The Hairy Butcher Makes His Appearance
The hairy butcher from the meat shop had appeared. Mother didn’t fully understand the situation, but she was convinced I must have done something wrong. She flew into a rage, scolding me furiously, until her strength gave out and she slipped back into a deep, peaceful sleep.
“Are you all right where she hit you?”
“Of course. I’ve taken blows from Gebura’s scythe before. A pillow thrown by an elderly mother hardly registers.”
“That’s true.”
“There was also that time I nearly turned into a handful of ashes from your magic.”
“Y-yes, that too… Ahem!”
Ilena rose from her seat.
“Anyway, you need to lie down nicely now. You promised, remember?”
“As you wish.”
I obediently stretched out on the spot Ilena had prepared for me.
“And you don’t have to count something like this as one of your wishes.”
“Really? You’re sure that’s all right? After all, I’m the one granting wishes, not you.”
“Using up a wish just to make me lie down and sleep feels too wasteful. It lacks any sense of occasion. That aside…”
But Ilena was still moving about busily, gathering things and packing.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to return home.”
“Return home? Where exactly is your house?”
“Nearby. It’s less than a minute’s walk.”
I sat bolt upright.
“I’ll walk you there.”
“Walk me? I told you it’s right in front of us. You’re supposed to be lying down nicely.”
“I already followed that order. You told me to lie down nicely. I don’t recall any command to stay lying down and sleep.”
“What kind of wordplay is that?!”
Ilena’s face paled at my unexpected counterattack, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Then give the order again.”
“Ugh… uuu…”
“Let me walk you home.”
As I slipped back into the outer robe I’d taken off, Ilena seemed to ponder something before nodding.
“Ah, I see. In this world, men are expected to escort women whenever they go somewhere. That’s the custom, right?”
“You’ve been studying the most useless things. But I’m not walking you because I’m worried about your safety. You’re the Demon King—unrivaled across both this world and the Demon Realm.”
“Then why?”
Her head was packed full of theories, yet she had zero sense for these things.
“Because I want to walk you home.”
“Why??”
“This is…”
Ilena’s eyes were genuinely puzzled. She was no different from one of those honor students from a prestigious academy—excellent grades, but so buried in books for years that they barely understood the real world.
“Are you finished preparing?”
“Yes. I only need to head back.”
“Then let’s go.”
I opened the door first so Ilena could step out comfortably. I moved to walk beside her, but she pointed with her finger.
“It’s right there. I told you it was close, didn’t I?”
A small house no more than twenty steps away.
This… this isn’t what I had in mind.
I felt strangely deflated. Just to be sure, I asked,
“Ilena, are you very sleepy? Do you need to go straight to bed once you’re back?”
Fortunately, Ilena gently shook her head.
“N-no, I’m not sleepy. Besides…”
Her face flushed red once more.
“It seems like it will be difficult to fall asleep tonight. Earlier, inside your head… that kind of thing… Mmph!”
Before she could say anything more embarrassing, I covered her mouth with my hand.
“Stop. Just stop talking. You’re the one who peeked inside without permission!”
“Mmph…! Still… it wasn’t entirely unpleasant, you know!”
“What?”
“The act of creating offspring is the same for both humans and demons. And I’ve heard it feels incredibly good…”
Ilena stammered, avoiding my eyes. Then she glanced up at me through her lashes and added softly,
“I don’t dislike it. Not if it’s with you.”
I felt like I might lose my mind. Ilena was beautiful at first glance, but the soft moonlight bathing her made her even more…
“Hm? Who’s there!”
I sensed a presence nearby and shouted toward it. The aura was extremely eerie and gloomy.
“This energy is definitely…”
“Hesed!”
Ilena smiled brightly and waved. From a short distance away, the figure who had been waiting bowed deeply before hurrying over.
The one who came running was a hairy middle-aged man.
Wait a second. So this bearded, shaggy-haired uncle was the King of Death?
“Did Lady Glinis fall asleep comfortably?”
“Yes. Thanks to the excellent meat you provided, she ate well and is sleeping soundly.”
“I’m glad to hear it. However…”
Only after bowing obsequiously to Ilena did Hesed turn to glare at me.
“So you’ve finally returned, Roen?”
“It seems that way. By the way, Hesed, I remember you looking quite different the last time we met.”
The Hesed I encountered during the war had been the very image of horror. Sometimes he appeared in the body of a powerful demon, other times he would slay a skilled human warrior and possess the corpse. Yet here he was now—a slow-moving, hairy uncle.
“Hmph. It’s not as if I chose to look like this, Roen!”
Hesed tried to show hostility toward me, but the effect was completely lost coming from that body. It wasn’t frightening in the slightest.
“Hesed, what brings you to wait for me like this?”
“That should be obvious. Demon King, have you forgotten what sort of person this is? He’s the one who tried to kill you!”
Hesed’s face flushed with anger as he raged on.
“He tried once before. Now that you’re staying by his side, there’s no telling what might happen or when. We should summon the other three legion commanders right now and—”
“Hesed.”
A chill ran down my spine. Hesed’s mouth snapped shut instantly.
Yes. This was the voice I remembered from Ilena. Merciless. Utterly devoid of emotion. Dry and cold.
Ilena called his name in an icy tone. The warmth had vanished from her eyes; she stared at Hesed with a gaze colder than the night air itself.
“I understand now. The reason you gave Mother such fine meat was to ruin the good mood I had only just regained.”
“That is not true, Ilenater-nim!”
Hesed dropped to his knees without hesitation. He fell so hard that his knees struck the dirt with an audible thud. Then he pressed his forehead flat against the ground in complete prostration.
“I swear it is not! I had no intention of spoiling Ilenater-nim’s mood! How could I possibly dare commit such a grave offense!”
“Finish what you were saying. Summon the other three legion commanders and do what, exactly?”
“Ugh… However!”
Hesed slowly lifted his head to speak, but Ilena mercilessly stepped on it and pressed his face back into the dirt.
“Speak from that position. I have no desire to look at your face right now.”
“Even so, I must say this. That man is dangerous! Please consider what would happen to the entire Demon Realm if any harm should befall the Demon King!”
No matter how powerful Hesed was, Ilena was the Demon King. He knew exactly what fate awaited anyone who displeased her, yet he refused to yield his opinion.
Ilena slowly lifted her foot from Hesed’s head.
“Hesed, raise your head.”
“Thank you, Demon King!”
When Hesed looked up, his face was covered in dirt. Tears and snot only made it worse. Ilena lightly snapped her fingers, and every speck of filth vanished from his face in an instant.
“I know what you’re worried about. But did you truly believe I would meet with this person without any precautions in place?”
At the completely unexpected revelation, my eyes widened. What? She really had some kind of plan prepared?
So there had been an ulterior motive behind all that kindness. I tensed the muscles in my legs slightly, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
“As expected of the Demon King! But what is this precaution? You never informed us!”
“Hehe. That would be…”
Ilena let out a wicked little laugh. Then she revealed her so-called measure to Hesed.
“This man has sworn a soul oath to me.”
“A soul oath!”
Hesed cried out in astonishment, but I was just as confused. I had no memory of making any such oath.
“Therefore, he must obey any command I give him. Twice.”
“I don’t know how you accomplished it, but as expected of the Demon King!”
Overcome with emotion, Hesed sprang to his feet and shoved his face toward mine, gloating.
“You’re a rat caught in a trap, Roen! I don’t know how it happened, but now if you break the oath you’ll have to surrender your soul! Hehehe…”
The words and laughter were incredibly sinister, yet coming from a hairy uncle they lost all their menace.
Leaving me to ponder how I should react, Hesed turned to Ilena and bowed with deep respect, his plump belly jiggling.
“To have extracted a soul oath from Roen—truly, you are the Demon King. With that, I can rest easy. Please forgive this foolish subordinate.”
“Do not forget it again. That I am the ruler of the Demon Realm and your master. You may leave.”
“Yes!”
Hesed answered loudly and returned the way he had come, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Ilena relaxed her expression and let out a sigh of relief.
“Ilena? About that soul oath…”
“Y-yes, that. It’s the promise you made to do whatever I want.”
Not everything Ilena had said to convince Hesed was a lie. It wasn’t some grand oath that would cost me my soul if broken, but I fully intended to keep my word regardless.
“My decision to live here was made on my own. The legion commanders followed out of worry for me and have been helping.”
“I see. So right now, four legion commanders are living in this village?”
“Yes. Gebura and Hesed, Tiphereth and Malkuth.”
“I’ll have to be careful. If I accidentally provoke them the wrong way, it could lead to a terrible tragedy.”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
Ilena shook her head firmly.
“You simply need to live comfortably. If any of them cross the line and try to harm the villagers or you, I will not stand idly by as the Demon King.”
“To go that far…”
The more I saw of her, the more wondrous it became. The same Demon King who had once declared she would destroy every race except her own was now saying she would protect them.
“Anyway, Hesed ended up taking up your time. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for something like that. It was fun.”
“Fun? What was?”
I gave a small nod toward Ilena, who genuinely seemed unable to understand what could have been entertaining.
“You.”
“I’m fun? Does that mean you see me favorably? Ehehe…”
Ilena beamed, delighted by the idea that she had amused me.
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it.
This Demon King… was adorable.