Mockery of Once Innocent Delusions

[Deilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalion, Young Lord]

[Demon Territory, De Gracia—Guest Mansion]

The soles of my feet were aching.

The sun had already sunk into the background when Scylla and I walked to the room. She walked at the same pace from the very beginning to the end, not even showing any glimpse of weariness. Is she some kind of superhuman? Well, given that her appearance is out of the ordinary, I can only speculate.

She hasn't even opened up to me once during our little date walk around the mansion. Even when I tried to flirt with her, she would just brush me off. Despite not being a man whose desires leak in every action, I'm still hurt. Oh, the tragedy.

"Young lord, we've returned."

We stopped at the front of my room.

Scylla looked at me with the same unflinching eyes she had the first time I saw it. Cold, emotionless eyes.

"Although this lowly one had an enjoyable time she spent with the young lord. Unfortunately, this one also needs some rest, if the young lord were to be kind in letting her."

Enjoyable. Miss, your face isn't showing that.

"Why don't you rest in my room for a while? I'd like to talk with you more if that's ok with you."

Scylla fixed her eyes on me for a brief moment. Is she thinking, perhaps? Letting someone rest in your own private place is something that a caring person would do. I'm a gentleman, no doubt. Did she finally fall for me? Ehem... we've only met. Please don't be like that~ I'm not ready.

She sighed lightly.

"If the young lord wants to, I'd be most pleased."

She opened the door for me.

When I entered the room, someone was already on my bed. A small figure sat there with somewhat erotic clothes, where her small breasts were nearly splayed in the open. Her hair was a mixture of black and white, while her eyes were golden, and she seemed to look at me with an innate impulse to murder someone when they met her.

"Deilos."

She grinned at me.

She knows my name. My guts are telling me that this tiny girl is dangerous.

"And who might this pretty girl be?"

"Angh!?"

Her eyebrows splayed upwards, and her small body twitched with a motion that slogged like her body was being tethered by strings, but was suddenly cut off. Her once poised, sitting posture was now that of a small kid doing a tantrum.

"Surely you're joking. Child, if you're joking, cut the bullshit."

I looked at Scylla. It seemed like the little girls' demeanor did not faze her. I nudged her, and gave her a look that even someone with little knowledge of facial expressions would decipher as 'Help me'.

Scylla stepped closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"Young lord, that is her highness, Demon Lord Barbatos."

Barbatos... I never expected Demon Lord Barbatos to be a small child. But seeing more closely, on her head, there was a set of much more pronounced horns compared to others. I'm not being scammed here, correct? Is she truly her?

"Ah, my apologies, your highness. It seems like my vision is quite blurry, and I couldn't recognize you."

"Hah?"

"There have been things that happened lately that have compromised my body, including my vision. That is why I'm begging her highness to forgive me. I might even lick her toes if she so pleases."

She looked at me with disgust.

"Tsk. Don't be so formal. I'm here for something more personal. Maid, leave us for a while. I'd like to have a private conversation with him."

Formal... so it is common to lick one's toes. I'll take note of that.

Scylla tipped her head and left. Barbatos sighed lightly and fixed her posture.

"Well?" her smug face returned. "Don't you stand there, sit."

"Don't mind if I do."

I plopped down on the chair in front of the bed.

It was quite unusual for someone whose body can be described as a literal child to have this much power and unease talking to. Well, there might be other people who might be excited to be in this position, but fortunately, I'm a decent human being, a decent demon? Either way, I'm not too motivated to talk to her—it's just all for me to live another day. I have to choose my words and actions carefully.

"What might the great Demon Lord Barbatos have with a child like me?"

I smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Nothing much. I do wonder how your day has been."

"That is a rather awful joke, your highness, but if I were to tell you, then the mansion is quite splendid. Is this your highness's place?"

"Splendid, you say? Hah. Suits you, this mansion is rather disgustingly disturbing. I could feel my skin wanting to come off the moment I stepped in here. This ain't mine, anyway."

A beautiful answer. We might get along pretty well.

She was playing with the bedsheet, lightly pulling on it, and tilting her head.

"Now that I see you're good enough to have a conversation, let's talk about why I've made you come here."

Here it is.

"I've heard about rumors that your father's having a bad time with some dog problems."

"Dog?"

"Yes, a dog."

She smirked.

"Think about it this way. Let's say that one dog had a pup, but due to certain circumstances, the pup suddenly went missing. The papa dog might have known why the pup went missing. It might have been because of another dog's spite, and because of that spite, they took away the pup without the papa dog realizing."

She swung her legs idly in a smooth motion.

"The papa dog might not be the best parent—he might not even be a decent one, but a certain someone helped that untrustworthy papa dog. They were able to find the pup, kept it safe, and made sure it could live."

She looked at me.

"And now, what do you think that someone expects from the papa dog?"

What's all this talk about dogs? From the tone I'm getting from her, she's here to interrogate me—an interrogation masked as a metaphor.

Judging from what she's trying to point out, there's something that I have to do or have that she wants. Is it information? I have to remember. But for now, I have to see how much I can get from her.

"On that note, don't you ever dislike dogs?"

She continued.

"I don't necessarily dislike dogs, your highness. Some can be quite useful. They're good to use as guards when you sleep."

"Tsk, tsk~ That's a bad misconception, child. A dog isn't that loyal. If you let a dog watch over you when you sleep, it'll bite, you know."

"Aha..."

Think...

From everything I've gathered so far, what could her motives be?

Think...

Rumors.

Think...

The rebellions.

I asked about the rumors as Scylla and I walked around the mansion—all of their answers were basically the same.

— It has been speculated, young lord—that the humans were the ones spreading it.

— That... although this lowly one might not confirm such things, it has been to my knowledge that the rumor does indeed exist.

— Y—yes! I've heard such rumors, great sir. But it's only a rumor, so this one doesn't have much knowledge of it.

From what I've remembered, the Demon Lord whose hatred against the humans the most was none other than her, Demon Lord Barbatos. The connections between what the coachman said about a rumor of human nobles funding the rebellions. One possible option means she's after them. But what could I have to do with it?

"Not all dogs bite their sleeping masters, your highness."

"Hah~ that is true, that dogs don't always bite when their owner sleeps, but don't you think it's rather dumb for not anticipating it? A dog can bite whenever it wants to, and whoever it is."

Anticipating it. Whoever it is. The papa dog, the pup, and the spiteful one.

I see.

There is a chance it's not just the human nobles but also the other Demon Lords. So, is she implying that Dantalion is a traitor? That's the most plausible answer.

Dantalion, having been double-crossed, used his son as a scapegoat in the upcoming Eve of Walpurgis to hide himself.

If Dantalion was indeed a traitor, then she only rescued me to use as bait to lure out the others who might want to silence me or use me as their bait for him.

I'm getting headaches from all of this.

"Well, that is a rather saddening thing for the dog to be unreliable like that. Could that dog be the papa dog your highness had mentioned? If I would have met it, then I would have put shackles on it."

"Kuhuhu~ AHAHAH!"

She pounded on the bed while laughing.

"I'm glad we're on the same page. Do you have a pen and paper? I'd like to give you a note."

"I do believe this room has one."

I stood up to fetch a piece of paper and the quill pen on the table next to the drawer.

I gave it to Barbatos. Her smile crept up to an unsettling crescent while she wrote something on the paper. She handed it to me. It was written in demon language.

'The papa dog is leashed. Not by the rescuer. The pup might not live much longer. Find the spiteful one.'

I stared at the paper for a while.

"Kuhuhu~ be sure to talk back with me later, eh? I do like to chit-chat from time to time. Also, you can keep the knight with you for some time. Though if he does die, then I'm taking it off your check."

She walked out of the room.

A dog.

Haha... ahahaha.

This is one way to give such a convoluted message. If someone were to be tasked with finding someone who they never even interacted with, they would most likely not find them. The same goes for me.

Such an unreasonable task.

'The pup might not live much longer.'

I stared at the note again. Although her demeanor is quite crass, her handwriting is quite elegant.

'Live.'

I stared at that one word—my mind trying to come up with a conclusion about what had just happened. In order to live, I must claw my way up again...

This is one unreasonable life.

. . .

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