It Seems the Demon King Has Returned to a World Where Gender Roles Are Reversed - Chapter 3

 Chapter 3 :

How much time had passed?

Amid the dense coniferous forest, he trudged forward, gasping for breath with every step.

“Huff, huff!”

His body swayed heavily as he struggled to move forward, one laborious step at a time. Finally, he collapsed on the spot.

And then, he cursed his own foolishness.

It was a mistake.

He had set out from the spring hours ago. The sun was already sinking below the horizon, yet there was no sign of a village not even a trace of human presence.

All that surrounded him was an endless expanse of towering evergreens.

That’s when it hit him.

He had made a grave error.

In his memory, the nearest human village was only an hour or two away.

But that was a memory from the days of Ragnite, the mighty Demon King.

Naturally, back then, he hadn’t traveled on foot.

He had soared through the skies, either riding synthetic creatures he’d crafted himself or propelled by his overflowing magical power.

The “hour or two” to the village in his memory was based on flying, not walking.

Of course, traveling by air was far faster than trudging along the ground.

It was an utterly foolish mistake.

“...Ugh!”

*Grrrrrr…*

His blunders didn’t end there.

He had overlooked another critical detail.

Cursing his stupidity, he clutched his growling stomach and groaned.

A wave of unbearable hunger crashed over him.

Yes, that was it.

His second mistake.

He had completely forgotten about human hunger.

It was only natural humans couldn’t survive without eating.

And yet, he had lived for so long without giving it a thought.

It made sense. He was the Demon King.

The moment he gained a body forged from pure magical energy, he had transcended the basic desires that plagued living beings.

For him, eating had merely been a nostalgic pastime, a fleeting amusement he eventually abandoned as time passed.

As a result, he had completely forgotten that humans needed food to survive.

And now, his body was paying the price, teetering on the brink of collapse.

*Grrrrrrr…*

“...!”

The growling in his stomach made him clutch his abdomen tightly, groaning in pain.

He had reached his limit.

How many hours had passed since his revival on this earth?

He hadn’t eaten a single thing.

It was only natural his freshly revived body lacked any reserves of strength.

The only sustenance he’d had was a sip of water from the spring to quench his thirst.

That wasn’t enough to keep him going.

“Damn it…!”

Humiliation washed over him as he writhed on the dirt.

To think he’d end up in such a pathetic state he could never have imagined it.

“Damn… isn’t there something to eat?”

Muttering to himself, he scanned his surroundings.

But all he saw was the dense forest of evergreens.

No matter how hard he looked, there wasn’t a scrap of food in sight.

“Ugh…”

What would humans think if they learned the Demon King had starved to death while searching for food?

What kind of expressions would his demon followers, who had awaited his return, wear?

His face paled at the thought.

This couldn’t be his end.

He had to keep moving. With that resolve, he let out a primal scream and forced himself to stand.

“Raaagh!”

But his body gave out almost instantly, collapsing back onto the dirt with a thud.

Was there truly no strength left in him to even stand?

What was this?

Had he endured all that suffering, only to meet such a ridiculous end?

Rage and despair consumed him anger at his fate, at his inability to avenge his followers and his beloved. He let out a wail that echoed through the forest.

“RAAAAAGH!”

It was his final act of defiance.

His body, drained of every last ounce of strength, went limp.

In his fading consciousness, he silently begged for forgiveness from his followers and his beloved.

That’s when he heard it.

*Rustle.*

“...!”

The sound of footsteps approaching.

Was it a wild animal, drawn by his scent?

He forced himself to turn his head toward the sound.

But what he saw wasn’t a beast it was something unexpected.

Through his blurry vision, a figure stood against the backdrop of the coniferous forest.

It was a girl with red hair, dressed in black and white.

“Help…”

He tried to call out for help, but all that escaped his throat was a faint, pitiful whimper.

No.

He was about to lose consciousness.

He had to call out to her. But no voice came. His consciousness was slipping away, fading into darkness.

Damn it, was this really the end?

It couldn’t end like this.

Please, someone… anyone…

A sharp *snap* echoed in his mind, as if something had broken.

And then, he blacked out.

The red-haired girl found him moments later.

__________

_

“Seria!”

A blonde woman emerged from the dense forest, shouting.

At her voice, the red-haired girl turned to look.

Frowning, the woman spoke sharply. “I told you, Seria! No reckless actions during a mission!”

“I-I’m sorry, Lady Karen!” Seria stammered, flustered by the icy reprimand.

Karen let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again. Now, who’s that boy?”

“Oh, right! This is him! He’s the one who was screaming earlier!” Seria said, flipping over the boy’s body.

As she did, his ragged clothes fell away, exposing his bare form to both of them.

Karen grimaced and averted her eyes. “Ugh, what are you showing me?! Cover him up, now!”

“S-Sorry!” Seria fumbled, hastily using the boy’s tattered rags to cover his vital areas.

Only then did Karen approach, her expression less than pleased, and begin inspecting the boy’s condition.

“Um, Lady Karen? How… how is he?” Seria asked hesitantly.

“No need to worry. He’s just exhausted. Probably hasn’t eaten in a while,” Karen replied, brushing off her hands as she stood.

Seria let out a relieved sigh.

Karen clicked her tongue lightly.

To think Seria had actually heard a scream.

Was there beast blood in her veins or something?

Her senses were extraordinary keen eyes, sharp ears. It wasn’t just a matter of heightened perception.

Karen was a seasoned warrior, a member of the Kingdom Alliance Knights, often called the Hundred Knights, considered the pinnacle of knighthood.

Yet Seria’s senses surpassed even hers. It was nothing short of a remarkable talent.

Truly, she lived up to her reputation as the greatest prodigy of the Knight Academy in the past five years.

But she wasn’t without flaws.

The first was her tendency to act impulsively, as she’d just demonstrated.

For knights who fought in coordinated teams, riding golems to battle magical beasts, such behavior was a serious issue.

No matter how skilled an individual was, fighting multiple beasts alone was impossible.

Teamwork was essential.

In such situations, a comrade acting on their own could mean life or death.

Yet Seria’s impulsive actions were all too frequent.

Her second flaw was her lack of common sense.

Even now, she’d thought nothing of exposing a man’s naked body to others.

It was unbelievable.

Rumor had it she’d spent years living alone with her father deep in the mountains.

That must have dulled her awareness of men and left her woefully lacking in social norms especially the etiquette expected of someone aspiring to join the Hundred Knights.

“…”

With a soft sigh, Karen glanced at Seria, who was now supporting the boy as she stood.

It had been two months since Karen had been tasked with training her, under orders from their homeland.

She’d thought she’d made progress, but issues like this still cropped up.

It was almost embarrassing for her country.

*No. I can’t just wallow in complaints.*

Steeling herself, Karen thought ahead.

If there were deficiencies, they could be corrected.

If it didn’t work the first time, they’d try again and again. With that resolve, she decided to make Seria’s training even more rigorous.

At that moment, Seria, carrying the boy on her back, shivered as a sudden chill ran through her.

She looked around but couldn’t find the cause.

“Let’s move,” Karen said calmly, turning and striding forward.

“Yes, Lady Karen!” Seria hurried to follow, with the unconscious black-haired, red-eyed boy slung over her back.

The three of them disappeared into the shadows cast by the towering evergreens.

They had no idea of the significance their encounter held.

Nor did they know how this meeting would alter their fates.

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Translated By Reversalnovel.web.id