255 Three lines, impossible.

Q, What happened while I was unconscious?

A, The entity known as Black disrupted the sustained fury by exhausting its energy. That severed the root of its rage. Now I can maintain consciousness. For now, to verify whether fury is truly inactive, it has been isolated in a safe extradimensional space.

Q, What exactly is this Black?

A, The deity of this world. Though indecisive and weak-willed.

Q, What is your relationship with Shiro?

A, Currently an ally. For convenience, it is stated that she serves under the Demon King.

Q, Demon King?

A, Demon King.

Q, So, meaning the Demon King is the ruler of the Demon Clan?

A, Technically inaccurate, but acceptable for current understanding.

Q, The girl who fought me?

A, Vampire. Currently residing in a Demon Clan nation. Also, a reincarnated being.

Q, What was her name in her previous life?

A, Kinegashi Akiko.

Q, You’ve changed quite a bit.

A, Many things happened.

Q, Is Kinegashi-san safe?

A, Safe. I punished her a little for overexerting herself during the fight with you.

Q, S-sorry. I guess I did something wrong.

A, Not at all. No need to worry.

Q, How are the other reincarnated ones doing?

A, Most are under the protection of the elven elder. Some others attend human academy. Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun are among those attending.

Q, Is the human academy far from here?

A, Far.

Q, What happens to me next?

A, Nothing. If your rationality has returned, do as you wish.

That concludes the Q&A.

I did well. I did very well.

Incidentally, the time taken to reach this point—let’s not mention it.

Yeah, I did take a break halfway to get food since I was hungry, but it didn’t take that long.

It didn’t.

We’ll just treat it that way.

Oni-kun, hearing the words “you can do as you like,” looked genuinely troubled, lost in thought.

Well, being told “do as you like” and left alone all at once would be confusing, wouldn’t it?

Should I offer assistance?

After all, we’re both reincarnated. Helping him isn’t out of the question.

“If you don’t have a place to go, stay here for a while?”

I said “here,” but I meant Balt’s place.

If needed, I could lend him the other space directly.

Ah, but without me, access becomes impossible. He’d die.

“Yeah… Honestly, I don’t know what to do next myself.”

Thus, protecting Oni-kun—no longer a lost lamb, but a lost demon.

For the time being, it was awkward to keep Oni-kun half-naked, so we returned to Balt’s manor, had a servant fetch some men’s clothing, and dressed him in it.

Oni-kun, affected by rage and stripped of reason, had been wearing nothing but pants—just like the ogres from fairy tales.

Wearing pants at all might have been the last act of stubbornness from the remnants of his rational mind.

But once dressed, a sense of wrongness permeated the air.

Oni-kun’s face remained unchanged from his previous life—Japanese features.

His race was oni, distinctly traditional Japanese in style.

A kimono or even a vaguely Chinese-style armor might have been acceptable, but dressing him in Western-style garments created an overwhelming sense of incongruity.

I, unusually, blurted out under my breath, “It doesn’t suit him.”

Apparently, Oni-kun heard it—his expression dulled slightly, visibly shaken.

Hmm.

Something still feels off.

Imagine a Japanese-looking oni holding a sword, wearing Western noble attire.

Ah, Balto is not just average—he's of the highest class among demons, so the clothes in that mansion were all gentleman's wear custom-made for nobles.

An oni in gentleman's attire.

Some might find that amusing, but I don't.

Oni-kun's original face was fairly handsome, and he's grown taller since becoming an oni—so he doesn't look bad.

Not bad, but the dissonance is there.

Yeah.

It should be a kimono, really.

But there are no kimonos.

We've traveled through many places on the way to the Demon King's castle, but no kimonos.

In fact, Japanese culture doesn't exist here at all.

It's another world—expected, really.

Still, in a place like D, it wouldn't be strange to force a fake Japanese culture into existence, but there's nothing of the sort.

If it doesn't exist, I'll have to create it.

Hehehe.

There's no garment my thread cannot craft!

What kind of kimono would suit me best?

Ah, right—first I need to speak with Barth.

For now, I'll have Oni-kun wait in the room I usually use.

I asked the maid who brought the clothes if there were any vacant rooms, and she said most of the mansion is empty.

Ah, well, it's huge but sparsely populated, I guess.

Master Barth is rarely here.

There's no spatial issue with Oni-kun occupying a room.

All that remains is to get approval from the mansion's master.

I teleport to the Demon Lord's castle and knock on the door of Barth's usual office.

I do have some basic manners.

Transferring directly into a room isn't unheard of, but it's not something I do casually.

"Come in."

Permission granted, so I open the door.

The demon lord’s fortress, however much it may be the pinnacle of demonkind, typically demands care in how one opens a door. Unfortunately, I lack knowledge of such refined courtesies.

I open the door with as much gentleness as I can manage.

If I must speak at all, then tone and word count will be irrelevant—matters beyond mere manners.

As I open the door, considering this, there stands my target: Balt, locked in combat with paperwork.

That is acceptable.

Balt being buried beneath documents is routine.

But the fact that his younger brother is also reviewing papers at the reception table within the office is unexpected.

“What’s the purpose?”

The thug fires a gun!

The spider guards the door!

“Hey! Don’t go running off without stating your business!”

Ugh.

Why is he here?

Caught off guard—again.

Knocked on the door right after arriving—didn’t bother checking for presence.

Would’ve delayed if I’d known he was there.

Ah… bothersome.