Akuyaku Reijou no Naka no Hito

「Your Majesty, Demon King, uhm, can I call you Angel-sama?」

「…This woman’s name is?」

「No, I’m just… uhm, I am, my name is Pina Blanche. I am called the Star Maiden by those around me, but by all means, Angel-sama, please call me Pina.」

He just asked the other side for the name of the rude one, and when Pina, who was perverted, replied that way, a blue streak appeared on Angel’s forehead. What she was saying is so far apart that it looks like a comedy, and I almost have a toothy grin on my face. Why would anyone want to put this woman in front of a state guest of honor? What was the instructor doing teaching manners when there was so much time, this would still be better for a 5 year old who hasn’t even made her tea party debut.

There was a soft and predictable aroma wafting from the space Pina ran through. My mood was further boosted by the fact that the trap had worked as I had hoped. I knew it was through a number of people, but it was this woman who asked for the「nectar of Lilith.」It was tentative because one of the intermediaries was killed to keep its mouth shut, but now we know for sure.

Lilith flower nectar was a chargeable item in the story that raised the demon tribe’s favor, and now Angel has designated it as a prohibited item to be handled and strictly forbidden to take out of the country. Of course, what this woman got was not actually the nectar of the Lilith flower, but just a harmless perfume made from a harmless flower native to the magical world with a characteristic smell. Pina herself used it as a trap because she had never held a real one in her hands, so she would not notice it. She is so stupid that she comes out wearing the evidence in this way and feels all the more adorable.

「By the way, King of the Land of Men… Did you know that the woman there gives off a scent known as a drug that is strictly forbidden to be taken out of the country because it affects the mind and can only be used by those with a license?」

「Wha…?!」

The king of the land, whose eyes widened in astonishment, directed the kingsguard knights behind him with a glance to keep Pina away from Angel. The kinsman who moved was David’s own brother, the eldest son of the Dominici family. He skipped David, the Star Maiden escort for the coming Star Maiden’s, a de facto “incompetent” pronouncement from the king, but he doesn’t seem to have the luxury of realizing that much. The knightly figure is treating the woman he has been pampering like a sinner, but without any reason to raise his voice in rebuttal, he drops his outstretched hand and awkwardly moves closer to her. Now that man, the Star Maiden who chose to be by his side even to the point of breaking off the engagement, is in that state, and I guess it’s awkward because he’s not even training properly because he’s worried about what people around him will think. There’s a limit to how much you can train alone, and it takes a few days on the knighthood’s training schedule to go on a full-scale demon slaying mission, however… David, who cannot be away for long from his escort Pina, the「Star Maiden」to his eyes, has not been able to take that time. He said that many of the knights don’t want to escort Pina, so they have no choice but to increase David’s operation. Pina, who no longer had access to the perfume of attractiveness, was still trying to curry favor with the good-looking Konoe without changing her behavior, and was failing drastically. She was shunned by their professionalism.

The exceptions are a few who were boned by a secret love potion that was mentioned in a poisoned taste while escorting the Dauphin during his school years. However, some of them are knights in name only, as they have long since dropped off the career track due to their frequent behavior unbecoming of a member of the Kingsguard, such as sitting down next to the Star Maiden to have tea when requested during work hours. David is doing the same, which is why he avoids his brother, who is called a sword saint but continues to strive to be one.

Stefan, the son of the chief royal mage, is also close to Pina in terms of his position, but his father is completely on Angel’s side, glaring at Pina, who is named as the one who drugged Angel, the demon king who brought Lilin, who cured his chronic disease.

Stefan, too, was on the verge of becoming both a magician and a musician before he went up to the academy. Many of the wizards in the Sorcerer’s Tower resented Pina because they were grateful that Emi had developed a lot of non-lethal, life-useful magic that she had helped invent with her「modern knowledge cheat,」 which had improved the status of magicians, who were said to be「money-grubbing insects except in time of war.」Furthermore, Pina, who is no longer able to use the perfume of charm, was practically banned after graduation from the school for being rude to the ladies of nobility in social circles. Stefan, who is still under the protection of the Star Maiden, has no proper accomplishments because he does not come to the sorcerer’s tower to guard the Star Maiden due to his awkwardness, and there is no salon that calls him as a musician, so when asked what Stefan’s profession is, he has to tilt his head.

Claude is the only one who works every day as a political officer, but when he proposes policies that sound good, such as「pensions,」「child allowance,」「universal health insurance,」 and「welfare,」 which he hears about from the Star Maiden, and then he was asked,「So, where is the money going to come from?」He was repeatedly kicked out, and now he is working in a smaller company. I wonder if he was that stupid. The world Emi lived in was too developed to introduce the same thing without much more mature social system and stable tax revenues than this country, which I think is obvious if you think about it for a minute.

Not to mention the fall of Williard, the crown prince. Oh, by the way, it seems that Pina had a certain magical tool developed based on an idea that she said would be「useful」if it were available. Maybe it’s because we can now get high-quality magic crystal stones from the demon world. From the materials we were arranging, she found out that we were trying to produce and disseminate, at a low cost, a food heating and cooking device inspired by the「microwave oven」that existed in Emi’s world, and a「refrigerator」that already existed but only a few nobles had a similar device…… I squashed that plan by spreading a similar one that was already in the demon world, where magical tools were more developed, first. That’s about all that’s new, I guess.

I made a look of disbelief and turned my attention to Pina, who was said to be「on drugs.」

「That’s! You’re wrong, I’m just…」

「Reports are coming up from the person in charge of conducting the trade. When someone asked for a drug ingredient that was forbidden to export, he refused, but when he was approached with a bribe, he gave them a perfume made from a flower native to another magical world under the false pretense that it was the same. The smell of that illegally distributed perfume is wafting from you to your nose. I ask again, if you were not trying to harm me, what difference does it make?」

「Tch…」

Attempting to serve a love potion to cage a person without regard to his/her feelings, is sufficient to「do harm.」

Knowing that the demon king Angel’s eyes can see through lies, Pina quickly changed the color of her face and turned her head down. There is no way to tell the truth without lying, and the only way to avoid being exposed for lying is to shut up.

「Hmm, as expected, you know that my eyes can see through lies. You heard me right.」

「Y–You’re wrong… It’s just, I, I just wanted to get to know you demons better…」

「So, you’re doing through use of those drugs? Just like Remilia warned me about.」

「Why, why did Angel-sama know that person’s name…!?」

「… The knight there, keep her mouth shut. When I am insulted by this woman to whom I owe so much for saving our country, I feel like strangling her to death. And you, woman, I don’t allow yourself to call me names. I don’t care about the position of an ornamental person who is enshrined in a country. Shut your disrespectful mouth unless you want to die.」

I was so irritated that I put my hand on his arm as I approached him soundlessly to restrain Angel’s anger, which had been peeled off by the stranger’s words.「Angel, don’t raise your voice for me.」As I spoke, Angel’s brow furrowed as he felt a familiar body heat touch her, and he looked away from Pina and smiled softly when he saw me.

Pina glared at me,「Why are you?」hurriedly shutting her mouth, as if she thought it was a bad idea after Angel had threatened her. And now, looking at me from top to bottom with the color of Angel all over my body, her face is stained with rage and her clenched fists are shaking slightly.

Oh my, the cat you were wearing has gone for a walk somewhere.

「I can’t believe it’s a banned substance… I didn’t know, a spell to get along with… I can only assume it’s something like… T–That’s right! Erm, My King, you are going to form an alliance for friendship with the demon tribe, aren’t you? For the sake of that alliance, I, the Star Maiden representing this country, and… I think it’s a very good idea, like His Majesty the Demon King getting married.」

「…Hey, Remilia, what the hell is this woman talking about?」

「Ah… Your Majesty, Demon King, uhm, as the Star Maiden, I have the power to draw out various talents and enhance the talents of others, making me the perfect queen for a demon king who is having trouble developing an inconvenient demon world!」

Angel, who seemed to be beyond comprehension, looked at her blankly. Behind her, bewilderment is tacked on, and you can see that she was in trouble. Probably because deep down Pina thought,「I am a good match for Angel and Angel should be happy to marry me,」and there was no lie there. She doesn’t even realize that she has just made a statement that has undermined the territory of another country. Don’t she know that there is plenty of untouched land because she couldn’t afford to develop it, but there are plenty of resources?

Angel’s weakness is that he gets confused when the other person assumes it’s true. She almost felt out of place and at ease when she stared at him with those sullen eyes like a puppy begging for rescue in the rain.

「Your Majesty the King, it has been a long time.」

「…Lady Remilia, you are…」

「Today I am not the daughter of the Duke of Graupner, but a guest of the land of the demons, and I am here with Angel-sama.」

「…Let’s see.」

He is the king of this country, not a fool. He looked at me with a very serious face… It seems that he saw the demon king who laid his own hand over mine covering my hand on Angel’s arm and started calculating at high speed that favoritism is with me, including the word that I am greatly indebted to him.

「…The Star Maiden seems to be in poor health, how about she rest for a little while? We can talk about the intricacies after the evening meeting.」

「Yes, I agree with Lady Remilia…」

「Remilia-sama, have you come to do terrible things to me『again!?』Please stop this!」

Shaking off the eldest Dominici, who had been jittery and hesitant to touch the Star Maiden’s body, Pina rushed forward and looked up at me with her hands held in front of her body and her eyes looking up at me. Angel’s anger swells with a blur. Some who excelled as magicians could be seen shaking under the pressure and involuntarily falling to their knees.

Oh my, she was trying to pick a fight here. Emi would not have done anything to expose her to the public, so I tried to quiet Angel’s anger and let him retreat to the back of the house, but Pina seemed to have the intention of making him feel uncomfortable. Well, I knew she would do it.

「D–Demon King…! Please listen to me, I am sure the Demon King is deceived. The lady over there was the Dauphin’s fiancée, erm… She’s the kind of person who abused me, and was finally condemned and banned from social life, along with breaking off an engagement for attempting to kill me!」

The words were very poor, as if she had twisted her brain in a hasty attempt to bend the truth without lying. Hearing this, Angel’s anger intensifies.

「Remilia said,『I was maliciously lied to and falsely accused and driven away,』and there was no lie in her words. If you somehow know that I have a magic eye that can see through lies, then you know what these words mean, don’t you?」

「No… uhm, Remilia-sama just doesn’t know she’s guilty… She didn’t want to admit it until the very end…」

「Then you can answer with『yes』or『no.』Did you lie then, fabricate evidence, and use bribed witnesses to falsely punish Remilia?」

「…Tch.」

「Choosing silence in my presence is the same as affirming it.」

Hah, Angel snickered and twisted his face in a grimace. Pina’s face turned pale and her lips wagged, and she started mumbling something to me, glaring at me through her bangs, so that only I could see her face.

「No… That’s wrong… Because I am the Star Maiden, and I should be the one who deserves Angel-sama… Even that dress, why is this woman wearing it…? The colors of Angel-sama… I’m supposed to get that magic crystal stone too…」

「I don’t know how enshrined you are, but I would never want someone just for their title. Remilia is also a Maiden of Purification who receives blessings from Renge, the youngest daughter of the God of Creation, but I love Remilia, a kind-hearted girl who has devoted herself to the world based on her beliefs without corruption and without breaking, even though she has no allies, regardless of what kind of blessings she has.」

I love you, he said, surprised as if I had never heard it before, and when I showed him the words with a flush on my cheeks, Angel smiled as if I was in trouble. As he hugged me around the waist, he whispered,「I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you properly when we were alone,」and I smiled back with my hazily moist eyes as if embarrassed,「I was surprised, but I’m very happy.」

Yes, I’m glad from the bottom of my heart that I would say something like that at a time when I could do the most damage to Pina. It’s more than I expected.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Williard gasping behind Pina when he sees my smile, but I pretend not to notice it.

Pina, perhaps not so pleased that Angel had whispered his love to me right in front of her, began to wriggle and try to lash out. A female knight was rushing in, holding her from both sides, though she could do nothing but stand her ground. Well, how vulgar.

My true feelings came out, and my face was about to distort with amusement, but I kept my rationality and made an expression of joyful acceptance of Angel’s words, even though I was puzzled by them. I remember to look at Pina with pity from time to time.

「Why, why are you there……! Did you trick me?! You’ve got to be kidding me, the Maiden of Purification was also a title I was supposed to get!」

「Pina… Is it true, His Majesty, The Demon King said that you falsely accused Remilia……?」

「? N–No, Will… I was really bullied… uhm, I was afraid of Remilia-sama, erm…」

Glancing back and forth, Pina pleads her case to Williard, with Angel’s attention on her. I guess for fear of being exposed as a lie.

In fact, Pina was probably afraid of Emi. Emi was liked by them without using any items to increase their sensitivity. She was in such a hurry to get there because she was aware that she was playing a cowardly hand in her knowledge of the story.

…Emi was, she was willing to accept an end to the engagement if Williard had a change of heart after the Star Maiden appeared. She told Father, but only to the queen, because she was sure Father would not approve, but she said,「When Master Will has someone in mind, if he is a better person for the country than I am, I will accept the dissolution of the engagement.」However, the queen was not entangled in the perfume of Pina’s charms and did not approve of her fiancé’s replacement because she had almost no contact with Pina, even though she was the Star Maiden.

After that, she was not caged by Pina because she hated her as the woman who had driven away Remilia, whom she loved like a daughter. I’ve noticed in my monitoring that that item doesn’t seem to work unless the person has a little bit of a good feeling about it. Because those who had only bad impressions of Pina from the beginning never seemed to be dropped.