9 — Chapter 9

Even past eight, the front door did not open.

Something is wrong…

I had been sitting in the dining room chair for a while now, but the restlessness was becoming unbearable.

“Um, Lateia, isn’t it far too late? She should have been home a long time ago, shouldn’t she?”

“You’re right…”

Lateia placed a hand against her right cheek, looking troubled.

“I wonder if she ran away from home… She did that twice when she was a child, after all…”

At the mention of “running away,” a dark, heavy sense of guilt welled up inside me.

Was it because of our exchange this morning? But I hadn’t said anything wrong. Lateia had even agreed with me.

No. That wasn’t the point.

Regardless of whether I had ill intent or was technically responsible, my “daughter” might have run away.

If that were the case, the path for a father was already decided.

I stood up from my seat.

“I’m going to look for her. Please tell me if you know any places Angelica frequent.”

“Oh, no… This is the countryside, so the towns are all quite far apart, and there are so many possibilities.”

“I’ll search regardless. It’s not right for a father to sit around waiting while his daughter hasn’t returned home late at night.”

She was a girl of that age, after all. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t fall in with the wrong crowd or get caught up in some incident.

…Well, she is a Hero, so I imagine she could physically overpower any common thug, but there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t be tricked by some silver-tongued deviant who preys on runaway girls. If she were given alcohol or sleeping pills and fell asleep, she’d be defenseless.

“I will find her. Even if Angelica doesn’t recognize me as her father, I am her father.”

I rushed out of the house.

This morning, I had tried to talk Angelica down with logic. If that had been a boardroom meeting, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

But emotions cannot be settled by words alone.

When it comes to family, things are even more complicated.

If I didn’t back my words with action, I would fail as a family member.

I ran. I ran at a speed no human could ever achieve.

Spatial teleportation magic is difficult to use when trying to jump to a place you don’t know at all. I couldn’t simply warp at will to small towns I had zero interest in. Still, even running, the distances weren’t much. I wouldn’t lose much time.

I went to taverns and entertainment districts, asking everyone, “Have you seen the Hero, Angelica?”

Some people reacted as if a demon were hunting the Hero to kill her. I suppose that was a natural assumption. But faced with such reactions, I struggled to remain calm.

I grabbed one such man by the collar and growled.

“My daughter hasn’t come home even though it’s late. So, I am looking for her. Even you can imagine how that feels, can’t you? Do you understand?”

The man’s legs gave out. It couldn’t be helped. I am the Demon King, after all.

It passed ten o’clock. Angelica was not in any of the taverns or hangouts in the surrounding towns. Thinking we might have crossed paths, I checked back at the house, but there was no sign of her.

How far did she go? Surely she didn’t set off on a solo journey, did she? If she did that, there would be a limit to how far I could search.

I am the Demon King. I don’t grow winded or weary. My physical stamina was still overflowing.

Yet, I could feel myself being mentally backed into a corner.

Perhaps I was overlooking a place that one of her friends would have thought of instantly. My knowledge of her life was superficial at best.

Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration.

A friend, huh? I had forgotten to pursue that lead.

I used spatial teleportation magic to fly to the home of the mage, Selene.

When I knocked on the front door, a man who appeared to be the elder brother of the female mage I had met before answered.

“My apologies for the late hour. I was wondering if the Hero, Angelica, might be here. Her mother is worried sick because she hasn’t come home.”

I kept the fact that I was her father to myself for now, as it seemed like it would only complicate things. I hadn’t come here to give explanations.

The man shifted his gaze toward his feet. His expression was a mix of a faint, bitter smile and a hint of embarrassment, as if he were ashamed of something.

“Unfortunately, she isn’t here. Why don’t you try checking with the other party members? You might find some information there.”

“I see. My apologies for the trouble.”

“B-But… she is a Hero, after all, so surely there’s no need to worry that much… Unlike an ordinary woman, she’s strong… Besides, being an adventurer is the kind of profession where one might not return for a while once they set out on a journey…”

“Thank you. However—you speak as though you already know for a fact that she is safe.”

I can see through a human’s demeanor in an instant. Setting aside professional swindlers, the sense of incongruity from someone unaccustomed to lying is glaringly obvious.

“That’s not… She isn’t here. If you like, I can go call my sister, Selene, right now—”

“That’s enough, Brother.”

Interrupting the man’s words as she stepped out from behind him was the mage, Selene.

Even though she was in her own home, she was wearing her black mage’s hat. That said, she didn’t seem to have any intention of casting a spell at me.

“Mr. Demon King, Angelica is in my room,” Selene said, her expression stiff.

“You may come in. Please, this way.”

I followed behind Selene.

Inside the room, I found Angelica sitting on the edge of the bed. Since she was in her pajamas, it seemed she had intended to stay the night.

“What?! Why is the Demon King here?!”

The situation was clearly a complete bolt from the blue for Angelica, who shouted in surprise.

“He came looking for you, so I brought him here. I felt it would be wrong to simply turn him away.”

“Wait, wait, wait! You promised you’d tell him I wasn’t here! Don’t break your promise!”

“Yes, I lied. But explaining that you weren’t here would have been a lie just the same.”

A faint smile played across the mage’s lips.

“Besides, the expression on this gentleman’s face was that of a father genuinely worried for his daughter. I do have a heart, after all.”

“Mage Selene, you have my gratitude.”

I bowed my head to Selene.

“Please, don’t mind it. I’m in a position where I deserve to be blamed regardless.”

And so, I had managed to find Angelica.