The Village of Gold

The Demon Lord decided to inspect the village with Tahara in tow, both of them concealed in Stealth Stance, since their very presence alone would cause a commotion.

Hey, that girl’s hustlin’ today.

Mm.

Tahara was looking at the Field Hospital, swarmed with hopeful patients. Among them, Cake was handing out water and speaking to the elderly in an obviously self-sacrificing demeanor.

“Hello, sir,” she called to one elder. “It’s quite hot today, would you like to take a seat in the tent over there?”

“My, my... How caring you are, little Cake.”

“Let go of her hand, you old bag!” Another elderly man shouted.

“Mama Cake... Mama... Wahhhhhh!”

“Mooooommmmmmyyyy!”

“Shut the hell up, you brain-rotted old farts! Cake is my granddaughter!”

The elderly, having been completely fooled by Cake’s lovely smile and demeanor, had erupted in their usual bout of chaos. Many of them constantly requested to adopt or—for some reason—be adopted by Cake. She had established herself as an angelic figure around the hospital.

The Demon Lord struggled to find the humor in the fact the people venerated Yu like a goddess and adored Cake like a perfectly innocent angel.

It ain’t funny that the fatales are concentrated in the hospital, Tahara communicated. Try playing a horror game set in that place. Not even plot armor would get you out of there alive.

This had nearly drawn a chortle from the Demon Lord. He could easily imagine Cake as the jump scare NPC and Yu as the terrifying mad doctor that never stopped pursuing the player.

She... Should get along with Yu just fine, the Demon Lord replied.

I second that... I can deal much better when they’ve got something to hide. Tahara’s ideal position was in mutually beneficial relationships like the ones he had with the Madam and Cake. He could manage finding win-win solutions. On the other hand, he didn’t know how to handle people like Aku or Weeb who were genuinely selfless, finding it extremely difficult to figure out what he could offer them in exchange for what they wanted of him.

When it comes to that princess, Boss... Ah, never mind. I don’t even have to ask.

(Oh now you don’t tell me what I should do?!) The Demon Lord was still unsure of how to handle Cake and the delicate situation she had told him about. He was yet to have a concrete grasp on all this talk about Xenobia and her fallen nation.

What’s the best course of action, in your opinion? the Demon Lord prompted.

To his dismay, Tahara’s response was more humble than he had hoped. No need to entertain me, Chief. You got so many answers stuffed up there, you don’t have room for my half-baked one.

(It’s stuffed, alright. Stuffed full of hot air!) Despite the Demon Lord’s turmoil, Tahara had no intention of voicing his opinion to his boss who had always read a thousand steps ahead and constructed the exact situations when and how he needed them.

Tahara had taken the question to be a test of his intelligence, and felt like he was being put on the spot. (Gimme a break, for real...) Tahara thought. (My first move wasn’t along a perfectly charted course to world domination. Man, if I could get a peek of what’s going on inside his head...)

(And now you’re not saying anything?!) The Demon Lord silently fumed, (It would be so much easier if you’d just tell me the answer!)

They carried on, in silence, their thoughts unbeknownst to each other. The next phenomenon they came across was the Mole gang digging a well, apparently supervised by Luna.

“Can’t you dig any faster?!” she shrieked. “We’re going to be here all day!”

“You don’t know a thing about wells, so stay out of it! You can’t just dig straight down like a moron!”

“Huh? You just need a hole in the ground, don’t you? I’ll whip up a spell, and—”

“D-Don’t you dare, you idiot! You’ll take out the frame!”

As Luna and the Mole leader bickered, Eagle watched from a short distance away. She looked almost spectral, or as if an invisible barrier separated her from the rest of the world.

The girl’s always like that, ain’t she?

Always? the Demon Lord repeated.

She stays out of the conversation. Puttin’ herself at a distance.

A mix of emotion befell the Demon Lord. Eagle’s curse had been lifted, but her scars were far from healed. (She said that she was the cause of many conflicts and many deaths...) There didn’t seem to be an easy solution for her situation. That being said, the Demon Lord wasn’t particularly worried about Eagle. (She’s always got a friend by her side, after all...) Watching Luna chirp on as usual, the Demon Lord quietly left the scene.

He and Tahara continued their lap around the village, and finally revealed themselves behind the Field Hospital.

“Hm? What kinda business do we have back here?” asked Tahara.

“I made a promise to Aku. We’ll set up a pool back here with Area Modification.”

“A pool, huh...?” Tahara’s nostalgia for the idea of a pool was drowned out by his astonishment that the Demon Lord would go so far as to perform Area Modification for that girl. He had heard of this promise from Aku in passing, but had been wondering if his boss was really going through with it. There were plenty of facilities that the village of Rabbi could use at the moment. Was a pool really one of them?

“Let’s begin... Area Modification!” The Demon Lord selected the Pool from the admin screen, and a pool materialized in the ground with a bright flash of light. This would have been an extraordinary sight if these two had not witnessed it so many times. Back in the game, areas were regularly—often weekly—changed up to maintain the players’ interest.

“Let’s keep this place open just to our little family, for now.”

“You got it, Boss...!” Tahara was considerably shaken at the Demon Lord’s choice of vocabulary. While he had always had eight advisors, who were the individuals closest to him, he had never called them anything other than just that: advisors. (Family, huh...?)

Considering his words, the Demon Lord casually added, “Of course, you’ll have free access to it. I’d actually prefer you check on it once in a while. Luna might even drown herself from having too much fun.”

Tahara let out a chuckle. “I’d believe it, Chief.”

“Now, I have an appointment with the Madam. Excuse me.” The Demon Lord Quick Traveled away.

Tahara was left feeling a dull pulse buzzing through his body. (You’re saying... I’m part of your family, too...?) All sorts of plans and schemes that Tahara had been hatching in his mind had vanished without a trace, for the time being. He stood there, as if to keep his feet on the ground in defiance of some unseen current. After some time, Tahara shook his head and walked away.

——Inside the Casino.

The structure was currently dubbed “the Golden Temple.” Its walls shone gold as neon lights refracted off of them, making the temple a holographic beacon shimmering day in and day out. Once this facility opened its doors, it was sure to rake in nearly literal mountains of money.

On the 13^th floor, Kondo was uncharacteristically hard at work. Monitors filled the room, each of them displaying a different video feed from the security cameras he had set up throughout the village for the sole purpose of minimizing his need to go outside. The rest of the room was taken up by gaming consoles, bookshelves full of comic books and light novels, and display cases full of figure after figure. This was the room of a professional freelance isolationist.

“Better put a poster of Santory-chan in the room, too!”

...Spasiba, a girl called, having appeared on a translucent screen that materialized around Kondo. Despite the sci-fi aesthetic of the monitor, it was just displaying a character from a dating sim.

“And a Shigrey-chan figure on my desk...!”

Another screen suddenly emerged, displaying a beautiful girl staring at Kondo.

Commander Kondo, is that me...?

“W-Well...! Yes, it is...but I keep for strictly academic purposes!”

Kondo’s bliss however, was interrupted by a knock at the door. Kyon called from the hall, having brought him a late breakfast. “Mister Kondo? Breakfast time, hoppity.”

“N-No thanks...” Kondo stammered. “I’m going off on an expedition, and I need to progress the Holey Grail War.”

Kyon scoffed in indignation. “Then I’ll leave it right here outside your door... Hoppity.” She then left down the hall, her bunny ears bouncing along. While she was now acting as the mother of a troubled youth, she was the same age as Kondo. There was an astonishing contrast in character between a sixteen-year-old who did all sorts of jobs, from tending the fields to serving customers, and a sixteen-year-old who never left his room.

Momo, having watched the interaction from down the hall, kept staring at the closed door. “That guy’s still not coming out?”

“No... It’s like he never wants to leave his room.”

“Mister Shadow never brings in anyone normal.”

“I-I’m sure Kondo has some special powers, too...” Kyon muttered in defense of the Demon Lord.

Momo, however, was concerned with another thought. She had now witnessed quite a few of the Demon Lord’s unexplainable mystical constructions, but this glittering Golden Temple was the coup de grace; something so far beyond her understanding. “Maybe Mister Shadow really is the Fallen Angel.”

“Maybe...”

“Who else could have built these things?”

The mythical rebel, as Kyon and Momo imagined, must have been some higher being whose powers surpassed even that of the three angels worshiped in Holylight. However, even if the Demon Lord was technically the embodiment of evil, the two Bunnies saw him as a deity of fortune and prosperity. No one could argue with or explain the explosive evolution of Rabbi.

“And Mister Shadow said to expand the farms,” Momo said, adding to the stream of good news.

“No way!”

“Mister Shadow has an intimidating face, but never lies. Everything he says becomes reality.” Momo had muttered the exact same sentiment as the Madam. Morality aside, everything that came out of his mouth was beyond superhuman. Almost divine.

“Mister Shadow must be in disguise... I bet he transforms and stuff.”

“What?! Transforms how? Into what?! Does he have a real carrot?”

“No doubt.”

“Is it nutritious? How big is it?”

The Bunnies continued their enthusiastic conversation on their way out of the casino. The Madam passed them on her way into the ground-floor lobby, and while this was not her first visit to the Casino, she was overwhelmed nonetheless. Not even she had ever stepped into a building that came close to the glitz and glamor of this temple. She imagined that, if any construction came close to it, it must have existed back in the days of myth.

“The power of those above the clouds...” The Madam pictured clearly how she imagined the Fallen Angel Lucifer to be. This was only natural, after the Demon Lord had materialized such opulence from nothing. “Elevator, he called it... I wonder how this Magical Item operates.” The Madam had always struggled to climb steps due to her large stature. Now, all she had to do was step into the mysterious box and it would carry her stories upward at an astonishing speed. (Maybe these things were commonplace in ancient times...) As a woman with a taste for glamor, the Casino had ticked all of her boxes. She had astutely discerned the theme of the place (“A fleeting dream”) and had found beauty in its impermanence.

Penthouse authorization granted. Going up to the fourteenth floor.

With a mechanical hum, the box began gradually rising. The Madam’s imagination swelled, picturing the penthouse she had yet to visit. (The top floor of the temple... I wonder how the view is.) When the box came to a halt, its door opened with infuriating slowness, revealing a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, presenting an awe-inspiring view of the village.

“It’s been too long, Madam.” The Demon Lord turned from where he was standing by the wall of windows, stunning her. He was so perfectly matched for the grandness that the penthouse embodied. Of course, the Demon Lord had always seemed to carry gravitas and elegance with him, as long as he kept his mouth shut. Now, combined with the overwhelming sophistication of the room, he exuded an indescribable allure. “You’re even more beautiful than when I saw you last...”

Electrifying glee shot from the Madam’s head to her toes. She felt herself become warmer. Despite her best efforts, her breathing hastened. “Your praise brings me joy second to none, Mister Demon Lord.”

The Demon Lord wore a chivalrous smile. “Many a nemesis stands in the way of Beauty... But they have evidently run for the hills in the face of your hard work and self-improvement.” He gracefully led the Madam to the luxurious sofa. Beneath the façade of his confident and refined gesture, the Demon Lord was sweating bullets. (Who are you?! There’s not even a resemblance!) The Madam had lost much weight, and even her bones seemed to be thinning. Unbeknownst to the Demon Lord, the curse of an Ancient Devil that had plagued the Madam’s family for generations had been reduced to the brink of breaking. It was an enormously vengeful hex, but ultimately stood no chance before Akira Ono’s world. The Demon Lord comment was simply a statement of fact rather than flattery.

“I’ve heard of your achievements in the North...”

“I simply disposed of a cumbersome heap of metal.” The Demon Lord politely smiled as if to mask his shock about her appearance, but the Madam was almost as shocked as he was. A Mock Angel summoned by the Tzardom was the sort of threat that could turn the tide of an entire battle, far from a mere heap of metal.

The Madam tactfully guided the conversation away from his experiences on his adventure, saying, “Yu gave me something called a ‘toner’ the other day. It worked so wonderfully that we were fighting over a bottle of it at first... How embarrassing.”

The Demon Lord gave another polite chuckle. “I’ll make sure to prepare a larger variety of cosmetics in the future. Moisturizers, lotions, sunscreens, cleansers, foundations, lipstick, nail polish, perfumes... Oh, UV masks may become a popular offering, as well. I long to see women like you, Madam, remain ever strong and brilliantly beautiful.”

Every time the Demon Lord spoke, the Madam’s heart beat faster. She didn’t exactly comprehend what the items were that the Demon Lord had just listed, but she knew from experience that, without a doubt, they were all things that could have unimaginable effects. “H-How...exciting,” she said, very much aware of the fact that the Demon Lord never exaggerated, turning anything he said, no matter how unbelievable, into reality. Knowing that she would become stronger and more beautiful with the aid of his creations, the Madam looked positively delighted. “By the way, my sister has won the Resort Voucher at auction, just as you’ve planned.”

“Oh...?” The Demon Lord wondered for a moment what in the world she was talking about, then managed to recall a distant memory of him handing one to McBonald, as a sort of a bonus.

“She can be quite stubborn, so no amount of persuading from me convinced her to come. My silly little sister, with no idea that she’s playing right into your hands.” The Demon Lord let out a chuckle and turned his gaze downward, sipping his tea. The Madam saw a man with infinite wisdom and confidence, enveloped in solemnity. Even without taking his supernatural powers into consideration, the Demon Lord was plenty alluring to the Madam, and to many of the other ladies who visited the resort. In fact, a fair number of them secretly longed to spend their one night at the resort in the Demon Lord’s bed, creating a sort of buzz that could otherwise only be found during overnight school trips. Some of the ladies declared their preference for Tahara, and the young advisor who had most recently joined the Demon Lord’s roster was already gaining some admirers himself.

“Perhaps I’ll bring some younger girls sometime. I think they’ll be absolutely smitten by you and your advisors, Mister Demon Lord.”

“You flatter me, Madam.”

“And what will my sister think of the resort, not to mention this building...?” She shifted her gaze, as if to look into her past. Many years had passed since she and her sister had parted ways in a rather unamiable fashion. While they always kept an ear open for rumors of each other, they had seldom met face-to-face since. “Her faction may be low in numbers, but they make up for it in influence... I dare say her group is the most feared and respected group in all of Holylight.”

“The Connoisseurs, I believe they’re called.”

“Nobles are vain by nature. Not that I have any room to talk.”

“You’ve reconciled with the militaristic nobles?”

“I did. I can’t have our differences getting in your way, Mister Demon Lord.” This was the very reason that the Madam had put her pride aside and apologized in public, even sending reinforcements at a great cost to herself. At the end of the day, this was a testament to her political finesse. Somehow, despite the Demon Lord’s non-involvement, history was made by him that day.

“None of your affairs, Madam, will ever be in my way. I simply thought that the only ones who would benefit from infighting were our foreign enemies,” the Demon Lord explained, recalling his days in Japan. Parliament was filled with low-brow jeers and policies stuck in limbo. The Demon Lord had newfound respect for the Madam’s tenacity.

“I did send over supplies, but that’s far from a real fix. Weather’s quite unstable where the military nobles live, preventing them from growing crops in any substantial numbers.” There were limits to even the Madam’s resources. As long as their territory remained barren, they would always be stuck in poverty, relying on external aid. This predicament could be compared to the resource-based poverty crisis in modern Africa. The only permanent solution was to stimulate the local economy from the ground up through an influx of industry.

As the Madam pondered her conundrum, the Demon Lord simply stated, “Simple, really... They simply needed to be paid as the full-time military men that they are.” The Demon Lord lit a cigarette. By his logic, it was easier to hire them as professional soldiers than trying to do anything with their frigid wasteland. (Who are they, the tondenhei?) The Demon Lord thought of the troops tasked with defending and pioneering the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido in late 19^th century Japan. The concept of shoving the military into a plot of poor land and forcing them to live off of it and defend the country on top of that was utterly archaic. (The military has one job. To decimate the enemy. They shouldn’t waste their energy on anything else...) How could anyone expect everything and the kitchen sink from those soldiers? At the very least, the Demon Lord saw the military as an organization that deserved monetary pay, not a wasteland to survive off of. Even in feudal Japan, Oda Nobunaga had hired soldiers with coin, using them to exhaust his enemies by tirelessly attacking even during farming season. In the same manner, the current seasons of on-and-off combat in the Northern Nations would drastically change with the introduction of a full-time military.

“Mister Demon Lord, you’re going to...hire them all yourself?”

“To make a long story short, yes.”

“You’d need an exorbitant amount of coin to hire the entire military faction. You may be able to afford it for a short while, but—”

“It won’t last. Not with the income of the village of Rabbi as it stands. But if we were to gain control of a few lucrative mines, it would be a different story. Apparently, a certain noble felt brave enough to send a little cat burglar into the village.”

The Madam’s eyes widened as she correctly assumed whom the Demon Lord was talking about. Meanwhile, the Demon Lord thought of the map that Tahara had shown him, with a large red circle around a territory to the west. (They want to mess with us, so I’ll take some of their mines in return,) the Demon Lord decided, ready to take advantage of the fact that they were starting a fight with him. Of course, this was going to be a large-scale civil conflict.

“I see...” said the Madam. “That vile man is finally going to get what he deserves.”

“Courageously, they seem to be preparing for war. I have no choice but to defend my villagers,” the Demon Lord stated, as if it was a matter of fact. Of course, he had always accomplished whatever he set his mind to. After buying out the village to the east of Rabbi, he seemed to have no doubt in his mind when it came to expanding his territory. With an assumption that Tahara would take care of the gritty work, the Demon Lord was beaming with confidence. “If I may ask you of a favor, Madam. A simple one, really. I want you to spread a rumor among high society that I am positively outraged by whoever dared send that thief.”

“Th-Then Dona will put his guard up!” the Madam protested, inadvertently using the noble’s name.

The Demon Lord maintained his smile. “Exactly. I want him to put up the biggest guard he can muster. The more friends he can summon, the better. Saves me some time.”

“If you say so...” The Madam realized that the Demon Lord aimed to end it all at once in a single blow. She expected many territories to become lord-less that day. “But I wonder if he’ll go on the offensive once he hears the rumor.”

“For some reason, lesser men always obsess with fortifying their defenses when they learn of an impending attack. What is the point in defending oneself if they won’t even try to strike down the attacker?” Dona attacking him would be the best case scenario for the Demon Lord. Yu and Tahara had specialized skills for taking on larger groups, and no one could infiltrate the village undetected by Kondo’s eyes. “Enough of such unpleasant talk. May I offer you a glass of this? A gift from an acquaintance of mine.” The Demon Lord produced, of course, the bottle of Fire Spirit.

This wasn’t a drink that even the Madam could easily get her hands on. “Is that...Fire Spirit? Where did you...?!”

The Demon Lord chuckled. “I had the opportunity to get to know a dwarf and some Anima.”

“You really are...something else...” She smiled, taking the glass from him.

They raised a toast, both with pleasant smiles, and began chatting away about this and that: taking in the village to the east, the meeting between the Madam and White, the current gossip among nobles, some art pieces, the reputation of Rabbi... Each topic contained information worth piles of gold.

Having finished his glass of Fire Spirit, the Demon Lord concluded, “I plan to head north again soon. If I miss your sister, please give her my best regards.”

“Of course... It would be nice to have some sibling rivalry after all this time.” The thought of which apparently brought a grin to the Madam’s face.

The Demon Lord raised his glass to that.

After a job well done, he was enjoying a cigarette in the Forest of Restoration. As it was designed to heal any and all ailments, he began to feel calm just by being there. (I’d better take care of my errand up north sooner than later...) In search of a more potent defense against magic, he would have to face a more challenging dungeon than the last. When he thought about going, Aku flashed in his mind, looking at him like a dejected puppy dog. The Demon Lord frowned. (What’s wrong with me...? Why am I acting like I’m her dad?) No duration of contemplation gave him an answer.

“You really are a loner, aren’t you? What are you doing here all alone?” Luna called from behind him.

“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you over your glass house shattering.” The Demon Lord blew out a puff of smoke in exasperation, leaning back into a tree. The laborers must have been engaged in drink and merriment nearby, as a stream of laughter and music could be heard.

“Nice night...” Luna leaned back on the same trunk as him, gazing up at the sky. “This forest isn’t too shabby.” The tableau of the Demon Lord and a Holy Maiden standing back-to-back with a tree between them was certainly peculiar.

“There’ll be more facilities around the village soon.”

“I’m happy to hear that... But you’d better not build anything promiscuous.”

“Promiscuous, huh? Just to be clear, a vibrant nightlife includes clubs, cabarets, burlesque theaters, host clubs, and brothels, both male and female.”

“Brothels...?! Wh-Why would we need those?!”

“Certain desires can’t be controlled by law. People will always find a way. Restrictions on base desires will only create an underground society and line the pockets of criminals willing to take advantage of it. With that in mind, the government should back the industry, ensuring that businesses are safe and respectful of their workers.” Another deterrent for restricting these business was the expected rise in sex crimes. The Demon Lord was exercising a bit of foresight to prepare Luna for the reality of ruling Rabbi, which would have no room for an oversimplified sense of morality.

“You actually sound like you know what you’re talking about, sometimes... Usually you’re just drinking.”

“Alcohol has always evolved with humanity. As I recalled, by 4000 B.C.E.—”

“Ugh! Enough of your academy lectures! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re all alone. Can’t you come up with a more romantic topic of conversation?”

“Where’s the romance in a dark forest...?” the Demon Lord grumbled, puffing out smoke. Besides, while Luna hadn’t noticed, they were not the only ones in the forest.

“Just thought I’d...thank you.”

“For what?”

“For what you did up north, and for the village...”

“No need to thank me. I’m just doing it of my own accord. In fact, I should thank you.”

Luna turned around in surprise to face the dark silhouette of the Demon Lord.

“Without you, or this village, I would not have been able to build such a solid foundation,” the Demon Lord expressed genuinely. It wasn’t difficult for him to imagine that, as someone with such an inexplicable background, he could have ended up a wanted man. He might not have ended up in this position if it wasn’t for Luna’s title backing him up at every turn.

“R-Really...? That’s what’s been on your mind?”

“Mature adults think of these things. You’ll understand one day.”

“‘Mature’... Now don’t make me laugh,” Luna cheerfully mocked, poking the Demon Lord’s back with her finger... As if to recreate an old memory. “I have to say... You were pretty cool up there.”

“All I did was take out a hunk of metal,” the Demon Lord answered matter-of-factly.

At any other time, Luna might have barked back with a snippy retort. But not this time. “You know, I think I’m in love with you...”

“What?” This shook the Demon Lord enough to make him turn around, but Luna was fast walking away through the trees.

“You’ve shot through the heart of the most elegant princess in the world,” she called, “so you’d better not disappoint me!”

“Hey, wait a minute...” the Demon Lord muttered, as Luna left the forest. Then, looking rather awkward, he called to one still standing in the woods, “When are you going to show yourself?”

“I-I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to—I didn’t expect things to...” Eagle emerged from behind a tree, mumbling apologetically. The Demon Lord sighed. She clearly hadn’t expected their conversation to go this way. Her cheeks were as red as if she had just made a declaration of love herself. “Wh-What are you going to... How are you going to respond?”

“Is that what you wanted to ask me? Surely there was some other reason why you came to see me.”

“Um, yes... But the shock of, um, what just happened, must have knocked it out of me...”

“That’s quite a pickle...” The Demon Lord lit a new cigarette. He certainly hadn’t expected to take part in a scene straight out of a teen romance movie, but had a good guess as to why Eagle wanted to see him. “Let me guess. You wanted to ask if you could keep staying in the village.”

“Th-That’s right...”

“Let me give it to you straight. There’s no problem at all for you to be here.”

“How can you be so sure...?” Eagle said, staring down at her feet. She might have been regretting not seeking advice from someone else.

“If you ever leave, Luna will forcibly bring you back here. It’s pointless.”

“B-But...”

“It’s up to you to feel grateful or annoyed to have a friend like her. That being said...”

“Yes...?”

“It’s not easy to find a true friend. Nor is it easy to lose one.” Friends came and went with age and changes in environment, but there were friendships that remained through it all. The Demon Lord seemed to think that Eagle and Luna’s was one of them. “You haven’t seen her in a long time, right? Try smiling for a change. It’s really annoying to see your pouting face 24/7.” The Demon Lord grabbed Eagle’s cheeks and pinched them into a forced smile. His reaction might have had something to do with the fact that Eagle witnessed the embarrassing interaction between him and Luna.

“Y-You can’t just force me to smile...” Eagle said through her pinched face.

“No one really likes a damsel in distress. Besides, aren’t you a hawk? Why do you go by Eagle?”

Eagle wriggled away from the Demon Lord’s grasp, and caught her breath with her hand on her chest. “Legend has it, hawk-hybrids once soared the skies with the Ember Angel...”

“Legend, huh? And?”

“That invited the devils’ wrath... Until they were hunted to extinction.”

“I see, so you chose to go by a different species.”

“I’ve heard that Eagle-hybrids were pushed to the brink of extinction, too, since they were similar. The other Anima considered them a cursed race that attracted devils...”

The Demon Lord let out a long sigh, now that Eagle had confirmed her tragic backstory that set her up perfectly as the damsel in distress. “Well, I get it now... I won’t force you to smile, but if you stick around this village, you’ll eventually remember how to smile again.” The Demon Lord chuckled as his own words reminded him of Zero. This thought made his gaze more kind, somehow. “Whether your race is cursed or not, you do have a good friend. I’ll take after Luna’s example and won’t accept no for an answer. Even from the god that may rule this world.” With that, the Demon Lord walked away.

Eagle was left watching him, speechless. Once more, the Demon Lord seemed full of strength and confidence, ready to force all of the laws and unfairness of the world to bend to his will. (You fell in love with an incredible man, Luna... You’ve got your work cut out for you...) Eagle nearly felt dizzy putting herself in Luna’s shoes, who had climbed the ranks of society from orphan to Holy Maiden, and had now professed her love for an entity straight out of mythology. If she wanted to stand by Luna on equal footing, Eagle thought, she would have to learn to be dauntless, even in the face of a god. For the time being, she simply gazed up at the night sky, intimidated by the entire prospect.