DKFTI 26

Could it really be, after all this time, that he was finally taking action? Had he stayed in the Demon King castle long enough? Was he now contacting them, saying this place was just a gathering of weaklings and should be wiped out quickly? Sibel had always known he was an enemy, but he still felt betrayed.

After scribbling on the paper for a while, Aizen stood up. He rolled his shoulders, rubbed his waist, then began to walk away.

Was he just going to the restroom? The moment Sibel saw him leave, he seized the opportunity without hesitation.

Sibel, Shanti, and Ruru hurried over to the spot where Aizen had been sitting. Ruru, who was the most excited, quickly snatched up the paper. He waved the fluttering sheet in front of Sibel.

“Hm.”

For some reason Sibel’s heart was pounding. Even though he knew from the start that this was someone who could never be friendly with the Demon King castle, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed. He peered at the paper with a restless heart. Inside was…

“This… is this me?”

On it was a simple sketch. A profile of Sibel, smiling at something unseen.

“Oh, wow, it really is the Demon King!”

“The hero seems to have a talent for drawing.”

Ruru and Shanti pressed their faces close to look at the sketch together. Sibel, dumbfounded, looked at his likeness, drawn in rough pencil strokes, then lowered his gaze to the edge of the paper. There, a short phrase was written.

[Idiot]

Aizen wrote mocking words if he had knew Sibel would sneak a look at it.

“It says idiot, nya~?”

Sibel’s grip tightened on the paper, crumpling the corner. The expression of the smiling Sibel in the drawing was also crushed.

“A sharp-witted human.”

Ruru clicked his tongue as he watched Aizen walking away in the distance. Sibel too observed his lively stride. He was a human who gleefully mocked him as he left.

“This time, Demon King took the hit!”

Shanti’s teasing made it sting all the more.

“You were the one who doubted him in the first place.”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger not to doubt him?”

“Ohh. That’s true.”

Sibel stared again at the sketch in his hand. Why did it have to be a smiling face?

“This is all Ruru’s fault.”

“But Demon King agreed with me too, nya~!”

“I was mocked!”

“What a despicable human!”

Ruru puffed out his cheeks, pretending to be angry, but his fluffy tail was swaying left and right.

“Enough. If he really meant to get rid of us, he would have overturned everything on his own long ago.”

“That’s true! We’re not even the kind of threat that would call for the Holy Kingdom’s army!”

At Ruru’s bright and bold reply, some of the tension drained away. But was Sibel really supposed to keep living while enduring both the hero’s disregard and his subordinate’s disregard? He couldn’t allow that.

“Let’s go. We have something else to do.”

“Ohh, and what would that be?”

With this incident, Sibel made up his mind m. He carefully folded the sketch and tucked it into his pocket.

***

In Sibel’s room, a new frame had appeared. Inside the frame was the portrait Aizen had drawn. Though it was a rough sketch, the emotions of the subject were captured clearly, he had a fair bit of talent in drawing.

But the reason Sibel placed the picture in a frame was not a good one. He kept it somewhere visible as a reminder, to use that day’s mockery as fuel for his resolve.

Several days later, the demon king castle had gained many new members.

“Wow! This one’s really useful, nya~!”

“Perfect for working the fields.”

In the garden, a new worker had appeared. A monster in the form of a large bear was digging into the soil with hands as big as pot lids.

“That duck even waters the ground well.”

Beside the bear, a duck-shaped monster flew around, spraying water from its beak. Recently, the monsters Sibel had summoned were mostly ones that were useful for farming, it was surely reflecting Sibel’s own wishes.

There were plenty of others too. An ice golem with a body made entirely of cold ice became Sibel’s natural air conditioner, a walking plant beast served as a natural air purifier, a giant crow became a means of transport, and for the castle’s security there were even a huge hedgehog and an exploding skunk… creatures born of Sibel’s power now filled the Demon King castle.

“That meerkat squad makes for a fantastic security detail.”

The happiest one at Sibel’s diligence was Shanti. Especially since the great burden of castle security had been solved, he seemed far more at ease.

“Good. Very good. Now it finally feels like a proper demon castle.”

Shanti was grinning from ear to ear. Sibel, too, felt proud as he felt his growing magic power.

“Ah, so this is power, this is strength?”

It was a life where he no longer had to dig the soil himself or struggle with a watering can. Now, he almost felt a little like a true king.

“Ahem.”

For the first time in a while, he lifted his chin with confidence and straightened his back. And with every new summoning, he could feel his magic becoming stronger.

“Other than my horns growing a little, it’s not bad.”

The small ivory horns on his forehead, once only the size of a thumbnail, were gradually lengthening, and that troubled him a bit. But compared to living with no ability at all, having a horn grow was a burden he could bear. Besides, they said that once his magic grew stronger, he could erase the horn if he wanted, so it wasn’t a big problem.

“Graaaah!”

The bear beast’s name was Gomdori. Sibel had chosen the name with care. Since its appearance was so rough, he had deliberately given it a cute name, and Gomdori had a cute personality¹.

Even while tearing up the soil like scraps of paper, whenever its eyes met Sibel’s, it would flop over and roll on its back, showing its belly.

“Oh my, oh my, don’t go eating up all the crops now.”

Sibel found the monsters born of his power adorable. Maybe it was because he believed they would never harm him.

Flutter–

As Sibel doted on Gomdori, the crow, which had been preening its feathers with its beak nearby, shook itself. The crow could freely adjust its size. It only swelled to a larger form when Sibel whistled, and usually stayed small, perched on his shoulder or flitting around.

When the crow cawed and flew up into the sky, Sibel looked upward. The sky was gloomy.

“Will it rain?”

“Hard to say, nya~. But this isn’t really a place where it rains often.”

Ruru wet a finger with spit and held it up straight. As the wind whooshed past, he wriggled his finger. But contrary to Ruru’s words, the sky suddenly flashed. The rainy season had already passed, so it wasn’t that. Was the sudden shift in weather just coincidence?

“Could it be because the Demon King has been summoning a lot lately, and the magic power is affecting it?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Since everything that happens here is connected to Demon King. It’s just a guess, nya~.”

Just when he thought he was getting used to this world, it reminded him that it was still full of unknowns. Life here was the same as ever.

“Anyway, everyone should be careful about the rain.”

Having more family meant having more worries. Sibel was someone with much affection, and he wanted the beings he had created to be safe.

Rumble-!

At that moment, thunder boomed again from the sky. Then Gomdori came over to Sibel’s side. With its massive body thudding along, it radiated a powerful presence.

“Hmm.”

“Alright. Let’s go inside. Into the castle.”

Sibel stroked Gomdori’s arm as it rubbed its nose against his arm.

“Ruru, bring the water-spitting duck.”

Ruru approached the duck, which was happily flapping its wings and spraying water. Startled by the approach, the duck squirted water at him. Thanks to that, Ruru shivered as he ran after it, trying to catch it.

“That brat! Come here right now!”

“What a sight.”

The place grew noisy again. Sibel, satisfied, looked at his Demon King castle family and headed back inside the castle.

***

Aizen sat on the railing of the second-floor terrace, watching from afar as Sibel and his group returned. Had the Demon King castle really become an animal paradise now? Around Sibel swarmed countless monsters in the shapes of beasts. And not only animals, but also ones in the form of plants.

“It’s quite the sight.”

He thought that instead of guarding the Demon King castle with them, it might be more fitting to open a zoo. Aizen felt the hot, humid wind and looked up at the sky.

“…Ominous.”

He disliked days like this. Humid, gloomy weather. His face creased into a frown.

“Puu-!”

Pudding bounced up and landed on Aizen’s shoulder. Aizen turned his body to check the bleak outside atmosphere.

“Meow-.”

A small white cat walked elegantly onto the terrace of the Demon King castle, its tail held high. Its pure white fur gleamed.

“A cat? Is this also a summoned monster.”

Pudding, upon seeing the cat, hopped up and down as if it was delighted. Aizen covered Pudding with his hand to calm it, then reached his hand out toward the cat.

1. 곰 (gom) bear -돌이 (dori) cute suffix, often used for kids, toys, or pets ↩︎