And so, setup

The meeting with Rakura and the others ended, and when we were at

the point of stating we should wait for our moment, a call came from

the crystal of Rakura. The Mejis army stationed at the Mejis Nether

were repeatedly keeping the enemy at bay while slowly falling back.

They ended up having to begin an actual battle close to the border.

The Taizu knights with the rings to control the monsters will be the

core to keep the monsters at bay, so they want our party to concentrate

on replenishing the emptied mana of the rings.

Rather than saying they are not counting on the battle power of Blue, it

is more like they plan on taking advantage of the cavalry's mobility. The

ability to use monsters to protect their backs at those occasions

drastically increases the safety of this.

There's a limit to the number of rings, but the replenishing of them will

get difficult if Blue were to step to the front. It is most likely an order

with that in consideration. And so, we are heading to the village where

Blue is and we are thinking of regrouping with her.

"I am grateful I can rest~." (Rakura)

"So you say, but we haven't fought once." (Ekdoik)

"I get more tired from long distance travels than half-baked battles."

(Girista)

"Aah, I get you. I get more tired from reading books than doing

housework." (Haaku)

"True~. It is more tiring to use the brain~." (Rakura)

That said, these 3 seem to mesh pretty well together. I don't think these

3 have had an opportunity to be together, or rather, Haakudoku has

tried killing these two. So Rakura and Girista don't mind that stuff, huh.

Or does Haakudoku have good social skills?… It might be both.

"Aah, speaking of which, Ekdoik, you and Rakura are from Mejis, right?

If I remember correctly, your mother is still in Mejis. Will you do

anything about that?" (Haaku)

"Did you hear that from Comrade? That's apparently the case according

to Archbishop Maya. I don't know the details." (Ekdoik)

"So you are not thinking about meeting her?" (Haaku)

"Not really. There might have been a smidget of attachment if I had a

relationship with her in my childhood, but… Rakura should be more

knowledgeable about that." (Ekdoik)

"I thought you would want to see the face of your mother at least once.

It was possible to trace her steps when I asked the orphanage. I did see

her face, but didn't speak to her." (Rakura)

"Oh? Is it because you don't want to hear the words of the mother that

abandoned you?" (Girista)

"No, no, Mother entrusted me to the orphanage because she judged she

couldn't raise me properly. I didn't get really sick at the orphanage and

managed to lead a pretty decent lifestyle. I also got a proper job."

(Rakura)

I was taken away by the devils before I had any awareness, and the

village that I lived in fell too. She gave birth to Rakura while she was

moving from one point to the next. If she had tried to be stubborn and

raised her, she wouldn't have been able to provide her proper meals

and residence, and their life would have been harsher than now,

moreover, I can easily imagine she wouldn't have been able to get

strong. She must have made that decision because she treasured the

wellbeing of her daughter.

"You could at least show your face to her since you have grown greatly,

right?" (Haaku)

"She would just apologize if I met her. I don't really want that. I am even

grateful for her decision after all." (Rakura)

"Well, you did go see her face out of curiosity, yet didn't show your face,

so I guess that means you didn't have that much lingering attachment."

(Haaku)

Haakudoku wasn't that persistent about it and acknowledged the

thoughts of Rakura. If I remember correctly, the background of

Haakudoku was also…

"What about you, Haakudoku-san?" (Rakura)

"In my case, it wasn't entrusting me to someone but actually throwing

me away. I could have died at worst. I wouldn't think of them as my

parents no matter what kind of face they were to show me. Well, I have

Bro as my family though!" (Haaku)

When Haakudoku was young, he would cry at any threat because of his

sensitivity to danger, which led to them deciding he was too much for

them and he was thrown away.

You could say I have a close relationship with Rakura in that sense.

"There would be a gap between people here if there were people who

have a proper family in this group though~." (Girista)

"What about you, Girista?" (Ekdoik)

"My parents~? Who knows~. I was disowned before I became

competent after all~." (Girista)

I see. It looks like there's no one here who can talk about their families.

There's a limit to what we could talk about family as people who don't

know about it, so let's just wrap the topic here.

The village is full of Mejis soldiers taking a break. It is mostly the

knights of Taizu that will be keeping the enemies at bay, but the Mejis

soldiers are providing cover fire and serving as numbers to intimidate

the enemy. They must be taking breaks in shifts in order to reduce the

burden as much as possible.

But that also means dubious eyes will be directed at us with this group

we have here. Rakura may be here with her Yugura Church outfit, but

me, Girista, and Haakudoku's appearances stand out.

The adventurer parties Gestaf employed are moving constantly for

raids and to intercept. It would be a bit better if they were to show up,

but… there's no point worrying about it.

"I am going to get the food. Go ahead of me." (Haaku)

"I see. I will finish the report to Blue then." (Ekdoik)

"Also adjust the division of the rooms, okay? Just being in the same

house already shoots up the encounter rate by a lot after all!" (Haaku)

"I know." (Ekdoik)

"It would be hard for you to do it alone, right~? I will go with you~."

(Girista)

"Alright, but don't cause trouble, Girista." (Haaku)

"It is okay~. There won't be someone I would like to slice down more

than you people, right~?" (Girista)

"Oof, looks like it was a development where I had to worry more about

my life instead." (Haaku)

I honestly would like to avoid a development where Blue and

Haakudoku meet up at the entrance and Haakudoku loses

consciousness. Not only will we lose manpower, but we might end up

losing even more hands to nurse him.

After separating from Haakudoku and Girista, Rakura asked where the

house we will be staying in was, and we moved.

From what I can see, there aren't soldiers with wounds that stand out.

It is great to see that there's not much exhaustion before the full blown

battle against the Demon Lord.

"Ah, it is here. Is the Blue Demon Lord-san here already?" (Rakura)

We opened the door and entered, and there was Blue wandering

around the house alone. I thought she was resting, but she seems to be

in a weird state.

"Ah, Ekdoik!" (Blue)

"What's the matter, Blue? You won't be able to keep up if you don't rest

when you can, right?" (Ekdoik)

"As if I would be able to rest! I heard nothing of this! Yeah, this must

have been the doing of that man! No doubt about it!" (Blue)

She seems to be fuming. I don't understand the situation, but it seems

like Comrade has done something. I can easily imagine he is trying to

pull something here though.

"Calm down. Did something happen?" (Ekdoik)

"It did! It did! I met your mother just now!" (Blue)

"…What?" (Ekdoik)

I calmed down Blue somehow and asked in detail. It seems like our

mother, Natora Salf, is within the villagers that are helping the soldiers.

She is living in Mejis, so I thought the possibility was there, but this is

an awfully convenient development.

"Speaking of which, Maya-sama told her that Ekdoik-san is alive."

(Rakura)

"And so, what happened after hearing her name?" (Ekdoik)

"There's no way I could tell her honestly! I desperately tried to play it

off!" (Blue)

"There was no need to though." (Ekdoik)

"Are you crazy?! Do you think I would be able to introduce myself as the

Demon Lord that turned her son into a demon?!" (Blue)

Ah right, I am a demon now. I forgot.

It is plenty possible that she thought she might be able to meet me if

she were close to the frontlines after learning that I was alive after

being kidnapped by the father that raised me, Beglagud, so she

volunteered to help out. I see, she might have somewhat complicated

feelings if her son has been turned into a demon.

"But it is not something that can be covered forever. I am me. That won't

change no matter what anyone says." (Ekdoik)

"You… why is it that you are more indifferent than a Demon Lord that

has lived for centuries?!" (Blue)

"But this is troubling. It might just be a matter of time before she finds

us if we stay long in this village." (Rakura)

"Rakura, you are something else too… And so, what do you want to do,

Ekdoik? Want to meet her?" (Blue)

"Not really. I wouldn't go out of my way to meet her, but… what about

you, Blue and Rakura?" (Ekdoik)

"I don't really want to meet her." (Rakura)

"I wouldn't want any trouble either." (Blue)

In that case, my stance of not caring about whichever it is wouldn't be

desirable. I have learned from Comrade that taking an attitude that

doesn't take any sides sours the mood of the other parties.

"Then, I will match you two. We will refrain from going out as much as

possible, and we will use invisibility magic if necessary." (Ekdoik)

"I don't want to go out to begin with, so there's no issue. Ah, but what

do we do if Haakudoku-san and Girista-san can't ready booze?"

(Rakura)

"Endure it!" (Blue)

I could get some alcohol if necessary, but Comrade has told me not to

spoil Rakura. It seems like it is going to be hard to learn moderation.

But alcohol, huh. I don't really enjoy it much, but does it relate to the

usual high concentration of Rakura?… I should try discussing this with

Comrade.

"Right, let's confirm with Counselor-sama. That would be the fastest

way." (Rakura)

"Right. If this was set up by that man, he is not coming out of this

unscathed!" (Blue)

"I don't really mind though…" (Ekdoik)

No, thinking about it calmly, if this is going as planned for Comrade,

maybe there's some deeper meaning behind it? That would mean I

should meet my mother. Was agreeing with the two way too

complacent?

The two activate the crystal for communication and call Comrade. And

then, they spoke about the events.

"It was obviously a coincidence. Don't make everything my fault."

"Ah, yes." (Rakura)

It was a coincidence.

"I-It is because of the way you usually act!" (Blue)

"I am a good citizen usually. I am aware that I do act badly when things

get awry though. It is important to have mental harmony, you know?"

"Your usual actions are also pretty cruel in my perspective, Counselorsama!" (Rakura)

"You are eating your just desserts. I have accepted you, but it is not like

I will allow anything."

"*Sniffle*." (Rakura)

"So it was a coincidence. I thought this much was within your

expectations though since we are talking about you here…" (Ekdoik)

"I did at least think it would be possible for you to meet her with this

setup, but that's your own issue. Why do I have to get involved with the

frozen cold family environment of someone else?"

A truly reasonable opinion. Comrade only gets involved with things that

affect him. There's not much effect on Comrade no matter how the

relationship ends up between me, Rakura, and Blue regarding my

mother.

The most it would affect him is with knowledge given by her, but he is

telling us this is an issue we should solve ourselves.

"Ekdoik-san, you must not be deceived! I am sure Counselor-sama is

talking with a self-satisfied face!" (Rakura)

"Listen here… I might do stuff like that to make myself look like a threat

against people who have the chance of becoming an enemy, but if I were

to pull off stuff like that on the regular towards my allies, I wouldn't be

able to gain trust, right?"

My ears hurt.

It is true that Comrade made such faces often when I began helping him

out. That would mean he didn't think of me completely as an ally when I

recently switched sides from Raheight. You could say that's obvious.

…I do feel like it was similar in Kuama, but that was because he not only

had Blue as an enemy. He had to take into consideration the cunning

Raheight, the people hiding at the back of the guilds, moreover, Zenotta

and Archbishop Seraes.

"Sorry for taking your time despite being busy with your own business."

(Ekdoik)

"Don't worry about it. But you threw me the topic, so if you don't want

to meet your mother, I will give you some simple advice."

"Advice? Is it not good enough to just refrain from going out and use

invisibility magic when walking outside?" (Ekdoik)

"Not enough. Listen here, there's someone who does unpredictable

actions within your group. Be careful of that person."

"Who is it?" (Ekdoik)

"Someone who is not there. See ya."

He ended the call.

The ones not here are Girista and Haakudoku… Aah, I see. That's what it

is. It is true that that person does unexpected actions. I must be careful.

"What's with him?! He left with cryptic talk in the end!" (Blue)

"I would really like Counselor-sama to fix that habit of his!" (Rakura)

"No, there was nothing cryptic about it. I feel like it was pretty direct…"

(Ekdoik)

"What do you mean by that?" (Blue)

I see. Blue hasn't had much involvement after all. She doesn't know

much about that person.

I heard voices from the entrance while I was thinking that.

"Whew, you really helped us out there! I am not a local, so I didn't know

the place for the supplies at all!"

"Right~? We were even suspected by the soldiers for wandering around

the village the whole time~."

"Shut up, Girista! It is because we were wandering around that we

managed to meet such a kind person and even guided us, right?!"

"You are so energetic, Haakudoku-san. Speaking of which, are you two

adventurers?"

I can hear one unfamiliar voice. A female voice. Even someone as dense

as me could tell who it was from the change in the complexion of Blue's

face.

"Not really for me. But I am from Kuama, so I know quite a bit about

adventurers." (Haakudoku)

"Really? Actually, my son is an adventurer. It is an adventurer by the

name of Ekdoik…"

Blue realized something and ran off at incredible speed. I was surprised

by the unexpected speed. She could move this fast?

"Aaah, about that—" (Haaku)

"You are late, Haakudoku! I grew tired of waiting!" (Blue)

"—Kyu." (Haaku)

"Oh~?" (Girista)

"Oh my, Haakudoku-san?! Are you okay?!"

"He is okay! I am sure the fatigue just came crashing on him after

feeling relieved of meeting me! Come on, Girista! Bring Haakudoku in!

Natora-san, you guided them, right?! Thanks!" (Blue)

…This is my first time pitying someone to this degree.

But to think Blue would come out with such a forceful method for the

pitying constitution of Haakudoku. She really must not want us to meet

our mother. Looks like I will have to act accordingly.

◇◇

"Good grief. So nonchalant despite being in the middle of a war."

"That's an impressive self-satisfied look."

"A wonderful self-satisfied face indeed."

"Shishou, satisfied face."

Rakura is sharp in the weirdest of moments, yup.

By the way, I haven't interfered directly with the mother of Rakura and

Ekdoik. The most I did was to have Archbishop Ukka appeal strongly

that they will be hiring adventurers and having them help out at the

time when they were gathering volunteers within the villagers at the

rear in Mejis.

I know that Rakura doesn't regret having been entrusted to an

orphanage by her mother. I have also gotten information that she was

happy when she learned from Maya-san that Ekdoik was still alive.

If she were to learn that it is mainly the Yugura Church fighting and

adventurers will be participating too, I figured she would volunteer as a

mother worried about her children while holding a bit of hope.

That said, there are a decent number of villages around the border, so

encountering her right from the get-go is the luck of their mother.

Well, it shouldn't be difficult to find Rakura if she were to search

seriously and it might have been possible to nearly miss each other.

"But Rakura doesn't want to meet her mother, right? I don't know about

forcing them to meet each other." (Ilias)

"That's for Rakura. But in the case of Ekdoik's personality, it would just

be to the degree that he wouldn't go out of his way to meet her. I

thought, if that's the case, it might be more refreshing to just meet up."

It seems like the 3 were plotting to not meet her, but considering the

personality of Ekdoik, he most likely just went along with Blue and

Rakura.

"But Ekdoik-dono is currently a demon. A Demon Lord created the

devils that destroyed the village of their mother-desu zo. I hope it

doesn't get complicated…" (Mix)

"They won't make it clumsily complicated. Ekdoik will choose Blue

regardless, and Rakura is… Rakura."

I prepared the opportunity. I just have to leave the rest to them. If they

manage to prevent the unexpected of Haakudoku, it is possible they

won't meet her at all. However, that's not the only worry for them.

"That may be the case, but… You are one unbelievable guy. Even though

we are in the middle of a war…" (Ilias)

"I knew Marito would be moving carefully in the beginning, judging

from his personality after all. Better use the free time effectively, right?"

A Demon Lord gets tired easily when inside a Nether of a different

Demon Lord. Blue will have many moments when she would have to

move back to rest.

Having some stimulation will help to maintain motivation better than

shaking them up halfheartedly.

"Wouldn't it have been better for you to greet the mother of Rakuradono, too?" (Mix)

"She is not someone I can just question the way of raising her children,

so it would simply be awkward if I were to meet her."

"You are exploiting Ekdoik-dono, but she might thank you in regards to

Rakura-dono though?" (Mix)

"There's no point if it is not after fixing their parental relationship. She

might ask me to let her meet Rakura and Ekdoik if I were to meet her

first. I don't want to meet someone just to create a situation where I

can't keep a promise."

It wouldn't feel right to force Rakura to meet her when she doesn't want

to. If I had to place Rakura and the mother of Rakura on a scale, I would

be prioritizing Rakura.

"So you have been thinking a lot about it. By the way, you can greet my

parents at least once-desu zo." (Mix)

"I will go with Marito too at that time."

"Geez, so distant!" (Mix)

"It hurts."

But the former Taizu King has been in the grounds of the Taizu Castle,

spending his retired days. It is not like he is someone I can't meet.

Leaving aside Mix, the former king must have a lot of thoughts

regarding Marito. He might be happy that he has made a friend. But

there's a part of me that wants him to go with Ruko first.

"By the way, what's the Purple Demon Lord doing?" (Ilias)

"She is not the type to take command directly contrary to Blue, so I am

having her work backstage. She could become our strongest secret

weapon depending on the situation."

"Secret weapon… Sounds nice!" (Mix)

"Right? Well, I have a request to her unrelated to that though, so I have

to thank her in some way."

She is the type to overexert herself if I don't make her promise me to

take breaks. If she is fine doing something for the sake of a certain

someone, that certain someone must also properly manage her

condition.

But if she demands a reward… This is giving me anxiety. What should I

do? No, I will accept it obediently though.

"I myself would want to become your secret weapon though." (Ilias)

"You are my sword and my shield. You are pretty greedy trying to

monopolize the trump card role too."

"Aren't you the one that's greedy for trying to have several secret

weapons?" (Ilias)

"Nicely said."

Ilias got me there. But I am mentally weak to the point that Ilias alone is

not enough, so I would like her to turn a blind-eye on that one.

"Wolfe is also the secret weapon of Shishou!" (Wolfe)

"Of course. It seems like the influence of the Scarlet Demon Lord has

weakened quite a bit, so there's no doubt there will be a chance for you

to do your best in battle at this rate."

The Scarlet Demon Lord has switched to using his Strife in a narrowed

direction. I would have been worried about the mental state of Wolfe if

he were to use the large area of effect the whole time. Wolfe should be

able to fight too if we get some intervals in. I won't lower my caution

though.

——

Author: Haakudoku is currently pretty high in the male rankings for the

ones that I want happy.

I have been tinkering with the rough designs in my free time using

Live2D.

The emotion I feel from having my story be drawn, moreover, having

those drawings move is wonderful. I have stealthily uploaded the GIFs

on my Twitter, so please take a peek if you have the time.