“Hey, hey, hey!”
Kurei saw Melu hugging the Demon King and immediately rushed over, pulling Melu off her.
“Melu, how could you act so presumptuously toward the Demon King!!”
“Hugging the Demon King—what’s wrong with that? Kurei, you’re meddling too much.” Melu glanced at Kurei.
“We are maids. We must show proper respect to the Demon King!!”
Kurei retorted.
Melu curled her lip. “I think you want to hug the Demon King too, but you don’t dare. Kurei, you’re just jealous but won’t admit it.”
“Where did that come from? I just think the Demon King should…”
Kurei trailed off awkwardly.
“All right, all right, stop arguing.”
Via stood up. She patted Melu’s head, then patted Kurei’s head as well.
Both demonkin maids smiled, clearly enjoying the gesture, and calmed down considerably.
“Demon King, please wait a moment.” After saying this, Melu ran upstairs.
A little yellow cat poked out from behind Via’s cloak, surprising Kurei.
“Meow~”
Kurei watched the round-headed little yellow cat jump onto the table and sit down in front of her.
“Demon King, what is this?”
“A cat,” Via replied.
“A cat? Why don’t I sense any abyssal aura from it? Is it a magical creature?” Kurei curiously reached out a finger and gently poked the little yellow cat. It felt soft and fluffy.
“It’s not a magical beast. It’s just… an animal. I brought it from the human world.”
Via explained to Kurei.
In the Desolate Fallen Continent, ordinary animals had a very hard time surviving due to the harsh environment, so they were rare. Magical beasts were far more common.
“Hm? This animal called a ‘cat’ doesn’t seem very strong,” Kurei blinked. “Demon King, why are you keeping it with you?”
“Because…”
Even Via herself wasn’t entirely sure why the Demon King would bring along such a weak little creature.
But since she had already brought Little Ha this far, she didn’t really want to abandon her.
“Little Ha has the potential to become a familiar.”
“You’re not planning to use a magical beast as your familiar?”
“No. Magical beasts are too stupid, and abyssal beasts are too violent… But this little one is different.” Via glanced at Little Ha.
“Little Ha, show Kurei what you can do.”
“Meow meow!”
Upon hearing Via’s command, Little Ha stood up, began spinning in place chasing her own tail, and finally flopped onto the table and started rolling around.
“Ohh, ohhh!”
Watching Little Ha’s antics, Kurei felt a strange sense of delight in her heart, as if her mental stress had been slightly relieved.
“Demon King, this ‘cat’ is amazing! It feels like my mental pressure has decreased a bit. Is this some kind of special ability?”
“Mm, yes.”
Via felt too embarrassed to explain that this was simply the effect of having a pet.
Most demonkin never considered keeping pets. One more pet meant one more mouth to feed.
Demonkin who worshipped strength would, at most, keep large lizards or venomous snakes—creatures that were big eaters and very fierce.
“Demon King, can I hug Little Ha?” Kurei asked with pleading eyes.
“You may.”
“Yay!”
Kurei picked Little Ha up and held her in her arms, happily playing with the cat. Her twin-tails seemed to be flying with joy.
Melu came down the stairs.
“Demon King!”
Unlike before, she had changed into her maid uniform. She had also combed her messy green hair, making her look much more neat and professional. Even her expression had become more energetic.
This was exactly how she had looked when working at the Demon King’s Castle.
“Melu, you look much more pleasing like this.”
Via said with emotion.
“Hehe~”
Melu came before Via and performed a proper maid curtsy.
“Demon King, allow me to attend to you from now on~”
Via responded with a light acknowledgment.
Later, Melu went to the kitchen. After spending some time there, she prepared some desserts and placed them in front of Via.
Via looked at the desserts but didn’t touch them. Mainly because in her current state, she couldn’t remove her mask without revealing herself.
On another note, she was also considering how to discuss their next steps with these two demonkin maids.
Now that she had returned to the Desolate Fallen Continent, she would definitely need help if she wanted to rise again. She currently had no money, no power, and was almost out of food for the next meal.
She couldn’t possibly say she couldn’t afford to pay them wages—that would be too embarrassing.
So for now, she would have to live off her maids’ goodwill.
Still, she couldn’t think of better people to rely on.
The smile on Melu’s face gradually faded. She stared at Via in silence, seemingly deep in thought.
“Demon King, since you’ve returned to the Desolate Fallen Continent, does this mean you’re going to rebuild the royal court?” Kurei asked proactively.
“Of course. I believe the time has come. The people have forgotten me for too long. It’s time to remind the demonkin of the Desolate Fallen Continent who the true ruler of all is.” Via spoke with imposing momentum.
“Does that mean… the reason you came to find us is…”
“Exactly as you think, Kurei. I believe both you and Melu should rejoin the royal court. During my absence, even without orders, you never pledged loyalty to anyone else. This pleases me greatly.”
“The Demon King personally inviting me—I’m truly honored.” Kurei was extremely excited. She grabbed Melu’s hand. “See, Melu? I told you holding out was worth it!”
“Mm-hmm.” Melu nodded.
“Demon King, will you be staying with us tonight?” Kurei invited. “It’s already late. If you go out now, some insolent fools might come looking for trouble with you.”
Via noticed Kurei bringing this up herself and immediately agreed. “That works.”
This was a huge help. She had been wondering how to bring it up.
That night.
The Demon King temporarily settled into the guest room.
After Kurei delivered dinner to the guest room, she went to the kitchen and found Melu staring silently at the desserts.
“Melu, what’s wrong?” Kurei asked. “You’ve been staring at those ever since we brought them out.”
“These… are the Demon King’s favorite sweets.”
“So?”
“The Demon King didn’t touch them at all. In the past, whenever I brought these over, he would at least take a bite… Does the Demon King have no appetite?”
“It shouldn’t be that. If he had no appetite, he wouldn’t have let us prepare dinner. But after we made dinner, he still wouldn’t eat in front of us.” Melu pointed out. “In the past, when the Demon King ate, we always took turns serving beside him.”
“Oh, that’s true!”
Kurei also realized the issue. She suddenly felt that the Demon King was acting somewhat unusual.
“But there’s no doubt this is the Demon King, right? Who else could wield Desolate Fire? The Demon King Armament has never had a successor.”
“I’m not doubting that this is the Demon King. It’s just…” Melu narrowed her eyes. “The Demon King seems to be desperately trying to hide something from us.”