idiot anymore. I stepped in front of Lydia and forcefully separated her from Ginny.

“Hey?! Whaddaya think you’re doing?!” Lydia’s face twisted with rage, glaring at me from close range. She really did give off the air of a town delinquent with basically penises for limbs.

Why did I ever consider her a close friend?

“I’m terribly sorry, but we just arrived in this city—and we’re exhausted. That’s me, Ireena here, and Ginny, who you’ve fondled in every conceivable way. Therefore, I ask for your mercy. On a number of levels.” I spoke with a smile…but I couldn’t hope to hide the emotions within me.

Taking note, Lydia narrowed her eyes. She stood directly in front of me and glared.

“Got some nerve, huh? You wanna go, bro?”

“Nothing of the sort. But…if you’re saying you wish to challenge me, I will gladly oblige.”

I had to keep up the act as Ard Meteor. I knew that. But…with her here right in front of me, I couldn’t help myself.

“Hmm… You’re really asking for it…! Let’s take this outside!”

I figured I should up the ante. “Very well. I’ll beat some sense into that terrible disposition of yours.”

Unable to contain ourselves, we headed outside.

We carried on our fistfight for hours. Using magic would cause trouble for those around us, which was why we resorted to a physical match. Even then, my opponent was the Champion in her heyday. Her physical prowess alone was a terror worthy of praise.

On the other hand, my body was now average here in this ancient world. Therefore, it was much easier for her to drive me into a corner compared with when I was the Demon Lord.

Dammit. If I was at my best, too, I wouldn’t be getting beat to a pulp.

For the first time in my life, I wished I could go back to being the Demon Lord.

“Huff… Huff… You aren’t half bad, boy…!”

“Y-you’re not as tough as I thought…!”

“I’m not buying it—not when your face looks like that…!”

“And your lovely one has taken on the appearance of a hideous goblin. Serves you right…!”

We were both rolling on the ground and letting the insults fly. I wondered what expressions crossed over Ireena’s and Ginny’s faces. There was no doubt Verda was grinning ear to ear.

…This era seriously sucked. I wanted to get back home already.

I violently hacked out the blood pooling in my mouth.

“Keh! Keh-keh…! Man, you’re funny.” Lydia began to cackle. All previous animosity was gone—leaving behind honest passion. It was manly, almost, if you wanted to call it that.

“Ard, was it?” Lydia started. “Bring the other two with you and come join the support troops.” She got to her feet, looking down at me.

“I’m dying to tell you to join the front lines…but you’ve got your reasons, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be coming to work under Verda.”

“…If you already knew that, then don’t say the unreasonable. Joining that battlefield is—”

“I need your help. Don’t make me say any more in front of everyone. It’s embarrassing.” Lydia had a sullen look.

…She really was the worst. Always and forever ruining my plans. I hated that about her.

…I hated it, but if she was depending on me, there wasn’t much I could do.

“…Very well. If you’re going to go that far, I’ll lend you my assistance—”

“If you’re coming, that means Ginny’s tagging along, too, right? Then the ball’s in my court. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her mine… I’ll do her in every which way in our free time. Geh-heh-heh. Wow, I can’t wait for this little war!” On her scratched-up face, Lydia had on a somewhat debased smile.

All I could do at that moment…was to slam my fist into my former friend once more.