An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium)
Page 21
“Hnnngh! Even this is all your fault! Brother!”
And on this holy evening, Alshiera’s indescribable shriek rang out pleasantly into the night sky.
Afterword
Long time, no see. I’ve come to deliver An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride volume 8. My name is Fuminori Teshima.
After enjoying swimsuits and yukatas on the island of everlasting summer, we’re now moving to Christmas! We thought the granny would be the one in high spirits once again, but Gremory’s not the only with plans up her sleeves. And during the event, Kuroka becomes a cat, gets picked up by a hopeless guy, and is being chased by monsters!
Anyway, that’s how the Christmas volume goes. Having said that, this is a fantasy world, so the origin of the celebration is different. It’s actually closer to Halloween or Easter, I guess. I ended up mixing all sorts of things together, so we’ve got Santa and ghosts too. Oh, and apparently, it’s even an important day for vampires.
Nevertheless, things were quite difficult this time around. I mean, Christmas had to stay hidden from Zagan, but the surprise would have been ruined if he’d simply dropped by the church, or if he’d just met up with Shax, and even Barbatos would have ended up consulting him about presents too.
Anyhow, I had ideas like putting Zagan and Richard together, or having Gremory and Alshiera hit it off, but I ended up avoiding those. It would’ve been like making a time jump all on my own.
We ended up with a story where many groups were moving independently instead. How did you enjoy it? To me, it’s cute, like some sort of troublesome child, so I do hope you had fun.
Oh, also, volume 2 of the manga has gone on sale, so please check that out as well.
Now then, I didn’t get all that many pages this time around, so let’s move on to thanking everyone who supported me.
To the one who was responsible for the book, and reminded me that I forgot about Santa Claus and helped brainstorm ideas, K. To the illustrator, COMTA, who was forced to draw yet another costume change. To the manga artist, Hako Itagaki. To the chief editor at Comic Fire. To everyone who helped with the cover design, proofreading, publicity, and such. To all the modelers I met at the convention. To my children, who bring me so much cheer in one way or another. And to you, my dear readers, who have taken this book in your hand. Thank you very much!
March 2019: On a morning where I thought, ‘Oh yeah, it’s my birthday soon.’ — Fuminori Teshima
Bonus Short Stories
A Present for Alshiere Imera
“A present... for Alshiere Imera?” Nephy asked as she cocked her head, which made her friend Manuela let out a heavy sigh.
“Haaah... So you really don’t know about it. Alshiera Imera is a church festival that has a custom where you give gifts to your lover or other people you’re intimate with.”
“S-Such an event exists?! Wh-What should I do? I didn’t prepare anything for Master Zagan.”
“So being called his lover no longer makes you a nervous wreck... Oh, sorry, don’t mind me,” Manuela said as she shook her head with a charmed look. Nephy was trying to keep a straight face, but the tips of her ears were bright red and shaking.
A present for Master Zagan... I wonder what would please him?
Putting it bluntly, she felt like no matter what she gave him, Zagan would be happy about it. That was just the sort of person he was. However, that wasn’t enough to satisfy her. After all, even Zagan surely had something he wanted.
“Hmm, let’s see. What does Zagan usually do? I guess research sorcery?” Manuela asked as she began flapping her wings about as if she had read Nephy’s mind.
“Yes. He spends a fair amount of time researching sorcery. Lately, he’s been reading picture books to Foll too, and... he’s been looking for someone. But it seems he’s happiest when he discovers some new sorcery... Oh, in that case, should I get him a grimoire? If only I could help with his search...”
“Calm down, Nephy. That doesn’t work as a present from a lover. That’s too sorcerer-like.”
Nephy was ignorant in the ways of ordinary life. Even the simple thought of how lovers usually behaved was outside the realm of her imagination. And just as she was about to fall to her knees in a crestfallen manner, she suddenly remembered something.
“Oh! There is one thing. Something that Master Zagan unexpectedly seemed to take a liking to.”
“...Thank goodness. So the two of you have proper human desires, huh?!” Manuela exclaimed, seemingly moved to tears, which made Nephy cock her head to the side.
“Oh, I don’t know how much it costs, though.”
I guess if I plan to buy a present, I need money, right?
Nephy did at least possess enough money to cover for her daily life, but that was given to her by Zagan. She wanted to earn the money used on a present for him on her own.
“Nephy. I know a part-time job you can take during the day that pays pretty well. Want me to introduce you?”
“Please do!”
And so, Nephy’s first ever secret from Zagan was born.
A Present from a Child
“Gremory, what’s Arsure Imeera?” Foll asked in a childish tone, making the old granny let out a sharp chuckle in turn.
“Mmm! To think I would hear such words from Lady Foll’s own mouth. Are you curious?”
“Yeah... Lilith and Selphy seemed to be having fun when they were talking about it, but I didn’t really get it when I asked them.”
“Hmm, let’s see,” Gremory muttered before nodding and saying, “I suppose for children, it’s a day where you’re treated to a nice meal and receive presents come nighttime. Originally, it was the day where the dead return, so you can say it’s a festival for welcoming them.”
“A present...” Foll innocently reacted to that word, which made Gremory squint her eyes cheerfully.
“Keeheehee, and what is it that you want, Lady Foll?”
“Well, I don’t really want anything.”
“Huh? Why? Isn’t this the point where you look at me with upturned eyes and beg for something?” Gremory began panicking for some reason, but Foll simply shook her head.
“I’ve gotten tons of present, so I want to give some... to Zagan and Nephy.”
Foll had received many things from them ever since they became her parents. And they were all things the two of them didn’t possess themselves when they were her age. As such, she didn’t just want to remain on the receiving end. She wanted to repay their kindness with gifts of her own. Foll felt that way from the bottom of her heart, but she also knew the two of them would look upon that idea unfavorably.
But... the two of them might be happy if it’s a present for a festival.
And with that, the old granny was pinning down her chest with a look of ecstasy plastered on her face.
“Hnnngh! What astounding love power! I couldn’t predict such an answer at all. Lady Foll, I shall assist you! Now tell me, what do you plan on giving them?”
“I haven’t decided yet. What do you think will make them happy?”
“Let’s see... In my opinion, what you want to give them is not necessarily a physical object, but something that they do not possess. Like a normal life, right? The problem is what exactly ‘normal life’ is.”
Both Foll and Gremory were sorcerers, so neither of them understood much about a normal person’s life.
“Oh, I got it. Gremory, so smart.”
Foll whispered her idea in Gremory’s ear, and blood began dribbling out of the granny’s nose as a result.
“Nice love power! Let’s do that!”
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Copyright
An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8
by Fuminori Teshima
Translated by Hikoki
Edited by DxS
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental..
Copyright © 2019 Fuminori Teshima
Illustrations Copyright © 2019 COMTA
Cover illustration by COMTA
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2019 by Hobby Japan
This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo
English translation © 2019 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: November 2019