Reinhild returned home empty-handed.
Well, thanks to Xion’s fingers laced tightly with his the whole way back, you could hardly call them empty.
He’d worried that Xion might regret coming home with no spoils after digging a pit together and setting out in high spirits, yet Xion actually looked happier than when they’d left to hunt monsters.
Seeing that smile lifted Reinhild’s own mood.
He had released the gray owlbear and missed a chance to replenish mana, so part of him felt a pang of regret. But if Xion was smiling, that could wait till later.
The Hero certainly isn’t turning up today, he told himself.
Heroes only move in earnest once they’ve gathered all their companions because it’s safer and because a full Hero party can borrow the Chief God’s strength.
Judging from precedent, this generation’s Hero would almost certainly recruit comrades in the capital or some other large city.
At most, he’s found one companion by now. If he’s really fast, maybe two.
There was no reason for a Hero busy gathering allies to trek to a country village like Root.
There was plenty of time then to mend his body and stockpile mana.
True, he’d started late, but he was already five hundred years behind, so fretting now wouldn’t change much.
Relax. My goal isn’t to beat the Hero. I just want to drive him off.
That might sound modest for a Demon King, but Reinhild was content with it.
If need be, he could give the Hero a proper thrashing five hundred years from now.
“Walking together like this, it feels almost like an outing,” Xion said.
“It does,” Reinhild agreed with a nod.
If they’d hauled back a monster or mana stones, it would’ve been a hunt. Coming home with nothing made it more a pleasure stroll.
Sometimes a pointless day like this wasn’t bad at all.
Keeping pace with Xion’s unusually slow steps, Reinhild ambled home.
Aside from letting the owlbear go, it was an ordinary day.
After a warm wash, he drank honeyed milk that Xion had heated, watching the view outside the window.
Then Xion, who’d been chatting by his side, rose before sundown to prepare supper.
Tonight’s main dish: roast chicken with the skin slathered in seasoning till it crackled.
Other rich foods crowded the table. Clearly Xion feared Reinhild might be worn out after their excursion.
Good news, since Reinhild loved fatty fare.
Delicious as always.
Even if one day he regained power and returned to the Demon King’s castle, could he ever forget this taste?
Maybe Xion should have become a chef, Reinhild mused. He’d live in a far finer house.
He kept that thought to himself. Such cuisine was a luxury for humans.
Meals like this suit a Demon King.
He intended to monopolize them for a long, long time.
If Xion took up cooking in the city and left him behind, that would be a real problem.
Isn’t there a way to lengthen a human’s lifespan?
A strange worry for a Demon King, but earnest: if Xion lived longer, Reinhild could eat his food longer.
Making him undead would dull taste. Sealing him away and waking him only when dinner was needed crossed his mind, but only the Hero could manage a seal like that, and asking the Hero politely was out of the question.
“Is it really that good, Reinhild?” Xion asked.
“Uh, hm?”
Clatter.
His fork slipped and rang against the plate. Xion merely smiled, unbothered.
Did I reveal something?
Had Xion read his mind about turning him undead? Impossible.
Xion reached out with a napkin and gently wiped Reinhild’s mouth.
“You got sauce on yourself.”
“Huh?”
The white linen was streaked with sauce, almost as if he’d painted his face with it.
He must have been daydreaming about seals and lifespans.
Reinhild’s cheeks blazed hotter than when he’d been ill.
Utter humiliation.
Xion asked, “Are you finished eating?”
“Not yet.”
Humiliation or no, he wasn’t missing dessert.
Xion went to fetch it.
“Custard pudding!”
Perfect. Humans had a separate “dessert stomach”. Lucky for him he only had one.
Today had been the fullest day since coming to Root: fresh air, a gray owlbear sighting, saving the village (more or less), a splendid meal, and dessert.
If every day were like this, life would be perfect.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Someone knocked, ruining the moment.
Who dares disturb the Demon King’s joy?
Reinhild narrowed his eyes at the door.
Xion rose to answer. Reinhild didn’t like it.
“Xion, are you in there?” came Rebecca’s voice.
What does she want now?
She’d been visiting more often. Did she think this was her own house?
Rebecca’s visits were never welcome, but he no longer dashed off to hide.
If she entered and saw him eating pudding, he would answer proudly: he was Xion’s guest.
“What brings you, Rebecca?” Xion asked.
“I’ve got amazing news!”
“What sort of news?”
“It’s top secret, okay? Just for you.”
Too bad. Another “someone” was eavesdropping beyond the door, but since Reinhild wasn’t human, perhaps the secret was safe.
“What is it?”
Rebecca dragged it out, testing the Demon King’s patience. At last, she lowered her voice:
“The Hero is going to visit every house in the village tomorrow.”
Clink.
Reinhild dropped his spoon.
What had she just said?
Who is visiting where?
The Hero… coming to Root’s homes?
That could only mean…
The Hero… is already in this village?
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