LV999 Villager Chapter 6.2

What's Truly Important Isn't Money

After that, Kagami instructed Menou to go home and rest immediately. The remaining Staff members, who were preparing and cleaning the facilities, had continuously told him to come again tomorrow morning.

After that, he walked towards the Bar. Although the Bars were located in the Main Hall, they were only basic ones, and it was necessary to go towards Bar Street, next to the Main Hall, if one wanted to enjoy the atmosphere properly. There were lots of Bars set up around there, each separated individually by atmosphere and alcohol, and the management of all that alcohol had been left to Takako.

Although, at the moment, Takako was busy changing Alice's clothes, Kagami decided he should confirm if her work was progressing smoothly, so he went to go check the stores one by one.

Every time he entered a store, he confirmed that all of the preparations had been made, while feeling uncomfortable with the greetings of, “Owner! Good work!”, that the Staff members had been giving him.

“As expected of Takako-chan…it's been completed perfectly…Hmm?”

Kagami was feeling relieved, thinking, 'It was already fine,' when he saw it. Towards the end of the street where the Bars were lined up, a queer sign came into sight, one that even he couldn't understand. Although the exterior was similar to other Bars, the sign had queer letters written on it, reading 'Takako's Room'.

Kagami opened the door timidly, and took in a dangerous, intense smell.

Inside, he saw three tank-top, speedo-wearing lumps of muscle, who were cleaning the inside of the bar, Kagami instantly shut the door.

Deciding that he hadn't seen anything, Kagami headed towards the taverns located in an area opposite from the bars.

The taverns had been left to David to manage. It was more or less due to being unable to leave the business to amateurs, unlike Takako and David. The candidates for this were either Rex or David, since it would be bad if rumors of the princess, Krul, working at a Casino spread.

However, Rex couldn't be relied on to work too much, since he was a hot-blooded person without any work experience who had been tempering himself since he was born, so Kagami decided that the management would be left to David.

By the way, Krul helped out with serving food at the taverns behind the scenes, and it was decided that Rex was to work as a part of the tavern Staff.

“…This is?”

When he walked into a tavern, there were bewildered Staff members sitting in chairs inside. After looking at the restless Staff members, he found Rex seated in the same manner and approached him, seeking an explanation about their situation.

“David-dono has…I have absolutely nothing to do, since he did everything in the morning.”

Rex muttered that. When Kagami looked around the inside of the tavern, it appeared that the preparations were complete. The menu had been properly prepared, condiments had been laid out on the tables to be used freely, and there was even a Recommendation Board in the tavern, which had 'Today's Recommendation: Seafood Salad!', written on it.

When he walked into the kitchen behind them, the appliances had been sorted into the appropriate locations, the food ingredients had been perfectly separated in the storage area, the necessary preliminary food had already been prepared, and large tubs with ice water had already been prepared for the alcohol that would be brought the next day. Certainly, there was nothing left to do at all.

“That uncle is too exceptional, it's scary.”

Kagami was bewildered, not understanding how someone could use their time to complete this by themselves.

Surely, if someone could do this, even Takako would fall in love with the guy. However, he couldn't neglect the Staff that wasn't doing anything, and the Staff members replied with, “We've already done it five times…” showing expressions of bewilderment after Rex ordered the Staff to “Go clean it.” The tables were polished so much that they were shining, proving their statement.

“Disperse.”

After all, it couldn't be helped that they had nothing to do, so Kagami instructed the Staff to disperse and to restore their energy for tomorrow. Then, he headed towards the Chapel that had been established in the casino. Rex said that he would help out if there was any unfinished business left, so he accompanied Kagami.

The Chapel was located in the center of the Main Hall, and the passageway was lined with taverns and bars. Tina had suggested that she didn't need any help with the Chapel's preparations, so she had been working on them by herself.

“Ah, Kagami-san! Rex-san!”

After the two arrived at the Chapel, Tina, who had been carrying cardboard boxes diligently, approached them, and gave them a bright look. The Chapel preparations were mostly complete. Even an altar had been established, and there was cloth spread on the benches lined up in front of it.

“That looks heavy, TinaTina.”

After Kagami said this, Tina forcibly pushed the cardboard boxes onto Kagami.

“If that's what you think, then please help out.”

When Tina said this, Kagami and Rex divided the work of carrying the boxes of fortune charms that were in the middle of the Chapel and carried them towards the storeroom in the back. Although the weight wasn't cumbersome, it was troublesome that they had to go back and forth several times, and they regretted that they had ordered a bit too much in small amounts.

At the same time, Kagami admired Tina, who had been carrying this many without complaining at all.

“Besides helping out with placing the goods, everything had been left up to you. Specifically how you plan to use this Chapel?”

“Rather, why do you, who created this Chapel, lack plans for it?”

“I thought Tina would do it for me.”

“Please put that into effect after telling me about it, before you make a Chapel.”

Tina puffed her cheeks and said that while staring at Kagami. At that moment, Tina looked away from him, and with a 'yareyare', she let out a sigh. She then presented a stack of documents to Kagami.

“Even if it's a Chapel, there's a church in this city, and since it's not necessary to take in orphans nor live here, the miscellaneous duties only include cleaning. After that, there are the Staff who will sell the merchandise that was imposed by Kagami-san on a 24-hour schedule. I already requested David to make arrangement for this, so it's fine now.”

“Huh, will there not be any sermons and the like? Having people gather several times a day and preach about god's teachings?”

“You'll be damned if you expound on god's teachings in places like a Casino, you know? Even though they would be cursed at best, what would you do if the people who were utterly defeated vented their resentment on me in the Casino?”

As this was said, Kagami confirmed his understanding with an, “I see.” Just because there was a Chapel in the Casino, Tina had tried to defend the town's Church, even though she had no relation to it. Kagami would reconsider if it was bad to preach god's teachings here.

“Hm? Then what plans, exactly, does Tina have for this Chapel?”

“I, Krul-san, and Rex-san, will help out by cooking behind the scenes. This will help out the town's Church.”

“Eh, then there really wasn't any meaning in creating this Chapel. Look, make it more like a Church, at least prepare a Confession Booth and listen to confessions.”

“Confessions are done by the Holy Father, and not someone like me, a woman! In the first place, I'm still in the middle of training.”

“Well, let's create a new religion here, and make rules so that Tina can listen to the confessions.”

“No.”

Tina frowned at Kagami's proposal and replied immediately.

Kagami, who wanted to put the Chapel to use since he had taken great pains to build it, held his head at the very Tinlike response, and searched for a positive method of using the Chapel in the Casino.

“Ah…That's it. How about a Consulting Booth? Instead of asking for forgiveness from the gods, you would simply be a consultant who would heal the hearts of those who were utterly defeated. No matter what their losses are, you will try to make them think about wanting to come again.”

“Isn't it better for someone else to do the consulting?”

“Well, even though we've spent a month together, I think the one who listened to me the most was Tina. Compared to Takako-chan, I think it's easier to talk with you. You're so sensitive that you even react to trivial things.”

After Kagami said this while pointing at her, Tina blushed in embarrassment going, “…uuh,” and then became silent, without denying it.

“Shisou, what about me? Even I have confidence when it comes to talking.”

“Five out of the eight people in our group can speak better than you, so don't talk.”

“I'm not better than those people!?”

“Well, putting Rex aside, let's have you do a test run once.”

Ignoring Rex, who he had unintentionally shocked, Kagami clasped his hands together and said that to Tina, as if he was beseeching her earnestly. After she showed him a slightly worried look, he let out a sigh and said:

“…It will only be once, you know.”

He then entered the room which was built in the Chapel for listening to confessions. Kagami walked further and entered an adjoining room inside of this room.

Inside the Confession Booth, there was nothing but a chair, and after Tina and Kagami faced each other, separated by a thin wall, they sat in the chairs that had been placed there.

“So what does Kagami-san want to consult about? It seems unlikely to be about worries, though.”

“Let's give them a formal performance since we took great pains to build it. Tina, talk like a Saint for a bit.”

After Kagami suggested this, Tina frankly muttered “Eh…” unpleasantly. However, after considering that it would only happen once, she coughed violently, and even though she couldn't see him, she switched her state of mind to a more serious one.

“Lost lamb, speak of the worries that trouble you so.”

She said that courteously. Kagami's expression became serious upon encountering Tina's unexpected manner of speech, and he slowly opened his mouth.

“I…even though it's a Casino I built myself, I ended up leaving its management to other people. As a result, awful stores have been built with beings who are only lumps of muscle. What should I do about it?”

“Please live strongly and healthily.”

These were the only words Tina said.

“You two…this is fine already. It won't change that much.”

As for Alice, whose outfit design was dependent on Takako and Krul, 30 minutes had passed since Kagami had left the break room. Alice couldn't suppress her feelings of wanting to run away from the situation, where they were constantly changing her clothes, which were nearly the same every time.

“You can't! It's important to dress up the parts that you can't see. Dignity can be born if you consider the combination of colors, you know!”

“That's right, Alice-chan. If this becomes a Casino where many nobles walk around, they could look at your every nook and cranny with their indecent eyes, and they won't be blamed for it. When I was added into the party as a Princess…oh how I realized the appearance of my body! You're the face of this Casino, Alice-chan! They will be able to look at you!”

Although Alice tried them on after Takako and Krul had tried persuading her several times, the two of them didn't waste a moment and prevented her from running away, so Alice showed them a weak-looking expression with an '…Au'.

Although David looked at this scene with a smile, Alice was only strangely ashamed by him. She momentarily thought, 'He is watching me stand on my feet for an hour, but is he not busy?'

“You two, an hour has almost passed. Although you two have the stamina of an adult, Alice-sama is still a child. I think it's about time to wrap this up.”

Just as Alice thought that, David took a step towards her and helped her in a timely fashion. Although Alice's expression brightened for a moment because of this unexpected help:

“Please, David. Just a little bit longer! This is for Alice-chan!”

“Hohoho! It can't be helped then!”

As Alice pleaded with her eyes pointing upward, David gave up on helping her, smiling happily compared to earlier. When she saw this, Alice looked like she had given up on wanting to say something at all and let out a small sigh, uttering, 'Kagami-san…Please come back quickly…'

“However, Krul-sama, your mood has changed quite a bit. A long time ago, you didn't show any interest in things that you could bind yourself to, but you are now personally trying to find some.”

Krul blinked at David's words and showed a bewildered look, as though she had not realized her change personally, and responded with 'I-I see?'.

“Alice-chan has a unique charm to her. I haven't changed, you know.”

“Well, of course Alice-sama is attractive, but I'm not just thinking about that. I've been watching Krul-sama for a while, but with Kagami-sama…Krul-sama changed after meeting him on various occasions.”

After saying this, David had a sad expression on his face, as if he was remembering the distant past.

When Krul heard the word 'Meet,' she thought that certainly might be the case and brought her hand to her chest, wearing a reserved smile.

“I also think that. It doesn't mean that the way you speak and your personality itself has changed…and rather than saying that there isn't any point in arguing about it, umm…You looked at me for who I am. I think that Krul-san is a very special person to me, one who also trusts me!…I might have never said this, though.”

Alice tried her best to tell that to Krul, as though she was supporting David's words, while Krul gestured and felt embarrassed about the changes he had stated.

While she was confused about this, she felt some warmth gathering in her heart. When she finally realized it, she smiled happily and placed her hand on Alice's head.

“Well, I'm happy that you said that for me. I wasn't aware of it, but I couldn't expect my current way of life, compared to how I lived in the past. Even if I did expect it…I had thought that it was hopeless.”

Krul remembered the first time she had encountered Alice while she said this. Although Alice had been a companion she had once wanted to kill, with the reason of 'she was an unreasonable Demon', Alice had now said that Krul was an 'important person' to her. Krul now felt that she was intimate enough with Alice to want to protect her.

When comparing the past and the present, it was strange enough for her to wonder why she had wanted to kill Alice without listening to her, so she recognized her own changes. She had thought that it was necessary to kill Alice. This was natural, since she had been taught that this was the world's ploy, after all.

She had lost the ability to think for herself. Although there had been times when she began to think about it, she had immediately abandoned thinking about things that she felt compelled to do. It had been the same since Rex had brought Krul with him, and when she had become companions with Palna and Tina.

If anyone were to say that she had changed, then the causes for those changes were obvious. It was the meeting with the unexpected Villager. Krul clearly thought that the beginning of everything was her encounter with Kagami.

In the beginning, she had been confused. However, she immediately understood that he was a happy person. When Balman was under attack from the Demon King Army, he protected her from her careless actions, which had nearly harmed her people, and he strictly scolded her for them.

It was the first time for her. The first time someone had immediately objected to her decisions as a Princess and given her a chop on the head. She might have been interested since that time.

Before she had realized it, Krul became aware that it was useless to think about such things. Kagami always did everything he could do. There were people who had protected Demons with all of their power as well. Even though it was obvious that he would have to cut down those from both sides for his path to happiness, she had come to question herself, asking 'Is the me of today truly correct?' when she saw the times Kagami became worn out while trying to stand against others.

Surely, she would have immediately answered that it was 'correct' before she met Kagami. It was simply that the encounter with Kagami had been a huge shock for Krul.

“Values are easily changed from one's experience…rather, it would be strange if they didn't change.”

Takako said, with a smile on her face, as if backing her up. It was as if Takako was declaring that change was never a bad thing.

“That's right…It's stranger to not change.”

For some reason, David's expression darkened as he replied to Takako's words.

“However, Krul-sama has pushed forward with her resolve to subjugate the Demon King ever since her childhood. Although the goal is to save up money, if it were the Krul-sama of the past, perhaps she would have been here with a tense expression, trying to stick to her beliefs more. Perhaps she would have continued on a separate path…”

Even though it would be strange otherwise, and even if it was strange for Krul to not be like that, Alice felt strange when she heard David, who looked like he wanted to say something, and tilted her head. Certainly, when she had first met with Krul, as well as the times after that, she had felt that Krul was living to chase after something, and she didn't particularly think that someone changing after gaining experience was anything special.

“Encounters can change people. Either good or bad.”

Takako muttered, as if she understood him.

“You know…for that reason…your existences…are especially amazing for Kagami-sama.”

Whether or not he thought that from the bottom of his heart, Alice somehow understood David, who had said that that with his eyes shut. Since Kagami was a someone who could change things by himself, she felt that changing after meeting him wasn't anything special. That's how she interpreted it.

“David-san, you are also trying to change after meeting with me.”

“Is that ri…huh? Huhhhhh?”

When Takako, who looked like she was deeply moved by him, muttered that and approached David, sweat flowed down from his forehead, and he showed a smile. From Takako's tone of voice, she had entered her 'Pushy Mode', since he was thinking about her. Alice, who had uttered the same words earlier, sensed the change and looked at David with pitiful eyes while muttering 'Good luck…David-san.'

“Pardon my rudeness, but it's about time for the last order of imports to arrive, so please allow me to be excused. I must help out with bringing them in, so I will return later on. If it's fine with you, Krul-sama, I would be happy if you just waited here.”

David avoided this with a god-like timing and what could only be thought of as an excuse. However, his expression turned serious and his speech became polite, so his standard performance couldn't be called a lie.

Although David didn't normally try to leave Krul's side, he needed to complete his work perfectly. Even if he did a good job, it was better for it to be done slowly, and all the people present had interpreted that his tidying up quickly, with all his might, showed that the time he spent beside Krul was important to him.

Therefore, Takako couldn't say anything about David, who was using his valuable time to try and tear himself away from Krul.

“Geez, we'll wait at the break area, so come back here once you're done. Let's go eat breakfast with everyone as a preparatory celebration for the Casino's opening.”

“Hoho, I'll look forward to that. I'll go tidy it up in a jiffy.”

Then, David departed from the break area as if he was running away. With a maiden-like face that didn't suit her sturdy physique at all, Takako saw David off with a look of envy.

This scene reflected into Alice's and Krul's view for a moment, but they immediately looked elsewhere.

“W-Well then…shall we continue?”

The moment Takako grabbed onto Alice's shoulder with a face full of smiles, she realized that she had lost her one hope of trying to resolve this situation, and her eyes lost their vigor.

“Ara…? That David, it looks like he forgot his gloves.”

However at this time, Krul approached a table in the break area as if she had noticed something, and then she took the work gloves on the table as she said that.

“Hey, has David-san always had these gloves?”

“Well…it's normal for David to cover his hands since it's hot and humid…but not having gloves may hurt his hands today, since he said that his work involves carrying the imported goods. Perhaps he had considered that and prepared them in advance.”

Alice's vigor was restored as she listened to this, and then she quickly took the gloves away from Krul as if aware of something.

Alice immediately realized that this was a chance to escape that David had prepared for her, and rather than letting herself get caught, she quickly took action.

“David-san must have these or he'll be in trouble, so I'll go take them to him!”

“Wait, Alice-chan! I'll do it!”

Although Takako had yelled that out desperately, Alice quickly departed from break area without listening to her. It was impossible to chase down Alice, who had left immediately, without wasting her breath to argue, and after the chance passed by her, Takako held a handkerchief in her mouth and vented her regrets with all of her power.

“I'm glad…As expected of David-san. Although these clothes are hard to move in…it's a lot better than being restrained by those two, I'll have to thank him properly later.”

Alice muttered that after she left the break area, and walked in a passage built exclusively for the casino staff. Looking at the gloves she took from Krul, she thought, 'Does David's work really involve carrying the imported goods?'

“It would be troublesome…without them.”

Although the gloves had probably been prepared to help him out, thinking about the possibility of him not having them, Alice began to run in search of David.

Several minutes later, she had searched in all of the places where he could be within the Casino, but she couldn't find David anywhere.

She even went to the place where they were receiving the imports, but the staff members present said that the goods had yet to arrive and thought that he was surely working in another area. There had not been any staff there, besides the one who had tried to return to the passage that was lined with taverns after finishing their work, and the staff members who liked Alice and gave her candy.

While walking in the Casino's halls, most of the staff members who had tried to return had offered information that they had seen David, but even if she headed to the places where they said they saw him, David wouldn't be there, nor at the bar where she had thought he would head to, and she ended the search upon getting pats on the head and receiving candy from the cleaning staff.

She was finally unable to guess where he'd gone, and although she tried to confirm if he was in the suspicious shop that was named 'Takako's Room,' Alice immediately closed the door 0.5 seconds after opening it, and then headed to the Chapel.

Tina was in the Chapel, but she hadn't seen David, and the ones who had come by were just Kagami and Rex, and after the two of them had helped out a little bit, they had gone somewhere else.

“I wonder where…David-san is.”

Alice, who had received a lot of candy while walking through the Casino, had her hands full of candy and the stuffed animal from Kagami. She walked to the nearby area with the warehouse, which was located outside the Casino.

She had begun to think that, if she didn't find him here after searching all this time, he surely would have passed by her once his work finished and he might have already returned to the break area.

“…and then…by this.”

At this time, a familiar voice entered Alice's ears. She raised her head, and, after looking at many trees near the warehouse, she saw David and a man, who seemed to be part of the staff, conversing.

“Found you…! David-san!”

Alice felt deeply moved at finally finding him after spending a long time searching for him, and she waved her hands and rushed towards him as she yelled that out.

David immediately heard Alice's yell, and after he looked towards Alice, he shrugged with an 'oya, oya,' and ended his conversation with the staff person before walking towards Alice.

“…Ah!”

However, at this time, perhaps it was due to rushing while both of her hands were occupied, but she ended up tripping.

“D-…Dangerous!”

Seeing Alice tripping, David, who had concluded that she would get hurt, immediately rushed towards her, and tried to reduce the distance before Alice fell.

Although he was a Merchant, David, whose level was 77, succeeded in easily closing the distance, and supported Alice's body. However:

“A…wa.”

When he supported her, his hand caught on the ribbon that was tied on Alice's hair on the back of her head, and just like that, David ended up taking the cloth that suppressed the magic power of Alice's right horn.

At that moment, the distinctive magic power of a Demon began to flow out from Alice's horn little by little, like overflowing bubbles drifting in the air. Although Alice hid her horn in a hurry and separated from David, the magic power that had begun to flow didn't escape his notice, and David still held the cloth that suppressed magic power in his hands.

David's expression had changed from his regular smile. He was rather calm, as if confirming it, and his expression changed to one which could only intimidate her. Alice, who had given up all hope after seeing his silent expression, became paralyzed with fear and fell down on the spot with a 'petan.'

Then, with a, “What should I do,” as tears formed in her eyes, Alice desperately struggled with the thought of being found out.

“…That's a splendid ornament. Was it a present from Kagami-sama?”

“…Huh?”

However, facing these unexpected words, Alice blinked in surprise.

The horn that grew on the right side of the back of Alice's head was no longer concealed by the cloth and was completely exposed. However, David undid his earlier expression, smiled again, and then he extended his Alice to Alice, who had fallen.

Presently, magic power was flowing out from the horn as if it were floating. As expected, it couldn't be passed off as a Blue Devil's horn. Yet, David had said that as if he didn't care about it.

“Y-Yeah. Kagami-san made this for me.”

Alice replied to him while avoiding meeting his eyes.

After that, David nodded once with a smile, as if indicating he was fine with this, and then he handed the magic power absorbing cloth, which he had accidentally taken, back to her.

“I see…wrapping the cloth around this deals with it nicely, it must be something precious to you.”

Despite being clearly revealed as a Demon by the magic power that was emitting from her horn, Alice received the cloth and was dumbfounded by David, who had become quiet without asking why there hadn't been any magic power flowing from the horn until now.

After she received it, Alice quickly and hurriedly tried to wrap the cloth around her horn, since she didn't know if someone else would pass by. However, she couldn't wrap it skillfully, since whenever it had come undone, Takako or Kagami would be there to put it on for her.

“Hoho, if you're fine with it, allow me to help out.”

Whether or not he thought Alice's flustered manner was strange, David said that with a pleasant smile and helped Alice wrap the cloth around her horn.

“It's perfect like this. The ribbon suits you quite well, and you have the same beauty as Krul-sama did when she was a child.”

“T-Thanks.”

Alice expressed her thanks, with a slight stutter, towards David, who didn't need to say anything else.

“Well then, I will also head towards the break area after this. I still have some work left to do, so I will return as soon as that is done. If you are searching for Kagami-sama, it's probably better for Alice-sama to return, since earlier, he had mentioned that he would head to the break area.”

David said that and turned back after listening to Alice. He then tried to leave.

Although Alice had heard David, who wore a foolish look, she once again rushed toward David the moment she heard him, as if remembering something and:

“U-…Um!”

Saying that, she handed the work gloves over to David.

“Oh, well, well. You took the trouble to deliver these to me. Thank you.”

He received the gloves like usual, and David said, “Well then,” and tried to leave just like that without asking anything else.

Towards this, although she couldn't get the words, “Why did he not ask about it?”, out of her throat, she reconsidered that he might have pretended not to realize it. She closed her mouth once, and then:

“I-I'm the one who should say thank you!”

To make up for that, she said just those words to him.

After that, David looked back at her, and after putting on a satisfied, happy smile, he replied, “It's not a problem,” and then vanished into the Casino.

Alice was filled with emotion after seeing his smile, turned around, and once again, lightly walked towards the break area where Kagami was located.

“This isn't something you should be saying so casually, Kagami-dono! It's dangerous to leave it alone!”

Alice returned to the passage exclusive to the Casino Staff again and tried to turn the knob to the door of the break area. However, at that moment, she heard yelling from inside the break area, and just for a moment, Alice shrunk back.

She slowly opened the door and peeped inside, as if wary of something. Inside stood a restless Krul, Takako, and Rex. Kagami was also there, seeming troubled by something as he stood with his arms folded, and Menou, wearing a stern look, had tried to grab Kagami's shirt collar.

“Please calm down, Menou-chan. I understand your eagerness, and while that may be true, she would have tried to let you know first if she had to run away or hide.”

The appeasing Takako, who spoke with a serious expression, seemed like a completely different person from the one Alice had seen when she left the break area.

“Everyone. D-did something happen?”

Although she had become slightly insecure when she thought that they were having a dispute, Alice entered the break area as soon as she saw that it wasn't the case and asked that question timidly. The attention of everyone in the room gathered on her. As soon as he saw Alice, Menou approached her in the blink of an eye and took her hand, seeming relieved from the bottom of his heart.

“I couldn't see you, and you worried me, Alice-sama! I'm glad you're safe!”

“I said I was going to hand David-san his gloves didn't I? You're over exaggerating things.”

Seeing Menou's nervous response, Takako shook her head saying, “yare, yare.”

“Come, Alice-sama! Let's go to a land far away from here, together, just the two of us! Everything will surely be handled by Kagami-dono later on!”

“Eh…no way. I don't want to be separated from Kagami-san's side.”

After Alice replied to Menou with a blunt denial, he received damage to his soul and yelled out, “Guhah!” However, he immediately recovered and said, “That's not something you should be saying so casually!”, as if he was at his wits' end.

“Calm down, Menou-chan. Alice-chan still doesn't know anything, remember?”

Takako pulled Menou away from Alice, as if suppressing him, and said that. Feeling tired, he then uttered, “Mu…that's right. Sorry,” as he seemingly calmed down a bit.

“But Shishou, if what Menou says is true, then won't it be bad for several reasons? At the very least, if Menou's and Alice's identities are discovered, surely, it won't just be us who will be sorry.”

Rex said that as he faced Kagami with his arms folded, as though something was wrong. Towards this, Kagami just groaned, “Hmmm…” and didn't say anything.

“That's why, please tell me, too, if something happened! Did something happen while I was away?”

Alice, who had become anxious while trying to process the story after being left out, yelled that.

“I've heard Menou talk about David being a spy for the Kingdom, though.”

Kagami said that with a sigh.

“A spy…of the Kingdom? David-san is?”

As she listened to Kagami, Alice's face distorted in disbelief.

“It was when he accepted Kagami's kind offer, and tried to return after changing his clothes. David-dono was strangely cautious of his surroundings, even in the Tavern he was in charge of. I thought it was unnatural to head off somewhere that wasn't the delivery point, so I followed him. And then…there was a spy wearing a Staff uniform as a disguise near the warehouse.”

Listening to Menou, Alice immediately recalled David and the conversation he had with the Staff member near the warehouse. Since it was something she had personally witnessed, the hope that Menou was mistaken, was crushed.

“Was that person…truly a spy? Was he truly in disguise?”

“There's no doubt about it. I heard them speaking with my own ears. 'Here, this is the information that should be relayed to the King. At the moment, Rex-sama and Krul-sama have not shown any suspicious movement,' and then I definitely saw him handing over a document of some sort. Without a doubt…he ran away since he suspected that someone was listening in on him.”

After Menou utter that seriously, Alice, who usually didn't know how bad these events were nor what kind of impact they would have, could somehow feel the gravity of the situation.

“It might not be impossible…if it's David-san. I do admit that David was superior in completing work without waste in the past.”

Krul uttered that restlessly.

Takako and Kagami then understood the meaning of this instantly.

This excellent and talented person did have the obligation to observe Krul, but it was impossible to act useless when helping out with Kagami's work. There wasn't a need to virtually cling to them in order to observe them if his job was to 'confirm whether or not they were working every day for the Demon King subjugation.'

In other words, there was a reason for these things.

“…observing Alice…huh?”

Kagami scratched his head, looking troubled, as he muttered that.

Kagami had always thought that David was reluctant to separate from Krul's side. However, he was now questioning if that was true, and if his real goal was Alice.

The issue was the source of the information leak. Kagami had willfully believed he was Krul's observer, but could it be that he had been wrong, and David had actually been observing Alice?

“Although the Kingdom's side doesn't know anything…they appear to be doubting us a bit.”

If that was really the case, then the Kingdom knew Alice's origins, and there was a possibility of it being exposed. At the very least, the Kingdom doubted Alice.

What information did they receive that made them doubt her?

It was hard to think of other people who had heard the conversation between the Demon King and Estellar at the battle of Salumeria. Kagami himself had confirmed that there was nobody in the surroundings. If there really was anyone who had his or her ears open during that situation, Estellar probably would have dealt with them quickly.

However, it was only Kagami who knew this. Although there was value in just asking about it, even if he was refused, when considering whether this was true or not, this knowledge wouldn't be taken seriously with just one person's evidence. If he considered that David was concealing himself, then the possibility of it being him was high.

“Hold on, Master. Why does this show that he is observing Alice?”

Rex asked and inclined his head.

“What I mean is that Menou said 'Guys,' right? Even if he were just observing Krul and Rex, isn't it weird to go to the point of also reporting things about us? He even said 'suspicious movements,' like he suspects us.”

After Kagami said that, Rex also showed a serious look and muttered 'I see,' as if he understood.

“There's not much meaning in observing Kagami-san, who has nothing to hide. Takako-san and Tina as well. But…it's different for Menou-san and Alice-chan.”

It was clear that he was behaving suspiciously. The one who felt this the most was Krul. David had always been beside her, and recently, she had felt something strange from his looks.

He had looked at her differently. Perhaps this truly was about Alice. Considering David was reporting about things other than Krul and Rex to the Kingdom, it was clear.

“But I…even though David-san was investigating my actions from the shadows, I can't imagine him reporting this to the Kingdom. As expected…he isn't just observing Krul-san's actions.”

Alice uttered this, as if something had come to mind.

“Why do you think so?”

Kagami asked, thinking she might have confidence in her words after seeing Alice's expression.

“My horn…David-san saw it, but he didn't say a word about me being a Demon. It looked like he planned on keeping silent about it, and already knew that I'm a Demon.”

Everyone that heard Alice's words gave her bewildered looks. Only Menou grabbed Alice's shoulders while trembling, and said:

“As I thought, let's run away from here immediately!”

Although he had stated his desire, Takako immediately pulled Menou away from Alice, and calmed him down once again.

“Eei! Release me, Takako-dono!”

“I understand your panic, but calm down, Menou-chan. It would be suspicious if only the two of you left, right?”

After Takako said that, she confirmed with Kagami, asking “Right?”. Kagami nodded his head, as if he had considered it, and said, “Well, that's right.”

Although Kagami had considered that David was a dangerous existence that shouldn't be provoked, he reconsidered a bit after listening to the story about David seeing Alice's horn.

“Menou…you heard David say, 'No suspicious movements have been discovered,' right? Even though he knows Alice is a Demon, isn't it weird that he said that?”

“This…He only acted calm for the moment, and in reality, there is also the possibility that it was the first time he had gained proof of her being a Demon. I'm sure he will say that Alice-sama is a Demon in the next report.”

Although there was certainly a possibility that David had been acting, when Kagami saw Alice's anxious expression, he couldn't believe that that was the case at all. It was because he saw “I can't believe that he would do such a thing,” written all over her face.

“There is still the possibility that he is protecting Alice. If that's the case, it might be troublesome for David if the two of you were to vanish, and make him unable to protect you two.”

“David doesn't have a reason to protect Alice-sama, does he? Although I don't know what it is about us that he's investigating, he went out of his way to come here for a job from the Kingdom. There is no reason for him to have come here to protect her.”

Menou immediately denied Kagami's suggestion. Menou's words were reasonable. There wasn't any reason to protect her. The probability of it being true was also low when considering Krul's words about him efficiently completing his work.

At that moment, Kagami directed his gaze at Alice and inclined his head, as if asking her, 'How about it?'. Alice, who noticed his gaze, showed him a slightly worried expression, but gave him a determined nod. Seeing this, Kagami became eager with a, “Yosh,” and:

“If he observes us, then let's observe him. If he reports that Alice is a Demon in his next report, then we'll consider it again. For now, let's trust David.”

After saying this, Kagami declared, “Well then, let's go wait for David's return, and go eat dinner,” while ignoring the atmosphere.

If Alice were to consider trusting David, saying, 'It's all right,' then Kagami would support her with all his power. This would definitely be progress for the goal of coexistence between Demons and humans. That was the reason for his behavior.

Although Menou seemed momentarily troubled by these words, he uttered, “Understood,” while watching Alice, who looked happy listening to Kagami's declaration. Then he let out a sigh, as if it couldn't be helped.

Takako was the one who volunteered to keep a lookout, so they decided to leave it to her, since her movements were good and she had high physical abilities, like Kagami.

Although Kagami didn't care if Takako had her own reasons for volunteering, it wasn't a problem for him, so he brushed it off.

It had been one week since the day before the Casino's opening. Not once did David relay that Alice was a Demon to the Kingdom's spy. The only thing he would report was, “No suspicious movements have been discovered.”

Chapter end