Published: August 10, 2026
The day after Tsutsumi Kaminari called me out in the morning and told me something heavy, I took the carriage sent by the Tsukimi Family with Amelia and Yoru.
Unlike yesterday, they had contacted us in advance, and the carriage came at a perfectly decent time after breakfast. I hadn't expected there to be such a difference in how a family that handled religious rites treated people compared to a family that did business. As a working adult, which one was proper went without saying.
"When I meet this Morganaite guy, I'll be standing behind Amelia as her guard. Is there anything I should be careful about?"
"Hmm. For the time being, I think it's fine as long as he doesn't badmouth me."
"So you're the one he's crazy about, huh."
"Right. Maybe a little too much."
"Hmm. By the way, Miss Amelia, do you have any specific examples?"
Yoru, digging its claws deeply into my shoulder, asked Amelia that.
Apparently, when we went to the Kaminari family yesterday, leaving sleeping Yoru behind had left it so frustrated it couldn't stand it. Ever since last night, it had started digging its claws in like this so I wouldn't leave it behind again. It stung a little, but it was the result of my own choice, so I was accepting it.
Inside the carriage, which was still rattling and not exactly comfortable to sit in, Amelia elegantly placed a hand against her chin.
"Let's see. For example, he knew everything about me. More than I did. He was the one who told me that I'd grown taller and gained weight."
"...Hey, Amelia. Isn't that called stalking?"
"Is it? Once you get used to it, it's convenient. He tells me when to cut my hair or nails, for example."
"Don't use a stalker conveniently. And don't get used to it."
"...I see. So it's like what Sir Cyrus does to the demon king."
"Seriously? There are stalkers among the Demon Clan too? What is wrong with this world?"
I held my head as Amelia blinked in confusion and Yoru nodded as if it all made sense.
Was it because this was another world, or was everyone around these people just completely insane? Normally, you wouldn't come across a stalker that easily.
And speaking of the Demon Clan's Cyrus, wasn't he one of the people Amelia had learned about from Aurum in the Brute Labyrinth? The information had been vague, something like "temperamental," but still.
It had also been the name Noren mentioned when he came into the Demon King's Castle. Judging from the reports after that, there was a good chance that the Demon Clan member infiltrating the Kingdom of Reytis was him. That was why I had passed on the information brought by Lord Lattice Nail and Yoru and warned Sato and the others about various things, but now that I found out that guy was a stalker, I felt strangely drained.
"You don't have to be that on guard. He's a good person."
"...No, I can't imagine a stalker tolerating another man being near the target. I don't know their habits very well, though."
"If it comes to it, I'll stop him. When we first met, he used to pick fights with Kirika too. But the moment I said I'd come to dislike him, he turned his attitude around instantly."
"..."
Imagining Amelia saying she "disliked" me, I instinctively looked away out the window. More than I expected, it hit me right in the heart.
Outside the window, the number of people walking along the street was gradually increasing, and there were more shops in addition to the row houses. If I looked a little higher, I could see mountains surrounded by trees. The forest blocked the castle itself from view, but since this was the town at its foot, this was probably the castle town.
"...If we're passing through the castle town, does that mean the Tsukimi Family's place is around the second or third baileys?"
"No. The Tsukimi Family is a newcomer among the Three Great Families, and they're merchants. There was a proposal to give them the third bailey, but since that would have made it impossible for them to do business, they declined. So the Tsukimi Family manor is in the center of the castle town."
"Oh, I see. A manor, huh."