Chapter 40: Hello, Mr. Paladin

"…By the way, why exactly are you two here?"

The Demon King asked in a slightly suspicious tone.

When we—or rather, the Demon King and I—arrived at the central park where the Harvest Festival was being held, we unexpectedly ran into a rather curious pair: Zex and Kamina.

A strange combination, to say the least.

"Hehe. Hello there, Maor. And you must be… Ains, correct? For now, anyway."

"Ah! Soni—mmph!"

Before Kamina, the maid, could finish speaking, I quickly covered her mouth with my hand. Then I pressed a finger to my lips, whispering, "Shh, shh," to beg her to keep quiet.

"Ahem… Likewise, Lady Ains. May I ask what brings you here today?"

Kamina quickly caught on after glancing at the Demon King but immediately turned to me, her tone sharp, questioning why I’d slipped out of the castle.

"Ah, well, that’s… um…"

My voice trailed off awkwardly.

"If I recall correctly, you’re Kamina, Ains’s colleague, aren’t you? It’s been a while. But it seems there’s been a misunderstanding. Ains didn’t sneak out—I forcibly brought her here. My apologies, but I’ll be borrowing her for a while."

The Demon King answered smoothly before I could say a word.

"It has been a while, Lord Maor. However, if you say you forcibly brought Miss Soni—er, Ains—out here, that’s a bit…"

Kamina murmured, clearly puzzled.

"Kamina, could I ask you a favor? Just this once, could you not dig too deeply… for my sake?"

Zex smiled gently at her.

"Ah—yes! If you say so, Lord Zex…"

Kamina’s face turned bright red as she looked down. I’d never seen her make that kind of expression before—it honestly shocked me.

Still… what on earth were these two doing together?

Ignoring my own situation entirely, the gossip-loving beast inside me began to stir.

Wait. Could it be? These two?

Apparently, my face gave me away, because Kamina suddenly started waving her hands frantically, still blushing furiously as she blurted out a denial.

"N-no! It’s not like that! L-Lord Zex is my senior disciple! That’s all!"

Senior disciple?

I glanced at Zex, narrowing my eyes. Come to think of it, didn’t he mention knowing Kamina’s father once?

"Kamina’s father was actually my sword master. Some even call him the ‘Sword Saint.’ So yes, we trained under the same master—that makes me Kamina’s senior disciple."

Hmm. I see. Now that he mentioned it, I vaguely remembered hearing something like that. The world really is small sometimes.

"During our trip to the southern lands, I found out that Lord Zex was my senior disciple. My father often told me to strive to be like him. He’s always been someone I’ve admired deeply…"

Kamina’s eyes glowed with admiration as she gazed at Zex.

Hey, hey. You’re making me embarrassed here!

"Hehe. And so, for my cute little junior disciple who looks up to me, I thought I should give her a small present."

"C-cute…?!"

Kamina mumbled something incoherent, her face still burning red.

Hello? Earth to Kamina?

"She may find it troublesome, but I invited her to come shopping with me," Zex added calmly.

"M-m-troublesome?! Not at all!"

Kamina shook her head so fast it was a wonder it didn’t fly off, her cheeks glowing crimson.

Oh-ho-ho. So Kamina, the usually cool and sharp-tongued maid, actually has a full-blown romantic side hidden in there!

"Hmm. I see. So that’s the situation, then."

The Demon King stroked his chin, looking as though he’d just solved some grand mystery.

Uh… are you sure you actually understand what’s going on?

"Anyway, this might be a bit of a nosy question, but what did you two end up buying?"

"Ah—uh, well… this!"

Kamina showed us two slender rapiers hanging at her waist.

"I thought she might refuse, so I went ahead and ordered them for her in advance," Zex explained.

"N-not at all! I’m… really happy, truly…"

Her voice trailed off into a shy whisper. Gone was the usual sharp tone Kamina always reserved for me. Where did that icy edge go?

"Come to think of it, objects that are long or pointed—like weapons—are often interpreted in psychology as metaphors for—"

"Stop! Right there!"

I quickly slapped my hand over the Demon King’s mouth.

"Mmph! What is the meaning of this, Ains?"

"Lord Maor. You must not say another word."

For some reason, Zex’s gaze seemed to waver dangerously as he looked at the Demon King. Letting him finish that sentence would’ve been suicidal.

"Ah, since you’re here, why don’t you both join us? Lord Maor and I were just walking around the festival together."

I decided it was time to increase the number of people keeping an eye on the Demon King. The last thing I wanted was to end up as his personal one-on-one caretaker. He kept asking endless questions about everything we passed, and honestly, it was starting to wear me down.

"Um… is that all right?"

Kamina asked nervously. Strangely, not to me—but to Zex.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I’ll have to excuse myself here. I have another engagement to attend to."

"Don’t worry about it~"

I waved my hand lightly to bid him goodbye.

"In that case, there’s no helping it," Kamina said softly, her tone laced with genuine sadness.

"Hehe. Miss Kamina, let’s meet again sometime soon. And you too, Ains—and Lord Maor."

"Very well. Until next time," Maor replied with a calm nod.

With that, Zex took his leave.

"As for me… I do have my opinions about all this, but for Lord Zex’s sake, I’ll refrain from saying more. Still, I must apologize for interrupting the two of you while you were enjoying the festival together."

Kamina apologized politely—but her eyes betrayed not a shred of sincerity.

The moment Zex disappeared, she snapped right back to her usual self.

"Uh—Kamina, please don’t get the wrong idea, okay? It’s not like I’m this person’s lover or anything! I’m just accompanying him as a sort of… escort, that’s all. So don’t misunderstand, please! Really, don’t!"

I truly meant it. I was nothing more than the Demon King’s caretaker—his handler, even. If anything, I was the victim here.

"Hmph. Very well, I’ll overlook it this time," Maor said, folding his arms with an annoyingly smug air.

Oh, Maor. Why are you always so infuriatingly self-important?

"Well, since we’re all here, why don’t you join us, Kamina? Let’s walk around the festival together!"

"…All right."

"Hm."

At my suggestion, both Kamina and Maor agreed without protest, and the three of us began strolling through the festival grounds.

The sky had started to dim, and lanterns were being lit one by one, filling the streets with a warm, dreamlike glow. It was… actually kind of nice.

We wandered through the festival for a while, browsing the many stalls.

"Ah, I’ll take one order of fried whitefish and fries, please!"

"Coming right up!"

"Ooh, and that candy sculpture—yes, the one that looks like a slug!"

"Hey now, that’s supposed to be a Blue Dragon, you know. Calling it a slug hurts my feelings, miss."

"Hahaha! My apologies, sir!"

There were so many curious things for sale that I couldn’t help but look around in excitement.

"…"

Kamina had been silent for a while now, her expression somewhere between disbelief and mild disappointment.

"Ains," Maor said at last, "I realize I was the one who asked you to accompany me, but… haven’t you been the only one eating this entire time?"

Still chewing on a mouthful of fried fish and potatoes, I looked at him blankly.

"Fhuh?"

"…Never mind."

The Demon King sighed deeply and started walking ahead. Kamina and I followed after him in silence.

The festival atmosphere wasn’t bad at all.
It really did feel like a group of friends just relaxing and enjoying the night together.

"…Still, I can’t help but notice—no one’s actually fighting."

"We already went over that, didn’t we?"

Please, Maor, I beg you—let’s not start that dangerous misunderstanding again.

"Um… Miss Ains, Lord Maor. It’s almost time for the grand finale fireworks."

By the time the sun had long since set, the festival had reached its climax.

In the center of the park, a massive torch blazed, surrounded by pairs of dancers in colorful costumes.
Once the final dance ended, the fireworks would launch, marking the end of the celebration.

Then, on a whim, I called out to the Demon King.

"Would you care to join in as well, Lord Maor?"

"Hm. I’m not familiar with this kind of folk dance, but… I suppose I can give it a try."

"Then please, go easy on me."

Heh…
I, the seasoned one here, would give this dance amateur a bit of gentle guidance.

"…Like this, perhaps?"

"W-wait—!"

So much for that. The Demon King turned out to be ridiculously good at dancing.
Not that I’m bitter about it! Not at all!

"Y-you’re quite good at this, Lord Maor."

"Hm. That much was nothing. But Ains—so you can dance too, huh? I didn’t expect that."

…What kind of image did this guy have of me?

"Ah—S-sir Ains, look! The fireworks!"

"Whoa!"

A bloom of fire lit up the pitch-black sky.
Ahh… fireworks really don’t change, no matter the world.
I found myself mesmerized by them.

"All right. Time to head back."

"Yes."

"…Miss Ains. You know what awaits you when we get home, don’t you?"

"…Yes."

It was getting late, so we started making our way back along the wooded path beside the park.

Before I realized it, the lively crowds had vanished.
There had been so many people heading home just moments ago.

"Be careful!"

Kamina shouted suddenly.
She stepped forward to shield me, hand gripping the rapier at her waist.

"You there, hiding in the shadows—come out."

Maor’s calm voice carried toward the trees.

At his words, three figures emerged from the darkness, dressed head to toe in black.

Their faces were hidden behind eerie masks.

And the moment I saw those masks, I remembered where I’d seen them before.

"Ah! You’re the ‘Holy Knights—Paladins,’ aren’t you!?"

All three turned to look straight at me.

Ah. Oops.