Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle - Chapter 228-1

228 – The Talk with the Dragon King and the Scales of Justice (Part 1)

The Scales of Justice Astrea.

Captain of an order of thirteen knights. Hero.

With beautiful golden hair and beautiful looks that give off a stiff impression, she is a fearless fighter who, not too long ago, fought a fierce battle against the Wraith party and the Fenix party in the preliminaries.

The Dragon King Valac.

One of the Big Four of the Western Demon King Castle, and a true martial artist champion in a different sport.

A woman who inherited certain traits of Dragonkin, she also fought against us in the preliminaries. To be honest, it wouldn’t have been odd if any of my allies were defeated during our fight with her.

It would seem that she is acquainted with my sword master, Furcus. She has long black hair almost as if…in contrast with Furcus.

「…I seem to recall that I was the first to call out to Sir Lem.」

「Well, I’m tired of waiting. I ain’t gonna wait any longer when my opponent is right in front of me.」

「…Rude.」

「Stubborn knight.」

I felt like sparks were flying between them.

「Ahaha, well aren’t you popular, Lem.」

I don’t think this is a laughing matter, Wraith…

「Actually, even during the Original Dungeon Clear, Lem was surrounded by girls…」

Um, Josh…? You were there too, as was Ex and Arthur…

「Hya~….I see…so, Lem has become…popular…」

Melania hid behind Josh out of shyness, but unfortunately, she’s half-cyclops, so she can still be seen from behind Josh’s back.

Also, I have not become popular. It’s just a misunderstanding.

「…I’m hungry.」

Fran doesn’t seem the least bit interested.

「Uhhm…right, I can listen to you both, so please…」

「Nah Lem, what they wanna decide is the order. So let’s do this. Oh, ladies!」

The two of them turned to his voice and he flipped a coin.

He nimbly catches the coin on the back of his hand and covers it with the other.

Ah, so his plan is for me to listen to the first one to guess whether it’s heads or tails.

But this plan will fail.

「Heads.」

Because both of them guessed at the same time.

「…Sorry, Lem. I forgot to account for the fact that these two are able to follow the exact movements of the coin as it flips.」

「Uh…right.」

I already knew that, but there was nothing else I could say.

「In that case, I’ll do it like this instead.」

Wraith turned his back to us and turned back around with the coin under his hand in the same way as before.

「Ah, I see, Sir Wraith. Good thinking.」

「Yeah, since we can’t see the coin, all we gotta rely on is luck.」

Wraith did the same thing but eliminated the process of flipping the coin.

Wraith has no reason to be in favor of either of them, so no one can say he was being unfair.

「Heads.」

「Hah, Miss Knight sure loves heads, huh? I’m going with tails.」

「Well then, here goes. Oh, it’s tails.」

「……」

「Hah! See that, Miss Knight?!」

「I shall obey the rules that were laid out. I shall take my leave for a bit.」

「…Tsk, you should be more frustrated. Ah well. So Lem!」

「Y-yes?」

Valac brought her face closer to mine and I retreated in response. I have no issue with her glaring at me, but I do have an issue with being at a distance where our lips could touch.

Eventually, my back was against a wall and there was nowhere to run.

「You…just what are you to Foo…?!」

「Huh?」

「Don’t “Huh?” me! I saw it in the Tag Tournament. That girl…she ain’t the type to take off her armor in front of someone she doesn’t like!」

「…」

That was something that surprised me at the time as well.

Furcus didn’t remove her armor even during the fight with the Fenix party.

I mean, she boards her armor in order to strengthen herself in the first place, so I suppose that isn’t odd.

She did come out of her armor during the Raid Battle but I understand that that was part of her strategy.

「If it’s for Lu’s sake, then I get it. But that girl ain’t too fond of her own name and appearance, y’know? Yet she was clearly enjoying herself in that fight! You ain’t just a stranger to her.」

I can’t think of a way to reply.

Now that I think about it, she was in her armor the first time I met her in the Demon King Castle.

Was she against the idea of showing her true form in front of me since she wasn’t sure whether or not I would become an ally?

Actually, she came in her flesh and blood during the welcome party after I officially became the Chief of Staff. …Although, it’s possible she did that only because it would be difficult to eat while in her armor.

Also, I have heard before about how Furcus doesn’t like her real name.

「…Have you tried asking Lady Furcus?」

「Huh?! You think I haven’t tried that? I would if I could’ve! …She doesn’t wanna meet up with me.」

Valac looked sad.

「Did something happen between you two?」

「Not really… She and I are childhood friends, see. But when her old man left the Demon King Castle, I followed him. It’s not that I hate Lu, but my personal and work relationships are different.」

「…Indeed.」

「But that girl, she stayed out of her feelings for Lu. I didn’t like that and we got into this huge fight… She’s been ignoring me ever since…」

「……」

「I mean, c’mon!! She ignores all my emails and even when I go straight to her dorm, she completely ignores me!!」

「I-incidentally, what happened in the big fight?」

「Huh? Ah well…we were both young, so we just sorta broke two or three of each other’s bones. Oh, and when I bent her horns, she ripped my tail off.」

「I-in…your real bodies…?」

「It was an argument that turned into a fistfight, there weren’t no time to hop into an Avatar, man. Lu’s dad healed us up with White Magic anyway, so our injuries healed up.」

I don’t think that’s the issue…

Perception and understanding change depending on race, so I can’t say for sure.

An action that looks like「Whoa whoa, you’ll die!」to a Human will look like just people fooling around or even a sort of trial depending on the race.

I’ve heard before that in ages past, the Demon King would make their children undergo training that very few survive.

Even though we are now in an age of coexistence, the differences between races will not be bridged so easily.

I turn to look at Josh and he nods bitterly.

It would appear that such fights often happen among Ogres.

But at any rate, it must have been a serious matter if it made Furcus angry.

「Ah, And! Lem! I was surprised! Somehow, that girl took part in that Original Dungeon Clear! And I heard even you were there! Could it be that you’re her b-…b-boyf-…boyfreh…grah dammit! Are you her boyfriend?!」

Valac shouts while her face was red with embarrassment.

「No, I’m not…」

「Really?! I’m sure you’re not one of those perverts who gets off on the idea of a kid’s body with disproportionately huge monster tits! If you were a man who’d molest her with your eyes while she’s wearin’ that tight, tight suit she wears when she rides the armor, and pushes her onto the bed and plays with her little horns, I’d…I’d…kill…gasp.」

Noticing everyone’s stares, she comes back to reality.

「Well, I can tell that you aren’t lying.」

「G-good, I’m glad.」

「I also know that you haven’t told me the whole story.」

「…」

Just how far did she see through me?

No, this is Valac we’re talking about. She probably sensed Furcus’s guidance in my shoddy swordplay.

I guess she decided that this was enough now that she confirmed that I’m not Furcus’s lover from my reaction.

「Catch ya later, Lem. I mean, the Wraith party. I lost today. But I’ll get ya next time.」

「Don’t treat us with kid gloves next time, alright?」

Said Wraith and Fran gently nodded in agreement.

「Ah…you guys are strong, I admit that, but…I don’t really like hittin’ kids. That’s got nothing to do with strength. But if you still want me to hit you for real then…be careful whatcha ask for.」