4 — Chapter 4

Lateia and I sat down to eat the food we had successfully prepared.

Since this was a rural farming district within the human kingdom, there weren’t many rare ingredients to speak of. The spread consisted of simple, rustic country cooking.

Even so, it looked more brilliant than its appearance suggested. Perhaps it was because of the steam rising from every single dish.

As I took a spoonful of the soup, the flavor gently bloomed across my palate.

“It has such a mellow taste. Do you use high-quality salt?”

“If it tastes good, it’s only because you helped me, Garto~♪”

Lateia truly never stops smiling. That alone makes me feel cheerful.

“You are a strong person, Lateia. You’re every bit the mother of a Hero.”

I admired her from the bottom of my heart.

“Oh, stop it. Strong? I’m no adventurer. You’re the one who’s overwhelmingly strong, Garto~”

Lateia laughed as if I’d said something silly. Perhaps her smile is the secret to good health, because she didn’t look like the mother of a Hero at all. It wasn’t flattery; when I first saw her, I genuinely thought she was the older sister.

“That’s not the kind of strength I mean. Your strength is… how should I put it… a supple kind of strength.”

“I’m sorry. That’s a bit too complicated for me to understand.”

Shoot. I might have turned this into an abstract debate! She’s going to think I’m a tedious man!

“I mean that keeping a smile on your face the way you do is far more difficult than becoming strong in combat.”

I summarized it as briefly as I could.

In my case, I don’t remember laughing from the bottom of my heart since my wife, Sasaya, passed away.

It’s not like I spent every moment scowling, but the time I had to actually relax had certainly dwindled.

“Ah~ Angelica tells me that a lot, too. Though in her case, she’s usually criticizing me for being too laid-back.”

Lateia clapped her hands together.

“I don’t really put any effort into it, you know? It’s just my personality. I’m just a bit airheaded. So, there’s nothing really worth praising~”

Please, there’s no need for such modesty.

Gradually, the distinction between Lateia and a goddess was starting to blur in my mind. This attitude of never being boastful—it was reminiscent of a great sage.

I will build a happy home with Lateia. Everything I was missing is right here…

“Garto, how do you like the food~?”

Darn it. Did I make her anxious by not saying “delicious” enough times? In moments like this, should I be more specific with my praise?

“Everything is exquisite. This soup really brings out the savory depth of the chicken.”

“But it’s not like it’s some high-class poultry. I was actually a bit embarrassed because I figured you must eat court cuisine all the time.”

It seemed there might be a misunderstanding here.

“Not at all! Sure, I have formal dinners with other executives, but otherwise, I eat at common restaurants. If I’m even shorter on time, I just buy a bento nearby and eat at my desk. It’s actually quite a frantic lifestyle.”

“I see. You must have so much work to do.”

“That is the truth… There are many tasks that simply cannot be postponed. Fighting the Hero is only one small part of it.”

Some humans think a Demon King’s only job is to fight the Hero, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As the leader of the demons, I have a mountain of political affairs to handle.

To be honest, they tend to attack right when I’m busy with end-of-term reports and the like, which is quite a nuisance. Then again, having them show up during my vacation would be just as painful.

In fact, the reason the girl Hero was able to get in this time was because the sentries guarding the castle gates hadn’t used their paid leave, so I had them take it all at once.

Since there are two gates, there normally should have been at least two “mid-boss” level battles.

The sentries work in pairs, but it looks bad if only one person from a pair is off. So, I let all four people from both gates go on holiday at the same time.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. From now on, I’ll have to tell Angelica to contact you before she goes over.”

“If I go too far, people will start attacking us, claiming there’s collusion between the Kingdom and the demons. I can’t really do that.”

It’s a bit of a conspiracy theory, but it’s a difficult situation since I can’t exactly make all our information public.

Ideally, to ensure a situation doesn’t arise where the Demon King is away on a long vacation when the Hero attacks, I really should keep a reliable line of communication open…

“Ah, but Garto, since you’re going to be Angelica’s papa, that won’t be an issue anymore, will it?”

Lateia said with a beaming smile. Yeah, it would be great if things turned out that way, but—

“…That depends on how your daughter reacts.”

That was the problem… I still had the ultra-hard mission of explaining the situation to the girl Hero…

For instance, imagine if you were a girl Hero, and you woke up to find that the Demon King you were just fighting had become your stepfather.

The situation is so bizarre that it’s hard to even wrap my head around it…

Would she think it’s a joke?

Would she think her mother has been brainwashed?

Would she think it’s a bad dream and pinch her cheek? She’s welcome to try, but since it’s not a dream, she isn’t going to wake up…

I don’t know. I really have no idea what’s going to happen…

Well, for safety’s sake, once I finish this meal, maybe I should head back to the Demon King’s Castle for today.

I’ll come back to see the girl Hero another day to explain. I need some time to mentally prepare myself, too.

—Just then.

The door at the back of the dining room swung open.

The one who emerged was the girl Hero, Angelica.

“Mama, I finally made it all the way to the Demon King! I lost pretty quickly, though… I’ll do better next time!”

“Oh, Angelica! Dinner is ready. Do you want to eat now? I’ll warm it up for you.”

“Yeah, please. Also, I’d like something to drink—wait, huh?”

Angelica’s gaze landed on me.

The light vanished from her eyes. Her smile died… To be honest, her stare was terrifying.

“Why is the Demon King in our house…? Sorry, but to be blunt, I can’t grasp the situation at all… Did the Kingdom get conquered while I was unconscious, or something like that…?”

“Ah~ Angelica, you see—”

“No, I will speak.”

I mustn’t run away. If she realizes her father is the kind of man who flees from trouble, the girl Hero will only feel worse and be even more disillusioned.

“Hero—no, Angelica. Listen well. There is no decoration, no falsehood, and no scheme in what I am about to tell you. Everything is the truth.”

I realized I was still holding my spoon. On top of that, I was still sitting in my chair.

I messed up. I should have put the spoon down and stood up before addressing her…

“Fine. Say it… Unfortunately, I just woke up and I’m unarmed. Even I didn’t think for a second the Demon King would be in my own home. As an enemy, I have to admit, it’s a brilliant surprise attack…”

I see. Thinking logically, she’d assume this was one of my ploys. I told her it wasn’t a scheme, but I suppose that alone isn’t enough for her to believe me.

“Angelica… I… have married Lateia.”