Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

36 – A Friendly Chat

「Geh!」

「That’s not a very nice way to greet your friend, Lem.」

Fenix came to the inn immediately after I returned from a day of work.

Wearing a robe and hood to hide his face, the person standing in front of the door was none other than the Flame Hero Fenix.

…I…never told him which inn I was staying in, though…

By the way, it would appear that official personnel of the Demon King Army are placed in a dormitory prepared by them.

They seem to separate them based on race but I’ll probably be placed in the Majin dorm.

Milla had a plan to have me put in the Vampire dorm but that plan somehow ended in failure.

Lately, she was grumbling「What is the difference between an antenna and a horn…Am I not a Majin?」and I let her be.

Anyway, back to the present and my surprise visitor.

「Hey, you try being the guy who was tracked down by his friend even though he never told him where he stayed.」

Fenix tried to imagine it and frowned.

「…Well…I guess I’d be a little spooked.」

「Right?」

「But I could say the same to you. If you managed to find a job, you should’ve told me.」

I guess he heard it from Aerial. He did mention that they were in the same inn.

Fenix seems a little displeased.

「First things first, how the heck did you find me?」

I guess because we’re old friends, my tone of voice gets a little rougher only with Fenix.

「I found out that you were working in this town from Aerial and came to look for you. Knowing you, you wouldn’t choose a high-class inn and even though you’re saving money after you left the party, you would still avoid the dirty dirt-cheap inns, right? So I searched every moderately priced inn that isn’t too far from the bar where you met Aerial, and the response to your Magical Energy confirmed your location.」

「Are you a stalker or something?」

Magic Detection is an extremely sensitive technique.

With it, Magical Energy responses are like palm reading.

If you concentrate, it’s like you can read the palms of everyone in your surroundings.

You can say that this allows you to differentiate each person individually with this, but I think its difficulty is understandable.

However, people with tremendous Magical Energy are an exception. These people might appear to have a picture drawn on their palm or perhaps the hand itself is so huge that you can tell from a glance.

In my case, I keep it on a level below the average person so you wouldn’t normally be able to find me but…

If you were a friend I’ve known since we were kids, you’d be able to tell if I were nearby.

There is a legend where a demon took the form of a close friend but his disguise was seen through and defeated. Perhaps they were able to detect it with Magic Detection.

Well, I suppose I’m the same. I can at least recognize the magic power of my allies. It’s the result of spending countless years together with them.

「…I wanted to speak to you.」

「I guessed as much.」

If he came this far only to say「I just came to see your face」, I will slam this door shut.

「Besides, you’re better at Magic Detection than me, Lem. I didn’t do much.」

「No, it’s not about the skill, it’s about your tenacity.」

「If the tables were turned, you’d be worried.」

Well, in this case, let’s try reversing our roles.

The Black Sorcerer Fenix withdraws from the party, and I hear that he found a job somewhere. But he never even showed his face or notified me. Despite the fact that he’s an old friend and was in the same party since the start.

…well…there’s no way I could ignore that.

「I get it, it’s my bad. For some reason or other, I was embarrassed to meet you face to face.」

Not that I didn’t want to talk to him.

When I raised my hands in surrender, Fenix had an apologetic expression on his face for some reason.

「No, I am at fault as well…」

…?

「Ah forget about it, let’s go get a drink. We can talk better there.」

「…Y-yeah. Is that alright?」

「Hm? I think it’s fine…wait, I should be asking you that. You have a Clear tomorrow so wouldn’t it be better to not drink alcohol?」

「That’s fine. Hangovers don’t get carried over to Avatars, and Heroes don’t get affected by alcohol in the first place.」

That isn’t normal at all.

Despite looking like this, he actually eats a lot of meals. It’s compensation for all the energy used to create a lot of Magical Energy, the same goes for me.

But maybe Heroes have a higher metabolism?

「Still, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t drink alcohol on the day before a Clear.」

「One or two cups are fine. If you’re worried about it, I don’t mind having just water or milk.」

Ah, the aim is to have a discussion, so alcohol isn’t a necessity.

「Alright then. I’m not in the mood for beer anyway.」

I also put on a coat and hid my face with the hood and we left the inn.

We looked completely like an extremely suspicious pair, but as usual, I used my magic in our surrounding area. We didn’t get any odd looks from passersby.

We went to a nearby bar that I knew of. The food was great, fast and cheap. You can’t beat it.

「Did you really lose the reporters?」

「Yeah, I jumped on top of a building on the way here and I ran across the roof.」

Yeah, they definitely can’t chase you when you do that…

「Anyway, how about you? Are you ok?」

「With what? You’ve been acting weird for a while now.」

「No it’s just…well…I thought that maybe you’d be mad…」

Mutters Fenix, almost indiscernibly.

「About? Your stalking actions? I just think it’s creepy, so relax.」

I’m used to unique people and beings thanks to my workplace so I wasn’t surprised.

I said that jokingly, but Fenix’s facial expression didn’t cheer up.

「No…about…stuff with the party.」

Huh?

Oh…oooh, I see now. You’re heartbroken about that. Even though you weren’t the one that drove me out and instead had to restrain yourself, you still have feelings of guilt about me leaving the party.

That’s so like you.

「Don’t be silly. If that was enough to make me angry, I would have been angry at you back when you first found out you were going to be a Hero.」

We were ten years old. At the time his job was confirmed at the temple, I wasn’t shocked.

When I found out that he was a Hero, I wasn’t able to completely embrace the blessing.

I was able to say things like「Good for you.」or「That’s great!」because I knew.

I knew that he’s someone with the wisdom to think deeply about everything, a kind person who doesn’t harbor a desire for revenge to even bullies, and during fights with them, he’s a soft-hearted person who would worry about me when I got injured over his own injuries.

That’s why I understood.

Ah, I see. Him, huh? Well, I have to admit it suits him.

「…Y-yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Lem, for acting weird.」

You didn’t do anything wrong. I have no reason to be mad.

「Uh-huh. Well then, you’re paying, alright? It isn’t payday yet for me.」

With that said, Fenix finally smiled.

「Heh, sure.」

We reached the bar. We enter it.

There was one noisy group in there but it’s a bar, so I can’t really complain.

We sat at the empty stools by the bar counter.

Ordered some food and water.

「Oh by the way, Lem, I heard that you have a girlfriend now?」

「…Dammit, Aerial. You didn’t need to mention that…」

Well, it’s not like I told him to keep it a secret, and I did run after him to give him an answer all while holding Milla’s hand. It’d be hard for anyone to think our relationship was anything but that.

「Look at you showing off. Introduce us next time.」

Look who cheered up all of a sudden.

「OK first off, she’s not my girlfriend.」

「…It’s not nice to lie, Lem. Wasn’t your face buried in her chest in front of everyone?」

Really? Really, Aerial? You were so happy about your Adventuring junior, who you were worried about because said junior didn’t have many friends, finally getting a girlfriend…-ish…person, that you accidentally blurted that out to people?

「We’re just friends, for now.」

Technically, we’re sleep buddies. At least that’s what Milla said.

Oh gosh, I’m so embarrassed.

「Heheh, Is that so? Well, I’m glad, truly.」

「Oh shut up. Black Sorcerer is a really unpopular Job. What did you want to talk about anyway?」

「When did you two meet?」

「Listen to me when I’m talking!」

I lightly punch him in the shoulder. Fenix found this funny and laughed.

「Sorry, sorry. It’s just that Aerial said that she was a wonderful woman, so I was curious.」

「I could go on forever about all the girls you’ve gone out with.」

「Let us get right to the point.」

「Let’s.」

Don’t wanna talk about it, right? That’s how I feel.

These kinda discussions really depend on the person, I feel. There are people who want to talk to others about it, while some prefer to stay silent.

But no, really, Milla and I are not lovers.

「So, why don’t you tell me? What did you want to talk about?」

Fenix took a sip of the water that was brought here earlier and opened his mouth.

「It’s concerning a matter that happened the other day. I want to confirm something with you.」

It’s probably about me leaving the party. Nothing else comes to mind.

「Why…did you decide to leave the party on your own?」