Chapter 28

“I’m so sorry for making you carry so many things~”

“Don’t worry about it, Lateia. I have a fair bit of confidence in my physical strength, after all.”

I was walking along with sacks of flour, a chest of drawers, and various other items balanced on both shoulders and even on top of my head.

“In your case, ‘a fair bit’ is a massive understatement,” Angelica remarked with an exasperated look. Being a Hero, she was also carrying a considerable amount of luggage herself.

Since today was a day off, the three of us had gone on a major shopping spree in a nearby town. We had originally planned to rent a cart, but I insisted I could carry this much, so we ended up hauling it back by hand.

“Shopping as a family of three… it’s quite lovely, isn’t it~?”

Lateia squinted happily as she smiled. I couldn’t agree more. It truly was a picture of a harmonious family. One might even say it’s a page symbolizing a new era for demons and humans alike.

“Demon King, aren’t you supposed to behave a bit more like… well, a Demon King? You look like you’re actually enjoying this.”

Angelica’s question was one she already knew the answer to. The proof was the “good grief” expression on her face.

“Of course I am enjoying myself. Why do you assume manual labor isn’t fun? Even being an adventurer is fundamentally manual labor, but if it were nothing but unbearable agony, no one would do it.”

“You always have an answer for everything.”

“My, Angelica is still quite strict with Garto, isn’t she? Though I suppose it’s much better than it was a while ago.”

“Lateia, at this age, a daughter wouldn’t be clingy even with her biological father. They’re usually the ones saying to wash their clothes separately or complaining about ‘old man smell’ and bad breath.”

I hear those sorts of laments often from the staff working at the Demon King’s castle.

“I am a Hero. If the Hero gets too chummy with the Demon King, the world is doomed.”

“Hmm. In reality, I think the world would actually settle down much more peacefully if the Hero and the Demon King got along~”

Lateia’s reactions can be a bit airheaded, but her words frequently strike at the heart of the truth.

“Fine, fine… I’ll get along with the Demon King just enough so the world doesn’t end… I can’t win against Mama. Her spirit of philanthropy is just too much.”

Lateia seems to want Angelica and me to become even closer, but as far as I’m concerned, this is plenty. I’m sure there are plenty of fathers out there who are far more disliked by their daughters.

Yes, I believe I’ve cleared one major hurdle in befriending my stepdaughter.

As we entered the village, we saw some older women setting up what looked like a pavilion by the roadside.

“Oh, if it isn’t the Hero’s family!”

One of the women called out to us. It’s the same with demons, but the rate at which middle-aged women strike up friendly conversations is remarkably high.

“Hello, I am Garto.”

I offered a greeting. I am a newcomer to the village, after all. I must be sociable.

“My, Garto, you really are a Demon King, aren’t you? These arms are incredibly solid. I almost thought they were made of wood!”

The woman began patting my arm repeatedly. I doubt even a human adventurer would dare touch me from such a close distance out of fear, but are middle-aged human women perhaps some kind of incredibly powerful lifeform?

“Do you train every day? What kind of workout do you do? Do you lift carriages with one hand?”

“No, half of it is just racial traits—genetics, essentially.”

If I were a Demon King of old, I might have threatened her with, “Do you think you can humiliate me and leave with your life?” but I simply answered lightheartedly.

Naturally, communication with the local residents is vital. It would be the worst feeling to live in a place where everyone is tense around you.

Another elderly woman who was working looked at me with a curious expression.

“Say, Mr. Demon King. Have you ever actually destroyed the world?”

I could tell she wasn’t joking; she was asking in earnest.

“No, I’ve never gone and destroyed it. Besides, if I had destroyed it, I wouldn’t have a place to live right now, would I? You can’t just wipe out the world with the same casual vibe you’d use to thin out a few bad apples.”

“Is that so? Well, in our generation, we were taught by our parents that a ‘Demon King’ was a terrifying thing. They used to tell us that if children didn’t go to bed early, the Demon King would come and eat them up.”

Of course, I don’t go out of my way to hunt down and eat children who stay up late.

“Hahaha, that’s just a superstition, a total superstition.”

“That’s right, Garto is a very kind person~”

Lateia gave me a few playful pats on the back from behind.

The ladies and the elderly woman remarked that if Lateia said so, it must be true. If they were genuinely wary of me, they wouldn’t even be asking such things, so I think it’s safe to assume I’m starting to settle into the community.

However, I also realized that there are still people who feel uneasy about a Demon King living among them.

But that’s only natural. Even if I weren’t a Demon King—if I were an orc, an elf, or even a human from a completely different country—there would still be some level of anxiety or concern.

Even without reaching the level of actual discrimination, it’s normal for people to be on guard when cultures and customs differ, wondering if they’ll be able to get along.

Nevertheless, I must gradually dissolve that wariness. Someday, I must be accepted as a member of this land.

Besides, if I am not accepted, it might make things awkward for Lateia and Angelica. “Remarriage” is already the sort of thing people tend to gossip about, after all.

Well… Lateia has the kind of personality where she doesn’t mind that sort of thing, which is why she married a Demon King like me in the first place…

“The festival preparations are coming along quite well~” Lateia murmured.

Ah, come to think of it, those people earlier were busy working on something.

“Um, what kind of festival is it?”

It was Angelica, not Lateia, who answered.

“It’s a harvest prayer festival. We pray to the gods that we’ll have a bountiful crop again this year. What they were building just now was a gate to show the gods where our village begins. The main festival happens in the village square.”

“Then I must participate…”

If I attend the festival as a member of the local community, there’s a great chance I’ll be accepted all at once!