Book 6: Chapter 14

The next day after observing the town of Elgrad.

Vermudol visited Altejio’s office at the Northern headquarters.

「……I see, that must have been quite hard on you.」

Resting his hands that were processing documents, Altejio made a wry smile.

Vermudol, who was listlessly sitting on the sofa as if reclining on it, turned his gaze towards Altejio.

「It isn’t just hard. I have no idea what the correct thing to do is, and this is the first time I’ve encountered this sort of problem since I’ve been born.」

Saying that, Vermudol breathed a deep sigh.

Ichika, Nino, Rokuna.

The three of them harbored affection towards Vermudol, and formally displayed that with their behavior.

Vermudol also accepted their feelings from the front and declared that he would give them an answer someday, but that was ultimately just putting it on hold and not a resolution to it all.

Although there were various circumstances, Vermudol himself was the one that created that situation.

He had no intention of denying that, nor did he have any intention of going back to refusing to think about it at this point.

But……however.

Even though it was said that there were answers and clues for any kind of difficult problem, this time alone, he couldn’t find any of those at all.

After taking a pitcher into his hand, Altejio took out two crystal-made glasses and placed them on the table in front of the sofa.

After seating himself down on sofa opposite of Vermudol, he poured water into a glass and held it out to Vermudol.

「Your heart will decide. However, there is no such thing as a correct answer for that.」

「You’re saying……there is no answer? Is there really such a thing?」

「Yes, that is unfortunately the case. For me, I had thoroughly worried over it.」

The figure of Altejio’s wife came to Vermudol’s mind.

「……Margaret, huh.」

After answering that with silence, Altejio lightly tapped the table with his finger.

「Demon King-sama. Logic works only when it is between men. When it is between a man and a woman, please think of it as there being unknown laws that surpass logic and theory.」

Hearing that, Vermudol was astonished.

Getting involved with unknown laws where logic and theory can’t be applied, wouldn’t that mean that he couldn’t derive a solution?

「……Impossible. No, those three are extremely intellectual. I can’t believe that logic wouldn’t apply to them.」

「There was a time where I also felt that way.」

After Altejio said that, he laughed with a *fu*.

「Demon King-sama. My current self loves Margaret. With that, I shall inform you of a certain fact.」

「Nn? Yeah.」

「My preference in the past, it was for the type that was like Fainell.」

Being told that, Vermudol began to think.

First, Margaret was small. He wouldn’t say that it was to the point of being a child, but she had a smaller build than Nino.

Her personality was where she would make a straight line for the things she held interest in with innocence. But however, her thoughts were extraordinarily fast.

She had strong power but was poor at battle, and personality-wise, she wasn’t suited to fighting either.

In contrast, what about Fainell?

First, her figure was good. Her slender body was brimming with strength, and even she herself was overflowing with confidence about it.

For her personality, she looks too serious at a glance, but she is actually quite slovenly, and she was also bad at using her head. However, she also had a side that possessed a strong sense of duty and cared greatly about friendship.

She was excellent in combat, and could even be said to be a heaven-sent child of battle.

「Personality-wise, they have some similar aspects……right? No, if we are talking about their outward traits……」

「I am only talking about their outward traits.」

「Then they’re completely different, aren’t they.」

「Yes, they are different. With that, I will purposely say this but, my current self loves Margaret.」

Although he nodded at Altejio who made that reminder, he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Just why in the world was he so attracted to Margaret then?

「I see, her personality matched with you, Altejio.」

「No, at the time that I met her, she made high pitched cries and I found her to be annoying. I regretted picking her up, and it wasn’t just one or two times that I thought about abandoning her somewhere.」

Margaret was a Metalio that was washed ashore on the Dark Continent before Vermudol was born in this world. The one who picked her up was Altejio.

「……I can’t understand it. Just what in the world happened?」

「For that, I can only say that I came to like her by the time I noticed it…… I will end up speaking fondly about it if I go into detail, but would you like to hear it?」

「……Please pardon me from that.」

Vermudol said that with an unpleasant face, and drank the glass of water.

After washing down that cold water, his mind calmed down a bit.

However, when compared to Altejio’s story, Vermudol was fortunate.

He had never harbored such negative feelings towards those three.

「Nevertheless, Demon King-sama, you truly are a great difference from the previous Demon King-sama.」

Vermudol made a puzzled face at Altejio’s sudden remark.

He was unable to understand why talk about the previous Demon King Gramfia would appear here.

「If it was that Person, he would have said something like marrying all of them. No, I suppose he actually did marry them. In the end, he had several wives……」

「I don’t think this is the case, but you’re not telling me to follow after his example, right?」

「I would not say that is the correct thing to do, but I believe it is one way of solving it.」

Vermudol made a displeased looking face at Altejio who said that so nonchalantly.

「……That is just way too dishonest. Don’t call something like that a solution.」

「That is true. For me, I have no intention of marrying any woman other than Margaret. I should have not recommended a method that I myself would not have done.」

Vermudol glared at Altejio.

「Stop testing me, Altejio. That’s a bad habit of yours.」

「Pardon me. However, have you not already decided on a single direction?」

「……You mean sincerely responding to them? With that, it’s the same as not deciding on anything.」

Vermudol just couldn’t be satisfied with that.

「That ain’t really the case, ya know?」

The door opened, and a deep voice resounding in the office. And then, Raktor, holding a gigantic sake bottle in his hands, entered the room.

「Here, a present. It’s the strongest in the South, ya know?」

「……By that, that is the one that would dye even a Blue Dragon red, right? Don’t you have something that was a bit better? For something like this, only someone like Margaret can drink this, you know?」

Showing no sign of being bothered by that sort of complaint at all, Raktor hit Altejio’s shoulder with a *ban ban*.

「And that’s enough, ain’t it.」

Raktor turned back to facing Vermudol.

「And so, erm, about that talk about sincerely respondin’ or whatever. That’s pretty important, ya know?」

「Well……that is true but.」

Rather than being important, it was instead a basic premise, wasn’t it.

「Well, about that. I’ve got an interestin’ story. It’s a story about a certain Silver Dragon, see……」

Raktor proudly started his story.

That Silver Dragon possessed a beautiful body that shone silver, and even the Breath it fired boasted distinguished beauty among the Dragons.

It was to the point that he was said to be a peerlessly handsome man in the world of Dragons.

For him, requests of association came to him from numerous female Dragons, and every time, he would answer their feeling with all of his strength.

And then, several months later.

The Silver Dragon called those girls to his own residence, and made this announcement.

I love all of you. And so, why don’t we all get along with everyone and love each other from now on.

「……That makes me vomit, but what happened after that?」

「There was nothin’ to it. It seems that the women all got along and viciously beat him with their fired Dragon Breathes. A “my condolences” kinda situation.」

「Well, that was justified. His sincerity was messed up.」

「Right? In other words, it’s that sort of story.」

In response to Raktor who heartily laughed, Vermudol strengthlessly laughed.

It would become a reference as a case example of making the wrong choice, but it didn’t come up with a single solution to his problem.

After thinking “speaking of Dragons, what about this man”, Vermudol asked him a question.

「Now that you mention it, you don’t have any romantic stories about you. What about that?」

「Nnー? Ahh, me huh? I haven’t really found anyone that suits me.」

Having gained interest in Raktor, who made a distant look, Vermudol raised his body from the sofa.

「What, do you have a criteria?」

「It ain’t really a criteria. They just need ta be able ta truly have a fist fight with me.」

I see, that was certainly difficult.

A Mazoku that was able to have a fist fight with Raktor who was a Bale Dragon, there shouldn’t be that many.

「The way I see it, that sorta relationship needs ta be one of equality. I don’t like it when ya have ta be reserved with each other.」

「By that, do you mean in a fighting way?」

「Nah, in an everyday kinda way. When it comes to a difference of strength, that sorta thing ain’t really connected to bein’ reserved when push comes ta shove, right?」

Seeing Raktor say that looking a bit embarrassed, Altejio handed him a new glass while laughing.

「I see, I had no idea that you had thought about it that way, Raktor.」

「Ha, stay outta this. Bein’ the only married guy in the Four Cardinal Generals. There ain’t anyone who’s a more devoted husband or more romantic of a guy than you in the Zadark Kingdom.」

After Raktor looked up at the ceiling looking exasperated, the sound of the office door being knocked upon resounded.

The one who didn’t wait for a response and just came in like that was Sancreed.

「Sorry I’m late……What are you all talking about?」

「Aahn? Let’s see, love stories?」

「That is true. If we were to summarize it in one phrase, it would be love stories.」

「Well……That’s pretty much it.」

Altejio and Vermudol agreed with Raktor’s answer.

「I see, love huh……」

With that unexpected topic, Sancreed made a somewhat difficult looking face and nodded.

「Oh? Yer makin’ a face that looks like you’ve got somethin’ ta talk about.」

Raktor started to tease him, and Vermudol also turned his gaze towards him.

If it was Sancreed who was highly popular with women in both the Zadark Kingdom and the Jiol Forest Kingdom, he was hoping that Sancreed might have the best solution to his own current situation.

However, Sancreed smiled seeming lonely and answered.

「No……I was just thinking that this was a talk I had no connection to.」

For a short while, a time of silence was created.

Everyone else in the room kept silent, and before long, they looked at each other.

「Whaddya think? Do ya think he’s seriously sayin’ that?」

「No……That cannot be. He has that much affection turned towards him from everywhere in such an easy to understand way.」

「Even I can tell that much. I see, is that what it means to be insincere?」

Seeing those three whispering to each other, Sancreed flusteredly cut into the conversation.

「W, wait! You’re misunderstanding something, aren’t you!」

After hearing that and looking at Sancreed for only a moment, they once again looked at each other.

「I’m sure that next, he’ll start babblin’ stuff like he has no idea where true love can be found or somethin’, ya know?」

「Nono, I think he will say something like he hates himself for not being allowed to love only a single person.」

「What about him saying that the person that he truly loves doesn’t turn around to face him?」

Sancreed was unable to keep silent and shouted at the three who were saying things as they pleased.

「I’m telling you all to wait! Listen to what I have to say first!」

Like this, the foolish talk of men continued on throughout the night.