Kuroka cast her gaze to the ground in a bewildered manner.
“...I mean... is it really alright to justify it like that...?”
“Is there a problem?”
“I just think maybe living should be something more pure, and noble.”
Zagan finally broke into a smile as if to praise her.
“Look at that. You do get it. Living is vulgar, wretched, and unsightly. That’s precisely why those who try their best to live are beautiful, and noble.”
“Even though it’s unsightly... it’s noble?”
“Yeah. What you lack is desire. Start by having something you wish for. Something that you would struggle wretchedly to obtain.”
Just how did she interpret his words? Kuroka still had her gaze cast to the grown, but opened her mouth to speak timidly nonetheless.
“I’m still scared... to see the light. But, there is one thing that I want to try.” She then pointed her eyes straight at Zagan’s face. “I want to know... just what kind of face you have, Mister.”
Even Zagan knew just what action that implied for the blind girl.
“Very well. Do as you like.”
With Zagan’s permission, Kuroka timidly put the tips of her fingers to Zagan’s face. The moment her middle fingers came into contact, both her hands trembled in fear. It was as if she would dirty his face just from touching him. But even so, her index finger, ring finger, thumb, and little finger all came into contact one by one as if to confirm Zagan was really there. Before they knew it, the sun had completely set, and her fingers which were exposed to the night wind were cold.
What’s this? Even I’m getting tense now.
Kuroka moved her fingers one by one, and let out a sigh of relief. Her movements were slow, and somehow appeared like they were reluctant to separate from him. Before long, she finished inspecting Zagan’s face, and put on a troubled smile as she lowered her hands.
“Thank you very much. So that’s what your face is like, huh Mister?”
“Was it just as you imagined?”
“No, it’s a little scarier than I imagined.”
“Then you’re on the mark. Are you satisfied?”
Kuroka shook her head.
“Next I want to know what Father’s face is like. Then Lilith, and Selphy... I’m sure they’ve changed.”
Upon hearing that reply, Zagan pet Kuroka’s head.
“A good answer. So you do get it.”
“Heehee. I should’ve confirmed what your face was like when you were tiny, Mister.”
“...Just forget about that already.” Zagan groaned with a grimace.
Well, in any case...
Kuroka’s smile as she let out a strange laugh looked completely natural, and thinking of that as compensation, it wasn’t all that bad a feeling.
◇
Zagan let out a sigh as footsteps then began approaching them from the forest.
“So this is where you were. I’ve been looking for you, my liege.”
And the one to call out to him in a rather shameless voice, was Gremory. With her were Foll, Nephy, Nephteros, Lilith, and Selphy. In short, all the women except for Chastille were present.
In truth, they were all peeking in on what was going on from a distance for some time now. It seemed that they were waiting, seeing that Zagan and Kuroka were having a serious conversation. Turning back to take a look at them, Zagan knit his brows.
“What’s with those outfits?”
“Keeheehee, apparently it’s a native dress of Liucaon called a yukata. Lady Lilith prepared them for us so we tried them on.”
Their clothes resembled what Kuroka usually wore, but the hems of the dresses were much more restrictive and looked difficult to move in. They were decorated with beautiful embroidery of flowers and butterflies and such, and though they were quite showy, they also gave off a rather calm impression. The first one to grab Zagan’s attention was, naturally, Nephy.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Nephy was wearing a bright red outfit. White and pink flowers were embroidered around her sleeves and chest giving off a very cheerful impression. Thinking of her usual calm maid’s outfit, this appeared to be very showy on her.
So even this kind of vibrant clothing suits Nephy, huh?
He was unintentionally entranced by this, leading Nephy to turn bright red as the tips of her ears quivered.
“H-How is it, Master Zagan?”
“M-Mm. I think it’s good. Um... You’re very... pretty.”
It really felt like he was able to openly express his feelings for once, and Nephy used a golden fan to cover her face as she nodded.
“Th-Thank you very much.”
Lilith and Selphy then peaked out from behind Nephy. Lilith was wearing a slightly more moderate pink yukata, while Selphy was wearing a light blue one.
“How is it Your Highness? Me and Selphy dressed everyone up, you know?”
“A fine job indeed. I’ll treat you two to a reward later.”
Zagan replied with a completely serious expression, leaving Lilith somewhat taken aback.
“Is this something to be rewarded for?”
“Yaaay! Mister Zagan’s totally giving us a prize!”
Next up, Foll came tottering over. She was wearing a cute orange yukata to match her green hair. It had a decorated child’s ball and a semi-circular comb embroidered on it, and appeared to be made for children.
“Zagan, how about me?”
“Mm. It suits you well. Have you had enough to eat?”
Zagan believed she had had enough from their little fishing competition during the afternoon, but it didn’t change the fact that they were still quite far from the Dragon Form.
“I’m okay.” Foll replied with a yawn. “But I’m sleepy now.”
“It is dark out after all. We’ll be having dinner shortly, so you’ll be able to get to bed soon.”
“Mm.”
And finally, Zagan shifted his attention over to Nephteros, who was letting her gaze wander around as if she were bored.
“Nephteros. Let me see yours as well.”
“M-Mm... How is it?”
His sister-in-law was wearing a calming violet yukata. The design seemed to be a pair with Nephy’s and was also embroidered with similar flowers.
Just how will Richard try to woo Nephteros after seeing this?
It was a little mean-spirited, but Zagan kind of wanted to see that Angelic Knight try his best to court Nephteros, who was quite dull about such affairs.
“Hmmm. It suits you well doesn’t it? As expected of my sister-in-law.”
“R-Really?”
Zagan smiled in satisfaction, and Nephteros gripped the end of her sleeves and spun around on the spot. And seeing her do so, Nephy also smiled.
“You’re beautiful, Nephteros.”
“Well, so are you, Nephelia.”
They were still somewhat awkward, but seeing them smile at each other truly did give off the feeling that they were siblings. After everyone got Zagan’s impressions, Gremory went on to beckon Kuroka over.
“Come on Lady Kuroka. You should also get changed. As Raphael’s daughter, you are also somewhat like a retainer here. Is it not the duty of a retainer to please the eyes of their king?”
“Please his eyes? Isn’t there an enemy about? Setting him aside, is it really alright for us to be playing around? Even Lady Chastille is being targeted now, right?”
“Keehee, worry not. That crybaby has that idiot Purgatory together with her. Well, he’s pretty poorly matched against that Decarabia or whoever he was. It would take a while to finish him off, but that’s the extent of it.”
She then put on a bright smile and brought her face closer to Kuroka’s.
“Above all, my liege has yet to rescind his order for us to enjoy our break. If we do not enjoy ourselves, we would be revolting against our liege’s orders.”
Kuroka then replied to Gremory with even a hint of anger in her face.
“...What are you talking
about? That sorcerer reflected his sorcery earlier didn’t he? How is a sorcerer supposed to defeat him?”
Gremory stared back at Kuroka in wonder.
“That’s not all that impressive a skill, you know? We didn’t bring the golem over, but even I could probably defeat him in less than a minute, and I’m pretty sure the little Lady Foll would truly kill him in but an instant.”
Foll cocked her head to side cutely, while thinking it over, then nodded herself.
“Probably, in one bite?”
Seeing his daughter make that claim, Zagan smiled as if praising a pupil who did well.
“Mm. An assessment without relying on spirit, disdain, nor humility. That is the proper analysis.”
“Hehehe...”
Zagan brushed Foll’s head as she smiled back in delight.
“So, why was he so hard pressed in the fight?”
“Who knows? My liege is whimsical, so I cannot even begin to guess his true intentions. It’s likely he was just deep in thought about something, right?”
She hit the nail right on the head.
That guy talked like he knew me already. Moreover...
The martial art that Decarabia used was on Zagan’s mind. It seemed there was an uncountable number of styles and schools within martial arts, but Zagan felt like what Decarabia used was very similar to his own. Moreover, this incident happened right after Zagan was given such strange information from Alshiera. He didn’t think it was all unrelated. Above all else, was that repulsive artificial eye.
Silver-Eyed King.
Alshiera was fixated on using that name. Could it really be a coincidence that two people with silver eyes would show up? That’s why Zagan wanted to know who exactly that man was and didn’t try to kill him. Well, there was also the reason that just normally killing a sorcerer who used martial arts wouldn’t be enough either.
Gremory let out a sudden laugh, and put her hand to Kuroka’s cheek.
“Well, the reason that my liege didn’t kill him is simply because there was no need, or perhaps it was more convenient to keep him alive. When it is better to kill them, my liege is one who is unexpectedly merciless. In short, your worries are but a needless anxiety.” Gremory then snapped back at Zagan. “Ah! Now that I think of it my liege. I’m the only one you haven’t praised yet!”
“Huh? Do I have to?”
“Of course you do!”
Gremory’s yukata used black as a basic tone, and was embroidered with glamorous looking butterflies. The granny in the form of a beautiful woman took a spin on the spot.
“How is it? I’m quite the looker in such an outfit aren’t I?”
“Go say that to Kimaris. You’ve known him for quite some time, haven’t you?”
For some reason Gremory twiddled her fingers together and turned red in the face.
“Hwah? I-I don’t really have that sort of relationship with Kimaris... I’m not saying that I hate him or anything...”
This idiot goes yelling around about that nonsensical love power or whatever it is to everyone, but is completely useless when it comes to herself?
She truly was a troublesome granny. As Zagan sighed in exasperation, Gremory regained her composure and shot back up.
“Gah! Kimaris has nothing to do with this, right!? Take a look at this yukata! No, take a look at me! And praise me!”
“Why exactly are you in such high spirits today?”
Gremory even had tears in her eyes at this point.
“Do you not know already my liege? This may in fact be my last night in this world. I don’t care if you’re just paying me lip service! I at least want someone to praise me for being pretty in this final moment of my life!”
She was wailing in such desperation that Kuroka was no longer able to conceal her sense of sympathy for her.
“Hey, Mister, did something happen to her?”
“Aah... She angered her teacher, an Archdemon, and ran away from her punishment. If it’s found out that after running away, she was going around enjoying herself however she liked, it won’t end very peacefully.”
“Ugh... Can you even call spending half a month doing nothing but researching sorcery without a single chance to love a beautiful girl living!? Nay! You cannot! If I must be dead while I live, then I’d rather die on the spot after going all out!”
Gremory was stamping on the sandy beach while making such a resolute claim that it was almost refreshing. She then looked up at Zagan with upturned eyes.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, someone praise me.”
“Aah, it’s alright. That yukata suits you. Anyone who sees it would praise you.”
As expected, it was getting rather pitiful to watch her, so Zagan complied, to which Gremory shyly scratched her cheek.
“Huh...? It’s kind of embarrassing to be praised so honestly like that.”
“What the hell do you want...?”
She was starting to give Zagan a headache, but this also felt somewhat nostalgic to him.
Now that I think of it, Stella also liked this kind of horseplay.
She was the girl in the picture from Zagan’s childhood. He was concerned about Marc, but Zagan had no idea what had happened to her since then either. Marc would suddenly vanish all the time, but Stella completely vanished before anyone knew it. Thinking of it normally, she either died or was caught by slave dealers, but thinking back on it, Zagan hoped she was still alive.
Zagan shook off the memories that were suddenly filling his head, and pointed at the no good granny.
“Hear me Kuroka. Well, I won’t tell you to go quite so far, but you should follow in her footsteps when it comes to so shamelessly indulging in your desires.”
Kuroka looked quite troubled, as one would expect, but nodded with a refreshing smile nonetheless.
“Understood. This is the first time I’ve seen someone so focused on life. I see. Wretched, unsightly... and yet... beautiful... right...? Hya!?”
A spurt of blood shot out of Gremory’s nose.
“Nice... love power... I have... no regrets...”
She then collapsed in a pool of her own blood.
“Zagan... She did it again...” Foll muttered.
“Just leave her be.”
Zagan then bopped Kuroka’s head.
“Well, that’s how it is. Go dress up together with this lot and enjoy yourself.”
“What about you, Mister?”
“Me? Well...”
Zagan took a glance over at Nephy. It was a rare occasion where she was all dressed up. Moreover, the beach at night built quite the good atmosphere. He felt like spending some time alone with her. And perhaps having read that atmosphere, Nephteros cut into their conversation.
“Now that I think of it, who can take care of the cooking? I’ve never done it before.”
With that one phrase, a hopeless silence dominated the area. Lilith stared down at the ground uncomfortably, and Gremory was sprawled on the ground incapacitated with a smile. It also seemed like they couldn’t really rely on Chastille and the Angelic Knights either.
Or rather, they were patrolling the island to deal with Decarabia. It wasn’t really time for them to think about dinner. So if Zagan were to take Nephy away with him, just who would cook? And the one to break that heavy silence, was a carefree voice incapable of reading the atmosphere.
“Yup! Right here! I’m on cooking duty at the castle, so I can like, totally make dinner here!”
“Wait, Selphy... Don’t you have any pride as royalty?” Lilith remarked.
“My pride sank together with that boat in Suflaghida!”
Foll then chimed in, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
“I can... also... do a little. I’m... the big sister... after all...”
Well, setting aside Foll who was dozing off, Selphy was being personally trained by Raphael, she would at least be capable of cooking... probably.
Nephteros then muttered full of curiosity.
“Hmmm... Could I make somethin
g too?”
“It’s A-OK! Everyone follow me!”
Seeing Selphy be the most reliable one here was a dreadfully concerning situation, but Zagan could do nothing but see them off. Nevertheless, it was a rare opportunity to see that dunce try her best to create an opportunity for him. And so, Zagan held his hand out to Nephy.
“Then, should we go for a little walk, Nephy?”
“My pleasure, Master Zagan.”
And as the two of them began to walk, Kuroka called out to them.
“Um, Miss Nephy.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Kuroka tightly gripped her trembling hands, then gathered her resolve as she continued.
“I’m... still scared of seeing the world. But, when I’ve made the determination to properly face it all, could I please ask you to do something? I want to...” Kuroka choked on her words, but nevertheless, she gathered herself and spoke clearly. “I want to see the world once more, could you... heal me...?”
Nephy walked up to Kuroka and embraced the trembling girl.
“Yes. I will wait as long as you please, so there is no need to panic. Don’t rush, and please be kind to yourself as well.”
With that, Kuroka finally let the strength out of her shoulders and nodded.
“Thank you... very much...”
And so, Zagan and Nephy walked off hand in hand.
(...How amazing... So that’s the woman he fell in love with.)
Her soft whisper was heard by none, and vanished into the ocean’s waves.
◇
“Hm. This so-called yukata is quite different for men, huh?”
Nephy had brought over clothes for Zagan to wear. It was likely Gremory who had her bring it over, anticipating that they would go for a walk along the beach. She was a troublesome granny, but she was also quite tasteful at times like these. Zagan was wearing a dark gray yukata which had less-fluttery sleeves than the female version, and more room to move his legs around in.
Nephy nodded with a slight tinge of red to her cheeks.
“It suits you well, Master Zagan.”
“M-Mm. It’s a little discomforting not to have my robes, but this isn’t all that bad once in a while.”
“The clothing you wore when you were little was also lovely you know?” Nephy muttered happily.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 7 (Premium) Page 13
