Chapter 63 – The Last Four Heavenly Kings
The preliminaries ended more briskly than expected.
Including me, Ozuma and Gav, who died in the martial arts competition, also passed.
He easily advanced to the round of 32 in the finals.
In the preliminaries, a total of three matches had to be played, so it was already evening when all the matches were over.
The finals start tomorrow.
Ozma, who met again in the evening, held out his fist with a confident expression.
After bumping her fists with her slightly, I asked her how the level of the tournament was.
Then Ozma said, she pretended to be proud.
“This time, it feels like the average level is lower than last year. There weren’t many demons who could compete with me. It’s proof that I’ve become a lot stronger.”
Well, as Ozma started to learn magic from me, she started to get stronger rapidly.
Considering that, there wouldn’t be many people among the general demons who could beat Ozma.
At most, it would be the class of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Oh, come to think of it.”
“What’s going on?”
“Didn’t it be said that martial arts tournaments are originally sponsored by one of the four heavenly kings? But I don’t think I’ve heard who it is.”
“Nick Irons sponsored this tournament.”
“Are you Nick Irons?”
It was unexpected.
It was because they were the Four Heavenly Kings that I hadn’t met until the end.
There are a total of 3 Four Heavenly Kings that I have met so far, and the first one I met was Mephisto, the scarecrow of death.
Then Dorothea, a disaster in the form of a girl.
It was because the third time I met was Walter Leonhart, the ruler of the Great Forest, the right hand of the Demon Lord.
“Nick Iron is a name I’ve never heard of before. What kind of person is he?”
Ozma then shrugged her shoulders and explained it to her.
“Nick Iron is a full-body Chrome Golem from the Munchkins.”
“The Munchkins?”
“It is one of the minorities in Doom Land. It is a tribe characterized by short stature like imps and excellent dexterity. Originally, Nick Iron was also an ordinary Munchkin tribe, but he modified his body to become stronger. As a result, he was able to become the Four Heavenly Kings. Will be.”
If he could become the Four Heavenly Kings just by remodeling his body, the Demon King’s Army would have already conquered the world.
It’s just that a guy named Nick Iron had that much potential.
I asked because of my personal curiosity, but Ozma answered surprisingly sincerely.
“I was supposed to meet with Nick Irons tonight anyway. If you don’t mind, Patrasche, I can invite you to sit with me.”
“Is that really?!”
I was startled involuntarily and asked that.
That’s because I didn’t think I’d be able to actually see the person in the conversation earlier.
As expected, the daughter of the demon king, her connections were unusual.
“I will follow you for the rest of my life. Loyalty, loyalty.”
“It’s empty talk.”
Anyway, that’s how I met Nick Iron, the last of the Four Heavenly Kings.
***
The Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings system is a fairly old tradition.
It is a kind of national rule, because the four strongest demons in the military are selected and given a position appropriate to their power.
‘Lionheart’ Walter Leonhart.
‘The Scarecrow of Death’ Mephisto.
‘Calamity in the form of a girl’ Dorothea Gale.
And the last thing I want to introduce is Nick Iron.
Nick Iron, who replaced all parts of his body with 100% pure chrome, was a kind of golem-like creature.
The point of humor is that he chose the path of becoming a chrome human to become stronger on his own, not because he was born by someone else’s hand.
Even though I’ve seen a guy who only partially remodels, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a guy who remodeled his body to the point of giving up his identity.
Abandoning the body he used to use, and completely transforming into a body of steel, wouldn’t he be the same as Theseus’ ship?
Since he only has a spirit left, there is no way to prove that he is the same person he really was.
***
In the evening, the place I went to along with Ozma was a family house built on the side of the village.
Of course, since he is one of the four kings, I thought he would live in a more luxurious place, but it was unexpected because it was simpler than I thought.
Dorothea’s no-nonsense taste is so nasty that it’s almost seen as bad taste.
“Nick, are you in?”
As Ozma knocked on the door, she immediately felt a presence inside her.
Awesome!
Standing slightly behind Ozma, I had no choice but to raise my head involuntarily at the huge shadow cast by the door opening.
‘Big’
It was the first thought I had.
Despite being from the Munchkins, who are generally less than 150cm tall, Nick Irons was well over 2m tall.
I’m 178 cm tall, so I’m quite tall in this world, but I can’t compete with this.
Nick Iron, whose entire body glowed in gray, greeted Ozma.
“Welcome, Mr. Ozma.”
“Long time no see, Nick.”
“Come inside. I’ve prepared a meal for you.”
“Then excuse me.”
While exchanging short greetings, they enter the house.
He stopped going inside and looked at me and Camilla standing in the distance behind me.
“Ozma-sama, those two?”
“They’re from Devil’s Castle with me. I brought them because they wanted to meet Nick.”
“Is that so?”
He held out his right hand to me.
“My name is Nick Irons.”
“Ah, my name is Patrasche.”
I reflexively gave it a pseudonym, but luckily Nick Irons didn’t seem to notice that it was an alias.
It seems that there is an information gap among the Four Heavenly Kings.
Or maybe the case of Walter, the right-hand man of the Demon King, was special.
The fact that I defected to the Demon King’s Army is a top secret that even the top executives, the Four Heavenly Kings, do not know.
Following him inside, as expected, a normal family home appeared.
Judging by his upright tone and attitude like a knight, he seems to be a very frugal person.
As the name suggests, he is a heavy man who gives off an impression like hard steel.
He led us into the kitchen, where a feast had been prepared.
Well, just because the house is frugal doesn’t mean you have to be frugal in what you eat.
Not to mention, if you want to maintain that level of body, the fuel consumption will of course be enormous.
“I don’t have anything prepared, but eat a lot.”
Nick Irons, who sat at the top table, said so and invited us to eat.
The seating was awkward, but the food was delicious.
Since it is the food eaten by the Four Heavenly Kings, of course these must have been prepared with the highest quality.
After taking off the mask while watching Nick Iron’s notice, Nick Iron suddenly asked, as I was shoveling food down my throat.
“By the way, Ozuma-sama, did the Demon King-nim allow you to take a human as a seed?”
Cool! Cool!
I instantly gasped and almost spit out the contents of my mouth.
Fortunately, no such misfortune happened, but I hurriedly found water.
“Here you are.”
Fortunately, Camilla, a perfect maid, was standing behind me, so I was able to give emergency treatment in a hurry.
In the meantime, Ozma trembled and said.
“Rather, it was my father who scouted that person, not me.
“Then I’m glad.”
Nick Irons nodded silently and put the bitter trout in his mouth.
From the outside, it looks suspicious that it has a digestive system, but it seems to be a body that can surprisingly satisfy all three human needs.
I fiddled with the WD-40 I had brought as a bribe.
If it was a mechanical body, I was going to stab it with a bribe, but it turned out unfortunately.
After the meal, Nick Iron personally served us in the living room.
“I’ll listen.”
“Ah yes.”
I slightly bowed my head and put my mouth to the steaming cup of tea.
Whoop-
The skill of brewing tea is much better than expected.
He asked Ozma while drinking his portion of black tea.
“Ozma-sama, so do you think you can win this tournament?”
Then Ozma munched on the cookie and nodded.
“Of course. I feel really good this time. I’ve recently started learning magic and I’ve gotten stronger rapidly.”
“Oh, you mean magic?”
Nick Irons showed interest in her words.
Ozma pointed at me with a confident smile.
“Patrash This guy is my magic teacher. He’s better at teaching than he looks.”
Then Nick Irons’ gaze lingered on me for a moment, but he laughed and said, “Whoa.”
“Still, rather than magic, a body that has been raised through sweat is more helpful. If you rely on magic too much, you may end up with serious nose injuries later.”
I calmly listened to the story, and when I heard that, I got a little hot.
“No, I can’t just skip that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you say it with a nuance that magic doesn’t help much?”
“Do you think I’m wrong?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“…Then I have no choice but to prove it with my body.”
Nick Irons said and set the teacup down on the table.
“Come outside. Let me teach you a lesson.”
