Not to mention the way he looked and spoke.
With a truly apologetic look on her face, Rem had said to him, “...If you were to come as well, then Celes would probably end up having to apologize more than needed, so I will go by myself.”
—Well, it’s true I’m pretty bad at talking with other people, so that actually really helps me out.
—But Shera’s acting kinda weird. Hurry up and come back soon, Rem...
Shera looked over at him again.
Unable to take it any longer, Diablo called out to her.
“Do you need something?”
“Hyah!? U-Uh, um... That snake was big, wasn’t it!”
“Hm?”
Thinking about it a little, he realized what she was talking about.
“Ah, the Madara Snake.”
“If this quest hadn’t been a trap, would we have fought that?”
“Rem would have used one of her Summons to lure it out, which is when I would finish it off with my magic. It wasn’t a bad plan. Well, I guess there was always the option to just freeze the area as well.”
The Freezia in the game didn’t have as large an AoE as it did here.
It could be because he was using his scientific knowledge as a base when he used magic here. That, or it was made to look much more reserved in the game.
By the time he had noticed, Shera had gotten off the bed and was coming toward him.
“Yeah! Your magic was really amazing, Diablo!”
“Well, of course... I’ve come to realize something about levels here. The people of this world live their lives doing their best not to die. They don’t put themselves through any unnecessary hardships, and live as safely as possible.”
“Isn’t that just normal?”
“Even if it meant dying, I always prioritized the most efficient and fastest way to level myself up. That’s the kind of world I came from.”
“Are you talking about the other world you lived in?”
“Yes. That’s why there’s such a level gap here. Judging from what happened with Freezia today, I don’t know if it’s the people who are weak here, or the monsters...”
“Oh, that spell you used this afternoon?”
“That’s right. Based on the reactions of the other animals back there, they are most likely much weaker than the ones I am familiar with.”
Shera had a mystified expression on her face.
“Do you not care about your own life?”
“I’m not thinking of throwing it away for no reason.”
“Hey... Does your stomach hurt?”
“What? I haven’t really eaten anything strange, but... Ah, are you worried about when I took those arrows earlier?”
“I mean, Celsior’s arrows were the treasures of the Greenwood royal family. I’ve heard that they’re supposed to be really special... You even made a face like they hurt a little, didn’t you?”
The others had also been surprised that none of the arrows pierced him.
It seems she had been concerned about him, even down to the expression on his face.
“My equipment has an effect that recovers HP... I mean, heals my wounds. It’s not a problem.”
“Really!? That’s amazing!”
It was true that he was plenty strong enough. The unease he had felt when he was first summoned was pretty much non-existent now.
“If you want to keep living in this world, then I would imagine it to be fine to keep hunting wild beasts and the like. But you would never be able to defeat the Demon Lord Krebskulm that way.”
Shera’s breath caught in her throat.
—As I thought, the Demon Lord’s name really is something to fear for the people of this world.
This was what he was thinking, but turned out to be slightly mistaken.
The expression on Shera’s face sank.
“So... Are you really going to choose Rem?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ever since last night, you’ve been looking only at her, you know?”
“...That was not my intention.”
“Rem’s always worrying about the Demon Lord Krebskulm, right? Even though we don’t know when or where he’ll be resurrected.”
“Y-Yeah.”
It was true that you would think it strange for someone to be so fixated on a Demon Lord that wasn’t even resurrected yet.
Shera didn’t know that the soul of the Demon Lord was sealed inside Rem.
“You’re thinking about defeating the Demon Lord too! So you really are going to pick Rem!?”
“H-Hey!?”
She clung to him, pushing him down.
Even if he wanted to run away, all that was behind him was the wall, and the door and windows were too far away.
Shera wore an earnest expression on her face.
“I need you, Diablo!”
“H-Hm...”
“I’ve kept quiet about it all this time, but... I-I’m... I’m the princess of an Elven country.”
—I knew that! We had this conversation just this afternoon, remember!? Were you really not paying attention to that!?
It was enough to make him worry about her future.
“Celsior said that earlier.”
“Oh, yeah... Did he? I guess he did! I don’t know if it’s because of that, but even though I’m an Elf, my chest is...you know...”
Embarrassed, Shera used her hands to push her chest together.
The two mounds were straining against the fabric of her clothes. Through the seams, he could see her soft-looking cleavage.
“Whoa... A-Are those a particular characteristic of the royal family?”
“I wonder? My mom wasn’t like this. They said it was rare, or something.”
“I see... That’s amazing.”
—I don’t even really know what I’m saying anymore.
“Even though I’m an Elf, because of these, people always look at me funny. All my brother would do is talk about having children...”
“Hold up. You’re supposed to make an heir...with your brother!?”
“That’s what he said. Royalty should marry with royalty to leave a thicker bloodline.”
“Because Elves are close to the Celestials?”
“Yeah, though I don’t really get it myself... But because of that, my brother was always saying stuff like, ‘You can raise the kids, Shera,’ and ‘I want at least three children.’”
“He said that to his actual little sister...”
—If this happened back in Japan, this shit would be taken to court.
“Isn’t it awful!?”
“So, you didn’t like that, which is why you left.”
“That’s half the reason. The other half is because I wanted to know what I could do on my own, and how far I could get.”
“Seems you’re still on your way.”
Shera nodded.
“Yeah, but... If you weren’t here, Diablo, they would have taken me back...”
Celsior and the others were anything but weak.
If Shera had been by herself, they would have caught her easily.
Shera faltered.
“Thank you for today.”
“Y-Yeah...”
He could feel her shaking as she embraced him, like a child that was being comforted by their parent.
As Diablo laid down on the floor, he could feel her chest being pushed up against him. It was warm.
“But...if you choose Rem...then, I...”
“Are we not comrades? Didn’t you say that before?”
“I did... But...”
“Hm?”
“You just made a scary face and didn’t say anything... Rem was smiling, though...”
—That was because no one has ever called me their comrade before; my brain stopped working!
—I was happy.
...If he could just be honest and say it like that, then he wouldn’t have this much trouble communicating with others.
It was embarrassing... And what wou
ld happen to his Demon Lord act? Could he be happy about being called a comrade, and still preserve his solemn, majestic demeanor?
But making Shera feel uneasy wasn’t good.
He hadn’t chosen Rem yet, and he had no intention of leaving Shera, either. How should he communicate that to her?
—First of all, it’d be good to get her off of me.
Shera’s supple chest had been pressed up against him the whole time, and the smell of citrus coming from her had been tickling his nose.
Her soft hair brushed against Diablo’s hands.
—Like hell I can think normally in a situation like this!
He went to push her back, so he could get himself off the floor—
But at the worst possible timing, Shera lifted herself up.
“Ah, sorry for being on top of you the whole—”
*Squish*
Diablo ended up pushing her two melons instead.
Wait, this wasn’t right.
—I was trying to push Shera off so I could get up... Well, technically I’m kind of pushing her now, but I was going for her shoulders...
That’s right, he was just trying to push her shoulders.
Shera’s face turned completely red.
“Ah... Uwah...!?”
“Y-You! Listen well!”
“Yes!?”
“I am a Demon Lord! I have no such thing as comrades!”
It would have been great to take his hands off as he said this...
This morning he had felt them from above. While that had been quite the amazing experience, this time was from below. Her chest was fighting against gravity, making the sensation feel twice— No, three times as powerful. It was overwhelming.
—My fingers are being buried in her chest, even though it’s only the outside of her clothes!
“Fwah!”
The soft moan Shera let out reverberated in his brain.
—Not good, not good! We were talking about being comrades!
“I-I have not chosen Rem! Understand!?”
“Really!?”
“Of course! Do not think that a Demon Lord would bend to your wills so easily!”
As he said this, he was toying with her chest.
The sensations would change as he moved his fingers.
Shera twitched and shuddered in reaction to this.
She wasn’t getting angry with him like she had this morning.
“Ah...ngh...no...”
“Um... Because I am a Demon Lord and all...”
“Ngh...fwah...no...! It feels...weird when you touch there...so you can’t...!”
“I-It feels weird!?”
“Yeah...”
He felt something grinding against his lower body.
Looking down while still grasping her chest, Diablo saw that Shera was starting to move her waist.
She was moving her hips, rubbing up against him.
“Uwoh!?”
“Hyah...! D-Don’t...be so rough...”
“Ah! Did that hurt!?”
He had meant to be as soft as possible, but it was true that he was level 150 right now. He had to be extra careful when it came to dealing with any sensitive parts.
—But wait, isn’t this wrong? After all, isn’t it kind of bad to even be stimulating sensitive parts in the first place?
Shera wiped away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes with her fingers.
“No, it didn’t hurt... I was just a little surprised is all... H-Hey, Diablo... Do you like boobs, too?”
“Wha!?”
“I mean, whenever you look at me, you’re always looking at my boobs, right?”
“Uh, well... That’s because they stand out so much...”
—She totally knew the whole time!
“At first, I was a little worried about it... But if it’s you, Diablo...”
“Wha-wha-whaaaa!?”
“If... If you don’t make it hurt...then it’s fine...”
“!?!?!?”
His throat having dried up, all he could do was make a weak noise as air passed through it.
Shera was staring directly at him.
“Ehehe... They’re bigger than Rem’s, right?”
“Well, yeah...”
“The bigger they are, the more you want to touch them, right? If it’s you, then it’s okay!”
“Well...that’s...”
“Ah... Mm...”
—Isn’t this kinda bad?
But even as he thought that, his reasoning just wouldn’t work. All he could do was touch, squeeze, and fondle her voluminous chest.
While listening to Shera’s sweet moans, he felt something stiffen under his hands.
“Is this...?”
He softly pinched it from over her clothes.
The muscles along Shera’s back contracted.
“Nnhaaaaaaa!!“
Her body jolted, as if she had been electrified.
He could feel her body heat rising, emanating to him through her hips.
She was staring at Diablo, eyes glistening.
“Hey... Diablo...”
“Wh-What?“
At that instant, he felt a frigid stare boring into him.
It was a presence more terrifying than he had felt from any of the beasts of the Man-Eating Forest.
Slowly, Diablo turned his eyes around in their sockets.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the door had been thrown wide open.
“Ah...ha...”
A sense of intimidation overwhelmed him. It was enough that he could not even use his Demon Lord act.
With a dreamy look on her face, Shera turned to look.
“Oh, it’s Rem~“
Standing in the open doorway, for some reason wearing glove protectors with spikes sticking out of them, was Rem.
“...It’s fine...after all...I’m small, aren’t I!”
—So she’s been listening since that part...
Afterward, the two of them apologized to Rem in earnest.
Chapter 3: Trying to Save the World
The next day—
Diablo was called to the Adventurer’s Guild early in the morning.
The location: behind the counter, back in the Guildmaster’s office.
Diablo was sitting on the leather sofa, with Shera sitting nearby. Rem was the only one standing up.
Behind the large desk was the rather small Sylvie.
“Sorry for making this back-to-back, but I’ve got another quest designated for you, Diablo.
“Is this going to be another trap?”
He had taken on a quest yesterday, but that group of Elves had been lying in wait for them.
Diablo and the others had managed to fend them off, but if things had gone south, Shera would have been taken away; or maybe even worse: killed.
There was no guarantee they would make it out unscathed this time, either.
Sylvie smiled.
“I understand that you’re wary, but this time it’ll be all right. The client is the head of the Mage’s Association herself. I got the request from her in person, so it’s for certain this time.”
It looked like Celes was the one who made the request.
Diablo turned his gaze toward Rem.
“What did you two talk about yesterday?”
He had been wondering about it, but since “that” had happened last night, he hadn’t had a chance to ask.
Rem looked the same on the outside, but he had the feeling that her voice was a bit stiffer than usual.
“...She apologized for the incident yesterday. She also offered some pay as a consolatory fee, but I refused.”
“Hm, so that means instead of the money, we get a request instead.”
Sylvie went to explain the particulars of the request. Considering the amount of work to be done, the reward did seem to be substantially higher than one would expect.
“...Jeez, that Celes...”
Rem sighed.
“There’s no need to be so cold abou
t it, is there?”
Shera chimed in: “If it’s a quest with good rewards, then I’m happy to do it!”
But it seemed Rem was thinking something else.
“...I do not want to be indebted to Celes. I would accept if it was a normal request, but I refuse to take one on, such as this, where the reward is exorbitantly high.”
“But this is a request for Diablo, right? So even if you do help out, then you won’t have a debt to owe to anyone!”
“...Considering that it’s you, you sure have given some thought about this.”
“I’m amazing, right!”
“...It is just like Celes to include that kind of excuse with her request... But I will not go. You two seem to be getting along very well, so you should just go by yourselves.”
—Getting along well?
Shera’s face turned red.
“I’m sure you would like to go with Shera and her useless bags of meat rather than a washboard such as myself.” Rem pouted her lips.
—Ah, looks like she’s still mad.
Rem did seem like the type to silently seethe in anger. Seems like she would need some more time before she cooled off.
Because of that, it looked Shera wanted to come along as well.
“I-If you’re gonna say that, then me and Diablo are really going to head out together! We’re really gonna go together, OK!?”
—I guess I can pay Rem back the money I owe her for the inn with the reward we get from this.
“Hmph... If you do not want to come, then you can stay in town.”
“...I will do that.”
Rem muttered, sulking.
Sylvie clapped her hands.
“All right! So it’s going to be Diablo and Shera going, right? Then that’s that! Counting on ya!”
She handed over the request forms.
—Still can’t read.
Diablo began to hand it over to Rem, but stopped himself and held it in front of Shera instead.
Elated, she started to read the details of the quest.
“Um, uh, let’s see... It says... It’s a delivery to the Bridge of Ulug.”
“I cannot see this quest as having much of a point.”
Sylvie gave a pained smile.
“Somehow, I feel like I’ve caught a glimpse at the hardships Celes must be going through to get you that compensation money.”
This could be Celes’s way of worrying about Rem’s secret circumstances. Or it could be an expression of her feelings, thinking of Rem as a little sister.
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 1 Page 16
