So, here I am after a long talk.
“What kind of hero is that? No different from the Demon King, really.”
As Sephir grumbled quietly in the corner, Lily raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
“Should I send you over to the Demon King then?”
“Eeek… S-sorry!”
Just as a sharp atmosphere flowed between the two, Athena let out a short sigh and got to the point.
“Sephir, can you really summon the Demon King?”
“….It seems… h-hard?”
As Sephir averted her eyes and muttered, Athena got closer, glaring at her with fiery eyes.
“Really. Can’t you do it?”
“…..Uh… maybe…?”
“If you’re lying, I’ll know.”
“……..”
Sephir’s pupils shook violently. Soon, she shut her eyes tightly and began to scream.
“No… No!! Have you forgotten I betrayed him?! If I summon the Demon King, I’ll be killed!!”
“You can summon him. That settles it then.”
“N-no! I’m going to die!?”
With a face full of disbelief, Sephir raised her voice to Athena.
I realized again that whenever Sephir was around, things always got chaotic.
‘Not that I mind…’
I couldn’t help but smile a bit.
It was sometimes tiring, but certainly lively.
After a while of venting her frustrations, Sephir finally sighed in resignation.
“I can summon him. I really don’t want to…”
Fortunately, my guess was right.
Since she once held the position of Legion Commander, there must be a connection to the Demon Realm.
Now that I found a way to summon the Demon King, the important thing was how to persuade her.
“Sephir, do you happen to know what the Demon King likes?”
“Um… terrible screams? Or maybe fresh blood?”
“….Yeah.”
Sephir pondered with her finger on her chin, but unfortunately, it was entirely unhelpful information.
“..Anything other than that?”
“I don’t know… Honestly, I’ve been too busy keeping an eye on the Demon King…”
Seeing Sephir sigh, I almost let out a sigh as well.
I expected it, but it didn’t seem like an easy task.
We needed a reason for the Demon King not to destroy this world.
That was crucial.
[What are you worrying about with such a simple problem?]
While I was trapped in a deep swamp of concern, I heard my teacher’s voice in my head.
‘Huh? Is there a way?’
Her words filled me with anticipation.
Honestly, she had always spouted nonsense, but interestingly, she had never been wrong, so this couldn’t be empty words either.
[Isn’t it just about creating something precious that allows the world to be loved?]
‘Precious, you say…?’
[Exactly. Like a loved one. A partner. A beloved.]
‘…..Aren’t they all the same?’
[It just means that the power of love is that strong.]
As expected of a kumiho…
She truly displayed her fox-like persona.
After stealing a glance at those looking at me with affectionate eyes, I spoke inwardly.
‘….I’ve given up on charming her now.’
[I know. I heard while inside you. But what’s wrong with that.]
‘…What? I said I wouldn’t charm the Demon King anymore…?!’
[What I mean is, you don’t have to be the one to charm her.]
At that moment, I felt a bit baffled by my teacher’s words.
You mean I don’t have to be the one to charm her?
So, are you saying someone else should charm the Demon King?
[Just the perfect candidate. Someone born to enchant life, though you’d never be like her.]
It wasn’t hard to guess who my teacher was referring to.
With a dazed face, I slowly turned to look at her.
The pink-haired Succubus, pouting with her cheeks puffed up.
“…..Huh?”
That actually doesn’t sound bad at all.
*
“M-muh… what?!”
Sephir looked utterly flabbergasted, her expression so comical I wondered how such a face could form.
She stepped back in shock at my suggestion.
“You want me to charm the Demon King?! M-me?!”
“Yep.”
“You mistyped, right…? Haha… that’s it! There’s no way you’d say that without being insane.”
“No, Sephir. I’m serious.”
Sephir stared blankly at me for a moment before tightly shutting her eyes and roaring at me.
“Just tell me to go die instead!! How can you say something like that!!”
With a nervous face, Sephir bit her trembling fingers.
“The moment the Demon King sees my face, he will try to kill me… it’s definitely… definitely true…”
Well, it’s not strange for her to react that way.
Sephir betrayed the Demon King. She probably holds a lot of resentment against her.
“Don’t worry, Sephir. There’s a saying: enemy today, ally tomorrow, right?”
“Where’d you find such a saying!!!”
Although I felt a bit sorry for Sephir as she roared in anger, I didn’t feel particularly discouraged.
If it were Lily, Athena, or Mari, they likely would have thrown themselves into a tantrum against this idea, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as concerned for Sephir.
Not that I disliked her or anything…
It’s just that, somehow, I didn’t feel like Sephir would really be killed by someone.
“Sephir. Don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”
“S-she’s the Demon King!”
“But we have Athena, Mari, and even the hero Lily!”
Sephir glanced at them in turn before choked up with her tear-filled eyes.
“You might protect me… but they won’t! Look at how much they usually disregard me!”
It seems Sephir doesn’t have much faith in the others.
Well, I couldn’t recall many times when they treated Sephir well either…
While I was thinking of how to persuade her, Mari approached Sephir, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
Sephir’s eyes widened in shock, as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard.
“R-really? You will?”
“Yep. So make sure you charm the Demon King for Mom.”
Though it sounded like it had a different meaning, Sephir was so overwhelmed with joy that Mari was on her side, she covered her mouth with both hands and beamed.
“I’ll protect you too. Don’t worry, Sephir.”
Athena chimed in to join Mari.
“…I’ll help this time.”
Lily nodded, her frown still lingering.
Sephir was unable to contain her joy at their support.
It was becoming a foregone conclusion that she would indeed have to charm the Demon King.
I cleared my throat to strengthen Sephir’s resolve and spoke.
“I’ve failed. But I believe you can do great, Sephir!”
At my words, Sephir stared blankly at me before looking down, her face beaming with confidence.
“R-really?! Alright. I’ll give it a shot! I’ll prove I can be a great Succubus! Even better than Hera!”
‘…But I’m not a Succubus?’
“Hehehe…! You can look forward to it, you know?”
With her exuberant smile full of excitement, Sephir truly seemed simple-minded at these moments.
“Y-yeah… Awesome, Sephir!”
“Hehe. Yes! If I set my mind to it, there’s no one who won’t be charmed…!”
Perhaps only Sephir remains oblivious.
Of the expressions of those around her as they looked at her.
…Actually, now that I think about it, it does seem like an absurd idea.
“Haha!!!”
But how about trusting Sephir this one time?
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