Isekai Online Game Developer

“Ah, so you’re talking about the Tower Master?”

“I’m sure when Hina appears, the viewership for the Demon King Sama’s broadcast will skyrocket!”

“It seems like there’s already quite a lot…”

“The current viewers are Dark Elves, you know.”

Lumia was happily chatting away in the Illusion Tower.

Before long, Lumia had started coming and going from the Illusion Tower as if it were her own home.

At first, it was just to buy more games.

As a Demon, she found it difficult to use the Merchant Group, so she had to come directly to the Illusion Tower.

During those visits, she exchanged a few words with Rai.

She could learn things about the games from him, and she often came back to talk more.

If the developer had been a different human, she probably wouldn’t have done that.

But Rai was not just any human.

While everyone in the Imperial Castle told Lumia to attack her, Rai alone offered to give her a game.

For the first time, she met someone who neither hated nor discriminated against her.

Intrigued, Lumia enjoyed talking with Rai.

“Tower Master? Is that possible?”

“I-I-I’m b-b-broadcasting…”

Hina stammered, blushing.

This was because Lumia had asked her to join the broadcast.

As she frequented the Illusion Tower, Lumia had become closer to Hina.

Hina was also human, but there seemed to be some connection among the strong.

On top of that, Lumia had even started her own “Twatch” stream.

After watching famous streamers, she felt like giving it a try.

Through her broadcasts, she wanted to help Demons adapt better to the games.

“If Hina streams, the viewers will surely explode, which is such a shame.”

Lumia said while munching on snacks.

Sitting comfortably on the sofa, Lumia was giggling.

That just showed how comfortable she had become.

There was a time she had even forgotten to put up a barrier when coming to the Illusion Tower.

Although she pretended to be innocent on the surface, she was still the Demon King who ruled the Demon World.

Moreover, her long life experience led her to distrust most beings.

Thus, each time she came to the Illusion Tower, she always set up barriers to prevent any meddling with the outside world.

However, as the Illusion Tower became more comfortable, her thoughts shifted, and she began to think that no one would meddle.

It didn’t feel like an act.

Given how well Lumia could read the expressions of those in front of her, she knew.

Rai, Hina.

They didn’t see Lumia as a villain to be eliminated.

What a fascinating human.

Usually, humans were eager to kill Demons.

Of course, she didn’t give her complete trust to them yet.

Still, Lumia couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope, believing that this existence might be different.

“By the way, what is this Cold Cup thing?”

“Oh, that…”

It was something she had heard about while playing a game recently.

When she asked, Rai kindly explained.

“So, it’s a tournament where beings from the Human World gather to see who plays the best?!”

“That’s right.”

“Ooooh! That sounds really fun!”

Just hearing about it seemed fun.

Of course, Lumia wanted to go. It would be great if she could participate.

But then, Lumia suddenly felt gloomy.

No matter how much she loved games, it was unlikely that humans would welcome her to such an official event.

For Lumia, who longed for the changed relationship between humans and Demons, it was heart-wrenching.

“If you want, Demons might be able to participate too. Of course, you’ll have to decide on a representative.”

“…Really?”

“Elves, Dark Elves, Beastmen—everyone can participate. I might need to send a request to the Empire first, though.”

“Bu-but will the Empire accept…”

It was the Emperor who said the Demon King must die.

Would that Empire usher in Demons for participation?

“Even so, perceptions of Demons have changed in games. History might not change, but they might actually like it. They could be happy to trample on Demons publicly at the tournament.”

“Hmm… That could be true. Then, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Yes, I’ll also mention it separately.”

It was a task that required a lot of courage.

Humans had hated Demons over a long history.

And they might refuse, judging that Demons would do something evil at the tournament.

Of course, Lumia had no intention of doing such a thing, and it wasn’t even a time when Demons had the power to invade the Human World.

But the worry remained the same.

“By the way, why is the Demon King Sama trying so hard to bridge the distance with humans? Even if it’s for games, aren’t Demons supposed to hate humans?”

“Demons don’t inherently hate humans. The reason Demons have continuously invaded the Human World throughout history is that the Middle Realm acts as a passage between the Heavenly Realm and the Demon Realm.”

“The Heavenly Realm?”

“The real enemy of Demons is not humans, but those from the Heavenly Realm. That’s a very old tale, something the Demon King Sama wouldn’t even know. Moreover, Demons usually seek strong opponents. So typically, once the power struggles in the Demon Realm settle and the strongest Demon King is born, that’s when they attack the Middle Realm.”

“So they’re just crazy people.”

“The Demon King Sama just wants everyone to be friends. Competing in strength is natural, but they shouldn’t hate each other…”

Lumia’s spirits dampened as old memories surfaced, and she lowered her head.

Rai silently observed her for a moment.

“I see. Well, I hope Demons will get to participate in the tournament.”

“Thank you, Raiot.”

Thus, there was talk of Demons participating in the tournament.

Not long after, the Empire approved it.

Not just Lumia, but all the Demons rejoiced at the news.

Even though it wasn’t the time for a Demon-Human war, they could compete against humans in games.

Behind this development was Rai’s forceful persuasion.

*

“No interviews, I said!”

These days I was getting hassled by reporters again.

It was because my support for the Demons’ participation in the Cold Cup was revealed.

Naturally, people criticized me.

While everyone had gotten used to Demons playing games,

in games, they couldn’t physically harm anyone, and there were chances for humans to experience defeating Demons.

However, actually inviting Demons to participate in tournaments was an entirely different matter.

It meant interspecies interaction.

It was about inviting Demons to the festival of the Human World.

Moreover, being in the same space as Demons was bound to make humans nervous.

“Rai-kun, are you really okay with this?”

Rain, having fended off the reporters, asked with concern.

If Rain was worried, then the world’s reaction would be even harsher.

“It’ll be fine. At least for now.”

But I was confident.

At least for now. Moreover, the current Demon King, Lumia, wouldn’t attack humans.

Half of it was just my gut feeling. I trusted that Lumia wouldn’t lie.

Honestly, Lumia seemed like nothing more than a girl who just loved games.

If she held any malicious intent, she would have acted on it long ago.

Besides, there were currently significant restrictions on Demons crossing over to the Human World.

Originally, it would’ve taken several hundred years for the Demon Realm to connect with the Human World.

Lumia could only create a small opening for a couple of them to pass through with her Demon Sword.

And that couldn’t happen every time.

It was impossible to bring enough Demons to occupy the Human World.

“By the way, the Demon King Sama doesn’t really look like a Demon King, does she?”

“That’s true.”

“I’ve heard that a long time ago, during the second Demon King’s invasion, one of the Demon Kings fell in love with a member of the Hero Party.”

“Oh, that’s a famous story.”

“Thinking about it, the true purpose of Demons might not be just the massacre of humans. While humans attack with hate, Demons seem to have a different concept of attacking humans.”

Perhaps this could be something that changes in the future.

Rain seemed to ponder over my words.

I laughed lightly and stepped into my room.

Though I said that, I also had my own worries.

I was merely trusting the feeling I had for Lumia.

In reality, the world Lumia envisioned seemed different from the previous Demon World as well.

Perhaps, it could indeed greatly change the course of history ahead.

That said, I hadn’t been completely unprepared either.

I had asked each Tower Master if they could fight in case Demons stirred up trouble.

After all, all the Tower Masters would be going to the Cold Cup.

With the combined strength of all the Tower Masters and the Empire’s Army, they should be able to handle about six or seven Demons.

I had communicated with the Empire to ensure that escape routes and audience defense barriers were properly prepared.

It was a bothersome task, but since I asserted it strongly enough, everyone complied.

Of course, I didn’t believe anything significant would happen.

Still, it was necessary to guarantee the psychological safety of the audience.

Because of that, it was said that this year’s Cold Cup audience numbers had dropped, but looking back later, I was sure it was a necessary precaution.

A few days later, the second Cold Cup commenced.

*

Months before the Cold Cup started, in the Demon Realm,

Lumia immediately informed the Demons that they would be able to participate in the Cold Cup.

“So, we’re selecting representatives to compete in the humans’ tournament! Starting next week, we’ll have qualifiers, so anyone who wants to join should participate! And Demons with a tier of Diamond 1 or higher in COL or Auto Chess, come on!”

“So we’re crossing over to the Human World?”

“Is this already an invasion, Demon King? Oh, I mean, Demon King Sama?”

The news of crossing over to the Human World excited the Demons.

That they would invade just a hundred years after the previous Demon-Human War was incredible.

“I said it’s not an invasion! We’re just going to play games! Moreover, any Demon who harms humans after crossing over will be killed on the spot! We’ll show the proper conduct of Demons!”

” “Yeaaaah?!” ”

The Demons looked puzzled.

To them, the idea of not fighting humans was incomprehensible.

“The representatives will be chosen purely based on gaming skill! This is not about strength; it’s about showing off gaming abilities!”

“So we’re measuring strength through games.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll join! I’m the best mid-laner. I’ve always wanted to face off against you!”

“It’s finally time to properly imprint my bystander Mai on those humans. Hehe…”

“Shut up, Baaljeb. What will you do if Mai gets banned?”

“At least I had my fun playing Auto Chess while everyone else was stuck on COL…”

But the simple-minded Demons quickly understood.

After all, it was a competition of abilities in the game.

It would be a brutal massacre in COL.

“Even if it isn’t the Demon-Human War, competing against the strong humans should be enjoyable!”

“There are so many skillful users in the Human World. Everyone, prepare well!!”

Thus, the excitement for the next Cold Cup began to sweep through the Demon Realm.