There is Arsep in the Demon Lord’s Castle.
The Demon Lord’s Castle has the same structure as her castle.
Therefore, it’s natural that she is in the Demon Lord’s Castle, right?
“Why aren’t you answering at all?”
Arsep approached me and asked.
I checked her appearance once again.
It wasn’t just her appearance.
The presence, the scent, and the feeling I could only sense from her were exactly the same as my memories, and there was no significant difference from when she had just left with Flua a little while ago.
But then, she was holding a red jewel-studded staff I had never seen before, so the conclusion I could draw from the current situation was…
“Did you already find the staff?”
Arsep must have used some kind of magic to come to where I was after finding the staff.
She herself had said that if she found the staff, she could use at least some of her original powers, so after retrieving the staff, she must have sent Flua back to the castle and come to get me.
“Yes, I found my staff.”
It seems my assumption was correct; she had found it.
“Well then, let’s go back quickly. I don’t want to stay here long, it’s a bit eerie.”
So, I decided to grab Arsep’s hand and head straight back to the castle.
Bzzz…
‘But then, what’s with the static electricity?’
When I grabbed Arsep’s hand, I felt a slight tingling sensation, as if there were static electricity.
Perhaps the static was stronger than expected, as the soldier’s gloves I had been wearing turned to ash and disappeared in my hand.
I had heard that these gloves were made of such sturdy material that I wouldn’t get burned even if I put my hand in fire, so it seems even static electricity in the Demon World is not ordinary.
“Are you okay?”
I checked if Arsep had been hurt.
“Phew, you’re not hurt.”
Fortunately, Arsep’s hand was fine.
But it seemed she was startled by the static, as she was looking at me with slightly wider eyes than before.
It felt awkward since she was just looking at me without saying anything, unlike usual.
“…Are you hurt anywhere else?”
At first, I wondered if this was some kind of hallucination.
Among the human adventurers who had come before, there was one who had shown hallucinations using magic, so I had been cautious and had learned how to deal with it, and I could confidently say this wasn’t a hallucination…
‘But could a person change this much just because of one staff?’
But she was too much the same for it to be someone else.
“You’re an interesting human, to touch my body and still be fine.”
[The wording could be a bit misunderstood, but I only grabbed your hand. Of course, I’m fine, right?]
‘Or maybe I ate something wrong at the Demon Lord’s Castle?’
‘Thinking back to the time when someone had gotten messed up after drinking the wrong alcohol in the Fairy Realm, maybe I ate something wrong at the Demon Lord’s Castle this morning, and it affected my mind a little.’
‘When we get back to the castle, I should make her some tea.’
Anyway, I grabbed Arsep’s hand and left the room.
“Where are we going?”
“To the castle.”
“This is the castle, isn’t it?”
“I’m a little confused because it’s so similar, but let’s go to our castle, not this one.”
“…I see, it’s the same kind of castle.”
As we walked down the hallway, I remembered that there were guards downstairs.
If it were just me, I could quickly run off, but it would be hard to avoid detection while taking her with me.
“Can’t you use some magic like teleportation, like other wizards?”
“This castle is designed to resist such magic. Probably, unless you’re the castle’s owner, no one will be able to use magic here.”
“Is that so? Amazing.”
Arsep’s statement meant that she had already sent Flua back to the castle or to a safe place.
I guess she wasn’t boasting about being the Demon Lord just because she could find her staff after all.
Now, I think it would be better to correct her title from “self-proclaimed Demon Lord” to just “Demon Lord.”
“Well then, should we just run out directly…?”
I already knew the layout of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
It wouldn’t be a problem to jump out through the window to leave the main building, and since I wouldn’t need to come back here once I had the staff, there was no need to think about the next steps.
“By the way, it’s amazing. I didn’t expect there to be another castle with the exact same structure.”
“You find that amazing?”
“Of course! Even twins have differences in the details, but this castle is almost perfect in being the same, don’t you think?”
“Almost exactly the same, you say… isn’t it perfectly the same?”
“I guess the difference is that I’m here and not. The kitchen was clean, but there was nothing but dishes.”
“Since there’s no use for it in this castle anymore.”
I should hurry up and return to the castle.
For some reason, Arsep’s condition seemed a little strange, maybe because of the side effects of getting the staff back, or maybe it was just how she was.
No, maybe it’s not that she’s strange, but that she’s not quite adjusted yet.
She was walking a little quickly, but she was following me lightly without panting, and she was wearing a dress she usually wouldn’t wear because she would complain it was cold.
It was a bit chilly inside the castle.
Thinking about it, I guess it would be cold for her.
***
“By the way, when did you get that dress? You usually never wear it, saying it’s too cold.”
“Too cold? Is this castle cold for you?”
“I’m fine, but at least wear this.”
I was about to give Arsep a blanket that I always kept as a spare.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes? Okay.”
Arsep gestured for me to wait, and a faint red light shimmered around her body.
“The smell of burning leather is unpleasant.”
“Oh, right, your gloves burned earlier.”
Now, when I touched Arsep, there were no more static shocks.
It seemed that the blanket I draped over her didn’t turn to ash either.
I had been feeling those small electric shocks whenever I held her hand, but it seemed like that issue had resolved itself.
“Hoh… this material is actually quite good.”
“Remember the Phoenix that came to the castle? The blanket is made from its down feathers. I had even prepared it for dinner, but it got revived and ran away. It was quite a surprise.”
“That bird was indeed an immortal creature, so that makes sense. You managed to catch a fierce bird that even dragons avoid.”
“We were all going to sleep, but outside was so bright, like the sun was out. So, I caught it from the sky.”
Without a slingshot, I just threw a brick at it to catch it.
Thanks to that, I ended up with a nice warm blanket to get through the winter.
The blanket itself is always warm, and I like to use it too.
Even if it’s not terribly cold, I really enjoy the warmth it provides on my back.
It’s a winter essential for me.
“Then hold on tight.”
“Why are you hugging me?”
“The guards are too many. So, I was thinking of just escaping through the window.”
“…I see, though it seems useless.”
“It did look that way. Anyway, we’re leaving now.”
I hugged Arsep and jumped out of the window.
***
“Who’s there!”
“There’s someone trying to infiltrate the castle! Capture them!”
Jumping from the fourth floor was a piece of cake, but it seemed that the castle guards weren’t entirely useless, as they began rushing toward us right after we jumped out of the window.
I guess they didn’t realize we were already on our way out.
“Please step aside.”
“What do you think you can do with those pebbles?”
“Those guards look tired. I’m just going to let them sleep well.”
“…It might be fine if they sleep forever.”
“Just a joke.”
With only small pebbles, handling the guards was a simple task.
If I aimed for the center of their helmets and threw with the right force, the guards would collapse and fall asleep, as if they had taken a sleeping pill.
Their helmets might be dented, but since they’re demons, they’re strong enough not to die from it.
Think of it as a concussion-induced sleep.
“Let’s go again.”
“Hmm.”
I had taken care of the guards I could see, but there was no telling when more might show up.
I hugged Arsep again and was thinking of finding a safe place by stepping along the castle walls.
Once we got out of the Demon King’s Castle, as long as we didn’t get hit by another shield, I thought Arsep could use magic to return to where the castle was.
“Hey! I found out where the staff is!”
At that moment, Arsep appeared, running towards us with Flua.
Waving her hand, it seemed she had found where the staff was, just as she had said.
Indeed, Arsep was holding the staff in her hand now.
Now that Arsep had the staff, she could return to the castle with it, but…
Wait…
“…Arsep?”
“How amusing…”
‘There were two Arseps?’
One Arsep was holding the staff, while the other one, without the staff, was coming out of another building from the Demon King’s army, along with Flua.
No, it wasn’t that they were twins.
There couldn’t possibly be two identical people.
Even demons don’t do that.
So, one of them must be a fake…
“Watch out, Flua! The one next to you is the fake!”
“Are you doing this on purpose?!”
“Yes, that one is the fake. It’s a Dark Elf over there. Come this way.”
“What nonsense are you babbling?!”
One Arsep laughed, seemingly enjoying the situation, while the other Arsep protested, seemingly feeling wronged.
“I am the real one! Why don’t you recognize me?!”
I had no idea what was going on.
The Arsep I had been with and the other Arsep in the Demon King’s Castle.
Honestly, if they were both dressed the same, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart by appearance.
“I know. But you look so real too.”
“This is not bad for entertainment.”
“Look. Even their speech is identical.”
“Where is it the same?!”
Honestly, I knew that the other one wasn’t a fake.
I just said that because I thought Arsep’s reaction would be amusing.
The problem was, this one seemed just as real.
“Ugh… How do you not recognize me?”
Seeing her cry, it was clear that the other Arsep was the one I had been with.