Chapter 66

"Monster..."

Iifa started to retort but fell silent. She understood what Rize was trying to say.

"That's right, you would understand... No spirits approach that boy. It's not because he lacks magic power, but because they avoid him. As if he were wrapped in miasma..."

Rize continued in a stern voice.

"When I first saw you at the academy, I said I was surprised. But soon after, I was stunned by the strangeness of the boy sitting next to you. The spirits that surrounded you didn't go near him at all, keeping a strange distance. I had never seen such a scene before."

Her voice carried a tone as if recalling something eerie.

"I couldn't help but think. The demon king of the past must have been someone like this."

"Y-Yes, Seika-kun is a bit different... But he's human. He's not a demon king, or even a demon."

"Not a demon, huh... Are you sure?"

Rize asked.

"What do you know about that boy?"

"Seika-kun and I grew up together in the mansion. So, I've known him since we were little."

"Are the boy's parents really the Count of Lamproug and his wife?"

"Ah... No, the father is the master, but the mother is a mistress..."

"Do you know anything about his mother?"

"...No."

"How can you be sure that the woman wasn't a demon? And was the father really the count?"

"..."

"You're about the same age as that boy. You wouldn't remember things from before you were old enough to understand. How can you say he didn't show any abnormalities in his childhood? No... Even after you were old enough to understand, did you ever see anything strange about that boy?"

Iifa couldn't answer. Thinking back... Seika had always been clearly abnormal.

It wasn't just that he could use magic despite having no magic power. Normally, a child couldn't live calmly while being treated with such coldness by his brother, mother, and servants. Could a child learn on their own, face monsters without fear, and even get a slave like herself admitted to a magic academy where he shouldn't have been able to go? The mysterious sigil magic he claimed to have learned from the mansion's library didn't seem ordinary either.

Despite growing up together, she hardly knew anything about Seika.

There must be some significant secret.

She just had a feeling.

"But..."

Iifa said, trying to shake off her doubts.

"Seika-kun is human and a good person. I believe that."

"Believing means not thinking."

Rize said, as if pouring cold water on her.

"It's no different from praying to a god. It's like closing your eyes and clasping your hands, hoping for the right number on a dice roll."

"..."

"That boy is too strange to blindly believe in his goodness. There's no reason for you to stay with him so much."

"..."

"Come to the harem, Iifa. You should stay away from that dangerous master."

"..."

Then, Rize seemed to realize something and said:

"Wait... Could it be that you have a misunderstanding?"

"Eh...?"

"The harem of Astiria is not just a place where the king's wives and mistresses live and plot against each other."

"Eh, no, it's not?"

Rize held her head.

"Oh dear... I see. I thought the harem of our country was well-known in the empire..."

Then, Rize seemed to regain her composure and said:

"Alright. Then I'll show you."

"Eh?"

"It's faster to see it directly than to explain it in words. We'll head to the capital, Asta, tomorrow."

"Eh, eh... But I can't just go..."

"Was the boy told not to move from here?"

"No, that's not it..."

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. He won't be back from the mountains for a few days. The capital is close. If we leave tomorrow, we can be back by noon the day after tomorrow."

"..."

"Even if you refuse, it won't be too late to see it with your own eyes."

Honestly, she didn't want to go. But the words Seika said to her two nights ago suddenly came back to her.

"Everyone has to eventually walk their own path. You're almost an adult, after all."

Before she knew it, Iifa was nodding.