Ch.200Side Story 2. The Story After, Irina (3)

# The Story After, Eirene (3)

“May I ask you something? Why are you bathing with clothes on?”

“Are you disappointed I’m not naked?”

“No, this is actually more erotic.”

“Ah…”

Eirene flinched in surprise, raising her arms to cover her body.

Her face turned red and her posture shrank inward.

Why doesn’t she realize how seductive each of those gestures is?

If she were doing this intentionally, she’d be unmatched. But judging by her reaction, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

If she had called me here to seduce me, being this flustered wouldn’t make sense.

“Well… thinking about it, this wasn’t the right timing to bring this up.”

“Was it something important?”

“No… Haah… Yes, it was somewhat important to me. I thought we’d have a moment alone, so I got ahead of myself. That’s right. I was trying to seduce you, Lug.”

Eirene laughed self-deprecatingly.

She looked somehow cornered.

Her slender arms covered her ample chest, but the thin wet clothes revealed the flesh-colored skin beneath in a provocative way.

No, that’s not what I meant.

This is truly maddening…

Would it have been better if she were completely naked? With her being in this state of almost-but-not-quite visible, I can’t help but keep looking.

As a result, all my focus goes to my vision, naturally causing problems with my hearing and thinking ability.

“Let’s talk about this another time then.”

Eirene sighed and stepped out of the lake.

Her wet clothes clung to her body with each step, revealing every curve.

Well, since she said we’d talk later, it should be fine to keep focusing, right?

“Shall we head back now?”

Eirene walked past me after leaving the lake and headed back.

“…Huh?”

Wasn’t she trying to seduce me?

Did I say something to upset her? But if she was trying to seduce me, wouldn’t calling it erotic be a compliment?

Or was what she wanted to say really that important? Why would she try to have such a conversation in that state? Isn’t that more problematic?

All sorts of questions and indignation swirled in my head before disappearing.

And the conclusion I reached was simple.

“Yes…”

Right, it must be my fault.

When someone is angry and you don’t know why, it’s easier to assume there might be a problem with yourself.

***

When we returned, the atmosphere was terrible. Well, the atmosphere between Eirene and me wasn’t really the problem.

I thought I might have upset her, but when Eirene returned to the carriage, she avoided my gaze with a flushed expression.

It was clear that embarrassment was her primary emotion.

She might feel uncomfortable around me, but I get to see this cute side of her, so I have nothing to worry about.

I can just focus on the conversation we postponed, right?

Yes, so there was no problem between Eirene and me.

If there was a problem…

“Don’t you think you came back too quickly?”

“Perhaps he can’t get it up?”

“Gasp! Come to think of it, the scripture says he resisted all temptations—maybe that’s what it meant…”

“This could be a new interpretation. We might see extremely ascetic monks emerge.”

“Or perhaps he just finished quickly?”

“Gasp!”

The problem was that my public image had been completely shattered.

No, that’s not it. That’s not me.

It’s not that I can’t get it up, nor am I as quick as a rabbit.

Who would have thought returning so quickly would lead to this…

More importantly, isn’t their basic perception of me a bit strange?

In this situation, shouldn’t they normally think nothing happened?

They even mentioned scripture!

Saying I resisted all temptations!

This must be due to the image Eirene has created.

A relationship where they can’t even imagine we would do nothing.

She must have created the impression that we have a good marital relationship. That must be it. It has to be.

With such troubled feelings, I spent the night sleepless.

By the next day, we had arrived at the Demon Lord’s castle.

During that time, Eirene neither did nor said anything.

“You’ve been captured… I mean, welcome back, Lord Demon King.”

“Ah, yes… I’m back, Lilith. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh, no. It wasn’t anything worth mentioning…”

And as expected, Lilith welcomed us.

Fortunately, no one else was there.

No Garnet, no Tina, not even Millia.

It seems those who would find it awkward to face me hadn’t returned yet. And that meant Lilith’s attitude would reveal that awkwardness.

“Lug.”

“…”

Eirene spoke with a bright smile and gentle voice.

“When exactly did this happen?”

“…I’ll explain later.”

“No, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear about your relationship with another woman…”

Eirene stared at Lilith with empty eyes before giving a slight nod.

Fortunately, she seemed willing to let it go.

Her reaction was more bewildered than angry.

“Then I’ll guide the priests and holy knights to their quarters. I may be the secretary, but I’m also the lady of this castle.”

Wait, is she a bit upset?

Despite her kind voice, there was subtle hostility in her words.

Describing Lilith as the secretary while calling herself the lady of the castle.

While not incorrect, she was clearly establishing a hierarchy.

Isn’t Lilith also a lady of this Demon Lord’s castle?

And since she belongs to the Demon Army’s Strategic Planning Department, she wouldn’t miss such provocation.

So how did Lilith respond to Eirene’s challenge?

“Very well.”

Lilith made no response. And that non-response was the best she could do.

Because she had already had me.

She was showing that this level of provocation meant nothing to her.

“Then I’ll be looking after Belphegor for the time being.”

“…”

However, she seemed afraid of future retaliation.

Lilith apparently planned to stick close to Belphegor, the strongest force who could protect her.

“…I see.”

Eirene suppressed a laugh at this brazen behavior.

In a way, Lilith was saying she would stay by Belphegor’s side regardless of what Eirene might do.

Lilith deflected Eirene’s provocation while taking a step back.

And that meant there weren’t many people left to protect me.

In terms of strength, there were Robeno and Lacrima, but it wouldn’t be right to drag them into marital issues.

Though I’m not sure if this can be simply categorized as a marital issue.

So the conclusion was simple:

“I’ll come see you later, Lug.”

That there was no one who could stop Eirene’s actions now.

***

Eirene said she would come see me, but I wasn’t sure what that meant.

She might simply want to have the conversation we couldn’t finish, or she might want to continue what we didn’t do.

Or she might do something I couldn’t even imagine.

With feelings half anxious and half expectant, I waited for Eirene, who soon came to find me.

“Shall we start with the conversation we couldn’t have last night?”

“Is there more to follow?”

“…If you listen to me seriously, I’ll consider it.”

“I’ll listen attentively.”

Now that we’ve returned to the Demon Lord’s castle, I shouldn’t have any problems.

So I can be honest about my desires. She’s not planning to imprison me like Tina or turn me into tentacles like Millia.

“Lug, I think it’s time for the Celestial God’s Order to disappear.”

“That’s quite sudden.”

“Sudden… So you really didn’t listen to anything I said.”

Eirene muttered as if disappointed. Unfortunately, I’m not someone who lies about such things.

I really didn’t listen.

…Though it seems this is a more serious conversation than I expected.

“With the conclusion of this war, the Empire has fallen, and my position and that of the Celestial God’s Order has soared.”

“That’s true.”

“The era where only the imperial family and nobles profited from unreasonable policies has disappeared, and the status of the hero’s party, who supposedly defeated the Demon King, has become untouchable.”

They achieved two goals at once.

That was the current state of the Celestial God’s Order.

Eirene said she returned to the Order to find me after I escaped, and she accurately assessed the situation.

As a result, Eirene declared:

“Now we no longer need to fear the collapse of the Celestial God’s Order. The groups with the power and authority to suppress us have disappeared.”

Beyond the increased status of the Celestial God’s Order, the imperial tyranny that had been pressuring them also vanished.

The stigma of losing their god due to excessive greed could be completely erased because I purified the Demon King and the demon realm, and I was engaged to her.

“In this situation, the Celestial God lost his power and became human. While you’re known to the world as the new Demon King, it’s certain that you’ve lost your divine status.”

I’ve weakened. And the effects weren’t limited to just me.

“People now believe in me, not in a god. So it’s right for the Celestial God’s Order to disappear.”

Eirene lamented that she had made it this way herself.