“Sob… Shal… Thanks… f-for the flowers. Uhm… I’ll, I’ll take this as a sign of reconciliation. A gift for returning the favor. I’ll make sure to freeze it permanently with magic, and preserve it so it won’t ever die. It will be the treasure of the Demon Lord’s castle. It’s gratitude, after all. A sign of reconciliation. That’s why… I’ll have to make sure that it’ll be worshiped for eternity.”

“No, you don’t have to do that, so just use them normally. It’s medicine, after all. Please make use of them.”

After he quickly regained his composure, I had to wait and see what he had to say with his troubled speech.

Then, he suddenly took his face away from my head and gave me a look like he wanted to say, ‘What are you talking about?’

He was crying until just a while ago, so his eyes were as red as a rabbit’s.

What am I talking about? That should be my line. You rabbit Demon Lord.

Although the said person was a bit tsun-tsun1 because he was embarrassed about crying, the fact that he said that in a very serious way made less sense.

This guy is a bit weird after all.

I was glad that our reconciliation with a serious atmosphere had a happy ending just a while ago, but it doesn’t seem to conclude.

Well, that’s why Azel is Azel.He was a little cute, so I unintentionally let out a laugh.

“Why are you laughing, hey… D-don’t tell me, it isn’t enough? Would you be happier if I made it into a sacred object2?”“No, I’ll be happier if you use it.”

Why would you worship something that’s supposed to be drunk as tea as a sacred object?How did this happen?

The moon in the demon realm was so bright that I could see the other person’s face well even in the moonlight.

So, I could clearly see Azel looking so dejected, with an expression oozing despair, that I could even see him with dog ears.

“Grrrrrr… You know what? Weaker humans might not know this, but once you use them, it’ll be gone, okay?“…Right…”

Yeah, that’s the face.That’s the face when Gard treats me like a hamster.

He said it gently as if educating a child who had poor understanding, and I nodded with an enlightened expression.The feeling is similar to that of a nursery teacher.

However, when I got this close to his face, I noticed he had faint dark circles.

I guess he hadn’t gotten much sleep last night and kept on working.

I made a serious face.If I couldn’t help him recover from his fatigue soon, my efforts will go to waste.

Holding a lot of enthusiasm in my heart, I placed the bouquet of flowers I held in my hand on the table right beside him and grabbed both Azel’s shoulders firmly.

“Listen…! It won’t disappear, Azel. Even if you use this flower, it will continue to exist. Yes… inside your heart…!”“W-what did you say…?!”“So, make this a tea, drink it and get a good rest. Use every last one of the Arymas that I picked and live well…!”“! I see…! Yeah, Shal picked them… So, it’s like another part of Shal…!”“That’s right…! I want you to live a healthy life for me.”“Then it can’t be helped, okay! I’m confident in my health. I’ll make this flower into tea and drink it, kill the germs and live brightly and cheerfully!”“Well said!”

I deliberately spoke with exaggeration like a passionate spiritualist, and while saying, ‘Alright, good!’ I gently stroked my hand through Azel’s soft, silky hair.

Azel’s cheeks turned bright red at my sudden stroking, covering his face with both hands, and screamed something I couldn’t understand, ‘Huuwaaaeeee…!’

I thought he’d get mad because his hair was getting disheveled, but I guess he’s having seizures.

Yup. This is the usual Azel!

By the way, Azel’s hair was pleasing to touch and easy to stroke.

Come to think of it, when I first met him, his bangs were springing up. We were in the middle of a battle, but I couldn’t help but feel at ease with it.

As I combed Azel’s messy hair with my hand, I suddenly thought back to three weeks ago.

If I didn’t kill him, I’d have nowhere to go, but it was a battle that couldn’t be won by any estimate.

That day, I was so desperate with all the tension and pressure not to be left behind.

He was a cheat Demon Lord who easily evaded my attacks, and even if I did hit him, it was as if nothing had happened.But he had his weird bangs bouncing around, so I laughed unintentionally.

After that, I was sunk in a pool of blood in an instant, and next thing I knew, I was in a cage. That’s how I got to where I am now.

Life is a series of unexpected things.Being summoned to this world is one of them.

Notes:[1] tsun-tsun – ‘tsun’ from tsundere meaning prickly attitude; Azel trying to hide the fact that he wanted to keep it just because it was from Shal. ←[2] sacred object – ‘shintai’ or an object of worship, usually housed in a shrine. ←

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