Back at Siege's, he was still surprised to see that the demon lord seemed so disarming.

"You're telling me this is the demon lord?!"

"Yeah, but she's more useful than she looks" added Poda-Bruss

"What do you mean useful? I wasn't trying to help you guys! Let me go back home!"

"Sorry kid, but we can't do that. You are a demon lord after all"

"Anyways, let's interrogate our subjects more formally, shall we?" said Blodelshein

Blodelshein and Siege made their way to the basement with Solas and the demon lord. The basement itself had a concrete well as well as various training equipment and a boxing ring. Siege took out a foldable table and chairs for them to sit in.

"So, let's get this started. We'll start with the demon lord. What's your name?" asked Siege

"...Dune"

"Okay Dune, thank you for your cooperation. Back at the capital of Sonosis when you were with Poda-Bruss, the gentleman who can create barriers, he said that you were able to find where Blodelshein was. How did you do that?"

"..."

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you. We just want to know because we're guessing you won't be able to go back to the demon lord's castle"

"Wait, what?"

"Well, you guys fought 3 powerful demons, right? We believe that those are some of the demon lords of the past, just like us. They most likely reclaimed your castle"

"..."

"...What do you do as a demon lord?"

"Huh?"

"I always wondered what demon lords did as their job"

"...Well, I believe I do the same things as any king. Approving policies, adjusting taxes, dining with influential individuals and a whole lot more"

"I see. I guess humans and demons aren't too different after all"

"...Maybe"

"I think we should change the perspective of this interrogation. We don't have any plans to harm you in any way. We're heroes, which means we fight for justice, and that applies to all, including you. We're here to help you, and it'd be great if you could help us out as well."

"...If you want to know that much about my talent, I'll tell you. I'm personally not completely sure of it myself, but when I focus, I see this red string showing me which direction to go, and when I follow that line, something good always happens. It helped me make the best decisions and it saved my life a bunch of times already"

"Interesting, and what is this line telling you now?"

"...It's telling me to stay here"

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Well, that proves my sincerity. I despise war, but I do not despise people. You are effectively no longer a demon lord and no longer my enemy. Now, I just have one more question for you"

"Alright"

"Who or what did you get this power from?"

"Isn't it obvious? God granted me this talent as well as my position as the demon lord"

"God? And you don't mean the Goddess?"

"I suppose most humans would not know about our God. Think of him like the Goddess, except for Pronuses. He is the creator of the paradise of Sonosis and is the sole reason we have a kingdom in the first place"

"Hmm... Thank you for your cooperation, you can leave now. If you go to the kitchen and find something you like, feel free to take it, you seem hungry. Just don't leave the house just yet"

"...Th-thanks"

Dune left the basement and now only Siege, Blodelshein and Solas were here.

"So, Solas, right? You're a hero resurrected from the dead, just like us. I suppose this isn;t really an interrogation, but rather an interview of a sort. We just want to know more about you"

"..."

"Firstly, could you tell us which hero you are? 90th? 91th?

"8th"

"Woah, that is a long long time ago. I suppose you are a senior compared to us, only Reginn is older than you"

"..."

"If you feel uncomfortable or don't want to talk, we can do this later. We're all on the same team anyways"

"...You, girl. What's your name"

"You mean me? I'm Blodelshein"

"I see that you have an extremely low Karma for a hero"

"Karma...?"

"That is the talent the Goddess has granted me. I can see the totality of every single good and evil action as a singular stat: Karma. I also do more damage based on how low my opponent's Karma is so I ask you, why is your Karma so low?"

"..."

"You have a lot of blood on your hand, young girl"

"...I could say the same about you"

"Well, I don't believe that a single number can sum up our worth as people. If we were destined for evil, why would the all-knowing Goddess choose us? As heroes we should just trust each other" said Siege

"...Hmph"

Suddenly, Siege could hear a grumbling sound from Solas's direction.

"... Are you feeling a little hungry?"

"...Yes"

"Well, why don't we continue this conversation at the table? I think this basement is a bit gloomier than I thought"

The group made their way upstairs where they found Dune happily chatting with Orchestra while Poda-Bruss took a nap, exhausted from the day's ordeals. He thought about how different Dune was from what he thought she was. In the end, she was just another king. He wondered why there was always a pair of a demon lord and a hero. While he could not answer which came first, perhaps the heroes and demon lords were mere weapons from each nation, destined to neutralize each other. However, he dismissed the thought as he truly believed that they were destined for greatness. The Goddess did not care about small things such as nations or politics, she was the mother of all life and created the heroes to protect the good. That was the cause he was fighting for, to atone for the sins of his family.

The group sat around the dining table and Siege presented his specialty, the omurice. Since he had no servants at this secret location, he had to make all the food himself, and he was quite good at it. He was mostly self-taught, learning from cookbooks and library resources, but on the rare occasions he cooked for someone other than himself, they always said that it was delicious.

"Haah? How am I supposed to eat this?! There's no meat in it!"

Surprisingly, Solas was a picky eater. Siege proceed to just take out a turkey leg from the refrigerator and roast it for Solas.

"Mmm! Delicious! You truly are a great chef!"

"Yeah... Thanks"

"It's very good Siege, how did you learn to cook? It's unusual for a wealthy man like yourself" asked Blodelshein

"I was kind of forced to after having to live in this secluded house. I didn't want any servants here so I just taught myself how to cook"

"Wow, what is that delicious smell coming from here?" said Orchestra, peeking out from behind a wall

"It's Omurice, have you tried it before? It's pretty good"

"Come Dune, it smells great!"

Now everyone was enjoying Siege's dishes with the exception of Poda sleeping soundly on the couch, He decided to leave some leftovers for him. He looked at the cozy atmosphere, one he always saw in books and TV but never had in real life. Even back at his original home, his family felt distant and the large table physically embodied the alienation between family members. However, even when surrounding a table clearly not meant for 5 people, he felt a great luxury in knowing this warmth. Siege couldn't help but smile. He was thankful to the Goddess that she gave him a chance to redeem himself and find a new family.