Reunion
Early morning in the annex.
Ophelia, the maid who styled herself Shiron's most devoted servant, curled her hands into fists as she looked at him.
"You're all ready, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Wash kit, towels… even emergency preserved rations? You packed everything without missing a thing, right?"
"Yuma would've already taken care of the little stuff."
Answering the fretting maid, Shiron glanced back over his shoulder. There stood his younger sisters, each gripping a large duffel bag in both hands.
They weren't headed out for a picnic, so instead of uniforms or dresses they wore tough-looking leather jackets and pants suited for moving freely.
And beside them stood Seira, staff in hand.
The journey to Dawn Castle was long and complicated enough to require several different means of travel—yet with Ophelia and Seira's help, they could arrive in the blink of an eye.
Seira was a teleporter, of course, but Ophelia could also use phase escape without strain for two or so people, even if her range was limited to Dawn Castle alone.
"Well then…"
Ophelia nodded and stepped in front of Lucia and Siriel. Having been told in advance that they would teleport, the two closed their eyes without protest, bracing against the coming motion sickness.
Ophelia stretched her hands toward them. Their forms vanished in an instant. Shiron caught Ophelia as she staggered from the backlash of her ability.
"What a shame. Ophelia would have liked to watch the Young Master's coming-of-age ceremony as well."
Encia approached with a swish of golden hair and took Ophelia from him.
"If I'd known it would turn out like this, maybe I shouldn't have made a contract with the Young Master."
"…What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Shiron stared at Encia as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"Weren't you the one who was thrilled about finally getting out of that stifling castle?"
"Come on, that's a different flavor entirely. Special experiences are precious no matter what they are, right? The Young Master's coming-of-age only happens once in a lifetime, and the Young Master is special."
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm still not taking you."
"Our little one sure is popular."
Seira suddenly drew up beside Shiron. The silver-haired mage gripping her violet staff looked a touch weary.
"What's with you? Did you not sleep?"
"It's because of your sister."
"…Lucia?"
"Not the red one. The one who used to send you letters every day… Siriel, was it?"
Seira pressed her fingers to her brow as if nursing a headache, then heaved a long, heavy sigh.
"She's been stealing glances at me this whole time. I'm not so dense that I can't read the intent in those eyes."
"Why? I think it's cute."
Shiron smiled contentedly and shrugged.
"Just take it in good humor. If you were plain, she wouldn't even look at you like that. We'll be living together a lot from now on—try to get along."
"…"
Seira gripped her staff in silence, staring at him. The little one… Shiron still had no idea about the complicated gazes that had been poured onto her until moments ago. She had singled out Siriel, but Lucia's eyes had been no less intense.
At this rate, something terrible is going to happen.
Seira pictured Shiron torn to shreds. Over the past five hundred years she had seen more than enough people ruined by romantic entanglements.
The one saving grace was that the demons' gazes were pure, shameless devotion.
Offering a silent prayer for Shiron's soul, Seira gathered her mana and calculated the coordinates for the teleport. The distance was great, so she proceeded with the utmost care.
The destination: Dawn Castle's training grounds.
She felt a thick chunk of mana vanish from her core.
Lucia felt a brief sense of weightlessness and immediately opened her eyes.
Gray walls piled with snow. The place they had arrived was unmistakably the Dawn Castle of her memories. A moment later she locked eyes with a short-haired black maid.
"It has been a long time."
"…Dorothy?"
"I am honored you remember me."
The black-haired demon approached Lucia with a faint smile.
Even though the girls' arrival had been unannounced, Dorothy stood right in front of them as if she had foreseen the exact spot.
"Please come inside. The head maid is waiting. May I take your luggage?"
"Please do."
"Pardon me."
Dorothy hoisted not only Lucia's bag but Siriel's as well and strode ahead.
A demon?
Siriel thought as she followed Dorothy's lead. She had not noticed during the succession ceremony when she was little, but now she could faintly sense the maid's true nature.
And a rather powerful high-ranking demon at that.
The demonic energy pressing down like a rain of needles—not only on her skin but into her lungs—forced Siriel to understand just how strong Dorothy was.
They were surely the same kind of demon as the maids back at the annex.
Unlike those who had concealed their demonic energy, this one named Dorothy made no effort to hide it at all.
Does that mean there's no longer any need to be considerate?
It was a declaration that, with the coming-of-age ceremony ahead, they would no longer treat Siriel as a child. So she had no choice but to answer in kind.
"…Hoo."
Siriel drew mana up from her core and shook off the prickling demonic energy.
Once they entered the castle, the concentration of demonic energy grew even denser. Lucia felt it clearly as well.
It feels like a completely different world. Is it because it's been so long? Or…
Sharp gazes poured down from every corner of the walls.
Yet she sensed no hostility from them. They were merely curious about the guests who had come to the quiet castle.
Lucia ignored those stares and looked straight ahead.
At the head of the path into the castle sat a red-haired man. When Lucia and Siriel drew near enough, he brushed the snow from his backside and stood.
Both Lucia and Siriel had a vague idea who he was.
Glenn Prien.
Head of the Prien family, Hugo's younger brother. And…
Strong. Looking at him now, I can tell for sure.
When a golden gaze so like her own fell upon her, Lucia ran her tongue once over lips that were slowly drying. Even an unhostile look was enough to tense her entire body.
Even in her previous life she had never met anyone this strong.
Except for the Evil God, no one had been clearly weaker than her past self who had reached divinity—so she had never felt this kind of pressure before.
It was an arrogant thought, yet Lucia believed the man before her might be strong enough to stand comparison with who she had been in her past life.
"You've grown a lot."
That was the greeting that left the man's mouth. A faint curve had already appeared at the corners of Glenn's lips.
"Five years… no, is it seven? You've really grown a lot."
"…Children grow up quickly."
Lucia answered a little curtly.
"I'm sorry."
Glenn offered the apology with an awkward smile. The unassuming manner, so unlike someone of such immense power, made both Lucia and Siriel relax despite themselves.
"…"
But the easing of tension did not lead to conversation. Glenn and Lucia simply looked at each other in silence.
Glenn had no idea how to treat a girl of that sensitive age whom he had not seen in so long,
and Lucia was simply terribly shy around strangers.
Unable to watch the stifling scene any longer, Siriel stepped between them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Uncle. Do you know who I am?"
"…Ah."
Glenn's face brightened as he turned.
"Of course I do. Siriel. My brother's only daughter. You've grown a great deal as well. You've become a young lady."
"Uncle, your impression is cleaner than I imagined."
"…What do you mean by that?"
Glenn looked at her with mild puzzlement. Siriel narrowed her eyes and smiled sweetly.
"Too lazy to wash, always wandering around in rags, never brushing his teeth on time, and still a picky eater even as a grown adult… Hmm… According to Father, you were someone I would never want to get close to."
"Brother said that?"
"Yes!"
Siriel took Lucia's hand with a mischievous laugh.
"But lo and behold—I always wondered where Big Brother Shiron got his looks from, and it turns out it was from Uncle? You're every bit as handsome as he is."
"…Thank you."
Glenn decided to simply nod at words that could have been either insult or praise.
"Have you eaten?"
"No."
"…No."
"Then let's go inside at once. It's cold out, so I had a warm stew prepared."
Glenn led the two girls and the one maid along the frozen corridor. His long strides ate up the distance so quickly that after only a few steps he seemed to be surging ahead.
"By the way…"
Walking the corridor, Glenn cast a glance behind him.
"Did only the two of you come here?"
"…Pardon?"
"I don't see Shiron."
Glenn's expression grew serious.
He had been able to come out to greet them because he had seen the future of Lucia and Siriel arriving—but that was not the case with Shiron.
Glenn could not see Shiron's future.
Shiron's future was darker than a lightless cave, and so vast that one could not even feel the walls—impossible to grasp.
"You're right. He said he would follow right after."
"Don't tell me."
Lucia's head snapped up.
"Did he bolt?"
"…Huh? What are you talking about?"
Siriel looked down at Lucia at the sudden remark. She wondered if her shy friend was joking to lighten the heavy mood, but Lucia's face was utterly serious.
Lucia's features twisted as she clenched a fist.
"That guy. He might have sent only us here and then run off."
"Oh, come on."
"It's not 'come on.' He has a track record."
"What do you mean, run off? From the coming-of-age ceremony?"
Glenn tilted his head and looked ahead again.
In the distance the dining hall where food would be laid out came into view.
"Let's eat first. There may be some misunderstanding."
Glenn gave a hearty laugh and reached for the heavy door.
He meant to open it.
The door swung open on its own before his hand even touched it.
Glenn flinched. No such future had existed in his mind.
A black-haired young man came into view.
"…You arrived first."
"My lord. You are late."
At the head of the table, in the seat of honor,
the one-horned demon was attending the young man.