My Darling’s Sincerity

What the hell. I glared at Saleos with eyes full of accusation. Saleos hurriedly waved his hands as if to protest his innocence.

“Darling, I don’t mind that look, but you’ve got it all wrong.”

“What exactly did I get wrong?”

“I wasn’t the one who suggested it. Our Village Chief requested it himself.”

Isn’t the role of an adult to stop a child from asking for something like that? I looked at Saleos with even colder eyes. Saleos shifted his gaze to the boy. The brat let out a sigh, as if to say he was only explaining this once.

“I asked for it.”

“No, why would you ask for that?”

“Why do you think? Because if I go out of control, I don’t want to destroy this village with my own hands.”

Even so, a self-destruct spell for a kid who hasn’t even lived that long? As I continued to stare at Saleos with a face full of reproach, the young Chief let out another weary sigh and continued.

“When I first summoned Saleos, my mind was unstable, and I almost went berserk several times. That’s why I asked him. So? Is that enough? I’m starting to get annoyed, so make up your minds already.”

He tried to maintain a composed front, but unfortunately, signs of anxiety were visible all over his body. I tried not to focus on the boy’s trembling leg or the way he was nervously tapping the armrest of his chair as I turned back to the knights.

“Isn’t that enough now? Let’s just get the information.”

“……Fine.”

“Good choice.”

Regardless of how skeptical my party felt, the boy and Saleos beamed. Even though we hadn’t lost anything, the two looked so excited that I felt a strange sense of defeat.

“What do you want to know first? Just say the word.”

“Uh…… then, first, whether the Demon King is in human form or not.”

“He has a human form, but when he fights, he takes a monster’s shape.”

“A monster’s shape?”

“A giant spider.”

A giant spider. It probably wouldn’t look very cool, but at least it wasn’t a human. That’s helpful. I let out a sigh of relief and asked again.

“What is the Demon King summoner’s goal?”

“You must have seen it already? Her goal was to revive her village. Though she failed. It wasn’t an easy spell to begin with, and the summoned Demon King’s attributes didn’t match with resurrection. To make matters worse, she had a massive amount of magic stones stolen—stones she’d prepared specifically for the summoning—so of course it didn’t work properly. Even the summoning of the Demon King itself turned out incomplete.”

“Stolen?”

“She got cleaned out.”

How pitiful. She probably spent hundreds of years preparing to summon the Demon King, and yet her luck was this bad. If the summoner has lived for hundreds of years, she must be proficient in magic, so how on earth did someone manage to rob her?

“To hear that a Demon King summoner got robbed…… truly, if you live long enough, you hear everything…….”

I silently agreed with that sentiment.

“Can you tell us the way to where the Demon King lives?”

“Do you want me to guide you, or do you just need directions?”

“I know the general direction, so just telling me the path is enough.”

The boy nodded at my words. It wasn’t my imagination that his expression seemed brighter.

“I’ll draw you a detailed map. It’ll take a bit of time.”

“This is all that comes to mind right now…… does anyone else have anything they want to ask?”

I scanned the group. I couldn’t tell if they were hesitating or if they simply had nothing to ask, but no one stepped forward.

“Can I ask again if I think of something later?”

There was no need to squeeze out questions. Most of the things everyone was curious about seemed to have been covered anyway. At my question, the boy nodded.

“Whenever you need information to subjugate the Demon King.”

“Okay, thanks. Can I ask a question that has nothing to do with the subjugation?”

“What is it?”

“Does the Demon King really only have two spoons in his house?”

At this question, even the boy, who was in a good mood, wore a strange expression.

“You believed that?”

“You said it so seriously.”

I grumbled, but the look of pathetic pity in his eyes didn’t fade. Feeling embarrassed, I fanned myself with my hand. It wasn’t hot, but I felt flushed.

“Um……. This has nothing to do with the subjugation, but may I ask Master Andrealphus something?”

John raised his hand. I nodded quickly, as if afraid he might change his mind if I didn’t respond immediately. John hesitated before opening his mouth.

“Master Andrealphus. What exactly is your relationship with Saleos? Just friends? Or lovers?”

“He’s my darling.”

“This guy has about a million ‘darlings,’ so don’t pay it any mind. We’re just acquaintances.”

“That’s cold. You know how much I love my darling.”

I’m sure he does. He likes all players, but it’s also true that he likes me. Regardless, I made it very clear that we weren’t lovers. Was it my imagination that Azrael’s face seemed to brighten?

“Let me say it again. This guy is just a friend.”

“How cruel.”

“He’s the type who flirts with everyone like this. He was just born this way, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Really, you’re too much. I don’t do this to everyone.”

Even as I continued to explain, Saleos persistently clung to me. Why is he being like this today? I looked at him as if he were an oddity. Usually, he wasn’t this persistent, so why? When I gave him a questioning look, Saleos laughed mischievously and jerked his chin toward Azrael. Why Azrael?

I stole a glance at Azrael and our eyes met. What? Had he been looking this way the whole time? As soon as our eyes met, Azrael quickly turned his head away. What? I scratched the back of my neck and looked back at Saleos, who was grinning with delight.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m just enjoying my hobby, so don’t mind me.”

“No, you’re making me mind……?”

“Andrealphus.”

“Yes?”

Azrael called my name and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“……Are you closer to him than to me?”

What is this cute creature?

Heh.

Even though it had been hours, the smile wouldn’t leave my face. After saying those words, Azrael had run away so fast he was nowhere to be seen. He was probably hiding somewhere in this village.

“The corners of your mouth are practically reaching your ears…….”

“And you claim you’re just friends…….”

“Who has a conversation like that between friends?”

“I agree.”

I didn’t care at all about the whispering behind my back. The worries that usually weighed down a corner of my mind were nowhere to be found. No, I mean, Azrael showed me such a cute side of himself. It was a line that would be too much even for a fan’s delusion, but he said it himself. I was truly on the verge of collapsing from an adrenaline overdose. Do you think I’d hear those voices?

“By any way, is there a restaurant in this village?”

“Ah, of course. The Chief is waiting there right now.”

We were out in the village once again. We were heading out for a meal.

“But do I really have to pay?”

Saleos asked with a voice that sounded like he was about to cry. I nodded firmly.

“Your goose ate all our stew, so should I be the one to pay?”

“You’re rich anyway, darling. Our friendship has lasted years; think of this as a little charm.”

“So Master Andrealphus is indeed wealthy?”

“Of course. Can’t you tell just by looking at how my darling spends money? Even a glance shows she’s spending it like water.”

“As expected…….”

Hearing this conversation made a smile come naturally. I said with a bright grin.

“That’s right. I’m rich. I don’t mind paying, yeah.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Though you’ll be deleted from my friend list after today.”

“……I’ll pay.”

“Good boy.”

“Honk.”

Just then, the goose peeking out from Saleos’s arms let out an innocent cry. Looking at it like this, it was pretty cute. The soft white feathers, the yellow beak with its smooth curve. I looked at the goose, then looked up at Saleos.

“This thing isn’t going to eat our food again, is it?”

“I hope…… not.”

Saleos’s eyes were twitching. I gave him a long, suspicious look. Saleos avoided my gaze while breaking into a cold sweat.

“It really won’t touch a single bit of our food, right?”

“R-right.”

“Ask if it won’t touch it with even the tip of its beak.”

“True. Not even the tip of its beak?”

“…….”

I silently gestured for him to get rid of the goose. Saleos shook his head vigorously and hugged the goose tightly.

“I can’t let my baby starve, darling.”

“It probably ate a month’s worth of food already.”

“Meals should be fed at every mealtime. Starving a beast that cannot speak is the greatest sin of all.”

“Is it okay to starve us, since we can speak?”

At my cold reply, Saleos finally released the goose. As soon as it escaped Saleos’s arms, the goose shook its body a couple of times as if shaking something off and quickly disappeared from our sight.

“My baby gets violent when it’s hungry…….”

“A violent goose is still just a goose.”

“Is it actually a real goose?”

A goose’s violence only goes as far as breaking things or swiping stuff. I thought of a certain goose game for a moment before clearing it from my head.

“Are there fake geese too?”

Saleos asked blankly in response to Simon’s question. Simon scowled and asked again.