Chapter 91

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"Does this mean you were hiding Lily, then?"

"……Yes."

"That you were caught by Parfait and ended up being expelled from the castle?"

"That's right."

In response to the Demon King's confirmation, we nodded in agreement.

Up until this point, I had explained that I had come as an official envoy and the events leading up to my expulsion from the castle.

"Hmm, first of all, Anest, hiding Lily might not have been a good idea. Ideally, you should have informed Parfait about it first."

"……"

I couldn't help but remain silent, as his words were undeniably true.

The princess Parfait, standing beside me, was smirking, which made me angry, but I supposed it was inevitable.

"Parfait is—out of the question."

"Eh……"

She seemed to have expected praise for finding Lily, but the sudden criticism made her eyes widen in surprise.

"Sending Anest, who came as an official envoy, back without permission is absolutely unacceptable. It's not as if you could just send him back and be done with it, especially if you mistakenly brought his companion to the demon realm and then sent them back."

"……"

The Demon King's words made Parfait shrink her shoulders, indicating that she hadn't thought it through.

"Fortunately, Anest came back to the castle, but if he had reported this to the king of the human realm, our reputation as demons would have suffered."

"I'm, I'm sorry……"

The Demon King's words were indeed reasonable, but I hadn't intended to go that far……

"……Hmm, by the way, why did Anest come back to this castle?"

It seemed the Demon King had just noticed this, and he turned his gaze from Parfait to me, asking the question.

I finally felt I could speak my mind.

"To bring Lily back."

"……Didn't Lily stay here of her own accord?"

In response to my words, the Demon King tilted his head in confusion and asked Parfait for confirmation.

"Y-Yes, that's right!"

Parfait quickly affirmed.

"……But what do you plan to do, Anest?"

I was momentarily speechless in response to his question.

"……"

Honestly, I wanted to bring her back even if it meant being a bit forceful, but saying that would be pointless.

"Well, let's call Lily here first, shall we?"

The Demon King said this to me, seemingly understanding my dilemma.

It seemed he would bring Lily here.

"Doing so would make it easier to talk about everything. I'd like to hear Lily's true feelings as well."

"Ah, thank you!"

I bowed to the Demon King without thinking.

However, this might mean I should hear Lily's true feelings and make a decision based on that.

Still, it was a golden opportunity for me.

"……"

Meanwhile, Princess Parfait remained unusually silent.

"Parfait, what's wrong? We need to call Lily."

The Demon King, noticing this, called out to her.

"L-Lily……?"

She seemed reluctant to go and call Lily.

"U-Um, Lily has a cold right now!"

"……Eh?"

Lily has a cold…?

"I can cure it."

That's not a problem. After all, I can use healing magic.

"Ah, you can use healing magic?"

"Y-Yes, I can."

The Demon King seemed impressed, as he hadn't expected me to have this ability.

"By the way, I heard that Lily was given something to drink when she was taken to the human realm. Was that you, Anest?"

"Ah, probably. Yes."

Indeed, when I first met Lily, she was lying in bed. It must have been then.

"U-Uh, no way! Human healing magic is ineffective on demons, so it wouldn't have worked!"

Suddenly, Parfait, who had been silent until now, shouted loudly.

"Eh, is that true?"

I had no idea about that……

"Ah, yes, that's correct."

The Demon King nodded in agreement with Parfait's words.

However, I had indeed healed Lily.

At that moment, I realized a possible reason.

"Actually, my healing magic is a bit unusual."

This must be the cause.

According to Parfait, healing magic is ineffective on demons, but my magic must have been strong enough to heal Lily.

"Unusual, you say……?"

The Demon King looked at me with a hint of expectation.

I thought it would be faster to demonstrate, so I looked at the Demon King and made a request.

"Demon King, please cut off my arm—