The Demon Who Plays with Hearts
"Huh? Say something. How exactly did you do that? Are other humans as strong-willed as you?" the demon chattered noisily. Normally, my sword would have flown out first, but right now, catching it off guard like this was perfect. I had realized something earlier when it vanished like smoke and reappeared beside me. It was still in its spiritual form. It was probably weaker than an ordinary person if it relied solely on physical strength. That must be why it still hadn't managed to kill me. Even so, the fact that I—a Transcendent—had been toyed with this badly by a demon that hadn't even fully manifested its true body left me with a heavy sense of unease.
Once it shed its spiritual form, it would likely unleash those spells on a massive scale. If that happened, the city would turn into a living hell. To prevent that and stop its full manifestation, I needed reinforcements. The Vatican's support. Lord, for now, I'll bind the demon here and escape to send a signal for aid. Grant us the experience of salvation and let us meet the Lord personally. May we possess the conviction and joy of salvation.
"Huh?"
First-Class Holy Magic: Holy Fetter
The entire building where the demon summoning ritual had taken place was now enveloped in holy magic.
"Kyaa! What are you doing? That hurts." The demon said that, yet it hadn't taken any damage at all. As expected, even in its spiritual state, a mere first-class spell couldn't destroy a demon. I became even more certain that my actions were the right call. I turned around and sprinted out of the building at full speed.
"Eh? Hey! Where are you going? You have to play with me. Huh?" It only stared at me with a puzzled expression and didn't move.
Just like a stupid demon. Did it really think it could move freely like before inside a place covered in binding spells? I left the dumbfounded demon behind and escaped the building.
==================================
Knock knock.
"Haa... Still not done?"
"Just wait a little longer, Hero. I'm almost finished."
"You've been saying that for twenty minutes already. You're not doing anything weird to Sirmiia, are you?"
"Haa? What could I possibly do to Sirmiia? Like this, maybe?" Angelica grabbed Sirmiia's chest as she sat in the chair.
"Kyaa! Stop it! Angelica, what—what are you doing?!"
"Sirmiia! What's going on? I'm coming in!"
"What the hell are you saying, you lunatic?! Don't come in!"
"Ah, understood..." The Hero slumped down in the hallway, looking dejected. He sat pitifully on the floor, rolling his fingers and counting. He had already reached 1069, and he had no idea how much higher he would have to go. Setting the poor Hero aside for now, a tense atmosphere lingered in Angelica's room, where Sirmiia had gone to change clothes.
"Angelica, this isn't the time for games. What are you doing?"
"But the Hero keeps whining..."
"It's an emergency, so of course he is. Let's hurry up and go."
"Fine. Come over here."
Though I initially refused, Angelica's persistent nagging left me with no choice but to sit on the bed and let her style my hair. The Hero was still in danger, so what on earth was I doing right now? I swatted Angelica's hand away.
"That's enough. Let's go."
"Ah, Sirmiia, I'm almost done! Just wait a little longer."
"Haa..." What sin did I commit in my past life to catch the eye of this crazy dragon? I let out a deep sigh, as if the ground were about to swallow me whole.
"Hmm... This won't do."
"What? What's wrong?"
"I'll trim your bangs a bit and give your hair some light waves in the back."
"Please... stop it, Angelica."
"I don't want to?" Angelica said that and pulled me into her arms like a doll. I tried my best to ignore the sensation against my back and struggled with all my might to pry her arms off.
"Now that I think about it, we need to pick out clothes too."
"I'll choose them myself. Just let go."
"For the coordination... hmm. Let's go with an off-shoulder blouse with frills on top and a flared skirt made of cotton fabric on the bottom!"
"What?" Can't I stop wearing skirts already? I was starting to want pants...
"An A-line miniskirt would suit Sirmiia perfectly."
"No, wait a second." Angelica completely ignored my protests, letting my words go in one ear and out the other.
"The chiffon ribbon blouse... here it is! Wear this with the black flared skirt."
"Angelica."
"Here, take the choker."
Would it kill her to listen to people? Haa... I pouted and hung my head in frustration.
"...It's too stuffy. I hate it. Can't I just wear a plain T-shirt and cotton pants? Why is the clothing industry so developed here in the first place?"
"It must be the gods' preference. Anyway, a T-shirt and cotton pants are absolutely out of the question. Aren't you going to rescue Julius? Hurry up and change."
"Haa..."
"Here. I found the stiletto heels!"
"We're about to go into battle, and you want me to wear heels? And ones with such thin, high heels at that?"
"It's fine. I won't make Sirmiia fight. The Hero and I will handle the combat. So put them on quickly."
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm fighting too. And I've never worn heels before." Angelica tossed the heels beside the bed and suddenly fixed me with an intense gaze, setting the mood.
"Sirmiia, do you remember when we first met?"
"Huh? Uh, I think so...?"
"It was when Sirmiia went to get her underwear measurements."
"Oh, right! I remember that too." Remember? I had actually forgotten. If it wasn't important, I tended to forget things right away.
"You were so cute back then... Ah, of course you're still cute now. Anyway, do you remember what you said then?"
"What? What did I say?"
"Sigh. You said that all your underwear was put on by your maids, so you didn't know how to wear it yourself."
"Ah... I did say that."
"And I already know that you lied to the Pope during your interrogation, claiming to be an adventurer."
"Yeah..."
"You don't have the dignity of a noble lady, and claiming you're an adventurer doesn't make sense either. Someone with your level of skill would already have widespread fame."
"You even did a personal investigation?"
"...I did it for Sirmiia's sake. To help you, I needed to know everything about you more than anyone else."
"So you did it anyway."
"Ahem... So where did you come from, Sirmiia? I couldn't find any information about you. Who are you?"
"Uh..." Suddenly, it had turned into an interrogation. This isn't the time for this... I was supposed to just be a dress-up doll. Now some annoying trouble had popped up.
"I can't tell you right now... I'm sorry."
Angelica stared into my eyes for a while before breaking into a small smile and gently stroking my hair.
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything if it's hard. No need to look so upset. Honestly, even if Sirmiia turned out to be the Demon King, I would still love you."
"Yeah... I'll tell you everything later for sure. For now, let's hurry to the Erebor Kingdom."
"Got it."
Creak.
"Why are you only coming out now... Huh?" The Hero froze like a statue as he looked at me.
What's with him? We need to get to the Erebor Kingdom quickly. I urged the Hero to move.
"We don't have time for this. Let's go to the Erebor Kingdom right away."
"Uh... Understood. Please wait a moment. Saintess Aria will be coming too."
In such an urgent situation, why bring the Saintess along...? Well, she might be helpful against the demon, so it wouldn't be bad to go together. Speak of the tiger and it appears—the Saintess Aria came running down the hallway.
"Ian! Let's go qu—kyaa!" The Saintess tripped over nothing in the empty hallway. The Hero moved in an instant to catch her before she fell.
"Are you all right, Saintess?"
Of course, if it had ended there, he would have been the perfect fairy-tale hero. But he was the Hero, after all. Was God playing some kind of prank on fate? Unwanted luck always followed him around.
"H-Hero..."
"What's wrong?"
"Your... your arm..."
"My arm?" The Hero looked down to check his arm. Ah... indeed. His arm was pressed against her chest. The soft sensation was quite novel, but touching her body without permission was inexcusable. Her face had flushed red, and she looked quite angry. This was enough to upset the Saintess. An apology would be best.
"I'm sorry."
"Ah, no... it's fine. It couldn't be helped! It was an accident. More importantly, thank you for catching me. If it weren't for you, Ian, I would have fallen flat on the floor in an embarrassing way."
"Not at all. I only did what a Hero should do."
Watching the whole process from the sidelines made my eyes sting.
"...I want to date someone too."
"Sirmiia... Do you already need a boyfriend? It makes me a little sad that you want to get away from me."
"No! I don't want to date a man!"
"Oh my. Then is that your preference? I'm fully supportive. Sirmiia, there's no need to hide your preferences."
"That's not it either!" I was frustrated. How was I supposed to explain this damn feeling? An indescribable irritation welled up inside me. Me dating a guy? Bullshit.
==================================
"Sirmiia, I'm back."
"Welcome home, Captain."
"You're calling me that again... Haa. Can't you just call me normally?"
"I don't want to? To me, you're the Captain."
"Fine... Do whatever you want."
"Hey! Are you sulking again?"
"I'm not sulking."
"You are, though. Pfft. You're not a kid, yet you're sulking. Sulking~"
"If you keep messing around, there won't be any snacks next month."
"What? No, I'm not a child... Besides, I'll be earning my own living expenses now, so it doesn't matter!"
"What? Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"Just... because I said no."
"You're so dishonest. Well, that's part of your charm!"
"Haa... Even coming home makes me tired."
"Want me to help you relax? Come here. I love you, Julius."
"Mmm... Get off. You're heavy."
"Aren't you going to answer, Julius?"
"......."
"Are you sulking?"
"..........I"
==================================
"Uwaaaaah shiiiiiit."
"What? What's wrong, Sirmiia?"
"No, it's nothing..." I had just had a weird daydream. Have I finally gone crazy? And why on earth did Julius appear in my hallucination...? Of course, compared to the Demon King he seemed like an angel, but that didn't mean I liked Julius even a tiny bit. There was no way I would ever like a man in the first place... A woman, maybe. Me liking a man... Hey, he's got some cute sides too. There was no way... I love you, Julius. ...that I would. Aren't you going to answer, Julius?...I love you too, Sirmiia.
"Kyaaaaah shiiiiiit!"
"Sirmiia? What on earth is going on!"
"I don't know either. You've been blushing on your own and screaming for a while now."
"Could it be some kind of curse? Saintess! Come over here quickly! I think you need to take a look at Sirmiia."
"Yes! Ian!"
And so, after being bombarded with the Saintess's first-class purification magic for a while, I headed to the Erebor Kingdom together with the Hero.