Going to Receive the Demon Raceâs Medal of Honor
It was the morning after Harukaraâs celebration.
As I was making everyoneâs portions for breakfast, Beelzebub walked in from a door that led to the outside for some reason.
âWhere were you off to?â
âMerely a walk around the area. As expected of the highlands, the air feels as good as it is refreshing. Especially after a night of drinking, itâs an excellent change of pace.â
Sheâs so healthy and wholesome that I canât think of her as a member of the demon race.
âThereâs a recent movement to have the entire demon race be more aware of their health. Exercising in the morning is an excellent practice. One has heard that back in the war with this country, we demons would attack at night. That kind of nocturnal lifestyle is no good. Itâs better to do things in the morningâ
âHaving to deal with monsters first thing in the morning sounds terrible⊠Letâs continue maintaining the peace alrightâŠ?â
âThere are no plans whatsoever to start a war so you need not worry. Similar to how your country has no intention to take over any of the demon racesâ territory, we demons harbor no such intention either. Perhaps itâs because gaining control over such a large territory would be unmanageable. Considering our respective administrative capabilities, the current situation is just right.â
From this conversation I could assume that the chances of the demon race invading was pretty much nil.
âAh yes, about the matter of awarding you the demon raceâs medal of honor, the date of the ceremony has been decided upon. Please do accept it.â
âOh, from the peace division or something right?â
Since I had once stopped the fighting between members of the dragon race, I had apparently earned the admiration of the demon race and they wanted to give me some kind of award. Itâs apparently a great honor but since Iâm not too well connected with the demon race I wasnât too sure about the particulars.
âWell, maybe Iâll gratefully accept it then. Let me know the date.â
I mean, âI canât make it since I have plans that dayâ isnât really an excuse Iâd ever see myself giving.
Beelzebub said it would take place three weeks from now. Itâs pretty soon isnât itâŠ
âGot it. Iâll let Harukara know to take those days off.â
âVery well, weâll have plenty of food ready.â
At the mention of food I had a bad premonition.
âUm⊠thereâs no way demon race cuisine is all spicy rightâŠ?â
Yesterday Harukara cried and said âMy lips are starting to puff up⊠can you please add some honey to itâŠâ while eating the hot pot. If all of their food was spicy then that would be really troublesome.
âNot all of our cuisine is spicy, you have no need to worry. If sweet food is preferable then we shall prepare the dishes with that in mind.â
âThanks. Food culture really varies from region to region doesnât itâ
Since they were going out of their way to prepare food for us, itâd be pretty inexcusable if we were unable to eat it.
And so we decided that weâd  be heading over to the award ceremony to receive the demon raceâs medal of honor.
Iâve never been to the demon raceâs territory before so I was quite interested. I wouldâve been too afraid to go before, but if Beelzebub was any indicator of how the demon race behaves then there probably wouldnât be any problems.
Harukara on the other hand was afraid.
âT-the demon raceâs territoryâŠ? I canât see any good coming out of this⊠would it be alright for me to suddenly get a tummy ache that day?â
âYouâre so scared youâd feign an illness huhâ
âThereâs probably going to be some weird food waiting for us there⊠Even if they say it wonât be spicy, Iâm sure whatâll end up happening is that theyâll just take it down a levelâŠâ
After going through hell, her doubts ran deepâŠ
âEh? Harukara onee-san, youâre going to feign an illness?â
It seems Farufa was listening in on the conversation.
âFarufa-chan that was just an expression okay? Although, I have a feeling my tummy really will start to hurt that dayâŠâ
Harukara, are you trying to trick a little girlâŠ
âDonât worry!â
Farufa placed her hand to her chest like she was making a pledge.
âFarufa is tight-lipped! None of the demon race people will know youâre actually feigning an illness! Trust me! Iâll make sure to tell them that youâre definitely not feigning an illness!â
âWait, please wait! If you go out of your way to tell them that Iâm not feigning an illness then theyâll be more suspicious!â
âFarufa knows exactly how you feel Harukara onee-san so donât worry! Eating the food Beelzebub made especially for you was tough wasnât it? Youâd rather avoid it because it was no good right?â
âW, well⊠not exactly how Iâd word it, but yeahâŠâ
âYou can be sure Beelzebub-san will just happen to hear about it! That Harukara onee-san said demons are no good!â
Cold sweat started to pour down Harukaraâs face.
âUhm⊠Iâm really grateful that youâd go so far for my sake, but would it be alright if you didnâtâŠ? If people think I have a negative image of demons then thatâs just going to lead to more trouble for me⊠Iâm only afraid of their food okayâŠ? If someone really misunderstood, they might think I feigned an illness because I actually hated the demon race itselfâŠâ
I clapped Harukara on the shoulder.
âHarukara, just give up. At this rate, Farufaâs going to end up telling everyone youâre feigning an illness. Your reputation with the demon race will surely take a dive when that happensâŠâ
âShe will wonât she⊠This is just going to end up like a cliche⊠Sheâll say she definitely wonât let anyone know but in the end everyone finds out, itâs going to be that pattern for sureâŠâ
That kind of gag-like situation was common in Japan too. Guess itâs one of those things that happens anywhere.
âFine⊠I donât want any weird rumors to start spreading around in the demon territory so Iâll make sure to attendâŠâ
Harukaraâs attendance was decided.
With this, everyone in the family will be going.
âSince we can just reuse the dresses we had from before, that shouldnât really be a problem right?â
However, weâve gained a new family member since the last time we needed to wear dresses.
âSorry ane-sanâŠâ
Rosary floated by.
âI donât actually own any dressesâŠâ
âI see, I see. Then letâs pay a visit to the town and buyââ hang on?â
How does a ghost even buy clothes? Can they even wear those in the first place?
âNow that you mention it, youâve always been in those village girl clothes. Can you change out of those?â
âAfter I became a ghost Iâve always worn this. I have no idea how to change out of themâŠâ