Chapter 277 (1/2)

「…Oh, is that really what my face looks like?」

「It sure is. The real reason you came here is probably because of that, right?」

「I suppose so. But it’s fine. I just had a strange dream, so I came here to distract my mind for a bit.」

「Hmm, I see.」

Vermudol nodded and looked up at the stone statue in the back garden.

And then the eyes of the statue, aka Gordy’s golem form, glowed up and looked down at Vermudol.

「Understood. I will temporarily resign from my post.」

Gordy then spread out her wings and began flying to the skies above the Demon King Castle.

「Is that really something you’d say in this kind of situation?」

「Give her a break. She’s the type of person to be really diligent when it comes to serving her role.」

Vermudol spoke while shrugging his shoulders and then returned his gaze to Ykslaas.

「Could it be that it’s something you don’t want to talk about here?」

「…No, it’s not that big a deal.」

「Is that so?」

「Yes.」

Ykslaas spoke while letting out a sigh.

「I just saw a dream of my past for a little bit. That’s all.」

「A dream of your past, huh?」

「Right. The past. A dream of me getting erased in the past. A dream of my people getting erased after being accused of being evil beings」

After a short silence, Vermudol opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it without saying a word.

Ykslaas put her finger to her lips and smirked upon seeing that Vermudol appeared to be struggling for words.

「It looks like you’re having trouble finding the right words. Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I expected you to console me.」

「…I see. But it’s kind of frustrating knowing that I can’t think of what to say.」

「It’s no big deal. The more words you say, the less weight that comes along with them. Don’t you think it’d be fine to leave it at that?」

Vermudol murmured 「I see… That’s pretty difficult.」 and let out a sigh.

「That’s right, it is difficult. Especially for you.」

Being that Vermudol was the Demon King, he couldn’t afford to say anything rash. And there were moments where even after considering several things he could possibly say, he still couldn’t find the right words, and he would suffer greatly from it.

「Well, I’ll try my best.」

「Oh, now that’s a nice line to use when trying to escape the subject. Have you ever been told that you don’t have to try as long as you produce the results?」

「If the results can be produced without trying, that just means that the task was not on a very difficult level in the first place. There’d be no point in challenging yourself to accomplish it.」

Ykslaas responded with 「I suppose that’s true」, and then unsheathed her Black Rose Sword.

「…Hey, Vermudol. What if you couldn’t produce the results no matter how hard you tried? What would you do then?」

「Nothing. I’d either try harder or look for other options.」

「In that case, what if the results of your efforts brought you closer and closer to death? And there’d be nowhere to run?」

「Then I’d face it head-on. That’s all there is to it.」

After responding, Vermudol looked down on Ykslaas… and then began ruffling her hair.

「H-Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!」

「Rubbing your head.」

「I know that, but… Okay, stop! My hair gets tangled really easily, so it can get to be a real pain!」

「Hmm, you’re right. It’s all tangled up now.」

「Huh?! Hey! Ow! That hurts!」

Vermudol tried to get his hand out as Ykslaas continued to whine.

After finally managing to get it out, Ykslaas glared at Vermudol with her shoulders heaving.