Chapter Five: The Demon Lord Makes For the Capital

The group of six boarded a large black ship. Its long, narrow hull arched upward at both ends, giving it a banana-like shape. The captain steered the ship from his cabin housed at the stern of the main deck, while the crew kept an eye on the waters from the bow. Five sails bulged in the wind, and the majestic ship set sail, cutting through the vast sea under the bright midday sun.

“So faaast!”

“This thing can really move!”

The girls excitedly watched as they sailed the sea. It was the same sea they had been looking at earlier in the day, but seeing it as they leaned over the side of a ship was a completely different experience. The water had seemed quite calm from the lighthouse, but the small waves packed quite a punch, ruthlessly bashing against the ship to make it rock back and forth. The rocking wasn’t anything special on its own, but combined with the cold, salty sea breeze passing by them, it was the perfect recipe for setting off on a grand adventure.

“Impressive,” Anima murmured as he watched the port town get smaller and smaller.

Next to him, Luina was watching over the girls while holding her long hair back to keep it from blowing into her face. Suddenly, she looked up and pointed into the distance.

“Girls, look.”

She directed their attention to a cliffside with a white lighthouse at the top—the very lighthouse they had climbed just a couple of hours earlier. It had seemed massive from up close, but it looked like an oddly-colored pole sticking out of the ground from a distance.

“Bye-bye, lihhouse!”

Marie waved goodbye to the lighthouse. The moment she took her hands off the ship’s gunwale, a strong gust of wind pushed her small body up against it.

“Whoa!” Anima quickly grabbed her, lifting her into his arms, then slowly put her back down.

“Man, we got so far already! At this rate, we’ll be at the next stop in a flash!” Myuke excitedly noted, keeping her eyes on the barely-visible lighthouse.

“Wheressa ness top?”

“It’s the capital, Marie.”

“The capital, huh…”

The adventurous smile faded from Myuke’s face. She must have realized that their fun trip was coming to an end. Her saddened expression was proof of how much she loved their journey. Hoping to cheer her up, Anima gently placed his hand on her head and turned to her with a big smile.

“What do you want to do first once we arrive?”

Her smile returned, wider than before. That brief moment of sadness had quickly become a thing of the past.

“I wanna play at the beach!”

“Me too! Me toooo!”

“That’s that, then. Our first trip will be to the beach.” The girls looked toward their destination with excited smiles, their minds full of all the fun things waiting for them at the beach. “Shaer, when will we arrive at the capital?”

“The capital city is rather close to the port, so I believe we should arrive just before sunset. With that in mind, as it’s dangerous to swim in the dark, I’d advise that you hold off on going to the beach until tomorrow.”

“Is our audience with the king tomorrow as well?”

Shaer nodded.

“His Majesty is intrigued by the prospect of hearing your story. He’d like to meet you as soon as possible, so I arranged the meeting for tomorrow.”

Shaer had already relayed the necessary information to the king, and had arranged an audience with him for the next day. With the battle to protect his family’s peaceful life quickly approaching, Anima, for the first time in ages, started to feel nervous. To calm his nerves, he wanted to play with the girls on the beach before their meeting. Shaer agreed to his proposal.

“By the way,” she added with a warm smile, “wouldn’t it be better to move to our cabins? The deck is getting rather cold.”

“We can’t play on the beach if we’re bedridden,” Luina agreed, nodding.

“Good point. Why don’t we go inside?”

As the winds of a new adventure—exploring their cabins—reached the girls’ ears, they excitedly turned around from watching the waves pass by and joined the adults.

“Room! Where my room?”

“We got the most expensive room, right? Can’t wait to see what it’s like!”

“Let’s get going, m’kay?”

The childish voice that had chimed in from Anima’s side belonged to Bram, whose long hair, split into pigtails, fluttered in the wind. She clung to Anima’s arm as she spoke, a bold display of affection that wasn’t going to fly. Not in front of Myuke, who shot a huffing glare at her.

“What are you getting all excited for?”

“Anima paid for my ticket. That includes the room, m’kay?”

“I only paid for the ticket; Shaer covered your room.”

Anima wanted to give credit where it was due, especially given how much Shaer had done to ensure that the family would enjoy their trip to the capital. First-class cabins were private, while second-class ones were shared spaces with multiple beds, requiring their residents to interact with other passengers. The girls were having fun just riding the ferry, so the specific room didn’t matter to them whatsoever, but Shaer had gone the extra mile and booked them and their parents first-class rooms.

“Hear that? You get to go enjoy hanging out with the other passengers in second-class!”

“Nooo! I wanna be with Anima, m’kay?”

“How about you let go of Daddy?!”

Myuke only got more annoyed at the sight of Bram’s lovestruck smile. She absolutely despised the girl who had proclaimed herself Anima’s wife, even if she knew such a thing was completely preposterous. Still, the anger Myuke felt toward someone trying to tear her precious family apart was far from abnormal. Bram, on the other hand, must have felt that Myuke was the biggest hurdle in winning Anima’s heart.

“NO FIGHT!”

Marie’s ear-splitting scream froze the girls on the spot. They stopped pulling on Anima’s arms, and their vicious glares were washed over by a shadow of guilt. Once they’d all finally settled down, they headed for the stairs leading to the interior of the ship.

The inside was split into three floors: the top housed the crew alongside the first-class passengers, the middle was equipped for second-class passengers, and the lowest was used for storage. The middle and lower floors had no windows, as they were close to the waterline and presented a flooding risk. Without a magic stone to light the lamps dotting either floor, they were pitch black. The top floor was the only one far enough from the waterline to allow for small, round windows.

Anima and his family’s cabin was at the stern of the uppermost floor, situated directly below the captain’s cabin. Thanks to its location at the very back of the ship, it was the most spacious and well-equipped room onboard. A window on one of the walls allowed sunlight to seep into their cabin, keeping it lit up for when they entered.

“Sea! I see the sea! Mommy, look! Sea!”

Marie rushed up to the window and stretched herself out to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

“Look, a bunk bed! I was just thinking I wanted to take a nap!”

“I want up!”

Marie’s love for her sister was stronger than her appreciation for the scenery, as her attention immediately shifted to the bed. She followed Myuke up the ladder, and they both laid down on the top bunk.

Besides the bed, the cabin also came equipped with two chairs that more than suited a first-class room. Anima set his bag down in a corner of the room and sat down on one of the chairs. Following his lead, Luina sat across him.

“It’s a little cramped with so many people in here.” Myuke shared her opinion from the top of the bed. The cabin was relatively big for what it was, but they’d crammed six people into the room. It was bound to be rather snug with that many people, even in the ship’s largest room. “Though only because of that pesky sixth wheel.”

Shaer hung her head after Myuke’s comment.

“I’m terribly sorry for disturbing your idyllic family trip. I’ll take my leave…” Shaer said dejectedly, hanging her head. It sent Myuke into a panic.

“N-No, no, I didn’t mean you!”

“I, I love you thiiis much!”

Marie’s kind words put a delighted smile on Shaer’s face.

“Thank you, that means a lot. However, I truly don’t want to intrude on your private time. Henceforth, I would like to hear of the crimes this girl committed on the bridge. If I find her explanation reasonable, I shall take my leave.”

She’d let Bram off the hook once, but she couldn’t allow herself that luxury while they were making their way to the capital. Normally, Bram’s actions would have given her a one-way ticket to prison, but she was a special case considering her age. The judge presiding over her case was the king himself, and the decision was ultimately up to him, but Shaer wanted to understand the circumstances that had led her to that bridge to see if they could be used to help her avoid doing time.

“I didn’t commit any crimes, m’kay?” Bram stated, confident in her innocence.

“You blocked the bridge for weeks.”

“I would always let women and children through! And I was gonna let the men through after I fought them! It’s not my fault they ran back home to their mommies, m’kay?”

“What did you expect?” Myuke rebuked. “A huge dragon asking people to fight it if they wanted to cross the bridge would scare anyone.”

Bram was being talked down to, both figuratively and literally. Her anger began to boil over, and she erupted at Myuke.

“What do you gotta butt in for?! Like you could ever understand how I feel when you’ve got a sturdy dad! Don’t put me in the same boat as you, m’kay?!”

“Daddy is sturdy, but that doesn’t have to do with anything!”

“It does! It has to do with everything! My parents were weak! They were super weak… m’kay…?”

Bram’s heart-wrenching scream immediately silenced Myuke. Anima, who’d been listening silently to their spat, gave her the warmest look he could muster.

“Bram, are you all alone?” he asked, making sure to choose his words very carefully.

Large tears began streaming down her face. She clutched into the hem of her skirt and slowly opened her mouth.

“Mom and Dad passed away. They left me behind. They were weak… Mom’s been gone since… I don’t even know how long ago, and Dad left just a year ago… m’kay?”

“I see.” Anima gently stroked Bram’s head to comfort her, sliding his hand down her long, fluffy hair. “It must have been hard for you.”

She nodded deeply. Longing for warmth, she then looked up at Anima and grabbed his hand.

“That’s why I want a family, m’kay? Someone who won’t die, and…”

Anima was all too familiar with the crushing pain of loneliness. But unlike him, who was ostracized by his family, the deep pain Bram felt seemed to have been because she’d been treasured by hers. He had no way to conceptualize her pain—the pain of being pushed from the warm embrace of happiness and into the dark pit of suffering, where her tiny body was torn apart by insurmountable grief.

In the year since she’d lost her father, she’d had no one to rely on. There was no one to praise her, no one to hold her, no one to love her; her days were filled only with darkness and pain. That was why she was looking for a family that would outlive her, because she didn’t want to relive the pain of losing the ones she held dear. In order to find that family, she’d set up shop on the bridge and patiently waited for the person she’d dreamt of to arrive. It was a reckless method, but she had become unable to bear the weight of being alone.

“Mm, so that’s why you asked if I have any chronic diseases,” Anima murmured. It all finally made sense to him.

Bram nodded once more, then looked up at Anima again. A glint of hope flashed in her wet eyes as she put on a delighted smile.

“I never expected to find someone like you, Anima! You’re healthy as an ox, sturdy as a rock, and stronger than anyone I’ve ever met! You exceeded all my expectations, m’kay?”

It might have been a bit boastful of him, but Anima knew that very few people, if anyone at all, could compete with his strength. Moreover, his sturdiness would guarantee that if they were to get married, she would never have to suffer the pain of being alone again. He must have been the light that would finally release Bram from the darkness that was her eternal prison of loneliness. She had finally found someone she could spend the rest of her life with in peace.

Anima understood what she was feeling—at least to an extent—and wanted to help her overcome her grief. If he could, he wanted to eliminate loneliness from the lives of children. Even so…

“I can’t be your husband.”

Giving her no room for debate, he turned Bram down. The glimmer immediately faded from her eyes.

“At least tell me why, m’kay?”

“It’s because there’s only one woman I’ll ever love, and that’s Luina.” Her eyes popped wide open as she just woke up from a sweet dream, and filled with darkness. She covered her face with her hands and slowly slid them down, but Anima flashed a gentle smile. “Now, while I can’t be your husband, what I could be is your father.”

Bram slowly looked up.

“My father…? M’kay…” Bram asked, slowly turning her eyes upward.

“Yes, your father. You said you want a family, right? In other words, you aren’t necessarily looking for a husband. Am I mistaken?”

She slowly shook her head.

“Y-You’re not wrong, but… I would be living with you forever, m’kay? Would that be a problem?”

“Not at all. What do you think?”

He looked at Luina, who answered with a warm smile.

“We were always a large family, so I’m used to a lively household. We’d love for you to be a part of that, if it’s something you want as well.”

All the kind, warm gazes set on her put a happy, genuine smile on Bram’s face.

“You lib with us?”

“I’d love to, but… You’d better be sure about this, m’kay?”

“Uh-huh!” Marie answered with a bright smile. “I like fends to pay with!”

Bram’s entire face radiated joy.

“I’m so happy! But I need you to be okay with this too, m’kay?”

Filled with hope, she looked at Myuke, who huffed timidly at her.

“If you don’t work, you don’t eat! Drill that into your stupid head!”

“Don’t you worry, Shorty! I’ll work and eat more than you, m’kay?”

“Don’t call me ‘Shorty’! I’m older than you, so you’d better show me some respect! Just use my name, got it?!”

“Gotcha! I appreciate it a ton, m’kay?”

“You can call me ‘Mommy’.”

“I will! Thank you, Mommy, m’kay?”

“And I like being called ‘Daddy’.”

Anima’s desire to hear Bram say the magic word was practically audible in his voice. He was excited for the moment she would say it, but her face betrayed her unease.

“I… wanna save that for later, m’kay?”

A long time had passed since she’d lost her mother, but her father had only been gone for a year. It was no wonder she was hesitant to call Anima ‘Daddy’.

Anima wanted to get her approval as a father, but he couldn’t ignore her feelings. Instead of pressuring her into it, raising her with love and care like he did Myuke and Marie seemed like a much better option. There was no reason for her to rush; when the time finally came, she would surely say that magic word on her own.

“Don’t feel like you have to call me that. Take it slow, and only do it when you’re ready.” Bram nodded. The beautiful smile from finally having her wish come true still hadn’t faded from her curiously pale face. “…Are you okay?”

She put her hands in front of her mouth.

“I-I finally had the chance to catch my breath, and now I’m feeling sick, m’kay…?”

“You must be getting seasick. Here, lie down.”

Bram looked at Anima and Luina with a pleading gaze.

“I’d like to sleep with you, if that’s okay, m’kay…?”

“Of course it is,” Luina said with a smile.

“That’s just fine.”

Other options had never existed. Both Anima and Luina loved fulfilling their children’s wishes. They lay down on either side of the bed, letting Bram take the middle. Conversely, Shaer, satisfied with Bram’s reasoning and the outcome of the resulting discussion, took her leave.

“It’s so warm, m’kay…?”