I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 72: Let’s Go Find a New Friend 5

Wait, did I die so irresponsibly?

That doesn’t make sense, does it?

As the Demon King, I had died.

I couldn’t clearly recall the reasons for my death or the circumstances before and after.

Whether I had died pierced by the hero’s sword, killed in a demon rebellion, or simply expired from old age.

My fragmented and erased memories didn’t allow me to know exactly when I had died as the Demon King.

I had even asked Theresa about it…

【I cannot answer.】

It was as if some sort of restriction had been imposed on her, and Theresa refused to answer.

Theresa, who often nitpicked and quarreled with me, still followed my orders faithfully.

Seeing her respond like that, it was clear she genuinely couldn’t answer.

“Alright, I understand. If you can’t talk, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”

【…I’m sorry.】

Perhaps the time of my death as the Demon King was in the distant past.

It could also have been relatively recent, but during the era when I lived as the Demon King, humanity’s technology was on par with what’s often called a renaissance fantasy level.

Now, however, humanity wielded cyberpunk and near-futuristic technology.

At the very least, hundreds of years must have passed.

Regardless, if there was no Demon King to purify mana and the land, the demons’ nobility had to take over that role.

Unlike humans, demonic nobles were born with the role of nobility inherently assigned to them.

Their duty was to purify the mana and land entrusted to them, ensuring the prosperity of the demon kind.

Still, just because I, the Demon King, had died didn’t mean the nobles had all disappeared, right?

“Humans have sought to claim this land since ancient times. While we repeatedly repelled them, we grew weaker, while humans only grew stronger. They developed strange technologies and weapons to kill us.”

When Hamar mentioned weapons, his gaze lingered on the dolls following behind me.

“Especially the ‘dolls’ you captured; they tore through our barriers on their own and invaded this place.”

The dolls carried weapons capable of negating barriers and cutting through magic.

In a sense, their existence alone was like that of predators or butchers to the demons.

“Fortunately, it seems the dolls can only follow simple orders. Even after invading our land, they patrol designated zones and then retreat.”

That was likely because the zones for patrol had been specified by Earnest Rail.

From Earnest Rail’s perspective, he probably hadn’t expected the demons’ territory to be so vast, hidden deep within this otherworldly realm.

“Even so, the mountains are piled with the bodies of our kin slain by the dolls.”

Hamar’s eyes grew sharp.

From my perspective, the orphaned girls subjected to bio-experiments were pitiful victims, but to the demons, the dolls were mortal enemies.

“Still, it’s fortunate. Since you have subdued the dolls, the tide has turned.”

“What about the nobles? Isn’t this land supposed to be Baroness Sabrina’s territory?”

“…Lady Sabrina is no longer here.”

Hamar spoke sparingly as he led me to a large mansion.

The city at the center of the demon town was one of the few places that retained its original form.

“Whoa! It’s a castle!”

“It’s not a castle! It’s a mansion!”

The children, who had calmed down after arriving at what looked like a reception room, began exploring the mansion, climbing walls and ceilings.

“Wait, aren’t those dolls!? Such erratic behavior is concerning.”

Hamar stared in shock at the undead girls darting around the mansion, so I covertly whispered to him in the demon language to calm him down.

[…They’re definitely not dolls. Dolls are more static and distant from human characteristics.]

[They’re just kids. Cut them some slack. Aren’t they cute, though?]

[Demonic beings, even newly born ones, are fully imbued with their roles and knowledge. But creations born by human hands are all so unstable.]

[And yet, those unstable beings drove you to the brink. What do you want me to say to that?]

[Ugh… I have no response to that.]

Hamar and I sat down on the chairs in the reception room.

“First of all, let me ask you this… If this is Baroness Sabrina’s territory, where is the baroness who governs this land?”

For one thing, Hamar in front of me wasn’t the baroness.

Even if others couldn’t tell, I could.

A high-ranking demon responsible for purifying mana and the land radiated an unmistakable presence distinct from others.

“…Baroness Sabrina is not in this land.”

“Did she die?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then, didn’t you think about negotiating with the humans? If demons grow weaker as time passes, eventual annihilation is only a matter of time.”

“I’d rather die than negotiate with humans. They came to this land to burn the very souls embedded in us. Especially the group known as Mega Corp—they’re a vicious bunch who enjoyed capturing and experimenting on me and my kin while we were alive. Negotiations are impossible.”

Well, Mega Corp isn’t known for its ethics, even among other humans.

If those kinds of people captured demons, it’s only natural they would conduct experiments on them.

“That’s why, if we’re about to be captured, we commit suicide. At the very least, our corpses won’t fall into their hands.”

Sigh, the plight of the demons is truly tragic.

In my time as the Demon King, even a single ordinary demon could easily annihilate an entire human village.

Now, they’ve become nothing short of a fragile race.

If this is karma for the atrocities of the past, I vaguely feel like I resolved those issues back when I was the Demon King…

‘Ah, I can’t remember that either…’

Damn tin can head.

I wish I could recover my memories quickly.

“But it’s strange, isn’t it? If Sabrina died, wouldn’t another qualified demon have inherited this land?”

At my words, Hamar flinched and shuddered.

His eyes widened slightly.

“W-What did you say?! How do you know that?”

“Know what?”

“The fact that when the owner of the land dies, its ownership and rights are transferred to someone qualified! That’s not something an ordinary demon would know.”

Judging by his reaction, Hamar himself seems unaware of it.

“There’s no reason for me to tell you how I know.”

“…Hmm, fair enough.”

Hamar fell into thought for a moment and then looked at me with curious eyes.

“Golem, what’s your name?”

“Call me Alice.”

“That sounds almost like a human name. So, Alice, should I assume your purpose here is to help us?”

“To be precise, it’s to prevent Earnest Rail from taking over this land.”

“Our objectives align, so that’s enough reason to join forces.”

In truth, Hamar likely had no other options right now.

The fact that the hidden world hadn’t been discovered yet was the only saving grace, but in terms of military power and numbers, they were already far behind Mega Corp.

“Welcome, Alice. We demons of Sabrina’s territory welcome you.”

“Can you welcome not just me but those kids too?”

“Are we being welcomed too!?”

“Are we guests too!?”

“It’s our first time being guests!”

“So soft!”

The children hopped around with bright, cheerful faces.

The dolls, however, remained expressionless, silently awaiting my commands.

The subsequent conversation I had with Hamar was quite lengthy.

It covered the demons’ military power.

It covered Earnest Rail’s forces.

“So, you’re saying Dawn and Earnest Rail initially allied but then betrayed each other?”

“Yeah, thanks to that, Dawn has been completely driven out of the northern front.”

“Humans really are masters of betrayal upon betrayal. At least demons may kill their enemies cruelly, but they don’t deal in lies.”

“To me, that’s all the same.”

Hamar’s information was essential for understanding the external situation and the state of the demon territory.

The more Hamar spoke, the clearer it became that the demons here were barely surviving against Mega Corp’s assaults.

The demons of today could, at best, use low-level magic.

Even Hamar, considered the strongest, was at most mid-tier.

Just a few dolls invading would put them in a life-or-death crisis.

“So, Alice, I have a favor to ask of you. Could you rescue Sabrina?”

“What? Do you even know where she is?”

“She’s likely with the humans, at a place called Mega Corp. If Sabrina is still alive, that’s the only place she would be.”

So, I have to go all the way back to Earnest Rail’s base of operations?

If she’s not at the northern front base, she’d probably be at Earnest Rail’s main headquarters in Zain.

“If we can rescue Sabrina, the land and mana here will be purified, and the demons can regain their strength. At the very least, this land won’t fall into their hands. Plus, with those 50 dolls and your subordinates, I believe we stand a chance.”

But even as I listened to Hamar’s words, I couldn’t shake my doubts.

Why would Earnest Rail keep Sabrina alive instead of killing her?

“And if Sabrina is unable to return to this place… I’d rather you kill her.”

It was a rational request.

If Sabrina dies, at least someone qualified will inherit the barony and lead this land once more.

For both Earnest Rail and Hamar, that would be the case.

‘But didn’t Hamar say earlier that demons would rather commit suicide than be captured…?’

Yet Sabrina has been captured alive by Mega Corp?

Something doesn’t quite add up.

In other words…

This reeks of something highly suspicious.