Demon Lord Management Sim Game

My hair has grown long, and my beard has become thick. I kept wandering in the forest, roaming and hoping to find something strange.

And I've been through it for almost two months.

"Hey, finally, we meet again!" Sam, the man who came up to me the first day I was here, waved at me. "You look so much like me now!"

"Get lost, Sam." Whenever I meet that guy, I get irritated and want to be far away from him. Maybe I feel like I see a reflection of myself in the future if I stay here too long.

"Oh, come on!" That man protested as I walked from him. "Talk with me today! I just caught a big fish, you know. I can't eat it alone."

All I'm doing here is walking and walking through the trees. There's really nothing else here, but I still refuse to talk to him.

After all, I can still talk to Ayre with the remote communication feature.

Once away from that man, I gathered the tree branches, then lit them by swiping two fire magic stones.

I raised my hand to catch the warmth that the bonfire gave off. It looks like it's already winter, so the cold has also affected me, a demon.

"How are you, Ayre?" I asked her via the long-distance communication feature.

"I'm fine, my lord." She sighed. "I have succeeded in forging the Mythril and now helping Darren in his shop."

"Excellent." I smiled faintly. At the very least, there is good news.

Then she was silent for a few seconds. "You haven't found it yet?"

"When I found that thing, I wouldn't be here anymore." I massaged the point between my eyebrows. I could go back and forth to Madcrest city, but it's a waste of time. I only have one teleport per day. "And if it's about your request to accompany me, please stop, Ayre. For the fuck sake. I've said many times, maybe we'll get caught in a different reality bending session, and…."

"….we don't know whether we can be free together." Ayre cut me off. "No, my lord. I'm not asking to come with you again. I'm just suggesting that you come back here."

"But…."

"I didn't say you should give up." She interrupted me again. "It's just that maybe you should freshen up your mind. After that, you can go back there."

My mouth was wide open, about to snap at her. However, it didn't take long for me to see her point. Right now, my mind is so tired and may need rest.

Again, she is concerned about my well-being.

"Alright, Ayre." I took a deep breath. "But, I will search one more time tomorrow. After that, I will start my journey back."

"Sure, my lord."

As soon as I was about to answer her, I heard irregular footsteps. "Goodbye, Ayre. If anything comes up, I'll let you know."

I hung up the call before Ayre could answer. Instead of approaching the sound of steps, I waited instead.

"What do you want, Sam?" I shook my head as the sound got closer. "At this time of night, why are you even walking around like an idiot?"

"My best friend, Ethan!" Sam came out of the trees, spreading his arms as he carried a fish barely a foot in size. "You're such a help. I overslept, so I didn't have time to build a bonfire, and it was already dark. Plus, it's getting colder, so I can't stay still."

"You walked to look for me?" I asked again without looking at him. Spending the night with him is a bad thing. I'm sure he won't stop babbling.

"You're right!" That man stabbed the fish with a stick. "Finally, I saw your bonfire from a distance. I must admit, it isn't easy to move around at night like this without any light. I tripped and fell many times."

Getting fed up with him, I pressed the fast-forward button. The movement of that guy burning fish has increased many times. His mouth kept talking, but I only heard high-pitched, muffled mumblings.

Sometimes I think, what do the people around me see when I fast-forward like this? Do I look like a statue standing still? Why don't they ask me why I do that?

I wanted to ask them too, but I was afraid there would be unseen consequences. This feature went against the natural laws of this world, after all….

Ah, looks like I do need a break. I couldn't focus, and my thoughts were all over the place.

***

I opened my eyes and found the sunlight shining through the leaves.

Did I just fall asleep? Weird. Usually, I use the fast-forward feature until the day changes, and my body will refresh after that as if I had just really slept.

I've probably fainted many times. But to fall asleep like this, it's my first time.

As I was about to stretch my body, I found Sam still lying on the ground. I was going to leave him, but I noticed something strange.

Her face was too pale.

I checked his pulse and breath. It only took a short time before I concluded he was dead. It seems he has a disease, and since yesterday was dying.

Tragic. He died on the way to reaching his goal. I've only been here two months and am already very depressed. Boredom, fatigue, and frustration keep attacking me.

And he's been doing this for twenty years. I wonder if he's a man of principles or a fool.

Am I going to die horribly like him before achieving my great goal of taking over the world? Will I still be able to be faithful to my dreams, even if I encounter a dead end?

Ah, I'm thinking too deeply again.

Now, I must think of a way to properly bury him.

He may be annoying but he focuses on his goal until the end. It's a deed worthy of respect. It wasn't right for him to rot in a place like this.

I was about to bring up that man, but something strange happened.

Instead of lifting people's bodies, I was holding a table.

What the fuck? Did that man's corpse become this thing?

And even stranger, the table looks so modern with a cream-colored plastic coating. It couldn't possibly exist in this fantasy world.

I'm very familiar with that table. Of course, that thing was my study table in my original world.