episode_0257

I walk down the hallway of the royal palace.

At the very front of our group is Princess Emula of the Roman Kingdom.

She was faithfully carrying out her duty after receiving the king’s order to guide us through the palace.

Starting with a simple garden, then the training grounds for the royal palace soldiers, the party hall where evening parties would be held, and even a zoo with various animals, large and small… We were truly touring every nook and cranny of the royal palace.

Then, perhaps having seen enough of the sights, Emula stopped her unstoppable footsteps, looked at me and my party, and said,

“Now, while the party is underway, I was wondering if I should guide you to the place where you will be staying… Would that be alright?”

“Yes. It feels like we’ve seen everything worth seeing. I’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, then I will guide you to the place where you will be staying.”

At my words, Emula nodded and moved her paused footsteps again.

While walking like that, Emula suddenly spoke to me.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the hero.”

“…Suddenly?”

A completely unexpected story.

This is the first time I’ve met her, so what on earth did I do to make her want to thank me?

Have I met her once before without knowing it?

I think about it for a moment, but no matter how much I think about it, it seems like I haven’t met her.

“Have we met before?”

“Haha. I’m sorry. No, this is the first time we’ve met directly today. So it’s natural that the hero doesn’t know.”

“Then why do you want to thank me?”

“I gained a lot of courage watching the hero. Thanks to that, I was able to make up my mind to return to the royal palace.”

Made up my mind to return to the royal palace… I see.

I certainly heard about that from Circe, the madam of Preade’s Rest.

“Did I hear you were in a brothel?”

“You talk about such things so casually.”

“Well, there’s no one around.”

Even I have that much sense.

At my words, she seemed taken aback, but at the same time nodded and said.

“That’s right. You’re amazing as expected, hero.”

“It’s just sensing people around…”

Emula paused for a moment and glanced at me and the group behind me.

Then, she turned her gaze back to me and said.

“After I guide you to your room… Could you spare me a moment?”

“Is it a story that needs to be told in private?”

“It’s not that, but… I’m a little embarrassed.”

Emula says, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Certainly… Seeing that kind of appearance, it was a figure that stimulated men, worthy of being the most popular ace of Preade’s Rest.

“I don’t mind.”

* * *

The room we would be staying in was quite large, and full of splendid and expensive-looking decorations.

No matter where you looked, it was a room that high-ranking nobles or those on par with them would use, and Reviya seemed a little awkward as she was overwhelmed, but the others seemed familiar with it and acted comfortably.

‘…Come to think of it, everyone except Reviya is a noble or someone on par with them.’

I always forgot because she always moaned when we had sex, and she wasn’t the type to flaunt her status otherwise, but they were all of high status.

Although the Paekryeon clan is almost extinct now, she was a member of the prestigious Paek family of the Jo kingdom, and Seollin is also a princess of the Tang family, one of the leading families in the Yeom kingdom.

Paekho is the ancestral spirit of Paekryeon and a divine beast regarded as a guardian deity in the Jo kingdom, and Lucy is a capable clergyman, so she must have been treated quite well in various countries.

Taemiell… I buried her myself deep under the sea, but she was a princess of a distant city-state called Raftia and a fragment of the former Demon King.

In the end, Reviya and I were the only commoners in my party.

“H, Hero…”

“It’s okay. We’re guests, so just relax. Tell me if there’s anything uncomfortable.”

“That’s right. You are the hero’s party who brought peace to the world. If there is anything uncomfortable or necessary, please don’t hesitate to tell us.”

As if responding to my words, Emula said.

Reviya still seemed a little awkward, but eventually nodded.

“Then I’ll go talk for a bit, so you guys can rest… No need to tell you that.”

Paekryeon and Seollin, and Lucy, who were already settling down in their own spots, nodded or waved their hands instead of answering.

While I was looking at that scene in bewilderment, I thought it would be fine if they were comfortable, so I left the room with Emula.

“Then… Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

I walk along the same path I walked with my party, but this time with Emula and I.

“From here on is the royal family’s living area. It’s an area that’s not open to outsiders. If you happen to get lost, it might be a little difficult.”

“Is that so? I understand. I’ll be careful.”

The royal family’s living area…

Taking me to such a place, I can roughly guess where we are heading now.

That would be an appropriate place to have a secret conversation.

“This is my bedroom. It’s my first time bringing a man into my bedroom… I’m nervous.”

“You’ve mixed bodies a lot, haven’t you?”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

“….”

Emula answers indifferently to my question.

It seems like this place also values virginity and such things…

But this girl doesn’t seem embarrassed.

Anyway, as I entered the bedroom, the unique fragrant perfume scent of a woman’s room tickled my nose.

“Would you like to sit somewhere comfortable?”

“Alright.”

A table and chairs on one side of the room.

As I sat there, Emula sat across from me.

“So? What is it you want to say?”

“As I said earlier… I wanted to express my gratitude. I hated the royal family’s life.”

“…You hated the royal family’s life so you became a prostitute?”

“Yes.”

“…That’s too extreme, isn’t it?”

No, who on earth becomes a prostitute because they hate being a princess?

A masochist?… Is that your taste?…

“Hehe, maybe that’s it. Anyway… I hated it. Facing opponents who held sharp daggers behind smiling faces and might stab you at any moment, and that jerk who was born of the same bloodline but just looked at me as his possession, who I called older brother. I hated it so much I couldn’t breathe. So I secretly snuck out of this place… And became a prostitute with the help of Circe.”

“Is that so?…”

“Yes. So originally I had no intention of coming back… But one day Circe told me about you. She said you would definitely become great.”

“…Suddenly?”

…Ah, was it that day?

The day I first came to this place and went to her, but was shocked by the reality that even when erect, it was small, so I only gave her an erotic massage and ran away…

“After that, I often looked into you. And seeing your actions, and seeing my older brother, who always looked down on me arrogantly from a higher place than me, shaking and collapsing like that… I also gained courage. So I came back here. To be completely free from my older brother who always bound me. And it’s thanks to the hero that I have this kind of heart.”

No, I didn’t do anything…

Those words came up to my throat, but I barely swallowed them.

Well, if the other person felt that way, then that’s how it is.

“So I want to tell you something.”

“?”

“Recently… My older brother’s condition is a little strange. I can’t put my finger on it, but… It feels a little ominous. That’s the feeling I get.”

“….”

“So please be careful. I’m sure something… Something will happen.”

* * *

“You’ve come?”

“…What are you guys eating?”

“It’s a special snack from here. Leon, you should try it too.”

When I came back after talking to Emula, the guys were already having a party.

They had laid out various snacks and were eating and drinking.

Reviya was also eating various sweet snacks, and it seemed like she was in a good mood, as she had something like cream on her mouth while eating, but when she saw me, she hurriedly turned her head and wiped off the cream, which was quite cute.

“So what did you talk about?”

Paekho, who apparently didn’t like sweets, was just sipping his drink when he turned his gaze to me.

I casually sat down anywhere and said.

“It’s nothing much. Just that Ragna seems to be planning something, so be careful. That’s what I was going to talk about. I couldn’t easily tell the story about a prince of a country trying to do something in a place where all the distinguished guests can see.”

“Hmm, well, that’s true. But…”

Paekho turns his gaze away.

Taemiell, Paekryeon, Seollin, and even Paekho, the four of them exchange glances and then look at me.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

What is it, are you guys going to have a 5p or something?

Even I would have a hard time dealing with all those sex monsters…

But unlike my worries, she brought up something else.

“But I agree with the story that it’s ominous. Me, that woman Taemiell, Paekryeon and Seollin too. We’re all feeling it.”

“E… Th, That’s right?”

Reviya, who was just happily eating snacks, said in surprise.

“It’s okay, Lady Reviya. Our role is to heal and support, so let’s leave that kind of thing to the people who specialize in that and eat snacks.”

“Woowoongoom?!”

“It’s like the calm before the storm… I can feel a slightly unpleasant air on my skin.”

“Hmm. I feel a slight tingling on my skin. Especially when I came into the castle. My mother felt that way too.”

Seollin and Paekryeon said in turn, hugging their arms.

And finally, Taemiell…

“Do you still remember the days in my memories?”

“If it’s back then… I still remember it.”

“You probably didn’t see it all the way to the end… But I have the memory of the days after that. When I and the prince returned to the prince’s hometown… The feeling of a touch-and-go situation I felt then. I’m getting that feeling again.”

“….”

“So it’s best to be careful.”

If one person thinks something is strange, you can just pass it off as a feeling.

If two people think something is strange, it might be a little concerning, but you wouldn’t be too concerned.

If three people think something is strange…

“….”

Something will happen.

And what I expect to happen…

‘Demon King… Is it?’