Mayuten ~The Demon King and the Hero Reincarnated as Twin Elementary School Students~ - Volume 2 Chapter 2

Volume 2 The Demon King and the Hero Confront the Bully

Chapter 2   Demon King Finds a Diary

Yesterday, after celebrating our discharge with a lunch, Isumi and I decided to head to the second-floor children’s room. It appears to be a shared room for both me and isumi.

Since Hikaru is still young, she spends most of her time on the first floor where Akari is.

Inside the room, there were two desks, chairs, a bunk bed, and a bookshelf. Most of the books on the shelf were manga, not educational ones. There were also biology and transportation picture books.

As I picked one up, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the photography technology in this world. The picture books piqued my interest, and Isumi spoke up.

“This is such a wonderful family, don’t you think?”

“Huh?”

“I mean this entire family. You can feel that the parents and your little sister, Hikaru, really care for you and me. I don’t have parents or siblings, but I can still sense that much.”

I see.

“You have parents and siblings, right? Our parents are Higakure and Akari, and Hikaru is our little sister. Of course, you and I are also siblings.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I figured as much.”

Shirene, the Hero, didn’t reveal her family structure, but indeed, information about her parents or siblings didn’t reach the Demon Lord. As she mentioned, her parents were most likely killed by demons or monsters when she was just a baby.

“Demon Lord, what are you thinking? What are your plans for the future?”

“Well, I’m just an elementary school student, so for now, I’ll just attend school. As for my future occupation, I’m not sure yet. Someday, I might get married…”

“Are you joking? You heartless man!”

It seems I have once again upset Lady Hero.

“No, I’m being serious.”

“How can a cruel man like you continue being a loving family? What disaster do you intend to bring upon that happy family? Do you plan to destroy this world next?”

“Don’t make such a fuss. Our parents and Hikaru downstairs can hear you. You’ll just worry them again.”

“Shut up! If you ever lay a hand on our parents or Hikaru, at that time…”

I couldn’t help but sigh in response.

“I won’t do such a thing.”

“Then what is your purpose?”

“My purpose, huh…?”

Once again, I find myself troubled by this question.

“If I had to say, it would be to ensure that you live happily in a peaceful world. I also wish for Hikaru and our parents in this world to find happiness,” I hesitated as I verbalized my thoughts.

Isumi looked puzzled by my response.

“Is that really all?”

“Of course, I also want to lead a fulfilling life myself. If I have the right to be one of the leaders of that battle, that is.”

“Aren’t you the Demon Lord?”

“Indeed, I am the Demon Lord. However, for now, I’m just an elementary school student. There’s no way back to my original world, and even if I returned, there’s nothing I could do there. So, what else can I do but wish for my family’s happiness?”

“I don’t understand! You’re the wicked ruler of the demons, responsible for so much evil!”

Well, how should I respond to this?

No matter what I say, it might sound like an excuse.

In reality, many casualties resulted from my orders, affecting humans, elves, dwarves, and demons alike. I tried my best to minimize civilian casualties, but to those who died, it probably didn’t matter.

But for the honor of those fallen in battle, I should say something.

“You must have killed many demons too, right?”

“Demons are evil!”

“I won’t deny that. However, consider this… For instance, the son of the Demon General Sekares, whom you killed, was only three years old at the time. He had given his father a handmade amulet, praying for his success in battle. The next day, his father died in battle.”

Isumi turned pale at my words.

“Could it be… then that amulet…”

“Amulet?”

“After defeating Sekares, I noticed something. He was clutching a small amulet in his right hand. I thought it might be a powerful magic item, but it was just a poorly crafted talisman with little magical energy imbued in it. I couldn’t understand why the Demon General would be clutching such a thing in his final moments…”

“Perhaps it was the amulet made by his son.”

“What happened to Sekares’ son?”

“We kept him protected in the castle until the day before you attacked. We had him escorted out of the castle before the invasion. I hope he’s safe, but there’s nothing more I can do for him now.”

Ismu trembled as she held her shoulders.

“I… I didn’t mean to… I never intended…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. But, don’t do anything foolish either.”

“Foolish?”

“For example, succumbing to guilt and choosing death.”

“But… but…”

“If you, Isumi Kmiya, were to take your own life now, it would only cause grief to your parents, who are overjoyed at their daughter’s recovery, and to Hikaru, who worries about her older sister.”

“That’s… true, but…”

“Hero Shirene was the beacon of hope for humans, and Demon Lord Benes was the stronghold for demons. They fought for the survival of their respective races. It’s as simple as that.”

Isumi fell silent.

I couldn’t fathom what was going through her mind. But for now…

I continued searching through the bookshelf.

Though I wanted to learn about this world, I had to focus on gathering information about the twins, Kamiya Isumi and Kamiya Kageyo. Our parents and Hikaru were still doubtful about us, and that could be problematic.

Soon enough, I found a notebook that seemed to contain valuable information about Kamiya Kageyo, the key to understanding our true selves.

“What’s that notebook?”

“It seems to be Kamiya Kageyo’s diary.”

“Hey, it’s not a good habit to read someone else’s diary without permission, you know.”

I agree with that sentiment, but at this point, there’s no time for restraint.

Apologizing silently to Kageyo, I opened the last page.

And there, written in the diary were these words…

“I want to die.”

I couldn’t help but notice my hands trembling.

The character for ‘death’ was something I remembered.

It was from a history manga I had seen before.

Kageyo, what on earth happened to you?

I decided to start reading from the first page of the diary once again.

What I found were vivid records of an 11-year-old boy filled with courage and kindness, becoming so overwhelmed by despair that he contemplated taking his own life.