We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
We’re breaking off all ties!
No matter how cautiously I try to interact, I always get caught up in some kind of commotion and find myself being toyed with.
The Primogenitor Race is truly too unpredictable.
I can understand, to some extent, the feeling of the true ruler of the Demon Race wanting to seal them with a Duke Rank and restrain their rampant behavior.
“Oh, dear…”
“Um, there, there. Older Brother, why are you so down?”
Priscilla-chan pets my head as she tries to comfort me.
Priscilla-chan innocently and cheerfully talks about her future plans.
“You know, Priscilla wants to visit Young Lady Elin’s house and watch the puppet show again?”
“Yes. Shall we ask Elnea?”
Mistral says, hugging Priscilla-chan with a smile.
Currently.
We had returned to our journey in the sky.
The reason for this was that Madrine had said this to me:
“Young Man Elnea. Are you planning to head directly to the Puppet King’s mansion like this? Wouldn’t it be better to return the Shooting Stars to the Forbidden Territory first?”
Madrine was right.
I wanted the Shooting Stars to first accurately understand what kind of race demons were, how they lived, and what their values were.
After all, the Forbidden Territory was a well-established dominion of demons. Therefore, I thought that being able to respond correctly when the opportunity to interact with demons arose unexpectedly, and that it might be useful in the future.
However, escorting the Shooting Stars on a journey to the Dragon King’s Capital, and having them stay in the Giant Demon Lord’s Demon Capital and Demon Lord’s Castle was too much. I couldn’t afford to drag them into the circumstances of being involved in the Puppet King’s troubles.
And so, before visiting the Puppet King’s mansion, we were in the process of escorting the Shooting Stars back to their mansion in the Forbidden Territory.
“Oh, my. We wish to know what kind of person the Puppet King is, so we wouldn’t mind accompanying you, you know?”
One of the Shooting Star Expeditionary Force members, Michelle, said with her eyes shining with curiosity. However, I still felt it would be too much trouble, wouldn’t it?
The Shooting Stars are currently in the midst of a trial called “One Wish, a Thousand Days,” where they all pray together. It would be inexcusable to drag the expeditionary force around for many more days like this.
My companions and I, Priscilla-chan, along with Madrine and Ruiseine, and Annie Comet and Liz from the Shooting Stars, were riding on Nimia’s back for the return journey. Riding on Lily’s back, who was flying with us, were Laira, Yufilia, Nina, and Sefina, along with Isabel, Michelle, and Serica.
Nimia gracefully flew far above the land where the demons had built their civilization. Lily, on the other hand, flew in the lower sky as if she owned it. And from below, faint, joyful screams could be heard. Yes. The Lily-side group was clearly enjoying themselves. It seemed they were provoking the demons, pulling stunts with sudden ascents and descents, and thoroughly enjoying their journey in the sky.
Annie and Liz, who were primarily shrine maidens, were generally demure. They were calm members of the expeditionary force and did not have personalities that would willingly get involved in conflicts or disturbances. However, Isabel, Michelle, and Serica, who were Battle Priestesses by profession, were naturally hot-blooded. After all, they happily volunteered to ride with Yufilia and Nina on Lily’s side, even though they knew it would lead to such a situation.
To lump over thirty Shooting Stars together as one would be to overlook the details. They all hailed from the same homeland and still held a single wish in their hearts as they spent their days. However, like the demons, the more you get to know them, the more you realize and understand about them.
“Shrine maidens must be pure and innocent. Therefore, shrine maidens are always, everywhere, of a pure, righteous, and beautiful heart, the conscience of the world.” Such notions are merely illusions that others create for themselves.
The Shooting Stars, too, as human beings, experience worries, sometimes act incorrectly, and hold prejudices. They might be a little lazy, or sometimes they’d complain. They might argue amongst themselves, or conversely, they’d hold hands and make a cheerful racket like young girls.
“Well, Ruiseine and Madrine are like that too, so I guess everyone is natural like this.”
My thoughts casually slipped out and became words, causing Ruiseine and Madrine to tilt their heads.
“Older Brother Elnea was thinking something suspicious, nyan.”
“Nimia!? I wasn’t thinking anything suspicious, you know? I was just thinking that the Shooting Stars, like us, are all just demons, and that we’re all the same.”
“Oh, my, oh my. Young Man Elnea, are you running a fever?”
“In that case, please rest your head on my chest.”
“Madrine. You are not yet formally married, so please behave like a lady, as befits a member of the clergy.”
“Hmph. Mist, you are being impious by bullying me, the Head Miko!”
“Oh, but I am not a believer, so there is no problem, is there?”
Annie and Liz, I’m sorry. It seems this side is also as noisy as usual. While Mistral and Madrine were making a fuss, Ruiseine took the spot next to me.
“As Young Man Elnea says. Therefore, I believe the Puppet Duke is not inherently evil deep down?”
“Oh. Is Ruiseine defending Young Lady Elin?”
As we were conversing, Annie and Liz joined in.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but may I also share my impression of the Puppet Duke?” Annie says.
“Young Master Elnea initially assessed the Puppet Duke as being like a young girl in both appearance and heart. I believe that is correct. Therefore, I feel that this recent commotion does not stem from malice intended to take lives or inflict despair.” Liz continues.
“Whether it is befitting of a demon or not, a demon Duke with immense power and authority does indeed cause trouble for those around him. However, the Puppet Duke’s current commotion, while far exceeding the common sense of us humans in scale, still felt like an innocent, girlish act.”
I see. The Shooting Stars, too, are not just passively going along but are calmly analyzing the opponent and the situation. As expected of those who admire Ada! I nodded and spoke about the future.
“Indeed, that is the Primogenitor Race, a special existence among demons! They give no thought to the troubles of others. But, the Puppet King, from the beginning, only wanted to enjoy the puppet show and did not intend to target our lives or trap us, right?”
In the Dragon King’s Capital, the Puppet King had kidnapped Grandpa Jangario, Forarde, and Zeke from the Ten Clans and placed dolls in their stead in the Lord’s mansion. However, after the commotion, when the Giant Demon Lord demanded the return of the three, he complied honestly.
“You say they tried to take my life in the Lord’s mansion?” Well, that was a problem we could easily handle, so let’s just pretend it didn’t happen. Rather, I doubt the Puppet King thought we would truly be in danger from that. The Puppet King simply enjoyed watching us panic as he manipulated the dolls disguised as the three. Setting that aside for now.
Even in the Demon Capital, the Puppet King interfered with us. We went sightseeing, and he certainly attacked us and caused trouble. However, compared to the Puppet King’s true abilities, this was a minor matter. If the Puppet King had wished, he could have manipulated a hundred thousand demons all at once. If a hundred thousand residents of the Demon Capital had attacked us, it would have been a dire situation. Considering this, I still believe the Puppet King merely wanted to play with us in an amusing way and had no intention of targeting our lives or trapping us.
Well, it went a bit too far, and it resulted in significant trouble for the Great Shrine in the Demon Capital. …No, I don’t think that was my fault! It was because the Demon Lord and Charlotte got carried away, joining in on the Puppet King’s schemes, that things got out of hand!
Among the treasures hidden in the underground treasury of the Great Shrine were numerous famous swords and magic swords of Grivast. Grivast, though a demon, was a devout follower of temple religion. His greatest masterpiece left behind was a naginata imbued with magic power. It was a naginata that was as beautiful as a work of art yet incredibly refined in its design as a weapon. The Puppet King had stolen it.
What’s more, he unilaterally demanded that we come to his mansion to play if we wanted it back. In that case, we had no choice! So, inevitably, we had to travel to the uncharted territory north of the Sage Demon Lord’s dominion and south of the Verdant Demon Lord’s dominion, where the Puppet King’s territory was located.
“If we go there, will he return it honestly?” Annie, with a wry smile, replies to my question.
“Who can say? Knowing his personality, I suspect the visit itself will be quite challenging.” Liz adds with a laugh.
“I believe he will return it honestly once we arrive? However, before that, I’m sure a fun puppet show awaits us!”
“I knew it!” The Puppet King simply wants to enjoy a puppet show with us. However, the Puppet King prepares the dolls himself, sets the stage, and directs the performance. That’s why it becomes the Puppet King’s own self-indulgent puppet show, and we just get caught up in it!
“But won’t that mean he’ll be breaking his promise to Young Man Elnea?”
“Mumumu. Ruiseine, you’ve said something good. Right? If he does anything bad to us when we come to retrieve the naginata, we’ll break off all ties.” But then, won’t the Puppet King be unable to set the stage for his puppet show? I wonder if the Puppet King will be alright with that? We’d be overjoyed if we could retrieve the naginata peacefully.
Mumumumu? I’m getting a bad feeling!
“Is Young Lady Elin truly just taking the naginata because she wants to perform a puppet show with us?” And also. “The words and actions of the Demon Lord and Charlotte are also inexplicable. Did they truly invite the Puppet King to the investiture ceremony just to harass us? The Demon Lord should know the Puppet King’s personality far better than we do, so he should have predicted that inviting him into his own domain would cause trouble?”
If I start doubting, there’s no end to it. Perhaps the Giant Demon Lord has other intentions? The Puppet King might also have some secret circumstances. And perhaps our interests align, and we are being used for that purpose?
“Hey, Ruiseine. What if we just return to the Forbidden Territory and all stay locked up inside?”
At my suggestion, Madrine and Priscilla-chan, who was being held by the lively Mistral, puff out their cheeks.
“You know. Priscilla wants to play with Elin! If Older Brother doesn’t come with me, we’re breaking off all ties!”
“Ehhh. Priscilla-chan, you can’t do that!” I hastily scoop Priscilla-chan out of Mistral’s arms to appease her! If Priscilla-chan breaks off ties with me, I’ll despair!
“This is perverse, nyan.”
“Nimia. If you say things that can be misinterpreted, we’re breaking off all ties, you know?”
“Nyan!?” It goes without saying that the “breaking off ties game” became popular among us after this. And, incidentally, although Mistral and Madrine’s fussing was a joke, they were both having fun playing together. I think these aspects, rather than being seen through the single lens of “perfect Mistral” or “Head Miko Madrine,” are just normal human daily life.
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