Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord - Volume 6 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Hidden Boss (Left Side) Fights the Hero

“But I seem more like a king this way, don’t I?” After being told that everything about him, including the way he looked, had changed, the hero responded without objecting in the slightest.

I stood there silently, unable to wrap my head around what was going on, and the Demon Lord roared in anger.

“You weren’t like that before! The way you’re dressed so neatly and that gentle speech of yours—it’s all uncharacteristic of you!”

“I couldn’t care less about being myself. You yourself even told me I should act more like a king.”

Hearing their conversation, I was starting to understand. There was no doubt that the hero was the first king of Valschein, but surface-level elements, like his appearance and the way he spoke, had drastically changed.

This was the Kingdom of Twilight—a world where someone’s regrets from when they were alive would change them. After being here for so long, the hero had probably morphed into something unrecognizable from his past self.

I’d felt it since I first met the hero. There was something elegant, confident, and kind about him... No, there was no need for all those embellishments. I could describe it in one word: he seemed like a king. The man looked like a king, acted like a king, spoke like a king, and even had the voice of a king.

The endlessly regal man said in a thoroughly regal tone, “I think things would’ve been better if I had been this sort of person.”

“How dare you! The one I resolved to serve was the boorish version of you! Also, stop speaking in such a creepy manner.”

“You’re the last person who should be commenting on my manner of speech.”

“What is wrong with the way I speak?!” the Demon Lord fumed. He immediately became worried and turned to me. “It’s not weird, is it...?” He’s totally lost confidence after finding out his crush had no feelings for him.

The Demon Lord’s manner of speech was dated and not something I was familiar with in current times, but he was from the past. “There’s nothing strange about it,” I reassured him. “You’re from a different time period.”

The hero immediately stepped in with some additional context. “No one spoke like him when we were alive.”

“Then it’s weird!”

You’ll just have to accept it. If the hero had started it, I could’ve said, “Everyone has the right to speak in the way they want,” but the Demon Lord had brought it up himself.

“Th-The way I speak has nothing to do with this matter... The fact that I can’t stand the way he is now is a separate issue.” His speech was hesitant as he tried to alter it a bit.

Hey, buddy, you’re not doing any better.

Setting aside the Demon Lord’s manner of speech, I was curious about what the hero was like before he’d changed in the Kingdom of Twilight. He probably wasn’t this regal of a person...

“What was he originally like?” I asked the Demon Lord.

“He was a crude, violent man. He was skilled in battle and nothing else—he wasn’t fit to be king.”

He was that awful? Though the Demon Lord’s words were quite harsh, the hero just chuckled and said, “That’s right.”

It seemed that the description was the truth. Since I only knew the hero he was now, I couldn’t imagine it at all.

“When I tried to guard an area, the people thought I was a thief.”

“Right,” the Demon Lord agreed. “You just ran over, asking where the thieves were.”

“I couldn’t mind my manners in front of an ally, and we almost ended up in an unnecessary battle.”

“The elderly Lord Ashbatten was terrifying.”

“I tried to combine the bones of a monkey and a fish and sell it, saying it was to procure military funding.”

“The mermaid mummy. I’m sure it would’ve sold if I hadn’t stopped you.”

What...? He sounds so awful. The Demon Lord had his fair share of terrible moments, but the hero has plenty of his own awful stories.

It seemed that he’d acted like any old bandit, and though it was only an attempt, he’d tried to scam people. There were plenty of tales that depicted the first king’s bravery, but now that I knew what he was really like, they all sounded like the violent exploits of a delinquent.

“Despite the kind of man you were, even though you were the kind of person I detested the most...I still wanted you to be the king.”

“Thank you. The days we spent running around together, dreaming of building a kingdom, were wonderful.”

“Don’t thank me! You’re supposed to be picking a fight with me for saying all those horrible things about you! The one I vowed to follow was the boorish man with a strong sense of duty!”

Though the hero had acted like a barbarian in his youth, he seemed to be well-liked. With that brash intensity driving him, he had built a kingdom. What had he regretted to end up in his current state? I had an idea—he probably wished that he had been more of a king. Does that mean he wants to come back to life and get another shot at being king?

The Demon Lord questioned the core of his desires, which I was curious about.

“What is it that you wish for enough to turn yourself into that? What do you want to come back to life for?”

The prosperity of his kingdom, or something, right? The king, who’d become the most king-like person, had to have desires that were just as kingly.

Just as I’d expected, he voiced his wishes in a confident and regal manner. “I wish for the downfall of the Kingdom of Valschein.”

The first king of the Kingdom of Valschein yearned for the collapse of his kingdom. The man who behaved like the perfect king harbored desires opposite what was expected of a king, and was trying to come back to life.

“Why...?”

“The Kingdom of Valschein is a flawed kingdom built upon countless sacrifices. Such a kingdom should’ve never existed in the first place.”

I could understand why he would regret his falling out with the Demon Lord, but destroying a whole kingdom felt a little overboard. Wouldn’t it be fine if the person who made the sacrifice says it’s fine? I wondered and glanced over at the Demon Lord.

“He’s not the only one,” the hero continued. “My younger brother established the Hillrose duchy because there would be stability in the kingdom if we established an opposing force. His descendants are devoted to playing the villain, all while knowing it’ll end in ruin.”

“Well...”

“How does that make you feel? I’m sure you had no idea, but there are plenty of stories like that about the kingdom.”

No, I do know. A descendant of your younger brother is at my house. The family’s been ruined already. I should tell him all about the commotion that the duke caused, since I was heavily involved in all that. I turned to look at the hero and...I gasped. I felt like his eyes were going to suck me in, and my words were caught in my throat. How did I never realize he had such soulless eyes?

“The regrets I had at the end of my life won’t disappear, no matter what,” the hero said, looking at me with his firm, lightless eyes.

I moved to betray my ally for the umpteenth time. It probably didn’t need to be so deliberately shown, but I stood beside the Demon Lord and faced the hero.

It now felt better than earlier, but the hero’s gaze was still terrifying. He tried to appease me with an affable smile as he stared at me with his soulless gaze.

“I’m not trying to burn the kingdom down or anything,” the hero explained. “I just want to destroy the system set up by the royal family of Valschein.”

“I don’t have even a speck of loyalty towards the kingdom, but...this has been a good opportunity to reconsider coming back to life.”

After seeing what the hero had become as a result of his regrets at the end of his life, I knew that I couldn’t just go along with him and return to the living world.

“Shouldn’t you be prioritizing your own resurrection?”

“I don’t need to come back to life anymore.”

Even if I did, I was going to grow old in several decades and die once more, probably with plenty of regrets. If I were to make coming back to life an option at this moment, I would probably choose to come back alive once more at that point in the future. I would probably obtain a false immortality, coming back to life over and over again until I felt I could die without regrets.

That would be wrong. I couldn’t give a logical reason as to why, but I couldn’t let such a thing happen.

“I don’t need to come back to life,” I repeated. “I think we should both accept our deaths.”

“I really thought you would be on my side,” the hero said, slowly unsheathing the sword on his hip. I’d thought that it wasn’t a practical sword because of all the embellishments on the hilt and the sheath, but the blade had a cold, sharp glimmer to it. “Well then, en garde!” The hero swung around his heavy looking sword as he braced for combat.

He doesn’t seem that strong, I thought as I stood and watched.

“Be careful!” the Demon Lord said in a panic. “He’s coming!”

I’ll be fine. You know how strong I am, don’t you? I might only have my left half, but I’m stronger than I was back then. The hero’s still taking his stance, and he’s pretty far, so I don’t need to be—

“Wha—!” The hero was right in front of me. He’d closed the distance between us much quicker than I’d expected, and his blade was closing in on my neck.

I was able to perceive his attack, which was as fast as the speed of sound, but my body couldn’t react in time. Even though I didn’t feel any issues just walking around and existing, there were probably some negative effects to only having my left side.

The hero swung his blade with all his might, sweeping sideways at me. “So you can see me. I knew you were strong.”

As his atack landed, I jumped away, successfully avoiding the force of his blade. As I jumped away, the hero’s mumbles faded into the distance. I somehow managed to land on my left leg, then I hopped back to the Demon Lord’s side.

“I can’t believe you’re without a single scratch after one of his attacks.”

“Is my head still attached? He didn’t slash me?”

“You do look like you’ve been sliced in half vertically.”

Then I’m fine. I’ve been in half from the beginning.

Though his attack hadn’t worked on me, it didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t dodge it. He was way too fast.

“How’s he so strong?!”

“He’s the man who founded the kingdom. It’s only natural for him to have such strength.”

I’d expected the hero to be about the same as the Demon Lord in strength, but he was incredibly strong. I thought he sealed away the Demon Lord because he couldn’t beat him... Oh, right. He sealed him away because he didn’t want to kill him.

Despite the hero’s impressive strength, I still could win. His attacks weren’t doing much against me, and as long as I braced myself, I could probably react to his speed.

Sensing that I had a handle on things, the Demon Lord leisurely opened his notebook and said, “From how you’re acting, it seems that you won’t have any issues... Hmm?”

Hey, now’s not the time to be writing in your diary, I thought, but before I could complain, the Demon Lord handed his notebook to me. “There’s a message for you.”

“For me?” I glanced at the notebook, and in familiar penmanship I saw the—worrrrrgggggaaagggh...