17 — Chapter 17

And so, the day off arrived.

I came to the hill in the coastal town where Lateia’s parents lived.

From the high ground, the port town and the sea were spread out below—it was quite a view.

“Both my father and mother were born in a sprawling farming village, so they said living somewhere with a view of the ocean was their dream. That’s why, when I got married, they handed over their old house and moved out here.”

“I see. I believe they have excellent taste.”

Angelica chimed in, “Demon King, you’re acting all stiff, like you’re at a formal matchmaking interview.”

It couldn’t be helped, could it? Anyone would be nervous in a situation like this.

What would I do if they said, “I’ll never entrust my daughter and granddaughter to the likes of the Demon King! Go back to your demon lands!”?

To be blunt, there would be nothing I could do, and the risk of that happening was more than high enough. Still, the longer I delayed my greetings, the worse their impression of me would become, so I couldn’t simply run away.

Come what may! I will not flee!

When I knocked on the door of the stylish house, a woman who appeared to be Lateia’s mother came out. Her expression bore a certain resemblance to Lateia’s.

“Ah, the new husband. So glad you could make it. Come in, come in.”

Thank goodness. I wasn’t told “don’t you dare cross this threshold” or anything of the sort. Then again, surely no one would resort to such a childish rejection these days.

“Um, these are an assortment of cookies. Please, have some if you’d like.”

“Look, Mom—they’re the ones I usually buy~”

“Oh my, thank you for being so thoughtful. We’ll gratefully accept them.”

Lateia moved in to support me. I appreciate the help! …Wait, was it only natural for Lateia to back me up? We were husband and wife, after all…

On the other hand, as for Angelica—

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but at the very least, she wasn’t smiling. Could it be she wasn’t on good terms with her grandparents? Or perhaps they saw each other so often that she didn’t feel the need to put on airs. I couldn’t judge just yet.

Regardless, I just had to carry out what needed to be done in a businesslike manner. If I did that, it would all be over before I knew it. It was the same mindset as administrative procedures. Even if something was incredibly tedious, if you processed it solemnly, it eventually reached completion.

We were invited into what looked like a drawing room. There was a low table set before some comfortable-looking chairs.

“I’ll prepare some tea now. Mr. Demon King—is it alright if I call you ‘Demon King’?”

“Ah, yes. ‘Demon King’ or ‘Garto,’ whichever you prefer.”

“Then I’ll go with ‘Demon King,’ since it sounds so dignified. Now, Mr. Demon King, is human tea alright for you to drink?”

“Yes, I’d love some. It’s perfectly fine.”

The mother stepped out of the room. It wasn’t that she had been intimidating me, but I felt a little more at ease.

Good grief, my nerves were truly frayed. I hadn’t felt this way since a small rebellion broke out on the frontier. No, this might actually be tougher. Back then, I had a sense of certainty that I would win, but I didn’t have that now…

“Garto, you don’t have to be so stiff, you know~”

Lateia gave me a smile. Thank you. With that smile, I can pull through this.

“Understood. I shall try to be more natural—”

“Demon King, don’t let your guard down. Treat this like a battle.”

This time, Angelica gave me the exact opposite advice. Which was it? Which one was right?

Before long, the father entered the room along with the mother, who was carrying the tea set.

His hair was short and white, but his eyes were still sharp. He had the face of a man who wouldn’t lose to the youth just yet. This man looked stubborn… His defense stats seemed high.

He’s here—the boss! How will he move? What kind of reaction will he show?

In silence, the boss crossed his arms and took the seat diagonally across from me. Wait. Should I have introduced myself again?

“I am Garto Ryuzen, the Demon King. I serve as the Demon King on the Masgenia continent.”

I had never introduced myself quite like that before. It had been a very long time since I’d acted so humbly toward anyone.

“Hmph,” was all the boss said. What, did he mean to say he had no name to give to the likes of me? That was quite disrespectful to the Demon King—is what I thought, but I couldn’t actually say it.

The mother took the seat directly in front of me.

“My name is Sastina, and this is my husband, Baindy. He might be a bit difficult to approach, but please forgive him.”

So Sastina was the one in charge of moving the conversation along. In a marriage, these roles usually settle into place naturally.

Now, this was a case of “victory goes to the one who strikes first.”

In war, speed is of the essence. I had to press the attack all at once to achieve a military exploit.

“Um… as of recently, I have been permitted to remarry Lateia… This is my second marriage as well.”

Should I mention that I was widowed by my first wife, Sasaya? But it felt strange to offer that up without being asked. It also felt a bit disrespectful to Sasaya. However, wasn’t the reason for my previous marriage ending information the other party would want to know…?

“Yes. You lost your first wife in the war, didn’t you, Mr. Demon King? That must have been truly painful for you.”

“Ah, you knew?”

“And you saw something of your late wife in Lateia, which led you to propose on impulse—is that correct? It seems you are making daily efforts to be a family man while continuing your duties as the Demon King.”

She was incredibly well-informed! She had done her research!

As expected of Lateia’s mother, she had a grasp on even the smallest details. Indeed, one cannot achieve the greatest results with halfway-finished intelligence.

Sastina appeared quiet, but she was quite the shrewd operator. To maintain such a dignified composure in front of the Demon King… she could be called a woman of great caliber.

I couldn’t let my guard down…

“As for the marriage, I personally think it’s fine,” Sastina said bluntly.

Wait, had I already achieved my goal?!

No, no, that was premature. She said, “I personally think.” In other words, one could interpret that as Baindy not having approved yet. It was too early to celebrate.

“Thank you very much. I am still inexperienced in many ways, but I hope to make Lateia—and Angelica—happy!”

Here, I brought up her granddaughter to project the image of a trustworthy stepfather. I had to emphasize that I wasn’t the kind of scum who would mistreat a stepchild.

“Just the other day, Angelica and I went mountain climbing together.”

“Yeah. We went. Monsters attacked us like it was a full-scale dungeon, though.”

Hey, Angelica, don’t say things that put me at a disadvantage! This is a critical moment!

“Well, Angelica is a Hero, after all. Perhaps she enjoys that sort of thing more?”

Sastina, thank you for the backup! Exactly! It was no big deal!

“Now, I’d like to ask you something important, Mr. Demon King. Is that alright?”

Something important? What on earth could it be?

“Do you have plans to have children of your own?”