Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 167 Mission: 01-4 Demon King
A world where any possibility that can justify itself will be accepted as fact.

Pest introduced it this way.

"It might be a bit difficult to explain the specific details, but you just need to know that in the small garden, 'possessing a legend' is equivalent to 'possessing power', and 'possible to be true' is equivalent to 'existing to be true'.

"To be more specific, the demonic spirit you possess represents the impact you have on the world. The greater this impact, the larger your spirit will be, and the greater your power will be.

"And the two are mutually causal. As long as one is true, both are true."

Nero nodded. "That sounds like a paradox."

"Yes, just like the famous question of 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?' Precisely because in the sandbox, 'reasonable is existence,' all similar causal relationships are 'possibly true at the same time.'"

Nero began to understand the existence of the small garden.

She followed Pest into the gate beneath the crimson rock. Beneath the canopy of the small garden lay a cluster of European-style buildings separated by crisscrossing walls. People of all races walked the streets. As Nero followed Pest, a memory, somewhat similar yet entirely different, surfaced in his mind.

"Any demon with similar power can be summoned by the grimoire? Isn't this range a bit too wide?"

Pest, walking beside Nero, shook her head slightly. "Of course not. Demons summoned from legends are generally strictly consistent with the legends and cannot have other identities. In order to summon you, in addition to the uniqueness of the original owner of this grimoire, I also made some additional efforts."

"Something about my grandfather, huh?"

"The Demon King [Beast of Six Hundred and Sixty-Six] is a great demon with triple-digit strength. I was quite surprised when I learned that he was related to Miss Nero."

"Three digits?" This was another strange concept, and Nero couldn't help but ask.

"It refers to the 'position' that can be achieved within the small garden. This city is shaped like the rings of a tree, with seven layers. The closer to the core, the stronger the community. The headquarters of the community alliance your grandfather founded, the [Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beasts], is located at the 666 Outer Gate on the third layer - which can be roughly understood as a zone.

"And where we are now is the outermost 5656565 Outer Gate. The different Outer Gates are separated by boundary walls, which are those towering walls you see."

It is not a wall that separates the buildings, but a cliff that wraps the entire area and is connected to the sky.

This was truly astonishing. The area Nero had seen alone was undoubtedly the size of a metropolis. And now, Pest told her that this was only one hundred millionth of the little garden?

"Tell me more about my grandfather."

Speaking of this topic, Pest let on a somewhat apologetic expression. "In fact, the Demon King has been away from Little Garden City for a long time. Therefore, most of the information I know is about the [Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Beasts] Community Alliance. It is a loose alliance composed of hundreds of communities, and the connections are not very close. The reason I learned about your grandfather is because they are rumored to be searching for the 'treasure' he left behind."

Apparently aware that her actions might be considered deceptive, Pest added, "Legend has it that the treasure is connected to Miss Nero's origin world. That's how I learned of your relationship. There's also news that they're planning a large-scale Gifting Games, which is likely related to this matter."

According to Pest, the "Gift Game" was the reason for the creation of the small garden. Any extraordinary power bestowed by heaven, gods, or stars, capable of profoundly impacting the world, could be called a "Gift." And allowing those who possessed these powers to fight within the small garden, any damage done without endangering normal human history, yet capable of influencing its course, was the original purpose of the "Gift Game." In other words, it was a "divine war" to determine humanity's future.

However, this behavior was later turned into entertainment and widespread, becoming one of the basic rules of the small garden. Whether it was to resolve a dispute, for entertainment, or to show strength, any problem could be solved through the gift game.

"Thus, there are many different types of gift games. For example, there are 'trials' set by the gods for human heroes, 'wars' waged between multiple communities, and relatively less serious 'competitions'. But generally speaking, all gift games will not deviate from these three themes: 'strength', 'courage', and 'wisdom'."

"Like using sports games as a substitute for war?"

After a moment's thought, Peiste nodded. "That's not a problem with understanding it that way. But it's still hard to fully express it with words alone. Perhaps you should try participating in a real gift game."

"It just so happens that the outer rulers of the East District, the Community Alliance [Thousand Eyes], are currently holding a regular Gift Game. Miss Nero might be able to give it a try. However—"

Seeing that Pest was hesitant to speak, Nero asked in understanding, "This requires me to join a certain community first and obtain a 'flag' that I can show to others, right?"

“It’s great that you understand.”

After a round, the question returned to Pest. Nero stopped, faced the girl beside him, and asked, "So, what is the situation of your community?
"Since it belongs to a large community alliance, it shouldn't be difficult to find members to join."

Nero's question touched upon the most difficult part of Pest's heart. The girl with short, rose-red hair lowered her head and sighed helplessly.

"As expected, I can't hide it from you," she said. "In fact, the leader of the [Grimm Fantasy Grimoire Group] was defeated hundreds of years ago, and the entire alliance is now in name only. Aside from [Hamel], which I just established, the only remaining communities are [Cinderella] and [Snow White]."

The people from those two communities have gone underground and rarely show up in public.

A community that had fallen. Beyond that, however, Pest's choice of words slightly concerned Nero.

"Crush? You're saying that as if that person is some wicked villain who is hated by everyone."

Pest stood quietly in front of Nero and nodded in agreement with her guess.

"Indeed. That man has a rather nasty personality, always acting for pleasure. Even worse, he's also incredibly powerful. However, that's not why he's hated.

"The real reason why he was hated and even defeated by other communities was because that man was the 'Demon King'.

"The most vicious natural disaster that anyone in the Garden can kill."

(End of this chapter)