Could you say that one more time?
Yes.
I would like you
to participate in the students' battle event our queen shall be attending,
and put on an excellent, ostentatious performance for her!
No, thank you.
The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody
As you know,
this academy is a national institution.
This upcoming battle event is
a unique opportunity for us to appeal for a greater budget!
So you're hoping to use me as a tool to acquire funding?
No, no, no!
I'm just thinking about the students and the future of this academy!
Ardy, I'm begging you here!
Please!
Please raise your head, Headmaster.
It's my belief that magic exists to help those in need.
Even if you are trying to secure a budget, making a show of it...
Goes against your aesthetics, huh?
A certain, dumb, younger brother of mine
once said something similar long ago.
Though he went and reincarnated without asking anyone first,
so I never got the chance to ask him about the meaning of such aesthetics.
A dumb younger brother?
He wasn't my blood relative, though.
We were orphans, after all.
Headmaster.
Could you please give me some time to consider it?
Of course!
I look forward to an amicable response!
I'm going to ascertain who you truly are,
son of the great mage.
What do I do?
If I refuse, they could take away my scholarship status,
or at worst, possibly expel me.
Then my academy life with Ireeny is gone.
Though nothing's riskier than participating in the battle event with Olivia watching!
Mister Ard!
Oh, Miss Ginny, what's the matter?
Um, i-if you don't have any plans after classes,
would you go on a date with me?
Huh?
A date, you say?
Yes!
A date as in the event lovers embark upon together?
That kind of date?
Wait, but why would Miss Ginny ask that of me?
No, no, no, no,
don't take this the wrong way, Ard Meteor.
You shouldn't harbor any wicked hopes.
I should turn her down right now.
How about it?
All right.
I'll accompany you.
Yay! A date with Mister Ard!
I'd like to ask a favor of you, as well.
Huh?
Could you drop the "Mister" and just call me Ard?
We are classmates, after all.
No way! I couldn't do that!
Then how about Ardy, at least?
Hmm... Ardy?
Yes. That would be preferable.
Ardy! I'm looking forward to our date!
Me, too.
Hang on a dang second!
Miss Ireena.
M-Me, too!
I want a date, too!
Sure! I'm totally okay with that!
Huh?
D-Do you really mean that? I mean...
I don't plan on trying to monopolize Ardy.
In fact, I think Ardy should be building a harem!
What's a harem?
You don't know about them?
Well, you see, a harem is...
N-No! No way!
Absolutely not!
I'll never permit any harem!
Huh? Why not?
I think Ardy would look cool surrounded by lots of women.
No means no!
Ardy! Miss Ireena!
Wow, Ginny! You're so cute!
You, too, Miss Ireena.
Where did you buy that outfit?
Man, watching two beautiful women frolic together cleanses the soul.
At my favorite shop!
Ardy, what do you think of how I look?
I put a lot of effort into it for our date!
Oh, well, this truly is a good look on you.
Ard!
Praise me, too!
You look wonderful, too, Miss Ireena.
Right?!
Since it's our first date, I went with the orthodox choice of watching a play.
Oh? What are they performing?
I am the omnipotent ruler...
Varvatos!
I will annihilate all of the evil gods!
To think I'd be watching my past life like this...
It would seem Ginny is starting to activate
the succubus ability that she subconsciously sealed away.
It was said to ensnare and charm men and women of all ages.
What power and talent...
It's even affecting me slightly...
No, I must not!
How can I let myself harbor such wicked thoughts?!
You take action on your own too much, Varvatos!
Please, rely on my strength a little more!
I'm sorry, Lydia.
I'm worried about you, Varvatos.
H-H-Hold on.
Is this really a play about the Demon Lord Varvatos?
Whose story am I watching here?
Varvatos,
I'll always be there for you...
Thank you, Lydia.
Having you around eases my weary heart.
No! That is absolutely, overwhelmingly, fundamentally wrong!
Lydia was actually...
Hey, wait! Lydia!
If you rush in now, then the tactics we prepared will—
Shut up!
Let's go, boys!
Yeah!
We just have to win, that's all!
...like that!
The flowers have bloomed!
Flowers, my ass!
I'm exhausted.
I'm extremely exhausted between reliving my past and interjecting over their performance.
That was so much fun!
The Demon Lord Varvatos was a wonderful man!
Uh... sure.
But I don't think I would've enjoyed it this much if I just watched it by myself.
It's because you were with me, Ardy.
Hey,
let's go get something to eat already!
I know a good place!
I'll lead the way!
Miss Ginny, th-this is...
Hey, Ard! I can't see!
The hidden gem is just through here.
Good grief! At this point, we just have to follow her.
She's an incredibly tough woman.
I guess there's at least some reason she's hailed as the messenger of the sacred goddess.
Ard?
Still, even if she is the queen, she's still human.
It should almost be ready now.
Ard?
Soon enough, the queen will be in our clutches!
What's the matter, Ardy?
Once that magic circle is complete,
even the queen won't escape unscathed.
Let's get going.
I'm planning to tail those guys.
I'm sorry for cutting our date short, but you two should...
I'm going with you, Ard!
If the queen is in danger, then I can't just watch and do nothing!
Same here!
I'm not who I was before!
I should be able to help you somehow now!
All right.
At the very least, I guarantee I'll keep you two safe.
This is looking shadier by the minute.
A magic circle...
It's so big...
Oh, now I see.
So, that's how it is.
That's how it is?
Apparently, we're...
Don't move or we'll kill you!
So this was a trap.
You fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Don't get any funny ideas now, got it?
Your lives are in our hands now.
You've got an awful lot of pluck.
You think you can escape from us?
Well, let's see.
It looks to me like you have no intention of killing us.
If you were planning to kill us,
you would have attacked us by surprise or something.
Yet you went out of your way to hold an obviously suspicious conversation to lure us in,
and you even prepared the construction of this magic circle ahead of time,
which is more than enough for me to surmise
you plan to kidnap us alive
rather than kill us.
In addition to that!
Ard!
Ardy!
Your guess was only half right!
There's no need for us to keep anyone but our target alive!
Wh-What?! Why won't you die?!
This scheme you lot have prepared poses no threat to me.
I-Impossible!
How on earth are you—
Who the hell is this guy?!
His whole body was burned!
I-Impossible!
Don't panic!
We're only facing three people!
We still have the upper hand here!
It doesn't matter how many small fry like you try to gang up on me.
I'm still in the middle of my date.
Now, then!
Now I made a point of leaving you awake.
If you'll confess why you tried to go after us,
then I won't have to get rough.
You monster!
You won't get away with this!
A-A demon?!
I see. So that's what's going on.
Lightning Burst!
D-Did he flee?
It looks like it?
Girls, I'm going after him.
Huh?
Wait, but...
He can fly?
By the time we return to the manhole and climb up to the surface,
he could be anywhere.
Why would we have to go back?
If he's going to fly, then we just need to do the same.
A-Are humans supposed to be able to fly?
Just please remember that I am able to fly.
What's that?!
No! Someone save my daughter!
H-Hey, is that—
R-Run! There's a demon loose!
This is bad.
At this rate, the panic will spread.
The only way to settle this...
Listen up, citizens!
My name is Ard Meteor!
I am the son of the great mage, Jack Meteor!
Meteor? The great mage?
I will pursue that demon, so he is already as good as dead!
I shall punish the villain that dares to threaten your peaceful lives!
Punish me? I have a hostage, you know.
Hostage?
Now where is that supposed to be?
When did you start hallucinating that you had a hostage?
What did you do?
Just a little illusion spell.
Though even so, the quality of demons sure has fallen.
Who the hell are you?!
Just a passing villager.
There is no villager like you!
Since you don't seem to know, allow me to teach you.
You can't escape from me.
Flash of Babel!
Now, then...
Um, thank you so much for rescuing my child.
No, it was only the right thing to do.
I-I don't know what that was, but wasn't it amazing?!
I've seen it before!
The great mage's magic!
His powerful, special magic!
Thank you! Thank you!
Great mage!
Raise him up!
Huh? Hey!
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Sir Ard!
Hooray! Hooray!
D-Did something happen?
We were granted the honor of an audience with Her Majesty, thanks to today's events.
I was trying to avoid standing out, and yet...
Raise your head, Ard Meteor.
Of course the queen would have an abundant aura of elegance and dignity.
Hey, commoner!
Do not gaze directly on Her Majesty's noble figure!
It's fine.
It is only natural for others to be enchanted by my beauty.
Now, what kind of attitude should I take here?
If possible, I'd like to take advantage of this
to secure funding and permission to skip attending the battle event.
Rosie, long time no see!
H-How insolent!
Intolerable!
What? Rosie and I are friends!
I won't bow my head without good reason.
I see you haven't changed.
That's the Ireena I know.
Ireena is my friend.
Therefore I shall permit her disrespect and forwardness.
I will not allow her to be censured.
Now then, I have summoned you here today to compensate you.
Hmm, how should a commoner respond to a queen in a situation like this?
While I've summoned the rulers of other nations as the demon lord,
this is my first time having an audience with a ruler as a commoner.
Your achievements merit commendation.
Yes!
As expected from the great mage's son.
Yes!
I have also taken a liking to you.
Therefore, you shall be rewarded.
Yes!
You shall become my husband.
Ye—
Huh?!
Perhaps I should state it in even simpler terms?
Ard Meteor,
would you impregnate me?
H-Have you gone mad?!
No!
No way!
Ard is my Ard!
In that case the queen will be part of his harem, too!
Well, let us say that was just a joke for now.
As for your reward,
I shall promote you to the rank of pentagon-class mage.
P-Pentagon?!
A commoner to pentagon?!
Please stop this, Your Majesty!
Not good...
With all due respect, Your Majesty,
while I understand this may sound disrespectful,
I would prefer if you might grant my humble request as reward instead.
State it.
I would like you to increase the budget for the Laville National Magic Academy.
What? That is all you desire?
Yet what would you gain from that?
I believe it would allow me to show my gratitude to Count Golde,
who takes good care of us there.
You would prioritize a display of gratitude over your personal gain?
How humble and compassionate!
I like you even more!
As reward, I shall grant you both pentagon status and an increased budget!
You mustn't, Your Majesty!
What?!
Fine, fine!
Then what if I attach conditions?
I shall grant both Ard and Ireena pentagon status.
In return, you two shall be obligated to join the Queen's Shadow,
the special forces that answer directly to me.
No, Your Majesty, we can't grant pentagon to Olhyde's daughter...
That's no issue.
Ireena will rise to that rank one day anyways.
Thanks, Rosie!
By the way, can you give Ginny something, too?
Well...
How about triangle for you?
Th-Thank you so very much!
Huh?
How did it come to this?
He's proved more capable than anticipated,
this son of the great mage.
We've taken measure of his strength now.
That commoner is truly exceptional.
Yet he will still be no match for that monster.
Can we trust that woman?
Your concern is wasted.
That woman truly hopes to destroy this world.
All is for the sake of restoring the world to its proper state under our lord's proper rule.