The Slime Doesn't Die from Mana Transfer-Chapter 36 : Hero and Demon King

“My purpose is to retrieve the Holy Sword that the Demon King left in human lands seventy years ago.”
“Demon King…”
“Holy Sword?!”
A single sentence left both Russell and Rozelite shocked and dumbfounded.
Rozelite: “How could the Holy Sword have been left behind by the Demon King? That was the relic of the previous Hero!”
Russell: “Goddammit, here we go with more lore dumps!”
Every time it came to this, Russell’s head started to ache.
He knew that supplementary worldbuilding was necessary. He knew what he lacked most right now was information about this world. But that didn’t mean he wanted to sit through a long-winded history lesson!
…
…
The tides of the world, long divided must unite, long united must divide…
Around eighty years ago, a coalition of demons from the north waged an unprecedented war against the Rhine Kingdom.
Although there had been occasional skirmishes before, this war was on an entirely different scale. It was obvious—unless one side completely fell, the war would not end.
The cause of the war was no longer important.
The flames of war burned for a full ten years.
The northern borders of humankind fell, with nearly a third of its lands conquered by demons. The rest of their territory was mostly indefensible plains. Humanity was at the brink of destruction.
In order to repel the demons, the Rhine Kingdom decided to carry out a decapitation plan.
The strongest warrior among humans would infiltrate alone into the demons’ heartland and assassinate the Demon King—the leader of the northern tribes at that time. The purpose was to leave the demon coalition leaderless and cause its collapse from within.
The King of Rhine personally went to the Freya Forest in the west and persuaded the elves living there.
The elves told the king that in the deepest part of the forest was a sacred lake, and at its center stood the Holy Sword left behind by the Goddess Sevenstar.
The Holy Sword was indestructible and invincible.
However, only one who passed its trial could draw it out.
The king summoned warriors from across the land to the sacred lake to take the trial. One by one, they all failed.
Until at last—
A certain youth stepped into the lake’s center and drew the Holy Sword with ease.
People called him the Hero.
With the Holy Sword in hand, the Hero rampaged across the battlefield. None could last a single exchange against him. He stemmed the demons’ advance. But even that wasn’t enough. No matter how strong the Hero was, he was still just one person. He could not singlehandedly slaughter millions of demons.
Thus, at the advice of the Great Sage and the King, the Hero infiltrated the demon heartland alone to assassinate the Demon King.
Yet, the Hero never returned.
Soon after, the demons themselves initiated peace talks.
The two sides agreed to divide the continent with the Muscovy Mountain Range as the border, separating the human and demon realms, vowing non-aggression. At the end of the negotiations, the demons’ envoy returned the Hero’s Holy Sword to humanity as a sign of goodwill.
Everyone believed that the Demon King and Hero had perished together.
Not long after, the Great Sage Merlin oversaw the construction of the Great Barrier on the southern side of the Muscovy Mountains, completely severing the two realms. From then on, the continent enjoyed long-awaited and lasting peace.
…
…
“So… what is this supposed to mean?”
After Rozelite’s recount, Russell was even more confused.
“Didn’t the Hero and Demon King perish together? Why are you saying the Demon King’s Holy Sword needs to be retrieved? Wasn’t it the Hero’s sword?”
“I don’t know either,” Rozelite looked at Anna.
“Explain clearly. What is going on?”
“Eh?”
Anna blinked in surprise.
“Wait, doesn’t human history record this?”
Rozelite crouched down and slapped her.
“I told you to explain clearly, not answer my question with another question! Do it again and I’ll rip your tongue out!”
“Y-yes, Lady Rozelite, I won’t dare again!”
Anna sobbed.
Russell: “……”
Something was off.
Very off.
Why did it feel like Rozelite had flipped some kind of switch, getting more and more violent? No, this wasn’t good! At this rate the pure, adorable princess would vanish! He had only meant to teach her to relieve some stress—how did it come to this?
Wait…
Could this be because of 【Symbiosis】?
He remembered that even when 【Symbiosis】 was only lv4, he could faintly sense Rozelite’s emotions. After it reached lv6, the connection became even clearer, almost as if her emotions could influence him.
But this level of influence wasn’t much to Russell.
Rozelite, however, was another story.
First, what had just happened had shocked her deeply.
Second… she was far too pure-hearted.
Like a blank sheet of paper—whatever colors stained it would leave a mark, hard to erase.
So… had he accidentally “corrupted” her?
Russell fell silent.
Meanwhile…
“All right, continue explaining.”
After slapping Anna several more times, Rozelite crossed her legs and sat high on the cart, staring down at tearful Anna.
“What’s this about the Demon King’s Holy Sword?”
“Y-yes, it’s like this…”
Anna choked back tears as she spoke.
“Seventy years ago, when the Hero wielding the Holy Sword stormed the Demon King’s castle, he did indeed slay the Demon King of that time. However, afterward, he did not leave. Instead, he remained—and by the late Demon King’s command and token, he became the new Demon King.”
“The Demon King advocated peace talks with humanity and entrusted the Holy Sword to be returned to the elves.”
“But for some reason, humans never did so…”
Hearing this, Rozelite leaned forward slightly.
“So the Hero didn’t die, but stayed in the Demon Realm and became the Demon King? How is that possible?”
“I know this one,” Russell cut in.
“Classic trope. The Hero fell in love with the Demon King! They fought and bonded, enemies to lovers, eventually developing feelings and deciding to stay and help govern the demon realm.”
Anna blinked.
“But the Demon King was a woman… and she never married.”
“……”
That was absurd.
Russell couldn’t help sighing.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“So, it was the Demon King—formerly the Hero—who sent you to retrieve the Holy Sword?”
Rozelite asked.
“Yes. The Demon King is about to abdicate, and the next Demon King will be chosen this way. Whoever retrieves the Holy Sword shall become the next Demon King.”
Rozelite tilted her head.
“But didn’t you just say that only the Hero can draw and wield the Holy Sword? For anyone else, it’s just an ordinary weapon. Doesn’t that make it meaningless?”
“Regarding that, the Demon King has already discovered a way to manipulate the Holy Sword.”
As Anna spoke, her hand moved toward the small of her back.
But she found nothing.
Anna’s expression instantly filled with terror.
“Where is my Demon Seed Sword?”