Zagan screamed at Manuela, grabbed Foll’s hand, and left the shop behind in a fluster.
◇
“... Seriously, that’s why going to her shop is such a pain.”
As Zagan squared his shoulders and walked on, Nephy spoke up in a somewhat happy tone.
“Still, I do believe it was the correct choice to select Manuela’s shop.”
As she said that, Zagan looked back at Foll, who he was still leading by the hand. Foll was still walking somewhat unsteadily, but she seemed to be pleased with the clothes themselves. At the very least, she didn’t show any signs of disliking them, and she even looked subtly happy.
And perhaps having noticed Zagan’s gaze, Foll tilted her head to the side.
“What?”
“No... Those clothes... do you like them?”
“Mm.” Contrary to his expectation, she obediently nodded.
“I see. Good for you, then.”
“Mhm... Thank you, Zagan.” She was likely talking about the cost of the clothes. Foll wasn’t smiling, but she said that without giving off any signs of being worked up either.
After that, Nephy held Foll’s empty hand. And Zagan was left taken aback by how the three of them were lined up, walking along with Foll in the middle.
What exactly is this feeling...? Perhaps it could be described as strangely warm, or perhaps as happiness. Either way, it definitely wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was an emotion that he had never felt before.
Would it be correct to call it affection?
However, this was a different feeling than when he felt Nephy was dear to him... it was different from love.
Zagan then recalled the words Manuela had used just earlier.
Rather than siblings, you’ve got more of a parent and child feel to you... In other words, that feeling would be something like the ‘desire to protect.’ And now that he was self-conscious of the truth behind that emotion welling up within him, Zagan lost his composure.
Ridiculous... I, of all people... want to protect a brat like this? If someone like Barbatos heard such an emotion was still left within him, they would undoubtedly worry if he was still sane.
However, it was also true that Zagan, who was a villain on the surface, had never had any opportunities to get involved with children.
And while he was racking his brains over that murky feeling he was unable to attach a word to, he spotted a lone girl walking about straight ahead of him.
She was wearing a silk shirt and a skirt decorated with lace. Her figure as she slowly walked was brimming with something like elegance. She was a pretty girl with red hair which covered her back all the way to her waist.
She seemed to be thinking about something or other, so her eyes were cast down with a gloomy expression.
Zagan felt that her face was familiar, but he couldn’t recall exactly who it was right away. Lately, his opportunities to exchange one or two words with the people in town had increased.
And so, he simply assumed it was one of those ‘acquaintances’ as he tried to walk by her, but the girl looked taken aback as she spotted Zagan.
“Z-Zagan?” It seemed that she did, in fact, know Zagan.
Even her voice is familiar... Whose is she? As he tilted his head to the side, the girl looked at Nephy and made a somewhat relieved face, and then she was startled upon spotting Foll between Zagan and Nephy.
“N-no way... you two... have already gotten close enough to be blessed with a child...?”
“D-D-D-D-D-Don’t say such shameless things! Nephy and I have yet to, um...” As he shot a fleeting glimpse over to Nephy, he noticed that even her ears had turned bright red. And when their eyes met, the both of them averted their gaze in a panic.
I wonder... what Nephy thinks of the idea?
Even Zagan was roughly aware of how children were brought into the world. However, back when she asked ‘can we sleep together,’ it didn’t seem like she really understood what she was implying. So, was it really all right for him to put his hands on the soft and fair skin of a girl who didn’t even know the meaning of a late night rendezvous?
While Zagan was in anguish over such thoughts, the one who couldn’t follow the situation, Foll, tilted her head to the side.
“Zagan, who’s that?”
“Oh, right, who are you?” No matter how he looked at it, she was an acquaintance of his, but he just couldn’t clearly remember her. And as Zagan asked her that in a suspicious tone, both the girl and Nephy were completely shocked.
“N-No way... you don’t even remember me?”
“Master Zagan, it’s Chastille!”
Tears were quickly forming in the girl’s eyes, and Nephy was telling him who it was in a fluster. Upon seeing that girl’s face on the verge of tears, Zagan finally managed to match her to the ‘Chastille’ within his memories.
He didn’t recognize her because she wasn’t wearing her Anointed Armor, didn’t have her Sacred Sword, and her red hair was even let down.
Well, she seems to be healthy. That’s good. It was worrying that she wasn’t wearing the outfit of an Angelic Knight, but she was at least safe.
“Ah, so it’s you? Hear me, Foll, this girl is... Let’s see, would it be fine to say she’s Nephy’s friend?”
“Yes.” Watching Nephy return a single quick nod, the girl — Chastille, finally put her hand to her chest in relief.
Chastille had earned the titles Archangel and Maiden of the Sacred Sword. And as those two titles implied, her usual self was a gallant figure clad in the Anointed Armor of the church who carried the burden of wielding one of only twelve Sacred Swords in the world.
...Though, it seemed after peeling off the veneer she was reduced to such an ordinary state.
“So, uh, what’s with that outfit?” As Zagan asked her that, Chastille bluntly hesitated to tell him.
“That’s, um... Right now, I’m... off duty.”
“What. Were you fired or something?”
“Y-You’re wrong, you hear!?” Chastille was flustered, as if Zagan was right on the mark.
Sorcerers and Angelic Knights were mortal enemies, but Zagan had still saved Chastille despite that. And in return, Chastille had once made a statement that she would protect Zagan from within the church.
That very thought was something of a failure of her duties as an Angelic Knight. Therefore, the church exiling her wasn’t an all too unlikely scenario.
After thinking for a bit, Chastille folded her arms and turned her face away in a huff.
“M-My affairs don’t really concern you, do they? More importantly, what’s with that child? I didn’t take you for a kidnapper, but...”
After Zagan averted his gaze, he bopped Foll’s head a few times. The cat-eared hood shook, but it was nicely stuck on her horns and showed no signs of coming off.
“This one’s also a sorcerer. As for how we’re related, you can imagine whatever you want.”
“H-Huh...?” Chastille made an extremely bewildered face as she imagined something or other, but Zagan didn’t pay it any mind. After all, as this was going on, he could hear another voice coming from further away.
“Lady Chastille! It is dangerous for you to take a stroll on your own!”
“If it pleases you, allow us to be your escorts!”
The three stuffy Angelic Knights from before came rushing over. And as they noticed Zagan, they stood in his way as if to guard Chastille.
“Grrr, you’re that bastard Zagan! What are you doing to Lady Chastille?”
It was difficult to even forget this filthy lot, so Zagan nodded.
“Ah, you’re... the Three... Idiots of the Azure Sky, was it?”
“It’s the Three Knights of the Azure Sky!”
“Whatever. I don’t really have any business with her... Hm!?”
Just as he was about to drive them away, right next to him, Foll’s eyes lit up with bloodthirst. And on her arm... were the transformed claws of a dragon.
“Stop that,” Zagan
said in a low voice, which made Foll’s body shake with a start.
“...Why?”
“Nephy has many friends in this town. If we go wild in this place, then people will die.” Foll made an extremely dissatisfied face at his words, yet still withdrew.
Do these three idiots have some sort of dispute with Foll, too? Looking at how they immediately grew hostile upon seeing him, it was easy to imagine that they could have gotten involved with other sorcerers as well.
However, the three Angelic Knights didn’t even notice Foll’s blood thirst and, as a result, were only glaring at Zagan. Thinking of her usual outfit as Apparition Valefor, it was only understandable that they couldn’t tie it to Foll’s current figure.
Sensing that it would get troublesome, Zagan waved his hand as if to drive away the Angelic Knights.
“If you don’t have any business with me, then get lost already. I’m busy today.” And even if he wasn’t, it wasn’t really good for the sorcerer Zagan and a bunch of Angelic Knights to have a conversation out in such an open area. It didn’t really bother Zagan, but there was a high probability that something bad would happen to Chastille.
Kind of looks like she’s troubled by something, though... He was thinking about Chastille. However, even if Archdemon Zagan lent a hand to Chastille, the wielder of a Sacred Sword, he would harm her, not help.
The three Angelic Knights then let out a snort with a ‘hmph.’
“We do not possess the tongue to speak to the damned likes of you to begin with!”
“Come now, let us be off, Lady Chastille. Please think of your own safety right now.”
“Uh, ah, wait...”
Shortly after cutting into the conversation, the Angelic Knights took Chastille away. However, Zagan did not fail to hear the words they left behind at the very end.
‘Please think of your own safety right now.’ It seemed that she had once more gotten involved in some sort of trouble.
Nephy also likely realized the truth. Her eyes were colored with anxiety as she saw Chastille off.
“Is Chastille okay, I wonder?”
“Who knows. However, even like that, she seems to be popular. She has other people that she can rely on.”
If Archdemon Zagan got involved, it would only worsen her position. If he said he wasn’t worried, then that would be a lie, but right now he was more worried about Foll’s attitude as she glared at the back of the Angelic Knights.
“Setting that aside, Foll. Did those guys do something to you?”
“What’s strange... about a sorcerer hating Angelic Knights?”
“Nothing? That’s totally natural.”
It seemed like it was something Foll didn’t want to talk about. The arm she transformed into that of a dragon had turned back to normal, but she bluntly evaded the question.
That just now... was clear and precise hatred, wasn’t it...?
It fundamentally differed from the hostility that she showed the other day when she attacked Zagan’s castle. If she had pointed that kind of hatred toward Zagan at the time, then he would have likely never thought of keeping her close at hand.
And, as Zagan shrugged his shoulders, he gazed off in the direction Chastille and the others went. It’d be nice if it this doesn’t turn into something troublesome...
However, as Zagan let out a sigh, he didn’t realize that Chastille was already trying to protect him from ‘something troublesome.’
◇
“We’re here. This is Archdemon Palace.”
Marchosias’ castle was built atop an ancient ruin. It could be said that they were in a similar space to the stage of the dark auction where he first met Nephy.
The majority of it was buried under dirt, but even this underground hollow was vast enough to completely eclipse a small shop, and the surface of the castle wall, which filled it to capacity, was quite imposing. And in the center of the stone wall was a gate that connected to the inside of the castle.
Zagan and Nephy had dropped by before, but this was Foll’s first time witnessing it with her own eyes, so she bent backward as if overwhelmed by it.
For the time being, there were no signs of her dragging out her quarrel with the Angelic Knights.
“There’s such a structure... underground?”
“Yeah. It was probably something originally on the surface that sank underground. Not sure if it was due to tectonic shifts or Marchosias’ sorcery, though.”
The castle itself was several hundred years old, so it was difficult to search for traces of sorcery. Although, if a whole castle sank into the ground from tectonic shifts, then there should have been some sort of record of that somewhere. In that case, it likely really was something done using Marchosias’ sorcery.
As Zagan was now, he wouldn’t be able to mimic it. It was a truly terrifying power.
If I insist on having it my way, I’ll have to take on twelve such monsters, huh? However, he knew they were a hurdle he would have to overcome someday in order to allow Nephy to live in a place where the sun shined. And as he mulled over such dark thoughts once more, Foll muttered a few words.
“Somehow, it feels nostalgic.”
Zagan stared at her in wonder.
“You’ve been here before?”
“No. It’s just, the atmosphere here... is somehow familiar to where I used to live.”
“Are you sure?” Zagan squatted down and lined up with Foll’s line of sight as he asked her that question.
The young dragon stared back in surprise, but nodded deeply back.
“Yeah... It wasn’t a castle, but the construction of the hollow is similar. Also, the smell’s the same...”
“By smell... you mean...”
“The smell of mana. This is... probably somewhere dragons once lived.”
Those unexpected words shocked Zagan to the core.
That would mean... these are dragon ruins?
If that were the truth, then teaming up with Foll was a great idea after all. After all, even if she was young, Foll was still a dragon.
“Alright. If you find anything related to dragons inside the castle, then report it to me. I don’t care how trivial it may be.”
“Got it. But... if I find a book I like, can I read it?”
“...I don’t care if you bring them back with you, so leave reading them for later.”
“Fine...” Did she really understand him there?
Foll’s cheeks were flushed, and she somehow seemed happy. Had she maybe been stimulated by the lingering scent of her brethren?
Oh, so that’s why she doesn’t care about those stupid Angelic Knights anymore, huh? It seemed this was the so-called short attention span that most children were said to have.
Astounded by his discovery, Zagan opened the gate to the castle. And just as he did, a cold air, along with the scent of mold and dust, washed over them.
There were no lights inside, and a darkness hovered in the background that felt like it led to the realm of the dead. And somehow, even now there was an intimidating air floating about as if the Archdemon’s mana still lingered.
It was said that Marchosias allowed no humans near him. The care of his daily life was left to familiars and golems that he created.
However, either those had left along with Marchosias’ death, or perhaps they vanished and turned back to the lumps of earth they were made from. As it stood, there were none in existence who knew the full details of this castle.
Nephy tightly gripped onto the cuff of Zagan’s robe. And Zagan squeezed her hand reassuringly, then walked forth into the castle.
With that one step in, a magic circle sensed the return of its master and the candlesticks along the wall lit up with fire. And like a ripple across a surface of water, the darkness was driven away. Conversely, however, the intimidating air drifting over them grew denser.
“Zagan, what’s that?” Foll was pointing at a large sculpture that seemed to be looking down on them. The other side of the gate led into a large hall,
but a statue that seemed to be modeled after a demon towering over all who entered inhabited that space.
“Hmm... It’s likely a golem or a chimera. Some variety of living being birthed by sorcery, basically.”
It could be said that it was a survivor of those who managed this place. Though it was completely petrified, and Zagan couldn’t sense even a trace of mana in it.
Hearing that reply, Foll opened her eyes wide.
“Living being... Is it alive, then?”
“So it seems. Unfortunately, I don’t know the method of releasing it or setting it to work, though.”
Since there was a barrier set around the sculpture, Zagan could tell that it was some sort of apparatus, but he had yet to identify its true nature.
“Could it be... the guard of this place, I wonder?” Nephy tilted her head to the side as she spoke.
“Probably is something like that. It seems that its proper functions have been lost alongside its original master’s life. It would be troublesome if it went berserk, so don’t touch it.”
“O-Okay...”
Following after Nephy, even Foll grabbed the cuff of Zagan’s robe.
Zagan surveyed the hall as complicated feelings compelled him to sigh. He spotted the staircase that led to a second floor where a mysterious jewel was set in place. To the left and right there were passages with several ornaments lined, all of which had sorcery cast on them. Even on the floor, there was a magic circle put in place with a circuit that Zagan had never seen before.
Suffice to say, he had yet to fully grasp the full scale of this castle. Exactly how many years would be needed to investigate the true nature of all these devices and grasp the full details of all the books and sorcery apparatuses?
Like I thought, some subordinates would be nice...
He could use some humans to manage this place and gather information on his behalf.
However, finding ones that wouldn’t betray him... or rather, sorcerers who would meet his demands, was a difficult task. Foll did, in fact, satisfy those conditions, but whether she would accept such a job was an entirely different matter.
At his wit’s end over the difficulty of that problem, Zagan set forth toward the archives for the time being. And as he did, Foll called out to him.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 2 Page 7