Always Proud of You
The Demon Lord Castle's outermost ruins. The outer walls that had once protected the citizens from enemies had long since collapsed into grave-like piles of rubble. Atop one such mound, likely the remains of a spire, sat Lusteria. With vacant eyes, she gazed out at the horizon beyond the castle. Drenched in bitter emotion and drained of all strength, she could only retrace the events of the past.
At first, she had been overjoyed at having so much free time. Her beloved master had stopped giving her any work, leaving her to do as she pleased. With her suddenly leisurely days, Lusteria had even felt happy, looking forward to all the things she could do. She wanted to laze about in bed, eat delicious things, or stroll through the beautiful Taego Forest. If her beloved master had free time, she wanted to stay by her side and whisper sweet nothings.
But even idly playing and eating alone grew tiresome after a day or two. When it dragged on longer, guilt began to creep in. While everyone else was buried under mountains of work, staying up late into the night to fulfill their duties, she alone had nothing to do. Wandering the castle grounds or loitering around the dining hall made the contrast painfully obvious. On top of that, her master was constantly overwhelmed by state affairs and rarely had a moment to spare. With no tasks of her own, she kept comparing herself to the others and tried to stay close to her master in hopes of finding something to do. Yet her master would simply tell her to rest and go, and whenever documents piled up from a shortage of hands, she would call for Beatrice instead, leaving Lusteria standing there.
The only times Lusteria managed to wheedle something out of her were when she begged to be given a task, and even then she was only asked to brew tea or deliver documents. Brewing tea was a maid's job, yet that very maid was now assisting with the secretary's paperwork at the master's side. Even when Lusteria offered to attend to her at night, the offer was politely declined. Unbelievable! Her master, known as a lady-killer, refusing a passionate night with a woman! The same master who had always stolen touches and whispered sweet words to her or Beatrice whenever the chance arose. The same master who adored beautiful women and had even begun scattering her charms over Nella, who had no experience in love or intimacy, was now rejecting her night service.
“…I’m so stupid……”
She told herself there was nothing strange about any of it. Though the feeling of being left out made her uncomfortable, once she accepted that nothing could be done, she tried her best to enjoy her free time. She cleared her mind and attempted to savor the leisurely days, and for about a week she managed to live without worry.
Then, the day before, while licking a lollipop and strolling around the castle, the realization struck her. Among all the Demon Lord Army's officers, she was the only one without work. Even ordinary citizens, regardless of rank, sweated through their days, and even the elderly with bent backs used their experience to handle whatever small tasks they could. In a reality where everyone was rebuilding the nation with survival and the future at stake, the only ones wandering about idly were children and herself.
After that, she had gone to Nella and tried various things to become a capable and needed talent, but failed at all of them. In truth, it had only been three failures; she could have tried more. But seeing Crawford's reaction, Lusteria's spirit had broken. He had sighed and spoken as if she were a headache. In that moment, she wondered if she was only getting in everyone's way. Crawford had left his own duties to come running after receiving the report. Nella had set aside the important reconstruction mission the Demon Lord herself had entrusted to her and spent two whole days helping. She had tried to be useful to everyone, yet only ended up being a nuisance. She had wanted to become an indispensable servant to her master, yet she had achieved nothing and only caused delays in the reconstruction work. Lusteria felt utterly useless. The feeling was wretched.
“Lus! What are you doing here?!”
A frantic voice called from behind. Lusteria turned her head toward the speaker. It was a voice she could never forget.
“I was worried. Are you all right?”
“…I have nothing to do, yet I’m only causing you trouble, Master……”
“What are you saying?! Who told you that!?”
Deeper sadness welled in Lusteria’s moistening eyes. Knowing her master was genuinely worried and checking her complexion, she tried to smile, but her lips refused to obey. She hated herself even more for sinking so deep into pessimism that she could not even force a false smile.
At that moment, Crawford approached with an awkward expression. The memory of his troubled look from earlier flashed through Lusteria’s mind, and her body flinched involuntarily. Her body reacted first, and only afterward did reason catch up, bringing fresh anxiety about whether Crawford would find her even more bothersome because of this incident.
But the moment Crawford stood before her, he bowed deeply and offered an apology.
“I’m terribly sorry, Secretary! That was never my intention. I deeply regret having hurt your feelings!”
He bent at the waist in a perfect right angle, apologizing with utmost sincerity. Lusteria’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Crawford humbling himself so completely before her, like a startled rabbit or squirrel.
“In truth, I only wished to encourage you to rest because of the order our lord gave. Even though I received the command directly from her, I failed to pay proper attention, and seeing you, who should have been resting comfortably, throwing yourself into work made me angry at myself.”
“Ehh…”
“I should have considered your feelings more carefully, but I was too focused on getting you to rest quickly. There is no excuse for my attitude appearing high-handed. I offer my heartfelt apology!”
Lusteria’s mind could barely keep up; she felt half-dazed. The sudden, unexpected turn of events had brought her thoughts to a halt, and the information that contradicted everything she had believed left her unable to organize her thoughts.
As Lusteria’s heart began to melt at Crawford’s sincere and respectful apology, her gaze finally moved past Neromeltia and Crawford standing before her. There stood Nella, Beatrice, Hestinia, Artis, Oun, and Beriberi. All the Demon Lord Army’s officers had come looking for her.
While Lusteria stood flustered and unsure what to do, Neromeltia approached and gently placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.
“You know as well as anyone how hard you worked when we were short on hands. I only wanted you to rest because you’ve been so busy all this time, yet I ended up making you feel left out…… I’m sorry, Lus.”
“N-no! I was the one who misunderstood!”
“No. I think I was too thoughtless. I believed that if I paid you as little attention as possible, you would rest on your own without worrying about me, but that only ended up leaving you completely neglected.”
Lusteria, who had been growing more flustered by the second, now raised her voice without a trace of her earlier dejection. Realizing that reality was different from the worst-case scenario she had imagined, relief washed over her and she gradually regained her usual energy.
Neromeltia’s eyes met Lusteria’s. The master’s gaze held warm affection, and Lusteria felt the negative emotions she had carried over the past days melting away like snow.
“About the mana train you developed last time. I realized it would consume far less mana than the levitation system our research institute is working on. It would be perfect for transporting goods outside the castle.”
“Ehh…”
“The noise makes it unsuitable for inside the residential areas, but as a transport route going in and out, it’s ideal. You did an excellent job.”
Hestinia, who had reacted negatively to the mana train Lusteria developed the day before, was now offering an entirely different, positive assessment. Hearing that her efforts had produced significant results left Lusteria speechless.
“The exercises the secretary girl came up with turned out to be quite good as well. Hestinia says that light warm-up movements to stimulate the muscles before training can further promote muscle growth. It makes sense, and the full-body stimulation in the secretary girl’s routine is ideal. We ogres have decided to actively incorporate that dynamite-whatever-it’s-called exercise into our training.”
“We will also be actively adopting the boundary-alert magic circle you developed, Secretary. Currently, the residential area isn’t large enough or the population too great for the Black Knights to handle alone, but as the Demon Lord Castle expands and the number of citizens grows, there will undoubtedly come a time when we lack manpower. According to Hestinia, that time will arrive within the next year. When it does, we plan to equip the pre-organized security forces with the magic circles and magical tools you developed.”
Oun, who had criticized Lusteria’s exercises as too soft, had changed his mind after hearing Hestinia’s advice and now declared he would actively adopt them. Crawford, who had once drawn a line saying the Black Knights alone could handle security, now stated he would actively adopt the magic circles and tools Lusteria had developed, following Hestinia’s counsel.
Lusteria turned to look at Hestinia, who had given them such positive advice. Meeting her gaze, Hestinia smiled brightly and gave her a playful wink.
Everything Lusteria had worked so hard to achieve was finally being recognized by everyone. The moving realization that her efforts had borne fruit. Gratitude toward Hestinia for stepping forward on her behalf. Relief that her master’s affection, which she had thought lost, remained unchanged. Lusteria’s moist eyes gradually grew wetter, and her vision began to blur.
Just as she was on the verge of tears, Neromeltia gently pulled her close and wrapped her in a warm embrace. She stroked Lusteria’s head with a tender hand and soothed her trembling body. Then she whispered into her ear.
“You’ve worked so hard, Lus. I am always proud of you. Not for a single moment have I ever felt otherwise.”
“Ughhh…… Hwaaaah!!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lusteria burst into tears. Hearing the words she had longed for from her master’s lips, she sobbed uncontrollably. Clinging tightly to her master’s warm, comforting embrace, she buried her face and let the tears flow.
The sight, filled with affection, was as warm as the morning sunlight. The tangled emotions finally facing each other felt as comforting as returning home after a long time. Everyone watching felt moved, smiling or shedding a few tears.
Yet one among them felt something different. In the moment when Neromeltia and Lusteria’s affection intertwined, Nella, who witnessed it, felt a sharp pang in her chest. The indescribable sensation was uncomfortable, almost like emotional pain. Clearly, the precious person named Lusteria had finally regained her happiness, so she should feel purely joyful. Everyone else was openly expressing their heartfelt emotions and congratulating her. She herself felt great happiness at Lusteria’s recovered joy, yet this alien, discordant feeling intruded, leaving her deeply flustered. Unable to properly examine her own heart, Nella began to feel guilty for not experiencing pure joy.