Chapter 65
“So, what brings you here, Velsia?”
Grrrr……
baring his gleaming white fangs and speaking in a razor-sharp voice, the ‘Demon Dragon Vargar’ regarded the Demon King’s army secretary who had come to see him with open hostility.
In the cold, dark cave of the dragon’s lair, Velsia met his enormous purple, slit-pupiled eye and couldn’t help flinching in fear.
There was probably only one reason he was this angry.
She had disturbed his sweet afternoon nap and put him in a bad mood.
Even so, Velsia couldn’t believe it.
‘He sleeps for eight-tenths of his life, so why is he so touchy? Honestly.’
All dragons were like that. Their immense stores of mana let them live for nearly a thousand years, but they couldn’t stay awake for all that time. To keep their minds from wearing away, they spent long periods sleeping.
“……To get to the point, Lord Vargar, I’d like you to help me stop the Blood Lord.”
“Hmph. How unexpected. I thought you’d come with some pointless story about going to look for the Demon King.”
“That’s all taken care of now.”
Taken care of.
There was no trace of worry for the Demon King in her words.
That was because Velsia had received a message from Kardin several months ago.
He’d told her he’d found the Demon King and would deal with the vermin nearby before bringing the Demon King straight to the castle.
How had they talked without meeting in person?
The Demon King’s retainers could contact each other from anywhere. Of course, they couldn’t communicate unilaterally; it only worked with both parties’ permission. Even retainers deserved some privacy.
In any case, the Demon King had only two retainers. Velsia and Kardin had already talked things over and settled everything.
‘Well, it seems he succeeded in bringing the Demon King back. He hasn’t contacted me since, and I can definitely sense Kardin’s retainer presence. Then again, if that strong but empty-headed bag of bones couldn’t even manage that, he’d be useless.’
When Kardin’s presence briefly disappeared, Velsia had feared the worst. But once she sensed it again, she was finally able to relax. For a moment there, she’d really thought Kardin had died.
“If you mean the Blood Lord…… are you talking about ‘Mortia’?”
“Yes. She’s declared that she’ll become the Demon King in Sleris, the Beastfolk Kingdom. The nerve of her.”
“What? K-Keh heh heh heh…… That’s ridiculous. There’s no way she could do that. It’s just the sort of idea that brute of a woman would come up with. Keh heh……”
I know, right?
A filthy bat who did nothing but suck human blood was trying to claim the Demon King’s throne. Did she think she could become the Demon King just by making a bunch of retainers? She wasn’t even a demon—she was only a demonkin.
‘I’m glad he seems reasonable. I was worried because he has such a bizarre personality, but this is going well.’
He had once served as the Demon King’s magic tutor.
For some reason, he didn’t even show his face to the Demon King anymore. But it seemed Velsia could get his help in defeating the Blood Lord this time. It wasn’t as if they were going to look for the Demon King, after all.
“However, I won’t be going with you.”
“What!? W-Why not? I already apologized for the rudeness of waking you from your nap! If we don’t catch that bat right now, it’ll upset the Demon King—”
“Enough. I already have a prior engagement. I’d like to see that vampire bitch’s face, too, but something more urgent has come up.”
“……Please explain in a way I can accept.”
“A human wearing a cat mask came to see me recently. And he made a request.”
……He asked me to destroy Tiranis.
“What? You’re going to let that bat bitch go for such a trivial request? Even you know which matter is more important, Lord Vargar! This is unbelievable!”
“Tch. I wanted to refuse, too. I hate dealing with troublesome things. But that insolent bastard threatened me by showing me a horn. It belonged to a young Behemoth, one of our kind. I don’t know where he found it, but now that I know one of our young is in danger, I have no choice.”
Dragons were few in number. And their nature meant they didn’t have many children, either. So every young dragon was a treasure worth a fortune to them.
“I don’t know what kind of irresponsible parent let their child wander off, but what can you do? I might as well get moving, since I have nothing better to do. Besides, I was getting bored.”
Well, I’ll be off, then.
With that, the Demon Dragon spread his black wings and flew out of his lair in an instant. The gust of wind nearly swept Velsia off her feet, making it hard even to watch him go.
“……Nothing’s going right.”
Alone in the empty dragon’s lair, Velsia unconsciously bit down hard on her lip.
***
Aaaagh, I’m totally screwed.
[Calm yourself. What you fear won’t happen.]
The parasite’s voice came, trying to calm me down, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even stop my body from trembling. And it wasn’t because I was sitting on Prea’s lap. It definitely wasn’t because I was cold in my bunny-girl outfit, either.
‘How am I supposed to calm down!? I could die at any moment!’
I’m going to die.
That ominous thought filled my head.
The reason I was thinking this was none other than the Holy Sword right in front of me. The one hanging from the Hero’s waist. The one he’d casually brought into the room!
“Yubel, why are you trembling so much?”
“Right, right! Are you still cold?”
“Gasp! I-I’m sorry! Was I not giving you enough warmth by hugging you from behind……?”
I heard a tearful voice from behind my head.
“N-Nothing’s wrong! I’m plenty warm now, so don’t cry, Prea! There, there! And quit rubbing my thighs from behind!”
“But…… they’re so soft……”
“Maybe the aftereffects are still lingering……”
The Hero said that, looking at me with utmost seriousness. I found it overwhelming and slipped my gaze away. That was when I noticed the Holy Sword.
‘Damn it! Why is that thing here!?’
Prea had been hugging me, and we’d been rolling around on the bed together for ages. At some point, the Hero and Riella had opened the door and come in.
Once they realized I’d woken up, they’d welcomed me just as warmly as Prea had. That part was nice. The news that they’d defeated the Witch of the Bitter Cold was wonderful, too.
But……
Sparkle, sparkle.
“Um…… Hero, what’s that?”
“Hm? Oh, I didn’t tell you about this. It’s the Holy Sword, as you can see. I brought it back from the snowy mountain.”
Why on earth would you do that?
I couldn’t understand why he’d brought a weapon that could kill me. Of course, the Hero didn’t know I was a demon. I’d only found that out recently myself.
Before they came into the room, the parasite had briefly explained demons to me.
It said that we were demons, and that demons hid their hearts somewhere outside their bodies. As long as those hearts weren’t attacked, we couldn’t die.
The first time I heard that, I couldn’t believe it. What kind of species kept its heart hidden outside its body? It wasn’t Bluetooth. Apparently some demons did keep their hearts inside their bodies, but mine seemed to be outside.
That was because I’d heard demons grew stronger the closer they were to their hearts. But I was incredibly weak right now. At last, I had an explanation for why I was so weak.
“……”
Anyway, that Holy Sword was a tracker that could find the heart.
A foul thing that was after my life!
But……
‘Hmm, maybe it’s fine as long as they don’t know I’m a demon?’
Come to think of it, as far as they were concerned, I was a beastfolk. As long as they didn’t find out I was a demon, I didn’t need to worry about being killed. Hallelujah. Did that make me invincible? I couldn’t feel pain, and I wouldn’t die as long as my heart was safe. There was nothing left to fear.
Besides, it was even stranger to think the Hero would kill me.
I’m the most useful person here!
So there was a zero percent chance I’d die.
At least, that’s what I thought.
“Come to think of it, Yubel, you could’ve died, but the demon—”
“Aaaaaah!!!! W-W-Wait a se-cond!”
The word ‘demon’ had come out of the Hero’s mouth.
And he was going to kill me? Because I was a demon?
I hurriedly screamed to shut him up.
But my mind was already a complete mess.
No, what, what is this, seriously? Does he know I’m a demon? I only just found out myself! Th-Then did he really bring that thing to kill me? Aaaaaagh! No, how did he find out!?
Now that I’d been found out, there was only one thing I could do.
Beg him to spare me.
“Waaah, please don’t kill me! Spare me! I-I’ll be better! I’ll do everything myself from now on—the cooking, cleaning, and laundry! I’ll even just pee in my panties and…… I-I’ll clean it up, so please don’t kill me! Waaaaaah……”
Scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub!
I scrambled off Prea’s lap and planted my forehead on the floor in a deep bow, begging the Hero.
The Hero looked a little flustered.
“W-Wait a minute. Yubel, just calm down first…… No, never mind. Everyone, why don’t you come with me for a moment? Yubel, stay here for now.”
“……Okay.”
“All right! Bye, Yubel!”
With Riella’s brief farewell, I heard the door slam shut.
Huh?
They were leaving me here alone?
I immediately raised my head, but Prea and Riella had already followed the Hero outside. I was the only one left behind.
“Wh-What do I do!? They must’ve gone to decide whether to kill me! I-I’m finished! U-Uuugh……”
[Hmm, this is unexpected. I never thought the Hero would make that choice……]
I’m done for.
I couldn’t see any way to survive without running from the Hero.
Was I going to die at the Hero’s hands just like this?
I haven’t even been in love yet!
[Hmm, there is one way.]
“What!? W-What way?”
[You can kill yourself. By taking enough damage that your body can no longer withstand it.]
Huh?
“Wh-What kind of stupid idea is that!? I’d still end up dying!”
[Calm yourself. Have you forgotten that we’ll be fine as long as our heart is safe? If this body takes more damage than it can withstand, you’ll naturally wake up again at the Demon King’s castle. To be precise, you’ll be resurrected near your heart.]
Th-There’s a way to do that?
This was Broad the blacksmith’s house, full of all kinds of weapons. In other words, I had more than enough tools to hurt myself.
I was worried that the Demon King’s army might attack me when I resurrected at the castle, but that was a hundred, no, a thousand times better than dying right now.
“Waaah, I-I don’t want to die……”
[Yes, I know the Demon King’s castle like the back of my hand, so I’ll take good care of you. Don’t worry too much.]
“Th-Thank you……”
Thank goodness I had the parasite.
Right now, the parasite supporting me felt so cool.
Cool enough to marry.
***
“Yubel seems to be in really bad shape.”
“Yes…… I suppose she is.”
Just as Se-on was about to explain that the demon had saved Yubel when she could have died, Yubel shouted and stopped him.
Perhaps that reaction meant……
“Mmm. It must be because of the demon, right……?”
“Yeah. The demon said that it and Yubel had become one. Maybe Yubel turned into a demon. And perhaps she’s acting like that because she’s unconsciously rejecting the idea.”
“H-How could this happen……? My Lady Yubel……”
“Ugh……”
The possibility that Yubel had become a demon.
No, calling it a possibility was too generous. It was practically certain that Yubel had become a demon. We’d seen her wounds heal in an instant. That kind of healing power was impossible unless she was a demon. Her severed limbs had even been reattached.
“Then…… is that why you left Lady Yubel behind and called us out here?”
“Hm? Oh, I wanted to talk about keeping this from Yubel.”
If Yubel realized she’d been possessed by a demon, would she be able to keep traveling with us like normal? I didn’t think so. She might even try to kill herself right now.
Yubel always put her companions before herself, so she’d probably try to kill the dangerous demon for our sake—even if it put her own life at risk.
After hearing what I had to say, Prea and Riella turned pale and nodded frantically.
“Y-You’re right…… We’ll absolutely keep it a secret.”
“Mmm! I’ll keep my lips sealed!”
“Thanks, you two.”
Thankfully, we all felt the same way. After all, Yubel was so lovable. It was only natural that anyone who saw her would want to cherish and protect her.
“Then, as for the demon……”
“We’ll have to find some way to deal with it.”
The demon was definitely dangerous, but there had to be some way to resolve this. For example, that ‘bet’ the demon had mentioned. At any rate, we had to keep this from Yubel until we figured out what we could do.
We exchanged glances and nodded, then headed back toward the cabin. Slowly, we opened the front door.
That was when I noticed something was wrong.
Why did I smell that familiar scent of blood?
Something…… my heart began pounding again.
Thump, thump.
“S-Something…… feels strange. I feel a little……”
“……”
Soon, we reached the bedroom door. It was a roughly made wooden door. The smudges from countless hands made it look as though it had guarded this room for many years.
My head was spinning, so I was pointlessly dwelling on strange details.
Why?
Why was I suddenly feeling dizzy?
I didn’t know why, but I felt terribly uneasy.
With a trembling hand, I took hold of the handle.
Slowly lowered it.
Then pushed.
Creeeak—
Yubel would be there to greet us on the other side. She’d welcome us with an angelic smile, smiling brightly and innocently as ever.
That was certain.
But then.
“S-Sob, I have to die……! R-Right now! Waaah……”
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Splat, splatter.
“……Huh?”
It wasn’t Yubel who greeted us.
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
It flowed from Yubel’s arms and abdomen,
stinging our nostrils as it offered us a pitiful greeting.
“A-Aah……”
And then we saw what came next.
Stab, shwoosh……!
Holding a knife, she was trying to kill herself.
“Y-Yubel! Stop!!!”
It was Yubel.