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Scene Shift.
It was like a chain reaction—one thing led to another, spiraling beyond control.
Initially, Bokue was simply enjoying a quiet night alone in his room—until Zest unexpectedly joined him.
Things escalated from there...
Then an innocent Asia, having finished tidying her own room, wandered over, intending only to lend a helping hand.
What she found, of course, was something entirely different than she'd imagined. After an intense internal struggle with her own morals, she somehow ended up joining the fray as well.
Then, after waiting forever in the empty bathhouse, Rias and Akeno eventually suspected something was off. Joined by Kuroka, who had been lurking outside all along, the trio rushed toward Bokue's room—only to overhear what was undeniably a very spirited "cleaning session."
With Kuroka's outraged screech, the whole castle quickly knew exactly what was happening.
At this point, why even bother resisting?
Eventually, nearly everyone joined in.
Aside from Venelana, Sheila, Xenovia, and Grayfia, the rest of the girls participated enthusiastically. Thus, the original plan to clean the baths after lunch was naturally postponed to after dinner instead.
Not that this change particularly bothered Bokue, anyway.
Time flowed forward quietly as the skies darkened, blanketing the northern lands in gentle moonlight once more.
❁❁❁❁
Meanwhile, inside the throne room of the Current Demon Lord's Castle:
With a gentle creak, the heavy doors swung open.
Leohart stepped into the throne hall, visibly weary from his long day. But before he'd taken two full steps forward, a cheerful, golden-haired figure sprang up from the throne, happily skipping over to meet him.
"Welcome back, Leo-kun! You've worked hard today, haven't you?"
There was only one person in all of the Northern Demon Territory brave enough to greet Leohart like this:
His elder sister, Liala.
"I'm back, Sis," Leohart replied with a small sigh.
Despite being much taller and imposing than his sister, he obediently lowered his head, allowing her to playfully ruffle his hair.
"Sorry about today. I'd hoped to come back sooner, but supervising that excavation site really dragged on longer than I thought."
Leohart felt a pang of guilt thinking about it. His sister had managed to slip away from the Council' watchful eyes just to visit him, yet he'd spent the entire day buried in work.
Liala tilted her head, puzzled. "Sorry? What do you mean?"
"Ah—well, you were alone all day, right? You must have been bored."
"Hmm... maybe if it was before, I would have been a bit bored. After all, it's usually quite dull here by myself," Liala mused thoughtfully, a mysterious twinkle dancing in her eyes.
"But today was different~!"
"Different?" Leohart stiffened instantly, sensing something had happened during his absence. "Wait—did something happen here today?"
"Not exactly," she said teasingly. "More like a certain someone stopped by looking for you. And since you weren't home, I ended up keeping him company for a while."
Leohart's anxiety spiked.
Who in the world would come looking for him?
He didn't exactly have "friends" who casually dropped by to visit.
Seeing her brother's growing confusion, Liala chuckled delightedly. "Oh, you're gonna be so surprised when you hear who it was. You remember that incident with Zolgear about half a month ago, right?"
"Zolgear?" Leohart's brow furrowed at first—then he immediately paled. "You don't mean...???"
"Yep! Exactly that reaction!" Liala clapped her hands gleefully, clearly pleased with her brother's stunned expression. "The same guy who took care of Zolgear. He visited today looking specifically for you. Since you were away, though, I chatted with him instead~"
Leohart visibly twitched. "Did he—did he try anything funny to you, Sis?"
Liala waved off his concern easily. "Relax, relax~ Nothing happened at all. Honestly, after talking to him, I don't think you need to be so wary of him. Bokue seems like quite a gentle person, actually."
Leohart flinched internally. Oh great—now they're even on a first-name basis?
"So, what exactly did he want from me?" Leohart asked cautiously.
Liala tilted her head again, considering how best to summarize the conversation. "Hmm, well, it wasn't anything major. He mostly just talked about the fate of the old Demon Lord Faction's city..."
"The old capital...?" Leohart couldn't hide his surprise.
It was true the old capital had symbolic meaning. Taking or destroying it meant definitively crushing the enemy faction. But why would a human outsider care about its ownership?
Liala continued thoughtfully, tapping a slender finger to her lips. "According to him, since he was the one who eliminated Ramusas, he hoped we could give the old capital back to him. He said something about it being his sister-in-law's rightful inheritance."
Leohart's brain stalled completely.
What kind of nonsensical claim was that?
"He basically said that's his only real request," Liala explained cheerfully. "And since you weren't here today, I told him to come again tomorrow for your final decision. So he'll probably drop by again."
Leohart's eyes widened in panic. "H-He's coming back again tomorrow??"
Liala blinked innocently. "Of course~ Since you weren't here, I couldn't give him a definite answer myself, could I? Isn't that normal?"
"But—but..." Leohart's face twisted into a troubled expression.
Handing over the old capital honestly wasn't a huge problem, at least for him personally. But the Council definitely wouldn't accept such a ridiculous arrangement without raising a huge fuss.
Even more importantly, though—was it really okay to let his sister repeatedly meet with that dangerous guy? Absolutely not! The very thought sent a shiver down Leohart's spine.
"Fine, fine!" he said quickly, making up his mind. "When he arrives tomorrow, I'll personally handle the discussion. Leave everything to me, Sis!"
He clenched his fists, determination blazing in his eyes.
No matter what, he had to protect his sister from that suspicious human—at any cost!
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