After finishing the conversation with Shekina, Nisha finally let out the breath she had been holding and grimaced.
“Is the Demon King insane?”
She uttered words that would have caused a stir if other demons had heard them.
However, as if this was not the first time, Nisha continued speaking in a calm voice.
“What does he have to hate to say something like that? That crazy bastard, seriously.”
Nisha was not in a good mood.
And it was understandable.
– If I tell the boss, he will start questioning everything again. How did I know? Can he trust me? Wouldn’t it be better for me to just die now?
She had just heard these kinds of words.
No matter how suspicious Shekina’s actions seemed, all of them had ultimately been beneficial to the demon race. So, Nisha decided to overlook this ‘information about the Pope’ as well. After all, it would be helpful to us, no doubt about it.
And even if it did harm the demons, so what?
Those demons only want to get rid of us anyway.
So…
“It’ annoying.”
She was feeling very irritated.
It didn’t feel right to just sit idly.
“I need to do something.”
Nisha’s eyes glinted.
***
Shekina, now left alone in the room again, organized her thoughts.
For some reason, Lucifer was trying to change bodies.
To do that, he was conducting experiments with children.
Then, he discovered that a child with golden hair and blue eyes was suitable.
If things continue as they are, Lucifer will take over Dehan’s body.
But this had to be stopped, so she asked Nisha for help.
‘Rumors.’
No matter how powerful Lucifer was, he was still living among humans. Without his full strength, he had to be cautious of the humans and rule from within their society. That’s why he was hiding behind the facade of the Pope and causing such chaos.
‘If rumors spread, I can isolate him further.’
If it got out that the central temple had been blown up, and children were being kidnapped for experiments, public sentiment would plummet. He would find it even harder to move than before.
So Nisha helping was a great relief. It was fortunate.
“Though I’ll have to offer something in return…”
But as long as the results were good, that was all that mattered.
With that thought, Shekina mentally prepared the gift she would give to Nisha as she stood up.
It was time to have dinner with Lyat and Martin.
“I’m just too popular.”
Shekina smirked and walked toward the door.
As soon as she opened it, she saw two massive legs.
“…Martin?”
It was indeed Martin.
“Baby!”
Martin, with a noticeably cheerful expression, reached out to Shekina. Caught off guard, Shekina was pulled onto Martin’s neck, hanging on like a child.
“Huh?”
Suddenly riding on Martin’s shoulders, Shekina tilted her head and looked down at him.
“What is this? I never asked for this.”
“The humans said babies would like this.”
“Oh… did you go to the village?”
“Yes.”
It was surprising.
Martin usually kept his distance from humans.
So why did he suddenly go to the village?
“Calvin said the baby and the twin babies learned a lot from humans. I didn’t understand, but I thought I should learn as well.”
Is that why?
Shekina couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Did you learn anything, at least?”
“Hmm…”
Martin didn’t take long to ponder before answering.
“Demons and humans are different.”
“How are they different?”
“In many ways…”
He trailed off, but then suddenly exclaimed as if he had just remembered something.
“The biggest difference is… that they spoke.”
“Huh?”
Humans talk, demons talk, even divine beings and other strange creatures talk, so what does he mean?
As Shekina’s eyes narrowed, an unexpected response came.
“I mean they say things like, ‘I miss you.'”
“…….”
Oh… is that so?
I’ve never met any humans who’ve said that to me.
Without realizing it, Shekina tightened her grip on Martin’s hair, but Martin simply spoke in a soft voice.
“Baby, you’re here now.”
With a broad smile, Martin reached out and patted Shekina on the back.
“You don’t need to worry about anything anymore.”
“……. ”
Though she didn’t quite understand why, Shekina felt a strange sensation welling up inside.
For the first time in her life, she was experiencing this emotion… Shekina felt a mild sense of nausea.
The world seemed to spin, and her heart raced.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew that this feeling was joy, and the sense of security she felt came from being valued by someone who cared about him.
It felt good.
“Thanks, Martin.”
***
When they arrived at the dining hall, they were greeted by Lyat’s scolding.
“What were you doing to arrive just now? Crawling here? Hey, Martin! I told you to hurry!”
Lyat’s fiery temperament was just as Shekina remembered before leaving the capital.
Shekina knew exactly how to handle Lyat.
Putting on a cute expression, Shekina playfully whined.
“Uncle, why are you so angry? I came quickly because I missed you.”
“…Is that true?”
At that moment, Lyat’s face softened like pudding.
“You hurried here just for me, and I was rushing you for no reason. I’m sorry. Here, sit down. I’ve already ordered the chef to prepare something delicious.”
Oh.
It seems the human chef Lyat hired hasn’t been fired yet.
“You didn’t fire the human chef?”
“No. The 1st Legions likes him so much. Honestly, they’re not even real demons.”
The 1st Legions… the demons who would wag their tails at me, those guys.
Come to think of it, they are still around.
I should visit them sometime.
Just as Shekina was thinking this and sitting down, Lyat’s sharp voice broke through.
“Don’t even think about going to meet those guys. I already sent them to the mountains after hearing you were coming.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Why do you think? If they stayed here, they’d be clinging to you, being annoying… or causing trouble.”
It seemed like Lyat was hiding something, but maybe that was just Shekina’s imagination.
“Well, I’ll see them later anyway.”
Shekina shrugged and picked up the fork and knife.
“Let’s eat.”
Watching Shekina heartily eat both the meat and salad, Lyat and Martin smiled warmly.
“So, how was the capital?”
Swallowing the steak left in his mouth, Shekina replied.
“It wasn’t bad.”
“I heard all kinds of things happened there?”
That’s true.
A lot did happen.
But in the end, it all worked out!
“Yeah… that’s true, but it’s fine.”
With that, Lyat and Martin exchanged knowing glances.
This time, Shekina already had some information secretly passed on by Arthur.
It was the news that Lucart was keeping a close watch on Shekina.
“So, how have you been getting along with the Demon King?”
Shekina didn’t know their internal dynamics, so she simply answered without much thought.
“You’d have to ask the boss about that. I don’t think I’m the right one to answer.”
In fact, Shekina believed that Lucart suspicions and questions were valid… but saying so might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so she passed the responsibility over to Lucart.
Yet, it seemed this had caused a misunderstanding anyway.
“Did the Demon King mistreat you?”
“That sounds about right.”
“Wha… What?! How could he do that to a child?!”
Lyat and Martin were furious.
Startled, Shekina quickly put down her utensils and waved her hands.
“No, no! It wasn’t that bad!”
“So you did get mistreated! I never thought the Demon King would…!”
“I’m going to see him right now. I’ll settle this.”
“Yes! Go! Turn everything upside down!”
“No, stop! What are you doing? Calm down!”
Just as Shekina was panicking and trying to calm them down, the door to the dining hall suddenly slammed open with a bang.
And a familiar figure walked into the room.
“…Boss?”
It was none other than Lucart.
“I’m curious to know what you were discussing.”
He gazed at Lyat and Martin with an amused look in his eyes.
“What exactly were you planning to confront me about?”
Lyat and Martin, who had been so animated just moments ago, immediately clammed up.
Were they scared of Lucart?
No.
They simply didn’t want to show any disrespect in front of young Shekina. It was the last bit of rationality holding them back.
“So… what brings you here?”
“If it’s nothing important, you should leave.”
They ground their teeth as they spoke.
But Lucart didn’t back down. Instead of looking at Lyat and Martin, he fixed his gaze on Shekina and spoke.
“Do you know why I’ve come all the way to this annex’s dining hall?”
“Uh?”
“I came to have dinner with Shekina.”
“…What?”
“Is that a problem?”
Since Lucart was addressing her directly, Shekina had no choice but to respond.
“Uh… well….”
It was the first home-cooked meal she had had in a while.
And she was with Lyat and Martin, whom she hadn’t seen in some time.
After hearing those warm words earlier, Shekina’s fondness for them had grown considerably.
So she wanted to enjoy this time and conversation a little longer.
“Will you leave if I say no?”
So Shekina cautiously spoke.
“I think I might lose my appetite if you stay.”
At those words, Lucart’ face contorted with frustration, while Lyat and Martin burst into wide grins.
