265 â The Demon King is a NEET but not a shut-in
ăThen, letâs get going!ă
As for the Demon King who says that with a huge smile, first of all Iâll kick her to the ground.
ăMeanie! Youâve got this beautiful girl visiting you, and yet your welcome response is a kick of all things!ă
ăI didnât call you. Leave.ă
To the Demon King who is rather deliberately cowering on the floor with her hand covering her face in sad pose, I repeatedly kick her over until sheâs driven out from the room. I shut the door and take a breath. What did she come for anyway?
ăOkay, okay. This time Iâm seriously asking you to bring me along. Youâre just about to go to the Divine Word Religion, right?ă
Opening the door I had just closed, the Demon King re-enters while spouting that nonsense.
ăItâs not the sort of place I can take a NEET to.ă
The Demon King is taken aback, so much so that I can almost hear a âkadoomâ sound effect.
ăEven Shiro-chan is denouncing me as a NEET huhâŚâŚă
You practically are a NEET though, arenât you. Balto is doing almost all the work after all.
ăIf it comes to that, then Iâll have to destroy the world by myself!ă
If the Demon King got serious she pretty much could do so after all. Even for a joke thatâs no joke.
ăWell, putting the joke to the side, bring me along.ă
The Demon King freezes for a short while.
ăIt couldnât possibly be, that Shiro-chan seriously thinks of me as a useless NEET, right? Right?ă
It seems that she has real tears in her eyes, but what am I going to do about her now? Seeking some assistance I glance at Felmina-chan, but sheâs organising some documents while giving off an âIâm in the middle of workâ vibe. I get a strong feeling that she doesnât want anything to do with this. I kinda get the impression that this girl has gotten a bit impudent lately.
ăOh? Thatâs the girl that you picked up, Shiro-chan?ă
The Demon King noticed my glance, and locks onto Felmina-chan. The locked on Felmina-chan raises her head and makes eye contact with the Demon King.
ăPleased to meet you. I am called Felmina. I do not have a family name.ă
Despite having kept up that âno concern of mineâ attitude until a moment ago, she gives a polite greeting without showing any reluctance on her face. Just what youâd expect of an ex-noble. She has no family name because sheâs an âexâ. Though she has none, she has a perfect iron wall cultivated behind that ladylike greeting. However, I bet on the inside she thinks that this is a bother, no doubt.
ăHiya. Thanks for your consideration. Iâm Ariel. The Demon King.ă
At the Demon Kingâs self-introduction, Femina-chanâs movement instantly stops. She glances towards me, so I give a slight nod.
Yup. This is the first time Felmina-chanâs seen the Demon King after all. Or rather, I think thereâs hardly anybody who knows that the Demon King is the Demon King. Iâm sure she wouldnât have realised that this thing is the Demon King. Sheâs desperately keeping up a neutral expression, but wouldnât she freely be breaking into a cold sweat on the inside I wonder? The proof of that, is that I hear her heartbeat becoming wild.
ăSo, what did you come for?ă
In order to stop the Demon King from noticing, I address her. Worrying about her subordinateâs heart, Iâm such a kind boss. Yet despite that, Felmina-chanâs heartbeat speeds up even further. Incomprehensible.
ăNo no no! Shiro-chan, Iâve already been asking since earlier, right? If youâre going over to the Divine Word Religionâs place then Iâm coming too okay â Iâm pretty sure Iâve said it many times already though!?ă
Ah, that wasnât a joke but genuinely seriously honestly then huh. Iâd been convinced that this NEET wouldnât want to work. So-o-o sorry. However, to think that this NEET would actually be willing to work, perhaps this is an omen that the end of the world is nigh? Oi, what the hell is Gyurigyuri doing!? The world is in crisis!
ăHey, you better not thinking something incredibly rude okay?ă
Nothing of the sort. Even if what I really was thinking was rude she wouldnât be able to realise it. Well, I guess thereâs no problem in bringing the Demon King along too. I bet she wouldnât work even if I left her behind. Sheâs a NEET ya know.
No help for it then but to add the NEET as another member to our Divine Word Religion attack squad. When I had tentatively asked vampire girl and oni-kun they had both indicated that they would be able to go. When I asked Felmina-chan if she was coming just in case, she gave a Japanese-like humble refusal of âUnfortunately Iâm wouldnât be of much useâ, indicating that she had no intention of going. I somehow felt that it could be rather interesting to forcibly bring her along, so after a nod I condemned her with âIâm sure thatâs not the case so letâs goâ. Condemned to death by coercion. You can only answer âyesâ or âyes, sirâ. You have no right of veto! Iâm sure itâs just my imagination that behind the iron wall her ladylike smile is twitching.
Thus, bringing the Demon King and Felmina-chan along we leave to pick up vampire girl and oni-kun. In the process, we ran into Baltoâs younger brother the hoodlum. This guy shouldnât normally be in the castle, but why do I keep running into him so frequently? It seems he noticed us as well and he looks at me. He probably doesnât intend to, but since he has an unpleasant look in his eyes by nature it feels like heâs seriously glaring at me so I wish heâd stop that. As if granting my wish, the hoodling shifts his gaze from me to fasten onto the Demon King beside me. His expression becomes grimmer. It seems like he wasnât really glaring at me after all. The gaze he has focused on the Demon King could certainly be called a real glare.
ăBitch, where do you think youâre going?ă
The hoodlum has started a eyeballing match!
ăSurely itâs my choice to go wherever I want?ă
The Demon King doesnât waver!
ăAniki is working without even time to sleep, yet youâre on a carefree stroll huh?ă
Almost as if I can hear a âbreakingâ sound effect, I can tell that the hoodlum has snapped. I can almost see a vein popping on his forehead.
The place weâre about to go to is certainly not for playing, but even if we said so the hoodlum wouldnât accept that huh. On the contrary, even if we told the truth it would probably cause a needless misunderstanding. After all, weâre basically going right to the center of the enemy camp.
ăEek, scary-y-y! Save me Shiro-chan!ă
While demanding to be saved the Demon King clings to me without even the merest hint of fear in her voice. Bug off. However, I donât have any spare time either so I canât waste time arguing with the hoodlum here.
ăHey, thereâs no need for you to stay under someone like this. If youâre annoyed then clearly say that youâre annoyed.ă
It burns me to do as the hoodlum says, but I hate being clinged to so I tear away from her after saying that.
Well, whatever. Maybe I should leave this thing behind after all. Itâs gotten annoying in all sorts of ways, so I ignore both the Demon King and the hoodlum and walk off.
ăWait up, Shiro-chan!ă
Ignore, ignore. I guess the hoodlum gave up and doesnât follow, but the damn Demon King grabs around my waist while following. Hey, my spine will break. Iâm a bit irritated so I kick her to the ground. I seriously thought about just leaving her here, but it canât be helped so I grab her by the scruff of the neck and drag her along. It hasnât even gotten to the main event yet, so why do I have to be so worn out like this? I can tell that itâs going to be a gruelling day.