In a fight against a strong enemy, the very first thing you have to worry about is seizing the initiative.
Dressing splendidly was the most proper way to welcome an enemy.
Because looking just a little more dignified and refined than the other party was the first step of seizing the initiative.
Even Reinhild, who liked light and comfortable clothes, was no exception.
Five hundred years ago, whenever Xion came to visit, Reinhild would take off his thin nightwear and put on a gorgeous battle outfit.
Because a Demon King had to be dignified before a Hero.
‘When Xion was a Hero, he also came in fine clothes every time he came to face me.’
Reinhild, who did not know Xion only wanted to look good to Rein, assumed that a human’s mindset going into battle would be the same as a Demon King’s.
And the reason Xion’s outfits had become lighter after five hundred years was probably because, once he lost the qualifications of a Hero, there was no longer any need to fight the Demon King.
But now that Xion was standing before him, dressed up as if he had returned to how he looked five hundred years ago.
What else could that mean?
‘Xion is going to a battle where he is risking his life.’
His chest swelled, emotion surging up in a rush.
Xion, a human who loved peace, had wrapped himself in lavish ornaments and drawn his sword.
All for me.
“Xiooon….”
Reinhild ran down the path and hugged Xion tight.
The decorations hanging from Xion’s clothes were annoying, but he did not care.
“Rein.”
Xion’s expression was bright, nothing like a human marching off to a battlefield.
Ah. He was not fully human anymore, but a demigod.
Do people become more aggressive once they become gods?
‘Xion cannot end up liking battle more than I do….’
What if he leaves Root, saying he wants to seek out stronger opponents?
What if he goes to the divine realm, saying there are no strong enemies in the human realm?
‘I cannot even follow him to the divine realm!’
Reinhild grabbed Xion’s waist tightly, as if he would never let him go.
“Rein, with me…”
“No.”
“Ex-Excuse me?”
“I am fine even if I stay the Demon King, so let us keep living together in Root. Okay?”
At Reinhild’s unexpected reaction, Xion froze.
What was Rein saying right now?
Was that expression from a moment ago not an expression of being moved?
He did not fully understand what was going on, but one thing was clear: Reinhild did not see this situation as a “proposal” or “marriage.”
“You were not moved, Rein?”
“It is moving that you are going to fight the High God for me, but I do not want Xion to turn into a blood crazed battle maniac.”
“I will never become a battle maniac.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Reinhild loosened the arms he had wrapped around Xion’s waist and stepped back.
Then he looked Xion up and down, from head to toe.
“Then why did you dress up like this?”
“I was going to propose to Rein….”
“Propose?”
“Do not tell me you thought I put this on to go fight the High God.”
“Is that not it?”
Xion realized why their conversation had gone off track.
And he also understood why, five hundred years ago, Reinhild’s always splendid outfits had suddenly become light one day.
At the time, he had thought Rein simply simplified his clothing after showing up in nightwear, but that was not it.
At some point, Reinhild had stopped seeing him as an enemy.
Because time spent with him did not feel dangerous, Reinhild had not felt the need to arm himself with flashy clothes.
“…Xion. What is so funny?”
“Am I laughing?”
“A lot.”
Xion let out an audible laugh, “Haha,” and pulled Reinhild into his arms.
Reinhild still did not understand what was going on and looked dazed, but for now, he hugged Xion back.
From the way he reacted, it did not look like he was going to leave Reinhild behind and go anywhere.
“It seems demons dress themselves up splendidly every time they fight.”
“Humans do the same.”
“Humans consider excessive ornamentation a hindrance in battle. They might wear clothes made of expensive materials, but they do not attach decorations.”
“But all the human Heroes in history had huge shoulder ornaments.”
“Have you ever met a Hero other than me, Rein?”
“No. I saw portraits.”
They were portraits included in materials brought by the Demon God, who had pretended to be a butler and claimed a Demon King needed knowledge about past Heroes.
Even now, he could not understand why humans went through the inconvenient trouble of painting portraits to record someone’s appearance when they could have used magic to record the whole body into a crystal orb.
“In a portrait you can only see up to the shoulders, so they add lots of shoulder ornaments to emphasize splendor.”
Since the visible parts of the body were limited, they crammed as much decoration as possible onto the shoulders to make it look flashy, that was the explanation.
Reinhild still did not understand.
“So it was not that they dressed them in flashy clothes to emphasize that they were humans who fight the Demon King?”
“Yes. They probably dressed up in finer and more splendid clothes when they sat for portraits than when they faced the Demon King.”
The more he learned about humans, the less he understood them.
“Then why did you always wear fine clothes, Xion, when you were not even sitting for a portrait?”
“Because I wanted to look cool to Rein.”
“!”
Reinhild’s eyes widened at the truth he learned after five hundred years.
He had thought Xion was an extremely aggressive human because he always appeared dressed as if he took battle seriously without missing a single time, but that was not it.
“Then why did the other humans I saw in Root Village or Audrit dress normally? Is it not because they were humans who do not have to go out to battle?”
“Commoner humans usually do not have decorations on their clothes.”
“Then what about the dragon you are close with? Dragons outrank even human nobles, so why does he walk around dressed so plainly?”
“Well. Maybe plain clothes are simply his taste.”
It was shocking.
To think the dragon mage who showed up in an ordinary robe when Reinhild was fleeing from Xion had done so not because he was not hostile, but simply because of personal taste.
Then what was Reinhild, who had lowered his guard just because of those clothes?
He was confused.
“Then why are you wearing those clothes today?”
“For the same reason as five hundred years ago, of course.”
“To look cool?”
Xion smiled and nodded.
‘Even without doing that, Xion is always cool.’
Thinking that, Reinhild stared hard at Xion.
That dazzling smile, harmful to a Demon King, suited the splendid outfit perfectly.
“…”
His heart started pounding quickly.
Maybe Xion’s combative outfit was making the Demon King’s fighting instincts boil.
Or maybe he was fluttering.
“Why did you want to look cool?”
At Reinhild’s question, Xion did not answer right away.
As expected, Rein still did not understand what this situation meant.
That was only natural. Demons had no concept of marriage.
Xion had prepared as much as possible so that all of these actions would be recognized by Reinhild as “proposal” and “marriage.”
Flowers, a wedding arch, even a splendid ceremonial outfit.
He thought that if he followed, in order, the process he had seen in books, then even Reinhild, who was from the demon race, would understand that this was a confession meant for marriage.
He had not expected Reinhild to be unable to accept the meaning of his actions even after all of that.
But there was still one last step left.
Like a knight making a vow, Xion went down on one knee before Reinhild.
Exactly the posture that characters in romance novels commonly took when proposing.
“Rein.”
Xion took out a small box he had prepared in advance and held it out to Rein.
Inside was a ring set with a red gemstone.
“Will you marry me?”
“Marry?”
Reinhild, startled, stepped back.
Xion did not panic.
This reaction was within what he had expected from Reinhild.
“Is marriage not a kind of contract where two humans swear to live together for the rest of their lives?”
As expected, Reinhild seemed to think “marriage” was something only humans could do among themselves.
If so, it was not strange that he would be this startled.
Xion opened his mouth, intending to persuade Reinhild that even between a Demon King and a human, if there was love, they could marry.
“Rein, marriage is….”
“Have we not already married?”
“Pardon?”
That was not a response he had expected.
It was such an unimaginable answer that Xion was the one who panicked and could not continue.
His mind went white.
To think he alone had not known he had married Rein.
It felt like he had lived losing out on two thirds of his life.
“Why… why did you think we were married, Rein?”
“Marriage is swearing to live together for the rest of your life. Xion was the first one to tell me to live together for the rest of our lives.”
That was true. There had been a time like that.
Even if we have to run, let us run together. Wherever it is, let us be together.
But he had never imagined Rein would take that as a proposal.
“So I thought we were married. Are we not? Was it cancelled because I did not answer you right away back then?”
“We are married.”
Xion answered urgently, stood up, and pulled Reinhild into a tight embrace.
If Rein realized that had not been a proposal and decided to withdraw the marriage, that would be disastrous.
“Then you will stay with me for the rest of your life, right?”
“Even if that place is hell.”
“Good.”
Reinhild smiled brightly at Xion.
Reinhild did not need flowers, a splendid ceremonial outfit, or a stylish confession made on one knee.
All he needed was for Xion to stay by his side.
That alone was enough.
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