Chapter 62

### Chapter 61 Extra (?) - How to Steal a Woman (10)

"…I understand."

Lena listened to the words of the lower demon and headed towards the Demon King's bedroom.

When she was first summoned in this manner, fear had welled up inside her.

A body that had been enslaved.

It was only natural to think that she would be subjected to humiliating acts.

But nothing like what Lena had imagined ever happened.

To the demons, humans were just another species.

They couldn't even distinguish between genders, and if hair colors were similar, they considered all humans the same.

Now, to them, humans were merely well-behaved livestock.

As she walked towards the Demon King's bedroom, she heard the voice of a young man.

"Lady Lena!"

"…."

Lena muttered to herself when she heard the voice.

'What could it be this time?'

When Lena turned around, she saw Verius hurriedly running towards her.

He was the person she had felt the most pity for when she was first brought here.

The youngest prince of the Betel Kingdom, located at the rear of the war, he was the youngest among the children brought to the Demon King's castle.

Because of his young age, he couldn't grasp the situation and always demanded his rights as a prince.

And because of this, Lena had suffered the most.

Despite her hope that he would change someday, his behavior showed no signs of improvement.

However, after the two of them nearly died from the Demon King's anger a few days ago, Verius had shown a lot of improvement.

'If only…'

In fact, Lena sometimes thought that it might have been easier if she had died then.

An unexpected death.

It was the only wish she kept hidden in her heart.

But everything was ruined by a man's intervention.

She was both angry and grateful to that man.

As soon as Verius reached Lena, he asked in a hurried voice.

"Huff, huff… Lady Lena! Did anything happen last night?!"

"…? What do you mean?"

"Phew… Nothing happened, then."

Verius muttered to himself after hearing Lena's question.

He had been saying things that made no sense from the moment he arrived.

Verius handed Lena a key.

"Lady Lena… This key should be given to someone else…"

"I'll take care of it today."

"Lady Lena…"

There were two reasons why Lena entrusted the key to Verius.

One was the unease she felt about giving it to other nobles.

The other was the implication that he should at least do this much.

In Lena's eyes, Verius was beyond redemption.

He never followed orders, and as a result, Lena always suffered.

Lena forced a smile, took the key from Verius, and headed towards the Demon King's bedroom.

She walked, basking in the warm sunlight.

The sun, full of hope, contrasted sharply with her own despair.

Looking at the sun, Lena muttered to herself without realizing it.

"…I want to die."

She wanted to do anything for her father and her people.

But she couldn't see a solution.

If she could save them by doing this for the rest of her life, she was confident she could.

But the idea that her menial tasks could save a country seemed absurd to Lena.

The scales of her suicide were gradually tipping.

But every time the scales of suicide added a weight, she would shed a tear and add a weight to the scales of life.

She didn't want the scales to tip to one side, even if they eventually broke from the weight on both sides.

The door to the Demon King's bedroom came into view.

The large black door was overwhelming just to look at.

The stone door, adorned with various demonic figures, exuded a chilling atmosphere, as if it could turn the earth into hell the moment it was opened.

And for Lena, it was a real hell.

Every time she opened this door, a day of heart-pounding anxiety began.

After being summoned for two consecutive days, Lena was worried about what she would be asked to do this time.

But she was also a little excited.

She hoped it would be something like serving a guest, as it had been yesterday.

Lena smiled to herself.

'How foolish of me… to think I want to see that man again…'

She wanted to see the man who had pinched her cheeks and played the piano with her.

The dream she had last night was one of the few interesting things in her hellish life.

Even the dream of being pinched made her laugh in this hell.

But Lena closed her eyes, regained her composure, put on a serious expression, and opened the door.

Inside the bedroom, the furniture, tailored to Gardia's size, was all abnormally large.

Sitting at the table with his eyes closed was Gardia, and across from him was a small, doll-like figure.

It was the man.

***

"Hmm…"

Gardia, with the head of a goat, had his eyes tightly closed, lost in thought.

I had come to him early in the morning to make a request.

Even I, who didn't fully understand the situation, knew it was a difficult request.

'This has to work…'

[Guardian, do you really need to take the lady?]

After entering the lady's dreams several times, I decided to take her with me.

My decision to take her wasn't impulsive.

'As I said, she seems like a really good person.'

[…Most of your reasons for taking her make sense. I agree with Viola's education and having someone to talk to.]

The lady had lived in the same world as Viola, though it felt like a different world.

I judged her to be a suitable person to educate.

Moreover, if she could also keep Viola company when I was away, she would be an invaluable asset.

Armonia was actually quite supportive as long as my actions didn't interfere with my mission.

For example, even though the lady was completely unrelated to the mission, Armonia encouraged me to indulge in my desires.

Could she be the type who enjoys being teased!?

In fact, this was the biggest reason.

Viola's education and my nighttime companion.

These two were just added on.

…The nighttime companion part was a bit much.

But that story is for when I succeed in winning the lady over.

Purely, if Gardia agrees, the lady will follow me on her own.

The problem was that even in this safe situation, Armonia was not sleeping and was watching me.

She hadn't listened to me at all since earlier.

'You don't need to learn how to operate the machine. Just watch me while you sleep and wake me up if needed.'

[There might be a delay in response.]

'Sigh… Then, I'll just do it my way.'

[…?]

Armonia didn't seem to understand what I meant.

'I'll do as I please and take care of my body as I see fit.'

[….]

Honestly, it was just a tantrum.

Because she was being annoying, I got frustrated and started talking recklessly.

If she were a cyborg who didn't need to sleep, it wouldn't be a problem.

…But then, we couldn't have sex, could we? Either way, it's a problem.

Anyway…

The problem arose when I visited Armonia's office after returning from my mission, and she was sleeping.

And it was a deep sleep…

Even with her high mental strength, it was clearly abnormal.

As the silence between Armonia and me continued, the large door to the bedroom opened.

It was a size that a normal human couldn't open, but it opened with a normal amount of force.

The lady was standing in the doorway.

As soon as she entered, her eyes met mine.

But she immediately closed her eyes and turned to Gardia, asking,

"Did you call for me, Lord Gardia?"

"…"

Gardia didn't answer the lady's question and remained silent, lost in thought.

From the 30 minutes of contemplation after I made my request, it was clear that this was a difficult decision.

After another 10 minutes of silence, he sighed.

"Huff…"

Gardia's breath ruffled my hair.

"I'll consider it positively."

"Oh… Thank you."

"Considering all the help you've given, it's ridiculous to be so hesitant about such a small matter. But understand that it's not an easy decision."

"I understand."

Gardia turned to the lady after hearing my response.

"From today, you will be solely responsible for the Guardian's needs. Don't worry about anything else and follow his orders."

"…Yes, I understand."

The lady bowed to the one she had once tried to kill, accepting the order.

She didn't seem to understand the content of the conversation between Gardia and me.

I thanked Gardia and left the bedroom.

The lady followed me, keeping a distance.

But I wasn't paying attention to her at the moment.

I was more concerned about Armonia.

'…'

[….]

Even as we walked, I didn't speak to Armonia.

I was unsure what to say.

Maybe I was overthinking it.

For all I knew, Armonia's sleep pattern was efficient enough that it didn't interfere with my mission.

But I couldn't help but worry.

Armonia was the first person I had spoken to so much in such a short period of my life.

I had never had such conversations with my family.

Seeing a garden on the way, I headed towards it.

'Armonia.'

[…Yes.]

At least she's responding.

'Let's compromise. If the lady makes even one mistake, I'll follow your advice.'

[….]

Is this not working either?

She must be really upset.

I can't figure out what exactly upset her.

Even though Armonia seems emotionless, I can tell from our occasional conversations that she isn't completely devoid of emotions.

'If hiring the lady causes problems, I'll resign as COO.'

[I understand. If there are problems, I'll demote her to an intern.]

'Hey, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?'

Fortunately, the atmosphere lightened with a small joke.

By the time I reconciled (or so I thought) with Armonia, we had reached the garden.

It was a stark contrast to the dark Demon King's castle.

The colorful flowers spread across the vast area had a calming effect on both body and mind.

As soon as we arrived, I started feeling hungry.

"I'm hungry. Since this place looks nice, let's eat here."

"Yes, I understand. The food should be ready. I'll bring it right away."

"Okay, bring two servings."

"…? Yes, I understand."

The lady left the garden without a word.

Once she was gone, I felt a bit bored with no one around.

I got up and headed towards where the lady had gone.

'Ah, now that I'm waiting, I'm getting bored.'

[Are you following her?]

'Yeah, I'll probably run into her on the way to the kitchen. I just want to see her back, hehe…'

[….]

I wanted to see her firm behind again.

I arrived at the kitchen building after a short walk.

'Wow, it's so different from the night, it's bustling.'

Unlike when I followed the kid, everyone was busy.

Suddenly, a large, bald demon with purple skin, of an unknown race, started yelling at me.

"Hey! Why are you standing there like an idiot!"

"Uh…"

"Quickly, go move those ingredients! Idiot!"

He looked like the person in charge just by his size.

Without thinking, I started moving the supplies.

It's just a warm-up.

I'm not doing it because I'm scared….

I carried a (light?) box into the warehouse as directed.

Inside the warehouse, a few human men were slacking off.

When they saw me, they looked at each other curiously.

"…Hey, I've never seen you before?"

"Must be a new guy."

"What's with the hair color?"

Is this the first time they've seen a black-haired foreigner?

They looked like nobles, from their appearance.

They were doing menial work now.

I ignored them and moved to put down the box, but one of them stopped me and spoke.

"Hey, you new?"

"…"

"Are you not showing respect? Where are you from? I'm the heir to a duke in the Betel Kingdom."

As soon as one of them started trouble, the others gathered around.

They started showing off their ranks and trying to intimidate me.

Are they trying to pick a fight?

'…Are they crazy? Should I throw a box at their face and say, "Take it, new guy"?'

[….]

They were acting like street thugs.

I brushed them off.

"I was told to move the supplies. I need to do it quickly."

"Huh… Who do you think you are…."

"Hey, hey. Let him go. We'll train him later. If we keep holding him, we'll have to move the supplies ourselves."

"Huff…."

Fortunately, they ignored me and went back to their corner to chat.

'No matter the world, there are always idiots.'

[Guardian, you don't need to suffer like this just for a break.]

Even though Armonia had been nagging me earlier, she started to worry about me.

It feels good.

'I understand, I'll just move one more… It's light, after all…'

I'm not doing it because I'm scared of that monster….

I turned around to put the box down anywhere and tried to leave through the back door.

But just as I was about to open the back door, I heard a conversation from the other side of the shelves.

"Hey, is it true that Lena de Feron really takes sleeping pills?"

They were talking about me.

'I'll have to report them to the Demon King before I leave.'

[….]

This new guy will personally deliver a heartfelt letter to the Demon King.