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After informing them about the Holy Sword and Spirit Device, I left the cleanup to others and rummaged through the sorceress’s house, trying to find traces of something.

The question that puzzled me was one.

“Why shatter the crystal ball?”

Why did the sorceress who studied the Narag Poison Bug break the means to contact Odrone’s leader, Ligret, ‘herself’?

Was she too startled?

No.

A contact crystal ball isn’t something fragile like glass.

It’s much closer to solid iron.

Swinging a morning star used in the temple at someone’s head wouldn’t break the morning star; it would break the person’s head, and similarly, the crystal ball is sturdy.

This was done intentionally.

It’s based on the traces of shattering, the strength of the crystal, and the clues left in the sorceress’s home that I tracked.

And…

“……h.”

I found it.

“It was Asydia.”

The traces of Asydia, who follows the Demon King’s Army.

The remnants of magical energy I felt while dealing with Shax and Malpass began to resonate beneath the sorceress’s house.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but after merging with the Holy Water Sword, I could definitely feel it.

“Water veins are flowing.”

I sensed the stream of water flowing beneath the sorceress’s house, and through the underground water veins, I could detect the magical remnants of the Asydia Demon King’s army.

It didn’t seem like they were sprinkling poison through the water veins or anything; rather, it was just that mana was flowing into some “path” that extended from the water veins.

Did this appear merely by coincidence beneath the sorceress’s house?

No.

This was made intentionally.

They either secretly dug the ground at night or used some other method to create a path.

This kind of “escaping through underground channels” was a typical escape route and infiltration method used by the Demon King’s Army.

It could be a wild guess.

But the picture forming in my mind was one I couldn’t easily erase.

The goblin that controlled the giant golem had sent out the Narag Poison Bugs on a large scale; at that point, the sorceress must have been trying to stir from within.

There was a variable in the form of the barrier, but didn’t the sorceress have a backup plan and infect them one by one from the inside?

“Did I think too much in my own style?”

If it were me, I would have done it this way when I captured the town with the Narag Poison Bug.

Thinking from that perspective, it felt like I was too attentive to assigning meaning to things that had no particular significance.

Perhaps if I hadn’t ridden on Celcius, I wouldn’t have had to be so concerned, but having sensed the mana of Asydia flowing beneath the sorceress’s house, I could no longer pretend not to see it.

The sorceress is Asydia.

Even if not, I’ll think that way and deal with it.

“I’m going crazy.”

“Why is that?”

“Huh? Lucius, can you stay here?”

“Yes.”

Lucius approached with a lamp, making his way down.

“It’s dark. You shouldn’t strain your eyes.”

“Undead or what? Didn’t people say they were looking for you?”

“It was more Lady Liriez who had it tough.”

“Well, of course. She’s the Hero. What I mean is—”

“I reached an agreement with Lord Rapid. My situation must remain a secret.”

“Um….”

That was unexpected; he had more loyalty than I thought.

“I suppose that means keeping it a secret from the villagers, right?”

“Yes. I must absolutely inform my lord, Count Odrone.”

“That’s going to complicate things. An invitation might come, trying to tie you and Droniel together.”

“She’s my daughter?”

“But you’re the Hero. Droniel doesn’t totally dislike you either.”

“…….”

Lucius’s expression seemed complicated.

“Is it that you dislike being recognized by Count Odrone?”

“A little. I’m not in a position to take responsibility for someone yet, and if it happens, it will seem like I have to take responsibility for Droniel.”

“Um….”

Just as expected, Lucius was responsible but seemed a bit prideful about this side of things.

“Want me to talk to him for you?”

“No, that’s a bit…”

“Then you’ll have to say it directly.”

I extended my fist towards Lucius’s chest.

“Just because Count Odrone is Droniel’s father, so what? You’re a Hero. The wielder of the Holy Sword that defeated the Demon King, the Holy Wind Sword. You can stand tall even before the Emperor of the Empire; what does it matter? Honestly, it’s not like you’ve been taken by someone else’s charm anyway.”

Tap, tap.

I knocked on Lucius’s solar plexus.

“Your feelings are yours, right? No one can force you. If you like someone, there’s no reason to like the person who likes you.”

“…….”

“If someone rushes at you because they like you, do you have to like them back? The same goes for Count Odrone; you can just speak honestly. What’s the reason you dislike Droniel?”

“……I don’t dislike her. I think of her as a close friend. But.”

Lucius shook his head firmly.

“She’s quite possessive.”

“…Possessive?”

“Yes. She didn’t like it when I talked to other girls in the town, and she even questioned why I was talking to married women.”

“Definitely not your average girl.”

What an impressive girl.

“I don’t like girls who are possessive. How about you, Master?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. Master must have an ideal type too. Something you dislike.”

“Um… I also dislike possessiveness a bit.”

Putting aside matters of romance personal, I simply didn’t like possessiveness.

—Ahhh! Demon Lord! I shall make you my slave! For the Demon Lord!!

…To be precise, I grew to dislike possessive people because of some crazy someone.

“But isn’t it fun if the possessiveness isn’t too extreme? Someone caring so much for me; it’s quite enjoyable.”

“Yes?”

“Having someone show this much interest in me, having someone worry about me is significantly amusing. Even though they’re a complete stranger, they care for and love someone like they were their own. That’s how I felt.”

“……”

Lucius stood silently, his face stunned.

“Have you ever been possessive about someone, Master?”

“…You misunderstood? I was the one being possessed, not the one doing the possessing. Ah, there was one thing I was possessive about.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah. The Demon Lord Belphegor.”

Me, myself.

“Well, aside from that, just think comfortably. If you accept Droniel as a companion, that’s what you should do, and if Count Odrone wants to meet, you can just go and say what you have to say. If you go to another kingdom, you could easily claim a title like Count, you know? You have nothing to be ashamed of, so straighten your back and puff out your chest. Got it?”

“Understood, Master.”

Lucius seemed to regain a bit of confidence.

“So when can I escape?”

“What?”

“You know what I mean.”

“…Huh, geez.”

At times like this, acting like a child really is quite manly.

Well, if you’re a man, it’s natural to be bewildered when facing such large doll-like weapons.

Especially since Lucius, like Liriez, is a Hero.

He’ll probably lose sleep tonight, pondering that one day he too could handle a Spirit Device like Celcius.

“You can’t ride.”

“What?!”

“I mean, not now. You think you can control a Spirit Device with that little power? No way, no way. You’d last about 3 seconds before running out of mana.”

“……I’m not that bad.”

Lucius’s voice quickly turned sour.

“Of course you are. You’re exactly in that state now. If you summon the Spirit Device, you’ll probably be done in 3 seconds as soon as you get on it.”

“I can’t say if I’ll be done in 3 seconds or if it will last over 30 minutes or even all night.”

“Of course, I know. A Spirit Device runs on the user’s mana.”

Lucius flinched and bit his lip.

“Are you saying you can pilot the Spirit Device with your mana right now? Impossible. Do you think piloting a Spirit Device is easy? Even for an outstanding Hero, controlling it is an entirely different game from the usual way.”

“But Liriez handled it well, didn’t she?”

“Liriez sent her mana; I did the piloting. She was riding on top of me.”

“What?”

Lucius’s eyes trembled for a moment.

“I said I did all the piloting of Celcius myself. The cockpit is a single seat, you know? Um… sit here.”

I plopped Lucius down in a chair.

And then.

“Rosmas, are you up there?”

“Y-yes?!”

“Come down. This is the perfect timing.”

I called Rosmas, and she hurried down, looking a bit apprehensive.

“Uh, um….”

“Wanna try sitting on Lucius for a bit? All the way to the inner thigh.”

“……..”

Rosmas hesitated for a moment before directly sitting on top of Lucius.

Actually, it was Rosmas who seemed more embarrassed than Lucius, and I reached out to guide Rosmas to mimic the position I took in the cockpit.

The pose of lying like a cat on Lucius’s thigh.

Hmm, perfectly identical.

“This is….”

“That’s how I piloted in that difficult position. Understand?”

It was a technique like defeating a knight with just a toe.

I was thoroughly satisfied, but Lucius seemed to have a hard time understanding it.

Well.

For now.

“I’ve piloted a Spirit Device a few times, you know? Hehe.”

“…You were a Hero?!”

“No, I was just piloting.”

500 years ago.

When I carved the huge statue in front of the Demon King’s Castle, I used a Spirit Device to do that.

It was great since it was massive.

I could slice through it broadly.

“Ah, that’s an idea. You two, just maintain that pose for now.”

“Yes?! What does that mean?!”

“It’s a story for when we have Spirit Devices later. Once you both climb on, Rosmas just needs to stick right to Lucius.”

Specifically.

“Rosmas. You’ll need to become Lucius’s mana reserve.”

“I will! For Lucius!”

Just like that.

Once I made them stick together, Rosmas seemed about to burst with joy too.

What?

Me and Liriez?

“Well, as long as it’s two women, what’s the problem?”

Liriez turned out to be a surprisingly decent and safe person.

If I were a man, I might have gone all out with her from dinner to the next morning…

“Eh, forget about it.”

It’s not like I’m dating a Hero.

A Hero is…

“Too possessive.”

Rather than dating a Hero, I’d choose to live a single life forever.

Yeah.

I’m the Demon Lord, so why would I date a Hero?

“…I miss her.”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some old memories.”

If that guy were still here.

“Practice that pose well. If a dangerous situation occurs later… I could very well climb on you then.”

“Master.”

Lucius was serious.

“How long do I need to practice?”

“3 second collapse?”

“I can do it all day.”

That kid.

He really can’t resist giant puppet controls.

Rosmas was about to burst with joy.

 

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