Chapter 8: A Leviathan Dropped By

Finally, the day of our departure for the demon lands arrived. That said, we were all in the house in our everyday clothes.

Beelzebub was scheduled to come pick us up.

From what we heard, it was going to be quite a long trip, so we'd change into our dresses over there. Rosalie was the only one who was already wearing hers, thanks to the spell.

"It's about time, isn't it? I mean, we didn't settle on an exact time, but…"

I'd been reading a book until Beelzebub arrived, but I couldn't seem to relax.

"I expect she'll be here soon. I'll go make sure everything's locked up for the third time."

Laika was terribly diligent, so she'd checked again and again to be sure the windows and the back door were locked.

It was seriously unlikely that any thief would enter this house, but I would feel so icky if one did, so it was better to lock everything up tight. Oh, and I'd also put up a Crime Prevention Barrier spell like the one I'd cast on the village earlier.

"Don't let the demons hate me… Don't let them hate me…"

I wished Halkara would try a little harder to enjoy this.

Falfa and Shalsha were simply looking forward to going out, and they couldn't settle down, so they were wandering around restlessly.

Abruptly, the sunlight that had been streaming in dimmed.

I thought a really thick cloud might have gotten in the way, but even after we waited a little while, it stayed dark outside.

Wondering whether we were in for some rain, I went outdoors and looked up, then realized that that wasn't the reason.

"What is that?!"

Something unbelievably huge, something beyond enormous, was blocking the sun.

A space battleship? No, we couldn't possibly be going into space. Besides, it also looked as if it might be a living creature.

The rest of the family came out to see what was going on and started at the sight.

"Laika, do you know what that is?"

"A demon…perhaps? A few things about it rather resemble the dragon race, but…"

Just then, someone descended from the sky.

As the figure got closer, I recognized Beelzebub.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting. I've come to pick you up. Now, I'd like you to get up on top of this thing. It would be a job and a half to land it here, so Laika, you turn into a dragon and carry everyone up to the top. After that, it'll fly us to the demon lands."

"Beelzebub, what is that up there?"

The enormous something completely covered the sky.

"It's a leviathan."

"Huh? Wasn't the leviathan a sea monster?"

"There is a theory that leviathans are a type of dragon, Mom," Shalsha told me, ever knowledgeable.

"I don't know whether they're kin to dragons or not, but leviathans are ultra-large flying demons. Sometimes they submerge themselves in the ocean when they're on vacation; that may be why people think they're sea monsters."

"I just can't get over the scale."

What in the world did this creature eat to keep itself alive?

The nonflying members of our group rode on Laika's back, and Rosalie and I ascended to the leviathan using our own flying abilities (although whether you could call it "flying ability" in Rosalie's case was up for debate).

As you'd expect from such a huge creature, its back was broad and flat.

Several buildings had been constructed on top of it.

I'd heard stories about people mistaking whales for islands, and this might have been similar.

"In a way, are leviathans sort of deluxe passenger ships…?"

"That guess isn't far off the mark. All right, let me show you to the rooms for honored guests. You are welcome to go out on deck, but take care you don't go past the safety railing and fall. It may look flat, but when the leviathan moves, it can get steep on you all of a sudden."

"Mom, this is terribly exciting."

Her expression hadn't changed much, but Shalsha's pen was racing across the notebook she'd brought along for note-taking. She was probably planning to jot down her own record of the leviathan.

First, Beelzebub took us to the rooms—or rather, the building—for honored guests.

The creepy face-like things in the decor were apparently just part of demon architecture.

Aside from those, there was an expensive-looking carpet on the floor and a grand table. There were several beds, too, all lined up.

"Leviathans can't travel that fast, so you'll be spending the night here."

"So you'll be entertaining us while we're in transit, too."

"We also took your culinary preferences into account and built the menus around poultry and vegetables. Nothing's spicy, either, so relax."

Oh, good. It sounded as though Beelzebub was trying to match our pace.

"The second floor is a dining space and the third is an observation area. Anyone who'd like to enjoy the view from the sky can head up there later. Now I'll show you the buildings next door."

Our family filed after her.

The next building housed a casino, or something like it. There were all sorts of apparent card games and board games set out.

"Is this a gaming house?"

"That's right. You've got the gist of it. However, we aren't opening it this time, both because you are the only guests and because it's awfully dangerous."

Halkara looked disappointed.

"What do you mean by 'awfully dangerous'?"

"If you get carried away and lose big here, they'll strip you of all your possessions. Demons always play for keeps. They won't lose on purpose just for honored guests. Many have lost their entire fortunes at this casino, then lost the rights to themselves and ended up as debt slaves."

Beelzebub shot a glance at Halkara.

"If somebody like Halkara lost everything she had after I'd called her here, it would be quite awkward."

Halkara must not have heard that, because all she had to say was, "Ohh, if there was a casino, I'd double my money."

If she'd ended up losing her factory instead, we would have had trouble, so I was glad it was closed…

Then we moved on to the next building. It really wasn't much of a stretch to say there was a town on the leviathan's back.

I knew right away what this place was. After all, there were two changing rooms, one for men and one for women.

"This is the great bath. Soak at your leisure until we land."

"Nice. We'll be taking advantage of this place later."

"Since we're here, want to take a peek? Nobody's bathing right now."

We went through the changing room and into the bath. We did take off our shoes, but nothing else.

And then, for some reason, somebody was already there.

"Huh? I didn't think anybody would come in at this hour…"

She looked like a young woman, but the appendages growing out of her head told us she probably wasn't an ordinary human.

But who in the world would be riding on this thing?

"Hmph. You are on duty, girl. Would you quit slacking off and do your job?!"

"I'm sorry, boss."

The young woman bowed her head.

The girl, whose name was Vania, got out of the bath with a splash.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Vania the leviathan. I'm currently in human form, but my older sister, Fatla, and I take turns flying and doing maintenance work. It's currently Fatla's turn to fly."

The explanation was fine, but it was being delivered by someone who was stark naked, which made it hard to relax.

Still, she was lovely and lean. She looked almost like a doll.

"Vania, don't talk in the nude! You look like a barbarian!"

"I'm terribly sorry, boss!"

Vania plopped herself back in the bathtub.

"Oh, just so you know, this hot spring water is 'demonic,' so do be careful with it."

"Demonic? I've never heard of that hot spring type before."

The only ones I knew were "alkaline" and "slightly acidic."

"Let's see. Long story short, it makes your skin smooth."

"Oh yes, that's pretty common at hot springs."

"However, if you fall asleep in the bath and stay for hours, you'll melt."

Yikes!

"Of course, that's only if you stay in for hours on end. I really doubt there's anyone who'd stay in the bath for seven or eight hours at a stretch, so you don't really need to worry about it."

Laika put a hand on Halkara's shoulder.

"Halkara, don't go in by yourself, please. I'll go with you."

"Ah! I know where this is going; you're failing to trust me again, aren't you?!"

I could see her falling asleep in the bath and being discovered as a gloppy soup the next morning. I'd have to take steps to ensure that that didn't happen…

"Halkara, it sounds as though the demon lands are a place where careless mistakes can have irreparable consequences. Be a hundred times more careful than usual, please!" I implored her.

"A hundred times? All right… I'll be careful!"

If I put it that strongly, surely even Halkara would make a serious effort.

"Vania is also in charge of the cooking. Since you're here, go over that for them as well."

"Of course. For today's meals, I'm planning to focus on poultry."

That was more ordinary than I'd expected. They really were thinking of us.

"We got in some good cockatrice eggs, so I'd like to use those."

"Huh…? Is cockatrice edible?"

You could technically call it poultry, but was it all right to eat? It hadn't caught on in the human world at all.

"Laika? Have you tried cockatrice?"

"No, I have no experience with it, either."

"Cockatrice eggs are exquisite. Their shells are purple, but the contents look very similar to chicken eggs. Absolutely do try them. And so you know, the ability to petrify has been selectively bred out of these cockatrices!"

How one would remove the petrification ability from a cockatrice was a mystery, but it had probably been similar to the process of breeding wild boars into pigs.

"We also have a roc egg!"

That was even more preposterous!

"Aren't those gigantic?"

"Yes. They're too large, so the cooks divvy up the egg among themselves before they bring it onboard. We have a contract with a roc who lays good eggs, so expect something wonderful."

"You've got a contract with the roc itself…"

I'm going through all kinds of culture shock here…

"The vegetables are also first-class specimens cultivated by alraunes, so they're extraordinarily sweet, and I believe you'll be able to enjoy the innate flavors of the ingredients. Do look forward to dinner!"

Vania wore a cheerful smile. I didn't know her actual age, but that smile made her seem very young.

If I remembered correctly, alraunes were a type of plant spirit race who could move around freely. Apparently, the demon lands were home to a wide variety of people.

"All right, Vania, make sure you prepare a written apology later for taking that bath during work hours."

Beelzebub spoke casually, wearing a smile that was very similar to Vania's.

"What?! No, but…I gave a proper explanation, too, so please let me off."

"Nope. When you do something careless, it becomes my responsibility as your supervisor. Write an apology for skipping work. Got that?!"

Watching the crestfallen Vania out of the corners of our eyes, we left the bath. If we stayed there, she wouldn't be able to get out.

"That's about it for the tour, I think. Now, since we've got the chance, do you want to go to the observation area? The view is more interesting before it gets dark."

We went to the third floor of the building in which we'd be spending the night.

The observation area was not a deck but an ordinary room.

In exchange, devices that looked like binoculars pointed in every direction.

"Wow! What a view!"

The kinds of sights I'd seen long ago from the window of an airplane spread out before me.

The mountains and towns looked incredibly tiny. From this angle, you could see that most of the country was green. The area covered by towns was really small. People were living very close to nature.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah! What is this?! My head…! It's spinning!" Halkara wailed.

"Oooooh! Shalsha, come and look! Look!"

"This scenery should be recorded. I'd like to write about it later."

"So we're this far up? Guess even this isn't high enough to reach heaven, huh…?" Rosalie mused.

While everyone else cheered and shouted with joy, Laika was calm.

"Laika, you sometimes climb to altitudes like this on your own, don't you?"

"When you fly below the clouds, lightning strikes can be dangerous, so I stay as high as I can during those times. It decreases my risk of colliding with my kin or with the roc birds you mentioned earlier."

As I listened to that, I thought, Dragon common sense really is uncommon.

"That's about all I had to go over with you. If you need anything, just tell Vania. I'll be working in the staff administration building, and I'll come back when it's time for dinner."

"Sure, thanks. I didn't think your hospitality would begin while we were still on the way to the demon lands."

Even as a witch, I wasn't often treated to service this flawless.

Well, no matter how hard the villagers or townspeople tried, they couldn't put a leviathan in the air, so that was to be expected.

"It just goes to show how great your achievement was. They don't mobilize a leviathan for simply lending a helping hand. You stopped a long-running dragon conflict. That's enough to let you leave your mark on history. You could afford to act more important than you do, you know."

The way she was praising me left and right was kind of awkward.

"I'll do my best not to embarrass myself during the ceremony."

***

We relaxed in our room, and before long, it was time for dinner.

As an aside, it sounded as though Beelzebub would be eating with us. So this was going to be a dinner party with a high government official, I guess?

Vania brought the food in on a table with casters.

"Here is today's dinner. We'll begin with a salad made with twenty different types of vegetables!"

It was a collection of brightly colored vegetables with a rainbow of hues, plated in an aesthetically pleasing design.

It was possible that more emphasis had been placed on visual enjoyment than on taste.

"Oooh, it's gorgeous right from the beginning."

"Yes. Cuisine for the guests of demons is expected to create an initial impact with its appearance. We pay particular attention to the plating of anything that can be arranged into a pattern," Vania explained.

"This one is in the shape of a magic circle that operates on others' minds, you know," Beelzebub added.

That wasn't exactly encouraging…

"Eating it won't hurt you one bit. It isn't spicy, either, so relax and enjoy."

Sure enough, it wasn't spicy, but there seemed to be all sorts of herbs in it, making for a flavor I wasn't used to.

"Mph… Falfa isn't sure she likes this very much…"

"Sister, if you're picky about what you eat, you won't grow. Urgh… It's bitter…"

Apparently, the salad was a bit too much for children.

"Oh, you poor things… Vania, fix something the two little ones can eat instead!" Beelzebub ordered. She really spoiled my daughters.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

A dish of fried chicken drizzled with honey sauce promptly presented itself.

If she was able to respond to an order like that one, her skills as a cook were clearly formidable.

"Uh-huh, this is yummy. "

"Delicious… I could eat this all day."

I'd really rather they ate a few more vegetables, but this was banquet fare, so maybe I could let it slide.

"Next is a potage of mashed beans. A variety of spices has been added to this dish in order to camouflage the herbal overtones."

The flavor was pretty complex, and spicy to boot. It had a sort of traditional flair to it.

"It burns a little. Falfa doesn't think she can handle this."

"Sister, there are too many things you've neglected to try. Ooh, it hurts a bit…"

The kids weren't used to this flavor, either.

You probably had to be an adult before you could consider flavors like this one delicious.

"Vania, bring out something else for those two!"

"But there isn't time to prepare a soup at this point…"

"There must be fruit back there. Make up a fruit plate!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

Vania ran off again, then brought out four types of sliced fruit topped with a sweet sauce.

"Yes, Falfa really enjoys the sweet stuff!"

"It has a pleasant acidity to it. I don't think this is something you'd tire of eating."

Vania sighed with relief. "Phew… That's good to hear…"

This might generate quite a bit of stress for the kitchen staff. I'm really sorry…

"The next dish is scrambled and seasoned cockatrice eggs. To eat them, you wrap them in lettuce leaves. Oh… If the young ladies aren't fond of lettuce, they're welcome to go ahead and eat them plain."

"Mommy, can we do that?"

"No. Eat at least that much properly. If you don't, it's rude to the person who's serving it to you."

As you'd expect, I did make them eat the lettuce.

"Next are omelets made with roc egg! The velvety flavor is superb, so do savor it!"

This time, Vania brought out the omelets with an attitude of complete confidence.

I'll dig right in, then. I'm very particular about my omelets.

"This may be the most delicious egg dish I've eaten in my entire life!"

The flavor's incredibly rich! Not only that, but the more you eat, the more robust the flavor gets!

"I had no idea that omelets of this caliber existed… I must apply myself more…"

Laika was astonished, too. After all, omelets were her best dish.

"There's no help for that, Laika," Beelzebub replied. "The quality of the ingredients is of a different caliber. It costs a thousand times more to make a roc omelet than it does for a normal omelet."

"A thousand times?!"

That figure shocked Laika, too.

"Yes, so of course they're delicious. Frankly, if Vania made something nasty-tasting with ingredients like these, she'd have to write another apology."

"Ngh… There's no slacking off under you, Lady Beelzebub."

"Somebody who was taking a bath is in no position to talk!"

Beelzebub was a strict supervisor, it seemed.

"That was really quite delicious. You weren't kidding about keeping the dishes egg-based."

And now we'd finish up with dessert, hmm? Not bad at all.

"No, there's plenty more to come. Next up is baked mutton wrapped in pastry. Vania, bring it out!"

"Yes, I'll get it ready right away!"

Wow, there's more…

After that, they brought out about five more courses, not counting dessert, and I got pretty full.

Falfa and Shalsha were holding their round bellies.

"I ate way too much…," Halkara said, drinking herbal medicine that was good for digestion.

"Thank you, Vania. That was an impressive spread."

"No, no. It's my job to be as hospitable as possible. I'm delighted you enjoyed it."

I thought this demon had done very well. She looked refreshed, as if satisfied that she'd given her best effort.

"True, with regard to entertaining guests, I give you a solid passing grade. Well done, Vania."

"Thank you very much, Lady Beelzebub!"

Vania smiled and bowed in response to the compliment. It was things like this that made me realize that Beelzebub's status was nothing to sneeze at. As far as demons went, she outranked the leviathans.

"That just about does it for most of your duties."

"Hmm? Was there something left to do? Oh, did you mean the washing up?"

"No, that written apology."

"You haven't forgotten about that, ma'am?! I just assumed that you'd forgiven me because the food was good…"

"Are you daft? Those are two completely different matters. Turn in something wonderful enough to melt my heart. Your words must ooze contrition. If you don't, I'll lower your evaluation, so keep that in mind. And that wasn't a joke. I'm serious!"

"Understood, ma'am…"

With eyes like a dead fish, Vania retreated.

"You're hard on your subordinates, aren't you?"

"It's her fault for slacking off in the bath when she was on duty. If you'd been upset about that, it could have turned into a political issue. This is only natural!"

When it was warranted, Beelzebub took people to task properly.

***

That day, we slept in magnificent beds.

Since we were all in one big guest room instead of separate rooms, I had the rather unusual experience of sleeping in the same space as everyone else.

However, a slight problem peculiar to travel reared its head.

When we'd all been in bed for about twenty minutes, Shalsha stirred restlessly.

"Mom… I can't sleep in strange beds."

I see. Yes, Shalsha does have a sensitive side.

"What about counting sheep?"

"I already tried it, but my mind went to the iconographic significance of shepherds, and then I really couldn't sleep."

I understood her thoughts had taken her somewhere complicated, but not much else.

All right, this seems like a good time to be motherly.

"In that case, Shalsha, do you want to come sleep with me? You can get into this bed."

Shalsha nodded.

As she slept, she clung to me tightly.

Hugging things seemed to be very soothing for people. Which meant it helped them sleep well.

But then Falfa—who'd seemed to be sleeping without trouble—woke up.

"I'm thirsty, so my eyes just opened…"

Inns have better ventilation than ordinary homes, so you often ended up getting thirsty.

"Huh? Shalsha's gone. Where'd she go?"

"Shalsha's sleeping here with me."

"No fair! Falfa wants to sleep with you, too, Mommy!"

Well, yes, that was probably inevitable.

"Sure. That's fine. Quietly, though—if your voice is too loud, you'll wake up other people."

"Okay!" Falfa said loudly.

In response to the noise, Laika groaned a little and almost woke up, but she went back to sleep. Good, good.

Falfa also hugged me. As a mother, it made me happy, but did it make it easy to sleep? Not really…

"Big Sis, do you want me to sing something for you?"

Rosalie drifted over. Since she was a ghost, she didn't need to sleep.

"No, that's okay. I think it would actually wake me up."

As we were talking, Halkara bolted upright in bed.

"Once you get thirsty, you wake up right away, don't you…?"

Apparently, it really wasn't possible to sleep soundly in an unfamiliar bed.

"I brought some incense that lets you relax and sleep peacefully. Shall I use that? Yaaaaaawn…"

"Oh yes, good! Use it, use it!"

When it came to plants, Halkara knew her stuff. She was bound to have some pretty good incense.

Halkara got the incense ready and then commented, "Since I'm up, I'm going to go take an evening bath," and left in a daze, carrying her towel.

All right, this time I'm going to sleep for sure!

The soft fragrance of the incense was unraveling my tension. Yes, this was going to work pretty well. I'll sleep straight through till morning. Just a little more, and I'll be able to sleep!

"Uuuhn. Inns do make one thirsty, don't they…?"

This time Laika had woken up.

Since everyone was waking at different times, I couldn't concentrate on sleeping at all!

Even so, I tried again. I really almost made it last time. I can sleep; I can sleep!

Then Halkara came in.

"My, but evening baths are pleasant, aren't they? That Vania girl soaked with me. The water was quite nice. I'm all warmed up, so I'll just slip under the covers and go right to sleep!"

They say going to bed just after a bath makes it easy to sleep, in summer or winter. In summer, the heat of evaporation or something cools your body down and makes you feel good, while in winter, it warms you up.

Still, that was true only for the person who actually took the bath.

"Oh, for the love of… Halkara, when you came in, the noise woke me up again."

"I'm sorry! I thought everyone would be asleep by now, and I got careless."

Even so, I had finally grown tired, and at last, I did fall asleep.

After that, all I had to do was sleep soundly, but—

"Wake up, Mommy! It's morning!"

This time, Falfa was awake early and woke me up.

"It is, is it…? If possible, it would have been nice to sleep a little longer…"

On my other side, Shalsha had also begun to stir, so I gave up.

"But the sun's really, really pretty outside!"

Falfa opened the window.

True, you could see the sunrise plainly. The view from far up in the sky wasn't half bad, and my mood naturally lifted.

At some point, Laika had also woken up. "This is nice. It's put me in a sentimental mood as well."

"Hey, why don't we take advantage of this and go to the deck?"

We looked down from the observation area. The leviathan was flying over a wasteland. The kingdom's territory was behind us, and we'd probably be entering the demon lands soon.

It wasn't dreary at all. You could actually have called it majestic.

"Wow. This really does feel like a sightseeing trip. I like it," I said.

"Here I am, a tiny speck in the midst of this vast land. It brings home just how wide the world is."

Shalsha was saying something literary, as she tended to do.

"Falfa's never seen a view like this before! It's really neat!"

The older girl was getting a little hyper as she frisked around.

"I've never flown over a wasteland like this one before, either, so it is a mysterious feeling. It makes one realize just how far it is to the demon lands," Laika said.

"You wouldn't think that a place that's so empty would go on for so long. Even if there are no towns, there are usually forests, or hills, or something."

I'd risen a little earlier than I'd planned on, but this sort of experience might not be a bad thing.

"Big Sis, should we wake up Sis Halkara?" Rosalie asked.

"Hmm… It might be better to let her sleep, but it wouldn't be nice to leave her out of this. Would you go wake her up?"

Halkara seemed sleepy at first, but right away, she began watching the scenery intently.

"Well, Halkara? What do you think?"

"I'm hungry."

Her answer made me laugh.

She was right: Eating was just as important as letting your thoughts travel far away.

***

After that, it was time for breakfast, so we headed for the dining hall.

However, no preparations had been made. That was odd; had we gotten the time wrong?

After a little while, Beelzebub came along.

"Say, this is when breakfast was supposed to be, isn't it?"

Beelzebub looked around, then squared her shoulders and marched off somewhere.

A few minutes later, Vania came in looking as if she was about to cry— No, she already was.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll get everything ready starting right now, so please wait in your room for just ten minutes!"

Apparently, she'd overslept.

"You do understand what will happen to you if you cause me any more embarrassment, don't you?"

"H-have mercy…"

It was scary when demons got truly angry. Putting somebody to death didn't seem out of the question.

I really hoped this wouldn't result in any pain or bloodshed for her…

"I may have to cut your salary for half a year."

That was fairly rational. It was still a severe punishment, though.

"Please, no, anything but that… I bought some nice furniture this year, and my budget really can't take any—"

"If you have time to haggle with me, finish those preparations! Get to work, and look sharp about it!"

"Y-yes'm… I'm terribly sorry…"

Even if it had been Vania's mistake, I felt a little sorry for her.

"There are a lot of us; can we help? We could probably carry dishes and things, at least."

"Absolutely not," Beelzebub answered immediately. "You are guests who have been formally invited by the demons. If word got out that I'd made those guests do meal prep, it wouldn't just embarrass me, it would shame all demonkind. You must not help, no matter what."

I see, so it's a matter of face.

"By the way, I can shave off Vania's horns and give 'em to you if you'd like."

"No, thank you, but please don't! She looks like she's sorry already!"

"All right. Well, wait just a little longer, if you would. I'll go help with the breakfast prep, too."

Beelzebub headed for the kitchen. It was awful to see two demons so abnormally close to blowing a fuse, but after we'd been told in no uncertain terms not to help, there was nothing else for it. Maybe I'd go back to bed for a bit.

"I did have a bad feeling about that."

Halkara seemed to have remembered something.

"What do you mean?"

"When I went to take that evening bath, Vania was there, you know? I asked her, 'Are you going to be all right in the morning if you bathe at this hour? Won't you need to get everything ready?' and she was very adamant. 'I never sleep in! Have no fear!' That was when I thought there might be trouble."

So apparently, there were demons who were prone to blunders like Halkara.

As far as I was concerned, I'd gotten to sleep a little longer, so I was grateful.

Breakfast was roast chicken wrapped in leaves. A dish wrapped in lettuce had appeared yesterday; did demons like eating things that way?

"This is really good, isn't it? Let's make it at home, Laika. The meat has been marinated in a secret sauce, but except for that, I think we could re-create it without any problems."

"You're right. Let's try it."

My daughters were commenting on how yummy it was, so apparently it was a hit with them, too. We'd learned something good here.

Only Halkara said, "This is delicious, but don't you think the meat is a touch too spicy?"

"That's because I made that meat. We didn't have enough time for Vania to do everything herself, so I cooked, too."

"The parts you were in charge of clearly have a different flavor, Beelzebub…"

It wasn't that the demons liked spicy things. It was just Beelzebub.

After we finished eating, we borrowed card games from the casino and played together as a family. As long as we didn't bet money, we'd be safe. There were lots of different games, so we didn't get bored.

Then, finally, we neared the land of demons, according to Beelzebub.

"You should go take a look from the observation area again. It's pretty interesting."

She was right. It was a remarkable sight.

There was a wall where the demons' territory began. An abnormally thick, high, long wall.

Just how much time had it taken them to build that thing?

"Long ago, I hear the demons were truly afraid that humans might destroy them. As a countermeasure, they devoted themselves to building a sturdy town wall. Frankly, it was a waste of time. The humans never invaded this far, so the wall just sits there."

It was like an amped-up Great Wall of China.

Behind that wall, I could see demon villages here and there. I didn't know how much longer it would be until we reached our destination, but the goal had to be getting closer.

About an hour after that, the "ship" slowly started to descend.

"We're about to land. The leviathan can't touch down in the urban area, so after this, you'll be transferred to a horse-drawn carriage."

So it operated on the same principle as an airport.

At the "airport" on the outskirts of the city, we were loaded into a carriage, and then we finally set off for the castle that acted as the demons' royal capital—an enormous fortress city called Vanzeld.

There were all sorts of demons inside the fortress.

Most of them were horned people like Beelzebub, but others looked like animals walking around on two legs, some like beast-men, and some had only one eye.

"You see, the demon race is really an aggregate of all sorts of races. You can't hear the word demon and accurately visualize what one looks like. Also, since the sorts that are too close to animals and slime-like things can't live in the city, in the end, they're treated like wild animals."

"I see. Well, yes, slimes don't go to shops and ask for bread… Although I couldn't say whether they eat bread in the first place."

The city wasn't built all that differently from a human city, and the streets were paved with stone and neatly maintained.

"Now we're entering Vanzeld Castle. Well, strictly speaking, we're in the castle already."

"That's true in fortified cities, isn't it? So the castle town is treated as if it's inside the castle?"

In Japan, there are barely any walled cities, so the common assumption tends to be that castles are located in the middle of town or up on top of hills.

"First we'll have you meet the demon king. The ceremony's tomorrow, so after that, I'll show you around town."

Quite casually, Beelzebub dropped two very loaded words.

Did she just say "demon king"?