Chapter 25: A Knight’s Despair and a Demon King’s Misunderstanding

“Ah, Captain… Captain, it’s not what you think—! 😨 Captain…!”

In the instant the door clicked shut, Wade abruptly snapped back to reality, stretching out a hand to halt Jeffrey. However, the tactful Jeffrey had already departed, leaving the office to the newlywed couple. He even wore a look of profound satisfaction, as if thinking, ‘Ah, helping others achieve their happiness is truly a good deed.’

“……Captain… Captain…😟”

Seeing his calls go unheeded, Wade’s voice faded to a whisper, and his outstretched hand slowly retreated.

‘Ahhh…🫠’

A wave of despair suddenly spread from his sensitive spot, engulfing his entire body and mind. Wade instantly felt as though his life as a human, as a knight, was about to reach its ignominious end.

‘How… how could something like this happen?!’

‘What a disaster!’

[Hm? What’s wrong with him? Aren’t all humans like this? The Arch-Succubus said that men prefer childish and cute displays. Shouldn’t he be pretending to blow on it, saying ‘make the boo-boo go away’ like a simpleminded child?]

‘No, that’s completely different.’

‘If you were truly going for some saccharine cute act, blowing on it and saying “make the boo-boo go away,” while it would admittedly give me goosebumps, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed. That would still fall within the realm of my understanding.’

‘But—ahh…! What in the world did that Arch-Succubus teach her?!’

‘I know she’s a succubus… she is a succubus, yes, but—ugh, ahhh…!’

Wade’s mind was currently filled with little more than internal screams.

He could only be thankful that Jeffrey knew they were married; explaining it away as a bit of marital intimacy wouldn’t be entirely shameless. Still… what kind of situation was this?

‘I still have to work properly in the Knight Order!’

“……”

Noticing Wade’s complex expression, Lamia seemed rather displeased. His frown even made her pout, a hint of aggrieved stubbornness on her face. She had no idea what she had done.

Of course, having no family and being born from the earth’s leylines, she simply couldn’t comprehend such things, nor could she understand human emotions.

Love or affection—these were concepts she had never encountered. She was merely a Demon King, with no need for marriage, let alone to bear offspring.

As a Demon King born from the leylines, she was, in essence, ‘eternal.’ Even if her body perished, it would merely be a phoenix-like rebirth, shedding her past.

Thus, Lamia was utterly incapable of understanding Wade’s embarrassment, his anger, or the despair he felt at being discovered by Jeffrey.

[Hmph… Still unhappy, it seems. Was it really that painful?]

[I only gave it a hard flick… Sigh… Fragile humans.]

[But now that I think about it—he said it was a weakness, right? This reaction proves that it genuinely causes him pain—Good! That’s enough!]

[However… as a perfect, gentle wife, I shouldn’t leave such an excessive impression… Alright, alright.]

“—!”

Wade had assumed Lamia’s actions were complete, but in the next second, Lamia, who had sighed inwardly, made a gesture of reluctant compromise. She reached out her hand, soothing Wade with the delicate touch of a gentle woman.

How did the saying go?

Animals enjoy human caresses because humans possess nimble hands.

Their claws generally lack the dexterity of human fingers, so when those digits touch them, they invariably display expressions of enjoyment.

Have you ever petted a puppy?

Puppies are adorable, aren’t they? But Lamia had never petted one, for there were no puppies in the Demon King’s Castle.

If anything, she had petted quadrupedal fiends several times larger than humans. To a Demon King, they were akin to puppies.

Yet, compared to the Demon King or other ogres, those demonic hounds preferred being caressed by seemingly gentle demons like succubi.

This was because the succubus sisters’ hands were slender, their palms replicating the tender skin of humans. Unlike the Demon King’s iron hands forged from black armor, or the coarse palms of ogres, or the scorching touch of flame demons, those demonic hounds favored the ordinary touch of a succubus.

The Demon King’s hands were, of course, no different: delicate, fair, nimble, and warm.

It was but a momentary contact, yet Wade trembled.

After all, as the White Knight, he was quite the pure-hearted fellow.

“What’s wrong?”

Lamia was clearly oblivious to the gravity of the situation, simply looking bewildered.

“……You… you… Hmph…”

Wade wanted to ask, ‘What are you trying to do, you fiend?’

But the words caught in his throat.

It wasn’t that they were difficult to utter, but rather… he wasn’t sure how to explain. After all, the being before him wasn’t human. As the Demon King, she could change her form at will, making it hard to tell if she could even grasp such a concept.

Moreover… the thought of Lamia constantly acting as if she wanted to ‘bear dozens of children with him’ made Wade hesitant. If he truly explained things properly, would it not instead ignite Lamia’s fighting spirit?

He had a nagging feeling that once he explained these matters, Lamia would only escalate her actions.

Ultimately, Wade couldn’t bring himself to speak. He stewed in silence for a long while, and only after his body and mind had calmed did he react, releasing Lamia’s arm, which he had been holding up.

“……”

“Hmph… Lamia.”

Wade sighed helplessly. He wrapped an arm around Lamia’s waist, lifting her from his lap where she had remained motionless, and gently placed her on the ground beside him, or rather, made her stand properly.

[Hmph… See? That’s better. What was all that anger about earlier? Still… it seems Wade didn’t lie to me. To show such an angry and pained expression, it seems I truly found his weakness.]

Lamia was indeed still pondering with her demonic way of thinking. To her, a ‘weakness’ that one didn’t want others to touch was typically like a core—a place where one’s magic power was stored, an absolute core that others must not destroy.

[Humans store their magic in important parts of their bodies… it’s certainly hard to guess. It’s interesting how human bodies have evolved this way; perhaps I should try it too.]

‘…No, what are you going to try? You’re not human…’

[Hm… But if all humans hide it there, won’t it be easily discovered? Is storing my magic in my abdomen considered an optimization, then?]

‘—You’re getting stranger and stranger, you Demon King!’

Listening to Lamia earnestly think such incomprehensible things, Wade ultimately chose to swallow his frustration.

The great White Knight, to save humanity, endured such egregious acts from the Demon King without a sound! This forbearance was precisely what made a hero!

“Hmph… Sit here and wait for me. I’m going to give these documents to Jeffrey. I’ll be right back.”

Having calmed down sufficiently and confirmed there were no further issues, Wade stood up, picking up the proposal Jeffrey had requested earlier.

“Don’t move around. I’ll be right back, immediately!”

With these words, he left Lamia that instruction, then quickly pushed open the door and hurried towards Jeffrey’s office.

“……”

As for Lamia, she merely shrugged, then obediently sat down on the sofa.

She lifted her small hand, recalling the tactile sensation of their brief contact moments ago.

She suddenly thought of a certain monster in the Demon King’s Castle. They usually possessed no combat ability, but they had a special magical skin. When someone attacked their weakness, they would activate the magic within their bodies, transforming their outer layer of magical skin into something hard and indestructible.

They would then curl their body into a ball, entering a defensive mode to resist all attacks.

So…

Did the White Knight just suddenly activate his defensive mode?

To defend himself so impatiently, it truly was his weakness, after all!