DKFTI 65

The terrace, bathed in sunlight was Aizen’s favorite spot. But today, Ramiel was standing there.

When Aizen passed by the first floor, he felt a gaze on him and raised his head to look up at the terrace. Then Ramiel lightly waved his hand toward him.

“You’re not surprised to see me.”

Aizen spoke. Then Ramiel’s lips curved softly.

“Because I knew you would return.”

“You can even see the future?”

Aizen grumbled at him.

“Well.”

Aizen’s eyes sharpened at Ramiel’s somewhat ambiguous answer.

He had disliked him from the beginning. Even after three years, he still disliked him.

It was irritating to see him act as if he had made himself at home in the Demon King’s castle after adapting here.

“I hoped we wouldn’t meet again.”

“Fate doesn’t let go so easily.”

Every time he smiled, his eyes folded so prettily that Aizen wanted to pinch them. He didn’t like people who always smiled and hid their real feelings.

He preferred those who reacted openly without hiding when provoked.

“But it would have been better for everyone if you hadn’t returned.”

“Who decides nonsense like that?”

“Do you think you can block the tide of the times?”

“You know what you’re talking about?”

Aizen got goosebumps at Ramiel’s words that felt like they were prying into his insides. As expected, it was uncomfortable.

“I do anything I set my mind to.”

“That’s arrogance.”

Aizen clenched his fist at his words. Ramiel looked at him with pity.

“You will be the one to break first.”

Aizen’s gaze turned cold.

“Isn’t that what you’re hoping for?”

“I’ve always been cheering for you.”

He couldn’t guess the true intention hidden behind his laugh.

“If I’m going to break, then try breaking me.”

“I see. You mean you’ve steeled yourself that far. Then what you fear is the opposite, isn’t it?”

“……”

“I’m curious. How far can you put yourself down?”

“Save your melodrama.”

Aizen spat on the ground. Every word Ramiel said stabbed at his heart.

That was probably because what he said was the truth.

Aizen even started to feel afraid of Ramiel, who knew his situation.

“As I always say, I am on your side.”

“Is there any need to split sides here?”

His anxiety must have been coming from words like that. Even under the same roof, he picked and separated sides.

That man, unlike his smooth face, didn’t seem peaceful inside.

“Don’t waver. The answer is in the traces carved on your path.”

“Interesting.”

The heart he had kneaded and hardened so many times was shaken in an instant. He seemed more like a demon than a human.

“I’ll say it again. I am on your side.”

Ramiel’s calm voice hit down on Aizen’s head like a rainstorm.

Rational judgment always said the same thing. He had to turn back.

But.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Aizen turned his head away to avoid Ramiel’s gaze that was fixed only on him.

He had always hated those transparent eyes, but today it was worse.

“Whenever you face a difficult situation, please come to me.”

Aizen ignored Ramiel’s voice hitting the back of his head and kept walking.

He was already used to it. There were countless things that shook him. Whether he opened his eyes or closed them, every day was a continuous trial.

It didn’t matter what shook him. The fact that he had returned here on his own feet meant he had staked more than determination itself. Whether it was conviction or his life.

Nothing had changed. This place was like a mountain hut in a hailstorm to him. Even if it felt peaceful for a moment, disaster from outside would always come down on him.

“He’s just making a fuss for no reason.”

Anyway, he didn’t like Ramiel. Maybe it was because his whispering voice seemed to resemble some spiteful god.

“The weather’s nice.”

Aizen looked up at the clear sky. For some reason, the unchanging scenery here made him feel a little sad.

***

Something interesting happened in the Demon King’s Castle.

“Is this… real?”

Ruru was appalled.

“This is crazy.”

Sibel was shocked.

“I can’t believe this.”

Shanti doubted.

“Is this… really an offering?”

★Celebration★

Today was the day an offering arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.

“Wasn’t this altar just for naps?”

Sibel asked a question unbefitting of a Demon King. The offering altar had gone unused for so long that he thought it was just decoration.

The altar was piled high with grain and meat, fruit and treasures of gold and silver. It was a truly unfamiliar sight.

“Who sent it?”

“Hmm, we’ll know if we look at the letter.”

Shanti reached out to check the letter on the altar.

“Oh no. Even the letter is wrapped in silk.”

A bundle of letters wrapped in silk and tied with a gold string. Nothing could look more extravagant.

“Hmm. It’s from Ron.”

“Ron, who was Ron again?”

At Shanti’s words, Ruru tilted his head and asked.

“Ron! Ron of Corteirn!”

Sibel answered in his place. He remembered Ron. Of course he did. They had shared life and death together! Though he had run away first.

“Oh. He says he drove out the heretics, became king, and stabilized the country. Now it seems it’s rather peaceful both inside and outside the royal palace.”

While Shanti read the letter aloud, Sibel and Ruru grabbed their hands full of gold and jewels from the offering altar and made wicked Demon King expressions. Now that an offering had arrived, they finally felt like proper Demon Kings.

“He really was a seed that showed promise.”

“Didn’t you not like Ron, Shanti?”

“Who does that dragon like? Whenever someone comes, he’d narrow his eyes and say, you bastard, get lost!”

Shanti glared at Sibel and Ruru when he saw them whispering and badmouthing him together.

“Hmm. Judging by how abundant the offering is, it seems he’s living quite well.”

“Ron, you’ve made it…”

Sibel tried to recall his last moments with Ron. He had been in despair, but he had gathered courage, stood up again, and risked his life to protect his people.

“He really was a brave young man.”

“Why do humans, who barely live just over a hundred years, live so fiercely?”

Ruru spoke as if it was fascinating. Since Sibel had once lived as a human, he could relate to Ruru’s words.

Why did humans live so fiercely? Was it instinct, or something like that?

“Anyway, it’s good. With this, our Demon King’s Castle can rightfully receive offerings, don’t you think?”

Shanti spoke.

“But isn’t it strange that we receive offerings not for evil deeds but for doing good things?”

Ruru nitpicked about the matter, but Sibel coolly let his words slide past his ears.

“Either way, we received them, that’s enough. Why argue?”

“Well, true! We’re not in a position to argue!”

Bright-faced Ruru quickly got a grasp of the situation.

“Oh dear, how are we supposed to move all this.”

With magic?

Sibel knew very well there was an easy way, but he found Ruru, who deliberately said nonsense to show off about the offerings on the altar, cute.

“Yeah, really. Even if we worked all day, it wouldn’t be enough to sort this out!”

And Sibel ended up joining Ruru’s swagger. He wished that the whole world would see these offerings and misunderstand that the notoriety of Valheim’s Demon King’s castle pierced the heavens.

“But since we received offerings, do we have to send a reply or something?”

“Come on, that’d look cheap. We just gulp it down.”

“Wouldn’t that seem a bit cold-hearted?”

“Hmm… is that so? Is it a bit cold?”

Ruru rubbed his chin and thought.

“It’s been so long since we last received one that my memory’s fuzzy. Should we send a few monsters as a grand gesture?”

At that moment, Sibel suddenly recalled an old memory. The nightmare of the day when, not knowing anything, they sent a Puresia into the human world and the Demon King’s castle was thrown into chaos.

The days when he cried and wailed and made a disgrace of himself before Aizen.

“What do you mean send something….”

“Or maybe we should tell them to send a list of countries that they don’t like?”

“And then what would we do with it?”

“Wipe them out completely. That’s what mutual aid is all about. Hey, they sent offerings and we’re protecting them like this, are you guys just going to sit there? We must intimidate them a little too.”

“Isn’t that just being a thug?”

Was that even laying groundwork for double-dealing? Had loyalty been thrown to the dogs?

“Right. Even demons should have some principles. Ruru, you really have no dignity.”

Shanti reproached Ruru.

“Diiiiiiignityyyy? Diiiignityyy?”

Ruru’s eyes rolled.

“Are you looking down on me because I’m a fox demon who gets touched by human hands?”

What about Ruru’s origins made him react so explosively? For the first time in a while, Sibel grew curious about Ruru. He seemed like a human-friendly demon.

“Does dignity feed us? Does it protect the Demon King’s Castle? Huh? Do you have noodles in your head?”

“What did you say? You fox bastard!”

The two of them started fighting.