Vol 2 Chapter 27 – Manifestation

—Meanwhile, inside the castle that served as Diabolo’s headquarters.

Catching sight of Garon—who was tall for a woman, and above all, possessed a distinctive tail—Electra called out to her.

“Hey, Garon, do you have a minute?”

“Mm? What is it, El? What’s up?”

“I’d like to talk for a bit. How about some tea?”

“Hah? Well, fine. Come to my room, then.”

“Oh my. I finally got my hands on some good black tea, so I was thinking of treating you.”

“Your room smells too strongly of blood, so I can’t relax.”

“How cruel. I’ve been keeping it clean lately, too.”

The two of them walked together toward Garon’s room.

For Garon, who had been bothered by Electra’s strange behavior lately, it was a timely proposal. Besides, without that slightly cheeky—or rather, unpredictable—student around, she was simply bored.

Yes, just bored, because it’s not like she felt anything in particular just because that guy wasn’t here.

For a proud member of the Vermillion bloodline to be affected just because a mere human is gone for a little while is absolutely impossible.

That being said, it is a fact that she felt a little restless because the time spent with that human, which had already become a part of her daily life, was gone.

When he was here, he was annoying, but when he’s not here, she gets fidgety.

Honestly, Nine is just a useless guy, and when he gets back, he needs more education.

While she was thinking such things, El called out to her.

“Garon, it tickles.”

“Huh? What does?”

“Your tail has been hitting me for a while now. Swish, swish.“

“O-Oh, my bad.”

“…Were you thinking about something fun?”

“Not really, I don’t have anything fun to think about.”

“Right… Since Nine-chan isn’t here, Garon seemed lonely too. Having fun things to think about is good.”

“Hah? As if. I feel refreshed now that he’s gone.”

Nothing but lies.

Electra peeked up at Garon’s face, which was more than a head above her own. Even though Garon’s expression didn’t change a bit, the thrashing tail being held down by her right hand couldn’t hide her agitation.

It was her habit when trying to hide her embarrassment—one that she still didn’t realize she had, but everyone in Diabolo knew about it. The reason no one had pointed it out until now was simply because they found that side of Garon endearing.

But right now, for some reason, seeing her act like that pissed Electra off.

“It seems you and that boy got along quite well, Garon.”

“I’m tellin’ you, you’re wrong. That guy’s probably just gonna try to run away like this anyway.”

“………”

Perhaps.

Rather than obediently returning here like this, slipping past Puria’s surveillance and running away would yield a far higher chance of gaining freedom. I even think that Aroma-san might actually be hoping for that.

But, surely he will return. I haven’t talked to him very much yet, but I truly believe he is someone who keeps his promises, even if it’s nothing more than intuition.

“Despite playing dumb, he was a strangely shrewd guy. Maybe he’s carelessly making his getaway right about now?”

“He wouldn’t do something like that.”

“…What’s this, El? You really think highly of that guy Nine.”

Saying that, Garon turned toward her without stopping her stride, and perhaps it was her imagination, but Garon’s eyes seemed to narrow.

If you’re going to get mad, you shouldn’t have said things you didn’t mean in the first place.

“…………”

“…What’s wrong, going quiet all of a sudden?”

“………”

“Hey, what is it? Say something.”

“Hey, Garon.”

“Yeah.”

“You walked right past your room, you know?”

Garon Vermillion. An eighteen-year-old werewolf being toyed with by the Demon Lord’s sister, who was a mere fourteen years old.

Her straightforwardness, unsuited for a noble heir, was one of her parents’ worries.

Entering Garon’s room for the first time in a while, Electra found it surprisingly well-organized.

Several textbooks, which she was supposed to hate, were lined up on the desk, and when asked the reason for it, Garon just looked away.

What’s this, Garon must want that boy to come back after all, Electra thought. Those books must be preparation for her to teach him when he returns.

“So, what’d you wanna talk about?”

Once they had both taken a seat on the chairs and settled down, Garon spoke rapidly.

Maybe I teased her a bit too much. She had a sulky expression on her face, but she didn’t realize that it was exactly because she was like that that she was worth teasing.

“Since you’re probably the one here who interacts with Nine-chan the most, Garon, I wanted to hear a little about him.”

“Hearing about that guy ain’t gonna be interestin’, you know.”

“That’s not true. Hmm… about the boy himself, of course, but I also want to hear things like, what kind of impression did you have of him?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“I’m not the one being questioned. If you don’t want to answer, it can’t be helped, though.”

“It’s not really that…”

“Then tell me, please. In exchange, I’ll talk, too.”

“…Got it. In a word, that guy is an idiot.”

“…How harsh.”

“He plays dumb with a serious face, and sometimes he looks at you with lewd eyes. Above all, he’s scum who used to be a slave trader. Even so, somehow… no, never mind this part.”

“?”

Electra couldn’t quite hear what was muttered at the very end.

“To be frank, he ain’t a good guy. Have you ever looked into his eyes?”

“Yeah, they’re a bit, like, spacey, right?”

“That’s what you call ‘cloudy’. You can never tell what he’s thinking, and the things he says are probably mostly lies.”

“Hmm…”

“You probably shouldn’t get too involved with him either, El. You collapsed because of him, right? Ojou and Aroma-san were worried, you know.”

Hmm.

“Do you hate him, Garon?”

“…It’s not like I like him, since he’s a human in the first place, you know.”

I wonder if Garon realizes she didn’t answer the question.

But I won’t point it out to her. If she doesn’t realize it, then she doesn’t realize it, and I don’t really mind either way.

“There, I talked. Next is your turn, El.”

“…Right. Though even if I say that, I haven’t been able to talk to him much, so it won’t be very reliable. Is that okay?”

“I don’t mind. Come on, out with it.”

What is it? I suppose Garon is a girl after all. Even though she usually ignores things she has no interest in, she really took the bait.

“…About what we were just talking about. The first time I talked to him, I collapsed, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard. What was up with that in the end? It’s not like you were hit or anything, right? Well, there’s no way you’d get taken down by a beanpole like him, anyway.”

“…I haven’t told my sister or Aroma-san about this yet. So, will you keep it a secret?”

“…Mm, understood. I swear on the name of Vermillion.”

Saying that, Garon corrected her posture. For a werewolf to swear on their family name carries the same weight as betting their life.

It’s probably safe to trust her here, but to put it another way, Garon is trying to obtain information about Nine-chan even if it means betting her life… Maybe I’m overthinking it.

But if she was going to get this attached to him, I really wish Garon hadn’t gotten close to him.

“You see. He kissed me.”

“Alright, let’s kill him.”

“After that, he looked into my eyes and told me, ‘I will love you’.”

“Decided. I’ll absolutely kill him and beat him to death.”

“Then my heart started pounding, and I felt kind of, fluffy.”

“I won’t forgive him, I’ll never forgive him, I’ll bite him to death, I’ll gouge him to death, damn it, that lowlife, shit, bastard.”

“I became so, so scared.”

“………Huh?”

“You said his eyes were cloudy, Garon, but they didn’t look like that to me. …Hey, Garon. How did you feel the first time you killed a human?”

“T-That’s, well, I was nervous at first, and, well, a little…”

“You were scared, weren’t you?”

“…Mm, yeah, I guess.”

“I remembered that feeling. The feeling of ‘Is this what’s going to happen to me too?’, the feeling of ‘Will I be killed by someone like this someday too?'”

“…I don’t follow.”

“I was probably broken by him. At that time, by that gaze.”

He said he would love me, and I don’t think there was a lie in that. But the hatred that surfaced in the depths of his eyes for an instant was much, much deeper than any human I have ever killed.

Surely, deep down in his heart, he is a human who hates demons so much he can’t stand it. An extremely ordinary, run-of-the-mill enemy of demons—just a human.

However, he kept his promise, and I am now able to escape the endless frustration and lethargy that had tormented me for as long as I can remember.

After receiving his kiss, for some reason, though it is truly strange, it suddenly clicked into place. Things like how much I had been helped by those around me up until now, and how much everyone had loved me.

Was it because remembering the terror on the verge of death made me reflect on my past self? Or was it simply that a cliché phenomenon like love at first sight had occurred to this body, and I was just being frivolous?

Is it terror, or is it love? I don’t know.

I am terrified of him, but his words saying he would love me were sincere enough to strike my young heart.

Even now, I haven’t been able to digest my own feelings. I am a defective product who doesn’t even know pain, but precisely because of that, I want to observe him a little longer—that new toy, who inflicted pain upon my heart.

Though my storytelling was clumsy, I spoke my true feelings to Garon as promised. …Except for my conviction that he hates us. I kept that a secret.

“…Hmm.”

A single breath.

Her reaction was only that, but it was much better than her poorly pretending to understand.

“So basically, it’s fine to assume you’ve taken a liking to Nine, right?”

“…Well, to put it simply, I suppose that’s what it comes down to.”

“…Got it. Well, he ain’t exactly someone I’d recommend, but do whatever you want.”

“Yeah… thanks for talking with me, Garon. I feel a bit refreshed.”

“Well, that’s good.”

Receiving Garon’s reply, I stood up.

I couldn’t tell until now because it was in my blind spot… I wonder if Garon herself has noticed that the fur on her tail is standing on end just a little bit.

Therefore, I think I’ll poke at her just a little bit more while she’s like that.

…I said it was a secret, but that probably won’t apply to him since he’s the party involved anyway… He might have a scratch or two on him by the time he comes before me. I don’t like the idea of a dishonest girl unconsciously leaving scratches on my toy. Neither on his flesh, nor on his heart.

In that case, at the very least, it’s probably better to make her aware of it.

Even though I was supposed to be the one who received him first, against her who has been monopolizing him all this time, I think this level of retaliation is forgivable.

I opened the door, stepped halfway out of the room, and without turning my back, I declared.

“Oh, right… his lips were very hot.”

Without looking at her reaction, I closed the door.

Did she blush, or did her face contort? I’m sure her tail is in a combat stance either way.

Hehe, a smile spilled out.

I won’t hand him over, Garon. Because he is mine.

—After El left, Garon sat in the chair for a while, arms crossed, eyes closed.

Then, after a single click of her tongue, she grabbed a book from the desk and raised it high… clicked her tongue once more, sat back down in the chair, and obediently began to read through it.

Because what she needed to do was teach that poorly-performing student. Because her job was to surprise that infuriating human with a perfect lecture when he returned.

If she did that, that time should become even more fulfilling.

Garon didn’t realize it. She would never try to realize that, without knowing it, she had come to think of Nine’s return as a given, and that the lecture time, which was supposed to be a pain, had imperceptibly ceased to be unpleasant for her.

Even if someone else were to offer to play the role of teacher right now, she would not yield.

Surely, it was the manifestation of a very small sense of possessiveness. For a deeply affectionate werewolf to direct that toward a human shouldn’t be a good thing for a demon, yet she continued to avert her eyes from that fact.

Desperately, mindlessly.

“His lips were very hot.”

Remembering Electra’s words, she licked her lips. A stinging, burning sensation ran across them.

Had she bitten them without even realizing it herself?

It tasted like iron.