Published: March 21, 2026
The day after shaking hands with Lord Lattice Nail on the night deck, we confirmed that the route I had checked matched Crow’s memories with no issues, so we departed for the Demon King's Castle as planned.
I had checked the route at midnight while using presence concealment, so nobody probably sensed me. From a distance I even saw the Demon King's Castle. Because it's called the "Demon King's Castle," I had pictured a huge, sinister black fortress with a skull, like the painting titled Demon King's Castle I saw in the Beastmen territory — but the real Demon King's Castle had a pure, noble air, more like Reytis Castle. Rumors really can't be trusted.
As usual I cleaned and counted my weapons, and when I came out on deck the heroes, the three Ringa siblings, and Amelia were already waiting.
"All right, take care of things while we're gone."
"...Hey, Akira, I still want to go. Please?"
When I told Amelia that, she acted like a whiny child — she’d looked strange since last night — eyes glossy and tearful but not actually crying, looking up with those big, pleading pupils. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her slim, delicate fingers were clasped tight over her chest. The whole vibe was dangerous. Or rather, it felt risky.
At the edge of my vision, Kazuki and Nanase, who had come to see us off, had red faces and were looking away, and Sena was covering Sonora’s eyes. Of course they would. I get it — I once reflexively covered my eyes when an unexpected adult scene popped up in a foreign film. The problem was that the kind of sight that would make you want to block the view was happening in real life, and it was directed at me.
Maybe because I averted my gaze for a moment like I wanted to escape, Amelia’s hand quietly came to my cheek.
"Akira—"
Her voice was sweet as if under a charm spell, even though she shouldn’t have any charm-type skills. Meeting her deep crimson eyes that seemed ready to melt, she pleaded,
"Please."
"...No. Amelia, stay on the ship."
I shook my head.
Her glittering eyes dimmed for a moment, but my decision didn't change.
"You're keeping me away to protect me?"
I shook my head at that stiff question.
"You're not weak, Amelia. And keeping you away isn't protecting you. If we fight the Demon King and survive, we still need this ship to be intact to leave this continent. So protect the ship in my place. I can trust you with that."
Part of me did want to avoid exposing Amelia — who was being targeted — to the Demon King, but more practically, I needed someone to protect this ship while I was gone. If it were me, I'd definitely try to cut off the retreat. Even though Noah’s magic made the whole ship hard to see, demons’ special eyes that react to magic mean it's not completely safe. Lattice Nail said that on closer look you can tell something is off, and Sonora, despite seeing it for the first time, somehow sensed it and boarded smoothly. Demon Eye users like Commander Saran are rare, but we had to be careful.
That’s exactly why I chose Amelia. With her gravity magic, she can knock enemies into the sea remotely without revealing herself.
"...So you're not sending me away because you think I'm weak?"
"You're not weak. And putting you aside isn't protecting you, either."
When I joked that if Amelia and I fought she'd be flattened before she could get close, she finally smiled with relief.
It seemed she’d misunderstood something, but it was good the misunderstanding was cleared up before it got worse.
"Ahem! Glad to see you two made up, Master. Ready to depart?" Yoru, who had somehow settled on my shoulder as usual, cleared her throat theatrically.
Kazuki and Nanase, flustered by Amelia’s sudden sultry act, were going through the heroes' baggage final checks with a casual "yeah, yeah, same as always," and Kyousuke and the hero were engrossed in conversation, apparently uninterested in us. The only ones watching our scene with bated breath were Sonora and the others who’d only recently joined us. Sena had already removed the blindfold from Sonora’s eyes, but he stayed behind her, ready to cover them again at any moment.