The twins, Pardes and Merdes, were diligently training as usual.
Pardes was memorizing alchemy-related books word for word, while Merdes was swinging his sword.
Pardes had improved significantly and could now create much more advanced alchemy circles, while Merdes had developed to the point where he could move alongside the first legion of demons.
Some demons still made remarks about them being mixed with humans, but since there was Shekina, who had stirred up resonance within the Demon King’s Castle, no one dared to voice their dissatisfaction outright.
“Huff… Huff…”
After a vigorous sword practice, Merdes gasped for breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Ah, I’m dying. I can’t do any more today.”
He plopped down next to Pardes, who was sitting on a bench.
“How about you, big bro?”
“I’m still going. And stop calling me big bro—it makes me sound like a little kid.”
“But you are still a kid.”
“I am not.”
Merdes chuckled softly as he looked at Pardes. Then, he glanced at Pardes’ book and noticed that he was still on the same page as before. It seemed that even Pardes was struggling to concentrate on his studies.
So, Merdes leaned toward Pardes playfully and suggested,
“Want to go to town later?”
“…Right now?”
“I said later, but if you want to go now, I’m fine with that too.”
“Well, if you really want to go… fine.”
Pardes’ eyes sparkled behind his glasses. Seeing this, Merdes laughed.
“So you didn’t want to study either, huh?”
“No, that’s not it! I was just thinking of keeping you company.”
“Sure, sure. Got it.”
Merdes chuckled but suddenly paused and looked up.
“Should we call Yurian too?”
Whoooosh!
A sudden gust of wind engulfed them.
As the dust settled, a voice rang out.
“Yurian is here?! Who mentioned Yurian?!”
Of course, it was Didi.
The twins exchanged glances and clicked their tongues. Didi was as obsessive as ever.
“You’re still like this, huh, sis?”
“Yeah. Haven’t changed a bit.”
Didi’s expression soured upon realizing Yurian wasn’t actually there.
“That sounded like an insult. You wanna die?”
“Oh? You can tell insults apart now? Our sis is all grown up.”
“So true. You’re all grown up now.”
“Hey!”
Didi, who had been grinning smugly, looked around again. Seeing no trace of Yurian in the training ground, her expression became a little gloomy.
“Where is Yurian? Where is he?”
“We don’t know.”
“No idea.”
“You haven’t seen him today?”
“Nope.”
Didi narrowed her eyes.
“Ugh, don’t tell me he’s with Nisha again?!”
The twins exchanged glances and nodded, as if it made sense.
“That’s possible. They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately.”
“Aaah! No way! Yurian belongs to me!”
“Did you get Yurian’s permission for that? Shouldn’t you ask him first?”
“Shut up!”
Didi screamed and grabbed the twins by their arms, dragging them along.
“Let’s go find him! Now!”
“Wait, why us…?”
“Because you guys called me! Hurry! Hurry! Aaaah! Move faster!”
Didi was clearly smaller than the twins.
But where did she get this kind of strength?
As they were being dragged along, the twins exchanged glances.
“This is all your fault, big bro. You mentioned Yurian.”
“Yurian?!”
“……….”
Watching Didi frantically look around again, Pardes let out a long sigh.
“Let’s just give up. She must have been messed up right from the creation phase.”
“…Yeah.”
The twins quietly followed Didi.
***
As Didi had expected, Yurian was with Nisha.
Yurian had exceptional magical abilities, while Nisha was highly skilled at controlling spirits. Training together made perfect sense for them.
“You’re still clumsy at handling wind.”
Boom! Nisha dodged Yurian’s attack and commented.
“Ugh, wind magic is seriously tough.”
Yurian shrugged with an awkward smile.
“Can you show me the wind spirit again? I want to try mimicking it.”
“Of course.”
Nisha immediately summoned a spirit, and the wind spirit floated in the air, creating a path in front of Yurian. Yurian carefully traced the path with his fingers.
Bang!
But once again, his magic went off in the wrong direction.
Nisha clicked her tongue at his failed attempt.
“I think we should stop for today. Your focus is slipping.”
“Let’s take a short break and try again. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Despite being drenched in sweat and on the verge of magical exhaustion, Yurian and Nisha refused to stop. Or rather, they didn’t want to stop. They were more dedicated to training than anyone else.
Yurian exhaled deeply and plopped down on the ground. Nisha, also exhausted, leaned against the wall and sat down.
“Come to think of it, Shekina is going to the capital.”
“Again? Why?”
“I heard she’s going with Arthur. And a priest.”
“Ah.”
Yurian furrowed his brows.
“The pope’s selection, huh?”
He muttered while rubbing his forehead.
“Shekina doesn’t need to go, so why is she? It’s dangerous.”
“Why would it be dangerous? It’s the Holy See and the Imperial Palace.”
Hearing Nisha’s nonchalant response, Yurian frowned.
“That’s exactly why it’s dangerous. Shekina is a homunculus. What if she gets discovered?”
“Hmm.”
Nisha folded her arms and let out a long hum. Her gaze toward Yurian was different than usual.
She debated whether to say something or not. After a moment of thought, she decided that now was the right time to speak.
“Yurian, you—”
“Master Yurian! There you are!”
Whoosh!
Didi appeared, riding the wind.
Nisha, who had been reaching out toward Yurian, quickly retracted her hand and let out an awkward laugh.
“Ah. My bad. I forgot I was calling your name.”
“…Yeah. Thanks a lot for that.”
Yurian took a deep breath and composed himself.
“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? I missed you, Master Yurian!”
“Haha. We saw each other just yesterday.”
“But a whole day has passed! I don’t want to be apart from you even for a moment!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Yurian had already reached the stage of acceptance. He didn’t even try to shake off Didi, who clung tightly to him.
Nisha, meanwhile, looked past them at the twins, who were sprawled out on the ground. They had apparently been knocked over and dragged along by Didi’s sudden spatial movement.
“You guys okay?”
The twins scowled and shook their heads.
“Absolutely not.”
“Not one bit.”
Damn it. If only I were a little stronger, I’d punch Didi right now.
They clenched their fists tightly, thinking the same thing.
“Hmm.”
Nisha folded her arms again and slowly looked at the twins, Didi, and Yurian.
It wasn’t often that they all gathered together without Shekina. This was the perfect moment to bring it up.
“Since we’re all here, I should say this now.”
“Say what?”
“The demons’ attitude lately feels off.”
Nisha continued in a serious tone.
“They always knew we were homunculi, but now… I don’t know. It feels like they’re starting to reject us.”
Merdes’ eyes widened.
“Huh? I felt that too!”
“See? If even Merdes, who’s normally oblivious, noticed, then it must be serious.”
“Wait, was that an insult?”
“Just let it go, Merdes.”
Nisha ignored the twins and continued speaking.
“Most demons are still friendly to us… but a few are starting to stir things up. Do you get what I mean?”
Yurian’s lips tightened.
“The elders, huh?”
“Yeah, probably.”
The elders of the Demon Realm had never been fond of homunculi. Especially those who had been humiliated by Shekina in the past.
For a long time, they had kept quiet, wary of the Demon King’s reaction. But now, it seemed they were starting to rise again.
If this continued, it would definitely become a problem.
“While Shekina is away, we can’t just sit around doing nothing, can we?”
“Exactly. Why do you think we’ve been training so hard?”
There was only one reason the homunculi had been sweating and pushing themselves to their limits every day.
To help Shekina.
She had gone to great lengths for their sake, and they wanted to return the favor—at the very least, not be a burden to her.
As a result, their skills had improved significantly. They were now strong enough to handle most battles.
“Okay, so what should we do?”
Didi asked, and Pardes responded immediately.
“Kill them all.”
“Big bro!”
“Are you crazy?”
Nisha clicked her tongue.
“You can’t just kill demons. If you do, the Demon King will have us executed.”
“Then what do you suggest? If we leave them alone and they end up causing trouble for Shekina, what do we do then?”
Pardes was usually calm and collected, but when it came to Shekina, he became sharp and intense.
That just showed how much they all cared about her—all the homunculi did.
Nisha took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
“I have a plan.”
