Looking at the perfectly balanced battlefield, I turned away in satisfaction.
With this, I had obtained the teleportation stone needed to reach the Demon King’s Castle.
And now that the frontlines had settled like this, adventurers from the Demon Realm wouldn’t be able to come for a while to replenish their forces.
Moreover, if the demons retreated back to the Demon Realm, it would be possible to search for any demon holding Arsep’s staff, if one had been present on the battlefield, within the Demon Realm.
As expected, a person needs to be in good health so their mind doesn’t suffer.
“…Did you come back?”
“Did you really wait for me? Go to bed early.”
“Alright, Flua. I’ll just wash up and go straight to bed, so you go ahead and sleep. Children need to sleep early to grow strong. That’s how they become wonderful and trustworthy adults like me.”
It was already very late, and Flua seemed tired too, so only Arsep and I briefly went to the battlefield.
Flua, unlike Arsep, was reliable, so I thought she’d be able to hide herself well in case anyone tried to break into the castle.
On the other hand, Arsep…
“What’s this? Why are you suddenly looking at me with an expression like you’re comparing me to Flua?”
“Because you’re reliable.”
“Is that so? Do I appear reliable to you?”
I thought to myself that, no matter what happened, I couldn’t leave her alone.
A few days ago, she had joined me in making a coffin as a hobby, and when she went to check how it felt to lie inside, she ended up closing the lid on herself and getting stuck.
It would’ve been fine if she just closed the lid, but she had hammered in nails to secure it from the inside.
Of course, it would’ve been easy to fix by just removing the nails, but in her panic, she didn’t even think to do that.
‘Does she really look that trustworthy?’
“Yes, you’re reliable.”
Well, to be honest, Arsep wasn’t exactly like that, but still…
I was worried she might slip and hurt herself while taking a bath alone.
‘But I couldn’t just go into the bathroom with her… or am I just being overprotective?’
Looking at it this way, it seemed like I was being overprotective, but when I recalled the things that happened when I left Arsep alone, it was clear I couldn’t help but be.
Especially yesterday, when she was feeding the stable horses and got her wing bitten, and before Flua came to help, she was crying and hanging in mid-air, swaying…
“Well, I’m the Great Demon King. Once I get the staff, I’ll understand why I am the Great Demon King!”
In the end, it seemed that the only way to solve this problem was to get Arsep’s staff.
***
The next day, we used the teleportation stone to travel to the city near the Demon King’s Castle.
This city was so large that it could not even be compared to the cities of Berard or the Fairy Realm that I had seen before.
“When compared to the past… the Demon Realm has really developed…”
Arsep looked just as surprised.
After all, she was a demon who had been active many centuries ago.
It would be strange if she wasn’t surprised by such a large-scale Demon Realm city.
This city was unlike any modern city.
It had the atmosphere of England during the Industrial Revolution.
If it weren’t the Demon Realm, it could be called a beautiful city.
“It looks like the Demon King’s Castle is over there.”
“…I see.”
Now, I was about to search for the Demon King’s Castle, but I didn’t even need to look for it—it was right in front of us.
However, something was strange.
The structure of the Demon King’s Castle seemed almost identical to Arsep’s own castle.
While the exterior had some differences, the basic structure and appearance were almost the same.
It seemed like she hadn’t noticed, but to me, these details were quite obvious.
“Now, we need to find the demon who took the staff.”
“Before that… Flua, are you feeling alright? I’m worried you might have overexerted yourself.”
“…I’m fine.”
“Good to hear. But still, you should never push yourself too hard. If you feel unwell, you must tell me right away.”
“I will.”
Arsep looked closely at Flua’s condition.
Flua seemed tired, but she insisted that she was fine.
Since we had used the teleportation stone, there wasn’t much magical energy drained, but I had deliberately changed the coordinates to avoid being detected by other demons.
If we had used the original coordinates, we might have drawn attention.
Where we were now was outside the city, which meant we had used much more magic power than usual. It wasn’t surprising that Flua was tired.
“According to Berard, this demon was supposed to be an intermediate-level demon, right?”
“Yes, and here’s a drawing of that demon’s appearance.”
We couldn’t just rummage through the Demon King’s Castle to look for the staff.
So, we decided to find the demon who had purchased the staff and ask peacefully where it had gone.
If it had been given to another demon, we would go after that one.
“Well, it’s a good drawing.”
The picture Berard had given us showed a demon resembling a goat, reminding one of a devil.
Demons in the Demon Realm had very distinctive appearances, so if this demon was around, it would be easy to spot, even in a crowd.
“I heard this guy is an archaeologist working for the Demon King’s army. If we look for him, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find him.”
“But to find him, we’ll still need to enter the Demon King’s castle… They won’t just let outsiders in, will they?”
“Of course not. But there is a way for us to sneak into the castle naturally.”
Arsep pulled out a map and began explaining the plan.
“Your attack on the Demon King’s army yesterday was a great opportunity for us. Thanks to that, the demons have retreated to the demon realm, and the remnants of the army will return to the Demon King’s castle.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“You’re always helpful to me. Anyway, the important part starts here. We’re going to disguise ourselves as members of the Demon King’s army and infiltrate the castle. I managed to grab some armor and uniforms from the retreating demons yesterday.”
“Oh, when did you manage to grab those?”
“I told you, I’m a reliable Demon King, remember?”
Then, from a distance, the presence of many demons could be felt.
“Those must be the remnants of the army you mentioned.”
Considering their pace, they would likely reach this city by early morning tomorrow.
As Arsep planned, if we disguise ourselves as Demon King’s soldiers and blend in with the troops, we should be able to enter the castle without much difficulty.
“But wouldn’t it be safer if I went in alone?”
I was worried about Arsep and Flua entering the Demon King’s castle with me.
If I went alone, I honestly felt I could barge in head-on without much issue, but if something went wrong and they were put in danger, I wouldn’t know what to do.
Of course, in the worst case, I could always run away with them, but…
“…That’s true. But the Demon King’s castle is vast, and there’s no guarantee the staff will be there. Besides, you don’t know much about demon customs. It would be better to find the demon first and ask about the staff’s whereabouts. After that, we can figure out what to do.”
It was true that if I wandered around the demon city alone, my identity might be exposed.
And if demons noticed and started running, it would make it even harder to track the one who took the staff.
So, it made sense to follow Arsep’s suggestion.
“Actually, even inside the castle, it’s much safer for you to be nearby. Flua and I alone in an inn in the city would be risky. Demons are dangerous.”
“Well, I guess there’s no choice.”
“Anyway, we’ll have to wait for the Demon King’s army to return, so in the meantime, let’s explore the city. We might be able to find that demon here.”
So, we decided to take a look around the Demon King’s city.
The city’s interior was not much different from Berad’s city, but it was much larger, and the demons roaming around were more dangerous and intimidating-looking.
Being the Demon King’s city, it was likely home to many powerful demons.
“This place… The Demon King must be pretty impressive.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, he built such a large city in the demon realm. And although his subordinates seem weak, they’ve been involved in wars. Those high-level demons, at least, seem to be on par with dragons.”
“…If they’re on par with dragons, then they’re strong enough.”
“Really?”
“You’re just unusually strong yourself. Don’t mistake that for everyone else being weak. Those high-ranking demons are dangerous enough to easily conquer entire human nations.”
Well, as Arsep said, I suppose I was the strange one, and the other demons weren’t actually weak.
“…In that case, the current Demon King must be pathetic. He can’t even deal with those demons, even with all their power. How disappointing.”
Arsep seemed to view the Demon King as incompetent.
“Considering how much the demon realm has advanced, the Demon King’s army must be powerful too. Meanwhile, humans haven’t changed much. Honestly, I don’t think he deserves to be the Demon King.”
“That’s a pretty harsh assessment.”
“Don’t you think so too?”
“I don’t really have an opinion. The only Demon King I know is you, the great Demon King here.”
“…I see. So, my Demon King is the only one that matters to you?”
“Well, enough with the complaints about some Demon King we don’t even know. Let’s focus on finding the demon who took the staff.”
***
We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, sampling food from street vendors, shopping for clothes, and checking out magic tool shops.
It felt less like we were searching for a staff and more like we were on a sightseeing trip, but Arsep seemed to be enjoying herself, so I figured it was a good thing.
‘By the way, if we go to the Demon King’s castle, will we be able to meet the Demon King?’
Since he wasn’t in Inn, he must have gone back to the demon realm or somewhere else.
I wondered what kind of demon the Demon King was.