Reincarnated Vampire Princess and Former Hero, Trample Over Mankind - CH 53

Vampire Princess and Five Years Later

Translated by AmaLynne

It’s something I’ve always thought about, but compared to when I was human, time seems to pass fast.

You often see this in otherworldly novels.『Elves have a different sense of time than humans because they are a long-lived species』or so.

But I’ve always thought that if the time we experience is the same, our sense of time is the same whether we live a hundred years or a thousand years.

…No, not at all. Because it feels like it was just a few months ago that I defeated Yomi and made him one of my friends.

When in fact, it’s already been five years.

…Yes, it has already been five years since Yomi joined the Demon King Army. Yomi and I had turned thirteen.

It’s been a rollercoaster ride since then, really.

I taught Yomi letters, almost died in training, and was beaten to a pulp by Sakura-kun, Gray-san, and Rain-san.

But Yomi and I, after some extreme training, finally――

◆◇◆◇◆

Suddenly, an explosion roared through the city.

One building collapsed and shattered into pieces.

…The residents in the vicinity stopped moving for a moment, but then looked stunned and started walking again.

My vampire’s keen hearing picked up on this conversation.

「Hey, the arena has collapsed again. This is the fourth time. Can someone stop that? I think Zedd-sama is about to lose his temper.」

「…Not possible…That Yomi and Lean? We can’t stop them even if we hit them with all of Zedd-sama’s troops. You need Gray-sama, or Sakura-sama, or Rain-sama at least.」

「They’re all out now. What are we going to do? The Giant and Dwarf repair crews are going to cry.」

I’m sorry, nameless carpenters.

We didn’t mean to do it.

「…Yomi, what should we do? I broke it again.」

「…I have to apologize to Zedd-san…No, Demon King-sama will be angry with me again…」

No good…I need to practice more on how to adjust my strength.

The arena is supposed to be repaired while strengthening it every time it breaks, but it breaks easily when I get a little serious.

…Hmm? Could this be a bad arena?

「Yomi, listen. I think this is the arena’s fault for not growing with us.」

「R-Right. If that’s the case, it’s not our fault…」

「It’s your fault, of course it is! How many times do you think I’ve told you, you doofuses!!!!!!!」

…I know, right? I’m sorry, Demon King-sama.

「The construction costs aren’t cheap either! And this time you broke it so spectacularly! …Huh…In the past five years, you have certainly become much stronger than before. But you’re not very good at controlling your strength…」

「Geez.」

「You’re embarrassing me.」

「Don’t be embarrassed, that’s not a compliment! Zedd, who is based here, has been looking a bit thin lately!」

「(…Even though he’s undead?)」

「(Even though he looks like a skeleton?)」

「Hey, I heard that! I’m saying that it’s bad that he looks so thin even though he’s undead! You guys have no remorse at all!」

◆◇◆◇◆

「…I’m glad you have insurance to cover the repairs.」

「Yeah, I almost had to pay for the whole thing.」

「I guess I overdid it. I’m a little sorry.」

「…You should be sorry, you guys.」

I never thought I’d see the day when I’d get a real tsukkomi from Aron-san.

This is the conference room of the Demon King’s Army. It is a place where only the Demon King-sama, executives, and those involved in the agenda are allowed to enter, and where important matters of the Demon King Army are discussed.

The day after we accidentally destroyed the arena, we were gathered here for the executive meeting.

As a person involved…as executives.

Yes, in the last five years, we have been promoted to executive.

Fifth in the rank of the Demon King’s Army,『Bloodthirsty General』Lean Bloodlord.

Sixth in the rank of the Demon King’s Army,『Sword Fighting General』Yomi.

That is my current title.

Incidentally, to be honest, my combat power is lower than Yomi’s. However, it seems that my leadership and command skills are superior to Yomi’s, so I am higher in the rankings.

The other executives are still alive and well, although Aron-san and the others have dropped two ranks.

「…You guys are certainly stronger than us, but…When you guys overtake us so quickly, it makes me feel more lonely than frustrated.」

「I understand. The two of them were so tiny, but now they are above us in the rankings, it is something that really touches your heart.」

Even if you say such a thing.

There are currently six executives present here. Myself and Yomi, plus Vinel-san, Aron-san, Feria-san, and Natsume-san.

Everyone else is currently on the battlefield. In three days, Zedd-san and Gray-san will return, and Aron-san and I will go instead.

By the way, Yomi will not go. Yomi will only appear if she can kill everyone there. We can’t let her existence be known.

「Un, you are all here. Now, let’s begin the executive meeting.」

Demon King-sama entered and the meeting began, as it does every time.

There is no end to the topics discussed, such as rations, strategies, traps, and so on, so the meeting takes quite a long time.

This time, too, it took four hours.

◆◇◆◇◆

「…Phew. Well, the meeting is over…I would like to say, but actually, there is one more item on the agenda.」

Hmm?

I think we’ve pretty much decided on everything.

So, it’s『that』thing, huh?

「…As many of you may have guessed, it’s about the『heroes』. I’m not talking about Yomi, of course, but the present.」

The hero of this generation. Avis Nowarite.

Unlike Yomi, he is a man who is usually celebrated as a hero.

And… like me, he is a reincarnated person.

Before his reincarnation, his name was『Shinichi Kuroda』. He is the main culprit of those who has been bullying me.

I can’t wait to kill him.

「He is now being carefully nurtured in the capital city. Using our captured brethren as experience gainers…It’s really abominable. I think we should finish them off as soon as possible…」

「Why don’t we just go into the capital and kill him before they grow up?」

「Impossible. In the capital, there is a powerful ward against demons that were created by the『Hero of the Beginning』, the man who created the Holy Land of Mercurius and became the first Pope, shortly before his death. If you rush in carelessly, Lean, even you may be killed by those ordinary soldiers.」

What a load of crap.

「Demon King-sama. Then, why don’t we send Yomi? As a human, Yomi would not be affected by the ward.」

「It would be a waste to send in Yomi, our trump card, just to kill a hero. The Yomi now can’t win if the top ranks of the Twelve Holy Apostles attacked in a group. Especially with the number one ranked one in the capital.」

「…True.」

To be honest, Yomi is already the strongest in the Demon King’s Army in terms of pure ability.

Over the past five years, she has acquired a frightening amount of strength and has even become a『Sword King』, a very high-level occupation in the swordsman lineup.

Moreover, Yomi, who is not a demon, is not affected by any type of human magic attack that would be effective against demons.

The average status is already well above 30,000, and even ordinary executives are now unable to handle her.

…Well, not as good as me on a full moon night, right?

「Then what are you going to do?」

「Nothing, it’s easy. There is a limit to the amount of experience you can gain by killing prisoners of war. No matter how carefully they are raised, after a while, they will come to the battlefield where the concentration of battle is relatively low.」

And then the Demon King-sama put on a bad face and said,

「Strike there. Have Sakura destroy the Transfer Wards… Send someone either Lean, Yomi, Gray, Rain, or Sakura. If the Holy Twelve Apostles stick around, just drop more than one. Heck, easy.」

…She said a simple strategy that would negate all the bosses in Dra〇e, sending weak slimes and such to the first field, gradually making the demons stronger, and finally strike them down