The day for the feast finally came.
Though I had been referring to it as a feast, it was by no means an ordinary dining party. With all of the Demon Lords that aided in the mission to rescue Marcho—namely [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, [TIme] Demon Lord Dantalian, and [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas—coming to attend, it was an a.s.sembly of very important Demon Lords.
Furthermore, it was also the day where I was going to part with Felsias and Rozelitte. So, although I was excited for the arrival of this day, I also dreaded it.
At any rate, I was currently outside of my residence.
"Master, will you be sad when I"m gone?"
Fel pulled on my sleeve and asked me so.
Upon hearing her question, I didn"t need to think twice. So, I squatted down, looked her in the eye, and told her my answer.
"Of course, I"ll be lonely. I"ve grown to love you, after all."
She was undoubtedly capable. Not only that, she had grown very close with me, Kuina, and the others too.
"I"m so glad that master likes me. But then, if you really do like me, then why… oh, never mind."
She began saying something but then stopped midway.
My guess was that she wanted me to make her stay, or at least try. However, I would not do that; much like myself if I ever were parted from Kuina and the others, the [Time] Demon Lord would definitely also be lonely without Fel. In fact, if I were in the situation where the other Demon Lord refuses to return my monster, I don"t doubt that I would kill that Demon Lord.
…but then again, I would also kill if something like what I did to Fel was done to my girls. I really have to apologize sincerely.
"I"ve thought of doing that but in consideration for your happiness, I"ve decided against it."
Without holding back, I patted the teary eyed Fel.
"Ohh, I love you too, master!"
With a certain sparkle in her eyes, Fel smiled and said so.
I"m glad she"s so honest.
"Oh my, how about me?"
The angel-type monster Rozelitte teasingly asked so.
"I"m very grateful to you too for your service on the last campaign, of course."
Working in the background, she supported us greatly. Without her powers, that campaign would have most likely been much harder.
"I"m afraid your words wouldn"t be enough though. I want a reward. The [Time] Demon Lord"s monster has gotten various rewards already so isn"t it only proper that I too receive a special reward?"
"Name it. So long as I can grant it, it shall be done."
I was sure that it was only my imagination but for a moment, I thought that Rozelitte put emphasis on various rewards.
At any rate, it was as she said. While she did receive the rewards given to all the other monsters—like money to buy things in the city and such—beyond that, she hasn"t received any.
Considering that she was sent here from [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas"s side, some kind of special reward was a given.
Upon hearing me, Rozelitte drew close and whispered something in my ear.
"I want you to kiss Stolas-sama. That will be more than enough."
Fel, who was still nearby, leaned in to eavesdrop but it didn"t seem like she heard anything.
"Wouldn"t that make her angry?"
"Most probably."
"Hey."
Does she enjoy purposefully making her master angry?
"But that"ll be just to hide her embarra.s.sment. She might act like she"s angry but I"m sure she"ll be glad that you did something like that. She"s that kind of girl, after all. So for that reason, please do this. Or is it that the [Creation] Demon Lord is the kind of Demon Lord that breaks his word?"
"I said as long as I can grant it."
"Yeah, but my, around you, that girl always lets her guard down. So I"m sure you can do it. Anyway, I"ll take my leave here; I still have to buy everyone back home their souvenirs. This city"s got a lot of wonderful things that it"s so hard to choose which to get."
Rozelitte then flapped her wings and left. But not before reminding me to keep to our agreement.
What a headache.
Rozelitte probably thought of Stolas as her younger sister. Even then though, she was too caring.
"Master, are you in trouble?"
"Just a bit."
"I might be able to do something!"
Fel proudly said so. In reaction to that, I smiled wryly and then patted her on the head.
"It"s alright; I"ll manage somehow. More importantly, Fel, don"t you have some preparations to do? You have to look as cute as you could."
"Okay! Look forward to seeing an even cuter Fel!"
After saying so, Fel went into my residence.
At the moment, my [Monsters of the Covenant] and Marcho were busy prettying themselves up with make-up and with the clothes of the city"s best designers.
Such a thing was also provided by the Curtrude Company—the one led by Conanna. It might have been trivial but it showed their attention to detail.
It wasn"t often that the girls dressed up so as a father, I looked forward to seeing what they would look like all dolled up.
Also, to not waste the chance, it was decided that Fel and Rozelitte be also included in the service. As for why they were outside, Rozelitte had finished ahead of the others so she went out already whereas Fel simply got bored and decided to slip out.
"Are they here?"
When I looked up in the sky, I saw a dragon that was gigantic even though it was still far. On its back was a single person.
Okay, let"s go meet them.
With such thoughts, I headed toward the city"s gate.
◇
As soon as I arrived at the gate, a gigantic, white-bodied dragon clad with a golden, divine aura landed.
It had an appearance of a dragon from the west but even then, the power it held was enormous.
I wouldn"t have been surprised if it was truly the strongest dragon. Such was probably the [Dragon] Demon Lord"s trump card.
It was unbelievable that such a dragon was used for just transportation.
"[Creation] Demon Lord, you"re here. Ohh, it doesn"t seem you were faking it; it looks like you"re really the man I thought you to be."
I heard such things followed by loud laughter, kakaka.
When I looked up, I saw [Dragon] Demon Lord Astoroth looking down on me from the top of the dragon.
His appearance was that of an aged man with a st.u.r.dy body. Though he looked like it, he didn"t feel old at all. He exuded such presence and drive that I couldn"t possibly match.
My body was telling me to kneel and although I resisted, it was just barely.
"Welcome. We have prepared a reception for you so please follow me this way."
"Hmm… wait. Another person is coming. It would be a waste of effort for you to do your welcome all over again so let"s just wait for a while."
Astaroth then turned around. When I looked at that direction, I saw that s.p.a.ce was being distorted. What then greeted my eyes were three individuals.
The first one was a handsome, graceful, aristocratic young man. It was the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian. He was dressed in even better clothes than when I saw him last.
The second one was a monster. It was a Qilin that had flames for its mane. It was the commanding officer of [Time] Demon Lord"s boasted elite shock troops, the [Chronos Knights]. I had met this nightmarish monster before when the [Time] Demon Lord wanted to test me in a game he devisedLN Volume 2. In that game, this monster had managed to pressure Aura. Aura somehow pulled a win in the end but then again, that monster didn"t use its powers over [Time]. Even now, I was only 50% sure my Monsters of the Covenant could win against such a fiend.
The third was another monster but it appeared like an old man whose back was bent forward. It was my first time to encounter this monster but I knew then and there that this one was an incredibly strong monster. Perhaps it could even rival Teflare, the flame-maned Qilin. I was even confident to bet that this monster was one of [Time] Demon Lord"s [Monsters of the Covenant].
"Ohh. It"s rare for the always-perfectly-on-time Dan to arrive way earlier than the appointed time. Could there be something you"re worried of?"
The [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth affectionately referred to the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian as simply Dan.
"Don"t call me by that name. We"ve long since parted ways."
"You"re the only one that says that. I surely don"t think so. At any rate, for you to bring such companions to a simple feast, I see that your compet.i.tiveness hasn"t changed."
"Ast—you misunderstand. It"s not that I brought these guys but rather these guys insisted on coming."
The [Time] Demon Lord covered his eyes with his right hand and then sighed. When he did so, both the Qilin and the old man then began to speak.
"How dare you s.n.a.t.c.h away the princess? If you ever did anything awful to her, do not expect mercy."
"Has Fel said anything about her grandpa? Like missing me, wanting to take a nap with me, or wanting to have some of my sweets?"
What the heck are these guys? Did they come here today just to reunite with Fel a little bit sooner?
"[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian-sama, you have my sympathies."
"I appreciate it. However, don"t misunderstand that I never listen to their wishes just because they"re a handful; especially since I share their worries. So, if something did happen to Fel… you"re dead."
He said so while looking at me with eyes so cold, it could freeze one"s soul.
Nope, can"t say it. Definitely can"t say that I almost made her unable to marry anymore.
"At any rate, this way please."
"Hmm, yeah. This looks like it"ll be a lengthy talk and I"ll much prefer to do it sitting down."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord remarked so and then put the monster he rode to get here into his [Storage].
Upon doing so, the figure of a girl appeared. She was probably hidden by the ma.s.sive dragon"s body.
"Stolas, I"m so glad you came."
"I didn"t come for you, just so you know. It"s just that Rozelitte wrote in a letter that this was a good city and that got me intrigued."
Stolas was the same as ever.
If there was anyone around me that had mastered the one true way of being a tsundere, it was her.
For today, she had put in more effort in looking prettier—wearing slight make-up to complement her beautiful black dress as well as wearing a necklace I hadn"t seen before—and it worked; she was fascinating.
"Still, thank you for coming. I have wanted to see you after all."
"…! Just focus on guiding us as the host, please."
Stolas extended her hand as though suggesting that I grab it. When I did so, I thought up of something good.
If I do this, I"ll be able to grant Rozelitte"s request.
"With pleasure, young miss. I"ll guide you with all my heart."
While saying so, I knelt down before her and then kissed the back of her hand.
In reaction, even the tips of her ears went bright red.
"Y, yeah, thank you; I"ll be in your care."
For some reason, while averting her eyes, she said so in a formal way.
As I thought, it"s fun to have her around. I want us to be better friends.
"[Creation] Demon Lord, will you do that to me too?"
The [Dragon] Demon Lord asked so with a straight face.
"…you want me to do that to you…?"
"I"m just kidding!"
He said so and followed it with a laugh, Gahaha!
To which I thought: I still can"t figure out this person.
◇
For today"s feast, a whole restaurant was reserved. It was a restaurant whose main target clientele were merchants and first-cla.s.s adventurers.
However, for us Demon Lords to talk properly, having no humans to interfere was the better choice.
Regularly, there would be a very talented pianist that would perform songs—as dictated by the current atmosphere or by requests—in this place but for today, instead of such, we had R"lyeh Diva, the otherworld songstress.
It seemed she was talented not only in singing but all things sound-related. With her singing to her own piano accompaniment, I was sure the mood in the place would be even better.
And so, she began her performance. It was a calming melody that made me think of the sea.
"Ohh, this seems like a good store."
"I see you"ve prepared at least the minimum to receive us."
[Dragon] and [Time] seemed pleased.
Stolas, meanwhile, was still holding my hand even though we had reached our destination. Needless to say, not being able to freely use my hand was a tad inconvenient.
Perhaps, if I suggested it, she"ll happily agree to a tour to even the remotest shops in the city.
"Procell, when are they going to get here?"
Some irritation in his voice, the [Time] Demon Lord asked so.
Such irritation was rare for him, considering that he was usually so calm.
"They"ll be here soon. I guess it"s just taking them time to prepare."
"I see. …by the way, Procell, stop being so formal with me. I have recognized you as an equal and thus lent a hand last time. So, hearing you all formal just feels more like you"re mocking me."
"I understand-I mean, okay. And if you don"t mind, I"ll call you Dan from now on."
Upon hearing my reply, he gagged vehemently and then, after a while, he began laughing out loud.
Even his two monsters were surprised as they looked at him.
"Fuhaha, geez. As I thought, I just can"t seem to like you but then, I don"t dislike you either."
"What"s this? When have you two become so close? Well then, stop being so formal to me too. But don"t go overboard; you still have to respect me as the father-in-law."
"Astaroth-sama, what are you talking about?"
Stolas went bright red once again as she retorted so. By the way, she finally let go of my hand.
At any rate, the real, scheduled time was drawing near.
And just when I thought of that, the door opened.
What it revealed was the figure of six beautiful girls: my three [Monsters of the Covenant]; Rozelitte, the monster lent to me by Stolas; Felsias, the [Time] Demon Lord"s daughter; and lastly, Marchosias, the [Beast] Demon Lord who was reborn to be my monster.
Each wore clothes, make-up, and accessories that would draw out their best charms.
Upon seeing them, Dantalian"s eyes were wide open. And with a dumb expression on his face, he remarked:
"It"s a most beautiful sight"
With all the actors on stage, let the feast commence.
Note:
The event with Teflare refers to the bonus chapter of the 2nd volume of the LN. I haven’t read it completely since the vertical arrangement of the characters confuses me greatly.
Anyway, to summarize, the day after Procell received the letter to meet up with the three Demon Lords, he was summoned by Dantalian to be in a game. And the game was a one on one to see if Procell was worthy of Dantalian’s attention and his favors(like the permission for Procell to build his dungeon so close to Dantalian’s). It was done in a coliseum that turns back time, like in the first volume. Without the Creator’s aid however, it’s very limited and hence only a 1vs1. After Aura volunteered to be tribute, I stopped reading. Maybe in the future I’ll do a proper translation along with the other bonus chapters. For now, I’d like to focus on the WN.
A couple of other points:
- The Chronos Knights are composed of twelve members instead of twenty. I don’t know whether the raw was just edited or if I’m just dumb to make that mistake (probably the latter) but whichever it was, volume 5 chapter 13 has been updated. Makes more sense to have twelve members too, what with the time theme and all.
- The Demon Lord that Dantalian’s supposed to caring for (like Procell for Marcho) has apparently been discarded because he/she was incompetent and Dantalian has no patience for incompetence.