DKFTI 13

The man appeared with white robes embroidered with golden thread fluttering. In his hand he carried a large bouquet of flowers. He naturally extended the bouquet to Sibel.

Sibel,smiled brightly, and reached out joyfully to accept it.

“What is your Demon King doing?”

Aizen could not close his mouth. The Demon King who had been whining and crying just days ago was now playing at romance out there. Even more baffling was how someone who had shut himself away like a hermit inside the castle every day had even managed to meet someone. But soon he recalled that he had seen this person once before.

Sibel hugged the bouquet to his chest, bouncing and expressing joy with his whole body. It was so different from the shrinking figure he showed in front of Aizen. Aizen seriously suspected he had a split personality.

Behind them, Shanti, Ruru, and even Raccoon were tumbling after in somersaults. Of course, that wasn’t actually the case, but to Aizen, it just seemed that way.

“Ridiculous.”

Aizen, watching the two moving around so cheerfully, soon turned his head away toward the opposite window in irritation.

***

Leviathan had kept his promise. He brought an armful of purple lisianthus. Each blossom was as beautiful as a painting. Sibel marveled inwardly at how kind and gentle Leviathan was, he even praised him.

Of course, he had heard rumors that thousands of years ago Leviathan had roamed the world slaughtering all living things he came across, but what did he know?

“Today was really fun!”

Leviathan had listened to Sibel’s stories all day long. Enduring his endless chatter could not have been easy.

But Leviathan listened with interest to each and every one, like someone who had lived cut off from human contact for centuries. When Sibel laughed, he laughed along. When Sibel cried, he offered sincere comfort. As if he were resonating with Sibel’s emotions.

Most demons could not understand goodwill. An altruistic feeling, different from loyalty. It was one of the hardest things for demons to comprehend.

But Leviathan was different. That was why Sibel found himself pouring out even the trivial details of his daily life.

In the end, he had talked so much that his throat hurt, and he even suggested Leviathan return home. He had finally raised the white flag.

Sibel worried if Leviathan’s ears had grown calloused. He was even anxious that Leviathan might be so put off he would not come again.

Leviathan walked with Sibel to the front gate. He had no reason to walk, but even that seemed to be part of the fun.

“I worry my hospitality was lacking.”

“It was always satisfying.”

Leviathan smiled gently and placed his hand on Sibel’s head as Sibel glanced at him at the last moment.

‘Does he like touching heads?’

He had felt it last time too, but Leviathan seemed unusually fond of patting heads. Sibel made a mental note to record this as one of Leviathan’s traits.

“Next time I want to visit Leviathan-nim’s land!”

“Genzar’s land is not as beautiful as this.”

“What’s it like?”

“Barren, all ice.”

“Ohh. At least it isn’t full of lava. I can’t handle heat at all. Not even for Leviathan-nim could I go to a lava castle.”

Leviathan chuckled at Sibel’s words. His distinct laugh that rumbled from his throat was pleasant.

“Then is it always winter there?”

“That’s right.”

“Why did you settle there? Someone like Leviathan-nim could live wherever you want.”

At Sibel’s question, Leviathan looked into his eyes. Sometimes his lips barely moved, as though he was choosing words carefully. Sibel guessed it was simply his cautious nature.

“For someone, paradise might be an eternal winter.”

“Ah. So you don’t take heat well.”

Sibel wondered if the reason Leviathan’s hand was always cold had to do with the environment he lived in. Or was it that he had a lot of body heat and so preferred cold places? He wasn’t sure.

“There is always a frozen lake in Genzar. It is a spectacular sight, so you should come see it.”

The hand that had tousled his hair slowly withdrew. Lake. That word reminded Sibel of something.

“Lake… Pendel…”

Suddenly, a name flashed through his thoughts.

Why?

“Hm? What did I just say?”

But Sibel quickly forgot the word he had spoken without thinking. When he tilted his head and looked up at Leviathan, Leviathan only lowered his eyes gently.

“I will go now. Sibel, see you next time.”

Leviathan turned and walked out the gate. Sibel stood for a long while watching his back. For some reason, his head began to ache.

‘Is it because I talked too much?’

He figured it was because he had babbled like someone about to die tomorrow. When he shook off the uneasy feeling, Leviathan was gone without a trace. Had he moved with magic? Sibel turned back toward the Demon King Castle.

By then darkness had fallen and the castle was shrouded in gloom. From afar came the sound of wind, mingled with faint cries of monsters. By now, it was as familiar and refreshing as birdsong.

***

Aizen, who had been atop the Demon King Castle’s spire feeding somewhat restless, raised his body at the faint, ominous aura. At his movement, Pudding flopped down and rolled onto the floor.

Leaning his body against the railing, Aizen sharpened his senses and turned his gaze. There were humans. Beneath the high walls they had dug a hole like a dog burrow and were slipping quietly into the Demon King Castle. Under the faint moonlight, their shadows stretched long.

“This is the place. Get in quickly.”

“Why is the castle so quiet?”

“It is quieter than the other places.”

“Is there anyone even here?”

Humans. Mages. Around fifteen to twenty. They were skilled at concealing sound. Aizen, who had once moved across battlefields as though they were his own chambers, had gained sharp senses in place of sleep. He could especially detect unclean mana more sensitively than anyone. He detested such crude things.

Aizen silently watched what they were doing.

Even in the dark, the gleam of daggers showed. Mana swirled at their fingertips, and someone was laying talismans on the ground. They were a thorough, prepared group.

“Since the Demon King here died, we don’t know how things are running.”

“If there isn’t one, that’s good, and if there is, killing one is good too.”

“Don’t they give a bounty for a Demon King’s head in the Holy Kingdom?”

“That’s old news. Hah, that was back in the Demon Realm War.”

“But there are nobles who collect them. It might be even more profitable now. As long as we can take the head.”

The humans sneered and cackled as they spoke. They had clearly come to plunder the Demon King Castle, but if necessary, they intended to kill the Demon King as well.

“……”

Aizen was sickened by the arrogance of such trash. But he understood why they were so self-assured.

After all, they had already passed through the monster-filled forest unscathed. That alone meant they were not complete rabble.

To be honest, if the foolish Demon King faced them alone, it would not be strange if his head were lopped off in an instant.

Of course, with demons like Shanti and Ruru guarding him, it was not something to worry too much about.

“Let’s go in through the back gate?”

The humans began to move in a pack. All the while they spouted vulgar talk about cutting off the Demon King’s head, preserving it as a trophy, or hoping his face was handsome enough to display.

Aizen scratched his forehead with a finger and frowned. At this hour, the Demon King would be fast asleep. Sibel was no child, yet every evening without fail he went to bed like clockwork.

If he was sleeping deeply, he probably wouldn’t even get tangled up with those bastards after the treasure vault. With Shanti and Ruru, who doted on him, there probably wouldn’t be much of a commotion anyway.

“Pu pu–.”

Pudding, which had somehow climbed back onto his shoulder, shook its body at his ear. It seemed to have sensed danger.

“They’ll take care of it themselves.”

Aizen withdrew his attention from the humans.

“Argh! A trap here!”

“Damn it, watch out!”

“Let’s just blast through the wall!”

The humans were already flailing in the same maze traps that Aizen himself had once fallen victim to, desperately trying to push through with magic.

At this point, someone should have come out. But the Demon King Castle was still silent.

Enough. Let’s think about the letter to send to the Holy Kingdom. Aizen tried to turn his attention away from them.

“Argh! My leg!”

“Fuck, what a filthy trap!”

“I swear I’ll cut off that Demon King bastard’s head!”

Noisy. Rude, disruptive. The very things Aizen loathed.