Return And Another Day Of Routine

I decided to return to the Demon Realm for the time being with Stella and the undead.

With my power, it would be possible to re-conquer the three kingdoms that had been taken back. But even if I did, I couldn’t exactly stay in the human world forever to keep guarding them. I can’t leave the Demon Realm unattended for too long.

On the other hand, even if I stationed the undead there, they would just be scattered if a powerful Hero like Ludmila showed up. The remaining forces were simply too small to hold out.

—And so, we retreated.

“Welcome back, my Demon Lord!”

When we reached the Demon Castle, Rilim and the other guards came out to meet us.

“Yeah, I’m back.”

As I waved back, everyone let out a joyful cheer. I had the undead who returned with me report back to Regal’s army.

“Thank you very much, my Lord!”

Every single one of them thanked me repeatedly before departing. Regal himself was out on duty. He had been performing regular patrols to ensure no remnants of the Heroes who previously invaded the Demon Realm were still lurking about.

I, too, have to clear the work I need to do. Though, for today, I’ll allow myself to rest a little.

I went back to my private quarters. There are two private rooms for the Demon Lord; one is purely for personal use, and the other—under the guise of a private room—is actually where the spiritual entity of the previous Demon Lord, Yurisha, resides.

I returned, of course, to the former.

I removed my mask, shed my robe, and lay down on the bed.

“Phew…”

I stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. A lot had happened during those few days in the human world.

Fighting the Sacred Edge, Ludmila.

Reencountering Lyle.

Handing him his two punishments and severing our ties.

Killing Urbano and the other Heroes to protect Stella and the others.

I sighed once more. All sorts of thoughts welled up. It wasn’t simple anger or sadness. It wasn’t a sense of accomplishment or exhilaration, nor was it disappointment or emptiness. It was a mixture of all of them, swirling in my chest.

…I didn’t sleep much that night.

The next morning.

“Even just being away for a bit, it really piles up, doesn’t it…?”

On the desk in the office sat a massive stack of documents. I had only been gone for two days…

“Fried-sama, you must be tired. I will handle things like this.”

Stella was in paperwork mode, wearing a pair of glasses. Since it was just the two of us, I had my mask off.

“I’ll do a general check. Could you handle the final approval?”

“Thanks. You’re always a big help.”

“Don’t mention it. You saved many demons again this time. Please, let me do at least this much.”

“You must be tired too. You were overworking your Clairvoyance, and your mana probably hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

Stella is the one who really deserves a break.

“Were you unable to sleep much?” she asked, looking at me.

“No, I’m fine.”

“…Please, don’t push yourself.”

In those eyes gazing intently at me, a gentle light dwelled.

“If it would help, please talk to me about anything.”

“…Thank you.”

But I’m okay for now.

After that, Stella and I began the paperwork. Back when I was a Hero, almost all my missions involved fighting demons, so spending time cooped up in an office working feels quite fresh.

Stella would check the documents, and I would apply the seal of approval. Budget requests from various regions, various approval forms for personnel and economics, military affairs, ceremonial matters… are there really this many different facets to a King’s work?

As we worked in silence, noon arrived.

“…You check these really fast, don’t you?” I said to Stella.

Before I knew it, the documents that had filled over thirty boxes were down to less than half.

“Eyes of Chaos (Ganma) are a kin that excel not just in eyesight, but in thinking speed and reaction time. I am quite suited for this type of work.”

“Eyes of Chaos?”

“That is the name of my race.”

So Stella belonged to a race like that.

Knock, knock. There was a knock at the door.

“I’ve brought lunch.”

I remembered that since the work had piled up, I’d decided to eat in the office today.

“Thanks. Come in.”

I put on my mask and called out toward the door.

“Excuse me~”

A demon girl entered, pushing a wagon. Her apparent age was about the same as Stella’s. She had slightly wavy, semi-long purple hair and wore glasses, giving her a plain appearance. She wore a white headband and a maid outfit consisting of a white and navy apron dress. Her chest was bulging tightly against the fabric, and I almost found my eyes wandering.

“Good work. Set it up here, Irene,” Stella instructed.

“Yes, My Lady~”

The demon maid called Irene pushed the wagon forward.

“Wait, ‘My Lady’?”

“Lady Stella is the legitimate successor of the House of Arselvain, one of the Five Great Noble Families of the Demon Realm~. I serve Lady Stella at the estate as well, so… the usual way of addressing her just slipped out, fufu,” Irene replied with a bow.

“Stella was a noble…?”

Between the “Eyes of Chaos” and this, there are still so many things I don’t know about Stella—no, about demons in general. What are the Five Great Noble Families? Based on the name, it sounds like a very high social standing. However, it might be common knowledge for demons, so I can’t ask carelessly. I’ll have her tell me later when I’m alone with her.

“Line them up there.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

At Stella’s word, Irene set the table.

“Oh, Stella, how about you? You must be hungry too,” I said.

As I spoke, I caught Irene’s eye. The demon maid’s eyes were shining behind her glasses, and she was stealing glances at the food on the table.

“…It looks so good, slurp. How nice, I want to eat too…”

The voice of her heart was leaking out completely. Well, it certainly did look delicious.

“Um… would you like some too, Irene?”

“Wow, really~? I’m so happy!”

Irene’s ample chest jiggled as she bounced with excitement.

“Is that alright, my Lord?”

“Since we’re here, why not?” I answered Stella’s question.

“Thank you, my Lord!” Irene hopped up and down joyfully.

“You are in the presence of the King. Restrain yourself.”

“Ehehehe, My Lady is in work mode, I see.”

“In the workplace, address me as Commander, not ‘My Lady’.”

“Oh my, oh my.” Irene smiled gently.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? There are only three of us here. Let’s relax.” I said to the two of them. “You were in the human world until yesterday too, Stella. You must have been on edge the whole time.”

“…If the Demon Lord says so.” Stella nodded.

After that, the three of us ate lunch. I had been tense while in the human world, so being able to eat a meal calmly like this felt good.

“My Lady, if you’re not going to eat that rolled omelet, can I have it~?”

“No. I’m saving that for the end… wait. Don’t try to sneak it away.”

“Ehehe, I got caught~”

“Honestly… ah, that simmered dish is mine too. You just ate some, didn’t you?”

“I’m in my growth phase, so I get hungry~”

“I suppose it can’t be helped. We’ll split it.”

“Yay! My Lady is so kind.”

“Not ‘My Lady,’ but Commander… no, I suppose that name is fine since the Demon Lord gave permission.”

The exchange between the two was heartwarming. I spent my lunch break feeling quite soothed.

Near evening, the routine work was finally finished.

“Thank you so much, Stella. I don’t know how long this would have taken without you…”

“I am just glad to be of service.”

“In fact, I wouldn’t be able to function without you. I’m grateful.”

“Oh, please…” Stella blushed bashfully.

“Go and get some rest. There’s a place I want to stop by.”

“A place you want to stop by…?”

“Yeah, just… a bit.”

I intended to go see Yurisha after this. I wanted to ask her about the fragment of the Demon Lord’s sword.