Honestly by this point, I was beginning to get tired of trying to understand what exactly it was that the whatever in front of me was plotting. What did she mean by helping us? Wouldn’t that be treason on her part? And what the hell would she even gain? Deciding not to play along with her games anymore, I looked at her in the eyes with a serious expression as I asked:

“What exactly is it that you want?”

“What is it that I want… mhmmm…”

At my question, Charlotte put on a pensive expression as the smile on her face slowly began to fade. Aftera short while, Charlotte looked back at me as she said:

“The only thing I really want is to study magic and understand all of its mysteries. That’s about it.”

Hearing her rather serious answer, I wasn’t sure how to respond to her, although I was wondering whether I should say that I could help her with that. Seeing the hesitant expression on my face at what action to take due to her answer, Charlotte smiled lightly as she said:

“I’m afraid that’s all I really have for interests. That’s why… I want to know what it is you plan to do. You know, no matter how bad you think it sounds, I think you’ll be surprised that I might be willing to help out~”

While she had adopted a playful tone once more, I could see a bit of seriousness in her eyes that made me think she was telling the truth. As a result, I felt myself lowering my guard and began to tell the mage in front of me what I had been hoping to achieve so far.

“Well, what I wanted to do up to now was…”

“Was? Sorry could you repeat what you just said. I couldn’t quite pick it up, and also, don’t turn your head away from me when you speak. Don’t you know it’s bad manners?”

“Huuu, I wanted to become a Demon Lord.”

“.......*chuckle*”

“...”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you serious! Are you sure you’re not actually demon? Maybe I should take you out right now AHAHAHAHA!”

“Hey don’t laugh! And no I’m not, I didn’t even know actual demons existed until just now…” 

“Haaaa, If you didn’t know that demons existed, then how the hell could you want to be a Demon Lord? Did you just wake up one day inspired to be the lord of something you never heard of?”

“Well I mean like, I have heard of demons, just didn’t know they actually existed. I mean they don’t where I come from. And by Demon Lord I meant, you know, becoming a fearsome entity that could do whatever it wants without worrying about anything.”

Letting go of me, Charlotte’s expression turned a bit more serious as she said:

“But, why become a Demon Lord then? You don’t have to be one if all you want to be is free.”

“That’s because there were a few things I wanted to do, and they were very Demon Lord like in my mind. Plus it sounds cool. So I decided that I would become one”

“Ho ho, and what would these Demon Lord like things be?”

“Well, you know, be strong enough to fight and beat anyone that opposes me. Not worry about any laws or rules and do as I please. Bring people under my control and build an organization built upon taking and gathering the souls of others. Just a few normal Demon Lord things.”

“Hey.”

“...”

“Want to elaborate on that last one?”

“No…”

“Huh, so, exactly what image of a Demon Lord do you have in your mind. You know, a Demon Lord is more of a title for the ruler of Demons, not exactly a ‘I don’t like rules’ thing. And what’s up with this organization of yours?”

“Haah, you see…”

I explained to her what my image of a Demon Lord was, that I had planned on creating my own demons if I could, and that I wanted to rule over a group of people that would be called the Darkwraiths. That I would be able to accomplish this thanks to my [Lord Subordination] ability as it would allow me to pass on [Soul Devourer] to my subordinates. And that eventually, I would stand supreme above all others..

“I see *snicker*. And are you serious about all this?”

Ignoring her face that seemed like she would break out in laughter at any moment, I answered her seriously saying:

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, then how exactly do you plan on accomplishing all this?”

“Huh? Well you know… Increasing my level and strength over time. Increasing the tier of my [Lord Subordination] to increase those who I could subordinate. Then slowly gather enough strong people and resources until I could properly release the Darkwraiths and challenge the world head on.

“I see. So you don’t have a plan is what you’re saying.”

“... But that is a plan.”

“Really now? And how do you plan to level up slowly with people coming after you?”

“Huh?”

“You know that old man who you said you met at the outskirts of the forest? Well, him and his group of buddies are looking after Ailya, as well as two certain sisters named Alex and Alice. To be honest, I think that by now they’ve probably figured out that Ailya was Alice and was somehow disguising herself, and they will most likely approach you two tomorrow.”

At her statement, I felt a shiver run down my back at the unknown development that was occurring without my knowledge.

“And what else, oh yes. How exactly do you plan on subordinating anyone? From what you’ve told me, you only managed to subordinate Ailya because you took advantage of her in a vulnerable state. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but people with potential like Ailya at such a low level are extremely rare. So rare in fact, that I doubt you’ll find another in the entire world. So unless having a group consisting of weak, traumatized, average commoners is part of your plan, I don’t think you’ll be able to build this grand organization you have in mind.”

“Well I mean, I could-” 

“And as for being able to challenge the world, I’m afraid that unless you have a large army you won’t be able to pull that off. Even I don’t stand a chance at actually fighting a decently sized army for more than a while. Actually, even just a small group made up of individuals around level 200 would be able to defeat me. So I doubt you’ll ever reach the strength needed to live a worry free life taking and taking on the whole world like you think.”

Hearing Charlotte so simply pour cold water over my dream, I felt the last strands of excitement I had been feeling since I returned from the church disappear completely.

“Forget about becoming a Demon Lord. Right now, even if I don't do anything, you’ll soon meet your end. So I think you have a few more important things to worry about than your delusions, my foolish Demon Lord.”