An Unexpected Gift - Part 2
The twilight had faded, and darkness now blanketed the entire world. A pale yellow moon unlike any in the Demon Realm hung in the night sky, its countless stars twinkling like embroidery on a sheet of black cloth. It was a strikingly beautiful sight.
Eri stared vacantly out the window at the scene. Her mind was empty, her gaze fixed solely on the stars. Yet before long, a memory surfaced that threw her heart into complete chaos.
“...Eek!”
Eri dove under the covers and hid. She had tried to forget it, tried not to think about it, but…
“Ugh…”
She cursed her own behavior from earlier. What an idiot. Why did I just stand there without saying anything? It was practically the same as giving Dane the answer himself. There’s no way that sharp-eyed Dane wouldn’t have noticed.
She had no idea how she was supposed to face him tomorrow morning. With no answers in sight, Eri decided to simply run from reality.
She reached for the staff leaning in the corner of the room.
“R-right. I should just die… Dying would make everything easier…”
Her hands were trembling even as she spouted such nonsense. Just as her eyes were about to glaze over completely, a knock sounded at the door.
“Hiek!?”
Still clutching the staff, Eri whipped around to look at the door. When no second knock came, she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Dane had only been checking whether she was asleep.
“...I should just go to bed.”
Deciding not to do anything unnecessary and to think things over after getting some sleep, Eri moved to put the staff back in its place. But at that moment, Dane knocked again.
“Eri, are you still awake?”
“Y-yes!?”
“You are. Can we talk for a moment?”
Eri panicked. She had no idea what might happen if she spoke with Dane right now. But refusing him here would only confirm what had happened earlier. After agonizing over it for a long while, she finally…
Click.
“W-what is it?”
She opened the door. The moment she saw Dane, Eri immediately averted her gaze. She couldn’t meet his eyes. It wasn’t that she lacked the courage—it was that her emotions were churning too violently.
“Eri.”
“Y-yes!?”
“I wanted to make it clear that what you said earlier was a misunderstanding.”
“Ah…”
Eri nodded. She already understood that she had misunderstood Dane.
“And.”
“Yes?”
“You said I was hiding my feelings.”
“Um… yeah, I did.”
“About that…”
Come to think of it, hadn’t Dane asked how she knew back then? If he wasn’t saying he had another lover, then what exactly did those words mean? Eri hadn’t connected the dots earlier, but now that she thought about it again, it was obvious.
Her eyes widened, and she lifted her head to look directly at him.
...Ah.
Dane’s expression mirrored her own. When their eyes met, he seemed momentarily startled before his gaze grew intensely serious.
“Eri.”
“...Yes.”
“Your heart…”
Perhaps from nerves, Dane bit his lip before forcing the words out with visible effort. She could sense how much courage it took for him to say this one sentence.
“Would it be all right to say it’s the same as mine?”
Eri couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. He usually had a rather cold impression. He was always gentle with her, but she had never seen this particular expression on his face before. Anyone who wasn’t a fool could understand what it meant.
“Ah…”
It was unmistakably the face of someone in love.
Without realizing it, Eri raised a hand to cover her mouth. Dane knew exactly what her reaction signified. Still, he waited. He wanted her to say it herself, in her own words.
“...Dane.”
“Yes.”
“I…”
Eri clenched her other hand into a tight fist. Then she lowered the hand covering her mouth. Her lovely peach-colored lips parted, moving ever so slightly.
“I also…”
Dane felt an overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms right then. But Eri wasn’t finished speaking. Thinking of all the years he had endured until now, he exercised just a little more patience. In the end, his patience was rewarded.
Eri’s lips finally opened clearly, and a complete sentence flowed out.
“I feel the same way about you… Dane.”
The moment had come when he no longer needed to hold back.
Dane’s body surged forward. His left hand reached around her back while his right gripped her waist.
“Mmph…!”
Their lips met softly. Eri willingly accepted his firm embrace, wrapping both arms around his neck as she returned the kiss. It was sweet and deep, rich with affection. During that kiss, it felt as though time across the entire world had come to a stop.
The moonlight gently illuminated the room, blessing the two of them. They had taken one step beyond friendship and into the next stage.
Several days had passed since Nahen left. During that time, Seere had been thoroughly demonstrating to the other Demon Kings exactly what kind of military power she had cultivated and what sort of lessons she had received from Nahen.
“What is this…?”
Even Sitri, who had led the allied forces alongside her, was at a loss for words. She stared at the enemy soldiers who had been brutally torn apart.
The 65th floor, ruled by Demon King Kimaris, was also known as the floor of warriors. True to its name, many of its residents were fighters and brawlers. The most outstanding among them formed Kimaris’s army, which was regarded—even among the lower ranks—as the only force capable of standing against Belial’s troops.
That very army had now been ripped to shreds by a single young Demon King. It was a complete massacre.
Sitri had never witnessed such a one-sided slaughter in a battle of one against many. It was also strange how the Devata legions only began to move after the young Demon King had carved open the path. Usually it was the opposite—the army would open the way and the king would step forward. After all, once the king eliminated the opposing king, the war would end.
“Lady Sitri.”
“...Yes?”
“Send your forces in now.”
“Ah… Y-yes, of course.”
Even as she ordered her troops to advance, Sitri wondered if this was really the right decision. Once Sitri’s army joined the fray, Kimaris’s forces—which had already been half-ground into dust by Seere—had no hope of holding out. They collapsed completely, and the path to the Demon King’s castle on the 65th floor opened without resistance.
The army entered the castle with almost no casualties, successfully dragged Kimaris down from his throne, and the conquest of the 65th floor was over. The campaign had ended so quickly that Sitri felt dazed.
When they had broken through the 70th and 69th floors, it had never been this simple. As she looked around in a stupor, Seere called out to her upon entering Kimaris’s castle.
“Lady Sitri.”
“...Yes!?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. What is it?”
“I was thinking we could split the spoils half and half.”
“Ah…”
He wanted to split it evenly? No matter how she thought about it, that wasn’t right. All Sitri had done was send in her troops at the very end. In reality, nine-tenths of the work—or at least eight-tenths even by a generous estimate—had been done by Seere’s side. Taking half in this situation felt far too shameless. Thinking so, Sitri shook her head.
“...An 8-to-2 split is fine.”
“Hmm, wouldn’t that be taking too little for yourself?”
“Pardon?”
“If you insist, then let’s make it 6-to-4.”
With that, Seere stepped into Kimaris’s already wide-open throne room. Kimaris had already been pulled down from his throne by the two strongest legion commanders in the Devata army—Rin El Laza and Celestia.
“Your Majesty.”
“You have arrived.”
The two formidable women greeted her with loyal bows. Their crossed swords were pointed at Kimaris’s throat. The slightest movement and they would cut him down on the spot.
Seere glanced briefly at the captive Demon King before walking toward the throne. Sitri followed behind and ascended the dais as well.
“Please take the seat, Lady Sitri.”
“What? No, that’s not necessary. What have I done to deserve—”
“It’s fine. I was planning to give you the Demon King’s castle anyway.”
“But…”
Sitri felt a strange mix of emotions. When she had previously asked about Nahen’s whereabouts, Seere had looked ready to bite her head off. Now she was being far too generous. It was suspicious. Nevertheless, Sitri found herself seated on the throne at Seere’s insistence. She sat there with a somewhat awkward expression while Seere stood beside her and addressed Kimaris.
“I will spare your life.”
“Don’t get cocky, Devata! If you mean to humiliate me like this, just kill me already!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I don’t want to keep you alive either. But it can’t be helped.”
“...What?”
“A new ranking will be assigned at the next Demon Realm assembly. Stay quiet in prison until then. You can rebuild your forces, but you can’t remake your life, can you?”
Seere ordered Kimaris to be locked in the underground prison, and he was dragged away by the legion soldiers. Sitri looked puzzled by Seere’s decision.
“Why spare him? You said you didn’t want to, yet you did anyway… What does that mean?”
“...Teacher told me to.”
“Pardon? Nahen did?”
“He said that in preparation for the war that will soon break out, the number of Demon Kings must not decrease.”
Sitri immediately understood why Nahen had instructed Seere to spare the Demon King. Having once been a high-ranking Demon King herself, she could easily guess the reason.
“...Is the Heavenly Demon War about to begin?”
“You catch on quickly, Lady Sitri. The reason Teacher stepped away for a while is because of that.”
“Ha…”
That made sense. Why Seere was sparing Demon Kings when she hadn’t before, and why she kept trying to give her so many things.
“...I see.”
Since they were allies, Sitri’s power would also need to grow if they were to survive the enormous war ahead. It didn’t seem to be Seere’s own idea. Concluding that this was likely Nahen’s intention, Sitri asked honestly.
“Did Nahen tell you to share the conquered territories with me so I could expand my forces?”
“No. Teacher only told me to maintain a good alliance with you, Lady Sitri.”
“What? Then…”
Seere smiled brightly.
“This is a decision I made myself. You are a precious ally, after all. Lady Gremory has no need for lower floors, so there’s no point giving any to her…”
“......”
Sitri couldn’t understand it. Then what had that reaction been when she asked about Nahen’s whereabouts before?
“You don’t hate me, Lady Seere?”
“Why would I?”
“You always glared at me so fiercely for no reason.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Seere smiled sweetly.
“That’s because you keep eyeing Teacher.”
“...!”
The smile suddenly vanished from Seere’s face. She asked in a probing tone, “Ah… do you still feel that way about Teacher even now?”
“N-no!?”
“Right? You don’t have any feelings for him, correct?”
“O-of course not.”
Seere smiled again. Watching the young Demon King’s expression flip so rapidly, Sitri felt a slight chill run down her spine.
“I like you, Lady Sitri. I’m taking good care of the statue you gave me on the 72nd floor.”
“Ah, haha…”
“So it would be nice if you made sure my feelings don’t change…”
Sitri nodded. She had no choice but to nod. If she denied it here, there was no telling whether Seere might kill her on the spot. She had already realized that the young Seere possessed more than enough power to do so. Without regaining her full strength, she would never gain the upper hand against her. Sitri was certain of it.
Satisfied with Sitri’s attitude, Seere spoke with a bright smile.
“I look forward to working with you in the fut—”
At that moment, a person entered the audience chamber. It was an ugly troll. Both Sitri and Seere knew who this troll was.
“Doomgrik?”
“Your Majesty, it has been a long time. I see Lady Sitri is here as well.”
Doomgrik. The troll blacksmith who oversaw the forge on the 70th floor.
“Why are you here? What about the forge?”
“Do not worry. The forge is running smoothly. I came here at Sir Nahen’s request.”
“Huh? Teacher’s?”
The moment Nahen’s name was mentioned, Seere hopped down from the dais and ran over to Doomgrik. Both Sitri and Doomgrik were slightly taken aback by her intense reaction.
“What is it?”
“Ah… Sir Nahen asked me to make this and deliver it to Your Majesty.”
Doomgrik carefully held out a small wooden box. The fact that Nahen had made it and told him to deliver it meant it was a gift sent to Seere.
“For me!?”
Seere’s face lit up instantly. She snatched the box from Doomgrik’s hands and opened it at once. Inside was a brooch with a pearl-like orb set in its center. The sparkling silver-white brooch looked like it could fasten a cloak or simply be worn on the chest.
“D-did Teacher really send this as a gift for me?”
“Yes. He instructed me to deliver it to Your Majesty Seere the moment it was completed, so I brought it myself.”
“Really!?”
Seere took the brooch out of the box and jumped up and down on the spot with joy. Watching her behave exactly like a child, Sitri swallowed a dry laugh. The version of herself that had inwardly acknowledged this girl as a future rival just moments ago suddenly felt rather hollow.
“Lady Sitri, look at this. It’s a gift from Teacher!”
“Ah… Yes, it’s very pretty. You must be happy.”
“Hehe.”
Seere seemed eager to show it off. She held the brooch out to Sitri as well, savoring her delight. After delivering the gift, Doomgrik bowed and withdrew. Seere removed the pin that had been fastening her cloak and replaced it with the brooch. She gently stroked the ornament and smiled.
Her usually clear blue eyes were gradually accumulating dark emotions, like sediment settling at the bottom of a lake.
“Teacher…”