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“……He’s fast. Right, he did say something about being a hero, didn’t he? He seems to have a high status, too. His potential is high… Hmph…”

So, after that guy lost the battle, suddenly disappearing with a slightly flushed face and droopy eyebrows…

I opened the front door, thinking that he must’ve gone to the inn like I told him to, but no one was there anymore.

Well, I actually had a room prepared for him, but I got pissed off and did something spiteful.

Instead of getting mad at me, he was even rather grateful, and then he disappeared, looking all flustered and faltering.

I wonder if he has a field of flowers in his brain.

“What a weird guy… He’s so hard to deal with…”

“Hmph.” I grumbled, but when I remembered how sincere he was, I couldn’t even let out my prickly attitude and just stared into the darkness.

I linked arms with my lord in an attempt to show off to that guy who was too busy trying to keep up.

I tried to provoke him several times during the inspection, kicked him and tried to step on him. And many more.

I had been harassing him one way or another just to piss him off and argue with me, but… he just took it all in with a troubled face, and followed us as hard as he could.

He had been running for hours, earnestly and foolishly, staring only at the Demon Lord’s back.

I actually thought of harassing him even more and leaving him behind, but the way he was working so hard was admirable despite him being my rival, so… I don’t know.

In the end, all I could do was kick the running idiot.

He was that kind of lover who was willing to hand over the Demon Lord’s arms to his rival in love; to me.

However, I felt like his eyes that kept looking only at the Demon Lord was the same as mine. It made me think that he was serious.

The Demon Lord was oblivious to his gaze. Even so, my lord was probably only looking at him all this time.

After all, he was lamenting the sunset, saying he couldn’t get a date. But, as soon as that guy asked him on a date with an embarrassed face, my lord was beaming with happiness.

He looked so beautiful, and happy.

I thought it was unfair.

I thought that it’d be fine if I could become one of his lovers too, if that would make me cause him to look like that.

That was why I led him to the entrance and forcibly urged him, but he said he wasn’t his lover, but his livestock.

Despite that, he didn’t want me to steal the Demon Lord from him, you know? He was definitely in love!

And he was really, really so in love that my words made him look pained and about to cry.

“I’m confident that I’ve been in love with him a lot longer and more than that guy is… but he really does look like a child who’s just had his first treasured item stolen from him… Ngh, I was quite mean to him, but I don’t think there’s going to be any problem! He’s a hero, and if he gets attacked, I’m pretty sure he’ll either just fight his way out or kill them!”

I suddenly felt guilty now for all the harassment I had caused, as I remember the human who fell in love so hard.

If he were genuinely a good guy, I’d definitely feel troubled! After all, he never once spoke ill of me, even though I was the one who harassed him and gave him sarcastic remarks! Who wouldn’t feel guilty?!

I regretted driving him out into the darkness where the sun had already completely gone down, and felt bad about it.

W-Well, everything should be fine. He can use magic, and he’d probably have a sword stored in his summoning magic, so he’ll be back soon, right?

“Hey, Ulysse. Did you just say ‘hero’?”

“?!”

I was standing outside the doorway, staring at the city and nodding to myself, when I suddenly heard a low, grating, familiar voice coming from the darkness.

I restlessly looked around in surprise. But I couldn’t see him anywhere, which was unnerving.

Then, the darkness of the night slowly melted away, and without any sign of life, yet certainly there, it appeared—a large, black wolf.

“M-My loord…!”

Although he didn’t have his scythe out, which he refines with his own magic and blood, he still appeared intimidating enough.

It was the precious demonic form of my beloved Demon Lord, which had its head tilted to one side.

I-I didn’t know at all…!

There was just no way I would have expected to see any signs of a Kudlakion at night! He was so out of place!

“Ulysse, where is Shal’s room? I’ve only been following the scent of magic, but this is the entrance hall… Did you meet up with Wadler or something?”

He looked around restlessly, asking me where that guy was.

It seemed like he had some business with that guy, but the timing was so bad that I just shrugged my shoulders as I broke out in a cold sweat.

But I couldn’t avoid not telling him. I couldn’t go against him.

“Uh… W-We were just talking, but then… he got all flustered… When I suggested an inn in the city to him as a joke, he said he wanted to think alone and went down to the city…”

“—Ha?”

I explained his whereabouts, despite fearing that he might learn about my secret misdeeds. What I received in turn, was an emotionless voice that chilled me to the bone.

It was just a single word. Yet it was enough to make all the hairs on my body stand on end, and I felt my ears perk up and quiver.

“…Ngh…”

I felt so intimidated that I almost stopped breathing. My heart immediately started beating painfully, signaling that my life was in danger.

In an instant, I felt it… If I make the wrong choice, I will be erased.

However, the choice not to answer was out of the question. I somehow managed to open my trembling lips.

“B… B-But he’s a hero, and he has magic and a sword, so he could just return right away…”

“I didn’t let him have the sword because he might be attacked by demons who are provoked by the thought of him having it. Most of his magic is restricted, too. Right now, he’s—just an unarmed human…! Shit!”

“Huh…?!”

Was he talking to himself, or to me?

As soon as he spat out a curse, he disappeared from my sight.

All I knew was that I might have encouraged that human to do something that could not be undone.

Notes:Happy New Year everyone! I apologize for my recent slow updates, but hopefully I will be able to update more frequently this year, just like before. Stay safe always!