Chapter 25: A Cheerful Life in the Demon King’s Castle (2)

“Nice to meet you, Saintess. Please call me Grand General.”

“Nice to meet you, Grand General.”

“You may call me Chief Steward.”

“Yes… Thank you, Chief Steward.”

“You may speak casually if you’d like.”

After Morgan was dragged away by Rebecca for some business, two male demons were assigned to stay with me. Eleanor also left with Arma for a while, so I was left alone.

The Chief Steward and Grand General… I’d never seen either of them while traveling around the Demon Realm. Especially the Grand General—wasn’t that a really high military rank?

“I want to write a letter… could you send it to the Great Temple of the Aria Order?”

“I’ll go prepare writing materials.”

The Chief Steward vanished instantly. Now I was awkwardly alone with the Grand General, who had a very noticeable bald spot on top of his head. Baldness… even divine power can’t fix that, huh?

“ Grand General… sir?”

“…There’s no need to speak so formally to me. You’re a guest of the Demon King.”

This was uncomfortable. I started missing the Gold Priest. At least he knew how to joke. Being around stiff people like this was tough…

“Can I ask… do you have any recent news from the human world?”

“Of course. Many demons are stationed in the human realm. Recent intel says…”

The Grand General pulled out a small notebook from his belt and read through it, then told me what had happened in the Empire while I was gone.

“There’s word that the Empire is gathering troops in the south due to a rebellion by the Water King’s subordinates.”

“ why haven’t the Water King’s forces invaded yet?”

“My guess is… they’re having trouble controlling Fenrir.”

“Pardon?”

“Fenrir is a proud beast. He probably followed the Beastfolk reluctantly after being defeated by the Dragon King… but now that the Dragon King is gone, he likely refuses to obey them.”

So that’s why the Dragon King stayed in that forest? I hope he resolves it soon…

Before long, the Chief Steward returned with paper, ink, and a pen, placing them neatly on the desk. He moved so fast I didn’t even see him, and yet he wasn’t out of breath.

“Ah… I’m sorry, but could I ask one more favor?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“If there’s any news from the Temple… would you let me know immediately?”

“That’s no problem. I’ll inform you right away if anything comes up.”

Relieved by the Grand General’s words, I quietly began writing my letter.

Seeing me writing, the Grand General and Chief Steward silently stepped out of the room. I’d expected them to spy on me or check the letter, but they didn’t. It surprised me.

If this letter reaches the Great Temple, most of my worries will be solved.

I hoped they hadn’t done something foolish—like already choosing a new Saintess because they thought I was dead.

No… Grandpa wouldn’t do that. He was the one who opposed me becoming Saintess in the first place.

Wishing my fears were unfounded, I continued writing my letter to the Pope. I wanted to say I was alive and that I hoped no extreme actions had been taken.

After finishing, I handed the letter to the Chief Steward. I felt a heavy weight lift from my chest. Now if only I could return to the human realm…

I really had to convince Morgan somehow.

“It’ll take at least a week to deliver the letter. I hope you understand we can’t use teleportation scrolls.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Please take care of it.”

Teleport scrolls are rare. Even our hero party only got two per person from the Empire.

Using one just to send a letter… would’ve felt like too much.

As the Chief Steward darted away, the Grand General told me Morgan was waiting in the dining hall.

When I entered with the Grand General, Morgan immediately ran into my arms, snuggling up to me. I really needed to do something about this closeness…

“ shouldn’t you keep a bit of distance? Morgan… you are the Demon King. People might stare…”

I had to word it carefully. I couldn’t just say, “Get off me,” to the Demon King in her own castle. Plus, a Demon King clinging to a Saintess? That was the real problem.

“Why should I care about how people look at me?”

“ what about the dignity of a Demon King?”

“Why should I care what my subordinates think?”

Yikes. Her eyes are scary.

Morgan’s red eyes stared into mine with something hard to describe.

Rebecca slapped her forehead nearby. That probably meant this wasn’t how it was supposed to go…

But still—who’s going to stop the Demon King from doing what she wants in her own castle?

“Let’s eat! The head chef learned to make human world food!”

“Okay…”

Now that I thought about it, what do demons usually eat in this barren land?

The dish served looked amazing—glistening meat freshly grilled and plated like something from an imperial banquet. It was in a whole different league from the meat I had at the Dragon King’s castle.

“Please—some dignity!!!”

Morgan cut the meat, speared it with a fork, and held it up to my mouth. Saying “aah~” and everything.

Rebecca, clearly at her limit, scolded Morgan for being improper.

I agreed entirely—but when Morgan glared at Rebecca silently, she gave up and sat back down.

“Come on, aah~!”

The pressure…

I had no choice but to take the bite, and—Morgan’s embarrassing actions were instantly forgotten. It was incredibly delicious.

Was this… pork? It felt like the best pork I’d ever eaten. Rich, flavorful, and the fatty part wasn’t greasy at all—it was even slightly sweet. It melted in my mouth the second it touched my tongue.

“This is really good…”

“I’m glad! If you didn’t like it, I was going to fire the head chef!”

I ignored Morgan’s terrifying remark and continued slicing the meat in front of me. It felt like pork, tasted like pork… so why did it feel so different?

“Are pigs in the Demon Realm just this tasty?”

“That’s not pork.”

My tongue and brain were convinced it was pork—but then what was it?

“It’s orc meat!”

I reflexively grabbed a napkin and spit it out. Orc?! You mean those gross, vaguely humanoid monsters that live in the southern Demon Realm?

They’re not intelligent enough to be called demons, but not quite mindless enough to be just monsters either. Scholars keep arguing over whether they count as demons or monsters.

I’d seen orcs before—those fat, green-skinned bipedal creatures. And this meat came from them?

“ do you not like orc meat?”

“ I just wanted to ask… do demons eat orc meat often?”

“…? Yes. We hunt them regularly. They breed fast and are common in the south.”

“I see…”

So they’re not demons. Just monsters after all.

Orcs are monsters. Orcs are monsters. Not demons like wyverns or others…

I tried to brainwash myself while raising my fork. But… I just couldn’t do it.

While traveling the Demon Realm, I’d eaten monster meat a few times, but never humanoid monsters.

“If you can’t eat it, it’s okay…”

“No, it’s fine…”

They went through all this trouble. And I was scared Morgan might fire the poor chef trembling in the back.

“…It’s delicious.”

It was delicious. If only I could forget the image of drooling orcs…

After the mentally painful but tasty meal, I had a short chat with Morgan, then followed Rebecca to my room.

“The Demon King really likes you, Saintess.”

“…I know.”

It was obvious. I wasn’t used to someone being so affectionate toward me. I wanted to express my own feelings too, but it was hard.

“…You really don’t know, huh?”

“I do know.”

“No, not even a little.”

I didn’t understand what Rebecca meant. Was I not showing enough appreciation? Maybe I had been a little distant…

Rebecca sighed at my confused face. What exactly am I missing?

“This is your room, Saintess.”

“…Isn’t it a bit too big?”

The room had a grand, antique vibe—and it was huge. At least three times the size of the one I had at the Dragon King’s castle.

“It’s fine. The Demon King insisted this room was yours.”

“I mean, a smaller room is fine for me…”

“It’s okay. No one else can use this room except you anyway.”

“Wait, what?”

Before I could ask more, Rebecca gave me a sly grin and vanished down the hall.

Do all demons run this fast?

“Morgan really put a lot of care into this…”

Was I even worthy of such hospitality? That guilt I thought I’d overcome was creeping back in again.

‘I don’t deserve this…’

To distract myself from the gloom, I thought about how the Gold and Silver Priests would react when they read my letter.

Grandpa would jump around excitedly, probably. I wished he’d act his age—he’d live longer that way.

I wondered if Karl and Sierra were okay. I’d write to Sierra tomorrow too.

I felt sorry for Eris, but I didn’t want Alec—who lived with her—seeing my letter, so I wouldn’t send one there.

Everything would be fine.

I imagined a happy future. A peaceful one. Where the church was safe, the Empire no longer invaded the Demon Realm, the Water King’s subordinates didn’t invade the Empire, Karl and Sierra were unharmed and I could meet them again.

I imagined that future.

“Charlotte… are you sleeping?”

Morgan’s voice came from outside.

Wondering what was up, I opened the door and found her standing there in pajamas, hugging a pillow, blushing.

“Um… I heard that human girls… talk in pajamas at night…”

A girls’ pajama party? I’d never done that either.

Morgan was fumbling so badly she didn’t even know what she was saying. It made me laugh a little.

“Come in.”

“Yes!”

I had a lot of things I was curious about, too.

Might as well ask everything now.