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I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched (Web Novel) - Chapter 328: If One Knows Contentment, Greed Is Not Evil
Chapter 328: If One Knows Contentment, Greed Is Not Evil
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
“Buhyohyo, you came at last, main body. Please, take a seat… Hey, you may leave now.”“Then, I shall excuse myself.”
Upon the words of the owner Demon King, who let out an exquisitely unsettling laugh, a woman in strange clothing bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her. After confirming this, I sat down on the long chair facing the Demon King across the table, staring intently at the Demon King’s appearance… and opened my mouth with a light sigh.
“Haa… What’s with that body of yours? How did you even get like that?”
“Buhyohyo! Is that the first thing you say? If you indulge in decadence and luxuries to the fullest, wouldn’t you end up looking like this too? Are you interested?”
“Not at all. Besides, no matter how you say you’re a fragment of my power, you can’t fight properly like that, can you?”
“That’s true. A proper… fight, I haven’t had one in a long time. Moving is bothersome, and I usually rely on the girls to take care of various things for me. Buhyohyo.”
“Ah…”
“Oh, just so you know, it’s not like I’m forcing them or anything. Rather, they’re fighting over taking care of me since the salary is good, you know!”
“Oh, is that so?”
Indeed, if you can earn a large salary just by taking care of a creepy old man, there would be people who’d want to do it. Even if it’s a one-in-a-hundred chance, in this town of fifty thousand, that means five hundred people, after all.
“So, main body, what do you need from me? The fact that you came seeking a conversation means you’re not just planning to take me back without question, right?”
“Well, yeah. A while ago, I defeated something called the “Blue Demon King” with the Hero, but it wasn’t my fragment or you, so I came to see what’s going on.”
“Ah, I see. Indeed, I’m not exactly acting as the “Demon King” people imagine.”
“Seems like it. But how did it come to this? Can I hear about the circumstances?”
“Sure. Then, let’s talk over some snacks.”
With those words, the owner Demon King rang a bell on the table, and another woman in the same attire as earlier came and prepared tea and sweets on the table under the Demon King’s direction, then left.
“So, where should we start… Hmm…”
While pondering, the owner Demon King sipped his tea and crunched on the sweets. I’m not averse to sweets, but the way he’s eating them in large quantities and without care almost gives me heartburn just watching.
“At first, I was a normal Demon King, you know. A long, long time ago, I thought of conquering the world to fulfill my endless desires, but then I suddenly realized… Hey, isn’t conquering the world just troublesome? Like, really?”
“Is that… so?”
I never thought of conquering the world, so I can’t quite relate to that question. But the owner Demon King continues, with crumbs falling from his mouth.
“That’s right! Managing the Demon King’s army was troublesome enough, but if I tried to conquer the human world, it’d be even more of a hassle! Managing food, personnel, all kinds of things would be super bothersome! I wanted to leave all that to others and live more indulgently, indulging in my desires!”
“Oh, I see…”
I feel like I’ve been repeating the same reaction, but I don’t know what else to say. He is certainly indulging in desires like a Demon King… So, if you stay true to your desire to the end, it can end up like this, huh?
“So I decided not to do Demon King-like things. I left that to others, and sought a more relaxed position for myself. I didn’t want to work under someone, or work hard, but wanted to earn heaps of money easily, and live a life of decadence… And the result is this casino. They are great. Once you put up the money for the facilities and personnel, money comes in without me having to do anything. I pay a lot of taxes, so the country takes care of the troubles, and all I have to do is eat and sleep! Ah, this really is heaven.”
“………………”
“Just so you know, I’m not doing anything bad, okay? I don’t want to be great, so I don’t get involved in politics, and I don’t care if someone looks down on me, and if someone comes at me with force, the hired bodyguards take care of it, but that’s self-defense. I have enough money to buy what I want, and girls are happy to come and do naughty things with me, so I don’t need to bother with forcing people into debt and such. I’m not excited about taking advantage of the unfortunate. Actually, with the extra money, I provide food to the poor, hire people from the slums as employees, and I’m even thanked for it. Everything I want is here… I’m truly satisfied.”
“So, I see… Well, that’s good then.”
I managed to say that to the owner Demon King, who spoke with a fascinated expression. What can I say… What was it? I still didn’t quite understand how I was supposed to react.
But well, it seemed he was not a bad person. At least his judgments of good and evil were based on the law… In other words, if it’s a matter of whether he’s causing trouble to the people of this world or not, there’s no doubt that he would be considered a good person.
So, was it fine to leave him alone? He himself seemed happy, and he wasn’t causing any trouble to those around him. If I were to complain, it would be about my own embarrassment, thinking, “It’s shameful that such a sloppy guy is a part of me”… But defeating this Demon King just because of that would certainly be too selfish. Hmm, what should I do?
“Ah, right, right. Even though I say that, I’m still a Demon King, you know. I’m doing Demon King-like things too!”
The owner Demon King broke in, as I was in distress. As I returned my consciousness from the sea of thought, the owner Demon King loosened the white robe he had been wearing and exposed his fat, round belly.
“Hey, stop being stupid. I’m not interested in looking at the naked body of a man… especially my own.”
“No, no. I’m the ‘Demon King of Greed,’ so I’m collecting people’s desires. This place is filled with desires, so, look…”
“What!?”
Suddenly, the Demon King’s belly became transparent, and I could see a dark vortex swirling inside. I felt a force there, and my consciousness was instantly lifted into a combat-ready state.
“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t want to fight or anything. This is more like a hobby or a habit I’ve just collected. If I die, or if I’m absorbed by the main body, it will simply disappear. Because ‘desire’ is a common power found everywhere.”
“Hm…”
At those words, I calmed my mind and lowered my raised hips back into the chair. Indeed, as long as there is life, there is always ‘desire.’ That is, the wish ‘not to die,’ which all life possesses, is the primal desire.
“So why did you show me something like that? You don’t need to hide it, but you don’t need to show it either, do you?”
“Well, thanks to this ‘power of desire,’ I was able to obtain something interesting.”
With that, the owner Demon King sunk his hand into his belly. The sight of him plunging his hand into the hole in his stomach and stirring the inside was certainly bizarre, but it was nothing compared to the shock of what he pulled out next.
“What!? That…!?”
“Hehe, this… about five years ago, it suddenly came from another world.”
A sphere the size of a human head, shining so brightly despite being covered with a sticky black veil. I recognized its existence all too well.
It once rampaged within me, ravaged the previous world as the ‘winged one,’ and probably came to collapse this world.
“A fragment of God…”
With a somewhat vacant smile, I uttered that, looking at what the owner Demon King held in his hand, with a bitter expression on my face.
