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

Perhaps because she was also exhausted from crying, Nefi was even more expressionless than usual, to the point that it frightened Shestie.

Manila intervened to comfort her.

"Alright, alright. How can she not be angry when you speak ill of her beloved master like that?"

"I didn't say anything bad, did I?"

Nefi watched as the two talked past each other, and then Manila's gaze met his.

"So, Neferi, what are your plans for the future?"

"I don't know either……"

She's stuck here in a dilemma because she doesn't know what to do.

Shestia first cleared her throat.

"So, have you considered accepting the protection of us paladins? Protecting those who are harassed by magicians is also one of our duties as paladins."

"What? Can't you see that if she's sent to you, she'll definitely face a religious trial? I think you really want to mess with Nefertari, don't you?"

"No, that's not true! Because she's just a maid. As long as she pretends to be a victim, the church can't refuse to take her in..."

"So you know that if you don't do this, she'll be judged, right? Who would send Neferpitou to a dangerous place where she'd be dead if things got out?"

"What should we do then...?"

Neferthai shook his head at Shestie, who was pouting defiantly.

"I appreciate your kindness, but this would be tantamount to falsely accusing my master of being a villain. I can't do such a thing."

Shessty slumped her shoulders and then spoke with an air of unspoken difficulty.

"Actually, there's something I want to ask you. Do you think Sagan is the kind of person who would team up with magicians to do bad things like kidnapping or sacrifice?"

"No, it shouldn't be."

That must just be prejudice against magicians, but Neferpitou answered without hesitation.

Even if such a person has feelings for Nefie, he will not change his ways because of it, nor will he seek any kind of personality from Nefie.

"My master has never cared about the weak. Once, when bandits robbed our carriage, he saved them, but only said it was because he didn't like the bandits."

That time, perhaps it was just to put Nefi at ease.

When he witnessed that scene, Neferpitou was reminded of the attack on the village—but it was less a feeling of fear and more a feeling of guilt.

Seeing Nefi's pale face, he then began to deal with the bandits.

—They're just a bunch of useless trash.

That's what he said at the time.

He asked for nothing in return, nor did he ever expect Neferpitou's praise.

...Of course, the person in question did want to show off in front of Nefie, but she didn't realize it.

Shestie let out a low groan.

"I knew it..."

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, but I agree with you. When I fought him before, he went easy on me because I'm a woman. It was humiliating, but, how should I put it..."

Shesitant and unable to speak, Shisty made Manila, who had just finished another beer, smile broadly.

"Hey hey hey~? Paladin, what happened to your face? Why do you look like a girl in love?"

"What... Stop talking nonsense!"

After her angry outburst, Shessty's shoulders slumped down, and she began to mutter under her breath.

"The first time I saw him, I felt that the man needed someone to save him."

Upon hearing this, Neferi was startled.

Sometimes, the owner will show an extremely lonely expression, especially when the past is mentioned, that's often the case.

Although he didn't know on what occasion Sagan and Shestie had met before, Neferpitou felt a mix of slight jealousy and relief knowing that others besides himself had seen his undisguised true self.

—The master I know is certainly not hypocritical.

On the night they first met, she saw the moon, which she thought she would never see again, and reached out to it without thinking. Sagan was beside her, watching the moon with her.

"I can't catch anything," he said awkwardly at the time.

That expression couldn't possibly be fake.

Neferi thought to himself at the same time.

—Could it be that, in truth, my master still needs my help...?

When he told Nefie to leave, his grief was even greater than Nefie's.

Neferi placed his hand on his chest.

Fortunately, Manila and Shesty listened to her, which allowed her to regain her composure and rethink everything about Sagan.

Would the master she knew really abandon her so easily once she lost her usefulness?

That's absolutely not true.

He must have some untold hardship behind his back.

Thinking of this, he recalled that when they parted, Sagan had mentioned a word that bothered him.

"Excuse me, do you two know what the so-called 'Demon King' refers to?"

She had forgotten to mention this when explaining what had happened. Upon hearing the word, Manila and Shestie exchanged bewildered glances.

"Isn't that referring to the greatest magicians? This city was originally ruled by a 'Demon King' named Magasiia, but because the city is safe, no one thinks he's that scary."

However—Manila added.

"That Demon King passed away recently, and then a lot of terrible things happened."

"...You mean the magician's series of kidnappings of young girls?"

"Yes, that's it. On the surface, it seems the church has wiped out the murderers."

The words Shessti mentioned made Manila nod as well. Although Nefi didn't know the details, she had heard some rumors, but when she heard that the church and paladins were solving the case, she tilted her head in confusion.

"But if that's the case, why do people on the street seem to have a bad impression of you...?"

"Uh, that's because..."

"Because later they used the guise of relief funds to collect an exorbitant donation, it was naturally difficult for people to feel grateful."

"It's clearly a donation, but it's being collected through requisition?"

"Yeah, it's just so absurd, isn't it?"

After saying that, she glared at her, causing Shestie to slump her shoulders in sorrow.

"Well, but she probably didn't collect it herself, right? So I don't think we can blame her."

Shestia looked at Neferpitou, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"You're such a kind person. I can understand why he wants to keep you by his side."

"Is that so...?"

Neferpitou had never been spoken to like that before, and could only blink repeatedly in a daze.

Then, Shestie shook her head.

"That's a bit of a tangent. Regarding the 'Demon King' you mentioned, the Church considers it an evil symbol that paladins should risk their lives to defeat. There are only twelve Holy Swords, but there are thirteen 'Demon Kings,' so even if the Holy Swords were to perish together with the 'Demon Kings,' it still wouldn't be enough for one."

The Church's number one enemy—it seems Sagan has become that.

"If I become the Demon King, will I have to fight the Church?"

"I guess so. Currently, one of the Demon Kings has died, and the Church is also becoming more active in order to defeat the magicians... Let me make it clear, this isn't just my personal opinion, okay? Anyway, the Church has become even more proactive lately in order to eliminate the magicians."

After being glared at by Manila, Shestie quickly changed her tune.

"If a new Demon King emerges, the Church will probably see it as a great opportunity to defeat him. After all, if we don't eliminate him now, who knows how terrifying he might become in the future. But who knows, other magicians might also want to take this opportunity to seize that position."

Was Sagan, the "Demon King," really that kind of character?

—Is he bound to get embroiled in conflict?

Could it be that this is why he decided to drive Nefi away?

She looked at her palm.

In the past week, Sagan has taught her some basic magic tricks, hoping that she can use them for self-defense and one day be able to master "magic".

However, that's not the case.

—I learned magic to help my master.

Even if I went back now, I'd probably just be a burden.

But even so—

Nefi rose from his seat.

"I want to go back to my master."

"Is this...is this okay? Weren't you just kicked out?"

Neferi shook his head at the startled Manila and Shestie.

"My master is a formidable person, so strong that no one can defeat him. But that doesn't mean he can't get hurt."

—The strong never understand the feelings of the weak.

This is something Sagan mentioned before. But he would never admit that he was hurt by it.

He looked so forlorn when he mentioned those words.

He was not disappointed in humanity because of this small matter, but it should have been the beginning of his decision to give up interacting with people.

Looking at him like that, Neferi just wanted to hold him tightly in her arms.

"I may not be able to help my master, but he can't stay healthy forever."