"Yes, the Demon King over there has invited you, Suho."
If you only listened to Armonia's words, it sounded like something straight out of a sinister gathering.
The Demon King suddenly invited me? I don't know a single thing about that guy.
"What's the reason?"
"He earnestly requested to the Zodiac faction that he wanted to express his gratitude."
"Hmm... It's a bit bothersome, though."
Listening to Armonia, it seemed like I didn't have to go if it was too much trouble.
But Armonia seemed to have a different opinion.
"Personally, I recommend that you go, Guardian, to take a break."
"Oh? Is there a reason?"
"In return for accepting the invitation, they've agreed to give you 200,000 Enels."
"Jackpot! Let's go!"
If they're offering 200,000 Enels just for me to go and relax, there's no reason not to.
As soon as I decided to go, I made one request.
"Ah, then can I bring Viola too?"
"We have no issues with that, but it might cause quite a stir on their side."
Well, considering she's the sister of the guy they tried to slaughter, it's understandable they'd be nervous.
"Still, I don't want to leave her alone. Please arrange it."
"Understood. We'll have Viola accompany you. However, it would be best to keep it a secret from them."
"Got it, thanks~ Then I'll be off."
"Guardian..."
"Yes?"
I was about to leave, but Armonia called me back, so I turned around.
She was staring at me expressionlessly, not saying a word.
Was it something serious?
"What's the matter?"
"...Did I say anything in my sleep?"
"Ah... You just said, 'Don't go.'"
"...I see. Please rest well."
"Uh..."
I could sense a hint of relief in her tone.
I wanted to ask more, but the thought of having to write a report for unauthorized intrusion made me hurry out of the office.
***
"Are you two ready?"
"Yes."
"Yep~"
Viola was brimming with excitement, as it was her first time going out.
Armonia, hearing our responses, began operating the device with a dazzling display of movements.
"Miss Viola, you might feel dizzy for a moment, but please bear with it."
"Okay!"
With Viola's enthusiastic reply, our vision distorted in an instant, and a grand castle appeared before our eyes.
"Wow!!"
"Whoa!!"
Viola and I exclaimed in awe as we gazed at the majestic castle.
The ancient castle, with its heavy, dark atmosphere, clearly screamed "Demon King's Castle."
It was so massive that it was impossible to take in all at once.
We had warped to a spot in front of a sturdy iron gate set between the castle walls.
The gate alone was 30 meters high, and the walls stretched so far that an entire army could easily pass through.
Suddenly, from the other side of the gate, something erupted with a tremendous explosion and soared into the sky.
"Whoa..."
"Wow..."
Viola and I watched the object rise into the sky without a hint of fear, and then it suddenly flew towards us.
It landed in front of us with a loud thud.
Boom!
Smoke enveloped the area, turning everything into chaos.
"Cough, cough."
"Phew..."
Viola and I could do nothing but cough and wave our hands until the dust settled.
When the dust finally cleared...
"Whoa..."
"Wow!!!!"
What greeted my eyes was... a monster.
It was about 10 meters tall, with the face of a goat, lion legs, and a tail that looked like a lizard or dragon, swaying green.
It had massive purple bat wings, and its entire body was covered in thick, tawny fur.
Its forearms were about a meter thick, and its thighs were even thicker.
The massive creature bent its upper body and spoke to me in a booming voice.
"Are you the Guardian!?"
"Ah, yes. That's me."
I probably wouldn't die, but I couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Just then, a communication came through.
[That's the Demon King.]
'What!? No, just by looking at him, isn't he just a gatekeeper?'
I thought the Demon King would be a humanoid demon or something.
But this Demon King looked far from humanoid.
"Kuhahahaha!"
"Ugh, my ears..."
My eardrums were about to burst.
"Finally, you've come! I've been waiting so long! I am the Demon King Gardia!"
"I am the Guardian. And this is..."
"..."
Viola had no trace of fear on her face.
She was just curious.
"My girlfriend."
"Oooh!!! Nice to meet you!!"
"Hello!"
Viola greeted him with a bright smile.
'How old is he?'
[According to the information, he's about 300 years old.]
'...Younger than the Dean.'
So he's younger than the Dean...
After exchanging greetings with the Demon King outside the castle, we entered.
The Demon King said he sensed a sudden energy and rushed out to greet me.
He had been eagerly waiting for my arrival.
As soon as we entered the castle gates, we were met with the stern gazes of guards.
And then I saw something straight out of a game.
A giant three-headed dog.
A real Cerberus.
"Wow! So cute!"
"...What's that?"
The creature, which should have been imposing, looked like a Chihuahua for some reason.
Huff, huff, huff.
The three Chihuahua faces were panting stupidly at us.
Their tongues hanging out, they looked at us as if we were some strange bugs.
"Hahahaha! That's my beloved pet. I'll let you ride him later if you have time."
"Wow, thank you!"
Viola started to get excited at the thought of riding the cute dog?
After passing through the gates, we officially entered the castle.
The interior was both magnificent and terrifying.
Various antiques and paintings filled the place, but their shapes were so eerie that they could rival a haunted house.
Fortunately, I liked it.
'Wow, this place is amazing.'
[I'm glad you like it.]
'I prefer places with the atmosphere over unnecessarily flashy ones. Huh?'
[What's wrong?]
'...Did someone just pass by?'
This was supposed to be the Demon King's Castle.
Earlier, outside, I hadn't seen a single human.
There were all sorts of monsters, but not a single human.
I was deep in thought, wondering what was going on, when we arrived at a door.
The door alone was about 20 meters tall.
Thinking about it, since this place was designed for the Demon King, it made sense that everything was built on a grand scale.
"I heard you've been weakened from intense battles."
"Ah, yes."
Even though I only shot one bean...
"This will be your guest room during your stay. Feel free to do as you please while you're here. If anyone tries to harm you, I'll kill them immediately."
"Thank you."
"Then let's have a conversation over dinner later. Is that alright?"
"Yes, of course."
"Hahahaha! See you later!"
The Demon King laughed heartily and left with heavy footsteps.
Now that I think about it, it was really strange.
Usually, such guidance or meal invitations would be handled by subordinates.
And earlier, he had suddenly jumped over the castle gate.
'Did he take a liking to me enough to guide me personally?'
[It seems he really likes you.]
'Well, I did save him from near death. But if someone like him was struggling, how strong was that hero?'
[I heard the hero had the upper hand in a one-on-one fight.]
'Ugh... Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.'
Remembering when the hero stormed in made my legs go numb.
The large door opened easily when I gently pushed it.
The interior of the guest room was different from the rest of the castle, decorated lavishly by human standards.
It seemed they hadn't turned the room into a haunted house.
But Viola didn't seem impressed.
In fact, she seemed much more excited when we first entered the Demon King's Castle.
"Viola, do you want to go out and explore?"
"Yay! Yes!"
"But what about the rooms?"
Her expression didn't look too pleased.
"Just..."
"...?"
"It looks too much like my old room..."
It turned out her trauma had been triggered.
Looking at the room again, it did resemble the bunker palace where Viola used to live.
From Viola's perspective, the small room on the ship was much more comfortable and cozy.
"We're only staying here for a while, so bear with it. Instead, let's go explore everywhere."
"Okay!"
Viola smiled brightly and followed me.
***
What I liked most here was that Viola was enjoying herself.
She wandered around, fascinated by even the smallest things.
Even without a guide, none of the demons bothered us.
In fact, I was the one who found Viola fascinating.
In such an atmosphere, one would expect to feel fear, but she showed no trace of it, even when we met the Demon King.
[Perhaps because she knows nothing of the world, fear doesn't exist for her.]
'Even if she learns now, it probably won't make much difference.'
Viola is now an adult, so even if she gains knowledge, I wonder if fear will develop.
Before, she was in the hero's cage, so there was no chance of harm, and now she's under the NTL Corporation, so there's no risk of trouble.
Still, I want to teach her basic common sense so I can take her out occasionally...
There's only so much she can learn from TV.
'I need to play with Viola and teach her something...'
[I recommend recruiting a talented individual after completing some missions. With the Enels we have now, even setting up a living room is a stretch.]
'How much does a living room cost?'
[100,000 Enels.]
'Wow, that's ridiculously expensive...'
Maybe later, when we've saved up enough, but for now, it's an unthinkable amount.
As Viola and I were exploring the Demon King's Castle, a human boy was walking towards us with a dignified air.
From this distance, he looked like a kid...
'Oh, a human.'
[I missed the timing earlier, so I didn't mention it. There are a few humans residing here.]
'Oh, slaves?'
[No. That boy is...]
As Armonia was explaining, the boy arrived in front of us.
The boy was trembling with fear but managed to stand straight in front of us.
He was dressed like a servant.
His attire was too ambiguous to be considered noble.
Viola ran up to the boy and hugged his head.
"Wow! So cute!"
"L-Let go of me! How dare you!"
"...? Are you the village chief's son?"
In Viola's mind, the highest-ranking person was the village chief, so in her own way, she was trying to show respect.
But it was the perfect comment to infuriate the other party.
"How dare you! Mocking me with such a lowly status!"
"What does 'lowly' mean?"
And so it began...
Viola's "What does that mean?" routine started.
But I wasn't too pleased with Viola being so close to some random kid, so I pulled her away and explained.
"Viola, if you hug him like that, the kid might get the wrong idea. He looks like a pervert. Get away from him."
"Who are you calling a pervert!!! How dare you insult the prince of Bethel! I won't let this slide!"
Suddenly, the kid started throwing a tantrum.
But even while throwing a fit, he had no intention of letting go of Viola.
In fact, he seemed to be hugging her tighter.
What a little pervert.
But then he suddenly introduced himself as a prince.
What's going on...
I was so dumbfounded that I was about to give him a knuckle sandwich when a purple-winged demon came flying towards us from afar.
"You little brat!!!"
***
Viola and I were sitting side by side in an enormous dining hall.
The boy who had approached us earlier had been sent to guide us to the dining hall.
But he ended up throwing a tantrum after mixing up his words.
The purple demon who flew in afterwards was a lower-ranking demon who immediately started apologizing profusely, bowing repeatedly.
We must be important guests.
I had already forgotten about the earlier incident and was admiring the dining table.
'This table is as big as the castle gate...'
[For someone as large as him, it's necessary for dining.]
We were seated at a table as large as the castle gate we had seen earlier.
Viola and I were seated on specially made-high chairs since the table was too tall for us.
When we first climbed up, dozens of winged demons carefully lifted us.
But since they had prepared everything for us, it wasn't too uncomfortable.
The long table, as large as the castle gate, was set with the Demon King, us, and his vassals.
The vassals were also massive, not much smaller than the Demon King.
Their appearances varied greatly.
Some looked like real demons, while others were reptilian, far from humanoid.
But at the far end of the table, a woman with cat ears and bat wings, about human size, was drooling over the plates on the table.
'Wow! So cute...'
[....]
She was really cute.
She had a large chest, a cute face, and cat ears on her head that caught my eye.
Her limbs were humanoid, and she had unique purple bat wings.
But the large lizard-like executive sitting next to her started scolding her.
She was being reprimanded.
The cat-eared woman didn't fit in with the other vassals.
But the fact that she was seated here suggested she held an important position.
'Hehehe, I'll have to check her out later.'
[Guardian.]
'Huh? Should I look now?'
[Miss Viola is watching.]
'...'
From my seat, Viola was in the direction of the cat-eared woman.
She was looking up at me with a frown.
"...Is something interesting?"
"Haha... There are so many fascinating people, no, demons..."
Viola kept looking at me with a suspicious expression.
But the atmosphere was broken by the sound of a plate shattering.
Crash!
All the demons at the massive table turned their heads at once.
The sheer force of them turning their heads created a gust of wind.
The source of the sound was the perverted kid who had been clinging to Viola earlier, now sprawled on the floor.
The dishes that had been on the table were all spilled.
'...He's the prince of a kingdom, right?'
[Yes. He's from the kingdom that led the resistance and is now the first in line for succession.]
There were two places that fought the Demon King's army to the end.
The Bethel Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Feron.
And the humans residing here weren't ordinary slaves.
They were all children of nobles.
The children of all the royal families and dukes were serving as servants in the Demon King's Castle.
It was a humiliating treatment meant to shake the foundations of their nations.
The lower-ranking demon who had flown in earlier, cursing at the kid, appeared and began bowing to the Demon King, apologizing profusely.
"I'm sorry! What is this idiot doing, not apologizing immediately!?"
"..."
The kid remained silent, refusing to bow.
The atmosphere at the table grew heavy.
The lower-ranking demon, looking furious, extended his claws.
"This brat..."
"Ugh..."
Just as it seemed the kid was about to die, a pink-haired woman in a maid's uniform rushed over and stood in front of the kid, bowing.
"I'm sorry! I'll educate him properly."
As soon as I saw her, I shouted internally to Armonia.
'Recruit her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
[....]
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹
Thanks for being awesome! ❤️