Jingai Musume 204

An Interim Report on Demon Lord Ecology
Editor(s): Speedphoenix, Joker

This is a special chapter. For the best viewing experience, download it by clicking this link. If your browser is opening it in a new tab, you can right-click it and hit save.

I’ve also embedded it below in case you don’t want to click on links. Do note the closing remarks page. It is rather easy to miss.

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66 thoughts on “Jingai Musume 204”

      1. Thanks for the chapter,
        Still i would grade it 5/10, or maybe even lower.
        She touched an innumerable quantity of topics, be it logistics, demon lord metamorphosis, psychology, knowledge of smithing, enchanting and warfare; even not talking about the labyrinth and its other inhabitants, she could have written 11 fully written pages.

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  7. This is probably my favorite chapter so far. I personally feel that this series would not be worth my time if not for the continuously great translation. The wording and sentence structure were immediately recognizable as Leila’s and the entire chapter with it’s special formatting really gives off a scholarly and scientific vibe. This actually might be the first time I’ve seen a fan translation, by someone who is not paid to do this, be that good. Even if this novel was to be picked up by a professional, large publisher in the west, I firmly believe that there is no way this could be translated any more perfectly, no matter how much money were to be put into it.

    Liked by 12 people

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    1. Honestly I think that if it was given to a company to translate it would actually turn out worse it only came out this good BECAUSE it was fan translated the result between people doing it as a job and those that actually like the story just ends up way to big.
      So thanks and hope you continue to stick with it to the end

      Liked by 4 people

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    2. I second that. I like how the translator gave a english “speech pattern” to the Youki and others characters. I t really make them come to life as I read. This is one of the best translations out there. It’s worth to save it in case it ever goes to internet limbo.

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      1. *rushing through the handling of survey sheet even tho I’m shy and tallying those 3days before defense…*~

        Good times~

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  13. Ok, I did not expect this, and I’m a little conflicted, mostly since it took a little more effort (yes, clicks are hard) and the font was rather small (no time to try to change that, laziness doesn’t allow me). Oh well, quite an interesting, erm, report 😀
    Thanks for the chapter?! Awesome translation! God bless you!

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  15. my dude actually made the chapter looks like a paper, whoa 😮

    but yea, it’s kinda hard to read on a phone, maybe add an alternative styled like the usual chapter?
    still thanks for the chapter and the effort you put in!

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  18. “There is still much to learn here. I plan to remain the demon lord’s housemaid so long as he continues to find my presence tolerable, for I know that I will never tire of this labyrinth or the many interesting subjects it contains. I am convinced that remaining will provide me with much greater fulfillment than abiding by my wanderlust. That is the extent to which I find myself captivated by him.”

    …

    “Document everything as is our tradition then burn it.lest it’s taint infect us all.”

    “But Gabriel there is much to learn from here. We should not be too eager to…”

    “Learn what? Chaos does not teach. It misleads and it betrays. There is nothing to learn here save for our next course.”

    Just saying, Leila. Oh well, we knew how this was going to end ever since you asked Yuki to clarify your “nightly duties”.

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      1. To be fair, I didn’t. The evidence concerning general perceptions of the nature of demon lords did not have enough points to conclude that accepting service with one necessarily entailed such things. I was even initially confused by why Nell would assume that Illuna couldn’t be staying there for any morally licit purpose (still kinda wondering why she accepted the offer to stay the night in that case, but I guess she was feeling pretty confused herself).

        I mean, in retrospect it’s perfectly clear that Lyuu and Leila had a certain idea of what offering to live with a demon lord meant. But I didn’t really figure that out completely till the visit to the Demon Kingdom (I did have an idea of human biases against demon lords, but didn’t consider them necessarily reflective of non-human opinions).

        P.S. Spoiler Alert, but of other demon lords encountered later, only one seems at all likely to be “typical” in this regard, though the sample is biased due to half of them being undead and (an overlapping) half not being actual demon lords.

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  19. The wing fanatic, the furry, the blood licker, the smell fetishist and the pedophile are now joined by a voyeur, I see. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that there is at least some truth to that theory of depravity.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Well, we’ve known that the dungeon itself was a moral degenerate ever since Yuki found the maid outfits in the DP catalog (course, they seem to be in the Yuki-specific portion of the catalog rather than in the common demon lord resources).

      Liked by 1 person

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  26. This look cool. Is the raw have the same format for Leila report, or did you translate it into this format.

    Also, this look like a short report that meant to show to other as introduction to the research. I wonder if her research paper also follow the format of modern science project.

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. Is it me or the paper does not mention the young vampire (I have a blank and can’t remember her name) I skimmed through the paper where they mention the races of the “citizens” of the labyrinth and I did not see her mentioned, I find it odd she went and said there was a bunch of people there two times and no vampires mentioned. I just did a Ctrl F vampire and yeah 0 result

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  28. Well I wished I had leila to write all my high school essays.
    And at the end there I sense some affectionate, skewing slightly to romantic feelings for Yuki.

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  32. Thanks for the chapter, it is a neat format, but I got to say, personally it just reminds me of times I had to write up a report and kept over complicating it, also that i’m not making as much use of my degree that I can. But it is still cool to see.

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  33. Just finished up my philosophy paper and found myself reading another journal..

    Oh wait.. It’s a novel. 😁
    Thanks 4 mid night treat..

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  34. I didn’t know that isekai worlds would use LaTeX to make their reports.

    Joking aside, it’s a high quality effort that you’ve put in here, I appreciate it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Definitely. I’ve been pleasantly suprised to see a TeX document.

      Though, as a self-proclaimed typographist and from my experience, for readability sake I’d rather use 12 point font with 25 mm margins or an A5 with 10 mm margins. It’s up to you, really. The big margins do more harm this time

      Liked by 1 person

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  40. well…. i wonder what will Leia think if Yuki are telling him that Iruna is the one that lucky enough to GACHA Fluffrir and he got no luck on gacha, what will Leia think about the gacha system if he tell her about it

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  41. This, was really really really cool and well written. Not that the other 203 chapters weren’t, but this was just different and really well done. I really appreciate your hard work, and thanks in advance if there’s another chapter like this in the future lol

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  43. Ah well, this is most the way through the comments anyway.

    An Interim Report on Demon Lord Ecology

    Leila of Eldegaria

    1 Introduction

    One of the most crucial keys to survival is to identify and avoid conflict with entities capable of bringing about one’s destruction. To all but a select few, the Wicked Forest’s demon lord is one such figure. He is powerful enough to singlehandedly slay dragons, as educated as the keenest of scholars, and in possession of allies capable of felling nations. Challenging the Wicked Forest’s demon lord is but a fool’s errand.

    2 Methods
    It is unfortunately impossible to emulate my methodology given the bizarre nature of my current circumstances. However, I have opted to disclose them regardless for the sake of transparency.

    The actions I took were composed entirely of observation in both the passive and active sense. Passive observation was centered around the creation and maintenance of detailed records of the demon lord’s behaviour whilst outside of my influence. Active observation was conducted through our daily interactions. That is, I spoke with him at length about a wide variety of topics and made note
    of his responses. Observation was not limited to the demon lord himself. It also included his acquaintances, the labyrinth, its residents, and the environment around it.

    My observations spanned many different scenarios, including extreme events in which the demon lord was subjected to irregular, strenuous stimulus. It covers not one, but two evolutions after which the demon lord’s magical makeup underwent drastic change. These occasions included near fatal combat and exposure to difficult problems of both a scholarly and social nature.

    3 Results
    • The demon lord is a male and goes by the name ”Yuki.”
    ∗ He is just over one year old, but bears the appearance of a young adult.
    ∗ He has black hair and red/black heterochromatic eyes.
    • The demon lord is extremely powerful.
    ∗ He excels at both physical and magical combat.
    ∗ He actively hunts and feeds on the Wicked Forest’s creatures.
    ∗ He possesses a powerful intelligent weapon named Zaien.
    · Zaien is capable of manifesting a humanoid form that is aware of her identity as a weapon.
    • The demon lord possesses a mysterious, calming aura.
    • The labyrinth houses a total of sixteen residents.
    ∗ The demon lord has nine kin: a fenrir, a dark crow, a demonic cat, a water spirit, a giant blood serpent, a slime, and three wraiths.
    ∗ The slime is highly intelligent. It possesses a humanoid form and is capable of speech.
    ∗ The fenrir was ”summoned accidentally.”
    • The demon lord is both logically and emotionally intelligent.
    ∗ He bears a haphazard but extensive breadth of knowledge despite having only lived for a year.
    ∗ The demon lord has three wives: The Supreme Dragon, Humanity’s Hero, and The Warwolf Chief’s Daughter.
    · They are in a healthy relationship.
    · The demon lord has not been devoured by his own lust.
    • The demon lord is whimsical and unrestrained.
    • The demon lord is associated with sovereign entities.

    4 Discussion
    To define the Wicked Forest’s demon lord, one must first divorce him from the concept of the typical demon lord as depicted in both scientific study and fiction. He is an exception amongst exceptions and very little of what is known of demon lords can be applied to him. The most obvious sign of his deviancy can be seen in his strength. The Wicked Forest is known to the world as a territory impossible to seize; the monsters that dwell within it are so overwhelmingly powerful that they have kept any would-be conquerors at bay for over a thousand years. Those that venture outside its bounds are heralded as local calamities, harbingers of death that only the most powerful can subdue. But they are far from its most powerful. Most of the monsters that leave the forest only do so because they are driven away from their natural habitats by forces capable of crushing them with ease. Even the most educated of scholars is unlikely to recognize all of the Wicked Forest’s numerous creatures on sight, for many lie far beyond the reach of academia. They remain as monsters from which no source, trustworthy or otherwise, has ever escaped an encounter. But to the demon lord, they are like fruit, ripe for the picking. He has demonstrated time and time again that it requires him little to no effort to butcher them and transform their remains into nourishment, both for his labyrinth and for its residents. Even rockbirds, creatures whom even kings seldom have the opportunity to consume, often find
    themselves atop his dinner table. But compared to everything else the demon lord plates, they appear almost irrelevant.

    The demon lord has, on occasion, professed that he is lacking in power. The supposed evidence supporting his claim is that he remains incapable of defeating many of the Wicked Forest’s most powerful creatures. His statement appears to bear some degree of fact given his propensity to flee from the creatures in question. However, it remains less accurate than true. Making a home for oneself within the forest’s boundaries is impossible for any not in possession of an incomprehensible degree of power. The belief that he lacks it likely stems from comparing himself with the Supreme Dragon, one of his closest associates. Their relationship will be discussed in further detail later on in this paper.

    Additional evidence of his strength lies in his weapon, a long, curved, crimson sword he describes as a “katana.” Its name is Zaien, and it is so incredibly heavy that it is impossible for any regular person to wield. Furthermore, it is not only magically enchanted, but also self-aware. Zaien is able to create an offshoot in the form of a human child that recognizes herself as a weapon and the scarlet blade as her true self. It is likely the only weapon of its kind. Only a handful of intelligent weapons exist, and none have been documented to possess any similar functions. The presence of an ego is not the only aspect that sets Zaien apart from the average two-handed sword. Its offensive and defensive capabilities are both on par with most legendary weapons whilst simultaneously possessing all of the added benefits of sentience, such as the ability to cast magic and mastery over the art of swordplay. With their forces combined, the demon lord and Zaien are effectively unstoppable.

    Zaien serves to evidence more than just the demon lord’s power. It is also a symbol of his academic ability. That is to say, Yuki is not only the weapon’s wielder, but also its creator. Despite having lived for little more than a year, the demon lord is as knowledgeable as a scholar who has spent a lifetime dedicated to the mastery of his craft. The discrepancy between his apparent but haphazard breadth of knowledge and his age appears to be a result of the difference between a demon lord’s life cycle and that of a traditional sentient organism. His circumstances support the Guardian Theory, which claims that labyrinths birth demon lords and impart them with knowledge in order to allow them to function as a defense mechanism to combat their otherwise low survival rate. The Guardian Theory has long been argued as an evolutionary adaptation labyrinths developed given their propensity to be preyed upon by monster and man alike. However, while the demon lord’s testimony appears to demonstrate that this theory is based in truth, there are still many questions to be had. The source of the labyrinth’s knowledge, for example, remains a mystery. The demon lord is not aware of the answer, and communication with the labyrinth itself is unfortunately impossible. Further investigation is required.

    Breadth of knowledge is not the only evidence of the demon lord’s mental capabilities. The Theory of Depravity states that demon lords are creatures that do not restrain themselves in their lustful and violent endeavours. While most historical observations appear to support this theory, the Wicked Forest’s demon lord does not.

    Yuki is not without sexual desires, for he has three wives. While the number may appear as a warning sign to some, it is easily justifiable by the extent of his power. It is in no way abnormal for a man of such a caliber to engage in polygamous practices given their propensity amongst the influential and wealthy. The normality of this practice is further evidenced by the manner in which he courted each of his wives. That is, none of the demon lord’s marriages stemmed from captivity. All three individuals chose to take their place by his side of their own free will. The dragon can easily overpower him, the hero is left completely unrestrained, and the warwolf has explicitly turned down several offers to be
    taken home. The healthy relationship the four of them share suffices to evidence that Yuki is no ordinary, brainless demon lord, as it is only made possible by his capacity for deep, emotional thought.

    The lack of an exaggerated sexual appetite is not the only tenet of the Theory of Depravity that Yuki fails to follow. He also violates the other, a propensity for violence, by choosing conversation over savagery even in scenarios in which he is well aware the other party wishes to see him disposed of. The combination of his emotional intelligence, his ability to reason, and his understanding of abstract concepts leads to a sense of regularity. That is, the impression the demon lord gives is much closer to that of a regular person than that of one of his kin. It is impossible for one who has encountered him on happenstance to deduce his identity without the ability to analyze the quality of his magical aura. The only hint he actively presents is his belief in the freedom of liberty. But while this can certainly be interpreted as a sign of his nature as a demon lord, it is by no means logically sound, for freedom is a desire shared by many more than the select few who wish to indulge in depravity.

    Given the other facets of his intelligence, it should come as no surprise that the demon lord’s expertise extends into the realm of warfare. He is not only capable of setting deadly traps that work against natural affordances, but also forging alliances. He has both contact and secret dealings with multiple
    foreign sovereigns. These, however, are neither his most interesting allies, nor his most powerful. Understanding the demon lord’s influence involves looking not outside his labyrinth, but rather at the individuals that reside within it. Three quarters of the labyrinth’s sixteen residents are capable of engaging in combat and warding off invaders. The most powerful individual is naturally the Supreme Dragon. This paper will not elaborate on her in any further detail. She is an interesting topic, but is deserving of no less than a report of her own.

    The headcount is, in and of itself, a surprise. Demon lords are known to value quantity over quality. Their will is often instated through a horde of cheap, disposable pawns. While this approach does generally appear to function, it is by no means anywhere as viable within the Wicked Forest’s boundaries. Summoning more powerful familiars, and thereby eliminating losses entirely, is a much more efficient strategy than the opposite. The demon lord’s army consists of a slime, a fenrir, three wraiths, a dark crow, a giant blood serpent, a water spirit, and a demonic cat. Of the nine, eight have seen combat. Only the slime is incapable of it, but she remains the most interesting case study nonetheless. She began life as would any other slime, but upon evolving, she shed the circular frame shared by the other members of her species and took the form of a young girl. The change in her figure is one that would shock any studied slimologist, but it remains only second to her acquisition of the ability to speak the common tongue. Her metamorphosis perfectly illustrates the reason for which evolution was defined, and little is known of the process or its inner workings. Like the Supreme Dragon, the slime is a topic deserving of a study of her own and will be explored in greater detail in another paper to follow, as further investigation is still required at this point in time.

    Discussing topics of interest naturally leads to an examination of the demon lord’s fenrir, his second most powerful ally. Like the Supreme Dragon, the fenrir is a legendary creature with few documented sightings. It is capable of using deadly lightning magic and moving at speeds imperceptible even by the trained eye. Like the demon lord, it is capable of culling the Wicked Forest’s creatures with no visible degree of difficulty. Yuki claims that, unlike the rest of his monsters, most of which are either considered immensely powerful or entirely undocumented, the fenrir was one that was acquired through sheer coincidence. While there is little reason for him to lie about the legendary beast’s origins, they can and should be disputed as there is no evidence to support the statement, and it simply does not stand to reason that one could possibly acquire a familiar as absurd as a fenrir through the power of sheer happenstance. Whatever the case, the contribution the Fenrir makes to Yuki’s forces is undeniable.

    In conclusion, the Wicked Forest’s demon lord is capable of tearing through the most powerful of monsters, creating efficient and elegant strategies, and forging meaningful alliances. He is an exception amongst exceptions. Judging him with the standards established through the study of other demon lords and thereby marking him as a target to be preyed upon is a fatal mistake to be avoided at all costs.

    5 Closing Remarks
    My study on the Wicked Forest’s demon lord is still far from complete. As with many other interim reports, the speculations and conclusions made in this paper are not to be relied on without reservation. As a member of the sheep-horned clan, I am naturally curious. My inclination to explore the world, see it with my own eyes, and learn all I can continues to wrench at my heart and urge me to move on. But I will not. There is still much to learn here. I plan to remain the demon lord’s housemaid so long as he continues to find my presence tolerable, for I know that I will never tire of this labyrinth or the many interesting subjects it contains. I am convinced that remaining will provide me with much greater fulfillment than abiding by my wanderlust. That is the extent to which I find myself captivated by him. Both as a subject, and as an individual. He has come to make up much of the world I wish to know. I suspect that neither this paper, nor any I write in the future, is likely to ever be read by another as a result of my decision. Still, my mind remains set. I will continue to observe My Lord, his labyrinth, and its residents so long as I remain capable.

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    1. Sorry, but it was doomed to become “typical harem trash” (with a heavy loli element) the moment that he tamed Lefi with a chocolate bar and let her move into his dungeon (which had exactly one room at the time). Read chapter 5 again and explain to me how you didn’t see “protagonist has extraordinary and inexplicable power to attract lolis (‘legal’ or not)” being a major plot element.

      It WAS “typical harem trash” once Lefi let him offer Illuna his blood.

      And it was archtypical isekai trash the moment he turned out to have a status page, which was in like the first chapter. Which is to say that, while it wasn’t absolutely *DOOMED* to be harem trash, it was certainly heavily leaning in that direction (exactly why bother saying something like “I was just another guy. I wasn’t especially handsome nor particularly ugly” other than because this is going the harem route?).

      Sure, it could just possibly have gone the direction where he’s nominally in relationships with a bunch of lolis but isn’t going to have sex with any of them till they get older (spoiler alert, he still hasn’t actually had sex with any of them yet, so in point of fact that’s the direction we’ve actually taken). That wouldn’t make it anything other than typical harem trash (actual sex is still atypical of harem trash).

      I don’t mind an isekai not involving a harem as long as there is a clear reason it would be a bad idea in the context of the story. But there are basically two major reasons to make something an isekai, so you can kill bad guys and have love relationships that would be impossible in our world. For a female MC, the killing of bad guys is usually delegated to the love interest, and the impossibility of the relationship is usually that the guy is a vastly wealthy and powerful noble or royal. For a male MC, he gets to do more of the killing personally and it’s a harem instead.

      I don’t mind the fact that gold-digger trash is at least as prevalent for female MC’s as harem trash is with male MCs. I’m mostly in it for the parts where they kill bad guys.

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  48. I dislike that report format. I dislike every report format in general. It reminds me of my useless props of a team where I was only the one carrying them up to the defense. I really want to stab those guys whenever I think of them. Damn it.

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