Our meeting was scheduled on my rest day. It was exactly like Elvi to arrange things that way, and I wondered how she had found out.
Anyway, there was a knock on the door, and I got up to answer it.
「Looks like they’re here.」
「Ah…」
Unsurprisingly, Lyla was rather nervous as well. It was a critical moment, after all — the party members had come to test us though I knew that no matter what they tried to do, Lyla and I together were stronger than all of them combined.
I could hear Rina’s energetic voice even with the door closed.
「Hello? Roland?」
There were four familiar faces waiting outside. Despite having met up with one or two of them, I had not seen all the party members assembled like this since the war ended.
「Roland!」, exclaimed Rina, closing in for a hug.
As I ruffled her hair, Seraphin examined the exterior of my house.
「So this is Roland-san’s residence～」, she said. 「It’s rather simple, isn’t it? I thought you could afford a better place!」
「We just took an empty house and gave it a quick makeover. A quiet life is all I need.」
「‘Quiet’?」, said Almeria. 「Your life is the opposite of quiet!」
「It was what I had intended, at least.」
「Says someone who was involved in the showdown of the century.」
Her eyes narrowed. She’s referring to my fight with Aimée, I thought. The three ladies that had already spoken were acting like their usual selves. Elvi, however, looked glum and remained silent, as I had expected.\n
「…Lyla’s waiting」, I said. 「Come in.」
Seraphin was the only one who had actually met Lyla in person — the rest, though having crossed paths with her on occasion, had not known that she was the Demon King. What they thought about it weighed heavily on my mind.
As I had nothing close to a reception room, we settled for the living room instead.
「Make yourselves at home」, I said, and the four guests each found a spot on the sofa.
All of us were here now, except for Lyla who had been here a moment ago.
「Lyla? They’re here.」
I headed for the dining room. Lyla was seated on a chair, looking very pale.
「You’re not acting like your usual self」, I said.
「Mm…」, said Lyla. 「Is that all you have to say?」
「I expected you to be haughtier.」
「I wouldn’t be acting like this in front of insignificant whelps. But since these people are important to you, I don’t care about the image I’m projecting.」
「Being scared now won’t help your case.」
Taking a deep breath, she looked into my eyes and nodded. She’s made up her mind, I thought. Bringing her back to the living room, I formally introduced her to the ladies waiting.
「Sorry for the wait. This is Lyla… Lylael Diakitep. The Demon King that we defeated long ago.」
「That’s right」, she continued, perhaps afraid of the silence that would ensue. 「I’m Lylael, a demon. I live with Roland. I have not laid a finger on the inhabitants here, and I never will.」
「T-Thank you for everything, Lyla-chan!」\nRina stood up and lowered her head.
「Did you do something?」, I asked.
「No…?」
「The slaves you freed… they’re in the orphanage now! I wanted to… to say thank you, but I never had the chance…」
I realised that she was talking about the slaves I had freed from the underground arena. Lyla had bathed and clothed the children, even if it had been at my request.
「I’m proud of you for saying that, Rina.」
「Mm」, nodded Rina, her eyes narrowing with joy.
Almeria forcefully cleared her throat.
「My first encounter with Lylael was at the capital. This is my second time meeting her, but I have nothing to offer.」
I assumed that they had met while I was there to receive the lecture. Something about Lyla having her wallet pilfered, and Almeria offering her assistance.
「I used the collar that Seraphin had given me to seal her magic powers away. Its creator built a novelty feature into it, allowing the wearer to transform into a talking black cat.」
「Why did you keep everything a secret from me? Not just from me… from Al, Sera, Rina… I’m sure they feel the same way.」
It must have eaten away at her for a long time now.
「Why did you disappear without a word? You collared the Demon King, rendering her powerless — it’s something a kind person like you would do. But you could have just said so! Did you really think we would tear a powerless, helpless girl apart?」
Elvi began to cry. Her pouty lips trembling, she wiped her tears with her fingers.
「I understand how she feels」, agreed Almeria, petting her on the head and giving her a hug. 「I knew that you couldn’t possibly have died, but was worried sick nonetheless… and was over the moon upon learning that you were still alive. But, once in a while, I would wonder why you left without telling us anything. I was… we were sad. We wondered why we weren’t important enough for you to involve us in your plans…」
Sniffling, Elvi looked at me through teary eyes.
「Well said～」, added Seraphin. 「I was very sad too.」
Her shoulders shook. Covering her face with her sleeve, she peeked at me to see my reaction. Crocodile tears, I thought. I can ignore them.
「As long as you’re around, Roland.」
「That’s not the point, Rina.」
「Hm?」
The young mage looked at Almeria curiously.
「Leaving important friends like us by the wayside and having the time of your life with the former Demon King… that makes me sad! Do it with me just once, will you?」
Seraphin’s misery was a little different from the rest. Her tendency to make light of a serious situation hadn’t changed.
「First of all, my friends」, I said, 「please accept my apology for having lied to you.」