The dinner served by the harpies was better than I expected, if not just a little awkward. The taste was fine, but their eyes were on my like I walked into a chicken coop with fresh feed. I don’t think they had any bad intentions, but being the center of attention made it difficult to eat. I didn’t have as difficult a time as Arileia though. She never truly got away from the children until it was time for everyone to sleep.

The room the harpies offered to let us sleep in was nothing fancy, but it was still somewhat better than sleeping outside again. I was hoping to get some girl talk in once it was just the three of us, but Enika disappeared somewhere at some point and Arileia fell asleep as soon as we arrived. I’m actually pretty sure she was sleep walking all the way here and just collapsed once she made it to the room. Not that I blame her. I’m definitely not jealous of her magnetic nature toward the littler ones. The way they flock to her, I’m not so sure they know the difference between wyrm and worm.

“Master, are you going to wake up any time soon? And what’s with that ridiculous sleeping posture?”

“Hmm? Mmmn … Ah … Enika? When did you get back.”

“It’s not like I ever left, I just wanted to speak with Toa’ka a little more. More importantly, I doubt they’ll escape no matter how tightly you hold them.”

“Huh?”

My hands apparently became crossed over my chest while I was sleeping and at some point started cupping my breasts. I wonder if that’s why I slept so soundly during the night?

“I was just worried that maybe that’s what happened to you, and I didn’t want mine to run away as wel--ugh!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you seemed to be sleep talking, so I thought maybe you weren’t quite awake yet.”

“That’s no excuse to kick me!”

Enika lifts her foot from the ground again, and I sit up as quickly as possible to avoid any further damage to my HP.

“Huh? Where’d Arileia go?”

“She left ages ago with her new friends. She didn’t want to leave you alone, but I offered to stay until you woke up. Aren’t I kind?”

“No. I mean, yes! Yes you are!”

Enika puts her foot back down.

“So who are her new friends?”

“The same she was playing with last night.”

“Ah …”

I could be wrong, but I think Arileia may have been using me as an excuse … Actually, didn’t Enika basically do the same thing while simultaneously abandoning Arileia? Is this how far the demon lord has fallen? That she becomes an excuse to avoid playing with children!?

“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me right now. I really did stay with you for Arileia’s sake. Besides, having Arileia deal with the little harpies is good for her.”

“How so?”

“I’m sure it’s something she didn’t get to experience a lot when she was younger, and … well, nevermind. Anyway, it was for her sake. Why are you still looking at me like that? You don’t believe me?”

“I just find it hard to believe that you are capable of doing something for someone else’s sake.”

“Just what kind of person do you think I am?”

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“Should I show you the bruise you just gave me?”

“… Fair enough. But you’re a different story. I’m willing to help Arileia out of respect for Isabella.”

“Isabella?”

“… forget I said that.”

『Isabella Arimae es Orrien: Daughter of Lord Mikael Arimae et Orrien and childhood friend of Enika. The birth name of the demon lord.』

… what?

“Hold on, you can’t just gloss over something like that. What kind of relationship did you two have with the demon lord?”

“I didn’t say anything about the demon lord. And didn’t I tell you to drop it?”

“That’s who you meant when you said Isabella, right? And, if I’m meant to be the demon lord, then shouldn’t I know these kind of things?”

“How did … You obviously already know plenty, but … I suppose you’re not wrong. I’ll tell you, but I doubt knowing is going to do you any good.”

“I knew Isabella since long before anyone knew much about her, let alone began to refer to her as a demon lord. At first, I didn’t think of her as much more than a spoiled human noble, but she didn’t have the kind of prejudices that humans carry. Even as a mixed elf, she treated me the same as anyone else, but that kind of personality can be dangerous. I even warned her against it several times.”

“One of those times was when we secretly visited the markets. We were both high-born, so we’d never been to a common market before. However, Isabella had a special kind of naivete. There were many things about how the world worked that she was unaware of. One of those things came to light when she met a certain slave girl.”

“Like most of her kind, the girl had been born into slavery. It was the first time Isabella had ever seen a dragon-kin before, but the girl’s wings were bound and her ankles shackled. In that state, it was hard to see the exotic wonder that made her kind such prized slaves. She was still enough to enamor Isabella though.”

“After that, our secret journeys to the market became more frequent, and we would watch the little dragon girl work. Occasionally though, the girl would make a mistake and we would have to witness the harsh discipline that slaves are often subject to. It was difficult to keep Isabella from interfering then.”

“Isabella started getting more and more involved with the girl, even going so far as to speak with her. That’s when we learned that the girl was never even given a name. Isabella named her Arileia then and there. Unfortunately, the one time we all tried to play together, we were caught. Arileia was sure to receive harsh discipline. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing we could do. She was someone else’s property after all.”

“… but, Isabella refused to accept that. Even after my warnings, she went up against Arileia’s master. She dispelled the binding on the slave she hardly knew and ran away from the city. Isabella’s father had no choice but to disown his daughter after such a display or become an enemy of the ruling class. Isabella never returned home after that. I’m sure Arileia still feels responsible for everything that happened, but Isabella never once blamed her. Now that I think about it, that was probably the beginning of Isabella’s ascent to the role of demon lord.”

Wow. That’s not the kind of origin story I was expecting, but doesn’t that kind of make the demon lord the good guy?

『Perhaps. But to the laws she could only be considered a villain.』

“Demon Lord!”

One of the harpies that I’ve seen assisting Toa’ka rushes into the room without warning.

“I have troublesome news.”

“What is this about?”

“The hatchlings! They returned in a panic, claiming that they were attacked by hunters from the city. They all made it back safely, but Lady Arileia … they said she stood up against the attackers herself so that the young ones could get away. We’ve already sent two valkyries to assist her, but we were told to inform you immediately.”

“That damn dragon. I’m sure she’s more than they can handle, but we should head that way ourselves, even if just to clean up her mess.”

Enika and I are led to the small glade the children had been playing in with Arileia. Just as Enika had predicted, the hunters seemed to have bitten of more than they could chew. Several of their bodies are strewn about lifelessly, but there’s also no sign of Arileia.

『Manaburn detected in the area. Processing …』

『Spell read. Paralyze. Teleport. Analyzing teleport ...』

『Analyzed. Target determined. Copying teleportation.』

Wait!

And then there was darkness.

『Teleportation successful.』