Arifureta : King Of Demons

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A Room in the Royal Palace of the Demon Kingdom Garland

In a certain room within the Royal Palace of the Demon Kingdom Garland, the sun rose from the eastern sky, its light piercing through a gap in the curtains like a wedge. On the bed, a round, bulging futon stirred. As the futon was thrown back, the person's golden hair shone beautifully, bathed in the morning sunlight.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the girl—Aletia—let out a big yawn, then unsteadily stood up and opened the window. A pleasant breeze and warm morning sun enveloped her as she stretched, letting out a satisfied "Mmm."

"…Mm, another good morning."

It had been a little over a week since Ehit and Alv were eliminated by Aldias. Aletia had moved her residence to a room in the royal palace. Until then, Aletia had lived on the outskirts of the Demon Kingdom Garland to hide from Alv, but since that was no longer necessary, she had received permission from Aldias to change her residence to a room in the royal palace.

The fully awakened Aletia immediately began to act. Since moving to the palace, the first place she went after waking up was always the same.

Though the sun had just risen and it was still early, Aldias was already in his office, diligently carrying out his duties. He had a mountain of tasks: managing the nation's administration, reviewing feedback from the populace, and consequently revising laws. Furthermore, in preparation for invasions into the Empire and Kingdom, he needed to confirm Freed's compiled troop formation lists, select invasion routes, secure provisions for all soldiers, and review his own country's security during the invasion.

Aldias handled these tasks with practiced ease. After working in silence for a while, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Aldias granted entry without checking who it was. Since she had been coming almost every day for the past week, he likely knew who it was without needing to confirm. The door opened with a click, and as Aldias had expected, Aletia stood there.

"Is work going smoothly?"

"More or less. When preparing for a full-scale invasion, it's always best to be thoroughly prepared."

"…I see."

Hearing Aldias's not-bad reply, Aletia nodded once, then slowly sidled up to Aldias, wrapping her arms around his and looking up at him with upturned eyes. Her graceful appearance, combined with her intentional charm, possessed an irresistible allure that would instantly captivate any man. She knew this and deliberately displayed it.

During her time hiding from the gods, she had spent hours reading romance novels, and she had become completely engrossed. A seasoned romantic woman in one of these novels had spoken of a sure-fire move to win over any man. The novel described pressing one's chest against him naturally and showing cleavage, but unfortunately, she had no cleavage to show. Even so, Aletia felt it was her best effort.

(It's decided…!)

Aletia inwardly pumped her fist, but then—

"…Ah, do you want blood? All right."

Aldias had been staring at Aletia intently, but after a moment, he seemed to understand and displayed an expression of satisfaction, exposing his neck to Aletia.

"…? What's wrong? Aren't you going to drink?"

"…I'll drink."

No. Yes, but no. Aletia thought so from the bottom of her heart.

Aletia walked alone down a long corridor in the royal palace. Her skin seemed even more radiant than before. Although Aletia felt fully satisfied after receiving blood directly from Aldias, her face clearly showed dissatisfaction.

What happened this morning was nothing unusual. Aletia harbored romantic feelings for Aldias. However, despite Aletia's direct attacks, Aldias remained completely oblivious to her feelings. This wasn't because Aldias was exceptionally dense. On the contrary, Aldias was quite astute when it came to reading people's emotions. It was a necessary talent for a king to discern even the slightest changes in his subjects' expressions.

The emotions directed at Aldias in this country included expectation, gratitude, respect, and indeed, affection. He was certainly aware that the maids serving in the royal palace and women in the city harbored such feelings for him. As the head of a nation, leaving descendants could even be considered a king's duty. However, precisely because of this, it wasn't something to be decided lightly, and above all, he had no room to consider such matters amidst preparations for slaying the gods and the war with the human race.

So, why was it that Aldias, despite his perceptiveness, remained oblivious only to Aletia's feelings? The conclusion was that the cause lay with Aletia herself.

Eight years ago, Aletia was freed from her seal in the abyss by Aldias. Those who knew this might assume that this event sparked her affection for Aldias. However, the truth was different. Aletia's explicit romantic feelings for Aldias began about four years ago.

The classic story pattern, imagined by every young girl, where a prince comes to rescue a kidnapped princess and they fall in love, was no exception for Aletia. The dream she held onto, even in despair, was that she would one day fall in love with the one who came to save her. And though Aletia herself wasn't aware of it, after about 300 years of being sealed, that day finally arrived... but she never expected a boy younger than her appearance to appear.

Could an adult woman harbor romantic feelings for a child, someone significantly younger, perhaps only 10 years old? Frankly, the answer was no. If he had been five years older, it might have been a different story, but she wasn't a perverted shotacon who could harbor such feelings for a boy who hadn't even reached puberty. If anyone were to say, "I can do it, it's a bonus even," Aletia was confident she'd unleash her "Scarlet Spear" with full force.

When they first met, he wasn't her intended love interest. So, what was Aldias to Aletia at that time? He was a "younger brother." Originally an only child, Aletia had always yearned for siblings, often begging her parents for a younger brother or sister when she was little. Perhaps as a reaction to this, she treated the young Aldias like an older sister.

Furthermore, the fact that Aldias, like her, possessed a deep curiosity about magic was a contributing factor. Before she became the princess of the Vampire Clan, if she tried to tell stories to the young children in the city, they would all run away. But Aldias, far from running, leaned forward and listened intently.

From then on, she would sneak into Aldias's bath or slip into his bed when he slept, but there was no recognition of him as a member of the opposite sex; these were all actions taken as an older sister doting on her younger brother. While Aldias was initially a little confused, he allowed her to do as she pleased, thinking she must be lonely from being alone for so long.

Perhaps as a reaction to this long-standing relationship, although he never directly called her "sister," if asked about his relationship with Aletia, he would reply, "She's like an older sister to me." At the time, Aletia was deeply satisfied, but she never imagined that a day would come in the near future when she would regret that very fact.

"How can I break Aldias's ingrained view of me as his older sister…?"

Because she had been too close to him as an older sister, no matter how aggressive her advances, they were always perceived as sister-brother interactions. If Aldias had ever had a girlfriend, things might have changed, but unfortunately, he had no such experience, and even Aldias, usually discerning, couldn't deftly distinguish between affection and romantic love. Especially not when the relationship had originally been one of familial affection.

She had a plan to visit the magic division in the afternoon, but her morning was free. She couldn't disturb Aldias at work, and as she was considering going out into the city for a change of pace, she saw a familiar face walking towards her from ahead.

"…Perfect timing."

For now, her plans were set.

"—And so, what do you think I should do to make Aldias see me as a woman?"

"What do you mean 'and so'?! You dragged me all the way here out of nowhere, and I'm not exactly free!"

This was an eatery located slightly off the main street of the city. The interior had a chic atmosphere, a small place run by a husband and wife. However, the food was excellent, and coupled with its hidden-gem status, its calm ambiance resonated with Aletia, making it one of her favorite establishments. Across the table from Aletia sat Cattleya, who had been half-kidnapped from the castle and brought here.

"You said you were free this morning."

"I only said I wasn't busy when you asked if I was working! I never said I was free!"

Cattleya was right; her duties for the day were in the afternoon, and she had no work scheduled for the morning. One might wonder if there was truly such free time when a full-scale invasion was about to begin, but this was a confirmed decision made directly by Aldias. Precisely because a full-scale invasion was imminent, Aldias wished for everyone—from soldiers to maids in Garland—to maintain their usual work routines while also taking proper rest and spending time with family and friends.

That said, many soldiers, for example, used their free time for personal training. This was driven by the thought that improving themselves might reduce casualties, or increase their chances of returning to their families by at least 1%. Cattleya was no exception; she was caught by Aletia while on her way to the castle's training facilities, intending to use her morning for her own training.

"…Cattleya, aren't you going to help your friend in need?"

"When did you and I become that kind of friends…!"

A vein throbbed on Cattleya's forehead. Aletia usually spoke bluntly, even calling her "old hag," but then conveniently called her a "friend" when it suited her.

"It's fine, isn't it? Cattleya, you like Aldias too, after all."

"W-w-what are you talking about?!"

"…Did you think you were hiding it? Everyone knows, and I think Aldias notices too."

"What?!"

Aletia looked at Cattleya, who was utterly astonished, with a slightly exasperated expression. Though not as long as with Aldias, she had known Cattleya for a long time. Aletia had changed her appearance to deceive Alv, but Aldias, being considerate, brought Freed and Cattleya to her, thinking it would be stressful for her not to show her true self to anyone else. The reason for the selection was that he thought it would be good to have other trustworthy people who knew the situation, so he chose Freed, and Cattleya because it would be more convenient to have another woman around. Of course, this was based on Aldias's judgment that he could trust the two of them.

Since then, Cattleya had always been the type whose emotions showed clearly on her face. Aletia found her straightforwardness endearing, but she sometimes wondered if Cattleya should try to hide her feelings a little more.

"Besides, Cattleya, you're lucky, aren't you… that he notices your feelings. I'm having trouble even before that…"

"Um… didn't you originally see Lord Aldias as like a younger brother? So why the change…?"

"…I don't know. It was probably around the time he inherited the throne and started appearing in public more often… I started seeing women in the city look at Aldias that way, and when I saw it, something just started bugging me."

"And that's when you realized?… Why don't you try conveying it with words instead of just showing it through actions?"

"Then it feels like… I'd be losing somehow."

"What exactly are you fighting, you?"

Cattleya gave Aletia an exasperated look, bewildered by her strange persistence.

"But even if you call him your brother, you're not blood-related, are you? Honestly, aren't you the closest to Lord Aldias?"

Cattleya said this with a slightly sulky tone. Since Aldias was the king of a nation, the women who could stand by him might not be limited to just one. However, the position of queen was for one person only, and there was also the possibility that Aldias might not desire it. In that case, from Cattleya's perspective, the person closest to Aldias was undoubtedly Aletia.

While Cattleya had known him for more years, the fact that Aletia had traveled with him to various dungeons was significant, in Cattleya's view. Aletia, in response to Cattleya, let out a deep sigh, as if to say, "You just don't understand."

"W-what's with that sigh?!"

"Cattleya, you don't understand anything. Have you ever read romance novels?"

"Huh? Well, I suppose, about as much as anyone…"

"I've read a lot. I had plenty of time. Recently, I've been reading mostly male-oriented romance novels."

"Why male-oriented?"

"Because it fits my current situation better."

Male-oriented romance novels often feature a single male protagonist and multiple heroines. This matched the current situation surrounding Aldias. Aletia had particularly started reading those since realizing her feelings for Aldias, but…

"And as I read more and more books, I stumbled upon a shocking truth."

"A shocking truth?"

There are various types of heroines in romance novels. In that context, Aletia's position would fall under the "protagonist's older sister" type. While not blood-related, they often grew up like siblings due to their parents' close friendship. However, there was a major pitfall here. Among the many romance novels, not a single story featured a woman with an older sister-like relationship ending up with the protagonist.

She was the only one who could converse with the protagonist with complete ease, yet her feelings were never noticed until the very end. What's more, she often ended up concealing her own emotions and pushing the conflicted protagonist forward. For that reason, she was highly popular among readers, but for Aletia, who was becoming just that in reality, it was unbearable.

"At this rate, I'll just be a pretty, cute, and considerate older sister…!"

"Are you really saying that about yourself…?"

Honestly, it was just a fictional story, and it wasn't necessarily applicable to reality. However, for the girl disheartened in front of her, a vague and unfounded answer would be meaningless.

"—Oh, is it that late already?! I have preparations for the afternoon!"

Cattleya, feeling somewhat awkward, idly looked around and her eyes landed on the clock on the wall. Surprised by how much time had passed, she hastily stood up.

"Right, the money—"

"It's fine, I brought you here, so I'll pay."

"Oh, really? Then I'll take you up on that, thanks for the meal."

With that, Cattleya walked towards the exit of the restaurant. Aletia also had things to do in the afternoon, so as she was about to get up to return to the castle early—

"Hey."

"What!—Cattleya? Shouldn't you be heading off quickly?"

Cattleya, who she thought had already left the restaurant, had inexplicably returned. Aletia wondered if she was in a hurry, given her earlier frantic state. Cattleya scratched her cheek and replied, looking awkward.

"No, even though I was dragged here, it feels wrong to have you pay and then leave without doing anything…"

"Just having you listen was enough for me…"

"That's not enough for me to be satisfied! And about what we were just talking about… I'm sorry, but I don't think I can give you an answer that would satisfy you."

"…I see."

"…However."

"Hm?"

Aletia knew full well that she might not get a satisfactory answer. After all, Cattleya also harbored feelings for Aldias. Despite being dragged along, her diligent listening to Aletia, who could be considered her rival, likely stemmed from Cattleya's caring nature, even if her words outwardly rejected it. Just as Aletia thought she would have to find a solution to her own feelings herself, Cattleya's words weren't finished yet.

"Why don't you just do what you want?"

"…Do what I want?"

"You've been sealed away all this time, unable to do a single thing you wanted, haven't you? Then from now on, you should do what you truly want to do. It's good to work hard for Lord Aldias, but it's not right if you're overexerting yourself."

"That's…"

"If you're looking so constrained because of it, then you'd just be making Lord Aldias worry. Instead of trying to change yourself, why don't you just be yourself?"

"Be myself… do what I want."

"…Ah, come on! Why am I lecturing you like I know everything?! I'm leaving now!"

Having said all she wanted to say, Cattleya suddenly turned red with embarrassment, turned her back to Aletia, and tried to leave the shop.

"…Cattleya."

"Hm?"

Aletia called out to Cattleya. When Cattleya turned around, Aletia was looking at her with a smile on her lips.

"Thank you."

"…It's nothing to be thanked for. We're supposed to be best friends, after all?"

"Mm!"

Aletia returned Cattleya's embarrassed words with a radiant smile. Three hundred years ago, she never imagined she would live in a demon nation. While Aldias was there, it would be a lie to say she had no anxieties. However, she now genuinely felt glad she had come.

"Cattleya, you're like a mother."

"Are you calling me an old hag?!"

"…Phew, I suppose I'll stop here for now."

As the sun began to set on the western horizon, Aldias tidied up the confirmed documents and took a breather. As mentioned earlier, Aldias had a mountain of work. At first, he would work tirelessly, sacrificing sleep, but Freed eventually found out and forcibly sent him to bed.

"You told us to rest, didn't you? If you don't rest and keep working, those below you won't be able to rest either."

Faced with those words, Aldias had no choice but to accept, and he began to take proper breaks for lunch and dinner and get sufficient sleep. Aldias thought he had been found out by chance by Freed, but in reality, it was initiated by his retainers, who, upon learning that Aldias wasn't resting, suggested to Freed that they too could still work. Freed thought that Aldias's immense charisma, at that moment, was something to consider.

"The rest can wait until after dinner."

Saying that, Aldias stood up and headed for the door. As he opened the door and stepped out—

"Ah."

"Hm?"

There stood Aletia, frozen with her right hand awkwardly raised. She had probably been about to knock on the door just as Aldias emerged.

"What is it, Aletia? Do you need something?"

"Ah… um, Aldias, have you eaten dinner yet? I'm about to, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me…"

"No, I'm about to as well. Shall we go together?"

"What!—Mm!"

Hearing Aldias's reply, Aletia joyfully walked beside him. They walked straight down the corridor, chatting about trivial things like what they had done today and their upcoming plans. Amidst their conversation, Aletia suddenly looked at Aldias's profile as he walked beside her.

(When did he get so big…)

When she first met him, he was slightly shorter than Aletia, and his face, being originally gender-neutral, was more "cute" than "handsome." But from the age of 13, he grew steadily taller, and his features gradually became more masculine.

(I always thought his face was well-defined, but I never expected him to become so handsome… Well, it's not just his face, though.)

"…? Is there something on my face?"

"Wha!?—No, nothing!"

"…I see."

She must have been staring too intently. When Aldias, noticing her gaze, asked, she turned away, her face slightly flushed, and denied it. Aldias, returning his gaze forward, continued walking. Aletia now stole glances at him, trying not to be noticed. Of course, Aldias noticed Aletia's behavior, but his intuition somehow told him not to worry about it, so he pretended not to see.

(Do what I want…)

The conversation with Cattleya came back to Aletia's mind.

(What do I want to do…? Do I want to be Aldias's special someone? Do I want him to be my lover? No, it's more fundamental than that…)

As Aletia, lost in thought with a serious expression, paused her conversation, Aldias, concerned, was about to speak when Aletia suddenly lifted her head and stared at him.

"Aldias, what do you want to do right now?"

"What do I… mean?"

"Aldias, you've always been working so hard, haven't you? If you didn't have to worry about humans or gods anymore, is there anything you'd want to do? Not something you have to do, but something Aldias wants to do…"

"What I want to do… I've never really thought about it. Making the country better is one thing, but I suppose that's not the answer Aletia is looking for."

"…Mm, it's a little different."

To further develop the country and enrich the lives of its people. This was genuinely what Aldias wanted to do, but it was a wish that put the people first, so it differed in meaning from the answer Aletia sought. In other words, she was asking if he had any selfish desires.

"…Hmm, I have a few."

"Really?! Like what?"

She asked, surprised that Aldias, who constantly acted for others, had personal desires for no one else. Still, she urged him to continue.

"I'd like to take a nap in a warm, sunny spot."

"Huh?"

"And eating a meal there would probably taste good."

"Um…"

"Also, I wonder if concept magic could be applied to people's lives? No, perhaps divine magic first?"

"What?!"

"Concept magic is difficult to master, but if I thought that much about my people, wouldn't it be theoretically possible?"

"I-It might be possible, but—that's not what I mean!"

Putting aside the whole concept magic thing, she first focused on what Aldias had said earlier.

"Napping and eating… those are such normal things…"

"Normal is enough for me."

"Huh?"

"Waking up normally, dedicating myself to my duties, and interacting with the people. Working constantly is tiring, so sometimes it would feel good to go outside the castle and do nothing… A world where no one is killed in war, where children grow up without knowing conflict. That's my ideal, what I want to do."

"Being normal… is your ideal?"

"What about you, Aletia?"

"…Huh?"

"Don't you have anything you want to do, Aletia?"

"My… something I want to do."

Hearing Aldias's words, she pondered again. What I want to do… something I've truly felt deep down even before I harbored clear romantic feelings for Aldias.

"…Again."

"Hm?"

"…Again, I want to go to various places with Aldias. This time, without hiding my appearance, all around the world."

Unlike before, now that Aldias was on the throne, it would be difficult for him to go out without reason. And even if he went out for a change of pace around the country, he probably wouldn't have time to travel the world. Still, she dreamed of it. The sight of them traveling together again, like in the past.

"We can go."

"…But."

"It's difficult right now, but once we defeat the gods, the world will surely become more peaceful than it is now. It might take several years after that, but eventually, there will be a world where I'm not needed. Don't you think then, it would be acceptable to go out a little? Freed might be burdened, but he'd probably overlook that much. And when that time comes, it wouldn't be fun alone, so how about we go together?"

"…Mm! I'll go! Absolutely!"

"Is that so? Then I have something else to look forward to."

Aldias smiled back at Aletia, who was beaming. "I'm hungry," he said, and started walking again. Aletia followed, her steps noticeably lighter than before. Her feelings hadn't been conveyed. Yet, for now, Aletia felt that this was fine. There was a mountain of things that needed to be done: the conclusion of the war with the human race, the defeat of the gods of this world, the prosperity of the Demon Kingdom Garland.

But when all of that was settled… when she could once again travel the world with Aldias, then…

(I'll properly convey these feelings.)

—What kind of expression will you show me then?

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