It Seems the Demon King Has Returned to a World Where Gender Roles Are Reversed - Chapter 36

 Chapter 36 : Trap

“…”

Seria’s sudden bombshell declaration.  

Ragna showed a bewildered expression.  

“Wait a minute, Seria. That’s a bit too sudden…”  

“It’s okay. I can do anything. Let’s run away together, like Mom and Dad did. We’ll go deep into the mountains and live just the two of us.”  

Seria’s voice trembled as she clung to him.  

Seeing her like this, Ragna fell silent for a moment.  

*Calm down.*  

Seria’s current state didn’t seem stable. She appeared to have been deeply shocked or mentally broken in some way.  

It could be said that her affection for him had turned into a kind of dependency, but that alone didn’t fully explain her behavior.  

There had to be a reason.  

“…Calm down, Seria.”  

“…”  

“And tell me why you’re acting like this. We can’t just make decisions recklessly.”  

As he spoke, Ragna pulled Seria into his arms and gently stroked her hair.  

Perhaps soothed by his touch, the tense, almost feral air around Seria began to soften.  

And from her trembling lips, she started to recount what had happened since the day after she parted ways with Ragna.  

It was about the one-on-one training with Karen.  

And the events that unfolded during it.  

---  

When Seria returned to the capital city of Shreid, she was reluctant to part with Ragna but accepted it as unavoidable. She wasn’t so foolish as to be unaware of her own circumstances.  

The expectations placed on her were heavy and uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to do her best.  

She felt it was her duty to repay the kindness of the woman who had taken her in as an orphan the head of the Bransburg family.  

But that resolve crumbled the moment she heard that Ragna was to attend a marriage meeting.  

Yet there was nothing Seria could do. If things continued, Ragna would leave for an arranged marriage.  

But she couldn’t attend the marriage meeting herself either. The expectations placed on her were not to bear children but to become a White Knight representing the kingdom.  

And what awaited her was none other than one-on-one training with Karen.  

However, the reality was closer to one-sided violence under the guise of sparring.  

Each time they sparred, Seria’s body was battered, her bones and flesh torn.  

She tried her best to endure, but she was still just a student at the military academy.  

Defeating Karen, a former active-duty knight, was near impossible. Every spar ended with Seria’s one-sided defeat and Karen’s relentless beating.  

Of course, Karen wasn’t simply beating her for no reason. It was all to make Seria grow stronger, faster. The intent was to engrain techniques into her body through direct experience.  

This was a traditional training method passed down in the Steiner family’s martial arts.  

Karen herself had undergone the same grueling training in the past, coughing up blood, so she believed it was only natural.  

Moreover, the academy had healing mages on standby.  

No matter how severe the injury, magic could heal it, so it was only natural for Karen’s methods to be harsh.  

And Karen genuinely believed this was all for Seria’s sake.  

But…  

“…”  

Listening to Seria recount her experiences, Ragna’s expression darkened.  

And he muttered under his breath, as if spitting out the words, “…That idiot…”  

At his voice, Seria flinched, but Ragna said nothing more, only stroking her hair. His face, however, was hardened.  

He understood why Seria refused to take off her mask.  

Most likely, the wounds from Karen’s training hadn’t fully healed.  

Judging by her story, they must have been severe injuries. Even with half a day, recovering from such wounds was impossible.  

Understanding this, Ragna tightened his grip on Seria.  

It was obvious what Karen was thinking when she beat Seria like that.  

No, it was fair to say that the thought process of muscle-brained people hadn’t changed in 500 years.  

*Steel grows stronger the more it’s hammered.*  

*And warriors grow stronger the more they’re beaten.*  

That must be it.  

But there was a problem.  

“…”  

When steel is hammered too hard, too relentlessly, it shatters and becomes useless. A blade forged through endless tempering doesn’t become flexible and strong—it becomes a useless lump of scrap. And for truly pure steel ore, tempering is meaningless to begin with.  

And the same applies to people. If relentless beating made someone stronger, there wouldn’t be a single non-warrior in this world. Everyone would have monstrous strength. But that’s not the case, which proves that way of thinking is flawed. Sacrificing hundreds for the sake of one or two masterpieces shouldn’t be judged by the success of those one or two but by the hundreds discarded.  

Yet, those muscle-brained fools fail to understand this, praising the rare gem that emerges from the pile of trash while ignoring the rest.  

To Ragna, a former archmage who once stood at the pinnacle of mages and judged the world through rational thinking, this mindset was incomprehensible.  

And so, Ragna pressed his forehead, sighing as a throbbing headache took hold.  

“…So, you want to run away?”  

“…”  

Seria didn’t respond. She only nodded slightly, trembling.  

Seeing this, Ragna let out a light sigh.  

In a word, Seria’s current state could be described as having been broken by unbearable pressure.  

And the blame couldn’t be placed on her.  

Because Ragna knew. Just a year ago, she was a naive country girl living deep in the mountains with her father.  

Perhaps the burdens and pain weighing on Seria now were things anyone in this world might consider normal.  

After all, there were women who married strangers for the sake of family honor or revival.  

But even so, applying that standard to Seria was far too cruel. As mentioned, just a year ago, she was an ordinary country girl, still young.  

So Ragna pitied her.  

He wanted to understand her situation and help her.  

But even so, he had no choice but to say:  

“I’m sorry, Seria.”  

“…!”  

“It’s impossible.”  

No matter how much he wanted to help her, there was no helping it.  

In this situation, those were the only words he could say.  

“…Ugh.”  

At Ragna’s rejection, Seria’s eyes dulled slightly. She lowered her head, tears welling up.  

Ragna, holding her close, bit his lip.  

He had his own mission.  

As a Demon King who had abandoned his subordinates and died alone, he had to take responsibility for their descendants.  

And he had to seek revenge against his former lover, Margarita.  

To achieve that, he was willing to do anything. That was his resolve.  

So he couldn’t let small sympathies derail his plans.  

Thus, the words that came out of Ragna’s mouth were inevitably cold. Yet, his pity for Seria hadn’t disappeared. Unable to hold back, Ragna lifted the lower part of her mask and pressed his lips against hers.  

“…!”  

A sudden kiss.  

Seria, startled, tried to pull away, but Ragna held her tightly, exploring her lips further. The scabs near her lips caught slightly, but he persisted, relentlessly claiming her. Slowly, he began to break her down.  

Unlike usual, Seria resisted Ragna’s touch, struggling. But her body didn’t obey her will.  

Due to the slave seal magic, Seria’s knightly strength was significantly suppressed when facing Ragna.  

So, even in this incomprehensible situation, Seria had no choice but to follow Ragna’s lead.  

And as Ragna pulled her onto his bed, he caressed her body over his black coat.  

“S-Stop, Ragna… Not today…”  

“Don’t worry, Seria.”  

“…?”  

“I can’t run away with just the two of us right now. No matter how I think about it, that’s impossible.”  

“…”  

At Ragna’s words, Seria’s eyes sank. Though she had said it herself, she knew how irresponsible her request was.  

But…  

“That doesn’t mean I’ll do nothing.”  

“…?”  

“Trust me. You don’t need to worry. I’ll definitely help you.”  

“B-But…”  

“Didn’t I tell you before? I said I’d take responsibility ‘until the end.’”  

“…Ah.”  

Seria murmured softly, as if something had clicked. Looking at her, Ragna flashed a confident smile and said:  

“Unfortunately, ‘until the end’ means exactly that until the very end. I’m not the type to let go easily. Once I’ve claimed something, I never let it go.”  

He was confident.  

That obsession had allowed him to surpass countless rivals in the Magic Tower and rise to the position of Archmage. Despite being betrayed, he survived and fell into the demon realm.  

Even after losing all his power, he survived in the demon realm, gained new strength, and rose to the throne of the Demon King.  

And it was that same obsession that allowed him to endure 500 years and be resurrected.  

“…Okay.”  

Finally, Seria regained a bit of her usual self and smiled faintly. Seeing this, Ragna smiled back and pressed his lips to hers again. And Seria, reaching out from under his black coat, began to accept him.  

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Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id