Chapter 35: A Dream’s Embrace and a Grandfather’s Gambit

“——I like you. From the moment we first met, I’ve always liked you.”

The voice drifted into his ears, shifting from a blur to crystalline clarity, pulling him from his daze into careful attention. Wade Nairt mechanically stirred the coffee in his cup, attempting to quickly dissolve the sugar cube he had just dropped in.

“…I just don’t know if these feelings of mine might trouble you.”

Lamia Talia fiddled with her fingers, appearing every bit the shy, bashful maiden.

“Trouble…? Ah—no… not really…”

Wade’s expression was somewhat bewildered. He gazed at Lamia’s bashful demeanor, and for some reason, a strange feeling stirred within him.

He, of course, knew who the girl before him was—the Demon Lord… The Demon Lord!

That figure, clad in black armor and shrouded in dark miasma, barely possessed two arms and two legs, only vaguely resembling a human form. In reality, she was nothing more than a chaotic mass of demonic energy. Such a monstrous being, such a creature—

It seemed… it seemed she wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

After all, she was just a mass of demonic energy. Though her usual behavior suggested a male demon, well… right?

Her long purple hair cascaded along the curve of her shoulders, resting against her pale chest. Her crimson eyes shimmered with a crystalline sheen, as if on the verge of tears, reflecting his image entirely.

Indeed, she was the Demon Lord.

But—but if she was willing to turn over a new leaf, then it wouldn’t be such a big problem!

Precisely!

“Lamia.”

Gathering his courage, Wade spoke to her.

“——Then please, relinquish your identity as the Demon Lord and come to my side.”

He extended a hand, offering a wide, welcoming embrace to Lamia across the table. He even managed a smile.

“Don’t be the Demon Lord anymore… become my wife!”

This would be perfect. As long as she could shed her identity as the Demon Lord, he could naturally accept her and keep her by his side.

“…”

“…Mm!”

Lamia, for her part, blushed deeply, tears tracing paths down her cheeks.

“Good… Wade… my husband, I will become your most perfect wife…!”

Lamia declared, weeping tears of joy. She smiled as she wiped her eyes. At that moment, Wade’s heart felt sweeter than the sugar cube in his coffee.

“Lamia… then now, come to my side.”

Wade smiled back, opening his arms wider, waiting for Lamia to approach and give him a big hug.

****

However—the anticipated embrace never came.

*Creak.*

What followed was the inexplicable sound of a zipper, right beside his ear.

‘Wait, a zipper sound…?’

As if suddenly realizing something, Wade abruptly lowered his head. He saw Lamia, who had somehow slipped under the table without him noticing.

“La-Lamia, what are you—?”

“Just doing what a wife should do, my dear hu-sband~❤️”

“W-Wait—!”

“——Haaah…!”

With a sharp intake of breath, Wade’s eyes snapped open.

His eyes opened, but there was no coffee, no table, and certainly no Lamia under a table. Well, Lamia was still there, just not *under* the table.

“…”

“…?”

“…?!”

However, when he realized Lamia was currently curled up in his arms, being held by him, Wade’s half-asleep consciousness was finally jolted awake in fright.

What was Wade’s impression of the Demon Lord?

She was cold, unyielding, and incredibly arrogant. Her armor was so tough that striking it with a sword would leave his wrist numb for ages. Every battle with her was an absolute nuisance.

And Lamia now? The Lamia in his arms…

She was warm, soft… as quiet as a docile rabbit.

There she lay, completely defenseless, breathing evenly, lost in her dreams, showing no wariness whatsoever towards Wade, her mortal enemy.

‘Why…? Is she simply too carefree? Or does she possess some special means of self-preservation?’

‘If I were to choke her now, would it wake her? If I pierced her heart with a sword, would she heal instantly?’

“…”

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, seriously.’

‘This is only the third day, the morning of the third day, and what am I doing?’

‘At this rate, I’ll truly fall for the Demon Lord’s trickery and be corrupted!’

‘It’s one thing to put on a polite front, but my heart absolutely cannot waver!’

‘Even if this is my grandfather’s guidance, still…’

‘Ugh, really, I need to talk to Grandpa. This simply won’t do!’

Despite Wade’s inner reluctance, he carefully shifted his body so as not to disturb Lamia’s sleep. He half-expected her to suddenly awaken with his slightest movement, yet to his surprise, the Demon Lord displayed not an ounce of vigilance. Even when he gently repositioned her arm, she showed no sign of stirring.

‘Was I truly that frequent in my visits to the Demon Lord’s castle? Did I really leave her with no time to rest?’

‘Alright, alright—fine, just sleep… Sigh.’

Wade internally grumbled a fair bit, but outwardly, he made no sound, determined not to disturb Lamia’s rest. He cautiously, almost tiptoeing, put on his shirt and exited his bedroom. To think that the esteemed White Knight would ever have to resort to tiptoeing in his own life!

After a quick wash and breakfast, Wade changed into his Knight Order uniform. On his way out, he specifically instructed the servants not to disturb Lamia, who was resting upstairs.

As he gave these instructions, a young maid nearby wore an expression that seemed to say, “The Madam is so tired, could it be that~?” Wade, appearing too weary to explain, simply sighed and said, “Don’t guess wildly,” before heading out.

“Haaah—hoo…”

Stepping out of the room, Wade stretched with a great yawn. ‘Ah, the feeling of sleeping until dawn is truly exhilarating.’

Even though the number one dangerous individual was sleeping right beside him, he had to admit, sleeping until he naturally woke up was a luxury he hadn’t enjoyed in years.

Everything was fine… except for that dream.

‘What am I even saying? How could I possibly fully accept her just because she’s willing to give up her Demon Lord identity…?’

“——Oh, you rascal, she’s already so good to you. Wouldn’t it be fine if you were just good to her in return? What if she’s willing to abandon the darkness and turn towards the light, no longer acting as the Demon Lord? Wouldn’t that mean one less powerful enemy for us?”

“…”

At the Church, Wade’s grandfather, the former Pope, pinched his own sister’s arm, his benevolent eyes narrowed as he spoke words Wade wasn’t sure whether to refute.

“No… Grandpa, no matter what, she is still the Demon Lord…”

“So what if she’s the Demon Lord? You should treat her as a wife, not as the Demon Lord! If you keep thinking ‘Demon Lord, Demon Lord,’ how can you truly make her fall for you, make her accept human life, and stop fighting against humanity?”

His grandfather huffed twice, his white beard near his nose trembling with each puff.

“Haaah…”

Listening, Wade sighed helplessly. He knew he couldn’t argue with the old man; he had never managed to sway him in all these years.

“No, I still don’t understand. What should I do? Honestly, Grandpa… you see, you’ve never been in love, and I certainly don’t have time for such things. Isn’t it too difficult for you to ask this of me?”

“Oh, you silly boy, what’s so hard about it?”

Seeing Wade’s troubled expression, his grandfather reached out and gently tapped Wade’s head.

“Why don’t you just treat her normally, like you would any other person? You’re an officer in the Knight Order; you take such good care of your knights. What, you can’t take care of a wife?”

“That’s different.”

“How is it different? Then let me ask you, what is her name now?”

“Lamia Talia.”

“What about her hair and eye color?”

“Light purple hair and red eyes—what good is that, Grandpa? Isn’t that something you can see at a glance?”

“Of course it’s useful!”

His grandfather looked as if he was about to leap up in agitation.

“If you want someone to like you, you have to pay close attention to every detail about them! Just like how you assign different training methods to different knights!”

“——But how am I supposed to understand a Demon Lord?!”

“Well, she’s been with you for two days. What does this Lamia like to eat?”

“She likes things filled with magic stone powder, because normal human food has no taste to her at all—”

This was almost Wade’s subconscious reply, delivered as quickly as his answers to the obvious questions about hair and eye color.

“…Ah…”

He paused mid-sentence, startled by his own words.

“Th-That’s just…”

“That *is* understanding, Wade.”

Wade’s fluent answers brought a look of considerable relief to his grandfather’s face. Now, he finally didn’t have to vigorously blow on his white beard.

“See, you’ve already taken an excellent first step, haven’t you?”