Vol 1 Chapter 10 – Mad Love

“Oh my, Garon-sama. It’s been a while.”

Just as I was finally getting used to life here, Garon-san showed up after work.

“Shut up. I didn’t want to see your face either.”

How harsh. The people here—I’m not sure how to describe the demon race, but whatever, I’ll just call them people—treat me like a bug every single time.

Even though I love them so much.

Well, I guess that’s how it is. You shouldn’t expect anything in return because that’s what love is. Give, give, give. Keep giving until you rot and die on the side of the road. That’s what love is all about.

Isn’t that right, Tia-sama?

“What are you smirking at? Whatever, just follow me for a bit.”

“Eh, but…”

“No ‘buts.’ When I say follow me, you follow me.”

“B-But…”

“I said no buts! Come on, hurry up, or I’ll bite you to death!”

“We’re not in that kind of relationship yet. It’d be embarrassing if people saw us together and started rumors.”

“Right, I’m killing you.”

“Yes, I’m so sorry, I’m coming right now.”

She’s seriously so easy, getting mad at me so quickly. She’s just too cute. But if I tease her any more, she really will kill me. I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die.

“Where are we going? I was just about to eat.”

“Like I care. Shut up.”

“Aah, my only joy in life.”

I really need to go scavenge through the raw garbage, though. Humans die when they don’t have anything to eat, you know.

Tia-sama, why do humans die so easily?

“You remember Aroma, right? Annoyingly enough, because of her, I got stuck being your instructor or whatever. So, I’m going to teach you some common sense around here.”

“For real? That’s super crazy. Epic.”

“Don’t use words I don’t understand! Where’s your answer?!”

“Yes, Sensei! Understood!”

“Sen… N-No, I suppose that’s fine. Sensei, yeah, okay.”

Is there something wrong with her head? She’s way too easy to manipulate. Instant submission? Did she just instantly submit?

No, I get it. She’s so simple-minded that no one has ever called her ‘Sensei’ before. How pitiful.

“Yeah! Sensei is going to guide you to the library now.”

“Yes, Garon-sensei! Thank you very much.”

“G-Good. Just keep being obedient like that.”

“Yeees.”

Oh crap, my stomach is starting to hurt from the guilt. Just kidding.

But it’s just too pathetic. It’s okay, Garon-san.

Tia-sama used to say that girls live happier lives if they’re a little bit foolish. If she said it, it must be true. I’m sure you can be happy too, since your brain is made of sunshine and flowers.

Ah, wait, no, that’s not it. It’s not that you can be happy.

I’ll make you happy.

I will love you to the absolute fullest. I’ve already decided I’d start with you, after all.

Thinking that, I rubbed my hands together subserviently and followed her out of the castle and into an independent building.

“Hey, Eva, come out! You heard from Aroma, right? Garon-sama has arrived!”

She even started adding ‘-sama’ to her own name. Just how carried away can she get? I have a habit of getting carried away too, so I shouldn’t talk, but I kind of want to see how far she takes it.

If I flatter her enough, she might just climb a tree, even though she’s a wolf.

While I was pondering that, a mismatched figure wearing a wrinkled white lab coat and a black pointed hat sluggishly emerged from the shadows of the countless bookshelves.

“What is all this noise? Ah, Garon. Go home.”

“What the hell? That’s quite a greeting.”

“You are loud. I value silence. Therefore, go home.”

“I’m here for work today. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come to a musty place like this otherwise.”

“What is a muscle-brained boar doing in a place like… Hmm? Is that a human behind you?”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to drill some common sense into him. Orders from the damn Prime Minister.”

“Hm, ah, now that you mention it, I do feel like I heard something about that. What a shame it’s not a sample donation. And such a healthy-looking human too.”

As she spoke, looking at me with lingering regret, she looked human at first glance, but I could tell from her long ears and dark skin.

An elf. A dark elf, at that.

Elves have a very small total population, supposedly living in settlements within forests all over the world, but dark elves are considered heretics even among them.

I had heard that by leaving the forest, they lose the divine protection of the forest spirits that elves worship (assuming such things exist. Honestly, I’m pretty skeptical), causing their skin to turn brown. Was that actually true?

Well, so little is known about elves in general, let alone dark elves, so I don’t really know if it’s a fact or not. Besides, this is my first time actually seeing anyone from the elf species.

“So? This is technically a library. The only things I can lend out are books.”

“Alright, then.”

While Garon-sensei enthusiastically searched for teaching materials, I looked around.

It didn’t feel vastly different from a human library, but the scale was absurd. I wondered if it was something like the Royal Central Library I had seen once in Volks.

However, she did mention something about a ‘sample’ earlier. It really doesn’t seem like it’s just a normal library.

There’s a blatantly suspicious, pitch-black door in the back, and it even has a magic circle drawn on it. It practically screams that going inside would be dangerous.

Since I have the chance, should I choose the black door?

With that thought, as I wandered unsteadily toward it, drawn in like a magnet—

“Ah, you there. It’s dangerous. That area is off-limits.”

Saying that, the woman named Eva grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

“Also, please don’t go touching things as you please. The one I’m giving lending permission to is Garon, not you.”

Leaving those words behind, Eva-san walked away.

It was an old habit of mine to unconsciously wander into dangerous places. Meeting Tia-sama for the first time was thanks to that, and it was also thanks to that I managed to avoid dying back then.

No, that’s not it.

That’s not right.

I just failed to die.

Even now, everyone is waiting inside that grave I dug. Because I wanted to go there quickly, I still end up doing reckless things like this.

“You shouldn’t always be causing trouble.”

“Now, don’t get so mad. He’s a boy. When they’re kids, being a little rambunctious is just right.”

“It’s because you spoil him like that.”

Saying that, Mom scolded me and Dad defended me. And then, when I got carried away, Dad would give me a smack on the head.

That warm place only exists in my memories now.

Because I couldn’t forgive that, I…

“Hey, human! Stop spacing out!”

“Yes, Mom.”

“What?! Who are you calling Mom, you idiot?! I’m only eighteen!”

With that, Garon-san, who had returned carrying several books under one arm, smacked me on the head.

That soft, squishy sensation felt incredibly good. I think I could get addicted to it.

Or rather, since her paw was still pressed against my face, I tried pushing back against it with my forehead. Squish, squish.

Oh crap, this is amazing. Seriously amazing.

“Excuse me, Sensei. By the way, would it be alright if I touched those paw pads a bit more?”

“No, it wouldn’t! Come on, we’re doing this over there! Sit in that seat!”

“Okey-dokey.”

Eva-san’s judgment wasn’t wrong. This person really is loud.

And so, sitting side-by-side at the desk, the teaching material she opened and showed me was…

“And so, the Demon Lord and the demons lived happily ever after. The end.”

“The end.”

“Well? A former slave human like you probably can’t even read, right? First, we read a simple picture book like this, and then…”

“Garon-sensei, Garon-sensei.”

“Yeah, what is it? Go ahead and ask Sensei! Anything is fine, anything at all!”

Laughing boisterously, Garon-san puffed out her chest as she spoke, so I decided not to hold back either.

“I can read.”

“I see, I see. You can read, huh.”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“You can read…”

“Yes.”

When I answered, Garon-san placed both fists on the desk, looked down, and began to tremble. The ears atop her head were slightly flattened, but because the fur on the inside was thin, I could clearly see they had turned bright red.

“You bastard, are you kidding me?! If you could read, you should’ve said so! I read the whole damn thing to the end!”

“Happily ever after.”

“There’s nothing happy about this!”

The only thing ‘happy’ here is your simple little brain, but if I said that out loud, I’d definitely get killed.

I have to do damage control.

“I’m sorry. I just remembered my mother reading to me a long time ago.”

“Hah?!”

“It made me nostalgic having someone read to me like this, or sing me lullabies.”

“Sigh. I see. Humans do that sort of thing too, huh.”

“Please. Just one more time. Could you read it to me just one more time?”

“Tch, don’t mess with me. I don’t have that kind of free time. Stop acting spoiled.”

Saying that, Garon-san pointed a finger directly at me.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I want to bite you so badly right now I can hardly stand it. If you plan on making me play house any more than this, you’d better be prepared.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Tch. As long as you understand.”

Garon-san turned her head away.

Ah, how cute. So cute. Cute.

You just felt a tiny twinge of guilt towards a lowly slave, didn’t you?

You started feeling attached to a lowly human, didn’t you?

Jeez, you’re just too cute.

I guess Aroma-san isn’t as smart as I thought, either. Why would she send someone like Garon-san? A girl with such immature emotions, even if she has power, is practically a child.

Does she not understand humans? Or does she not understand the concept of emotional attachment?

Intelligent creatures cannot escape the pleasure of having affection directed at them as long as they’ve never been betrayed. At the very least, a little girl like this can’t.

Unlike humans, you demons have no experience with internal conflict. For you, “friend or foe” has always simply meant “human or demon,” hasn’t it?

In truth, demons might be much wiser creatures than humans.

Even though there are power struggles, it has never escalated into demons killing each other. Even now, when we’re on the verge of being wiped out by the demons, humans are still at each other’s throats.

Those who have never been stabbed in the back probably can’t even fathom the pain. Which is quite convenient for me, really.

But betraying someone isn’t love. I cannot do anything that goes against love.

Therefore, my foolish Garon-san, I will never deceive you. I am far more foolish. I want to love you. Please let me love you. I won’t ask for anything in return. I just want to keep yearning for you.

Hm, alright, let’s go with this approach.

“Garon-san was my mother.”

“My kind mother was Garon-san.”

“My Garon-san was my beloved mother.”

Yeah. And for her titles: Garon-sensei. Garon-sama. Garon-san.

Something like that.

Alright.

Ah, Garon-san, you’re so dear to me. So dear. So beloved. I want to hold you tight. I love you. I adore you. I really love you. Please, please, believe in these feelings.

How is this, Tia-sama?

—Somehow, the mood became “we’re done for today,” so the two of us left the library.

“…”

“…”

Without a word, we crossed through the sunset-dyed courtyard. I headed back to my bed in the underground Dungeon, and Garon-san returned toward the castle.

As I watched her back, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and muttered in a voice so soft I could barely hear it.

“We’re meeting at the library again tomorrow at the same time. Don’t be late.”

“Yes! Garon-sensei!”

I answered in the loudest voice I could muster.

“Shut up!”

Baring her fangs, Garon-san yelled back at me like that.

But in the brief moment she glanced back, I thought I saw a slight smile floating on her face.

It was probably no mistake. Because I could see her tail slowly wagging back and forth, two or three times.

Caught you.

I’ve found the heart of Garon Vermillion.

It won’t be long before I can confess my love to her.