Get Lost
In the end, they had come this far. At last, it had arrived.
That was the only thought running through the minds of the four Demon Kings gathered in the room.
It had been a long road. From the first time they met Lethe and learned warmth at his side; from secretly nurturing affection, love, and coming to understand what they had to do for it; from deciding they had to become Demon Kings and fleeing the “home” they knew; through countless battles until they finally achieved peace—truly, it had been long.
“Hey. It’s been forever since the four of us shared a room like this, right?”
The place they had been assigned was the most ordinary four-person dorm among the student rooms.
Technically, single rooms would have been fine. By status alone they outranked kings and nobles.
But if that had actually happened, the already sour public mood would have hit rock bottom. People would have howled about every imaginable outrage—what had those Demon Kings done to deserve private rooms on top of everything else?
With that conclusion in mind, Lethe had given them a room where all four would stay together. It was easier to keep an eye on them if they were in one place, and besides, they had shared rooms like this once before.
“That’s true. Back when we lived at Oraboni’s house, we used two bunk beds just like this.”
“And you and Ashu used to fight every day over who got the top bunk.”
“Thank you, Sitri. For still remembering even that.”
After that the Demon Kings chattered on, reminiscing about the days when they were still young and living at Lethe’s side—how Marmar had confessed first and been branded a traitor for it; how Sitri had somehow gotten her hands on a maid outfit, called him Master, and nearly given Lethe a heart attack; how the quietest, most well-behaved of them, El, had been the first to climb on top of him.
Compared to back then they had only grown in body. The desire to play and cling and act spoiled remained exactly the same.
The Great Purge, the Four Heavenly Kings—plenty of terrifying titles clung to them, but every one of those things had existed for a firm reason.
“…Mar.”
“Yes, Ashu?”
“When I did that interview thing earlier… I almost cried looking at Ahjussi’s face.”
If Astaroth’s subordinates had overheard that, they might have choked and fainted on the spot.
The Butcher. The cruel Red Monarch who had slaughtered more Demon Kings and hardline demons than anyone. That woman almost cried? Make it make sense. A Demon King who tossed severed heads around like balls, shedding tears? There was no greater load of nonsense in the world—or so anyone else would have thought.
“I was the same, Ashu. The second I saw him, the tears just welled up.”
But Marmar reacted with perfect understanding. She even went a step further, murmuring that she had been exactly the same.
“Oraboni said… that because you all left home without a word, just vanished like that… he felt a little lonely… and in that moment I felt so sorry. If I could have turned back time, I would have wanted to go back.”
“Master thought we simply ran away from home. It couldn’t be helped.”
If she had known it would turn out like this, maybe she should have at least explained before leaving, Sitri muttered. But even then, it was doubtful whether Lethe would have quietly let them go. Every one of them knew perfectly well how dearly he had cherished them.
“…No. No regrets.”
El, who had been lying quietly on the bed, spoke in a short but unmistakable tone.
Regrets—meaning leaving home without a word. And not regretting it: that went for the other Demon Kings as well.
“Right. No regrets. Thanks to that we got to kill the noisy ones, snap the spines of the ones who wanted to fight, and rip out the tongues of the ones spewing human-hate. We got to do all of it.”
“It does annoy me that Oraboni suffered on the battlefield all that time… but he says he gained a lot in return, so we’ll let it go.”
“A war hero, huh. Master really is cool. If I’d known it would turn out like this, maybe I should have killed the hardliners a little more slowly? Master’s military achievements would have piled up more, and we ruined that.”
“I don’t think so. He said he had already stepped back from the front lines before that.”
The moment those words left Marmar’s mouth, every Demon King fell silent at once. The reason was simple.
“Hate. Earlier. Them.”
The “them” El meant were the Heroes. That was right. Lethe had stepped aside to yield the military glory to them.
Even though he could have fought more. Even though he could have earned far greater renown. Even though he was stronger than they were.
So Lethe had other people he looked after the way he looked after them? Unpleasant, but they could let it pass. That was just the kind of person he was—a human who had doted even on demons.
But those creatures who had received that consideration—why had they worn those expressions in that moment?
“I know Ahjussi is way too kind, but… did you see those bitches’ faces earlier? Why were they looking disappointed like they had any right? If it weren’t for Ahjussi I would’ve harvested their heads on the spot.”
“From what I heard, they were… something about being destined to oppose us Demon Kings… Heroes, was it?”
“Oppose, my ass. They looked weak as hell.”
The other Demon Kings all nodded in unison.
You could tell at a glance whether someone was a true powerhouse or just a hollow shell polished to a shine. In that sense, those so-called Heroes fell firmly into the latter category.
“I’ve got a feeling. Those things are definitely going to bother Ahjussi.”
“Agree with Ashu.”
“So here’s what I’m saying. Want to kill them?”
It was not a joke. Not a throwaway line tossed out for fun.
She meant it. The killing intent flowing in those red eyes alone made that clear.
The moment anyone here said “Let’s do it,” the Butcher would descend upon the Academy.
“No.”
Fortunately, before the other Demon Kings could even deliberate, El cut the idea down at once.
“El? Why? They’re bitches who treat Ahjussi however they want!”
“Here. Academy.”
Short, but decisive. At El’s words, Astaroth’s mouth snapped shut.
And the other two Demon Kings, who had been seriously weighing whether to kill or not, immediately withdrew the thought as well.
“El’s right. Ashu, this is the Academy. Did you forget?”
“That’s true. If we cause trouble here, Oraboni’s wish will be ruined.”
“Yeah. I forgot about that. Haaah…”
Sssss—
The killing intent that had filled the Butcher’s eyes vanished in an instant. Thankfully, the future in which they played ball with the Heroes’ heads never came to pass.
Then how about tormenting them to the brink of death instead of killing them? Just as she was about to say that—
Clack!—
“Ashu!”
“Hiek?! Ahjussi?!”
Lethe burst into their room without warning and immediately seized Ashu by the ear.
“Kiiiiiing! Ow, ow! Ahjussi! Ashu’s ear’s coming off! It’s really coming off!”
“I told you during the interview. Don’t casually leak your aura. I can feel all of it, so don’t pull any stupid stunts—and you couldn’t even hold out that long before doing it again?”
“Aaaang! Sorry! I won’t! Ahjussi, spare me! Ashu’s dying!!”
Faced with the Demon King’s total surrender, the war hero took a step back.
“Don’t cause trouble. I already told you. There are more than a few people with their eyes lit up looking for any excuse to nail you.”
“Sniffle… Then just wipe out all those pieces of trash and…”
“Want your ear ripped off?”
“No! Absolutely not! Hate it!”
Whoosh!— Astaroth hurriedly threw her arms around Lethe. At a glance it looked like she was getting ahead of him so he couldn’t grab her ear again—
“Ashu. Don’t seize the chance to monopolize Oraboni’s arms.”
“Get out right now. Leave Master’s embrace.”
“Opposition. Hate.”
“Ah, dammit! This is why I can’t stand sharp-eyed Demon Kings!!”
—only to be immediately subdued by the other three Demon Kings and dragged away backward.
“Hooo—”
Meanwhile Lethe, letting out a sigh of relief, dropped roughly into a chair.
He had come running the moment he felt Astaroth’s thick killing intent. For a second he had wondered whether the four Demon Kings were about to start another absurd war over who got to be the official wife. If that had actually happened, the Academy and everything else would have been wiped off the map like it had taken a bomb.
So he had gritted his teeth and sprinted over—only to find, thankfully, that it wasn’t that.
“Oraboni. I have one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it, Mar?”
“Where is Oraboni’s room?”
“My room?”
Lethe’s eyes narrowed. Why the sudden question about where his room was?
The reason? Obvious. These girls, now that they were stuck together again, were planning a night raid, weren’t they?!
“Dream on. The student and faculty lodgings are completely different buildings. They’re even a long way apart. So just stay put quietly, kids.”
“Ugh! Th-then! Isn’t there some kind of Demon King special privilege?! Like the right to stay in the faculty building instead of the student one!”
“Ooooh?! Ahjussi! There’s something like that?! Me too! Give me one too!”
“Me too! Please give me one as well, Master! I can go every day!”
Flap-flap!—
“Hahaha.”
Yeah. Not a chance. Lethe slammed the door shut with a bang and left.
Creeeak—
In the middle of the night the door opened, and beyond it a blue-haired beauty with a short bob carefully set one foot after another.
She had confirmed that the other three were all asleep. And she had already found out exactly where her target was.
Ssst!—
She could feel it. The signal from the familiar she had secretly attached to Lethe.
Whatever else, when it came to handling familiars in secret, no one could match her—Sitri thought as much as she headed for Lethe’s room.
Or rather, she tried to.
“Where are you going?”
“Hik!”
Just as the startled Sitri was about to scream, a jet-black beauty clamped a hand over her mouth.
“M-Mar?! When… no, I checked that you were asleep!”
“I woke up. If you’re going to sneak out, at least go a little more quietly.”
Sitri felt wronged. That had been the absolute peak of stealth she was capable of.
“You attached a familiar, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Because you’re the best at using familiars, Sitri. Even Ahjussi doesn’t seem to have noticed. Come on, let’s go.”
She had been planning to go alone. Traitors cannot be forgiven. Can’t we go later? No, we cannot.
The two Demon Kings bickered as they left the student building and arrived in front of the faculty building.
“Oh. You’re here.”
And standing in front of it, yawning hugely, was Astaroth—who had definitely been asleep in their room.
“What is it, Ashu? And when did you…”
“Haaawn. I saw you leaving, so I went out the window and got ahead of you.”
“What. So you woke up too? Seriously… What about El? Is she asleep?”
“Nope? When I got up she was already gone. Didn’t she leave with you?”
“What are you talking about? Leave with us?”
At Astaroth’s words, Marmar and Sitri both went “Eeeh?” and tilted their heads.
Good heavens. So in that tiny span of time she had slipped out of their sight and was even tailing them?
Marmar glanced around, then quietly called El’s name.
“El. Come out now. We know you’ve been following us.”
Rustle—
From the darkness, the silver-haired Demon King slowly revealed herself.
To stick that close and still not give off a single presence… Anyway, the moment anything involved Lethe, every one of them became far too serious. That was the problem.
“If I’d known it would be like this, we should have just all gone together.”
“Let’s do this fair and square, okay?”
“Be quiet. At this rate everyone’s going to notice.”
The four Demon Kings once again crept stealthily toward Lethe’s room.
“Here?”
“Yes. The familiar’s trail stops here.”
When should we go in? Ahjussi’s a heavy sleeper, so he won’t notice. Who gets to sleep next to Oraboni first tonight? Me. El slept next to him last. That was years ago. Still no. Even if it was years ago, sleeping next to him counts. That’s right. El sleeps next-to-next tonight.
Was this really a conversation the Four Heavenly Kings of the Great Purge should be having? Truly shocking.
“Shh.”
And so, just as the Demon Kings reached Lethe’s door and quietly pressed their ears to it—
“Get lost.”
“Hieeeeeek!!”
From beyond the door came Lethe’s long-suffering warning, as if he had known all along.