Chapter 503: In the Demon Realm’s Royal Capital (1)

The next day, I stayed one night at the inn that Renaugil showed me.

The next day, I was guided by a subordinate of the King of the Demon Realm who was waiting for me at the lobby of the Inn and brought me to the royal castle.

"Hello, Yuki. It's been a while."

Finar was waiting for me in the parlor-like room we arrived at.

"I know you must be busy, so I'm sorry for taking time out of your busy schedule…" (Yuki)

"…Hello, Uncle Finar." (Enne)

"Yes, hello, Enne, it's been a while."

Enne bowed her head, and Finar greeted her with a fresh smile that didn't show his usual black-heartedness.

"Oh, I heard that Enne-chan is here with Yuki, so I prepared some snacks. Would you like some?"

"…! I'm delighted to have them. Thanks." (Enne)

"Hahaha, isn't that great, Enne, thanks, Finar." (Yuki)

"This is the least I can do. It makes me happy when people are happy with me."

The Demon King watched with a smile as Enne started eating happily next to me.

Looking at the changes in the Demon King's expression made me think that he had a good development in character.

By the way, Rir was not here.

Although our pet was clean because he washes his body very well, I didn't know if Finar would be fine about bringing him indoors, so I asked him to wait outside.

Also, Renaugil seemed to be absent.

Well, he was the Demon King's right-hand man, so he was probably doing some other job.

To be fair, it was pretty convenient that we were able to meet with the Demon King so easily, but I guess this also affected his schedule quite a bit, or something.

So we were grateful for that.

"So, what's up today, Yuki? I heard you have something to tell me."

"Oh, actually, I'm expanding my territory toward the Demon Realm right now. I was about to reach its border, so I thought I should talk to you about it.

"Oh, are you connecting the Demon Forest to here?"

"Well, kind of. You see, I told you that my wife is pregnant, right? I wanted to be able to call a doctor right away if something were to happen. I also just didn't want to do it unannounced."

"Oh, I see… that's important. You're very thoughtful too. I appreciate it. Okay, no problem. But it would be nice if you could let me know where the location will be. That way, I can assign a liaison to you."

That would mean that I would have to tell him about the door that would be leading to my dungeon… but since this country would also be at risk from "me" being able to come to the Demon Capital at any time, I guess that would be about as good as it gets.

Well, of course, I would not connect it directly to my throne, but would make it go through several paths, so there would be almost no danger on my part, and they would be the ones carrying the burden of having a one-way connection.

"Okay, but I'm still in the process of expansion, so I should be able to widen the path I could convert in places you've selected. The building I am aiming for should be a… well, a mansion or something in the Demon King's capital. I will of course buy it to become my property."

I didn't have any cash on me at the moment, but I could provide any number of pricey items as long as I could find it in my DP catalog.

Also, since this would be included in my dungeon expansion budget, it wouldn't be cut off from my own allotted spending money. Fufufu.

While I was thinking that, Finar laughed and nodded his head.

"That's fine. Well in that case, since you've done so much for me, I'll give you the house next to the royal castle, free of charge. I'll have it ready to hand over by the end of the day."

"Yeah, no, that would be bad, and I'll buy it properly, just…"

"Don't be shy. If we deal in monetary terms, it's going to take a lot of time, and it's a bit of a hassle."

I didn't feel that such an exchange of money would be inconvenient… or maybe this was because of my pre-modern thinking. A free transfer would seem more like a bribe.

Hmmm, I couldn't be sure.

Finar continued with another suggestion, "If that is no good, then yes… why not make it something like a Rogard Empire Embassy – or would that not be good for you?"

I thought about it for a moment.

Thinking more about it, it would certainly be a better idea to use it as an embassy of the Rogard Empire rather than as my residence.

Considering the maintenance and such, it might be better to do it that way.

"…Let's do that. That'd be great."

"Okay, that's what I'll be preparing. I'll ask you to check on it later today."

I thought that was the end of what we were going to talk about, but Finar continued, "Oh, instead of doing me a favor, would you mind listening to me for a moment?"

I was alarmed by his smiling face.

"You've been planning to ask me this from the very beginning, right?" (Yuki)

"Well, don't be so defensive. It's a very personal matter. –I'm now married." (Finar)

"Oh, married… wait, married!?" (Yuki)

I froze and looked like an idiot, making Finar laugh happily.

"Haha, that's a good response. Yeah, I saw you guys before, and I really thought that having a family might be nice." (Finar)

Then Enne, who had just been silently munching on a pastry, interjected, "…Congratulations, Uncle Finar. Having a family is good."

"Thank you, Enne. Yeah, watching your family made me want a wife, as well."

Enne replied, "…Hmm. I'm very happy every day. I'm sure you'll be happy as well."

"I envy you. I'll have to do my best to have a family like yours."

I looked at the two of them as they conversed leisurely and finally said something in return after recovering from my shock.

"Well, I guess…I can't say I'm not impressed with your speed in deciding and then acting."

It had only been about two months since the last time we walked around the royal capital of the Rogard Empire with this guy.

I remembered him saying at that time that he didn't have a partner, but to go on from there and end up getting married… should I say, as expected of a King.

Now that I think about it, the other powerful leaders of countries I was acquainted with had also been thinking of similar things.

"Well, I am a king. If I wanted to, I could have any number of partners."

Finar said with a cheerful face.

I was impressed, but for some reason, he gave an unusually bitter smile in response.

"It's just that…well, how should I put it…I have never had this kind of experience at all. In fact, the girl had already caught me off guard a few times and I had been scolded. But I didn't really know what I did wrong for her to be angry with me."

…I could imagine the situation.

Finar was a genius at everything, but this guy was quick-witted, and from what I could gather, he liked things to be efficient.

In other words, his whole being centered on 'reason'.

Ask anyone about Finar, and they would probably answer with the same response.

On the other hand, women did not think about relationships in terms of efficiency and reason, but more on emotion and sensitivity.

Those two sets of attributes (emotion and sensitivity) always caused a lot of inefficiency, something that Finar was not accustomed to.

If one who thinks with reason confronts someone who thinks with emotion, it would be reasonable to say that things would not go well.

"That's why I wanted to ask Yuki, my senior, to teach me a lot about this aspect. I'm glad you came at the right time."

"Didn't you ask your subordinates?"

"Yes, I did. But, you know, I am still the King of a country. Everyone's a little reserved in what they say."

Ah, I see… they probably didn't want to get involved in the King's love life.

In that respect, perhaps I might certainly be better suited for the job.

But I have to admit that Finar's problems were the same ones I worry about on a daily basis.

What I appreciated about the women in my family was that when I made a mistake, they would always give me a warning with a look of dismay on their faces.

So I was able to think about what I did wrong and what I should have done differently.

Well, I recently reanalyzed myself and thought… perhaps my long life span might have weakened my sex drive.

It was often said that the shorter the lifespan of a race, the more children they have. On the other hand, if they have a long life span, the number of children they have decreases, but there might also be other factors at play, of course.

And since I was a being that lived for more than a thousand years, my instinct for "survival of the species" was probably weaker than when I was a human.

Of course, when the time comes, and the adults in my household felt like doing it, I also get excited, to the point that I would even put my hands together in worship and gratitude when it happens, but other than those times, I usually didn't have any sexual desire to do anything.

I have already lost most of my human aspects, but it was at times like this that I realized that my race had also molded my new way of thinking.

"Well… I can talk to you about it, but I'm also making a lot of mistakes every day, and I'm getting a lot of grief because of it."

"But from what I saw at the Rogard Empire, you seemed to be getting along very well. You're definitely doing better than I am. I'd love to know your secret in getting along with girls."

That's something I'd like to know as well.

"…Okay. I can't speak high and mighty about my experiences, but I'll tell you what I've learned and need to be careful about."

"That's what I want to hear the most."

Somehow…I wondered if this King, regardless of his position, saw me as an equal friend, if he was willing to listen to me about these things.

I felt a little happy about that.