The continent of Astrai is a prosperous land, inhabited by various races. With the presence of both small and large kingdoms, they play an important role in the ecosystem of this world. Whether it's economic, political, or military matters, everything runs smoothly—just like a typical classic fantasy world.
The Abyys Castle (the place where I served as king) wasn't actually built upon the land of the true demon kin. Rather, it was a massive fortress standing at the edge of the Astrai continent.
Surrounded by barren wastelands, it had a distinctive appearance. And even though it looked like an isolated castle, in reality, it served as the central government hub for demon races from various regions. In short, it was something like the heart of everything.
As for the permanent residents... I'd say there were none. The only being capable of thinking like a human was myself. The rest were ordinary monsters, incapable of reason or second thoughts. They were nothing more than tools that followed my commands.
Even though their numbers were large, they were completely useless to someone still holding onto their sanity—like me. That's why I openly declared, "This is so boring."
Every day, I would deal with foreign political matters brought directly to me. But unfortunately, I was never good at politics, nor was I competent in managing the lives of the demon races under my rule.
For example, if a demon nation came all the way to report that their territory was attacked by a neighboring state, all I could do was give a vague recommendation like:
"Go conquer them. Then make peace to avoid further issues." Or something like that.
Well... in any case, I was truly unfit to be a leader. I only used violence as the solution. From the perspective of a sane human, that kind of behavior would be seen as cruel. That's all there is to it.
Alright, let's end it here. No point in wasting time unnecessarily. After all, I'm just an ordinary person now.
.
.
.
.
"Sir, would you like me to recommend something? These are exclusive items..." A middle-aged man stood in front of me, showing off his merchandise at the storefront.
It was the fourth day since the whole drama, and somehow, I had already arrived at the capital of the Holy Dragon Kingdom. The place where the main hero was originally born.
And right now, I was inside a shop that sold war gear and equipment for adventurers.
My current goal was more or less to buy a knight outfit that suited me, something I could use to fake my identity or anything of the sort. For some reason, I had the brilliant idea of becoming someone under the status of "apprentice knight" who would travel around freely.
I figured it was a decent choice. Of course, I also needed a new name. The persona of Satanos no longer existed. So from now on, I'd go by the name Nouyaru.
With that, I was no longer the feared figure or the main target of the heroes, who, at this point, probably had already reached the edge of their happy ending.
"Please recommend the best one for me."
"Very well, sir. This way..." The man bowed slightly and led me further into his quiet shop. He started showing me items he considered high quality, offering them one by one.
But no matter what he offered during the hour that followed, nothing caught my interest. Even though the materials used were rare and could only be acquired during certain seasons,
Which meant they weren't always available throughout the year.
Just as I was thinking about leaving this place, something managed to catch my eye. Without wasting time, I immediately asked,
"May I have that iron armor? Looks like it's a full set, right... including the sword and shield?"
Hearing my somewhat polite and innocent tone, the man responded kindly. But strangely, I noticed a trace of hesitation on his face.
"Ahhh... this one, huh. Yes, you're right, it's a complete set." He picked up the set and continued,
"However... I don't really recommend this one. I think it's too poorly made to be offered."
Hmmmzz,
"...And the reason?"
"Simply put, it's a failed product. It was supposed to be one of the finest armors that would attract the attention of the kingdom's knights. But unfortunately, this iron armor comes with too many flaws. For example, it's heavy enough to slow down movement..." The man went on explaining the rest for several more minutes.
But behind that word "simply," which turned out to be not so simple at all, I just focused on the main point: the set had many weaknesses when used by humans. Because humans have limited physical endurance.
But it's different for me. I'm no longer a regular human. I have a body stronger than any human. That's why I decided to buy it. It looked cool when I put it on, after buying it from that man at a cheap price.
This doesn't mean that I'm extremely stingy with spending money, or that I couldn't afford the other high-priced, supposedly better products.
It's just that I liked this one because it looked like a semi-robot knight character you'd find in a fantasy sci-fi game.
And when I looked at myself in the large window of a busy roadside food stall, I saw this figure:
—A large build, heavy enough to defy human logic if worn for everyday use.
—The helmet had only a few small vents for fresh air from this mortal world.
—From the top of the helmet to the bottom of the boots, it was covered in one solid color: pitch black, with no patterns at all.
Well, it made sense. The metal used was made from a blend of obsidian, dark slime, powdered dragon spine bones, and various other materials.
Because of too many ingredients thrown in for the sake of being unique and high-quality, it instead became known as the most failed product and was considered unfit for purchase.
"Alright, it's clear now... an apprentice knight, going by the name Nouyaru?" Muttering to myself, I continued my journey to wherever I wanted, just to gain some bonus knowledge along the way.
To be honest, I felt a bit annoyed by the shield, which was only about fifteen handspans wide. Somehow it felt troublesome to carry everywhere I went. So, being the cautious type I am now, I strapped it to my back and kept walking while holding the sword at my waist, like a real knight would.