The Duchy Of Arselvain

Suddenly, a meadow, a hill, and a castle appeared before us.

According to Stella, this is the territory of the Arselvain Ducal House, one of the Five Great Noble Families of the Demon Realm. If I recall correctly, she is the heiress to that very house.

“However, the Duchy is located dozens of kilometers away from the Royal Capital,” Stella noted. “Since this is a world within a dream, the geography may be distorted.”

“Is this Feria’s doing? I wonder if there’s a purpose to it.”

“It’s possible,” Stella nodded at my question. “Whether Feria manifested the Duchy with intent, or if it’s simply a random occurrence… because the source is her dream, it is difficult to accurately read her motives.”

“Let’s head in for now. There might be a hint to finding her whereabouts.”

We climbed the hill and reached the castle. Though a size smaller than the Demon Castle, it was a magnificent fortress nonetheless. In the human world, it would easily pass for the royal castle of a major power.

Standing before the main gate was a single female demon. She had wavy, semi-long purple hair and a plain face framed by glasses. She was dressed in a maid’s outfit: a white headband paired with a navy and white apron dress.

“Irene…?” Stella knit her brows.

“Welcome home, My Lady.”

The woman—Irene—bowed deeply. I had heard before that she was originally a maid at Stella’s family home and was now working at the Demon Castle. Was she also trapped in Feria’s dream? Or—

“…An illusion, I see,” Stella declared, the eye on her forehead glowing. “Just like the Golem from before, she is a tangible illusion created by Feria.”

“Fufu, as expected of My Lady. You see through me so easily,” Irene smiled. Her presence felt so grounded that it was hard to believe she wasn’t real.

“Irene, where is Feria?” Stella pressed her.

“Now, now, don’t be in such a hurry. Please, take a rest first.”

“Answer me, Irene,” Stella’s tone grew sharp. “To trap even the Demon Lord in a dream world is an act unbecoming of a subject.”

“My Lady, smile, smile! You’re such a beauty; you’ll ruin it with that face~”

“Irene, this is an emergency… funya!?”

“There we go, a smile, a smile!” Irene grabbed Stella’s cheeks and forced them into a grin.

“H-hey! Let go…!”

“My Lady is so much fun to tease~. That’s why I love you.”

“Honestly…” Stella huffed, puffing out her cheeks slightly once Irene let go. She seemed to be sulking.

Then—

“—Sleep.”

A voice echoed.

“What—”

At the same moment, the color drained from our surroundings. Just like back at the Demon Castle, the world shifted into a monochrome of black and white.

“The drifting mana is thickening… Be careful, My Lord,” Stella warned.

Tap, tap. Footsteps echoed.

As if bleeding out of thin air, a humanoid silhouette appeared. She had pale pink hair that reached her feet and a lovely, mischievous smile. Her outfit was provocative, with a high degree of exposure that could be mistaken for lingerie. A slender tail grew from her lower back, and membrane-like wings reminiscent of a bat sprouted from her shoulders.

“…Feria,” Stella’s expression turned grim.

So this is one of the Seven Great Demon Commanders—Feria, the Dream Demon Princess.

“Release the Nightmare World at once. What do you intend by involving the Demon Lord?”

“—Everything is within my dream.”

Feria whispered, ignoring Stella’s question.

“—All living things shall sleep equally.”

“I am Fried, the new Demon Lord. Listen to me, Feria.”

“—Continue to sleep, forever.”

She didn’t react to my words either.

“—Within the dream that lasts for eternity.”

She whispered like an incantation, and then her form vanished.

“She seems to have moved to another location…” Stella said. “Within the dream world, Feria is omnipotent. Teleportation is likely a trivial matter for her.”

“So that really was her just now?”

“Yes. However, it felt as though communication was impossible.”

True, Feria had only been speaking unilaterally.

“She probably doesn’t even recognize that you are the Demon Lord,” Stella sighed. “She was never the type to listen much to others, but this is beyond the limit.”

Just then, a red light flooded in from outside the manor.

“Whoa, what’s this!?” we heard Rilim’s voice.

When we stepped outside, a dome of red crystal had completely encased the manor. It was like a cage. This, too, was likely Feria’s doing.

“…We’re locked in,” I muttered.

What does Feria want? Did she want to lure us here? Does she want to stall us? Or is it just a meaningless whim? I couldn’t read her at all. We were being completely toyed with.

“The manor is entirely covered in crystal. There wasn’t a single gap to escape through,” Stella reported after surveying the area with her Clairvoyance.

“If I break it by force, it might damage the other demons,” I mused, recalling what happened when I made a hole in the sky. Damaging the Nightmare World seemed to reflect onto those trapped within it.

“My apologies, My Lady. It is already past curfew~,” Irene said in her easy-going tone. “The cage will open tomorrow morning. Please spend the night inside the manor.”

“We are in a hurry. Open it now.”

“You must observe the curfew. Otherwise, I will be scolded by the Madam~.”

“…By Mother?” A dark shadow crossed Stella’s face.

Hm? What was that about?

“If we can leave in the morning, let’s stay here for the night,” I suggested.

“My Lord…”

“I don’t want to risk hurting you all again by breaking the cage recklessly.”

“I suppose that’s true, but…”

“If the cage is still there in the morning, we’ll think of something else. We all need the rest anyway. Is everyone okay with staying the night?”

“…Understood. I shall go inform Rilim and the others.” Stella’s expression remained somewhat clouded.

We each took a room in the manor and rested.

Then, in the middle of the night, I woke up, feeling restless.

“Maybe I’ll go get some air…” Though with the cage covering us, the air might not be that fresh.

I stepped out of the guest room I had chosen for rest.

“Thinking about it, this is a dream. Is it even possible to sleep within a dream…?” I wondered as I walked down the hallway.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa…!”

A scream echoed. It came from the end of the hall.

“That voice—Stella!?”

I broke into a run. In the next instant, the scenery shifted. From inside the castle, I was suddenly in a well-kept garden. Walking right in front of me was a little girl.

“You…!?”

She had silver hair cut at the shoulders. Her beauty was chilling, yet mixed with an innocent air—she looked exactly like Stella. It was as if she had been turned back into a child.