“Lady Shekina?”
As Shekina entered the room, Arthur rushed out.
“Where were you? I couldn’t find you anywhere! If you’re going out, you should let me know!”
Arthur displayed a worried expression. Shekina, scratching her cheek, replied.
“I was with Boss.”
“…. The Demon Lord? Why?”
“We went to the dungeon.”
“Dungeon…?”
Arthur tilted his head but soon realized that wasn’t the crucial issue.
Shekina looked a mess, and that was more important.
“Why is your outfit in such disarray? Why is there sand all over? What’s sticking to your shoulder? And what happened to your leg?”
Could things go south like this in just half a day? Arthur felt dizzy, taking off Shekina’s coat.
“Let’s start with treatment. I’ll call a healer.”
“No need. I want to try using this.”
Shekina ripped off the lump of phantom beast attached to her shoulder with a flick.
“Is that… a phantom beast?”
“Yep. Boss uses his power to make this.”
“The Demon Lord?”
That Lucart created something like this? Arthur could sense a slight shiver.
The Demon Lord’s actions surely had a clear reason. What could be the purpose of creating this? Arthur grew anxious, fearing it might harm Shekina.
“He say that phantom beasts are spirits, so they have healing powers.”
Shekina applied the removed lump of phantom beast to her bleeding leg.
“Oh?”
As soon as she did that, she felt her legs getting warm. She could also feel the bitter and painful wound slowly go away.
“This this very effective.”
“Well, spirits usually don’t attach and detach like that.”
“But it works.”
“I guess so.”
Arthur looked at Shekina’s cleaned wounds and the phantom beast alternately as if it were fascinating.
While spirits had healing abilities, they weren’t usually this potent. It should typically handle minor wounds, not this.
Did the Demon Lord grant his new abilities? In any case, Arthur murmured, relieved that it seemed harmless to Shekina.
“Can you keep wearing this thing around? Won’t it be visible to humans or followers?”
“Oh. Normally, spirits are not noticeable, except when active. But with the Demon Lord’s touch, it seems more distinct.”
Arthur tapped the phantom beast lump and commented,
“In this case, it might be better to give the spirit some consciousness and let it transform… it’s not my expertise, though.”
Arthur’s magical abilities were distant from dealing with spirits. His knowledge came from past readings rather than personal experience.
“Nisha knows about this stuff. Being a spirit mage, she’d be the one to ask. Why not go and consult with her?”
“Hmm.”
Shekina nodded while crossing her arms.
Upon Lucart creating this, Shekina immediately thought of Nisha.
Even if Lucard had crafted this, Nisha would likely know how to handle and utilize it.
However, there was a reason she didn’t go directly to Nisha.
“She’s not a fan of mine. Will she willingly share her knowledge?”
Nisha disliked Shekina, especially after the incident of sneaking into her room. Since then, Nisha hadn’t spoken a word to Shekina outside of their ‘lessons’ and questions related to those sessions.
Shekina sighed,
“Well, I can’t help it. Shall we have dinner for now?”
“True. Better to avoid unnecessary conflicts.”
Shekina released a sigh. After all, Nisha’s animosity towards her had made things complicated.
“Well, since I can’t lie about Nisha liking Shekina, we’ll just stick with the truth.”
“That’s better than spinning a web of lies.”
“Though it’s hard to believe Nisha would like you.”
Arthur was straightforward in his responses, perhaps unintentionally causing some wounds.
Shekina grumbled but nodded. She was quite hungry after spending a long time outside.
“Still, it seems the Demon Lord finds Shekina attractive to create something like this.”
“He finds me attractive?”
Shekina frowned.
“Absolutely not. He used to glare at me like he wanted to kill me.”
Back in the dungeon, it felt like Lucart’s gaze could pierce through her. It sent shivers down her spine.
She didn’t like it at all. It was just suspicion, mere observation.
The creation of this spirit could be seen in that context.
‘I have to find a way to get information from Nisha.’
If Nisha gave her insights, she might be able to understand Lucart’s intentions.
“Hahaha. Let’s go eat dinner quickly.”
“You’re avoiding the topic again.”
“Tonight, we’re having steak!”
“Fine, let’s move on.”
Shekina chuckled and extended her arms toward Arthur. Arthur skillfully embraced Shekina, patting her head.
“You’ve worked hard today. You must be tired. Eat, take a shower, and get some rest.”
“Yeah. I’ll sleep for a long time tonight.”
Shekina, with a casual response, hugged Arthur’s neck as she always did.
Suddenly, she remembered the conversation from earlier in the day.
The discussion with Martin and Merdes.
– Shekina, what exactly family is? What should I do?
Because of those words, she involuntarily recalled a past she didn’t want to remember—a time when she realized she was a deficient being, someone who had never experienced the concept of family.
Shekina hugged Arthur’s neck a little tighter.
“Arthur. Are you telling me you left a child in the Demon Realm, right?”
Though Arthur flinched slightly at the question, it was a moment too brief for Shekina to notice.
“What exactly is family?”
Shekina, with a pensive expression, continued speaking.
“Today, Merdes said we looked like a family with Martin. But I don’t know what family is… so I couldn’t answer. It’s kind of irritating.”
Arthur comforted Shekina, patting her back as she grumbled.
Even if demons are sent to an educational institution as soon as they are born, they still have parents. But homunculus have no parents. Because it is a created being. So Arthur decided that Shekina was feeling the absence of her parents, and soon became bitter. He feel like this little child is too much of a sad burden to bear.
“Family isn’t just about the relationship between parents and children.”
Arthur gently stroked Shekina’s hair and spoke.
“Family is formed by the gathering of precious beings. That’s why Merdes probably said you seemed like a family.”
He lightly touched Shekina’s cheek.
“Me too, I consider lady Shekina as my family.”
“…….”
“What about you, Shekina?”
Shekina couldn’t bring herself to answer. She simply buried her face in Arthur’s neck and closed her eyes.
If a family is formed by the gathering of precious beings,
I’ve truly never experienced having a family until now.
And now…
Shekina felt Arthur’s warmth, his affectionate touch, and heard his tender voice.
However, nonetheless, despite all that.
‘We can’t become a family.’
Shekina is human, and once Arthur realizes she is human, he will feel a deep sense of betrayal as a demon. He will start to dislike her.
“No, don’t say that. Your childs will dislike me.”
Arthur, who was comforting Shekina, momentarily stopped. Then, he resumed walking with a more bitter smile.
“Let’s go eat meat. It’ll be delicious.”
***
Tock, tock.
Lucart tapped his desk with his fingertips, lost in thought.
Artificial cave.
The artifacts inside.
The space within the artificial cave.
Also, the voca within.
Why were they created? And why does that homunculus know about them?
Lucart grimaced, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“Calvin.”
The moment he spoke, a figure appeared from the darkness.
Calvin Murwara, the commander of the 4th Legion responsible for information gathering.
He knelt before Lucart, bowing his head.
“I went to the mentioned location, but I couldn’t find the designated space. There was nothing.”
Lucart furrowed his brow, pressing his fingers to his forehead.
“But you has been there, my lord.”
“I found this Noble Phantasm there.”
“Yes.”
Calvin cautiously opened his mouth.
“Then…”
The worst assumption, one he really didn’t want to think about.
However, judging by the circumstances, it seemed like the assumption wouldn’t end as just an assumption.
Calvin clenched his fist.
“Is it indeed ‘him’?”
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