A Demon King Straight Out of a Book
"……."
Edel stared at me silently. No words, no movement.
Was it too sudden?
Maybe I should've beaten around the bush a bit and taken my time explaining. Or was the problem that I'm the Demon King to begin with?
Abela, wondering what was going on, approached cautiously and called out to her.
"Lady Edel…?"
Only then did Edel slowly part her lips.
"Really…."
I swallowed hard.
"You're really the Demon King, Mister?"
'Demon King?'
The timid demeanor from moments ago was gone. Her sparkling eyes now pinned me down.
"For real? Right?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"So you can use super strong magic and stuff?"
"Yeah."
"Then… then… this house of yours is the Demon King's Castle?"
"Yeah…."
She spun around, looking everywhere, then started mumbling to herself.
"Hehe. He's really the Demon King."
Abela, a demon herself, had been on high alert, but why was she acting like this toward me, the Demon King? I asked Edel,
"Aren't I scary?"
"Nope."
"Even though I'm the Demon King?"
She gave me a look like she had no idea what I was talking about and shot back,
"Why would the Demon King be scary?"
"……."
Normally, the Demon King was a symbol of evil. In this world, humans were dying to subjugate me. Adults used the Demon King to scare kids who wouldn't listen, so especially for children, it should be a figure of terror.
Just what did this kid think the Demon King was?
As if answering my question, she said,
"The Demon King is super strong and cool and kind, and nice to Lady Ellie. And, and…."
'Lady Ellie?'
No way. I asked, half suspecting,
"Are you talking about a book right now?"
"Yeah! In it, bad people bully Lady Ellie, but the Demon King shows up and scolds them. And he gives money to poor people too."
I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed.
What Edel was describing was the plot of the novel The Demon King, the Lady, and Forbidden Love.
So she was superimposing me onto the Demon King Dalcan from the story.
"So you're…."
The barrage of questions continued.
As I fumbled for evasive answers, growing flustered, Abela stepped in to help.
"Lady Edel. Master Theo needs to eat too. We can continue the story later."
"Okay…."
She pouted regretfully.
"You seem to be done eating, so shall we head back to your room together? Master Theo, I'll be right back."
"Sure. Thanks."
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Edel leave the dining hall, led by Abela's hand.
'Dodged that one somehow.'
Thinking about it, revealing my identity—the biggest hurdle—had gone surprisingly smoothly thanks to that book. Sure, her reaction was a bit overwhelming, like a girl meeting her favorite celebrity for the first time.
At any rate, hoping this had eased any wariness from our sudden cohabitation, I shoveled the now-cold food into my mouth.
After breakfast, Abela asked Edel, who was perched on the bed.
"Is there anything you'd like to do, or anything you need?"
Her excitement from the dining hall had faded, and Edel was back to looking dejected. She alternated glances between the floor and Abela's face before speaking up.
"I wanna read a book…."
"A book?"
"Yeah…."
Abela looked troubled.
"I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with human books."
"……."
"No helping it, then. We'll have to ask Master Theo."
Edel's face brightened a little at that.
"Shall we go?"
She nodded and left the room with Abela.
I returned to my room and picked up a book.
'Time to relax.'
Truth be told, my "work" consisted of helping a bit with castle maintenance and mostly lounging around. The demon race was already in ruins. The Demon King's Castle had just two residents—now three.
As the Demon King, my only real duty was dealing with the occasional intruding adventurer. But Abela wouldn't let me do even that, so I was living a utterly aimless life.
Of course, now taking care of Edel was added to the list.
'I wonder what she's up to.'
I figured I'd let her rest today to adjust to the unfamiliar place and recover from yesterday's fatigue.
As I passed the time reading a novel, I heard footsteps outside.
Knock knock.
"Master Theo, sorry to disturb your rest. Lady Edel wants to read a book."
"It's fine. Come in."
The door opened, and Abela entered. Edel peeked her head around the doorframe from outside, spying on me.
"Come on in."
"Okay…."
She just switched her hiding spot to behind Abela—nothing else changed.
Why was she suddenly acting like this? She'd been so clingy in the dining hall it threw me off.
Pushing aside my curiosity, I spoke gently.
"You want to read a book?"
Edel nodded.
"I don't have any picture books. What now?"
"Anything's fine…."
I scanned the bookshelf, but as expected, only novels too advanced for a child.
'She read that one, so maybe this'll work.'
I picked the simplest-looking one and handed it to her.
"Think you can read this?"
She flipped it open, glanced at me, and nodded.
"Good. Enjoy it."
A smile bloomed on her face as she clutched the book to her chest. Then she bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Demon King…."
"Lady Edel, now that you've got your book, shall we head back to your room?"
"Yeah."
Edel followed Abela out.
"……."
Still…
'Demon King?'
"Then I'll finish tidying the dining hall and be back, so rest for a bit."
Once Abela left and Edel was alone in the room, she sat on the bed.
"Hehe."
Feeling great, she swung her legs back and forth, giggling to herself.
Just yesterday, she'd been crying alone in that dark cabin.
But today was different. The bed was fluffy, Abela was kind despite being a little scary, and the food was delicious.
Above all, the fact that Mister was the Demon King had captured her heart.
To actually meet the Demon King from her books!
Her excitement swelled uncontrollably, so she shook her head wildly to calm her fluttering heart.
'I gotta tell Teacher….'
But thinking of Teacher made her chest ache.
Why hadn't he come back? When would he?
Questions with no answers swirled in her mind, and her head drooped lower.
At that moment—
Creeak—the door opened, and Abela returned.
"Lady Edel, have some of this while you rest."
She set a bowl of snacks on the desk and held up a finger.
"But no eating on the bed. Got it?"
Edel smiled again and replied,
"Yeah!"
A few days passed like that, and I was spending the evening as usual, reading a book.
Then—
Creeeak—the door cracked open slightly, and a pair of small eyes blinked through the gap.
Our eyes met, and they vanished with a flick.
I approached slowly and opened the door, revealing Edel huddled there.
"Did you come alone?"
She gave an awkward smile and nodded.
"I see. So, what's up?"
Fidgeting with her hands, head bowed, she mumbled softly,
"I wanna… read a book together…."
"Together?"
"Yeah…."
Ever since learning I was the Demon King, she'd only given me awkward smiles when our eyes met.
I'd been wondering if I should approach her first, but here she was, coming to me.
"Sure, let's read together."
"Hehe."
I picked a suitable book with Edel and sat her in a chair.
"Wait just a sec, I'll grab another chair."
"Okay."
I fetched a chair from the next room, sat beside her, and opened the book between us. We read along.
Her small hand turned the pages one by one.
After a little while, she started squirming in her seat.
"Uncomfortable?"
Instead of answering, she just smiled.
I slid the book toward her, but the high desk kept her fidgeting.
Then, memories of the city flashed back.
I watched her quietly for a moment.
"Excuse me for a sec."
I scooped her up and settled her on my lap.
"Better? Can you see now?"
"……."
But Edel just hung her head, saying nothing.
"Edel? Still uncomfortable? Want down?"
"N-no… it's fine…."
"Good, then. Let's keep reading."
"O-okay…."
We resumed, but… her body stiffened even more.
Her little hands, turning pages, kept rubbing against her clothes—sweaty, maybe.
"Edel."
"Y-yes?!"
"Are you hurt or something?"
"N-no…."
The page-turning had slowed too.
'My imagination?'
Anyway, after reading about halfway,
"Edel. That's enough for tonight. Time for bed."
It was bedtime, so I set her down as she nodded.
"Off you go now. Abela might worry."
I smiled, satisfied at closing the distance with her today.
But she didn't even glance at me, bolting from the room like she was fleeing.