What kind of demon king would I be if I didn't have my demonic plans to conquer the world written down in a scroll?

A bad one, obviously!

I looked at Armor triumphantly as he read through the scroll. As expected as my highest leveled demon guard, he can read even without having eyes. Even so, he had been silent for the past ten minutes, reading and rereading the scroll over and over. It was beginning to be concerning, until he finally tilted his head up.

"My lord…" He started, rolling the scroll back clumsily with his huge, clunky metal hands. "Are you really planning on invading the human's nation alone?"

"Yeah, why?" Well, it's not like I can count on the fodders. They'll just be free experience points for Hiro if he finds them. But I can't tell him that, of course. Even though he's just a hollow armor which can speak, he probably has feelings.

"It's just… I wish you would rely on us more. We know you're powerful, but if we can lift any load off your-"

"Oh, no, it's fine. It's no pressure at all for me." Any more of that and I might actually give in and send you all to your inevitable fodder deaths. "I… I just don't want all of you to get hurt unnecessarily. As my loyal subjects, all you have to do is to stay safe and look pretty."

"But my lord… I don't have a face."

"Being pretty is a state of mind, my foolish armor."

"My lord…!"

[SYSTEM: Your CHA level has increased.]

I paused. Did my charisma really increase because of something I quoted from a dating sims? Well, that was kinda embarrassing, but if it works, it works. It seems like I had to actually charm someone in order for my charisma to increase, rather than just flexing in front of the mirror. If I could repeat this with every demon I come across, levelling up my charisma stat should be a piece of cake… At the cost of me cringing endlessly on the inside.

"Listen up, everyone!" Armor's voice echoed through the hall. Demons began gathering around.

Oh, no.

"Our lord had spoken! For our safety, we will not be joining in his epic quest to conquer the human nation for we are his precious, pretty, loyal subjects!" Why did you have to say it that way?! Or rather, why are you the one announcing that? I should be the one to say it! "Our job is to stay safe, for our lord will grief over our sacrifice in the fight."

"My lord…!"

"Our merciful lord!"

"Our all powerful lord! He's willing to take on the humans all by himself for our sake!"

"My wife can finally stop worrying! Thank you, my lord!"

[SYSTEM: Your CHA level has increased.]

[SYSTEM: Your CHA level has increased.]

[SYSTEM: Your CHA level has increased.]

That same pop up appeared for dozens more times. I am once again standing still like an awkward birthday boy, but this time it was due to the endless pop ups blocking my vision. Though, I'm glad that my charisma level managed to increase even though I'm not the one making that dramatically emotional speech.

While the mobs cheer and celebrate (for what?), I'll just check my charisma level.

[SYSTEM: CHA LVL: 253]

This… This is the power of demonic bonds…!

Three cheers for these fodder demons!!

To think that I'm still grinding stats using them despite having them as my allies… I supposed that's the life of being a fodder.

With this, I should be able to make people believe in my words easily, and in turn create a chance to enter the palace. Once I'm in there, the king will be dead before he even realizes it. There's nowhere for him to hide, since I memorized all the rooms in the palace. I felt the corners of my lips rising at the thought of that.

“My lord! What a wonderful smile you have on!” Armor chirped. “A smile worthy of only the demon king!”

“The lord is smiling again!”

“Our eyes are blessed by the lord personally!”

“Please have my first born!!”

No, no, I shouldn’t be feeling so happy at the idea of killing people. But this is a game, right? And my role is the evil, merciless demon king. Besides, if I were to be all wimpy here and let the humans do whatever they want, I'm the one who's going to die along with all these other demons who had been showering me in praises all day long!

As I remembered about my role, a question surfaced to my mind. One which I had forgotten to ask as I was busy training for the past few days.

“Armor, I have something to ask you.” I asked in a quiet voice, turning away from the crowd, which was still cheering away.

“Yes, my lord?”

“What had I been doing for the past eight years?”

Armor tilted its helmet at that question. Was it something difficult for him to reply? Perhaps the story had changed because of the New Game+, that’s why the demon king suddenly went away for all those years. Maybe he was away conquering other nations, or maybe his next stop was supposed to be the aquatic world, which was why I woke up at the beach-

“My lord, you had been asleep on that beach for the past years.”

What.

“One day, you suddenly announced that you wanted to take a break. I assumed it was in order to conserve your mana so you can fight against the humans when the time comes. That’s why we went to the beach, since that’s your favourite spot to relax and be away from the other demons - You've always said that their endless compliments give you a headache, after all. But I really didn’t expect you to fall into such a long slumber…” He trailed off.

“So, I had been sleeping for the past eight years?” No way… What’s going on in that mind of yours, demon king? Were your horns so huge that it impacted your ability to think properly? Who would just go and take a nap for eight years?! On a tanning chair on top of that! No wonder my body was aching when I first woke up.

“Yes, my lord. But as expected as the mighty king of the demons, now that you’ve awakened, you’re going to take on the humans immediately!” As much as he was excited about that idea, I didn't have the heart to tell him that it's for my own safety. 

What an anti-climatic reason to be away for eight years. That aside, did Armor really stay by and watched as the demon king slept for that long? He’s even more loyal than a dog. I sighed, then returned to my room after dismissing the demons gathered in the throne room.

For the past few days, I had been writing down all the information I could remember about the game to make sure nothing will go wrong with the plan. Even so, I’m oddly nervous about this. What a funny sight, an all powerful demon king being worried about killing a few humans… But it wasn’t just baseless fear, with how low my luck is, I wouldn’t be surprised if I got caught by Hiro the moment I stepped into the human’s territory.

However, there was no way to increase my luck, no matter what I’ve tried. There’s no more time to waste, if I don’t take a move now, it wouldn’t be long before the humans would attack the castle.

Tomorrow will be the day I set out to the human nation.