—It would be a pain in the ass to get involved.
If he was being honest, he had basically zero communication skills back in the real world. Even though he had come to another world, that fact still hadn’t changed. If he tried to speak normally, then the words just wouldn’t come out right.
It would be bad if he was rude, but he didn’t have the verbal skills to pay respect while keeping up his own grandiose image.
Even if he didn’t want to stir up trouble, the only way for him to talk in a comprehensible manner was to use his Demon Lord roleplay.
He concluded that it would be safest if he just ignored it, though it seemed like Mr. Bodyguard over there wasn’t satisfied with the whole thing...
Celes went to change the subject.
“Before we start talking, let’s eat first. I’ll be taking care of everything, so please eat as much as you’d like, okay?”
“We can!? Really!?”
“Of course, help yourself to whatever you’d like.”
“Woohoo!!”
Out of joy, Shera threw both her arms in the air, then started making requests to the receptionist, who had come to take their order.
Before long, several dishes of food were brought out.
There were sausages of various sizes, boiled potatoes, plain soups, and white bread. Veggies that looked like lettuce and eggplant made an appearance, as well as apples and grapes.
The drink placed in front of Diablo looked like it could have been beer.
Rem and Shera got some kind of fruit juice, while Celes got wine.
“Yay! Let’s dig in!”
Shera reached out toward the food.
Judging by her reaction, this must really be a feast—he thought.
—But it doesn’t really look that good, though.
Diablo tried biting into one of the sausages.
It had just the right amount of chewiness to it, and the juicy, rich flavor of the meat spread throughout his mouth.
—Huh!? This is delicious!
It had a powerful, rustic flavor.
Shera was voraciously tearing into the food. It was enough to make you wonder where she was putting it all in that slender Elf body.
—Oh, I see! So that’s why her chest is like that...
Rem, from the corner of her eye, glared at Shera, who was happily stuffing her face. However, without bringing up Shera’s eating habits, she switched the conversation to the issue at hand.
“...So, Miss Celes...is this going to be about ‘that’ again?”
Rem sounded like she was annoyed.
Since the way she said it had been rude, he thought that the bodyguard from earlier was going to get involved again, but he did not give any reaction in particular.
—I wonder if Celes and Rem are of the same status to him?
That would mean someone from the Mage’s Association would see Rem as someone on the same level as the head of the Mage’s Association.
It made him wonder what kind of position Rem held.
Celes put her hands together, as if she were making a request.
“Rem, I’m just thinking that it would be great if I could help you, you know? You must have gone through many hardships, and you may not trust me, but I want you to know at least that part is true.”
“...I do not like like going to the Association headquarters, and I do not like having guards follow me around, either.”
“But it’s been pretty rough out there lately. There’s been reports of the Fallen having deceived people and making it through the barrier in other towns... If you were a member of the Mage’s Association, I can’t imagine a town being taken advantage of by the Fallen would be enough to cause you trouble.”
“...Thank you for your concern, but I am capable of protecting myself on my own.”
“Do you hate me, I wonder?”
Celes had a forlorn look on her face.
Rem sighed.
“...I have said it before, but I have never doubted your character. However... I do not know how to rely on people. I have always managed through life on my own, and I plan to keep pushing forward using my own power. Using that power—I will destroy the Demon Lord Krebskulm.”
“The Mage’s Association may be able to help you do something about that collar.”
Rem quickly touched her collar.
“This is...”
“You’re not wearing that collar because you want to, right? I don’t believe someone such as yourself could be forced into being a slave... Could it have been from an accident even you could not have foreseen, which caused the collar to be attached to you? And would I be mistaken in saying that the owner of that collar would be Mr. Diablo over there?”
“...You would not.”
“Hm.”
Without thinking, Diablo let his voice slip out.
—That’s some amazing insight she’s got.
There hadn’t even been anything said that would let her guess the course of events that led to the collars being put on them.
She had come to that conclusion only by the conversation between the three of them.
It seemed she hadn’t become the head of the Mage’s Association just because of her magical prowess.
Celes looked at Diablo.
“Please, I beg you, is there any way you could bring yourself to release Rem? She’s a very important person for this world. Of course, I promise to compensate you appropriately for doing so.”
He did feel that he wanted to release her.
However, even for someone who had played countless hours of Cross Reverie such as himself, he did not know the way you would go about removing an Enslavement Collar, since it was only mentioned in the game’s setting.
Diablo turned his head to the side.
“I am not in the habit of forcing others to obey me with magic... But since I do not know the method to release them, I cannot comply.”
He thought it would be best to tell her straight.
Celes let out a disappointed sigh.
“I see... You seemed to be quite the experienced Sorcerer, so I thought you might have been able to understand things that I could not... It looks like I have no choice but to look into this starting from square one.”
Shera made a serious face.
“Hmm... Since Diablo was the one who reflected the magic back at us, and his magic seems to be really powerful, even if you find a way, a normal Sorcerer might not be able to get the job done... Or something like that could happen, right?”
“It was reflected? I see... If that’s the case, then I may need to request Diablo’s assistance.”
Listening to the conversation, Diablo let out a sigh.
“So you’re all incompetent, unable to even undo your own magic... Very well. If you find a way, tell me. I will lend you my assistance at that time.”
BAM!
It was the sound of something striking the wooden floor.
He turned his gaze to look.
The wiry guard behind Celes had slammed his staff on the ground.
“You... You bastard! What right do you have to reject Master Baudelaire’s request! Not only that, but you have turned Lady Rem Galleu into your slave!? By what right!”
—Like I know...
All he had been saying was that an unfortunate accident had occurred, and that he was unable to undo the magic of his own will.
—Man, there wasn’t even an NPC as annoying as this in the game...
Celes stood up.
“It looks like going any further would only cause trouble for you... I’m sorry everyone, even though you must be exhausted.”
He hadn’t expected the conversation to stop midway thanks to the guard’s hysterics.
Celes’s position must keep her busy, but he thought he might have been able to get a little more information out of her.
Rem cast her eyes downward.
“Miss Celes... I may have seemed scornful after refusing to go to the Association and rejecting the guards.
But, could I still ask you...to please look into a way to remove these collars?”
“Of course. All I want to do is protect you.”
Celes smiled.
It was a gentle smile.
Rem lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. But if you ever change your mind, you can always rely on me, okay? The Mage’s Association has a duty to the world to protect you... And you’re like a little sister to me.”
At this, Celes turned and left the bar.
The two guards went to follow her.
However, as they were leaving, the wiry guard glared at Diablo, eyes full of loathing.
—Well, I’m sure I won’t be running into him that much, anyways.
But besides that.
Rem had been keeping a grave secret.
It was a secret so shocking that the head of the Mage’s Association had even said that protecting her was for the sake of the world.
This was something that could definitely turn into a big problem.
This is something I should know about—thought Diablo.
“Hey. You.”
“...What is it?”
“It seems the secret you carry is no ordinary one. I am intrigued... I shall allow it, so speak of it now.”
“I can’t...do that...”
She faltered.
It didn’t seem like it was something she could say so easily.
He knew that telling such a serious secret to someone that you had known for only half a day was asking for too much.
However, this was not the time for him to be backing down.
—My gamer sense is tingling. The problem Rem is wrestling with...is one of those things that makes the story get more serious!
For the most part, whenever a situation like this comes about where some big-shot comes all the way out to see a specific person; or if the person in question says it’s not something they can really talk about with other people; these secret circumstances only become clear after completing a bunch of story quests and reaching the finale.
There were also many instances where the whole thing could have been solved much more easily if they had just talked about it sooner.
These kinds of secrets would come to light if you started prying into them. That was how they would get you excited about playing through the story of a game.
It would be fine if we were talking about a game, though.
But this was another world; this was reality.
He wanted to avoid taking risks wherever possible.
Diablo wanted to take care of Rem’s problem, treating it as if a story quest had just appeared before him.
—Even if I have to force it out of her, I’m going to hear her secret and bust through that story!
By thinking of it as if it were part of the strategy he needed to beat a game, he had become strangely more assertive about it.
“Hey. You.”
“...What is it?”
Diablo got up from his seat.
Going over to Rem, who had barely touched her food, he grabbed her by the arms and made her stand up. Holding her by the waist, he picked her up and lifted her over him.
“You’re pretty light.”
“Wha!? Wh-Wh-What are you planning to do!?”
Shera looked up at them, countless sausages stuffed into her cheeks.
“Mmphmphmph! *gulp* Where are you two going? There’s still tons of food here!”
Now that he thought about it, Rem did seem to hesitate talking around Shera earlier. If he was going to pry this secret out of Rem, it would be better if it was just the two of them.
“I’m going to torture her.”
The two girls were at a loss for words.
Seeing the usually cool and collected Rem get this frightened was kind of a surprise.
Bread still clutched in her hand, Shera was frozen in place. Then, after a few moments...
“...I-I’ll just go ahead and keep on eating, then!”
She avoided looking at them.
Rem called back in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.
“Y-You... You and I were traveling companions, even if it was only for a short time, right!? Are you not even going to try and save me!?”
“You know, I have this straaange feeling that you kept calling me a stupid Elf the whole time!? And even just a little while ago, you said I was mold on a wall or something, didn’t you!?”
“...Why are you not being tricked, even though you’re so stupid!?”
“You said it again! You called me stupid again! I don’t even care anymore! I’m not going to save you!”
“Th-That was something someone who is going to save me would forgive me for saying!”
She was completely terrified.
There was no way of putting the brakes on the Demon Lord act. If he were that skillful, then he would have been speaking normally from the very start.
Even so, Diablo tried to work out a way to spin his words to try and reassure her a little. It wasn’t like he was trying to take her life or anything, he just wanted to know what she was hiding.
“Ku-ku-ku-ku... There’s no need to be afraid, I will not try to kill you... If you spill your secret fast enough, that is.”
Maybe the nuance of what he wanted to say changed a little.
He tried smiling.
As if she had accepted her fate, Rem closed her eyes and whispered:
“...I wonder if you could call my fourteen years living in this world as long or short. Mother, Father... It looks like I will be joining you on the other side tonight...”
It seemed to have had the opposite effect.
Since there were no other options, Diablo quickly made for their room while still holding Rem.
†
After returning to the room, he locked the door.
It was already nighttime.
The only light sources in the dimly lit room were the candles on the wall. The only things that could be faintly seen were things like the bed, the wall, and the two of them.
Since there were no chairs, Diablo sat Rem down on the bed, then turned his attention to her.
She was looking down at the floor.
Her little panther ears were lying flat on her head, and were trembling slightly.
—Dang, she’s cute.
—Maaan, I want to try touching them.
—Wait, I shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. I have to make sure and hear what her deal is.
He didn’t want to have to force it out of her, though.
There was a possibility that they would be working together from here on out. He wanted to keep some semblance of a relationship with her.
“There is only one thing I wish to know... Why did the head of the Mage’s Association come all the way out to see you?”
“...I can’t say.”
Rem’s will was firm.
Even though she was this scared, it seemed she had no intention of revealing her secret.
Diablo was hesitant. The reason he wanted to ask Rem about her circumstances was because he wanted to get a head start on the difficult quest that was guaranteed to come up because of it. He wanted to avoid making their relationship worse, which would also serve to make this an even bigger problem.
—Maybe I’ll try digging around a bit more.
“Are you asking me to lend you my power while hiding things from me?”
“...That...That is true, but...I do not want to talk about it.”
“Hmm? Would this secret of yours be something that would be disadvantageous for me?”
Her voice sank. “...No... If I say it, then you will leave me as well...”
In the dim light, her eyes full of despair, Rem looked so despondent. It was enough for Diablo to be at a loss for what to say for a moment.
She continued.
“...I have a terrible secret. If you were just a powerful Summon, then I may have been able to talk with you about it. But a
s it is now, you have the choice of choosing between me or Shera...and that is why I am afraid. I need the power of the Demon Lord Diablo...but if you learn my secret, then you may distance yourself from me.”
—So the reason she doesn’t want to say it is because she’s insecure.
Rem was afraid that he would leave her if she knew her secret.
—A terrible secret, huh.
It also seemed that there were people who distanced themselves because they knew her secret. It was enough to have hurt her emotionally.
—I don’t think she’d believe me even if I said that I’d be OK with it.
By the time he was close enough for her to trust him, it might be too late. That was a common pattern for these things.
If Diablo had chosen to play the role of a valiant hero, then that’s probably how it would have turned out.
He didn’t have any magic words that could heal the wounds on Rem’s heart.
He didn’t have enough time to get her to trust him, and he also did not have the talent to give her the courage she needed to say it.
—A Demon Lord should do things like a Demon Lord.
Diablo sneered an extraordinarily evil sneer.
“I understand why you don’t want to say it. However, what I want to know is why Celes came to visit you. Did you think that a Demon Lord would hold back on you?”
“Hyah!?”
Rem tried to resist, but she was already sitting down.
Despite this, she managed to skillfully crawl up onto the bed. As you’d expect of a Pantherian, she had mastery over her small and light body.
Chasing after her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down.
Diablo’s AGI (Agility) and STR (Strength) stats were far above hers.
It seemed that Rem was too scared to be able to use her true power.
“Ku-ku-ku... It seems like torture will be necessary after all.”
“Ngh... A-Are you planning...to disgrace me?”
“Huh?”
The thought had never occurred to him.
He hadn’t imagined he would have pushed her onto the bed either, but maybe it was a little weird that something like that didn’t even occur to him.
That was reasonable, considering the life he had led up until now was one where he had even forgotten the last time he had spoken with an actual girl.
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 1 Page 7