In a quiet corner of the Ice Castle, the Death King, Isis Remnant, silently flips through the pages of the book in her hand.
Her expression is so steeped in loneliness that one can almost feel the coldness radiating from it. The only sound that breaks the silence of the castle is the rustling of the pages as they turn.
It has been nearly a thousand years since the treaty of friendship was signed between the three realms—the Demon Realm, the Human Realm, and the God Realm. Over this millennium, the Demon Realm’s surroundings have drastically changed. Demons have been accepted by both Humans and Gods as good neighbors, and the world has expanded greatly.
Yet, the world surrounding Isis remains closed off… or rather, it has grown worse than it was a thousand years ago.
Currently, the Demon Realm and the Human Realm share very friendly relations, and the Six Kings, the highest authorities in the Demon Realm, are each connected to the Human Realm in their own ways.
The Underworld King, naturally sociable and kind, has earned the trust of both Humans and Gods, and many Humans count themselves as followers of the Underworld King.
The World King is especially revered by the Elves and several other tribes, gaining a large following in certain regions.
The War King, though his personality was rough, has a boldness and stoicism in battle that many adventurers admire, often praying to him as a charm for victory before embarking on dangerous battles.
The Dragon King, offering his flying dragons as a means of transportation, has come to be seen as the God of Commerce by peddlers, who carry dragon ornaments as good luck charms.
As for the Phantasmal King, who frequently changes appearance and rarely appears in public, even Isis, one of the Six Kings, is unsure of his exact actions. However, it’s said that he has the largest number of subordinates among them, supporting world peace from behind the scenes.
And so, even the Six Kings had adjusted to the expanded world and established their own standpoints…… Yes, except for Isis, the Death King……
To be precise, one could also say that the standpoint of the Death King is shifting. Yes, as an object of fear, that is…
She was regarded as the most fearsome and dangerous among the Six Kings, feared as the very symbol of death by both Humans and Gods alike.
She was angry and frustrated that all the other members of the Six Kings had formed good relationships with others, and she did everything she could to establish positive ties with the Humans. However, all her efforts were in vain, overshadowed by the magic power of death she was clad in.
Humans are especially sensitive to the emotion of fear compared to Demons, and as the World King feared, they never accepted Isis.
The hope she once held turned into despair, and as she shed tears—tears that seemed endless—before long, the despair had deepened to the point where all that remained was resignation.
As a result, she rarely leaves her ice castle, except for the Festival of Heroes. Instead, she spends her days sifting through the vast collection of books she has gathered from around the world.
She wasn’t sure whether to call it fortunate or unfortunate, but she had more money than she could spend.
This was because the Land of Death, where she lived, was rich in rare ores and gems, many of which were highly coveted. By granting permission for their mining, she had amassed a considerable fortune. Even without lifting a finger, vast sums of money continued to flow into her hands.
At first, aware that most humans desired these resources, Isis attempted to offer them for free, but instead, she only managed to frighten them.
As for the mining rights, she believed she had given permission for people to mine wherever and however much they wanted. However, those who came to mine never ventured near the area around Isis’s castle, where the richest veins of ore were located. It was as though they were deliberately avoiding her, only extracting small amounts from the veins on the outer edges of the Land of Death, perhaps to avoid provoking her.
And so, she used the money she earned to buy books, seeking solace from her loneliness. Isis may have gathered a vast collection of books in her castle… The very books she amassed to escape her solitude, ironically, only deepened it. The loneliness of reading alone in her castle, surrounded by countless volumes, made the weight on her small shoulders even greater. Over the last thousand years, this growing isolation turned her into a deeply gloomy figure.
In the mountain range to the north of the Symphonia Kingdom’s royal capital, Isis drifts about.
She rarely leaves her home except for the Festival of Heroes, but that doesn’t mean she never ventures out—she makes a few trips to the Human Realm each year.
There are two main reasons for this, the first is to buy new books, and the second is for a small personal hobby.
Isis has read thousands upon thousands of books, but perhaps because she envies the connections others share, she particularly enjoys reading novels that depict romance between men and women.
She especially loves stories about men and women of different statuses falling in love, eagerly putting herself in the shoes of the female characters as she reads.
When she finishes a novel she particularly enjoys, she goes out and collects items and flowers that appeared in the story, making it a small hobby of hers.
This time, she had come to this mountain range because of a scene in a novel where the male protagonist climbs to the top to pick a phantom blue flower to give to the woman he loves.
However, that’s a story adapted into a fantasy novel, so the real blue flower—Blue Crystal Flowers—may be rare, but they are common enough that there’s no real need for anyone to climb this mountain range, especially without even knowing if the flowers actually grow here.
The animals and monsters living in the mountains sensed her approach and began to flee, something she was already used to. Isis didn’t seem concerned in the slightest as she continued her ascent.
Those creatures who happened to have nests in her path, like the wyverns, were unfortunately about to encounter a walking calamity.
[……Hindrances.]
After silently muttering to herself, Isis released her magic power of death, and the wyverns’ lives were snuffed out instantly. They began to fall from the sky like leaf beetles, creating a mountain of over 50 corpses.
Reaching the top of the mountain, she found the blue crystal flower growing there. With a satisfied smile, she plucked it, cast State Preservation Magic on it, and stored it away. Having fulfilled her purpose, she began retracing her steps along the path she had come from.
As she continued on her way, she noticed a large group of humans standing in front of the wyverns’ corpses. As Isis drew closer, she tilted her head in curiosity.
When the humans, trembling with fear, saw her approaching, their expressions went pale. The leader of the group bowed his head, visibly shaking in fear.
[D-Death King-sama…]
[…What are you doing here?]
[W-We’re here t-to subjugate the wyverns.]
[…These ones?]
[Y-Yes!?]
When Isis called out to him, the man was clearly frightened, his voice trembling as he responded.
That reaction was understandable. For these humans, encountering the Death King, Isis Remnant, outside the Festival of Heroes was considered a calamity, one that meant certain death. Some members of the subjugation team were looking at her with tears in their eyes, while others had already fainted, lying unconscious on the ground.
In the Human Realm and the God Realm, she is known as a dangerous being who will kill any creature she doesn’t like. However, as far as Isis is concerned, aside from unintelligent monsters like wyverns, she has no intention of unnecessarily harming humans who haven’t drawn their sword against her.
Yet, the magic power of death she was clad in creates an image of death against the subjugation team. They had already had their own deaths in their minds many times, and their instincts were intensely screaming for them to run away.
[………………….]
As if to reflect the mood she felt after finding the blue crystal flower exactly where the story said it would be, Isis showed a hint of irritation on her face. At the same time, her magic power of death became palpable.
[Uwaahhh…… Uwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!?]
Was he an adventurer? One of them shouted out and bolted, and as if that had triggered something, one by one, the members of the subjugation team began to flee as fast as they could.
However, it was only the adventurers who ran. The members of the Knight Order, though their bodies trembled to the point that their armor rattled, remained in place. They continued to bow before Isis, fully aware that they carried the fate of their country on their shoulders.
After coldly surveying the scene, Isis walked past the trembling knights without a word and began descending the mountain.
She knew it herself, but their unreasonable rejection of her irritated her. As she continued on her path, her expression grew distinctly sullen, a sharp contrast to the good mood she had been in earlier. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.
[…This magic power… Could it be Kuromueina?]
Sensing the magic power of one of the other Six Kings, Kuromueina, coming from the direction of the royal capital, Isis turned her gaze toward it. There, she saw the Spatial Annihilation Magic activate above the capital, only to disappear immediately.
[………………..]
Seeing the magic Kuromueina had activated, Isis paused for a moment.
Still feeling down after her encounter with the subjugation team, she decided that speaking with the kind-hearted Kuromueina might help lift her spirits.
With that thought settled, Isis began to slowly make her way toward the royal capital.
Perhaps because she had considered it nothing more than a passing whim, and wouldn’t have minded if she didn’t see her, Isis moved slowly and arrived at the royal capital just as the sun was setting.
She wasn’t sure if it was because the majority of the inhabitants had heard the rumors from the adventurers who had fled earlier, but most of the residents had already retreated into their homes, holding their breath as they waited for the symbol of calamity to pass through their city.
This was a sight Isis was already familiar with, and it could be said that whenever she visited a city, it always turned out this way sooner or later.
However, the one thing different from usual was that a young man stood at the end of the path Isis was walking down…
The young man was staring at Isis with wide, frightened eyes. But the way he was frightened felt different from the subjugation team she had encountered earlier. The men from the subjugation team had been frightened because they knew exactly what kind of being Isis was, whereas the young man seemed to be terrified as though he had encountered something entirely unknown to him.
[……What a strange magic power…… Are you… a Hero?]
[!?]
Isis asked, her curiosity piqued by his unusual reaction and the fact that he was clad in a magic power that felt different from that of the humans of this world. She wondered if this young man might be this year’s Hero.
If he’s a human from another world, there’s a chance he might accept her… though that thought no longer lingers in her mind.
She had already tried that with many who held the title of Hero in the past. The result was always the same.
She knows that she, too, is viewed with fear by otherworlders. Isis isn’t expecting anything different now. She had only called out to him as a simple greeting.
[……I repeat… Are you… a Hero?]
She had expected him to react this way, but when the trembling young man remained silent, Isis asked again.
Irritated by the earlier encounter, her words, tinged with a hint of sullenness, were infused with the magic power of death. The young man flinched, and with a look of fear, he finally spoke.
[……I’m an… otherworlder, but… I’m not… the Hero.]
[……I see.]
Hearing the young man’s response, Isis was honestly a little surprised.
She hadn’t expected him to say anything at all. She had assumed the conversation would end with him either trembling in silence or running away in fear. Yet, even though he was trembling, he still replied.
To stand before Isis, who was clad in the magic power of death, one must possess a certain strength of heart. Moreover, the current Isis was in a very bad mood, making her magic power of death even more vicious than usual.
He may not be as strong as the knight she had seen earlier, but for him to respond despite her displeasure—something the knight couldn’t do—this young man might possess a surprisingly strong heart.
Revising her perception of him slightly, Isis extended her hand toward him.
[……I’m… Isis… Isis Remnant… Nice to meet you.]
[ ! ? ! ? ]
As she introduced herself, she extended her hand.
Isis herself knows better than anyone that this is a futile gesture. This is only a formality, as it’s proper to hold out your hand to someone you’re greeting.
No matter how strong-minded he may be, as long as he is a living being and lacks the power to oppose Isis, he won’t be able to hold the hand she offers him…
[…………………….]
Looking at the hand that Isis extended toward him, the young man visibly grew more frightened, taking a step back.
This was the outcome she knew all too well… A natural occurrence, repeated thousands of times—a constant that would never change. These shackles… This curse she had carried since the moment she was born.
Isis had no intention of blaming the young man for his reaction. She carefully tried to step back, hoping not to frighten him further.
—But the scene that followed was not something Isis had anticipated. It was something completely beyond her expectations.
A dry sound echoed in the silence, and the hand that was about to pull away paused.
[……!? (What is… he doing?)]
Before Isis’s eyes, the young man suddenly slapped his cheeks with both hands, then closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze, full of resolve, turned toward her.
Those eyes were not those of the weak, terrified by her presence, nor were they those of the strong, capable of opposing her like the other Six Kings.
No, they were the eyes of a challenger—someone intimidated, frightened even, but determined to face the challenges ahead.
Isis was certain of it. The young man before her was trying to challenge himself. Despite his frail body, his meager magical power… Even though he had no strength to oppose Isis, he was still trying to confront her magic power of death head-on…
Her heart began to tremble violently, and that feeling—one she thought had long disappeared—began to rise up from the depths of her heart… the feeling of hope.
It’s impossible. There’s no way he can do it.
Despite the way her heart felt, she couldn’t let go of the hand she held out. No, she felt with absolute certainty that she shouldn’t pull it away.
As if in response to the faint wish Isis quietly held deep within her, the young man trembled and slowly… so slowly, but surely, his hand began to move closer.
His teeth clenched so hard that they bled, as if he were battling his own fear… desperately trying to respond to Isis’s wish.
If she were to describe it, it was a miracle that could only happen at this very moment in time.
If Isis hadn’t disliked the book she was reading, she wouldn’t have left her castle today.
If she hadn’t witnessed Kuromueina’s magic, if she hadn’t encountered the subjugation team and felt displeased, she wouldn’t have come to visit the royal capital.
If she hadn’t mistaken the young man for a Hero, she wouldn’t have called out to him.
And if the young man—Miyama Kaito—hadn’t met Kuromueina, he wouldn’t have challenged himself.
All these factors, intertwining like a miracle, led to this moment.
After such a long, long time, Kaito’s hand finally reaches Isis.
The wish she had longed for thousands of years, a wish she had almost given up on.
She, who had despaired over why she was born with such power and for what purpose she existed.
She, who had cried until her tears ran dry, lamenting the changes that unfolded around her… And yet, deep within her heart, she continued to long for such an existence.
Someone who, even without the strength to resist her magic power of death, would face it head-on and overcome it—a being who could hold her hand…
[……My name is Miyama Kaito. It’s nice to meet you, Isis-san.]
[…….!?!?!?]
The words, spoken in his gentle voice and accompanied by his warm smile, reached her. They melted the icy barriers that had long surrounded Isis’s heart.
In that moment, Isis felt it—deeply, unmistakably.
She was born for this. Born to meet this young man… to meet Kaito.
“How unusual. Isis, I never expected you to visit me…”
[……Lillywood…… What do you think…… would make a good souvenir?]
“A souvenir, huh? Are you planning to give it to someone?”
[……Unnn…… I made…… a friend.]
Lillywood looked slightly surprised by Isis’s rare visit, as she seldom left her castle. However, her surprise grew even more when she heard the reason for the visit.
“You’ve found a friend, huh? Is it a high-ranking demon? Or perhaps a high-ranking God?”
[……No…… a human.]
“……What?”
[……Like I said…… a human.]
“Eh? T-That is… Is there someone among the Humans with such power?”
Hearing the word human from Isis, Lillywood looked uncharacteristically flustered as she asked. However, Isis simply tilted her head in confusion, her expression puzzled as if she didn’t quite understand the question.
[……Kaito…… isn’t strong, though?]
“……Hmm?”
[……Compared to their knights…… he’s much weaker…… and his magic power is small too……]
“And yet, this human became your friend?”
[……Unnn…… Kaito…… he held my hand…… and he said I could visit anytime I want…… with a smile on his face.]
“……Is that human actually a monster……?”
Hearing Isis speak so happily, her cheeks tinged with a soft blush, Lillywood looked utterly stunned, as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
At the very least, Lillywood found it hard to believe that a mere human could withstand the overwhelming magic power of death from Isis.
[…Kaito… said he’s an otherworlder… but he’s not a Hero.]
“An otherworlder? If his name is Kaito, then he’s male?”
[…Unnn… He was kind… and cool.]
“…That’s odd. I heard from my followers who attended the evening party in the Symphonia Kingdom that there was an accident with the Hero’s summoning this time. But they mentioned only three otherworlders attending, one man in the Hero role and two women.”
As Lillywood had many followers spread across the world, one of them had attended the New Year’s party held in the Symphonia Kingdom. There, they had learned about the accident surrounding the Hero’s summoning.
However, she didn’t recall hearing about anyone fitting the description of the person Isis was talking about.
[……Why…… didn’t Kaito…… participate there?]
“I’m not sure, but it’s hard to imagine he had something else to do at that time. After all, it had only been four days since he arrived in this world… In that case, there’s a chance he’s being unfairly treated by the country.”
[……………]
“Ah, no, that’s just one possibility, okay? It’s only a guess.”
[……I see.]
Sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere around Isis, Lillywood quickly reassured her that it was merely speculation.
“……Ummm, this is purely hypothetical, okay? But what if, hypothetically, this Kaito-san had been treated unfairly?”
[……Whoever did that…… I will kill them all.]
“……N-No, let’s calm down, alright? You look like you’re about to destroy an entire country……”
[……Any country that torments Kaito…… should be destroyed.]
“……………….”
Lillywood was certain. If such a situation truly occurred, Isis would unhesitatingly eliminate the culprits, even if it meant annihilating the Symphonia Kingdom.
Smiling wryly at Isis’s words, spoken with utter seriousness, Lillywood quickly used her magic to send a transmission to her subordinates, ordering them to investigate the matter without delay.
“H-Hey, but look, if you do that, won’t that kind Kaito-san you mentioned feel sad?”
[……Ugghh…… If Kaito would be sad…… I won’t destroy them…… I’ll just leave them half-dead.]
“…… (For Isis to back down so easily… Seriously, what kind of person is this Kaito-san?)”
Isis’s unexpectedly honest reaction, so different from before, took Lillywood by surprise once again. Deciding to shift the topic, Lillywood brought up their earlier conversation about a souvenir.
Initially, Lillywood had been skeptical about this unknown human named Kaito. However, seeing Isis genuinely happy as she spoke about him brought a natural smile to her face.
“…… (A person Isis is so fond of. I’m a little curious. Come to think of it, the festival of the elves will soon be held in the Symphonia Kingdom… Fumu, that should be a good opportunity for me. I’ll pay them a visit at that time.)”
[……Lillywood…… Are you listening to me?]
“Eh, yes. Since it’s your first visit there, I think it would be better to bring something consumable. Since he’s from another world, food unique to this world might be a good idea.”
[……I see…… Lillywood…… Can I bring some…… fruit from the World Tree……?]
“I don’t mind, but are you really planning to bring that?”
[……Is that no good?]
“It’s not that it’s no good, but it might overwhelm him if you suddenly bring something that valuable.”
Lillywood, known for her sensible nature among the Six Kings, each with their unique quirks, let out a small sigh at Isis’s words. Yet, she didn’t complain and went along with Isis’s choice of a souvenir.
It had been a long time since she’d seen Isis this earnest. Witnessing her heartfelt effort, Lillywood couldn’t help but feel deep gratitude toward Kaito for melting the ice in the Death King’s heart.
<Author’s Notes>
The Death King’s Intermission Chapter has become awfully long. I don’t know if it’s because yanderes have high heroine power as expected or something like that……