Ssosia was rendered speechless for a while by my logical explanation. Rubbing her forearms, she finally replied.

  “But I’m not dead.”


  “I just couldn’t kill you.”


  I broke her neck during our kiss, but she was still fine.

  A broken back caused her a lot of suffering, but it still didn’t kill her.

  I have had killed every demon except Ssosia, who was basically a cheat character.

  From privates to commanders, I left no one alive.

  No demon hadn’t been slain by my hands.

  “How should I say this… Although the heroes’ duties include killing demons, when I hear it from your lips, the objective starts sounding way more malevolent than it actually is.”


  “The demons are afraid of me. A hero who is not feared is not a hero at all. Even you ask me to spare you in bed.”


  “I never asked for anything! And even if I did, there’s no need to talk about it, you bastard!”


  “Insults from demons are praises for heroes.”


  “No, no. This isn’t about demons and heroes. This is about the generally accepted moral principles of relationships between men and women!”


  The cowardly demon’s excuses flew into one ear of the Righteous Hero and flew out of the other.

  It was time to get down to business.

  “So, who is this demon?”


  “The representative of a new generation of demons, which was created by father, intervening in the system.”


  “Huh…”


  I remembered what Trainee Teacher mentioned earlier.

  The Demon Lord Pedonar intervened in the system by introducing his “unofficial patch.” The teaching staff claimed that everything had been fixed, but instead of the usual demons, mutants began to be born.

  “I don’t know about you, but I already feel the difference. These demons are now everywhere, from elementary education to higher education. If earlier their success rate was 95%, now it can’t even reach 10%.”


  “Why?”


  I really didn’t understand it.

  “Are you asking because you actually don’t know?”


  “Yes. Otherwise, why would a hero ask anything from a vile demon like you?”


  “Most of the heroes can’t meet face to face with our father because of these mutants. Even if they grow strong enough to kill them, our father would already be recuperating, causing the hero to lose against him.”


  In other words, the stronger the heroes became during his adventures, the more advantageous the final battle became for the Demon Lord.

  That was the dilemma.

  “Are my assumptions correct?”


  “Yes.”


  “But I still don’t understand. Even mutants shouldn’t be able to resist the pitiful power of friendship.”


  The heroes themselves didn’t have to become stronger.

  They could collect many companions and add them to their squad to deal with the mutants. At that rate, they wouldn’t need to get involved in an unequal battle with the Demon Lord.

  “His job is ‘Brutal Assassin’.”


  “Oh!”


  I didn’t immediately realize that versatile attacks wouldn’t work against him because I killed him too quickly.

  I checked his stats again.

  ? Race: Exceptional Demon

  ? Level: 999+

  ? Job: Brutal Assassin (Assassination = Carnage ↑)

  ? Skills: Dark Energy Z, Tentacles Z, Endurance MAX, Carnage MAX, Assassination MAX…


  ? Status: Death

  Due to his job feature, his “Carnage” skill’s rank increased depending on his “Assassination” skill’s rank.

  It was an amazing job that turned him into a weapon of mass destruction.

  ? Type: Skill

  ? Name: Carnage

  ? Rank: MAX

  ? Z:?

  ? SSS: XP reduction is canceled.

  ? SS: Deals damage over a huge area.

  ? S: Terrain has no effect.

  ? A: Significant enlargement of the area of effect.

  ? B: Significant increase in damage.

  ? C: Added armor-piercing attribute.

  ? D: Enlargement of the area of effect.

  ? E: Increased damage.

  ? F: Deals area damage.

  While the Assassination skill didn’t inflict damage as massive as Carnage, which focused on intimidating and eliminating a large number of enemies at once, they still had a similar effect, creating a synergy between them.

  If I remembered correctly, among the demons, I hadn’t met anyone with such a job yet.

  Although third-rate villains like the leaders of mountain bandits or cold-blooded assassins could have the Carnage skill, its rank would be too low. The mutant’s job required both it being high-ranked and more or less high combat capabilities.

  “Everything’s much more understandable now.”


  All high-ranking demons had terrible jobs.

  Basically, all of them had a non-combat type, such as “Aristocrat,” which increased their status. Ssosia was no exception.

  ? Race: Second Demon

  ? Level: 999+

  ? Job: Queen (Charm → Domination ↑)

  ? Skills: Dark Energy ZZ, Life Energy ZZ, Immortality ZZ, Charm ZZ, Fortitude Z…


  ? Condition: Magic (Demonic) Sword

  It might be conspicuous due to her combat skills, but it was difficult to resist the pitiful power of friendship with her job.

  The more the heroes’ companions supported them, the stronger the Holy Sword A became. The power of friendship could easily overcome even the skill “Immortality.”


  It wasn’t known, though, if she’d be able to deal with transcendental skills.

  “And there are many such mutants?”


  “I’m not sure. They change from time to time to avoid being detected by the system firewall. That’s why in each dimension, a different number of mutants with different settings appear.”


  “How interesting.”


  “Want to know something even more interesting?”


  “What?”


  Coming so close to my ear that I could smell the soap on her, Ssosia whispered.

  “Father has begun to understand the system.”


  Having entrusted the rest of the minor matters to my subjects, I went elsewhere to speak with her in private.

  In such cases, there was nothing better than a bedroom.

  ***

  The Demon Lord couldn’t commit suicide.

  The Hero was summoned to kill the Demon Lord threatening the existence of the whole world. Hence, it would’ve been very awkward if the main villain killed himself.

  Due to that, the system blocked the opportunity.

  But I saw the Demon Lord kill himself once by committing hara-kiri.

  That was my worst battle with a Demon Lord. He just beat me up, but instead of finishing me off, he committed suicide, forcing my journey to go downhill.

  “So this is how he made his way through the system…”


  This world was an educational system based on the unification of the powers of the First Demon and the First Angel.

  Although the First Demon was forced to invest in the construction of his own prison, that didn’t change the fact that he was one of the “main shareholders.”


  Usually, he couldn’t exercise power.

  But if the Hero, becoming stronger, crossed a certain line, then the Demon Lord’s strength would increase so much that he would be able to interfere with the system.

  That was the essence of his suicide.

  It was the best way to disrupt the system.

  “It’s extremely unpleasant for me, but my father, like the First Hero, appreciates you,” Ssosia, absentmindedly opening her eyes and looking at me, said, lying on the wide bed, which used to be owned by the king of the Magic Kingdom.

  “For some reason, I don’t feel happy that the Demon Lord recognizes me.”


  “You are his hope.”


  “What nonsense are you talking about?”


  “Your wife’s speaking to you seriously, and you call her words nonsense? You’re a beast!”


  After that, a fierce battle took place, in which the Fantasy World was, fortunately, not destroyed.

  And so 30 minutes passed.

  “Whimper! You’re not a hero at all! You’re just a hero who makes demons cry.”


  “Thanks for the compliment.”


  “Only my father liked the fact that someone like you appeared. Before that, although he knew he could tamper with the system, he failed every time. Simply put, the other heroes were too weak because they relied on the Holy Sword and their companions.”


  The Demon Lord worked hard.

  He didn’t spare anything for the sake of the growth of the Hero.

  Children, servants, wealth, experience points…


  Usually, kings and princes who suffered from the Hero would want to take revenge on him personally, but the Demon Lord didn’t leave his castle.

  At the end of the 1st round, he asked me a question.

  What was it again?

  “He asked if I knew something about the political world of demons…”


  I didn’t know about all the circumstances, so I didn’t know what to answer.

  A Demon Lord who wanted a hero to grow?

  It sounded completely illogical at the time.

  But now, when he gave his daughter to me in marriage, I understood why he so desired it.

  That was part of the political world of demons.

  “It was difficult for him to start somewhere, but then everything went smoothly. Because of the chance that you gave him, he intervened in the system and created such conditions that the Hero has no choice but to become stronger. This is why mutant demons came into existence. Now I can’t even determine how much my father interfered with the system.”


  “So someday the Demon Lord will be able to escape from this place on his own?”


  “Yes.”


  “Because of me?”


  “Yes. Because of you.”


  Did the hero just help the Demon Lord break free from his cage?

  That was clearly a problem.

  I didn’t plan for that to happen!

  I only grew stronger to single-handedly defeat the Demon Lord. The consequences of that weren’t my fault!

  It was absolutely absurd!

  ? Confusion: Various events and prizes have been prepared so that you don’t kill him alone…


  ‘Trainee Teacher, did you know about this?’


  ? Denial: No. I already knew of the importance of love and friendship from my school days, but I didn’t think they were clever tools that hid the educational system’s flaws. I’m so surprised that my heart is still beating wildly.

  I wanted to check if it really was beating because she was surprised.

  ‘My secret friend, would you like to go on a date with me?’


  Ssosia muttered something under her breath before she could answer, though.

  “As a token of gratitude, he gave his beloved daughter to such a bastard. Father can’t even be considered a demon at this point!” She whimpered.

  “Don’t pretend to cry.”


  “I have feelings too! I’m allowed to cry if something upsets me!”


  At that moment, the First Spirit, who was sitting on my head, intervened.

  “My niece, forgive me for saying this, but it was you who filled out the prenuptial agreement. The Hero is just a victim.”


  “Aunt, whose side are you on?”


  “I’m just telling you the truth… But I’m also on the side of drugs.”


  The Holy Mollan Empire united the Northern Continent without its northern part and the Central Continent without its southern part.

  Not considering the Western and Southern Continents, where the concept of kingdoms didn’t exist yet since only a small population lived there in tribes, then 60% of the Fantasy World was now under my control.

  But that was only on the surface.

  The Head of the Dark Commerce, who managed the entire commercial sphere, was my wife, and the strongest being in the universe, Master Mollan, was my teacher.

  Hence, it was safe to say that I controlled about 99.9% of this world.

  The internal situation in the empire?

  “Mrs. Hippolia! Wait for me!”


  “Well-mannered ladies shouldn’t run.”


  “Yes, Mrs. Hippolia!”


  Due to family ties, our marriage was dissolved, and the nurse, whom the emperor treated like a younger sister, listened to Saintess H as her older sister.

  Wasn’t she too submissive?

  But there was a pair that was their complete opposite.

  “Chris, you’re weak because you don’t respect your great father.”


  “I don’t want to hear that from a dragon!”


  “Race is not important. What matters is how you think about your father! This is why I’m much stronger than you, even though you’re his biological son! I’m not even in my dragon form right now. The playing field is equal.”


  “Hmm! Again!”


  Green Cake and Chris fought all day.

  The results were always overwhelming victories for Green Cake.

  Chris seemed angry because of his defeat, so with the help of the spatial transportation magic circle, he rushed across the Central and Northern Continents and fought monsters.

  Knock knock!

  The knocking sound came from the door as I stood near the office window, watching Princess Aqua frolicking with the mermaid in the Imperial Garden’s pond.

  “What is it?”


  “Your Majesty, the missing Sage has been found, but…” The maid hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

  “Go on.”


  “Forgive me for being rude, but you’d better see it in person.”


  The First Spirit lying on my head began to beat on my forehead with her palm.

  “Quickly now, Drug Hero!”


  “I would have gone without you urging me to.”


  I was interested in what had become of Sage, after all.

  I, the MAX-Class Hero, hastened to see for myself where his little adventure with the mermaids led to.