DKFTI 57

“I’m hungry. I want to eat something sweet. Oh right, can’t you make those noodles you made for us before?”

“Noodles?”

“You served them cold!”

“Ah. Cold noodles.”

Sibel had started cooking lately. Though he was cursed with clumsy hands, he had some conscience, so as he kept trying, he improved.

As expected, if you don’t give up, you can do anything.

“It’s troublesome.”

“Hnng, can’t you even do that much for me?”

Ruru clung to Sibel’s leg. Just then, Ramiel appeared from a distance.

“It’s time for lunch.”

A large tray prepared as a snack wad Ramiel’s head.

“Looks like Ramiel cooked?”

“Tch.”

Ruru stuck his lips out as if he was disappointed. In the meantime, Ramiel reached Sibel’s side.

“Ah, it’s sizzling hot again today.”

Ramiel struggled with the summers and winters of the Demon King’s castle.

What was so hard about minus twenty degrees with heavy snow, or about forty degrees where the roof melted, that he complained like this?

In truth, Sibel hadn’t failed to try fixing the weather.

It was only that, with his magic, he still couldn’t yet control the weather freely and precisely.

During the three years, Sibel did not think his magic had increased much.

But there was one big change. He could now hide his horns.

This meant a lot. He had shortened to just three something said to take a hundred years. It was the moment he realized he had become a proper adult.

Thanks to this, the members of the Demon King’s castle called him a genius, but compared to other Demon Kings who lived hundreds or thousands of years, he was only just taking baby steps.

“What about today’s schedule?”

“Nothing special.”

Sibel took a hard baguette from the tray and put it in his mouth.

“You should wash your hands first before eating!”

Water poured down over Sibel’s head from Ruru’s magic.

“……”

This bastard?

“Oops, mistake.”

“Grr…”

Sibel clenched his teeth and glared at Ruru. Treating the Demon King like street dung was the same as ever. But thanks to it, his heat cooled.

Snap.

Sibel flicked his fingers, and a cool swirl brushed over his body. His body dried soft and clean.

“Kyaa, magic is really convenient, right?”

As expected, people have to learn and experience things.

“There’s a summer festival being held in Briarwood Village. How about going to see it?”

“Festival?”

“Oh, a festival!”

Lately, Sibel had begun to occasionally visit villages outside his territory, Valheim.

It was a small hobby that appeared after daily life had settled into a stable track.

Ruru liked places where humans were. As a fox demon who enjoyed blending in and living among humans, it was natural.

“I want to go! Let’s go! I’ll go alone if I have to!”

Ruru’s tail spun round and round like a propeller.

“Dust will fly.”

Sibel quickly grabbed Ruru’s tail so dust wouldn’t scatter over the food.

“Let’s go. Okay? Demon King. Let’s go out and play.”

“Fine. Let’s go in the evening when it’s cool.”

“It’s been a while, I should pick out clothes for going out.”

Two years ago, Sibel had suggested to Ramiel that he return to his homeland. But Ramiel said that since he had been offered as tribute, if he went back, he wouldn’t survive.

As a human who had once gone to the Demon King’s castle, they would eliminate him, if only out of unease.

With nowhere to go, Ramiel preferred to stay here instead of finding another settlement.

Since that was his choice, Sibel didn’t force him. Maybe it was because of the trauma from once forcing someone.

After that incident, only months later did Sibel finally get news of Aizen.

Fortunately, Aizen was alive. Though he didn’t know the details, when he heard that Aizen was alive and had even attended an event of the Holy Kingdom in good health, Sibel cried for a long time.

It was the day the guilt that had been weighing down on him was forgiven.

After that, Sibel was able to find a normal pattern for both his body and his heart.

Is it true that you don’t notice the place that is filled, but you notice the place that is empty?

Sometimes, very occasionally, he felt a hollow space in a corner of his heart, but aside from that, everything was satisfying.

“Today I’ll disguise myself as a curvy beauty!”

“What kind of taste is that. You’re male.”

“Argh! How could you use such a violent word like male! I don’t have that kind of concept! I’m genderless! Don’t try to tack on such a rustic gender label to me!”

“Hm, I think the way you react is the most rustic.”

Sibel threw away the soggy baguette and picked up another piece of bread to eat.

“So we’re going out in the evening, right? What are we riding?”

“Magwi.”

“Call it Crow. You keep making people misunderstand¹.”

“Yeah. Crow.”

Ruru and Sibel started digging into the snack.

“But Ruru. Your fur looks a bit rough.”

“What? No way! I take care of it every day with camellia oil to keep it glossy!”

“Isn’t it aging?”

“I’m only three hundred years old!”

“Wow. Grandpa.”

“It’s definitely about time for aging.”

As usual, their pointless chatter went back and forth. Laughter didn’t stop.

Under the bright sunlight, Sibel looked up at the clear sky.

It was summer again.

***

Life in the Demon King’s castle is stable. Always seeing the same people, doing similar things, eating familiar food.

Fortunately, Sibel found peace in those things. Maybe it was natural, since he was born a being rejected when he went outside.

But any repetitive life is bound to bring boredom.

After he learned to hide his horns, Sibel began going out to human villages at Ramiel’s suggestion.

Though very rarely, when he saw the bustle of people living together, it brought back memories of his previous life and he liked it.

Sibel also had inner changes. Having no finite lifespan changed many of his values.

Compared to the time when it was natural to live a finite life intensely, the direction of life itself had shifted.

When he was human, his future plans had been progressive and aggressive. Now, the feeling of being defensive was stronger.

To protect.

It felt like a mission tagged on him like a label from birth.

He wondered if it made him a little different from other Demon Kings in personality, but either way, he was satisfied.

“Wow. There are really a lot of humans here.”

Ruru had ended up changing into the form of a young boy. He had first turned into a voluptuous woman, but when Sibel had recoiled in disgust, he had no choice but to appear in a child form closer to his original.

“Why didn’t that guy Shanti come when this place is so nice.”

Ruru hummed a tune, holding a fruit skewer in his hand.

Shanti didn’t like humans much. In fact, if he thought about it, Shanti made no exceptions for any race. He didn’t even like dragons, his own kind.

He acted as if Sibel was the only one he liked.

“Lord Demon King, let’s buy drinks over there too?”

“But I think we have to exchange money first. The money Shanti prepared is all gold coins.”

In the treasure vault of the Demon King’s castle, there was a stock of gold and jewels. It had been gathered by some diligent Demon King from one, two, or three generations ago.

Sibel was born rich without moving a finger.

If he had known this, he wouldn’t have bothered going through all the hard work of repairing things himself. But since they had already finished all the manual labor, everyone in the castle had turned into repair experts.

Building a house was nothing to them now.

“Don’t worry! I’ll exchange it!”

Ruru snatched up the pouch of gold coins.

“They said there would be fireworks, but not yet?”

Sibel looked up at the sky as he spoke.

It was a black sky without even stars. When the fireworks bloomed, they would look like paint splattered on black paper.

“It looks like it will start soon. People are heading toward the central square.”

Ramiel lifted up Sibel’s black robe that had slipped down when he raised his head.

Even without horns, Sibel’s shining silver hair and translucent pale skin gave off a different atmosphere from ordinary humans. The alien aura around him especially stood out.

“Mom! Mom! Look at that statue! It’s so, so cool!”

“When I grow up, I want to be a hero too!”

Children who came to see the festival chattered as they looked at the statue in the square.

The statue standing in the center of the square was very large. On top of that, it was polished and well maintained.

“What is that?”

Sibel, whose gaze had gone to the statue, asked Ramiel. Ruru, in the meantime, was already going around near the food stalls after exchanging the money.

“That is the statue of Hero Asterion. He was born in this village and built his achievements here.”

“Asterion? What did he do for people to cheer like this?”

“He killed a Demon King.”

Ramiel answered with a bright smile.

“……”

Sibel was speechless.

“Then the purpose of this festival is…?”

“Yes. It is a festival to commemorate killing a Demon King.”

What the fuck, so they had come to a party celebrating killing Demon Kings?

Sibel glared at Ramiel with cold eyes.

1. Magwi means Demon or Evil Spirit ↩︎