Chapter 106
Chapter 106: Family Interaction
――The next day.
I woke up in the evening as usual.
For my first meal of the day, I kept it light in preparation for dinner. One mustn’t approach a feast without a proper appetite—it’s simply rude to the chef…!
Normally, I’d be immersed in reading or studying at this time, but I had a thought upon waking that I wanted to test out in private.
“Wuh?”
Liliana tilted her head at me as I infused the sofa with dark magic. Officially, it was just our cutesy time together.
…Recently, I’ve heard that some have taken to calling me “The Reincarnation of Diagias,” “The Overachiever Prince,” or even “The Inter-Species Collector.” I pretended to laugh it off, saying, “Gahahaha, let ’em say what they want!” But deep down, I was kind of hurt.
“’It’s true, so there’s no point denying it,’ huh?”
That’s right… it’s regrettably accurate…
Well, honestly, I shouldn’t care about my reputation in the Demon Lord Kingdom.
That aside, dark magic.
What I thought of was a way to use holy attributes without harming myself. I wanted to apply the incantations I learned from Enma in my necromancy course.
“Oh ho, interesting,” said Antende.
“What are you planning to do?” he asked.
Using the spell I learned recently, where I coat myself with dark magic, which high-level undead like Enma use to protect their souls with a kind of barrier.
The key feature of this spell is that it doesn’t dispel or deflect curses like a ward; instead, it acts like a robust wall.
According to Enma, it can also be used as a ‘shell’ while diving into the spirit realm to withstand the pressure of the world. Compared to protective incantations, it lacks physical strength but exhibits solid defense against curses and concepts, which is why Enma layers it on daily.
…In battle, it seems she generates new layers of magic continuously to metabolize the ‘shell’ and can adequately protect her soul from severe curses.
Bad news: the difficulty of defeating Enma is quite high.
Well, putting that aside, this magic probably could work for me too.
It seems to have been underappreciated due to its operation being limited to dark attributes, its incompatibility with other attributes, and frankly, for the living, a basic charm would suffice.
As for holy attributes, according to Antende, they are not strictly an ‘attribute’ governed by elements, but rather a curse created by the human race.
If that’s the case, is it technically attribute-less?
“In theory, yes.”
Then it should be compatible with the defensive shell spell. If I can cover myself in a dark shell and deploy holy attributes only on its surface, perhaps I could avoid any adverse effects myself…?
—Well, maintaining a shell while casting another spell is going to be incredibly difficult, though!
I could imagine Enma with a smug look, saying, “I also struggled quite a bit.”
“Well, there’s no harm in trying.”
“Woof!”
Right now, even if I fail, I could recover. Here we go!
…So I tried it out.
It was incredibly difficult.
Indeed, when I deployed holy attributes over the coating, I was unharmed.
However, I discovered that if I relaxed my concentration even slightly, the holy attributes would mix with the dark layer I had coated myself with.
Before I knew it, I was completely wrapped in holy attributes and burning up. It was like pouring oil on my head and then lighting a fire. If Liliana hadn’t been there, I’d have been toast…
“Grrr…”
Liliana dashed over, looking like she was about to cry, and began to lick me to heal my wounds.
“It’s good to be able to endure pain now…”
It felt like being stabbed by thousands of searing needles all over my body.
I probably would have fainted in the past.
“Will this even be useful…?”
Maybe with practice.
To start, separating into multiple layers and maintaining them is tough.
Constantly generating new protective shells requires significant skill and concentration… Doing this in battle? Enma must have monstrous control.
…I continued practicing, but it seems my limit right now is maintaining a two-layered shell.
However, I felt some progress and considerable potential.
If I could deploy layers of shell → holy attributes → shell, maybe I could hide the silver light and utilize holy attributes without anyone noticing.
If I could metabolize the shell like Enma does, I might even be able to wield the awakened holy sword Adamas without issue…?
†††
Time was up, so I wrapped up my playtime with Liliana and headed to the palace.
—As planned, the green guy had returned.
“Yo, bro! I’ve become a Marquis!”
He boasted with a smug expression right off the bat. When I praised him, saying, “Wow, that’s amazing, congratulations!”, he somehow looked even more displeased.
Maybe I was a bit too curt? So I tried again, “Whoa, it’s so awesome that you’re a Marquis at such a young age, I totally respect that!” but he only got grumpier. I don’t get it.
During dinner, he rambled on about his exploits at the front lines.
I’d rather skip the details on that. It was just too unpleasant. Honestly, I just wanted to savor the meal and stuff my face, but even my appetite had a hard time tuning out his whole monologue.
…He apparently took down several Sword Saints and Heroes. What a jerk…
By the way, how is this not a “political topic”? Let’s kick him out!
But both Aiogias and Rubyphia seemed oddly entertained by his stories. They laughed out loud at the part where he returned a captured hero.
Hahaha. Someday, you guys will end up in the same predicament.
Diagias looked uninterested, while the Food Fighter was focused on shoveling food down—something I definitely wanted to learn from—and Sleeping Beauty was still half-asleep.
These folks might be bearable. It’s a relative assessment though.
Speaking of the Demon Lord.
He’s quite big but surprisingly has a small appetite and really eats slowly.
“Mmm… this is delicious.”
He meticulously carved the roast lamb chop and savored each bite, taking his time. He was the slowest eater among us.
He must really enjoy savoring his food… Food Fighter might want to take notes.
After finishing a dessert of subtly sweet pudding topped with light whipped cream, the meal wrapped up with a more relaxed atmosphere than usual, at least for everyone except me.
“Is there anyone else with business?”
In response to the Demon Lord’s final inquiry, everyone fell silent.
“Alright. Then, we dismiss.”
—Usually, Diagias would dash out right away, but—
“…?!”
All of us were in shock.
On this particular day, Diagias leisurely sipped his tea after the meal, taking his time.
“…What is it?”
With all eyes on him, Diagias frowned.
“Uh… Is it okay if I ask about the women?” Aiogias inquired on behalf of everyone.
“Not really. Days like this happen.”
“O-oh, I see…”
“Isn’t it the first time since the beginning…?”
Rubyphia exchanged glances with the Demon Lord.
“Well, whatever, I’m taking my leave.”
Aiogias stood up. Rubyphia looked intrigued but ended up carrying Sleeping Beauty out.
“…Do you need something from me?”
The Demon Lord asked if he had something private to discuss, but—
“No.”
Diagias shook his head and suddenly looked at me.
“I have a personal matter to discuss with Zilbagias.”
…Huh, me!?
“Let’s talk, Zilbagias.”
Why me!?
I’m a guy!
