Demon Lord, Retry! (魔王様、リトライ!)

Can't believe I kept this running for 15 years.

Not bad since it was just a hobby.

But once the clock strikes midnight,

I'm shutting the server down for good.

Thanks for sticking with me till the end, everyone.

And thank you, Mister Demon Lord of the Great Empire.

I've certainly enjoyed spreading

bloodshed and chaos with you over the years.

Goodbye, Kunai.

Sleep well, old friend.

This is a world abandoned by God.

A world where angels drown in despair.

But do not let fear seize you.

You must listen very carefully.

Focus and you shall surely hear it.

The midnight bell tolls.

It signals a new beginning, the genesis of a new "you."

Holy‐‐

What just happened?

Huh?

Where the hell did all this nature come from?

I wasn't wearing those shoes.

And I know damn well I wasn't sitting in front of the computer

dressed like a frickin' mob boss!

Whatever's goin' on here, it can't be good.

The Demon Lord, Hakuto Kunai.

This must be Infinity Game!

Who did this to me?

Even if he's the Demon Lord, I don't wanna be some old dude!

Wait, calm down.

There's gotta be an explanation.

'Cause there's no way in hell

I got teleported inside my own damned computer game!

On the other hand, if it is my game, the solution's easy.

Administrator!

Okay, now we're talkin'!

Put in my password and that'll do it.

Huh?

So am I stuck in a different game?

Kinda starting to wish I'd watched more isekai anime,

so I'd have a clue what the hell was going on.

Hm? Is someone there?

So I'm Kunai, right?

If I'm playing the part, I gotta be a smug jerk.

Uh, what's up, peewee?

Oh, wait, do you even speak my language?

You have to run!

Huh?

I don't suppose this big, angry fella

is a pet of yours, is he?

'Cause, uh, now might be a nice time to ask him to roll over.

It's dangerous!

Get away, hurry!

Feeble human!

I shall feast on your miserable flesh!

Scary!

Listen. You better check yourself.

I know this game like the back of my hand

and I've never seen one of those.

I think I'd remember making a monster like that.

Same goes for that girl.

Demon Lord, please, don't eat me!

I taste just awful, I promise!

Are you stupid?

The hell do you take me for, kid?

We do speak the same language.

Don't crap your pants.

No matter how hungry I get, I'd never eat someone like you.

Really? That's a relief.

Where'd you get that idea in the first place?

We've known each other five minutes

and you're calling me the "Demon Lord"?

Well, I mean, you blew away Greole

without even breaking a sweat.

So, if you're not an angel,

what else could you be but the Demon Lord, right?

My name is Kunai.

No "Demon Lord" or anything else like that, okay?

Oh. I see.

Anyway. You got a name?

Sorry. My name's Aku.

"Aku?" Like "Evil"?

Uh, well, that has a lovely ring to it.

So, Aku, quick question.

We're not in Japan right now, are we?

No. We're not.

I've never heard that word.

Hm...

This land is known as the Kingdom of Holy Light.

The people here worship the Cherub.

The Cherub, huh? Tell me more.

Well, it was the great Cherub who sealed away Greole,

that monster you beat with those knives of yours.

Beneath the Cherub are the Three Holy Maidens,

then it's the Holy Knights,

and a big organization called the Holy Church.

Wow, this is just generic fantasy land,

right down to the names, huh?

But if this isn't my world like I thought,

then why did I get summoned here?

I'm nobody important.

What if someone was trying to summon Kunai

and I got wrapped up in it?

I guess that makes sense? Kind of?

You wanna a take a bath? You're a mess.

Is it really okay?

Why wouldn't it be?

I'll go wait over there and you can jump in the lake

and scrub all of that muck off you. Sound good?

That sounds wonderful!

Take your time. Just yell at me when you're done.

Okay!

I didn't know the Forest of Wishes had such a nice lake.

It's so clear and pretty!

I've never bathed in such clean water before!

It's amazing!

I'm so happy I'm still alive!

That aside,

I can't help but wonder who that man is.

Wait! What if he only asked me to clean myself

so I'm better to eat?

Got administrator privileges! Yeah!

Administrator?

Now, Item File.

Whoa, what's that?

He's not getting out his cooking utensils, is he?

Here's a bath towel for you.

You can clean yourself with this.

Oh, wow, is this that stuff they call "sapo"?

Who's "they"? Ancient Romans?

Romans? Are they from Japan?

Just forget it.

I'm gonna take a walk.

Scout the area for monsters.

I'm gonna run out of skill points at this rate.

Seems to work like Infinity Game,

where I learn skills and get back my skill points

after winning fights.

Summoning a bar of soap and a towel cost me five points,

so I've only got about 30 left.

I need to come up with some kind of strategy to get more,

or this is going to be a pain.

In Infinity Game,

you get the most points for beating higher‐level enemies,

but I don't know what that would be in this world

or where to find it.

Mister Demon Lord?

Sorry for the wait.

Thank you. The sapo was great!

Enough with the "Demon Lord" crap already.

So, that monster.

Are there a lot of them lurking around here?

No, of course not!

One Greole is already too many.

The whole kingdom would be wiped out if there were more!

What? You mean that stupid‐looking thing

was actually dangerous?

Uh‐huh, uh‐huh!

Aku, do you know where that thing's den is,

or maybe where it sleeps?

I could use some more Skill Points and‐‐

I mean, there's something I wanna see.

I don't know if this helps or not,

but I heard Greole used to be sealed

at the Wishing Shrine in this forest.

A Wishing Shrine, huh? Since I'm new to the area,

y'think you could guide me there?

Y‐Yeah, of course.

Tell me where to go and I'll carry you on my back.

There's no need for that!

I'm filthy and disgusting.

You don't want someone like me touching you!

Sorry, but I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you.

Hurry up. Time to go.

Oh, come on, now you're crying?

You can't even humor me?

That hurts!

I've always been a burden.

My village would be better without me.

That's why they have me gather up all the garbage

from people's houses,

and throw out all the human waste.

I've done the best I can, but...

Those are important jobs.

If you didn't do it, then the villagers would get sick.

You shouldn't be ashamed at all.

But they...

They're always telling me I'm filthy and disgusting.

And then they cast me out as a sacrifice to Greole.

Maybe it's better that way.

They all said they'd get dirty if they touched me.

So you shouldn't‐‐

Wait! Weren't you listening? You can't!

What the hell does it matter

if you get a little dirty sometimes?

As long as you keep your heart clean,