The Devil’s Origin - CH 104

Chapter 104: Searching for Something

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When the man was looking down, his long eyelashes were cascading over his eyes. Even when he was prostrating, his face still looked beautiful. I felt like I escaped from reality for a moment at the unrealistic sight of an ethereally beautiful man kneeling and lowering his head before me.

I mustn’t, I mustn’t. Just what am I doing in front of a sick person?

“E-excuse me…”

『My name is Velke. I’m the originator of the Velluclesis tribe, one of the demon’s family.』

“Velke-san…”

『Yes.』

When I put his name into my tongue, I felt somewhat nostalgic even though I shouldn’t have known his name before. Even though it was the first time I ever heard and spoke his name…

“Things like… ‘Demon’… Can I think of them as the same thing as the ‘demon’ in this world? But I’ve never heard of the Velluclesis tribe. Oh. Velke-san, you said you’re the originator of the Velluclesis tribe. So does that mean the name ‘Velluclesis’ comes from your name?”

『No. It’s the opposite. I’m named after the Velluclesis tribe. I received my name from Maou-sama who had came to rescue me.』

Isn’t it that name is way too simple?! Maou, you! Ah, I can’t help myself to be mad at this pun-like name.

“Err… That… Where did you come…”

『I’ve come from a far-off land. A land in a different world than this one. Based on the knowledge in your world, the world I came from is similar to a fantasy world set in medieval europe. 』

“Errr… So, could it be that things like swordsmanship, magic, spirits and even elves exists there?!”

『Swordsmanship, magic and spirits still exist but the elves had died out a few hundred years ago.』

The Elves are already extinct, you said?!?!

『Instead, the dark elves, a demon tribe derived from the elves, are still alive.』

“Oh. At least they’re still alive…”

Even under these bizarre circumstances, I was still getting excited when I knew that such a fantasy world existed.

Ahhh! I mustn’t, I mustn’t! I need to stay on my track!

“The Maou you were talking about… They’re the enemy of the Hero, right…?”

『….. While the concept of a Hero does exist, you don’t need to concern yourself over that kind of thing.』

I wonder if the Hero of that world is already extinct too?

『Maou-sama is… My one and only Master. He’s the pride of all demons… The unparalleled Houyou Maou.』

Velke-san said with a faraway look on his face. His eyes were filled with respect, affection, adoration and…. Grief.

『He has the same soul as you.』

The same soul… As mine…

“Could it be… The dream I had this morning… It was real..?”

『… Dream…?』

Although I didn’t remember anything about it anymore, I still told Velke-san『the story about the dream Aoki said I had told him about during the day』.

“Errr… So… I helped in restoring the demonkind… I mean…”

How was I supposed to tell him the story about me being a shota Maou without making it sound like something out of an erotic game?

『I have no doubt anymore. You are certainly the one who reign over my world.』

So the thing about erotic shota Maou was real…

Huh? Does that mean now I have the memory of when I was Maou?

“If Maou’s soul and mine are the same… And that somehow I can vaguely remember Maou’s memory…That means I was Maou in my previous life?”

『… More or less.』

Whoa… Who would’ve thought a normal salaryman whose sole girlfriend is his own right hand like me is actually a demon king in my previous life? Maybe I’m still dreaming. This Velke who is right in front of me might be part of my dream too. Ah… My consciousness is slipping away… No, no.

“So the reason why Velke-san came to this world is….”

C-c-c-c-could it be the generic plot where ‘someone is coming to take you back to the other world’ is about to begin?!

『I’m looking for something…』

Ah, right. He’s looking for something. Of course. Right now I’m just an ordinary salaryman. The only thing I’m good at is programming at extreme speed.

『I’m here to find something… Something that’s very… Very precious to me.』

For some reason… He looked like he was in great pain as he said that.

“So you appeared before me because… I have the same soul as your Maou so I should be able to help you find that thing you’re looking for?”

『…. More or less. In that world…  I was Maou-sama’s ‘first one’ hence why our bond is deeper than anyone else’s. Though with great difficulty, the reason why I appeared before you is because my soul and your soul are connected…』

“Ooh… I see. So that’s why you appeared directly in front of my apartment. And the reason why only you are here is because you can’t take anyone else with you, right? I mean if it’s something so important that you’d cross the world just to get it back, you’d send more people to help you, wouldn’t you?”

『The compensation to cross the world is too great… Even with our bond serving as a guidance, I was the only one… Who could come here. 』

Compensation… Could it be…

I couldn’t stop the flickering image of someone with blue hair coming to my mind.

“What kind of compensation did you have to pay to cross the world?”

『All of the magic I’ve stored for several hundreds of years and a big portion of my lifespan.』

“Li-lifespan?!”

My face paled to think this outrageous price was the equivalent exchange to cross the world.

『I only have enough to go back to the otherside one more time.』

Velke added.

『Even I, someone from Velluclesis tribe who was said to be the fountain of magic power, was completely uprooted by it… The magic power I had stored in my hair was taken away in the process, making my hair turn white like this and…. I ended up in this state. 』

Velke furrowed his eyebrows as he gripped his long hair.

“So your hair wasn’t white before?”

『It used to be… Blue. Almost all demon from Velluclesis tribe has blue hair due to the magic power in our hair.』

Blue!! So that means the blue haired man I had been seeing in the fragment of my memories is this person?!

『I’m glad I didn’t lose the magic power I had been storing in my eyes…』

Then Velke stared straight at me.

『So I’m still able to see you.』

He added, with a smile on his face.

“Is it… Really that hard? Crossing the world.”

『I managed to cross over by converting the light of my life into magic power but if it were any other demon, their magic power wouldn’t be enough…』

“So it was that bad…”

I wonder how much determination this person held, to be able to cross the world even with such a big cost. He was robbed of his lifespan and his magic power and yet, he still chooses to cross the world.

All of that… Because he has something he needs to find…

『I have prepared my resolve but still, this world is really lacking in magic power…』

When his expression became more sullen, his already pale face became even paler. Velke-san was talking like a normal person would but he must be forcing himself too hard just to be able to do that.

“I’ve been asking question after question without stopping! I’m so sorry but now I understand your situation. Velke-san, you’ve prepared yourself despite all the difficulties just to come to this world… I don’t really know if I can even help you in any way but please leave yourself to me while you’re here. Although I might be lacking, I will help you in any way I can.”

『Much appreciated… 』

Leaning against the wall for support, Velke-san smiled while sighing softly. He really had been pushing himself too hard. I hadn’t noticed it before but now that I took a closer look at him, beads of sweat were scattered on his forehead.

He appeared to be in a state where he was unable to get up on his own anymore so I lent my shoulder once again and brought him to the bed. He vehemently refused to snatch away the better place to sleep from me, the owner of this unit… Or perhaps I should say me, his former master but I also insisted he needed to stop being unreasonable.

I was glad I had bought a semi-double bed! It was a little cramped for his tall frame but he was able to fit into the bed without any problem.

As I draped the fluffy blanket over him, he was already on the verge of losing his consciousness but he mustered every last bit of his strength to ask me one final question.

『Please… Tell me… Your… Your name…』

Right. I didn’t tell him my name yet.

“My name is Otonashi Mahiro. My family name, Otonashi, is written with the kanji 音無 like how you spell the word ‘without sound’… As for my first name, Mahiro, is written with the kanji 真央. The 真 means ‘truth’ and 央 means ‘in the middle’.”

Ah, I ended up explaining the kanji of my name out of habit.

“Mahiro…”

That voice just now… It wasn’t a voice that had gone through his ‘translator’ thing that he had been doing before. I was certain he was speaking it in my language.

『I’ve been wanting to meet you… “Mahiro”.』

A single drop of tear fell from the corner of his eyes. In the very last moment before he lost consciousness, Velke was smiling as he cried.

That… To hear my name being called so desperately and affectionately and yet heart wrenching at the same time, my face immediately poofed bright red.

NO,NO,NO,NO! I’M A MAN! HE’S ALSO A MAN! I-I LOVE BIG BOOBS!! I DON’T SWING THAT WAY! NOO!! I DON’TTTTTT!!!!

After taking the spare futon I had kept for guest, it finally dawned on me when Velke-san mentioned he was Maou’s 『first one』, that meant he was the first demon to ever have sexual intercourse with Maou.

Due to that eye-opening realisation, I kept on squirming and couldn’t sleep until late at night.

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T/N: I really want to ugly cry when I translate this chapter. The sacrifice Velke has to endure, all the pain, everything just to meet his Maou once again…. ಥ_ಥ