As the Demon King, I have married a slave elf. How should I express my love?

She recognized the place. It must be Chinnoind. This was the city where she and Sagan first met, and they would often come here to buy groceries afterward.

She had no recollection of how she got there.

And what was the purpose of coming here? She remembered everything about preparing dinner, but she didn't know if Sagan had eaten any of it.

That stew was the first dish Nefi had ever cooked, and it left the usually aloof Nefi speechless and full of praise.

She wanted to see again the look of delight on her master's face.

I need to get back to him right away.

But then she realized that she was holding something in her hand.

The disassembled collar fragments. Neferpitou no longer wore the collar.

--Oh, right. I already...

"I have been abandoned by my master."

One thought transforms into words, and thoughts suddenly become a myriad of threads.

She could feel her heart gradually coming to a standstill.

If they hadn't done that, Neferpitou might have gone mad by now.

—He once said he was willing to let me stay by his side…

That was her first time.

For the first time, Neferpitou encountered someone who treated her like a human being, said many, many things to her, and even prepared a room and clothes for her, giving her a reason to live.

Only Sagan told her that he couldn't live without her.

She thought she had finally found a place where she could stay.

result……

She buried her face in her folded legs.

"At times like this, I never knew I couldn't even cry..."

The fact that Sagan abandoned me still feels unreal to this day.

Perhaps that's why she didn't feel any sadness.

If she were to close her eyes and take a nap, would she wake up back in the castle? But as she thought about it, she knew very well that this was impossible; a corner of her mind had already grasped the reality.

But for some reason, all my emotions just kept stalling.

And at that very moment.

"Aren't you that...magician Sagan's servant from before?"

An unfamiliar voice came from inside.

Looking up, I saw a girl in knight's armor standing in front of me, carrying a greatsword on her back.

She didn't recognize the voice, but she did remember the outfit, so she observed it carefully for a while. Soon after, she seemed to remember something and spoke.

"You're the one who fought against the master before...?"

One of those paladins at the time.

She recalled that only this girl was unharmed that time, leading the others away from the castle.

—Nefi, remember this: never get close to the paladins—

She couldn't remember when it was, but Sagan had warned her that these people not only viewed magicians as enemies, but would also kill anyone even with the slightest connection to them, treating them as criminals. Since Neferpitou was in charge of serving Sagan, she needed to be especially careful.

But the man who gave him those words of advice is no longer by his side.

Neferi had absolutely no idea why things had turned out this way.

"You will kill me."

Neferi whispered despairingly.

This girl probably witnessed the "magic" at the time. Since even a magician like Sagan, who still had a conscience, considered these people as villains, they probably wouldn't leave anyone alive, like Neferi, who could use magic.

The collar was no longer around her neck.

If she had the magic and sorcery Sagan had taught her, she might have been able to fight the girl in front of her, but now she couldn't see any point in doing so.

What's the point of living if there's no master around?

Even if she were to die here, she wouldn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

However, the other party frantically shook their head.

"Wait, wait! Don't misunderstand, I have no intention of harming you."

"...? Aren't paladins supposed to be assassins of magicians? I'm a magician's servant, and my master's apprentice. Please don't hold back, beheading or any other method is fine with me."

"No, please don't portray him like a serial killer!"

"Isn't that right?"

"No, that's not true!"

For some reason, the girl on the other end of the line was tearfully denying it.

As soon as the argument started, a few people gathered around to watch.

(Hey, what's all this noise about? Isn't that Neferi?) (The paladin's here. Isn't Neferi the magician's servant? I bet she's being watched.) (Shouldn't we step in and help? Neferi's already timid enough.)

The bystanders chimed in with their own opinions, but they all unanimously condemned the girl.

"I...didn't I say that's not how it is?"

The girl backed away in fear.

Just then, perhaps unable to bear it any longer, a figure jumped out from the crowd.

"Hmph! Little Neferi, are you alright?"

The one who jumped in front of Nefi to protect her was a winged girl who looked familiar.

"Mannira, Miss."

It turned out that she was the clothing store clerk who had helped Nefi choose clothes before.

After that incident, whenever the two met on the street, she would always come up to them and try to sell them new clothes. The pajamas Nefi wore in the city were also chosen with her help.

Seeing Nefi's expression, Manila was speechless for a moment.

"What happened to you? Who bullied you? Are you hurt anywhere? Isn't your master here?"

Nefi's face looked quite terrible, which frightened Manila as if she were seeing a wounded person covered in blood.

"I'm fine, I'm not hurt. Nothing at all."

"How could there be nothing at all!"

After the winged girl finished shouting angrily, she glared fiercely at the young girl.

"You! Even if the church knights have great power, don't you feel ashamed to bully the weak like this?"

"That's right, that's right!" "Go back, paladin!" "Couldn't the donation amount be any lower?!"

The condemnations from onlookers rose and fell.

"No, that's not it..."

"Then tell me what happened!" "Neferi's face is already pale enough, and you can still remain so indifferent!" "You're utterly heartless!"

The thug-like roar made the girl's face turn even paler, and she collapsed to her knees.

The situation escalated out of control, but Nefi certainly didn't let the paladin girl get the better of him. Whispers of mediation followed.

"Um, everyone, please wait a moment."

"Don't be afraid, little Neferi. As long as we're here, no one can touch you."

Faced with Manila's heroic smile as she turned back, Nefi spoke with a lifeless gaze.

"...No, this person didn't do anything to me."

For a moment, all was silent.

"Huh, but..."

"That's why I said no, right...?"

The knight girl was already sobbing uncontrollably, her face a mess of tears and snot.

"Ugh, me too... *sobs* I just saw a girl looking so sad, so I... *sobs* I just wanted to check on her..."

It seems she really just saw Nefi sitting there looking dejected and offered some words of comfort and concern.

Seeing that she was being besieged by everyone because of him, Nefi couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Eh..."

Manila first feigned obvious confusion before continuing.

"But if that's the case, why do you look so pale, Neferi? You don't look like you're alright at all!"

"this……"

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Just as she hesitated about how to answer, the paladin girl, disregarding all pride, burst into tears.

Nefi got up from the ground and bowed to apologize.

"I'm sorry for causing such a commotion... and I'm really sorry to that knight too. Well then, I'll take my leave now."

After apologizing, she was about to leave when Manila quickly stopped her.

"Wait, wait, wait. How can we just leave you like this?"

"But……"

Neferpitou glanced at the weeping paladin girl. She felt that, if anything, that was the one who couldn't be ignored.

Manila was speechless for a moment, and after a while she excitedly shouted and scratched her red hair.

"Seriously, you two, come here!"