Frieren: Demon of Domination

If he remembered correctly...

This seemed to have happened in the eighth year of their life in the imperial capital.

It was a sunny noon with clear skies—

In a classroom with the architectural style of the Unified Empire, resembling a medieval palace:

When the court mages gradually departed with bows after the morning lessons ended,

Agusheed on the podium, substituting for his lazy wife, remained motionless.

He wore an aura of cold aloofness that kept others at bay,

As always, after the court mages left, he took advantage of the brief respite to organize decryption materials,

While quietly waiting for Flamme to come and take over after sleeping in.

—After all, Frieren still had classes in the afternoon,

And if Flamme went, that stupid disciple would just slack off under her indulgence.

Flamme was rarely late.

So when Agusheed was organizing the third page,

He heard his wife's light footsteps right on time.

Her shallow red hair appeared even before Flamme herself,

And when Agusheed's peripheral vision caught that touch of pale red and he looked up from his notebook,

Flamme's characteristic light laughter and she herself were already standing before Agusheed.

Agusheed, still a conversation killer at this time, naturally wouldn't speak first.

Silent farewells followed by gradually leaving was his style.

So he simply looked back at Flamme's ageless face and silently stood up—

—His rising was interrupted.

The culprit was Flamme, who wore a light smile on her face.

Under Agusheed's helpless gaze,

Flamme, like a child, playfully sat directly on his lap.

Her actions certainly didn't stop there—

After skillfully resting her head on her husband's shoulder,

Then spreading her arms and tightly wrapping them around Agusheed's neck:

Flamme looked up at her husband, who had already reached out to hold her waist to prevent her from falling, and blinked her eyelashes gently.

Her face slowly approached, and just as it was about to pass his chin unobstructed—

The strongest Grand Demon finally spoke.

"Don't be silly..."

"Flamme, don't always act childishly like you haven't grown up."

His restraint had some effect, but only a little.

Yes—

Agusheed's words only managed to make Flamme pause her actions for a moment.

"Calling your wife's affection childish nonsense—"

"Although age-wise, I am indeed a child before you..."

"But Agusheed, that's still quite rude..."

Flamme's nose tip gently brushed against Agusheed's chin, carrying the warm scent of sunshine.

The airflow from her light laughter brushed against the skin on her husband's neck, making him involuntarily tense his shoulders.

"I'm just being factual."

Agusheed's fingers at Flamme's waist tightened slightly, then quickly relaxed.

"Being factual and being rude aren't mutually exclusive—"

"At least when facing your wife, you should give appropriate indulgence..."

"Otherwise, a husband who's too rigid will be disliked by his wife."

While saying this with a low laugh,

Taking advantage of Agusheed's inattention, Flamme's face slowly moved up half an inch.

But how could Agusheed, as the strongest Grand Demon, not notice?

But he didn't speak, just indulged Flamme's little movements.

"So what do you want to do, Flamme?"

He lowered his eyes, looking at his wife's face so close at hand—

Flamme's eyes showed a transparent pale blue in the sunlight, the shadows cast by her eyelashes trembling gently with her blinking.

"A good afternoon kiss."

Naturally stating her request, Flamme's smile was full of expectation.

"I don't remember having anything like a 'good afternoon kiss' before..."

"Then we'll have one starting now."

"Why?"

"Because I still have classes in the afternoon, so I need my husband's kiss to help me overcome laziness."

Flamme told lies without changing expression, her voice low and steady throughout,

As if stating indisputable facts.

A clumsy lie.

Even someone as obtuse as Agusheed at this time could clearly see through this.

Just watching his wife's gaze, he ultimately couldn't refuse Flamme's expectation.

Black long hair slowly drooped down, and pale red hair tips actively entangled with it.

But only for an instant.

Or rather, they separated at the first touch—

That was just how Agusheed was; you couldn't expect him to understand what kissing represented.

But this alone was enough.

This was what Flamme wanted.

So nestled in Agusheed's embrace, she watched the brief distance between them and laughed softly,

Her pale red long hair swept across Agusheed's collarbone with her movement.

"I love you... Agusheed..."

Stating this confession that would seem too passionate to outsiders without any reserve,

Flamme watched Agusheed's calm gaze and helplessly lowered her head.

"What..."

"Shouldn't you be happy at your wife's confession and lean down for a few more kisses?"

"You're as obtuse as always, Agusheed—"

Flamme deliberately drew out her tone, saying unrealistic nonsense with somewhat greedy implications.

So her response was a face-pinching strike from her husband.

Raising his free hand, he gently placed it on his wife's cheek.

Agusheed punished the inch-taking Flamme with gentle pinching.

"Inch-taking—"

This was also the strongest Grand Demon's assessment.

And Flamme seemed to be aware of this herself,

So after her husband's 'discipline,' she didn't continue making trouble.

Instead, she reached out to playfully curl a strand of Agusheed's black hair,

"Stay with me."

This was her serious plea, even the laziness in her words had diminished somewhat.

Not a very excessive request—

Normally, Agusheed would certainly indulge his wife's small wishes.

But now...

"There are still afternoon classes."

Agusheed's answer was equally serious.

"Frieren and the court mages still need instruction from you and me."

Guiltily averting her gaze, her lips lightly brushing against her husband's neck,

After a second's hesitation,

Flamme finally said what she had done in a low voice.

"I gave them all time off when I came."

Recalling Frieren's happy yet resentful look and the court mages' knowing smiles,

Flamme continued to add:

"Frieren has already run to the sweet shop, and the court mages have all gone home."

Silence.

Agusheed's helplessness and silence were deafening.

But he didn't and couldn't blame Flamme for such a small matter,

Much less have any dissatisfaction with what Flamme had done.

So he could only lightly flick her forehead while she wore a feigned pained expression,

Then comment in a low voice.

"That's why I tell you not to always act like a child, Flamme..."

But faced with her husband's helplessness, Flamme's response was...

"Ehehe—" (playing dumb)

As expected, Agusheed still indulged Flamme's mischief.

He didn't speak, just held her soft body like this.

Flamme wasn't surprised by this result.

She watched her husband's serious face that never changed color and nuzzled upward.

She said she wanted him to stay with her, so Agusheed would comply.

That's why Flamme loved him.

That's why the two had come this far together.

Although he didn't respond, this time Agusheed didn't refuse his wife's affection.

He simply felt that red hair flowing, his gaze slowly falling on the decryption notebook spread on the lectern.

The strongest Grand Demon could hold Flamme like this for an entire afternoon doing nothing.

But he, who always emphasized efficiency, still chose to continue working during this process.

After all, the third page of yesterday's decryption work he was organizing still had some contradictions.

But he forgot that his wife would be jealous.

Especially when she discovered her husband's attention wasn't on her at such a time.

"How cruel, Agusheed..."

Flamme followed her husband's gaze and sighed with lowered head.

This time, she was the one with helplessness.

"Is the attraction of the wife in your arms really less than that of a decryption notebook?"

"Even with a temperament as stable as mine, I would get angry in this situation."

Angry—

This word finally made Agusheed move his gaze back to his wife's face.

Flamme's cheeks puffed up slightly, feigning anger as she crossed her arms,

Staring intently at Agusheed's hand that had already lifted the pen.

So the pen was put down without hesitation.

That hand was lifted by Agusheed, his knuckles gently resting on Flamme's cheek.

"The recent decryption content is very important."

The strongest Grand Demon, who wasn't good at coaxing people, said in a tone that seemed extremely gentle compared to his usual coldness:

"In Sage Ewig's Grimoire, Chapter Four 'Realms Unreached by Humans,' Volume Seven, Section Fourteen, 'On the Possibility of Goddess Magic,' there's something very interesting..."

"According to Ewig's discussion, Goddess Magic might have the possibility of breaking your proposed 'Principle of Magic's Irreversibility'—"

Beyond Agusheed's expectations, regarding the possibility that her proposed theory might be broken...

Flamme appeared extraordinarily calm.

Whether it was confidence in herself or having long suspected this.

"I knew about this nine years ago at the Goddess Monument."

Although she wanted to tell Agusheed, Flamme ultimately couldn't say this out loud.

She just poked Agusheed's cheek, her eyes gently narrowing.

"Is such a thing worth caring about?"

Her face approached once more, almost touching Agusheed's chin.

"More attractive than me?"

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows above, casting dappled light and shadow around them.

Agusheed could clearly see the light smile on Flamme's face—the smile of someone expecting his answer—

So he reached out and smoothed down a strand of his wife's upturned hair, his movement incredibly gentle.

"It isn't."

"But if we find the answer within, perhaps it could explain why I fainted at the Goddess Monument in the Kino Mountains back then..."

This answer satisfied Flamme—

So although she knew Agusheed couldn't find the answer from it,

She didn't stop his actions anymore.

She adjusted her position to lean more comfortably.

"Then continue. I want to sleep a bit more."

Listening to his wife's gentle murmur in his arms,

Knowing she was no longer feigning anger, Agusheed breathed a sigh of relief.

He made a barely audible "mm" sound,

Then steadily supported Flamme with his palm, moving her body up a bit to prevent her from sliding off him.

This action was so natural, as if his arms were born to fit the curves of her body.

So Flamme, about to fall asleep, became even happier—

So before the quiet, she buried her face in Agusheed's neck hollow one last time,

Then took a deep breath of the pleasant fragrance on her husband.

Agusheed's mouth twitched.

Looking down at Flamme's pale red long hair as she made mischief,

After hesitating for a moment, he still gently rested his chin on it.

"Don't be silly."

This was his final whisper to his wife.

And Flamme didn't answer.

Because she had already settled down—

So the palace became so quiet that even the sound of plane tree leaves rustling outside could be heard.

Sunlight flowed between the embracing Agusheed and Flamme,

Dyeing their intertwined breathing golden.

Agusheed's other hand had somehow moved to Flamme's nape,

His fingertips gently stroking her scattered red hair as she slept soundly.

His wife naturally wouldn't stop her husband's unconscious intimacy.

So Flamme just closed her eyes with a smile, letting this familiar warmth surround her.

But she wasn't completely motionless.

Half-awake and half-asleep, she ended with a vague light kiss—

Falling into an afternoon nap...

Her breathing gradually became even,

But her fingers still tightly gripped Agusheed's clothes, as if unwilling to let go even in dreams.

And Agusheed sat quietly too. He didn't immediately start working,

Instead letting his gaze fall on the stained glass window in the distance.

Sunlight through the blue glass cast shimmering spots of light on the floor,

Like the surface of a lake with rising ripples.

Like... the curves that occasionally danced in his eyes.

Carefully picking up the quill pen from the table, continuing the unfinished decryption work with minimal movement...

Afraid of disturbing the weight on his shoulder, Agusheed glanced at his wife's sleeping face before...

Slowly lowering his head.

Of course, Flamme would occasionally move gently in her dreams, making vague sleep talk.

So whenever this happened, Agusheed would stop his pen and wait for her to quiet down again.

Only he himself didn't notice...

His mouth would always unconsciously curve upward slightly,

Forming an almost imperceptible light smile.

Outside the window, the afternoon breeze blew gently, bringing the fragrance of roses from the distant garden.

Another murmur from Flamme came,

Agusheed stopped his pen, looked down at his wife's sleeping face,

And reached out to brush away a strand of red hair that had fallen across her lips.

In the strongest Grand Demon's eyes flowed the tenderness that would only occasionally appear in such unobserved moments.

In the spacious court classroom, time seemed to be under a slow magic cast by the Goddess who created the world,

Every minute, every second stretched into unforgettable memories.

The sunlight slowly moved—

The silhouettes of the two embracing were gradually cast on the ancient stone walls,

As if eternal.

—

The deep twilight made Agusheed in the study open his eyes.

Emerging from the dream mirror, he didn't move but quietly contemplated.

"Kino Mountains..."

"Goddess Monument..."

As if his stupid disciple's words had given Agusheed some speculation,

Looking toward the Northern Plateau, he murmured softly to himself.

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 or 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates