Even so, as he took a fleeting glimpse over toward Valefor, he noticed she was letting her gaze wander between Zagan and Nephy as if she couldn’t believe it.
Before long, perhaps finally feeling she could trust him, Valefor timidly nodded.
“Under...stood.”
“Good.”
As Zagan nodded, Valefor glared back at him in discontent.
“...But I’m not just ‘you,’ okay?”
“Hm? Ah, about your name, huh? I got it, don’t worry. Come with me, Valefor.”
However, Valefor’s mouth was still shifting about as if she had something difficult to say. And eventually, she timidly opened her mouth to speak.
“Foll... is fine.” That was the first time that Valefor— no, Foll, came to a compromise with Zagan.
Scratching at his cheek, Zagan then corrected himself as he spoke.
“Ah, okay... Then, I’ll count on you tomorrow... Foll.”
“Got it.”
And with that, Zagan and Nephy closed the distance between them and their new freeloader little by little.
◇
“...Seriously, to think she would just sleep the moment she finished eating. A dragon brat’s no different from a human one, huh?” Zagan lowered Foll down onto the guest room’s bed as he slung that insult at her.
Foll passed out with her spoon in hand during dinner, while Zagan and Nephy were having a pleasant chat. And since there was no other option, Zagan ended up having to carry Foll.
Nephy took Foll’s robe off for her skillfully, straightened it out, and placed it on a hanger to make sure it didn’t get wrinkled.
“I do believe this child is quite tired. I’m sure everything since she first came here has been a series of firsts for her.”
Zagan made a sullen expression as he heard Nephy say that.
“However, this is enemy territory in her eyes, right? Would you normally sleep with no wariness like this?”
He had only been repeating words that Foll herself used. However, Nephy shook her head, a knowing smile on her face.
“Master Zagan, was it not you who taught her that we are not enemies?”
“Huh?”
Nephy’s pointy ears then quivered in a somewhat delighted manner.
“At first, she was extremely on guard, and I think she was quite scared. But now... I think she’s able to sleep peacefully like this because she knows she’s in a safe place.” Nephy looked up at Zagan’s face in a somewhat embarrassed manner as she said that.
“I was... also the same, after all.”
Zagan recalled the first day he brought Nephy over. He allowed the day to pass without ever figuring out how to properly speak to the girl he loved. Unlike this time, he wasn’t able to prepare a personal room for Nephy in time, so they slept in the throne room.
That meant Foll had also finally let down her guard toward Zagan.
“Th-That’s, um, well... You belong to me. I treat what is mine... as precious... That’s all there is to it.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.” Even though he spoke as if she was an object again, Nephy replied happily.
Zagan averted his eyes as he began to remember his embarrassment at the time, which was compounded by her embarrassment from her longing gaze.
“Nephy, what about you. Is this good with you?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean, about having Foll stay in this castle. I didn’t consult you at all...”
And, just as he asked her that, Nephy stared at him in wonder as if surprised by his question. Her ears stiffened to a point, and he could tell that she was considerably confused.
And eventually, Nephy’s lips loosened into a faint smile.
“Yes. All is as your heart wills, Master Zagan.”
“I-I see.”
Now unable to calm himself, Zagan shifted his attention over to Foll.
“...Good grief. This girl... She’s still holding onto that spoon?”
While Foll was sound asleep, her hand was still gripping a spoon. And so, Zagan went to pull it out of her hand. And, at that exact moment...
“H-Hey...”
Just what was she thinking about? Foll gripped onto Zagan’s finger, hard.
It’s soft, huh?
It was a different sensation from that of Nephy’s slender and hot hand. A hand that was childish, which had a squishy elasticity to it.
After doing that, she muttered something in a somewhat lonely manner.
“Father...”
She was likely seeing a dream of her parents. Foll spoke in a delicate voice, which made it seem unthinkable that she was a dragon who aimed to take Zagan’s life.
Zagan didn’t know what parental relations for a dragon were like, but it seemed she was recalling her parent dragon. And watching her figure sleep talking like that, he realized she truly was the spitting image of a young girl.
I’m real bad... with brats, though...
Zagan himself knew nothing about parents. Or rather, even though he was trying to act like an older brother, she ended up recalling her father, so being seen as someone so old made him feel down.
However, even so, Zagan was unable to fling off the frail hand that was gripping his finger. And so, in a rare event, a laugh spilled out from Nephy.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, um... It’s almost little like... we had a child, isn’t it?”
A-A-A-A-A child? It was likely different from how Zagan was calling Foll a brat. No, Nephy meant it in the sense that it was their child, as if Zagan and Nephy were the parents.
Even though we haven’t kissed yet... a child!? Forget making babies, I’m still too nervous about just holding hands!
One look at Zagan’s wide open eyes made Nephy realize how her words came across. In a flash, not just her face, but even the points of her ears had turned bright red.
“Th-That’s not what I meant! Um, Master Zagan, it seems like you intend to take Foll under your patronage, and that naturally makes me think of that sort of relationship, so...”
“Ah, um... I-I get it. I understand, alright? Don’t worry.”
The two of them were no longer able to look directly at each other, and sweat began running down both their faces.
After mulling over her thoughts for a while, Nephy tightly gripped onto Zagan’s sleeve. And, as Zagan wrapped his own finger around that hand, Nephy also timidly gripped onto his finger.
What is this? Somehow, it’s warm...
Foll gripping his right hand, and Nephy gripping his left one... The situation felt strangely comfortable to him.
Family... Perhaps that was the word Nephy wanted to say. Zagan obviously knew about it, even if his knowledge was only something he’d gained through books. It was a word which signified the relationship between siblings, married couples, and those who supported them.
However, Zagan and Nephy didn’t really know how it worked in practice. That was why they were unable to bring that word up on the spur of the moment.
The first image that came to mind when the word family was mentioned... was the image of a child joining hands with their parents. It was something that had nothing to do with Zagan, but he had at least seen it before in town.
One day, will we also look like that?
The word sorcerer was like a synonym for villain. As such, it may have been comical for he who stood at its peak as an Archdemon to wish for ordinary happiness, but Zagan swore it would be done. And then, he vowed that he would protect all of them.
Perhaps that was far too meager a wish for an Archdemon, but Zagan felt affection for the simple idea of a happy family.
◇
The next morning, Zagan visited the town of Kianoides with Nephy and Foll in tow. Archdemon Palace was hidden near the town. For you see, the castle of the Eldest was an underground labyrinth.
However, Zagan didn’t immediately head toward Archdemon Palace, and was walking around town.
“Zagan, where are we going?”
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“A clothing shop.”
“Why?”
“Do you plan to walk around town in that outfit?”
Nephy was dressed in her usual maid uniform, which was fine, but Foll was wearing the same robe as always. In other words, all she had under it was a plain undershirt. And perhaps because of that, Foll was looking at her surroundings restlessly.
Plus, it’s probably better to at least hide her horns.
Currently, she was wearing her hood all the way down to her eyes so they couldn’t be seen, but even the wind could have blown it off her head. It would have been far better to provide her a cap or something along those lines. Or that was the plan, anyway, yet Foll squinted her eyes as if she were discontent.
“You’re the one who told me to leave my armor behind, Zagan.”
“Of course I did. Even with Nephy in her maid uniform, any passerby would run away from us if you were in that!”
Nephy was on good terms with the townsfolk. In fact, there were a fair number of people who talked to her regularly, so Zagan wanted to make sure they didn’t scare them off.
However, the one who leaked out anxious words was Nephy.
“When you say clothing shop, you mean...?”
“Yeah, her shop is familiar to us, so isn’t it fine?”
“I do think that Manuela is a good person, but, um, when it comes to clothing... Are you certain it will be alright?”
As always, there was no change in Nephy’s expression, but her slackened ears were unable to hide her anxiety. And seeing their reactions made Foll tilt her head to the side.
“A sorcerer?”
“No, a normal person. She’s also rather kind.”
“Is that so...?” As one would expect, Nephy’s words had chipped away at his persuasive power. Due to that fact, Foll gripped Zagan’s robe as if she was frightened.
Nephy was good friends with the clerk of that clothing shop, but she was a bit of an eccentric and often used Nephy as a dress up doll. Zagan was also somewhat troubled by her lecherous actions, but Manuela was someone he could rely on when it came to the quality of clothing.
Besides, knowing her, she won’t tell anyone even if she realizes Foll’s a dragon. He was confident of that fact because, as far as he’d observed, Manuela considered Nephy a true friend.
Zagan spoke up, attempting to grant Foll some peace of mind.
“Even she wouldn’t make a small brat like this wear weird clothing, right?”
“I... wonder...”
What’s the point if even you’re getting more nervous, Nephy! Stop that! Her constant worrying had made even Zagan reconsider his belief in their friendship.
And with heavy hearts all around, the group in question reached Manuel’s clothing shop.
“Welcome!” An energetic voice called out to them immediately as they opened the door.
What awaited them on the other side was an avian girl with beautiful green wings. It seemed she was once again wandering around the shop with a cheerful smile on her face.
Yes, they spotted the young female clerk, Manuela. And Nephy immediately bowed her head in deference to her with a bob.
“Good day, Manuela.”
“So you came by again today, Nephy?”
“Yes... Um, we came here to pick up some clothes...”
“Of course... Er, what, so the master’s here too, huh?” Manuela finally shifted her attention over to Zagan, treating him as a total nuisance the entire time.
However, Zagan simply returned a grimace and began questioning her.
“Hey, you haven’t been making Nephy try on anything weird while I’m not around, have you?”
“Oh my, whatever gave you that idea? I only pick out clothes from among the shop’s merchandise, you know?”
“This shop... has a mountain of indecent clothes lying about, though,” Zagan said. Then, he glared at her as Manuela let out a whistle and feigned ignorance.
“...Good grief. Well, anyway, we’re not here for Nephy this time. I’d like you to pick out something suitable for this girl,” Zagan said as he pushed Foll forward.
“Huh, did you hire a new servant or something at your place, Zagan? Let me have a look here...” Manuela muttered as she pulled Foll’s hood off.
Manuela’s eyes began energetically sparkling as Foll’s green hair and golden eyes were revealed.
“Oh my...! So cute.”
“Er...” Perhaps finding her someone difficult to deal with, Foll hid behind Zagan. However, Manuela firmly grabbed her arm.
“Mmm... Yes, this is yet another diamond in the rough... Though, in a different way from Nephy! Just leave it to me. I’ll make her extremely cute for you!”
“...Don’t make her wear anything too strange, alright?”
“It’ll be fine, just trust me.”
Foll shot a look of distress over to Zagan, but she was mercilessly pulled away by Manuela.
“Will it... really be alright, I wonder?”
“Well, it should be fine, right?”
The two of them let their gazes wander around while fiddling about with the cuffs of their clothing restlessly. It was as if they were seeing their child off as they went to run their first errand.
And a few quick minutes after that, the curtains to the dressing room opened.
Zagan and Nephy let out a sigh of admiration as they watched Foll totter out. It seemed she was wearing an outfit that resembled the native dress of a foreign country.
Manuela likely matched it to Foll’s green hair. It was a splendid ensemble that mixed calm colors with white and red, and it somehow even managed to work her horns looks into the outfit. And over her shoulders, she was wearing her robe.
“How’s this? The robe actually fits into this one quite well, right? Plus, it even emphasizes her cutest features.”
“...You can do this when you try, so why don’t you work properly all the time?” Her choice of clothes was certainly splendid, but it merely made Zagan let out a sigh.
However, Manuela shook her head as if to tell him he didn’t understand.
“Helping our dear customers discover a brand new part of themselves is a part of our job, you know?”
“Your standard choices are far too extreme for that.” Having said that, Zagan shifted his focus over to Foll.
“So, don’t you think it suits you? Do you like it, Foll?”
“...I don’t know. Human clothing... is all the same to me.”
Even though she was saying that, the face she was making as she pulled on the hems of her skirt didn’t seem all that dissatisfied.
“Doesn’t this... stand out too much?”
“I don’t really mind.” On the contrary, he felt it would be best if news of her accompanying Zagan spread far and wide. If that happened, then the number of people willing to do harm to Foll would inevitably decrease in number.
At the very least, there were none who dared to lay their hands on Nephy when she walked around on her own.
Still, despite all that, Zagan found something that irked him.
“It wouldn’t match if you lowered the hood, would it?” If her horns were exposed, then individuals who knew Foll was a dragon would appear.
Sure, Zagan wanted to proudly display that she was under his patronage, but he knew it would be hard to do that if her real identity got out.
The reason Nephy was fine despite being a white-haired elf was because she was loved even by the townspeople. It was not necessarily true that Foll would fall under the same category.
And while Zagan worked himself into a bundle of nerves with those thoughts, Manuela immediately clapped her hands.
“If you’re worried about that, then how about this kind of robe?” After saying that, she placed another robe on Foll’s shoulders. There were scarlet ornaments here and there, but it was a robe with a snow white inlay, and the hood was shaped like some sort of cat caricature. Conveniently enough, Foll’s horns settled into the hollow ears snugly.
“I
see. Not bad. What do you think, Nephy?”
“Yes. It is rather cute, I think it’s good,” Nephy said, the tips of her ears quivering somewhat happily as she did so.
“Then it’s decided. I’ll take this.”
“Thank you very much for your patronage!”
While removing the price tag and such from Foll’s clothing, Manuela asked a question as if to tease them.
“So, this child... Foll, was it? Did you adopt her or something?”
“That’s not really the case, but...” Now that she mentioned it, how was Zagan supposed to explain the situation?
It would be overdoing it to say that she was a sorcerer who attacked his castle and that he had decided to take her under his wing. Although, Manuela calling Foll an adopted child was somewhat out there in its own sense.
And while worrying over such thoughts, Zagan turned the question around.
“Ah... Um, is that... what it looks like to you?”
“Well, yeah. Rather than siblings, you’ve got more of a parent and child feel to you... There, and we’re done.” Manuela finished with the price tags, straightened out the disheveled portions of the skirt, and stood back up.
Foll then ran over to Zagan and hid behind him as if to imply that she was scared.
“Well, I don’t really want to pry too much... It’s fine by me as long as it doesn’t make Nephy unhappy.”
“Hmph. A wise decision.” In truth, he wanted to thank her since she really did help, yet only those chastising words traveled out of Zagan’s mouth.
However, Manuela had also gotten used to it already, so all she did was make a bitter smile that didn’t seem to actually affect her mood.
“Anyways, come back any time.”
“Yes. Thank you very much, Manuela,” Nephy said. Then, she bowed her head once more, which Foll mimicked.
“Thank you... I really like... the clothes.”
Watching that reaction made Manuela break out into a broad smile.
“Holy crap. What’s with this kid, she’s super cute! Can I take her home after all? Oh, wait, it’d be the opposite here, huh? Could you just leave her behind?”
“Gaaah, calm down! She’s not an object! Sheesh, like I’d just hand her over to you, of all people!”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 2 Page 6