Published at 17th of July 2024 7:26 am

Chapter 377: The Things That Seem Out of Reach, When Given Up On, Often Come Falling Before Your Eyes.

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I want to eat something sweet, but because my face is scary, I can’t get close to people. If I were to say just that, it might sound like a laughing matter in some rural area, but it seems to be a serious problem for the Demon King himself. His expression remained serious as he continued speaking.

“The desire to eat something sweet grew stronger day by day. The yearning turned into thirst, and if there was any sweetness, be it flowers or trees, I devoured it. However, for some reason, the idea of ‘then let’s take it from those who have it’ never occurred to me. If I had thought that way, I would have been more easily satisfied… and lost many things.”

“I see…. So that’s your turning point.”

I don’t know how it happened, but if the Demon King in front of me had taken that path, I would surely have moved in the direction of subjugating the ‘Sweetness Demon King.’ For the residents of this world, threatened daily for that reason, it would have been unbearable, but.—-

“Is that so? A Demon King who becomes docile just by offering sweet things might be much easier to handle than ferocious demonic beasts, don’t you think?”

“…Maybe?”

Tilting her head, Tia’s words made my palm turn over in an instant. Indeed, if a Demon King becomes docile by feeding them sweet things, it would be much easier to deal with than troublesome demonic beasts. Moreover, using sweet things as negotiation material, one might even be able to manipulate them as they please.

“Haha, I don’t know what would have happened in a future I didn’t choose. If I had learned to take by force, I might have endlessly demanded and taken everything. Anyway, I continued to crave sweet things alone. Desperate to eat them, I was driven to madness, and at that moment, I awakened to a certain power. This is it.”

Saying that, the Demon King raised his palm upward and extended his right hand. Something rectangular and brown appeared on his hand.

“What is that?”

“You’ll find out soon… Hey, you over there!”

“Mao, what is it?”

Called over, the fairy approached, and the Demon King reached out his right hand.

“Let’s do this.”

“Is it okay!? Yay!”

“Huh!?”

In front of me, bewildered, the fairy grabbed what appeared in the Demon King’s hand and happily took a bite. Devouring the brown object, about the size of her face, with a messy mouth, she belched quite heartily, contrasting with her cute appearance.

“Gefu, it’s sweet! Thanks, Mao!”

“You’re welcome… So, I gained the ability to produce sweet things from my own hand. Probably, this is my power as a Demon King. The power in response to my sincere desire.”

“Well, that’s… convenient, isn’t it?”

“So, is the problem over? If you can produce it yourself, you can eat it whenever you want.”

“No, it didn’t turn out that way… You guys should try it too.”

“Huh? Well, that’s a bit…”

“Is it okay? Then, here goes.”

Throughout, not knowing what expression to make, I watched as Tia casually picked up a brown object from the Demon King’s palm and put it in her mouth. Her lack of hesitation was beyond amazement, even evoking a sense of admiration.

“Tia, you’re amazing…”

“Maybe I’m feeling a bit bold after drinking that purple soup earlier. Besides, the fairy was eating it normally… But, huh? It doesn’t taste as sweet as I thought…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Ed, try eating it too.”

“O-Okay… Here goes…”

While Tia was eating, I couldn’t just not eat. I picked up the brown object newly created from the Demon King’s hand and, with determination, put something soft and sticky into my mouth. However…

“…What is this? It doesn’t taste like anything.”

“That’s the answer. I did gain the power to produce sweet things, but I couldn’t taste anything from the sweet things I created for myself. I guess there’s no room for a difference… I can’t taste it because the power just returns when I eat something created by my magic. Tia felt it was bland probably because Ed’s soul… the Demon King’s power was slightly mixed in?”

“I see…”

“Huh? If you can’t feel it’s sweet when you eat it yourself, how did you know it’s ‘sweet’?”

“That’s the result of observation. When I didn’t understand what was happening to myself and continued to produce ‘it,’ I found ants swarming over what had fallen and been left on the ground. Afterward, I experimented with other insects and animals, and finally, I provided it to a subrace of demi-humans with whom I can communicate, and they confirmed that it’s ‘sweet.’…But, I just understood. I can endlessly produce sweet things. They are appreciated when offered. However, the fact remains that I cannot taste sweet things

. Instead, I’ve been given fruits and honey as substitutes, but they were things I could originally obtain on my own. I awoke to this power for what reason? Even though I can give anyone what they desire most, why can’t I experience it myself? Troubled, I traveled the world. I visited various places and met various beings. Sometimes, I helped injured humans and formed connections, albeit fragile ones.

However, the results always turned for the worse. Sweetness remained out of reach, and even those who defended me suffered… When I arrived at the same outcome for the fifth time after helping five times, I stopped revealing myself to people. I want to eat something sweet. However, I can no longer interact with humans. Among non-human races, none consumed anything sweet other than natural things… My desire had withered away completely. What I arrived at in the end was here.”

Pausing momentarily, the Demon King gazed into the distance with a distant look. Joining in, I looked around and saw the lively figures and voices of fairies playing freely.

“The fairies weren’t afraid of my appearance, and no one objected to interacting with me. And, above all, they were incredibly delighted with the ‘sweet things’ I produced. Treated like treasures, they would eat it with their entire bodies sticky, and watching them enjoy it made me feel a little fulfilled, even though I couldn’t taste it myself.

So, I settled here. By observing the fairies enjoying what I couldn’t taste, I found peace in my heart. Thus, with the Demon King’s power, I protected this land and the fairies. In return, the fairies gave me an unexpectedly wonderful gift…”

“Hey, Mao!”

Interrupting the Demon King’s narration, a fairy flew in from the depths of the forest. Small bubbles floated in front of her face, containing something… What could it be? It was too small to see clearly, but there was definitely something inside.

“Mao, I’m giving you this!”

“Oh, thank you!”

“It’s fine! Give us more sweet things next time!”

“Sure thing. Here.”

The Demon King received the bubble with his left hand, and with his right hand, he created something brown. The fairy cradled it, then took it home without eating it this time.

“Maou-san, what did you get?”

“Fufufu… This.”

Poking the bubble with his fingertip, the Demon King burst it, revealing incredibly small crumbs or something similar, around ten pieces. Huh? What is this…?

“…Eh, could it be, baked sweets!?”

“Baked sweets!? No way, these are so small… Oh, I see, for fairy sizes, are these quite big?”

“That’s right. Probably for us, it’s about the size of a palm, I think?”

While Tia and I were still surprised, the Demon King gently picked up a piece of baked sweet and put it in his mouth. Instead of chewing, it seemed like it would dissolve just by resting on his tongue. However, the Demon King savored it for a full ten seconds before exhaling a contented sigh, looking truly happy.

“Oh, this is it. Do you understand, Ed? This is sweetness. It’s not originally sweet fruits or honey. It’s something someone wished for, saying, ‘May it be deliciously sweet.’ I will never forget the first time I tasted this. Ah, sweet. It’s truly sweet…”

The Demon King’s stern face, savoring a tiny baked sweet that could easily shatter with a little force, looked blissful, like a child embraced by its mother.

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