Negai o Kanaete Moraou to Akuma o Shōkan Shitakedo, Kawaikattanode Kekkonshimashita ~ Akuma no Nīdzu

“Ahahaha! Great. The kidnapping was easier than I expected!”

Theo was silent, as his mouth was shut by something he could not see.

His hands and legs were also bound by some sort of invisible rope, and he rolled on the ground.

He was watching the fight between Helvi and the boss, when in the blink of an eye the scenery changed, and a man stood before him.

If he could open his mouth, he would surely be raising a surprised voice as he looked at the man, and most importantly, what he looked like.

(Could it be that he’s like Helvi… A devil…!?)

The man had horns on his head and wings on his back.

He was not very tall and had a child like face, looking about the same age as Theo.

For Theo, who knew what Helvi truly looked like, all he could see was someone that was the same species as her.

There were differences, such as his horns that were smaller than Helvi’s, but he was obviously not human.

“Still, I have been watching for a while, but I cannot understand what is so special about this human.”

The man looked at Theo, grabbed him by the chin, and turned him his way.

“His facial features are certainly good, but that is all. He is not a peerless beauty, and he has no power at all, even for a lowly human. I don’t get it at all.”

He let go of Theo’s chin and turned away, disinterested.

Theo looked around. It seemed he was in some sort of cave.

How far away was he from the mountain peak where he was just minutes ago? He had no idea.

“I don’t understand love very well, and it matters little anyway. It is not something we devils need, but why this human? I guess she really does think differently than us.”

Theo understood very little of what he was saying, but one thing was made clear.

(He’s a devil…!)

He guessed it by his appearance, but now Theo had confirmation.

But why did this devil kidnap him?

“Maybe it’s time to fulfill my objective.”

As the devil said this, something was taken off Theo’s mouth.

Whatever was blocking his mouth was gone, but his limbs were still bound.

“Puah…! W-who are you…!?”

“You don’t have to speak. I only unbound your mouth because I would not be able to use more magic otherwise.”

Theo asked him who he was, but the devil was completely unapproachable, seemingly having no interest in him.

“You probably don’t know this, but after a demon is summoned, there are a few ways to send them back to hell.”

“H-hell…?”

The devil casually continued his explanation, paying no heed to Theo’s question.

“Most return after fulfilling a wish and receiving compensation. This is the standard way.

However, that person did not receive compensation after fulfilling a wish, so she cannot go back.”

“C-compensation…”

He did remember Helvi telling him about this.

“I will grant you your wish, but in return I will take something important…”

Said Helvi when he summoned her.

Surely that was the compensation the devil in front of him was talking about.

“She could simply forcibly take it, so I have no idea why she doesn’t do it. Did you wish for it? Oh I do not care.”

The devil opened his right hand as he said this.

From Theo’s point of view, the area around this hand seemed to become distorted and black.

And then, a big, black scythe suddenly appeared in the devil’s hand.

“Of all the other ways for a devil to be able to return to hell, the quickest and simplest… Is if the person they are bound to by a contract dies.”

“Eek…!”

Theo unconsciously shrieked.

The devil looked at his face and laughed with amusement.

“Ahaha! Nice expression. That expression painted with terror tickles my sadistic heart. I didn’t know I had such an inclination, but perhaps she formed a contract because she also wanted to see this face.”

That delighted, distorted expression was what Theo imagined devils would be like, before he summoned Helvi.

“H-help…!”

Said Theo with tears in eyes, even though he knew no one was around to hear it.

The devil’s face became even more distorted.

“Ahaha. No one is coming. We are tens of kilometers away from where you were. You were on the peak of the eastern mountain, but now we are close to the peak of western mountain. No one is coming to save you.”

Theo opened his eyes wide.

He had no idea where he was, but did not think he had been carried so far away.

“Even she is not going to come here.”

The devil brought the scythe closer to Theo’s face, enjoying the terror painted on it.

“If I kill you, she is free. That is why you will…”

“Who are you going to kill?”

“…Die… Eh?”

The devil heard the voice of someone that should not be there, and quickly turned around…

Or at least he tried. Before he could actually turn around, he received a sharp, heavy blow to the face.

The devil was blown away, and his body dug into the mountain.

Theo, who saw his death quickly approaching, felt relieved, and called out the name of the person in front of him.

“Helvi…!”

Theo had never seen a face filled with so much rage before.