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—Three days after we had agreed to go for an inspection.\n
I woke up early in the morning when the sun hadn’t even risen yet, since I felt some kind of presence outside my room.\n
I was an early riser to begin with, so I must’ve been sleeping lightly. While rubbing my eyes, I went to the door to see if anyone was there and opened it quietly.\n
Clack.\n\n
“……”\n
“Hm…? Oh, you’re early… Good morning, Azel.”\n
“Urk…! G-Good morning.”\n
Beyond the door I had just opened, was Azel.\n
Azel was all dressed up, looking nervous while sitting on the floor hugging his knees, and returned my greeting with a voice that sounded like it had been squeezed out.\n
He even groaned, “Woah, I’ve been caught…!” but looked somewhat disappointed. I wasn’t quite sure why.\n
Hmm… It’s much earlier than we had planned, but did he come to pick me up? I’m glad. If so, we might as well get there early.\n
I slapped my cheeks to get rid of a little bit of sleepiness that still remained in me and held out my hand to Azel.\n
If he was going to sit there the whole time, his backside would get cold. I’d rather him enter my room and wait for me.\n
“Hey, what’s with the hand?”\n
“Hm? Hold on to it to help you stand up. I’ll pull you up. Also, I’m going to get dressed and prepare now, so you’ll have to wait inside for a bit. I’ve got snacks for you.”\n
“Aughh…! Don’t give such a warm welcome after I’ve disturbed you from sleeping in peace…! It’ll make me feel hot!” \n
“It’s good to feel warm.”\n
Azel turned bright red and barked, even though it was only the most natural thing to say to someone who had been waiting for me early in the morning.\n
I wonder if it’ll be troublesome if the demon lord feels hot…?\n
I tilted my head and looked at him as he stood up, holding the tip of my index finger with both hands. \n\n
I brought Azel in and readied myself with enthusiasm. \n
We were going for an inspection, but it seemed to be merrier than I thought it would be. I felt like I was preparing myself more cheerfully than usual. I was such a simple guy.\n
For the time being, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, shaved my beard that wasn’t really growing that much and changed into my only set of presentable clothing.\n
When I took off my night clothes on the spot, Azel, who had been staring at me as I dressed up, covered his eyes with both hands as though he was dazzled and froze.\n
It must have been dazzling since the morning sun had risen and brightened the room. He was a demon lord whose every action was comical and adorable.\n
I chuckled, and he growled, telling me to hurry up and get ready.\n
He said something before that seemed like he didn’t want to go, but I wonder if he really wanted to do the inspection as soon as possible.\n
He just probably didn’t want to leave the castle since he was looking after me, but he might actually like to go on outings.\n
“Azel, did you wait?”\n
“Not at all.”\n
After I had finished preparing in a hurry, Azel stood up with a refreshed look.\n
He seemed to have calmed down. But for some reason, all the snacks I had offered to him while he waited for me was gone.\n
Perhaps… he was after those sweets? He did mention that he didn’t want to leave for more than half a day since he wouldn’t be able to eat snacks, right?\n
It was a great deduction. There was always one truth.\n
“I preserved them with permanent freezing, heh. This is just child’s play to me…”\n
“? Were the sweets not to your liking…? If you’re hungry, do you want to eat breakfast?”\n
“I-It’s not like that. I was completely satisfied, so you should rejoice.”\n
He seemed to be very happy with it.\n
I was glad to know that he liked it and walked down the hallway in high spirits with Azel, who had turned his face away.\n
It might not appear so much in my face, but I was really happy. My facial muscles had softened ever since I came to the demon lord’s castle, but they were stiff by nature.\n
If we had time to spare, I’d also give Azel the sweets I had stored away using the summoning that I learned somehow.