Chapter 418: Suggestion and Revelation
The Kouhei Faction had been gaining a surprising amount of traction lately.
Many of the demon factions couldn’t quite figure out why this relatively young faction had suddenly started growing at such an impressive pace. Plenty of theories had been floating around, but Yuka understood at least one of the biggest reasons behind it.
Kouhei was the Child of Anti-Prophecy.
That title belonged to the one who was destined to stand against the prophecy that foretold the eventual destruction of the Demon Race itself. Simply carrying that title was enough to make countless demons pay attention to him, whether they wanted to or not.
Because of that, curiosity toward Kouhei had spread all throughout Hell. Quite a few demons wanted to know what kind of person he really was, while others chose to keep their distance simply because they didn’t know what to expect from someone carrying such a ridiculous title. Curiosity and caution had somehow ended up walking hand in hand.
With all of that in mind, Sano Yuka found herself thinking about something interesting.
The thought was honestly pretty small at first, almost random, but the longer she considered it, the more reasonable it started sounding. She wondered whether organizing some kind of joint training session between her faction and Kouhei’s faction might be a good way to stir the pot a little and see what kind of reactions it would create.
Faction joint training wasn’t exactly uncommon. Different factions occasionally worked together whenever both sides believed they could gain something from it. Things became considerably more complicated, however, when the factions involved both had leaders who were officially nominated as candidates for the position of the next Demon Lord. People loved gossip far more than they liked admitting it, so rumors would spread almost immediately.
From an outsider’s perspective, it would probably look as though the two factions were secretly plotting something together.
Honestly, that assumption wouldn’t even be completely unreasonable. Whenever two ambitious factions with the same destination suddenly started cooperating, anyone would naturally wonder whether there was some hidden agreement taking place behind closed doors. Suspicion practically came free with the invitation.
Ironically enough, none of those possible rumors had anything to do with Yuka’s real objective.
Her reason was surprisingly simple.
She wanted to build a good relationship with the Child of Anti-Prophecy.
Kouhei was a human who had been prophesied to become the weapon capable of overturning the future that Yesh intended to bring into existence. In other words, his very existence opposed that prophecy itself. That was exactly why everyone referred to him as the Child of Anti-Prophecy.
Yuka was an ambitious woman by nature. She fully intended to climb all the way to the top and become the next Demon Lord, so learning more about the people competing for that same throne was simply the smart thing to do. Kouhei had also become the center of attention throughout Hell recently, making him someone almost impossible to ignore. Half the conversations happening lately somehow circled back to him. At this point, if someone sneezed too loudly, there was probably a rumor saying Kouhei had something to do with it.
Naturally, she decided to contact Yuuna without wasting any more time.
"So you’re suggesting a joint training session between your faction and ours?" Yuuna asked over the phone.
"Well, yes. Naturally," Yuka answered with her usual composed smile. "I honestly believe there will come a point where both of our factions could benefit quite a lot from something like this. Don’t you agree?"
"I suppose you have a point."
Yuuna quietly thought about everything that proposal implied.
Two factions training together would naturally give people the impression that both groups shared a fairly close relationship. Whether that impression was true or not didn’t really matter. Rumors had a habit of growing legs and sprinting before anyone had the chance to catch them.
Although the Kouhei Faction already maintained good relationships with several other factions, and a handful of smaller factions had even merged into theirs, they were still relatively small when it came to overall numbers. Looking at things objectively, Yuuna couldn’t deny that accepting the offer had its advantages.
Even so, another concern immediately surfaced in her mind.
Sano Yuka wasn’t someone who could ever be underestimated. She had built a reputation for being incredibly intelligent, calculating, and more than capable of turning almost any situation to her advantage. Agreeing too quickly might accidentally hand her the perfect opportunity to get close to Kouhei for reasons Yuuna couldn’t predict.
Her faction wasn’t openly hostile toward theirs.
That didn’t automatically mean she could be trusted.
After all, Yuuna had absolutely no way of knowing what Yuka was truly thinking.
"You really don’t have to be this guarded around me, Yuuna," Yuka said with a light chuckle. "I’m only suggesting a joint training session. Surely there isn’t anything suspicious about that by itself."
"It would’ve been different if I were still leading the faction," Yuuna replied calmly. "Kouhei is the leader now, though, so naturally I’m going to assume that whatever you’re planning somehow involves him."
From Yuuna’s perspective, that kind of caution was completely justified.
"I wouldn’t do something so foolish to the person who’s supposed to save the Demon Race from the prophecy," Yuka replied without sounding offended. "Besides, do you honestly think I possess enough influence to pull something like that off?"
"I’d rather not underestimate you," Yuuna answered almost immediately. "You’ll use just about any opportunity if it helps you move one step closer to whatever goal you’re aiming for."
That opinion wasn’t based on paranoia alone.
Yuka possessed the ability to brainwash people.
Anyone with even a little common sense understood just how terrifying an ability like that could become in the wrong hands. The power itself wasn’t something most people could easily wrap their heads around, and that alone made Yuka one of the most dangerous individuals among the younger generation.
Because of that, Yuuna had already placed Yuka near the very top of the mental list labeled, "People Kouhei should probably avoid unless absolutely necessary." It wasn’t an official list, of course, but if it were, Yuka would have a permanent reservation near the top.
"If you’re going to stay this cautious forever," Yuka continued, "don’t you think that attitude might eventually become a problem for a faction whose leader is running to become the next Demon Lord?"
"I honestly don’t see what’s so problematic about..." Yuuna suddenly stopped speaking halfway through her sentence.
A single phrase from Yuka finally caught up with her.
"...Wait a second."
She frowned.
"Could you repeat that last part?"
"What part?" Yuka asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"The part about Kouhei-kun running to become the next Demon Lord against you."
Yuka blinked.
"What? You didn’t know?"
"We didn’t know that at all!"
Yuuna shouted so loudly that her voice practically shook the room around her.
"Well... it was officially announced by your father," Yuka replied, sounding even more confused now. "Didn’t the two of you discuss it afterward?"
"He never told me anything about this!" Yuuna practically yelled into the phone. "Did he seriously put Kouhei-kun into the race for the next Demon Lord without asking either Kouhei or me first?!"
Yuuna sounded so furious that Yuka instinctively pulled the phone away from her ear before the shouting became even louder. Even with the phone held at a distance, Yuuna’s voice still came through perfectly clearly. Anyone standing nearby would have had no trouble figuring out that someone on the other end of the call was absolutely losing her mind. They probably learned about Kouhei’s unexpected candidacy completely free of charge, whether they wanted the information or not.
"Perhaps it was something your father chose not to tell you because he already knew you would oppose it and do everything you could to stop it," Yuka replied calmly.
"Well, of course I would!" Yuuna shouted without missing a beat. "Why would he even try something this ridiculous? For starters, Kouhei-kun doesn’t even want this much attention on himself right now."
"I understand why you’d think that," Yuka replied in her usual composed tone. "However, considering how much traction he’s been gaining recently, I can also understand why your father decided to place him in that position. Looking at it objectively, the decision isn’t all that surprising."
She paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"More importantly, it was probably the most natural choice available. Souichiro-kun can no longer represent your family as a candidate for the position of Demon Lord. Under those circumstances, your future husband, who also happened to defeat Souichiro-kun himself during the Faction War, naturally becomes the next most suitable candidate. From that perspective, isn’t it only reasonable for Kouhei-kun to inherit that role?"
Yuuna couldn’t immediately deny that reasoning.
From a purely logical standpoint, Yuka wasn’t wrong.
Now that Souichiro was no longer in a position to compete, the Sarushima Family would naturally need another representative if they still intended to remain influential in the race for the next Demon Lord. Among all the possible candidates, Kouhei stood out more than anyone else. His achievements had already begun attracting attention throughout Hell, and after defeating Souichiro during the Faction War, very few people could honestly argue that he lacked the qualifications.
Strictly speaking, Kouhei wasn’t actually a member of the Sarushima Family.
Even so, the prophecy declaring that he and Yuuna would eventually marry had already become widely known. Because of that, many influential demons had more or less begun viewing him as someone who would eventually become part of the family anyway. Whether that future had officially arrived yet didn’t seem to matter very much in their eyes.
Still, none of that was what bothered Yuuna the most.
The part she simply couldn’t understand was why her own father had decided to keep something this important from her.
That, more than Kouhei’s sudden nomination itself, was what left her feeling genuinely baffled and increasingly frustrated.