DKFTI 42

“Lord Demon Kiiiiiiing!”

When Sibel returned, the residents of the Demon King’s castle also returned like ghosts.

“We thought you’d died somewhere!”

Ruru ran up to throw himself into Sibel’s arms, but Raccoon shoved him aside and took the spot instead. Thanks to that, it was Raccoon who ended up in Sibel’s embrace.

“W-what! Hey! Move! You damn raccoon bastard!”

Ruru glared at him with wide eyes and pushed Raccoon away. The two of them started fighting, pulling at each other’s ears.

“Are you alright, Lord Demon King?”

Shanti examined Sibel’s body. When Sibel got down from Aizen’s back and limped, Shanti’s eyes went round.

“I twisted my ankle.”

“Oh no!”

Shanti grabbed Sibel’s leg in surprise. His fluffy head kept bumping against Sibel’s leg.

“Why did you insist on flying in the sky like that!”

“Because everyone else can do it! Especially Kairin’s uncle, I saw him leave looking so cool with my own eyes!”

Sibel wanted to imitate everything that looked cool.

That day, he had engraved in his heart the sight of Cloton flying off leisurely and magnificently, and, tricked by Ruru’s coaxing, thought now was the time and took flight.

“And Ruru said it was easy.”

“That damn Ruru!”

“Why! Why are you taking it out on me! It is easy!”

“Do you think Lord Demon King is the same as the other demons? You need to think who you’re dealing with! How could Lord Demon King just learn it all at once like the others!”

The two began quarreling. But the subject of their fight wasn’t pleasing at all.

“Hey, just because he’s a bit slow, doesn’t mean you should draw the line saying he can’t do anything!”

“Look at this, look at this! Look at the state of this leg!”

“Hnng, I didn’t think he’d be this terrible at flying.”

Why did they have to tear him down right to his face. And their own king at that?

“Um, guys.”

Sibel dragged his aching leg over to them to stop the fight.

“Ah, just keep quiet for a moment! We’re talking right now!”

“Lord Demon King keeps spoiling that brat, that’s why he’s so rude!”

Fuck, both of you are just as rude.

Sibel was left speechless at their natural and obvious impudence. His head ached watching this mess, so he turned his gaze aside and saw Aizen standing with arms crossed, watching the scene unfold live. He looked used to it.

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me in front of others. I came back safe, didn’t I?”

Sibel put his hand on Shanti’s shoulder. But Shanti raised his loud voice.

“You call this safe! You’ve a bump on your head!”

At that, Sibel groped at his own head.

“Huh? This is a bump?”

“Don’t tell me your brain has been damaged again. Did you hit it hard?”

That remark came from Ruru.

“Wait, Ruru, what do you mean ‘again’?”

“Oops.”

Ruru realized his slip and quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He was extremely sly.

Was that really a mistake? Or was he just taking the chance to finally say what he’d always wanted to?

“First let’s get you treated. Oh goodness, where did you roll to smell like shit… ahem.”

Shanti pinched his nose with two fingers.

“Smell…?”

Sibel lifted his arm, pressed his nose to it, and sniffed. He thought he caught a musty odor.

“Something on the dirt, hm….”

For no reason, he became conscious of Aizen, who had carried him all this way. It must have rubbed off on his clothes too. If it smelled, he could have said something.

“Let’s wash up in some warm water first.”

“Throw in plenty of fragrance. Plenty.”

Raccoon added to Shanti’s words.

That guy?

They were animals who ran around shedding fur everywhere in the castle, but at times like this, they acted like they were the cleanest creatures?

“Yeah. Wash and check the wounds.”

In the end, Aizen settled the situation.

“That’s right. Ruru, you prepare the bath, and I’ll check if we have any decent medicine.”

“They won’t listen to their own Demon King….”

“What was that, Lord Demon King? Could you speak clearly?”

“I said I’m going. To wash. That way, right?”

In the end, as always, Sibel lowered himself and decided to just do as he was told. That was the easiest way here.

***

While bathing, Sibel kept mulling over the things Aizen had said while carrying him on his back.

The ending had been, as always, a mess, but the words that had brushed past weren’t light, they lingered in his head.

‘That’s why I came here, but I stepped in shit.’

The reason Aizen had come here, that in particular kept coming back to him.

‘Living trapped in the past is no different from a curse. The things I long for are only things I can never reach.’

A person who had come to the Demon King’s castle with unreachable things in his heart.

Suddenly Sibel wondered if Aizen had left the Holy Kingdom.

An Apostle leaving the Holy Nation? What kind of joke was that?

Even Sibel found his own thought absurd.

Maybe it was just burnout.

When the body hurt, the heart was bound to hurt too.

“We just need to feed him the antidote.”

In the end, Sibel’s conclusion leaned toward healing Aizen.

Maybe, just as Aizen had said, somewhere in his heart, something like sympathy for him had grown.

***

A few days later, a new guest came to the Demon King’s castle.

This time, it wasn’t like the sudden intruders from before.

“Lord Leviathan!”

For the first time in a long while, Leviathan had come to visit.

Caught up in the noisy bustle of the castle these days, Sibel had completely forgotten about him.

They hadn’t held the Demon King council for a while, there had been no chance to meet.

“Sibel. Have you been well?”

Shining as always, Leviathan slowly looked around Sibel’s castle.

“You’ve gained many curious friends.”

See, Lord Leviathan was different.

Unlike a certain someone who went around saying “this, that, this brat, that brat,” Leviathan kindly referred to Sibel’s summons as “friends.” His heart was truly warm.

Leviathan naturally greeted the summons. He patted the arm of the bear beast, and a crow landed on his hand before flying off again.

He interacted with Sibel’s summons naturally.

“They’re cute.”

Sibel felt that the beasts seemed especially favorable toward Leviathan.

Was it because they recognized his strength as a powerful Demon King?

Was it okay for them to be that friendly to someone other than their master? What if he turned hostile!

The truth was the monsters had taken after Sibel, they were completely undisciplined, so they welcomed anyone.

That was why they also got along well with Aizen, Kairin, and Ramiel….

But in front of Leviathan, they showed a slightly different attitude. They seemed to follow him as if he were their master.

“Has your magic power grown much?”

“Yes! Look at my horns!”

Sibel proudly pointed to his horns.

“They’ve grown.”

Leviathan smiled at Sibel’s horns. He found it cute how Sibel boasted about them.

“I’m learning other magic besides summoning too. A few days ago, I even flew in the sky….”

The moment Sibel said that, Leviathan’s gaze dropped to his foot.

“You heard about it?”

In that instant, Sibel realized Leviathan knew he had fallen straight from the sky.

“Not a rumor, just interest.”

“Ah. Well, isn’t it like that the first time for everyone? I fell and got hurt, but I decided not to think of it as embarrassing.”

Sibel was resilient.

A Demon King could fall while flying, nothing strange about it.

“You’re spirited.”

Leviathan stroked Sibel’s head. His silver hair shimmered under Leviathan’s hand.

“If you ever face difficulties, you can ask me for anything.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t trouble busy Lord Leviathan!”

A proper Demon King had to have a conscience.

“But it’s what I wish for.”

“You’re kind.”

How could Lord Leviathan be so considerate, taking such good care of an inadequate new Demon King?

By his side, Sibel once again began bragging about his summons.

“See those meerkat-like friends? They guard diligently. Ah, cute, did you see them stretch their necks?”

“I see them well.”

“And look at that flower bed over there. I worked hard with Gomdori to uproot and plant trees, and they seem to have taken root quickly, don’t they?”

Sibel ran to the tree and touched its green leaves. Leviathan also stepped into the shade of the tree.

The two of them chatted warmly about the newly arranged Demon King’s castle.

***

It wasn’t a strange thing that Aizen’s gaze followed on Sibel wherever he was now. In this peaceful place, his small pleasure was watching Sibel. But today, his mood was far from good.

“Clinging on disgustingly.”

From the beginning, Aizen hadn’t liked Leviathan. No, to be exact, he hated him.

That handsome face, that relaxed atmosphere, the castle residents wagging their tails as soon as they saw him.

A being who naturally stepped into areas Aizen found impossibly hard to enter.

“You don’t look in a good mood.”

On top of that, Ramiel stood beside him, watching him, fanning the flames. That only worsened Aizen’s irritation.

“If you’ve that much awareness, wouldn’t it be polite to get lost?”

Leaning on the terrace railing, Aizen spoke to Ramiel without even looking at him.