DKFTI 46

Sibel did not trust repairs done with magic. If the one who cast it died or weakened, a building made through such luck could sprout holes at any time. He hated that.

Analog was the way.

“A house should never be built with tricks.”

“Normally, Demon Kings build them with their own magic power.”

That was why, when a Demon King died, the power disappeared and the castle vanished with it.

But Sibel didn’t like that for some reason. Magic was convenient and good, but it lacked warmth.

“Even if I die, you all should still have a house left.”

At Sibel’s words, Ruru and Shanti, who had been grumbling, and the summons all fell silent.

“Lord Demon King, do you really think of something that sad…?”

Ruru asked with wide eyes.

“What do you take me for?”

“As expected, Lord Demon King, you really, really have a lot of responsibility.”

Ruru came to Sibel and pressed against his waist.

“It’s a blessing Lord Demon King is our Lord Demon King.”

With Ruru rubbing his head and Raccoon joining in, the double attack tickled Sibel until he twisted his body.

“Ticklish! I said it’s ticklish, you brats!”

The castle was a mess, but the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

In times of crisis, people tend to stick together.

***

Sibel was disinfecting his wounds. Ramiel had rolled up his sleeves to help.

With his shirt off and his pants pulled up to his thighs, he looked strangely provocative.

So, of course, Aizen was there too, unwilling to leave that sight alone.

“Demons really do recover with magic power.”

Ramiel’s eyes shone with interest as he watched the magic reacting around the wounds to heal them.

“So if I just leave it, it’ll heal? Ruru and Shanti said if I spit on it, it’d get better.”

“Yes. As you said, even if you leave it, it will heal completely.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But we should check that no glass shards are left inside.”

He certainly didn’t want to be walking around with glass stuck under his skin. Sibel obediently let him handle his arms and legs.

Ramiel’s touch was careful. When it brushed his skin at times, the warmth kept it from being unpleasant.

“Were you always good at treating wounds like this?”

Sibel asked Ramiel, who looked practiced at examining injuries.

“I’m good at everything, Lord Demon King.”

“But people who aren’t used to looking at others’ wounds can’t do it easily. It’s gross.”

Sibel knew Ramiel always dodged questions about himself with vague answers.

“In this land full of monsters and without gods, if you can’t even treat a wound, you can’t survive.”

“Where you lived, monsters attacked too?”

Ramiel kept treating calmly as he replied.

“Of course.”

“That must have been hard.”

“It’s a little difficult to answer yes in front of the Demon King.”

He heard the sound of laughter. Ramiel’s laughter was always clear.

“Lord Demon King seems to look at the world with a curious perspective.”

“Curious? What about it?”

“You always sympathize with the weak.”

“Me?”

Well, it was natural Ramiel would feel that way. Sibel still hadn’t forgotten his past identity as a human. On top of that, his current situation also felt closer to that of the weak rather than the strong.

“That must be Lord Demon King’s nature.”

Ramiel’s hands treating him grew more practiced. After finishing with his leg, Ramiel straightened up and brushed over Sibel’s shoulder.

“You’ll need to brace yourself.”

Suddenly Ramiel’s voice turned stern.

“What lies ahead will be more frightening and shocking than you imagine.”

Did this guy know something?

For a moment, Sibel felt Ramiel’s gaze was that of a thorough bystander.

“Ah. I just have good intuition.”

Feeling Sibel’s doubt, Ramiel added with a friendly smile.

“That’s why I managed to hide so quickly during the attack, wasn’t it?”

Ramiel’s behavior fit with the harmless image he projected.

“Any human who walks into the Demon King’s castle on his own wouldn’t be incompetent.”

“It’s an honor that you think so highly of me.”

Certainly Ramiel didn’t seem like an ordinary human. Did he maybe have some kind of foresight ability?

“Don’t worry, Demon King. I will never, not even the slightest bit, think of harming you.”

“Even if you did, what could you do about it?”

Aizen cut in on Ramiel’s words.

“With an Apostle glaring at me like that to protect the Demon King, what’s the point of doubting me?”

Ramiel spoke playfully. But Sibel wasn’t really doubting Ramiel anyway. He did seem to have some special ability, but the way he had behaved toward Sibel had been plenty favorable.

“Your arm is fine. Your leg too. But your shoulder should be bandaged.”

“Okay.”

Sibel entrusted the treatment completely to Ramiel. The bandage felt tight and stifling, but it was better than the wound rubbing against his clothes and hurting.

As Ramiel wrapped the bandage, Aizen came closer. He pressed down on the starting end of the bandage with his hand, as if helping Ramiel’s treatment.

At that, Ramiel looked at Aizen with eyes that said, ‘What’s gotten into you?’ Sibel too looked up at Aizen suspiciously.

“What. You think I can’t even help with something like this? On a battlefield, losing an arm or a leg is nothing.”

“They’re not lost yet. They’re fine.”

Why did he have to talk so harshly?

“Yeah. Fine. As if they’re fine.”

Aizen clearly didn’t like that Sibel had gotten hurt.

“You even got injured by a low-class monster.”

“No, I just panicked because it was my first time. Normally I dodge really fast, you know? That demon woman was hard to tell if she was enemy or ally.”

“Since she was wrapped in demonic energy, you probably thought maybe she wasn’t an enemy.”

In that sense, Aizen never had to worry. Any demon that stood in his way, he would kill, whether enemy or ally.

“I was being alert.”

“Just being alert isn’t enough.”

“Ow, it hurts. Don’t press so hard!”

Aizen’s hand tightened without him realizing, and Sibel let out a groan.

“It’s done.”

The bandage was wrapped tightly. When both their hands moved away, Sibel rotated his arm to check if it felt uncomfortable.

“It’s firm.”

The neatly finished bandage lifted his mood. And seeing Sibel so pleased with something so trivial left Aizen’s heart heavy again.

“You really have no sense of danger, do you?”

At Aizen’s question, Sibel shrugged his shoulders.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m strong too.”

Sibel brushed himself off and stood up.

“I’ll make more summons.”

Sibel made up his mind that in difficult times he should stick to what he did best.

“So that no one, whoever it is, will ever dream of touching our castle.”

Determination burned in Sibel’s eyes.

“That’s a good thought.”

Ramiel praised him.

“I’ll become just strong enough that even the Hero won’t be scary.”

At Sibel’s words, Aizen scoffed. He was like a newborn foal, yet he had such lofty dreams.

But Aizen couldn’t dismiss his words so easily. Sibel would surely, one day, based on his very nature, grow into a being overwhelmingly strong.

“Come on, let’s go. Let’s go work.”

As Sibel started to move, the other two also followed.

***

Sibel was lost in thought. It was about Aizen.

Because things were so difficult, he started to worry about things he had for granted.

Why did Aizen always protect the Demon King’s castle?

Why did he always appear the very moment danger struck?

The only way that was possible was if he was constantly watching. Because he cared and kept an eye out, he noticed whenever trouble came.

But why?

This question is what gets him stuck.

Even if he wrote it off as a strange taste that he felt comfortable in the Demon King’s castle as an Apostle… why did he look after all the demons in the castle too?

“Is it affection?”

Maybe it was. They said attachment was frightening. Had even the Hero grown attached?

“What will he do when he goes back to the Holy Kingdom if he’s like this?”

Sibel actually felt worried. For a human who would have to live on as an Apostle, opening his heart to demons like this seemed like it would cause serious trouble for his position.

“Tsk tsk, humans really are weak to feelings.”

Sibel leaned his back against the ice golem’s leg. The cool sensation spread through his whole body.

“Mm.”

But whenever he tried to put a period on his thoughts about Aizen, they circled back to the start.

These days, Aizen’s gaze when he looked at him seemed softer.

His tone of speech seemed gentler than before too. Didn’t he swear less now? He didn’t spout disgusting words the way he used to either.

“It’s strange.”

But the more it was like that, the more Sibel thought he had to keep his distance from Aizen.

Something about it scared him. Giving affection to Aizen itself was frightening.

They were fated to stand on opposite sides.

If he grew to like a human like that, the day would surely come when it caused serious trouble. That was why Sibel, deliberately, kept his guard up against Aizen more than against anyone else.

‘I wonder how it would feel like if the Hero pointed the holy sword at me.’

Vague thoughts began to form in his mind. He already felt so sad he thought he might cry.