It feels like I’ve gained another follower……
I didn’t ask for anything in particular, so it should be fine, but the way their eyes reflected me stirred something in my heart.
In their eyes, all they saw was a lovely, pure princess.
What do Rick and Noel see in their eyes?
Being stared at by their straightforward eyes is a little scary.
But……
“Noah, Nia. Do you mind if I walk alone for a bit?”
The twins looked slightly confused but nodded and, along with Tina and Fanny, disappeared into the distance.
They’re really excellent, aren’t they? Though they sometimes act like fools—I wonder who they take after?
Pulling my hood deep over my eyes, I gazed up at the night sky.
We’re not in the demon country yet, but being this close, I can feel “your” presence strongly.
In the northern sky, a swirling mass of pitch-black clouds devours the stars……
I feel intense anger. I see endless despair. We demons even rejoice in the suffering of other demons, yet your pain makes my chest ache…… and I revel in it.
Ah, I feel it…… your precious “despair.”
The endlessly sweet “anger” that seeks only me.
That feeling satisfies my hunger.
That feeling of yours makes me ravenous.
Hey…… do you know?
I’m very selfish.
Will you give me the “answer” I desire?
Just a little more…… just a little more, and I’ll reach you.
Just a little more…… just a little more……
But……
“……I want to see you……”
The moment I entered a deserted alley, I shed my traveler’s disguise…… and as the “Golden Beast,” I spread my wings and took to the night sky.
“Huh……”
On the castle terrace where he had been assigned, Noel, who had been silently swinging his sword, suddenly felt like he saw a “cat” out of the corner of his eye and turned around.
“Maybe I’m imagining things……”
There’s no way a cat could come up here to the upper floors.
Whether it’s tension or confusion, Noel took a deep breath and quietly closed his eyes.
In his closed eyes appeared the image of a beautiful golden-haired girl.
The girl who saved him from despair, the one he had admired since childhood, the one he realized was important to him and wished to stay by her side.
The girl who easily entered the heart of Noel, who had lost his family and shut himself away, yet slipped away like a cat when he reached out—elusive and hard to grasp.
Lucia—Princess Eurushia von Versenia.
He only wished for her to be happier than anyone else.
At the same time, he strongly wished to never let her go.
Will these feelings…… ever reach her?
Just……
Throughout this journey, Noel had been bothered by one thing.
That her heart wasn’t here…… That her eyes, which innocently smiled and made everyone happy, were looking somewhere far away.
“……It’s just my imagination.”
Thinking that, Noel continued to swing his sword, determined not to lose sight of the girl he loved.
With a faint unease in his chest……
“……Hm?”
In the guest room where he had been assigned, Ludrick, who had been reading a book while listening to the distant sound of a sword, suddenly felt like a “cat” had passed by the terrace and looked up.
“That Noel……”
He let out a wry smile, thinking that his friend’s late-night sword practice was distracting him.
Sword practice isn’t just about swinging the sword blindly. He had been taught by a holy knight that resting the muscles is essential to avoid injury.
But Ludrick could also understand why Noel couldn’t calm down without swinging his sword.
Princess Eurushia, a fellow royal of Taliteld and a saint.
Ludrick met her and, for the first time, felt the warmth of having someone by his side.
At first, it was just something his parents told him to do—to go and see the child who would become his relative. That was all it was.
He had no particular feelings about it. Even though she was a relative, he thought she would be like any other child, either looking at him with curiosity or simply being afraid of him.
The first time they met, that cold, doll-like beautiful girl didn’t fear him. Instead, like any child would, she clumsily placed a flower crown on his head.
For the first time, someone outside his family stood by his side as an equal, seeing him at eye level.
That flower crown from his memories has been dried and still decorates Ludrick’s room to this day.
Her behavior started to change after that black cloud appeared.
Eurushia had always been prone to strange behavior, so even though most people noticed the change, they pretended not to, matching her cheerful demeanor.
But as their journey continued, she began to lose herself in thought more and more often, and at times, she would vanish without a trace, leaving him with an indescribable sense of unease.
Perhaps Noel felt the same way, which is why he kept swinging his sword to grow stronger.
“……Maybe I should swing my sword too.”
Reading a book didn’t seem like it would help him sleep. Just as he was about to grab his sword to join Noel—
Ludrick and Noel both looked up at the night sky at the same time, their eyes reflecting a golden meteor.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Deep underground in the Demon King’s castle in the northern lands……”He” was alone, dreaming a faint dream.
He wasn’t asleep. Demons don’t sleep.
Lying within a massive magic circle designed to restrain him, he closed his eyes, focusing solely on recovering his magical energy, like a wounded beast waiting to heal.
Outside the magic circle, a man with a deathly pale face desperately poured his magical energy into maintaining the circle. For a being of the material world, his magical energy was considerable, though not enough to be of great concern. Still, a portion of the energy he poured in flowed into “Him,” steadily restoring his power.
He could have broken free from this unreasonable restraint if he wanted to.
He could have forcibly trampled this world and forced “Her” out.
But “He” didn’t do that.
If “He” called and “She” came, then it would surely come to pass.
They never lied to each other.
There was a bond between them strong enough to believe in.
There was anger. But there was no hatred.
Just by closing his eyes, even that anger seemed to fade.
What came to mind were memories of “Her.”
The days spent with “Her” in the demon world……
At first, “He” thought of her as a small, strange being who was all talk.
Her existence was unusual and amusing, so “He” decided to keep her around until he got bored, but “She” exceeded his expectations in every way.
Despite being newly born, she possessed vast knowledge, yet she would do foolish things that left him exasperated.
But……it wasn’t unpleasant.
Though fragile, she didn’t fear “Him,” a powerful beast. Instead, she buried her face in his fur, delighted. Perhaps her sense of self was strong, for even when he exerted pressure, she didn’t vanish. In fact, she grew stronger rapidly, as if overcoming it.
How much time had they spent together?…… Before he knew it, having “Her” by his side became natural, and the millennia of loneliness, where being feared by others was the norm, felt like a lie. He began to appreciate her relaxed presence.
But he also noticed that, because of her vast knowledge, “She” harbored a longing for the material world.
The longer they spent together……the more he understood her, the more he felt an inexplicable fear that she might suddenly disappear.
He didn’t understand such emotions.
No demon knew such emotions.
So, he bound her.
To ensure she wouldn’t disappear, to keep her from going anywhere, he bound her with fear, with power, and even with toys and pets he thought she would like, binding her with affection.
Yet she still left.
To the world of light, where “humans” lived……
Still, there was no hatred.
Only a burning rage that consumed him from within.
Was that rage directed at “Her”? Or at “Himself”? He couldn’t even understand the reason for his anger, and as he raged helplessly, a dimensional rift suddenly opened before him.
This was no mere coincidence. It was a necessity called fate.
Sensing the nostalgic magical energy leaking from it, “He” poured all his strength into prying open the summoning gate to the material world, trying to forcefully reclaim her……only to be rejected.
There was anger.
There was no hatred.
But if she wouldn’t return to his side, he would devour her and make her his forever.
And then……”He” quietly opened his eyes.
Feeling a faint, intoxicatingly sweet and nostalgic magical energy……
TLNOTE:
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