A Secret Rendezvous
It was clearly a secret rendezvous! “Why do you look so troubled, hero?” As I stared at Esther… no, the Demon King standing before me, I felt an incredibly precarious sensation and quickly asked my question in the most casual tone I could manage.
“J-just a bit of curiosity, Your Majesty. That appearance… how exactly did you manage it? My instincts somehow let me figure it out, but the current form seems quite different from Your Majesty’s original appearance.”
“Ah, you mean this?” With those words, the Demon King lightly stroked her golden hair. Although the question itself had been improvised, I was genuinely feeling quite puzzled by her current look at this very moment.
The Demon King, now in the form of a female demon with golden hair and blue eyes named Esther. It wasn’t simply a change in eye and hair color—her facial structure and skin tone were slightly different as well. Even her voice was quite distinct from her usual one. Honestly, the only common point was that both were incredibly beautiful women; they could easily pass for two completely unrelated people.
In response to my question, the Demon King showed a light smile at the corner of her lips and spoke to me.
“It is nothing so grand. I simply used magic to refine an ability that allows me to transform my body. Of course, even I cannot change my fundamental skeletal structure, but…”
With those words, she instantly returned to her original form before shifting back into Esther’s appearance once more. The way she changed gave off the impression of a chameleon altering its colors.
“Adjusting things like skin texture, hair and eye color, or muscle thickness in this manner is a simple task for me. Naturally, not all demons can do this. It is an ability only those like myself, who have trained for emergencies since childhood, can use.”
“I see…”
As I listened to the Demon King’s explanation, I came to understand to some extent why she had learned this ‘transformation’ ability. It made sense that a ruler of a nation possessing such a skill would find it much easier to escape dangerous situations. While the Demon Kingdom had largely moved past such threats for now, it could have proven to be quite a useful card if the situation had worsened due to the allied forces of various races.
Just as I was slowly nodding my head in relation to the current situation—
“Um… hero, what do you think?”
“Pardon?”
The Demon King suddenly posed a question to me. Then, with a slightly embarrassed blush on her face and her hand gently placed over her chest, she continued.
“This appearance of mine… how does it look to you? Is it… a little strange?”
“Hmm…”
The Demon King’s question carried both visible embarrassment and what seemed like a hint of expectation. Upon hearing it, I automatically recognized that this was similar to when girls put in extra effort to dress up and then ask, “How do I look?”
This kind of question is the type where a single wrong word can make favorability swing wildly up and down… No… it might even be a harder version than that…
I already knew from various experiences and information that when a woman asks about her appearance, it carries far more weight than one might imagine. Moreover, unlike a simple game of spot-the-difference, the difficulty here was extremely high because the Demon King was clearly presenting a form vastly different from her usual self.
Saying that her different appearance looked strange or awkward would be tantamount to boarding an express train straight to rock bottom. On the other hand, saying she looked prettier than usual carried the risk of her thinking, ‘So does that mean my usual appearance is ugly?’ It was a question riddled with landmines no matter which way I answered.
In that brief moment, I racked my brain harder than when I had first knelt before the Demon King, desperately trying to extract the best possible response. And the result…
The answer that came from my mouth was:
“I-is that so?... Well… if that is the case, then I am… relieved.”
My response could be seen as maintaining a certain neutrality by steering the topic toward her ‘fundamental beauty.’ Fortunately, the Demon King’s expression brightened with clear joy, and her face grew even redder… At the same time, I automatically let out a sigh of relief in my heart.
*
“Hmm…?”
In the middle of the banquet hall, Elisa stood with a serious expression, scanning her surroundings. Beside her, Rebekah wore a slightly puzzled look and spoke in a cautious voice.
“This is strange. For some reason, I can’t see the captain anywhere.”
“You too? I can’t see him at all either.”
Because of her patrol duties as part of the royal guard, Elisa had needed to make a full circuit around the royal castle before the banquet began. After finishing that, she had immediately changed into the dress she had prepared in advance and arrived here. Yet no matter how hard she looked, the hero’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
The same was true for Rebekah, who had overslept and arrived late to the banquet hall, only to coincidentally run into Elisa and be half-forcibly dragged along.
The captain wouldn’t have overslept like me… Just where did he go?
No matter how diligently she scanned the area, the hero was nowhere in sight. And shortly after, one particular possibility automatically rose in both of their minds.
“…Um… Lady Elisa? Could this possibly be…”
“You… you were thinking the same thing? What a coincidence… I was too…”
A man who had vanished without reason from a glamorous and noisy banquet hall. And not just for a quick trip to the restroom—he had been missing for over twenty minutes. There was only one conclusion the two of them could reach.
“It must be a secret rendezvous, right?”
“Definitely a secret rendezvous… no doubt about it…”
Given the circumstances, the hero was highly likely to be somewhere in this royal castle, flirting with the woman who had confessed to him. At that thought, Elisa felt as if fire had ignited in her eyes as she spoke in a chilling voice.
“Let’s go find him, Rebekah. And Amelda.”
“Huh? Ah… yes, understood.”
“Your command shall be obeyed, Master.”
Rebekah showed a slight look of bewilderment but ultimately complied, while the dark elf Amelda answered with a voice full of loyalty. Just as the three of them were about to leave the banquet hall—
“! Ah… Nadan.”
“Yes?”
The person who caught Elisa’s eye as she was about to exit was wearing striking golden armor and a helmet, in stark contrast to the dresses worn by most others present. She immediately reacted to Elisa’s call.
“Elisa. What is the matter?”
“Hey, did the hero not come to the banquet today?”
“He did. I saw him talking with Belzebeuty earlier.”
“I-I see. Then do you happen to know where he went?”
“I do not know.”
Her voice carried a slightly subtle, dry tone in response to Elisa’s question. Nadan. It would have been nice if she at least knew who the hero had left with or in which direction he had gone, but it seemed Nadan had no information on the matter either.
Just as a deeper sense of anxiety began to settle in Elisa’s heart…
“…Hey, Nadan. Then perhaps…”
The next moment, Elisa cautiously asked about a name that had suddenly occurred to her—the name of another person who was also nowhere to be seen. Without any particular hesitation, Nadan gave her answer in a somewhat mechanical tone.
“The same. That person was visible at first but is not now.”
“Ugh…”
At Nadan’s words, Elisa frowned for a brief moment. But immediately after, she wiped the expression from her face and quickly put her usual mask back on.
“Got it. Thanks, Nadan. Keep up the good work on your escort duty.”
“You too.”
Right after obtaining additional information from her ‘friend,’ Elisa began searching the interior of the royal castle with an even greater sense of urgency. Meanwhile, Rebekah, who had been following behind her and listening to the entire exchange, wore an indescribably complex expression.
“U-um… Lady Elisa. Are you truly thinking that the person who has become the captain’s lover is… that person?”
“…I’m not certain. But I believe the possibility is quite high.”
“B-but if that really is the case, even for you, Lady Elisa…”
“I don’t know. For now, let’s just find him. This is nothing more than a suspicion. We can’t be sure of anything yet.”
Elisa spoke while forcibly suppressing her incredibly complicated emotions. Seeing her like this, Rebekah could only close her mouth, unable to say anything more.
At that moment…
“!”
“Ah…”
Suddenly, Elisa, Rebekah, and Amelda all froze in place. Right before their eyes was the very person Elisa had been searching for, appearing clearly in view.
For some reason, she looked slightly disheveled compared to usual, with a faint blush still lingering on her face. There was no doubt about it—something had clearly just happened. The moment she saw Elisa, she spoke in a voice tinged with obvious bewilderment.
“Mother…”