Proof of the Demon Lord's Innocence - Chapter 6

Freya was walking back to his office from the detention center. He’d asked his partner, Techno, to do some digging. Techno was scatterbrained and a nag, but a genius with Sphere Machine technology. Sphere-based communications were advanced, but TVs were still rare in homes and towns. Computers were expensive and difficult to use, limited to wealthy researchers.

Techno had been in a university Sphere Engineering lab. He looked like a child, but he was a capable adult in his twenties, already a graduate. He’d shown great promise in Sphere-based science and engineering. Why was he working as a paralegal?

—I know why. It’s all for me.

Techno and Freya’s history went back to before Freya opened his office in the city. He’d drawn Techno, still a student then, into his own pursuits. Techno had dreams and talents, but Freya made him give them up.

Of course, Techno’s skills were amazing. He went all out buying computers, analyzing photos, and conducting research. But every time Freya saw his skill, he felt some guilt. Techno shouldn’t be wasting his talent here.

—He’d scold me and said, “Stop wasting time with useless thoughts and focus on helping our client.”

Freya sighed, stopped by a park. When he had no cases, he entertained the children here with handmade picture-story shows about history and morality. He’d always been good at drawing.

“Freya, you should be an artist!”

The park was crowded with families. Children were playing on the slides, people were having picnics in the field, and some men were fishing in the pond. The sunlight made the water sparkle like a jewel. Beyond the pond, a field of bright orange marigolds bloomed. Just like his last name, Freya thought. Flower names were pretty common here.

Two girls sat side-by-side, painting the vibrant scene. Art classes sometimes assigned outdoor painting. Were they students, or just hobbyists?

“Artists tend to have Mage talent. Not me, though.”

A childhood friend from his hometown had once admired his drawing skills. He’d been good at it from a young age and even considered becoming an artist. He’d gifted his friend a portrait back then. Does he still have it?

He had won several art awards as a child. Until halfway through high school, he had planned to go to art school. He truly believed he had talent—until…

“I’ll curse you… I’ll curse this world forever!!”

That incident had turned Freya’s world upside down.

It happened when he was in high school. The previous “Demon Lord” had been captured. A beautiful woman with shimmering silver hair. Freya had been shocked. She was his middle school teacher.

Her beauty almost made the Demon Lord title believable, but that wasn’t the issue. He couldn’t believe she was accused of a mass murder, of wanting to destroy the world. She had been kind and gentle, like a saint. He and his classmates couldn’t believe their eyes when they learned she had been arrested and had confessed.

The newspapers described her as a lunatic driven by hatred and a thirst for destruction. But in court, while admitting to the killings, she strongly denied the motive.

“I understand why people fear Demon Lords. But I… I just wanted a normal life, a future with the man I loved. Why was that taken from me?!”

Freya, lucky enough to get a seat in the courtroom, heard her tearful plea. She explained how she’d been surrounded and cornered by townspeople after being accused. Her lover, defending her from those who wanted to “test” her, had been killed before her eyes.

And then, under the guise of verifying her identity, she’d been stripped naked and assaulted. A Demon Lord’s nature could be revealed by their naked form. It was common knowledge.

“If I’m a Demon Lord… then you are pure evils! Pure evils in human body! You took him from me, you defiled me… I will never forgive you!!”

Freya had learned something that day. That in this world, people were unjustly discriminated against and persecuted for being different.

And that perhaps he had a greater calling than being an artist.

—I want to be a hero. Not a perfect one. Even if it makes me a villain to sometimes. I want to protect the truth, so no one else suffers like she did. I want to be that kind of hero.

The previous Demon Lord. Her name was Lune.

Her heartfelt plea was barely reported. Those who benefited from portraying her as an evil Demon Lord buried the truth about her lover’s death and the assault she endured.

—I still miss art. It made people happy.

Freya knew some of the children and parents eagerly awaited his picture-story shows. He loved children, and the parents who loved them. He often neglected his work to come to the park, drawn by their smiles. Techno knew this.

But he knew what he needed to do.

The tragedy was about to repeat itself. Trias’s story had convinced him. Corrupt individuals were framing another innocent Demon Lord, scapegoating him to distract from the real evil.

—There are too many inconsistencies in Trias’s “world conquest” plot. And he denies the charges. As a lawyer, I can’t ignore this.

He couldn’t do anything for the dead. He was too young to help Lune. Whether he could have saved her or not, the result was the same: she was gone. If he had truly cared, he should have tried to do something, even if he didn’t know what.

Regret couldn’t bring back the dead. What he was doing now, what he had always done, wasn’t for Lune. It was for himself. He knew it was selfish.

He was the one who needed saving. Freya understood this. He’d taken Trias’s case because he believed saving Trias would save him. It was a selfish reason.

—I don’t care if they call me a fool or a hypocrite. I’m doing this for myself. I will prove Trias Marigold’s innocence!

“Techno, any luck!?” Freya burst into the office.

Techno, seated before a high-end Sphere Computer, the kind only found in universities and government facilities, peeked out from behind the machine’s bulk.

“Freya! Over here! I’ve found some things. How about you?”

“Yeah, I got Trias’s side of the story. Let’s compare notes.”

“Good idea. Communication is key, whether it’s an adventure or a job.”

Freya stared at the computer’s glowing blue circuits. He was hopeless with computers, but Techno’s mastery made investigations so much easier. Having him as a partner was a huge relief.

“Let’s organize the information on the three incidents Trias is accused of. There are more holes in this case than I thought. If we exploit them, we have a real shot at winning this.”

The fight was on.