265 A Demon Lord who is a NEET but not a hermit
"Then, let's go!"
The Demon Lord, speaking with an unusually cheerful smile, is promptly kicked down.
"Harsh! A beauty like this visits, and the welcome greeting is a kick!"
"I didn't call you. Leave."
The Demon Lord, deliberately covering his face with his hands while curling up on the floor, is kicked aside and shoved out of the room.
The door is closed. A breath is released.
What was she here for?
"No no. This time, come seriously. You're heading to the Church of Divine Words, right?"
The door, just closed, is reopened. The Demon Lord steps back in, speaking nonsense with a grin.
"Not a place for dragging a NEET."
The Demon Lord arches back as if a sound effect of "Gah" were audible.
"Even Shiro calls me a NEET now..."
He isn't actually a NEET, though.
Most of the work is done by Balt anyway.
"Then there's nothing left but for me to destroy the world alone!"
"Stop it."
He could actually do it if he went all out.
Just a joke. But not a joke that's funny.
"Anyway, leaving the joke aside, take me with you."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
The demon lord freezes for a moment.
"Wait... you're not actually thinking I'm useless, a NEET, are you? Right? Right?"
She's actually on the verge of tears. What do I do now?
I look to Fermina for help, but she's just focused on her work, shuffling papers.
A strong sense of "I'm not getting involved" is clear.
This girl's gotten bold lately.
"Oh? Is this the one you picked up, Shiro?"
The demon lord notices my gaze and locks onto Fermina.
Fermina lifts her face. Meets the demon lord's eyes.
Nice to meet you. I am Fermina. I have no family name.
Despite maintaining an aloof demeanor just moments ago, she offers a polite greeting without a single unpleasant expression.
As expected of a former noble.
Former, hence no family name.
No name, but the ironclad etiquette of a refined lady is flawless.
Still, she’s definitely thinking this is a pain.
"Ah. That’s quite courteous. I am Ariel. I am the Demon Lord."
Fermina’s movements pause for a fraction of a second at the Demon Lord’s introduction.
She glances briefly in my direction. I give a slight nod.
Yes.
Fermina has never seen a Demon Lord before.
In fact, people who recognize a Demon Lord when they see one are rare.
She probably never imagined something like this could be the Demon Lord.
Her expression is carefully controlled, but internally she’s surely sweating profusely.
The proof is audible—her heartbeat is accelerating.
“What, what do you want?”
Attempting to divert the Demon Lord’s attention, I speak.
A good boss, concerned about my subordinate’s heart.
Yet, Fermina’s heartbeat only quickens further.
Unfathomable.
“No, no, no! Shiro, you’ve been listening this whole time, right? I said I’d come too if we were going to the Church of the Divine Word—didn’t I say it like three times already!?”
Ah. That wasn’t a joke. She meant it. Seriously.
I never thought a NEET would actually work.
Sorry, sorry.
But a NEET actually wanting to work? Is this a sign the world will end before tomorrow?
Damn it, what is Gyuri doing over there!?
The world is in crisis!
“Hey, aren’t you thinking something incredibly rude?”
No, no.
Thinking facts isn’t rude.
Well, taking the Demon Lord along shouldn’t cause any issues.
He won’t do anything even if left behind.
After all, he’s a NEET.
Thus, adding one NEET to the Assault Divine Word Corps.
Asked the Vampire Child and Oni-kun—both agreed to come.
Checked with Fermina-chan just in case—she declined with a distinctly Japanese-style humility, “Regrettably, I cannot be of assistance,” a clear “I’m not going” statement.
Felt it might be amusing to forcibly bring her along, so gave a single nod and declared, “It’s not like that at all—let’s go.”
A declaration of forced death.
The answer is yes.
You have no right to refuse.
The ironclad lady’s smile twitched—undoubtedly not a trick of the eye.
Thus, gathering the Demon Lord and Fermina-chan, the Vampire Child and Oni-kun will be retrieved.
And so, I ended up encountering the henchman of Balto, the younger brother.
He shouldn’t normally be in this castle, yet the encounter rate is unnaturally high.
He noticed me—his gaze locked onto me.
Even if he didn’t mean to, his original expression is hostile. It looks like he’s glaring, which is unnecessary.
Perhaps my wish was heard—his gaze shifted from me to the Demon Lord beside me.
His expression darkened.
So he wasn’t glaring earlier after all.
But one could say he *is* glaring now, directly at the Demon Lord.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The henchman leveled a stare.
“Where I go is my own business.”
The Demon Lord remained calm.
“While your elder brother sacrifices sleep to work, you’re strolling around like nothing’s wrong?”
The sound of cracking bones seems audible—so clear it’s as if one could hear it.
Veins bulge visibly on the forehead.
The destination ahead is no place for leisure. But saying that won’t change the mind of a thug like this.
Worse, even stating the truth might only deepen misunderstanding.
After all, the place we’re heading is akin to the heart of enemy territory.
“Scaaaary! Shiro-chan, help me!”
The Demon Lord clings with no trace of fear in tone, pressing against him.
Annoying.
But I’m not idle either—no time to argue with this thug here.
“Hey, you don’t need to follow someone like that. Say no if you don’t want to.”
“No.”
Disgusting to obey a thug—but I’m not letting him cling. I pull away.
“Gah!”
Something… what is it…?
Maybe I’ll leave you behind after all, this.
Too much trouble. I ignore the Demon King and the henchman alike and keep walking.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Wait, Shiro-chan!"
Ignored. Ignored.
The henchman gives up and stops chasing. The Demon King tackles me around the waist and keeps coming.
Hey, you’ll break my back.
I kick him down, annoyed.
I seriously considered just leaving him there. But since there’s no alternative, I grab him by the neck and drag him along.
It’s supposed to be the main event, yet why do I have to be this exhausted?
The future looks bleak.