episode_0051

So, one of those leisurely days where all that’s left is to pursue the goddess who ran away to the Holy Land. (Of course, it’s a hellish day for the filing team.)

The expression on Mino’s face, the vampire lord and one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was not good.

I should have said that my body was not in good condition rather than my exact expression.

It was even better because I had been directly hit by the magic of the Magic Tower Master, the pinnacle of human magic, a few days ago.

It was perfect for a critically ill patient who had to stay glued to the hospital bed like a barnacle 24 hours a day.

“Ugh…”

Since the Demon King’s Castle’s only healer was himself, and he was a physical healer who didn’t know how to heal wounds caused by magic, Mino could only wait on his sickbed for the magical power that was worsening his wounds to dissipate.

But for some reason, thanks to the cooperation of Matapju, I will be able to leave my hospital bed in a few days.

No, actually Mino knew the reason.

It’s just… I didn’t want to put into my head the madness of the magician who dipped his foot into the abyss and then pulled it out.

Of course, considering the noble person’s actions, he deserves the respect he deserves… deserves it… but that’s a bit… no, no. There’s no need to bring up a topic that will make your wounds worse in real time just by thinking about it.

Mino tried to change the direction of his thoughts.

“Ugh…”

No, actually, there may not have been a need to change it.

Because the throbbing pain cleared away all other thoughts.

“Wow! I came to play again today! ”

“Pavey, you must keep quiet in the sickroom. This time, I am alone, but normally, not only I but also other patients of the Demon King’s Army are resting here-”

“Wow!”

“…sigh.”

Maybe it wasn’t pain, maybe it was a headache. Or maybe it was both.

There were many things that added to the suffering of Mino, who was already lying in bed. One of them was the visits of a guest who visited him every day as part of the punishment he received from the Demon King.

Even though she was clearly the king of the tribe, she always caused a commotion whenever she came to the hospital room, so Mino, who was the purpose of her visit, felt guilty. Now that Pavedo is also one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it would be difficult for the soldiers below to file a complaint.

“I brought you a gift to visit you in the hospital!”

“Thank you…”

“What? Where does it hurt?”

Where should I start pointing this out?

In the first place, isn’t it because you’re a patient that you’re lying in the hospital room? Or, if you’re talking about a headache, then the reason is because you’re the one asking that question… No, it’s your opinion?

But when I try to point something out, I become weak-hearted and lose my words. I guess that’s why you came to me with a gift because you were worried.

‘From now on, wouldn’t it be possible to solve this by asking my close friend to use some soundproofing magic?’

Of course, at that time, Galvein was buried in paperwork so he couldn’t have afforded to do that, but Mino was also sick so he couldn’t have known about it.

More importantly, he couldn’t help but notice that while he was lying in bed, the amount of work he had to do had increased significantly compared to when he was working directly.

Faber’s gift today was also a pack containing blood.

If you substitute it in the form of a human or a dog, would it be a bundle of fruits like apples or a health food?

Still, Mino thought it was fortunate that he hadn’t brought a real fruit package.

If that were the case, I wouldn’t have been able to eat it.

Mino, who was nourishing himself by sucking the blood from the blood pack, suddenly became curious.

“By the way, where did you get these gifts?”

Come to think of it, the humans of the empire would not readily donate blood to feed to vampires, and most of the demons would either be lying in sickbeds themselves or would have no blood left to donate for the demons who were lying in bed.

The blood of the Four Heavenly Kings and Abel had all been tasted at least once, so they knew the taste, and it was different from the taste of Leah’s blood. If this blood had been Leah’s, then the position of the Four Heavenly Kings of Pavé would have become vacant again.

And the taste of the demons’ blood was different from the taste of the blood of humanoid creatures that could be classified as humans. If the blood that Mino was eating now was a set meal at a fancy restaurant, then the demons’ blood was like a snack or a B-grade meal.

But, after excluding all the possible cases, I was left with no other options, so I was curious.

“Oh, that? My blood clot!”

Phewwww!!

Mino spit out the blood he had been eating.

“Kellogg, big, big!”

“Hey, are you okay?”

It is true that there were no other vampires in the Demon King’s Castle except for Mino, as they were all spies in the empire, so not many people knew about it.

So, it was a fact that no one cared about except for Mino himself.

Originally, giving one’s blood to a vampire meant confession.

“Big, big… It’s okay. Let’s just take a break…”

“Is that so?”

Of course, such thoughts quickly disappeared.

That would be the case, since Faber would not know about such a vampire tradition. Even by vampire standards, it was something that no one in the Demon King’s Castle would know about, except for Lord Mino.

And soon, Mino’s face was filled with a feeling of embarrassment at the thought of drinking kimchi stew alone and getting excited.

“What? Why are you looking like that?”

“Haaah… It’s nothing. I will gratefully accept the gift you gave me.”

‘I want to hide in a mouse hole. I feel so pathetic…’

Of course, no one knew the shameful behavior that Mino had displayed in that short moment, but for Mino himself, who valued his dignity more than anyone else, it was a pain in itself that made him feel like his insides would turn inside out at any moment.

“…Aren’t you going?”

“Huh? Why am I going? The Demon King told me to stay here for a while!”

“?”

Demon King…!!!

Mino couldn’t bring himself to shout out and argue, so he screamed inside.

It’s already embarrassing to be excited by yourself, so what are you going to do if you put a man and a woman in the same room all day?

What on earth did the Demon King mean by giving such an order? No matter how much Mino thought about it, he could only conclude that Abel was a vicious and corrupt person.

Of course, it was a conclusion I came to because my thoughts were biased in that direction, and the truth is that it was more like a waste of time for Fabbe, who had nowhere to go and nothing to do, and whose only connections within the Demon King’s Castle were with Leah and Mino.

*****

Once he became aware of it for no reason, no matter how hard he tried to turn his attention away from it, Mino’s attention kept returning to Fabbe until night fell.

To be exact, to Pave, who was lying on the cot next to the bed where Mino was lying.

Originally, vampires were mainly active at night, but Mino switched his day and night schedule for his activities with the Demon King’s army, so now was the right time. But even so, he couldn’t sleep.

“Woof! Are you sleeping?”

So, as Faber said, even if he’s sleeping, if you shout at his ear like this, he’ll wake up.

Fabbe would nod off as if he was sleepy, then wake up, and even drool, but then quickly wake up as if he had never fallen asleep, and try to shake off the sleep as if he was waiting for something.

And then, the next thing he does is always try to talk to Mino. He forces himself to stay awake even though he’s sleepy.

“I’m awake…”

To be honest, by that point, even I was pretty sleepy as a Mino.

You might think that it would be okay for longevity species to not be able to sleep, but it was the opposite for vampires.

12 to 12.

Because we are a species that literally sleeps a lot, if we are awake for 12 hours, we have to sleep for 12 hours to be satisfied.

The same was true for Lord Mino. If it weren’t for Pave’s problem, he would have immediately gone into the coffin, closed the lid, and gone to sleep. However, he couldn’t close his eyes when he thought of the accident Pave might have while he was closing his eyes.

This was not based on any prejudice or anything, but was based solely on facts. In fact, after Pave became the Four Heavenly Kings, the number of artifacts and other items he had eaten had surpassed twenty, and this was the reason he had been entrusted to Mino in the first place, that is, the reason for the punishment.

‘Isn’t it true that His Majesty the Demon King dismissed him lightly since the property damage was that severe?’

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

I’m sleepy.

Mino barely managed to swallow the words that were rising to his throat. However, he could not hide his constantly closing eyes or his periodic yawns.

Swish.

Mino felt something soft and warm covering his eyes. It was Faber’s hand.

“…What are you doing?”

“I’m going to sing a lullaby.”

“…”

As if to prove that those words were not lies or empty words, Fabbe was rubbing her sleepy eyes and getting ready to sing a real lullaby, holding the note while saying, “Ah, ah.”

And no matter how much Mino thought about it, he was far past the age where he could listen to lullabies.

Besides, if anyone sees it, social death is certain.

“Self-control-”

“Don’t do that.”

“Okay, I see…”

Mino, who had barely managed to avoid a social catastrophe, finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Why are you always by my side?”

There must be many other places.

Even if Abel had ordered it, if she had said she didn’t like it, he would have easily changed it. No matter how much he called her a tyrant, he wasn’t the kind of person who would put a man and a woman in the same room and not have that much consideration.

Of course, he is not a great person who would release him from his disciplinary action, but rather, Mino’s hospital room, which was the detention center, was changed to a solitary confinement cell.

And even so, why do you have to come here every day to get your blood drawn?

And what is the reason why you are forcing yourself to stay awake like this even now?

“Huh…? Hmm… Oh, you don’t know? ”

Pave began to answer Mino, blurting out what he should have been thinking in his sleep.

“I heard that giving your own blood to a vampire is a confession. …or wasn’t it?”

“Blood… Yes, that’s right… …Huh?”

Hmm. It took quite a while for my sleepy, sluggish brain to grasp the meaning.

“No, wait. Then-”

And when Mino, who had just realized the meaning, turned his head, Pave had already fallen asleep a long time ago, despite his previous reaction.

Thump, thump.

‘Should I wake up?’

‘Shouldn’t there be an answer to this question?’

But then what should I answer?

refusal.

At first, the word rejection came to mind from his perspective as a vampire lord, but it was quickly erased.

Instinctively, it is saying that it does not like itself. The heart that has never been able to throw a tantrum before is thrashing about, saying that it cannot do so this time.

acceptance.

This one looked a lot better than the last one.

Even my pounding heart seemed to finally give in and give me my consent.

Clearly, Mino seemed to like Pave. Maybe it was because they had overcome adversity together, or maybe it was both or something else.

There must have been a reason, but whatever the reason, it was a fact that Mino could not deny, or did not even think to deny.

“Pave, have you been confessing to me every day? Waiting for an answer that never comes back…”

Whispering to the sleeping person did not bring an answer.

Of course, Mino could wait long enough.

Pave, it’s been less than a seventh of the time she’s been waiting.

But when I looked at the blood pack containing her heart again, I could feel her heart as red as the red blood, and it became difficult to wait again.

So, Pave slept soundly until the next morning and woke up to receive the answer to his confession.

And another couple was born in the Demon King’s Castle.