“That’s…”
Yurian, who was standing hesitantly, glanced back at the other children, then squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“Please stop bothering Shekina!”
Even as he spoke, his body trembled. He couldn’t help it. After all, in front of him was none other than the Demon King, the one who held their lives in his hands.
He thought it wouldn’t be strange if he lost his head after saying these words. But despite that, he had come to see Lucart, for Shekina’s sake.
Yurian recalled what Nisha had said.
– The Demon King seems to be threatening Shekina.
– Shekina mentioned that? That he threatened to kill her?
– And yet, she’s still sticking by his side… Shekina is something else. Why is she sacrificing herself like this?
To hear that Shekina had been threatened… The Demon King’s words carried much more weight than the threats from some second-rate demons.
If it were him, he would have been so scared that he would have trembled uncontrollably. He would have fallen to his knees in tears, swearing his allegiance to the Demon King once again.
But despite hearing such ruthless words, Shekina… was no different. According to Nisha, she had brushed it off as if it were nothing.
‘She must be sacrificing herself for us.’
The youngest, Shekina, was enduring so much, so how could they just stand by and do nothing?
And that’s why they had come to see Lucart. They wanted to protect Shekina too.
“Y-yes! Don’t treat Shekina like that!”
Didi, hiding behind Yurian, shouted.
“Shekina is pitiful!”
“Just do it to us instead!”
“No, wait! That’s too scary!”
“Didi! How can you back out after coming all this way?!”
Lucart silently watched the children bickering.
Although they were snapping at each other, they kept glancing at Lucart, as if to show they weren’t going to back down easily.
Lucart was struck by how much these little ones had grown.
In the past, just encountering him would freeze them like mice before a cat, or they would run with their tails between their legs.
But now, they were boldly standing their ground, ready to hang a bell on the cat’s neck.
How amusing.
“Hahaha!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lucart burst out laughing, and the children, who suddenly faced the Demon King’s laughter, could only gape.
…What? Why is he laughing?
What’s going on…?
***
Calvin, hiding in the shadows and watching Lucart and the children, thought the same thing.
What’s going on…?
No, no! How could I dare to think such disrespectful thoughts about the Demon King! Bad Calvin! Naughty Calvin!
After slapping himself a few times, Calvin quickly composed himself and resumed watching Lucart and the children.
Thanks to Lucart’ laughter, the previously tense atmosphere in the room had somewhat eased.
“You kids seem to misunderstand something.”
Lucart said with a smile still on his face.
“I care quite a bit about Shekina.”
“What… did he just say?”
Calvin, unable to hold back, accidentally let out his thoughts and immediately covered his mouth.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Standing in the shadows, Calvin scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed.
“No, I just… the Demon King was saying something strange…”
“I told you not to hide without my permission.”
“Should I leave?”
“Get out.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Calvin, who had been scolded, quickly bowed and left the room.
Of course, even as he left, he winked at the startled children who were terrified of his sudden appearance.
In any case, after leaving the room, Calvin didn’t walk away but instead pressed his ear to the door again.
He was curious about what would follow after Lucart said he cared about Shekina.
But the words he heard were:
“I said, get out.”
It was Lucart’ chilling voice.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll be going now.”
Calvin, who valued his life, immediately removed his ear from the door and smacked his lips before walking down the corridor.
And as he walked, he thought.
The Demon King cares about Shekina?
Then…
Does that mean he won’t kill the homunculus?
***
“Ah! That was such a good sleep!”
Shekina, who had finally had a proper rest after a long time, stretched her stiff neck and smiled brightly.
Despite everything, this place must feel like home. Even though the accommodations in the capital were luxurious, she hadn’t slept nearly as well there as she did here.
“Or maybe it’s because I ate too well yesterday.”
Shekina recalled the human chef who had been in tears, saying he had finally met someone who appreciated his true worth. Now that she thought about it, the food was delicious, but a bit salty. Maybe those were tears mixed in…
“Well, whatever. I’ve got work to do now.”
Shekina had made a decision while eating dinner the night before.
She had resolved to help the demons who were living their lives without truly tasting such delicious food.
‘Especially Arthur.’
Arthur was the most pitiful. Our dear Arthur.
I’ll give Arthur the power of the demon realm’s magic first.
And after that?
‘I’ll use them.’
She still didn’t know what the elders were plotting, but there were endless possibilities for what could be done with the power of the demon realm’s magic.
So first, she needed to find the Black Spinel.
‘The mermaid’s palace is where I need to go.’
She already knew how to get there, so as long as she used it well, it would certainly be advantageous.
“Alright then, let’s head out.”
Shekina grinned and stood up. She needed to meet with the First Elder to discuss the spatial teleportation magic circle. She also planned to dig into the elders’ schemes.
After quickly washing up and getting ready, just as she was about to leave the room…
“Ladyyyyy Shekinaaaa!”
A familiar voice rang out.
Shekina already knew who the voice belonged to.
It was…
“Sebastian?”
It was Sebastian, the demon who had first noticed traces of black magic on her.
But the Sebastian running toward her now looked quite different from before.
Previously, he had been relatively clean and well-maintained, but now…
“What the… Why do you look like a beggar?”
He looked like someone who hadn’t even been able to get a decent meal. His hair was a mess, his shirt buttons were torn, his cheeks were sunken, and his dark circles extended down to his eyes.
What the heck happened while I was away in the capital?
Shekina stared wide-eyed as Sebastian approached her.
“Hey, what’s with your appearance—”
“Please, save me!”
Sebastian dropped to his knees, clutching Shekina.
“T-the assistant keeps taking me and making me do strange things! I really feel like I’m going to die! I’m seriously going to die!”
It didn’t seem like an exaggeration, as Sebastian was trembling in terror. Shekina narrowed her eyes.
“What kind of strange things is he making you do?”
“It’s about black magic!”
Sebastian answered urgently.
“How he figured out that I know about it, I don’t know… But that’s not the point. Please, save me. Please, just tell him to stop. Please?”
Hmm…
It seemed that Lyat had figured out something about Sebastian.
Since black magic was closely tied to Lucifer, it was only natural that Lyat would try to uncover its secrets, and he seemed to be using Sebastian for his experiments.
What should I do?
While Shekina was deep in thought, suddenly a flash of light appeared, and Lyat materialized before her.
“So this is where you were.”
“Eek!”
Sebastian clung even tighter to Shekina in fear. Seeing this, Lyat’s expression hardened.
“Ah, Shekina, you’re awake?”
But his words to Shekina were still kind.
Shekina nodded slightly.
“Yes. But what’s going on, Uncle?”
After thinking for a moment, Lyat responded with a nonchalant expression.
“I’m just playing a fun game.”
“A game?”
“Yes. Hmm… You could call it a game of tag. This guy lied and wandered around outside the castle, using black magic, so now that we’ve caught him, it’s my turn to be ‘it,’ don’t you think?”
As expected, Lyat had figured out all of Sebastian’s shady dealings.
“So this time, I get to do as I please, right?”
Lyat’s eyes glinted with madness. Realizing this, Sebastian clung to Shekina even tighter.
“Lady Shekina! I-I’m seriously going to die! Please, save me!”
Shekina looked down at Sebastian, who was clinging to her as if she were his last hope, and thought for a moment.
“Hmm.”
She didn’t think Sebastian was entirely undeserving of pity.
But at the same time, he had disobeyed the Demon King’s orders by sneaking outside the castle and had even dabbled in black magic. Both were serious enough offenses that he wouldn’t be wrongfully punished if he died right now.
Nothing is scarier than death.
So Shekina smiled brightly and placed her hand on Sebastian’s shoulder.
“You won’t die.”
“…What?”
“Let me know once it’s done! I’ll be there to help!”
Shekina clenched both her fists and shouted cheerfully.
“Fighting! Go go!”
“……..”
Sebastian’s mouth fell open, and after a moment, he muttered helplessly.
“They’re all crazy… Everyone’s lost their minds…”
Well, was there ever a sane demon in the first place?
Sebastian was pointing out something that was already painfully obvious.
