Chapter 148: Chapter 147: A Demon King’s Doubts and the Rise of the Kurokichi Clan

{Sue}

I’ll admit that I’m not a stranger to hearing complaints of how I rule my kingdom, and this isn’t just from using my [Mind Reading] skill, either. When I explored different cities in my Arch Imp disguise, I’ve heard how I was ‘unfit to rule’, ‘not as good as her father’, and ‘too inexperienced’, among other things in bars and pubs. Up to now, I ignored those and only paid attention to legit criticisms from my people and made notes on how to possibly improve my kingdom’s livelihood. 

Ren’s words, however, had hit harder on my conscience than anything else I’ve heard so far. The ‘pain from being betrayed’, the only thing I could recall that would come close to that feeling was what I discovered from Mother after Father’s ‘death’ and the fight we had because of it. We stopped talking to each other for a while after that and it wasn’t until recently that she started to try to talk to me again over lunch, but I’ve used my position repeatedly as an excuse to turn down her invitations and maintain my distance. 

Other than that, I’ve had and used the [Mind Reading] skill for as long as I could remember, hearing everyone’s dark thoughts of many things wherever I went. It may be due to the long-term exposure of such things that I learned to keep my distance and anticipate their moment of betrayal. Maybe it’s because of what happened between me and Mother that I grew more distrustful towards others than usual, which really says something since I couldn’t release my true name as a Demon King to the public during my inauguration. This distrust that I’ve developed into a habit may have subconsciously spread to how I've treated Jinma somehow.

While it was important to keep my distance, all so my identity won't be revealed by the effects of Jinma's ability as a Champion, I still wanted to get along with him as we traveled to Korangar. Well, with how things are between me and him right now, I may not need to worry about my identity being revealed, but now I wish I didn’t get into this situation.

Now, after hearing Ren’s exclamations, I realized I may have brought Jinma the same kind of pain Mother did to me. I may have been subconsciously ignoring it up to now, but for the first time, I was seriously doubting whether I was fit to rule as a Demon King. What’s worse, Jinma, the same person I had hurt, practically begged me to spare Ren for her transgression while he would take the penalty instead. He was likely worried I would execute her right there for besmirching the Demon King’s name, but I may as well have deserved all that. You brought this on yourself, so just take it and get on with making amends with them already, stupid girl. You can wallow and cry in guilt by yourself later, I berated myself as I tried moving my conversation forward with Jinma and the two mates from his harem.

When I offered to answer some questions he had for the Demon King—that's me, who's currently in disguise as an Arch Imp—I was honestly surprised Jinma even brought up his [Devil Eyes] and D-Human race. Though he had little experience controlling the former, I figured he already had some idea of what was going on with it and where he falls in his family’s bloodline. Though I was excited in telling the story that would answer those questions, I was genuinely concerned about how much in the dark Jinma really is. There may be a reason for why the info was kept from this D-Human up to now, but it seemed to fall in line with what Father told me of him and what he wanted me to do after his 'death'. I could still remember the last words he spoke to me, clear as day:

"I don't know how long it will take, but Jinma will likely appear while I'm gone and he won't know a lot of things upon his arrival. In the meantime, I'm entrusting this kingdom's future to you, and you may do what you think is best to make it prosper. All I ask is that when Jinma finally comes, you make sure he is comfortable in this kingdom during his stay, treat him well, and answer any questions he may have to the best of your abilities. Finally, after he learns the whole truth, only let him decide whether he and I should meet face-to-face. I'll leave the time and place to reveal everything in your judgement."

Father’s wish to me falls in line with my personal goals involving Jinma, so of course I had no problems in following through. At least, that was what I thought at the time, but it looks like I already failed with two of the three things Father wanted me to do with him. Thinking back, I was only told of Jinma’s existence and his mother’s name, Mikan Kotori, but never of who they were and what they were like. What’s more, aside from Sammy, I couldn’t tell anyone about them, not even Mother. 

There has to be a reason why you were so secretive up to then … right, Father? I thought, the question plaguing me as I recalled his story.

The story I was telling to Jinma and his companions is one that my father told me often as a child, when I was still learning so many things, yet so naive and oblivious to the cruelty of the world we live in. It was one of the stories that really helped me find an important goal to strive towards that I hope will come true soon. While I was excited to share this story, I seriously hope it will help Jinma answer whatever questions he had on his mind for so long. 

~~

This story's setting dates back to hundreds of years ago in a small town called Hanami, in the country of Tipon that lies far to the east overseas. It was a simple town with only a couple thousand humans in the population, smaller than what the major cities in the Demon-Kin's Territory can hold, but bigger than the numerous towns and villages where specific demon races resided. The humans in Hanami were in peace, living their day-to-day lives either farming for food and materials, fishing at the nearest coast, or crafting tools and furniture. This would go from dawn to dusk, then the townspeople would end the day by sharing the fruits of their labor with their friends and loved ones before doing it all again the next day. It was a simple, honest lifestyle where everyone could live in harmony, and it wasn't until one day that the townspeople wished that peace would still continue up to the end of their lives.

On that day, a small faction representing an organized group called the Shirogechi Clan {AN: } came to Hanami and made a complete takeover of the land. With their numbers, weapons, wealth, and fighting experience, they took everything the townspeople worked so hard for and made it their own property. Any of the townspeople who opposed them when they arrived were beaten to near death, and once the rest saw how hopeless it was to resist, they submitted themselves to fate. They were pushed to work without rest. The majority of the town's harvests and crafts were greedily taken by the Shirogechi Clan, and the workers were left with too little necessities for payment. To everyone in the town, it seemed all hope to get their peaceful lives back while staying alive was lost, all except for one.

Amongst the townspeople during the attack was a ronin. He was a charming man with old, worn out clothes and a smile as bright as the sun, but he tended to get carried away when it came to alcohol. With this reputation, he was known as the Drunken Wanderer. The only things he had on his person was a wallet, a wooden gourd to hold his water and sake, and two blades at his hip, a katana and a tanto, both as sharp as his eyes when hardened in anger. His style of fighting was different from what one would know of swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat. Unorthodox would best describe how he fought—especially after a few drinks—but he still managed to beat many opponents up to the Shirogechi Clan's takeover.

The Drunken Wanderer managed to fend off a couple of the Shirogechi Clan's members, but then ran out of town when things escalated. He realized their power was too great to fight on his own. While he could move along to the next location and not look back, he couldn’t run away so soon as he was beginning to like Hanami and its people. Not only that, but this clan of notorious humans could very well do it again in the next town he visited. What made the situation bleak was that the land's lord had no intention of sending forces to step in and stop it. Hanami was left to fend for itself.

That was when the Drunken Wanderer came up with an idea. "If a clan is going to take over a town, then I'll just make one to take it back," he said.

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Thus, he did what he does best and wandered to nearby towns and cities, finding forces to fight the Shirogechi Clan. On this journey, he came across two capable men who he would make his first sworn brothers.

One man was a lone ronin that was on the brink of despair after being disowned by his lord from another land. Due to his loss of honor, the ronin was banished from his household and left alone with little possessions on him. It wasn’t until the Drunken Wanderer came and helped him one day that the ronin found a new purpose, especially after witnessing his savior’s unique fighting style as he saved his life. When it was offered, the lone ronin swore his loyalty and sword to the Drunken Wanderer without hesitation. He even decided to adapt his savior’s fighting style into his swordplay, creating a school of swordsmanship called the Ochitaken-Ryu {AN: , ‘Fallen Sword Style’}. Some members in their future clan would implement this way of sword fighting in their battles. This ronin would later be known as the Bloody Wolf for being the Drunken Wanderer’s loyal, yet violent right-hand man that mercilessly cuts down his opponents with his unethical sword style. It was said that this ronin was more unhindered to violence then compared to his time as a full-fledged samurai.

The other man was a foreign assassin who escaped to Tipon after failing to kill his last target. He wasn't fluent with Tipon's language, but he managed to get by while not revealing his past. The assassin was targeted for his failure, however, and it was by bad luck that they found him while he crossed paths with the wanderer and the wolf one day. That bad luck was turned against his pursuers, though, as they got killed by the three of them at the end of it. He decided to join the wanderer's clan as a way of thanks, his contributions allowed some future members to use efficient killing techniques. This assassin who played the advisor for the wanderer, as well as not failing to kill his future targets would later be known as the Fox of Shadows.

With two very capable men working with him, taking a shine to them, the Drunken Wanderer decided to hold the ritual of sharing sake with his single cup, making the wolf and the fox his first sworn brothers. There were others who joined later as subsidiaries and led their own chains of command known as 'families', but this was when the wanderer became the founder of the Kurokichi Clan {AN: .}.

Their reputation spread as they traveled and more capable allies joined to directly serve under the founder. They even established a base of operations, but they were still small and wouldn't last long against the Shirogechi Clan's number and power. The founder was having difficulty figuring out how to go against the rival clan with their small group and minimal resources, wanting to sacrifice as little as possible for succession. One day, he decided to take a walk along an ocean coast to be alone with his thoughts. He was at a loss for what to do until he stumbled upon a woman one day, stranded ashore and on the verge of death.

The founder quickly brought the stranded woman back to his base and she miraculously survived. The woman who was clearly a foreigner took time afterward to recover at his base. Thankfully, the fox knew some of her language and tried to translate for her the best he could. The members of the Kurokichi Clan found that the woman was a witch who had escaped from the witch hunts of her homeland by boat. When she was caught, though, she jumped overboard to escape before the waves swallowed her, making her unconscious.

The founder and his clan were no strangers to being outcasts, so disregarding her past, though questionable it may have been, they decided to let her stay with them. In exchange for that kindness, the witch decided to lend them her magic, giving them an ace in the hole against the Shirogeki Clan. To demonstrate her powers, she made the necessary preparations to call for someone to help them.

This was when the humans of Tipon were first introduced to the Demon-Kin as the witch's magic called forth a Devil. It was a female that held great power, and though the members of the Kurokichi Clan were unfamiliar with magic, they could just tell that this Devil wasn't one to be messed with. Whatever doubts they had of the witch's powers then were quickly extinguished.

When the Devil asked what the clan desired, the founder stepped forth to represent them. Despite the two of them speaking completely different languages, the magic that brought the Devil allowed them to communicate with uncanny naturality. 

The founder voiced his wish for him and his clan to have power. Power that would topple many foes despite the odds against them. Power that no other human can replicate, no matter how advanced the current weaponry may be. Power that can be passed down to future generations, so that even when the founder and his current subordinates leave this world, they can entrust the future of their clan and its goals to their descendants.

To give such a power is not outside of the Devil's realm, but she warned him that such a thing couldn't be given without something in return. For such a thing to extend to the clan's future generations, not even the Devil knew what would be taken from them to complete the exchange.

Everyone in the Kurokichi Clan heard and understood the risks, and after talking things over, the founder voiced the agreement to the Devil's terms. Whatever it was that they needed to give, they all felt it was a small price to pay for their home's, their very country's, future.

After hearing their approval, the Devil magically conjured a contract with all the terms and conditions already included. She then had the founder sign the contract, mark it with a bloody thumbprint seal, and finalize the agreement by bedding her. The founder and the Devil spent the rest of the evening in fornication at the Kurokichi Clan's base, with the former required to please the latter with as many rounds as he could provide. It was said that the more effort and time put into pleasing the Devil would affect the strength of the magic behind the contract once the finalization was completed. 

The noise from their joining of bodies kept going throughout the night until it all went quiet. The rest of the Kurokichi Clan, who were standing by waiting for the contract to be completed, suddenly blacked out once their founder did the same.

The next morning, the Devil was gone, but everyone who had woken up felt completely different from last night. The clan's founder was especially different, as the first notable change the subordinates found of him was his sharp eyes. The whites on them turned pitch black, and the dark brown color of the irises turned into a vibrant red. The subordinates found that while the whites didn't change, their irises turned into the same color as their leader's.

Thus, the first line of powerful humans with the blood of a Devil inside them, known as the D-Humans, was born. The legacy of the Kurokichi Clan's founder, who would be known far and wide as the Demon of Calamity, started here.

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