CH 59

Chapter 59 Banquet

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“Maou-sama, I have something I wish to present to you.”

Collin said as he kneeled in front of me in the Audience Room.

…….. Somehow I have a bad feeling about this…..

“What is it?”

“Thanks to Lugrant-sama’s effort, the financial problem in Maou Castle is no more. Everything’s running smoothly now.”

Right. 

I noticed that recently the meals and the clothing we were able to provide for the children had increased considerably in both quantity and quality. 

In fact nowadays we were able to have custom made clothes specific for each tribe for the children. 

“True. Lugrant, Collin, the two of you have done well.”

Lugrant nodded with a face that said ’well of course.’

“Thus, I wished to present Maou-sama with this.” 

Collin offered something that looked like a parchment of paper to me, he was holding it with an unusual level of reverence. 

Just what is this thing exactly? I’m curious!

“This is… Land deed?”

“Precisely.”

Collin smiled, his eyes narrowed into the shape of a crescent moon.

“That is the land deed for this whole region.”

“Wha-?!”

Whole region? That means the entirety of the forest surrounding Maou Castle?!

“With this, the human won’t be able to enter our territory as they please. Oh! Wait, wait.. I can use this opportunity to threa- I mean, negotiate with some feudal lords that have financial problems to buy the surrounding territory as well. If I could manage to get them all, our territory could reach the size of a small country. Ah by the way I used the name ‘Mao’ as the rightful owner of the deed.”

“Amazing!!”

Right, of course. 

I forgot that this castle and this forest as a whole must’ve belonged to someone. 

I totally forgot about that. 

“ Well, well.. The issue with the legality of this area was a little bit complicated. The owners were at standoff against each other, no one dared to make the first move and so it was a little bit difficult to develop this area. Well, I simply made the owners fall in debt so- I mean, I helped the owners when they were having some financial issues. Truly, everything fell perfectly into my plan….”

Collin snickered, his face looked ominous. 

You set the lords up, didn’t you? You sneaky cat…

“With this, we won’t have to worry about humans every time a demon comes to visit us. It’s truly a good thing, right? Besides, if there’s some bad humans deciding to trespass on our private property… Fufufu~ It is within our legal right to eradicate them, right?~”

Seeing everything going well like this makes me happy. I’m feeling really good right now!

I beckoned for Collin to come closer to me and rubbed the base of his neck.

“Collin! You did well!”

“Fufu~ You can praise me some more if you want to!”

Collin began to purr and leaned his body on me, just like a cat.

I’ve never felt so happy like this before!

That’s right! At times like this we should…

“Let’s hold a banquet to celebrate the success of acquiring territory for Maou Castle!”

And thus begin the preparation for the banquet. 

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Since I was in a good mood, I’ve decided to rearrange Maou Castle a little bit. 

First, I made a courtyard.

In the courtyard, the children will be able to play together in the sun during the day. 

“Umm… We still don’t have enough food yet! We need to make more food as soon as possible! You! How’s the preparation for the table in the courtyard?”

“Umm… We’re still in the middle of handing out the tablecloths. The incubus and succubus children are helping me with it. How’s the preparation for the plate over there?”

“We’re still gathering all the available plates in the castle! Ahh, it’s going pretty smoothly with the help of the children! They’re being a great help to me!”

“Yes! I can’t agree more with you!” 

Both Elk and Copper were busy preparing for the banquet with the help of the children.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just shut up and chew your bone quietly in the corner!”

“Yeah! Yeah!”

Lexus tried to help but his offer was cruelly rejected by the others. 

Cheer up, Lexus!

((Seems like you’re doing something fun.))

Chaos came to check up on us, he was moving slowly and carefully since he was still in his dragon form. 

“We’re throwing a banquet today. You should come and join us too!”

((I guess I should.))

“Ah! Dark Dragon is here! Whoa! He’s just like a slide!~”

Noticing Chaos’s presence, the small children swarmed him in a matter of seconds. 

While laughing heartily, the children began to climb onto his back and use his body as a slide. 

Chaos tried to break free by squirming and biting on the children but I could see he was just being playful.

Despite his protest, he kept his tail close to the ground so the children could slide on him.

“How’s the preparation for the stage?”

“Hm, the decoration is still not finished yet.”

“Uwah! Those detailed embroidery! Lugrant-sama, we won’t be able to finish until late at night if you focus on that!”

Even though Collin and Lugrant were the stars of the show, they still chipped in together to help.

“Will this be enough logs?”

Sybyl carried two big logs on each of his shoulders to be used as a chair. 

I could see he was feeling very happy with the way his tail swayed from left to right, he must be really excited for the banquet. 

Everyone pitching in to help in any way they could. 

Somehow I feel happy looking at them.

Of course being the only one left out, I could only sit in the corner while hugging my knees quietly. Uuuuh….

—————————————————————–

By night time, the preparation was already finished. 

It was time to open the curtain to the banquet!

“Well then! Let’s have a toast to celebrate the newly acquired territory for Maou Castle! Cheers!!”

I said excitedly and lifted a glass of juice in the air.

“Cheers!”

Everyone lifted their own cups and cheered in unison.

The adults were drinking various sorts of alcohol while the children had juices. 

And thus, begin our first banquet!

“My oh my, Gedo-dono’s sword dance looks very beautiful indeed! I wish I could have a spar with you, just once!”

“Sybyl-dono, your sword dance is simply magnificent as well. I’d be honored to be granted a chance to spar with you.”

Oh, how unusual.

I rarely saw Sybyl and Gedo talk with each other. 

“Then Randolph-dono, how’s the situation in human society?”

“Right now every country is quietly keeping to themselves so there’s no unusual activity to be heard yet.. Oh! But I heard Garland is about to start moving next month! Though I’m not sure what they’re planning to do yet…”

For once, Randolph and Chaos the lizardman seemed to be in a deep conversation.

“Ah! The meat! Please give Miu some of that meat too!”

“Okay, okay. There’s still plenty so wait for your turn, okay?”

Zeno the High Orc reprimanded the succubus children gently.

“Let’s say if I want a doll that looks like Maou-sama for me to hold at night… Is that possible?”

“I see. It is very possible. I dare say it’s such a simple task for us even. First, we need the body of a 10 year old boy, preferably in good condition then we can start by operating the face to suit Maou-sama…”

“Oho~ How interesting…”

O-oi! Vii and Doctor were talking about some dangerous stuff over there!

Having the both of them together just screams trouble!

I stared at the scenery before me. 

Both the adults and children were talking happily while eating to their fill. 

This.. This is good. Seeing everyone being happy together makes me happy too.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

Velke came to check up on me. 

He promptly began to fill my plate with various kinds of food. 

“Yeah, how about you?”

“I think it’s nice to have this kind of party once in a while.”

Velke flashed a smile. 

Velke, he rarely smiled. He was fast and efficient with his work but usually he kept a stoic face no matter what happens so catching him smiling like this was a rare and pleasant occurrence. 

The number of demons had increased significantly, the children were growing healthily too. 

Happiness was really contagious. 

“At first, there were only you and me. Just when did everything become so merry like this?”

I began to start eating but I just couldn’t stop smiling for some reason.

“It’s all thanks to Master’s perseverance and hard work.”

Velke said as he gently stroked my head. 

Yeah. I really did my best, huh.

If by doing my best would lead me to this point then I will keep on going strong no matter what happens then!

The me right now still couldn’t make much of a difference, but as long I could fill this castle with children, laughter and hope then I will never give up. 

Because I want everyone to keep smiling and laughing like this.

This, this right now was the sight I wished to see forever.

“Everyone, may I have your attention please? Thank you. Now the sabretooth tigers will begin to perform their beautiful sword dance!”

Chaos the lizardman as the MC for tonight called for our attention.

On the stage, there were about 20 sabretooth tigers children gathering around. 

Sizel as the leader stood in the centre of the formation.

“We, the sabretooth tiger children will depart from our nest tomorrow. Before that, as a proud warrior of sabretooth tiger tribe, we wished to show everyone the sword dance that we inherited from our ancestors.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd like fireworks.

The children couldn’t hold back their smile and nodded to each other as the thumping of the drum marked the beginning of their dance. 

In accordance to the beat of the drums, the sabretooth tiger children showed their dexterity through martial arts movement.

With swords in one hand, they leaped into the air, performing acrobatic movement as if they were floating in the air. 

Their soft paws muted their falls, their landing was as graceful as a swan.

One black and yellow striped tiger and one white and black striped tiger took the center stage.

Swords against swords, the way they swung their weapons was both beautiful and fierce. 

The sight was so mesmerizing, the crowds grew silent at their performance.

The drums became more erratic as their performance came to the climax. 

Despite the speed and the complexity of the dance, the tiger children didn’t look bothered at all. 

With one last thump from the drum, their dance ended.

The moment all the sabretooth tigers landed on the stage floor, loud cheer and applause erupted inside the courtyard..

Almost everyone gave a standing applause to the children, I was no exception. 

The performance truly moved my heart, it was so breathtakingly beautiful.

All 20 childrens bowed gracefully, I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing. 

They truly have grown so big…

It felt like it was just yesterday the cub was following me from behind while calling me, “Mao-shama, Mao-shama.”

Ah, Sybyl was openly wailing, his cries could be heard all over the forest.

“Continuing on, we will have a sword dance battle between Alexius-sama and Velke-sama.”

Oh, sounds interesting!

And so, the night of the banquet came to an end after various performances from the demons.

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The next morning, all of us were standing in the Teleportation Room to send sabretooth tiger children off.

The children were planning to rebuild the village in the valley that Sybyl used to live at. 

Sizel, the leader of the children, proudly proclaimed they were going to name it White Tiger Village.

“Roulan, Sylves, we’re counting on you to take care of the rest.”

“Yeah, you guys take care of yourselves too, okay?!”

Only two sabretooth tiger children were left in the castle to nurture the next generation’s swordsmanship, the rest went with Sizel to the valley.

“Maou-sama, our master, the great being that gave birth to us. We shall leave our nest today but our heart will forever be with you. If there’s any chance you will require our assistance in the future, don’t hesitate to call for us. We will come for you, no matter what, no matter when, no matter where.”

All the children kneeled and pledged their loyalty to me. 

I was overwhelmed with feelings but I had to remain dignified as Maou-sama so I held my tears back.

“E-everyone.. *sobs* I-I wish *sobs* sa-safe travel *sobs* a-and g-good luck *sobs* to all of you…”

Crap, I tried my hardest but I couldn’t stop myself from crying, I choked on my own voice.

Velke, the ever prepared aide, silently wiped my nose.

I blew into the handkerchief and sniffed my heart out. 

After I calmed down a little, I looked into each of the children’s eyes. 

“I wish all the best for your future. May [Maou’s Blessing] be with you. From now on, all of you will be living side by side. In the future, you guys might fight with each other but remember… Each and every one of you are my beloved children. Be proud of that, respect and always communicate with each other. That way, your bonds will take roots and no one will be able to break you guys apart. My only wish is for you guys to be able to stay healthy and to live in harmony and peace.”

After I finished talking, some of the children started to cry. 

Their father, Sybyl on the other side… 

Ah, he had been crying since last night.

His eyes looked so puffy, it was amazing he still had some tears left to cry.

I poured all my energy into casting [Maou’s Blessing] to them.

After that, the children stepped into the magic circle. 

They waved goodbye at us as they got teleported into the valley. 

The other demons returned to their post but I kept on standing there and stared at the magic circle even long after the children were gone. 

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I guess after that….

It became a tradition for the children who were about to leave Maou Castle to showcase their talent first. 

Like some sort of talent show, they could perform whatever they wanted. 

I always cried every time I watched it. 

Watching my own children grow big like this somehow.. There was this bittersweet feeling inside my heart.