The Small-Town Girl Becomes the Demon King (EP 71): The Curtain Rises

There was a city that was once ruled by a King and taken over by a Demon King. That city was destroyed in the battle between the Hero and the Demon King but was now being rebuilt by humans, demons, and monsters.

With their foreheads glistening with sweat, human and goblin carpenters continued with the repairs, the sound of construction echoing throughout the town.

There was a figure watching the reconstruction efforts from a balcony: Eliza, now the King of this city.

A city was taken from a King by a Demon King and then given by the Demon King to a Hero. Eliza had taken off all her armor and gazed at the town in nothing but a simple dress, as your average town girl would wear.

“Dorothy, just where are you and what are you doing now?” she asked as she looked up and saw crows flying through the air.

Dorothy had disappeared after they broke with the old traditions. The crows gradually disappeared into the blue sky and from sight.

“King Eliza!”

Eliza turned around and found someone hurrying to her: Ramiel, the new head of the church in the city. As she stopped before Eliza, she put her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

“Ramiel, what’s going on?” Eliza asked. “What happened?”

“Ms. Merle… Ms. Merle has woken up…!” Ramiel gasped.

“What?!”

Eliza broke into a run. The soldiers stared at their King as she ran through the halls with her arms and legs pumping.

“Merle…!”

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Eliza rode a white horse as she hurried across the bridge leading to the Demon King’s Castle, once a burnt-out ruin now made of solid stone. She jumped off her horse and didn’t bother hitching it as she rushed inside, breathless.

Merle had ended the era of Heroes and Demon Kings. But shortly after she announced the dawn of the new era with Eliza, she lost consciousness and hadn’t woken up since.

The wounds Dorothy had inflicted on her, the magical power of the previous Demon Kings, it was all too much for a human body, and Merle ran out of strength and did not even open her eyes for the past few days.

Eliza bursts into Merle’s bedroom, Lucille crying as she hugged Merle, Merle continued to lay in bed and stroked Lucille’s head. Several others surround them: Page, Slime, the mayor of Pekona, Emil, and the demons who were skilled at healing magic.

“Merle!” Eliza cried as she rushed over to Merle’s bedside.

Merle gave a weak wave at her former rival.

“I came as soon as Ramiel told me the news!” Eliza said. “Merle… I’m so relieved… I thought you’d never wake up.”

“I thought I was going to die, too,” Merle said. “I dreamed I was picking flowers in a garden… oh, I but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t heaven.”

“That sounds like something a young lady would dream of,” Eliza said, smiling.

“Seems like she’s alive for the time being,” Page said, stunned. “Honestly, it’s like you’re playing around.”

“A can play around, it’s a young lady’s privilege,” Merle said, smiling.

Lucille pulls away from Merle’s chest and looks up with tears in her eyes. “Mer-rle, my be-loved,” she sobbed, her voice shaking, “I-I’m so re-lie-eved.”

“I was prepared to die but now I’m alive—though you didn’t feed me forbidden fruit juice this time, Lucille,” Merle said, giving Lucille a teasing look before Lucille surged forward and kissed her.

She kissed her again, and again, and again. It doesn’t matter if there were people around, Lucille was kissing her as many times as she needed to rid herself of her anxiety.

“Well, I suppose she can’t help herself,” Eliza said. “I’ve confirmed your condition, Merle, so I’m heading back to the city now. Once you can travel, come visit; everyone will be happy to see you.”

Still being kissed, Merle just waves goodbye as Eliza smiles and leaves the bedroom.

Page shows up as Eliza prepares to mount her horse. The smiles from earlier were gone, Eliza wondered what the serious expression on Page’s face meant.

“How’s the city?” Page asked.

“The reconstruction is proceeding smoothly,” Eliza said. “Everyone is working together to revive it.”

“That’s good to hear,” Page said. “Not much noise on my our end, either. However…”

Page pulled a small blade wrapped in cloth from his chest. At first, thought Eliza thought it was just a red dragon’s scale before she realizes it’s a jagged dagger.

A blade made from a dragon’s body—Dorothy.