Published: March 21, 2026
“...Akira and I see different things with the world eye, so I can’t tell what he’s looking at or concerned about. But Akira, who reacts the same way even to someone hiding their true strength like that girl, is dangerous.”
That was true.
Now that I knew her real strength, I thought the same: if LatticeNail went berserk, I might not be able to stop her.
Crow was here, so maybe things would work out, but if Crow wasn’t around, could I really stop that woman?
“...I wish I hadn’t taken that on.”
I muttered, and Amelia shook her head.
“Akira’s response was correct. If he hadn’t calmed things there, she might really have gone on a rampage. But what I mean is, since he has an eye that can accurately see people’s strength, he should make use of it.”
A look of benevolence lit Amelia’s quietly shimmering red eyes.
She seemed like a mother.
“Understood. From now on I’ll properly check the status of people I meet for the first time.”
I said honestly, and Amelia nodded, then patted my head gently.
Because of the height difference she had to stretch up on her toes, all wobbly, and it was very cute.
“...Ahem...master, Miss Amelia, may I have a moment?”
Just as the air between the two of us settled, Yoru walked in clearing his throat.
Without any run-up he leapt onto my shoulder.
Come to think of it, he said he’d explain LatticeNail later.
“So? That hooded Demon Clan member—who is she? There can’t be many people Yoru speaks politely to.”
Yoru nodded and glanced toward LatticeNail before speaking.
“She, Lady LatticeNail, simply put...is the demon king’s daughter.”
I nodded, then stopped.
What did he just say?
The demon king’s daughter?
That one??
“I can accept it from the status numbers, but she doesn’t look the part at all.”
I agreed with Amelia’s frank impression.
Maybe because she barely gave off any magical power, or because her behavior was like a picture of carefree innocence, she didn’t seem like the demon king’s daughter.
...It was surprising just to hear that he had a daughter.
“Well, Lady LatticeNail didn’t get along with the demon king and they often argued. She probably ran away from home after a fight this time. Also...her personality is generally not what you’d expect of the demon king’s daughter.”
He didn’t state it bluntly as “you can tell,” but it was clear that LatticeNail seemed far less Demon Clan-like than expected.
Also, is running away across the continent considered “running away” over there?
Do those in the Demon Clan have a different scale for that?
“For now, don’t lie in front of Lady LatticeNail or use discriminatory terms. She especially hates those two things.”
Now that I thought about it, she had been shouting earlier that discrimination was wrong.
...She said her father had told her discrimination was wrong.
Father meaning the demon king, then?
My impression of the demon king was undergoing a complete change in the span of a few minutes.
Totally different from the image I had.
A bit stunned, I nodded.
“Got it. I’ll tell Kyousuke and the others too.”
“I’m counting on you, master. I’ll stay with Miss Amelia. Make sure not to rile Lady LatticeNail.”
Yoru leapt from my shoulder to Amelia’s.
He’d escaped from LatticeNail.
I noticed the contest had started.
Because Amelia, LatticeNail, and the girls from the hero party had entered fairly late, they’d likely be called up toward the end.
I watched the stage with a soft focus while taking care of the excited LatticeNail chattering beside me.
Mostly beastmen and humans, but there were quite a few pretty faces.
Perhaps because I see Amelia’s beauty every day, no other impressions stood out, but the participants clearly had faces worthy of competition.
Well, Amelia was by far the most beautiful.
...No, there was still one person whose face I hadn’t seen.
“...By the way, aren’t you going to take off your hood?”
I asked at almost the same eye level, and LatticeNail tilted her head, narrowing her purple eyes.