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

A social space for a group of people who are solely focused on their own research—it sounds quite contradictory at first glance.

"Magic research costs money, and sometimes the knowledge you want is monopolized by other magicians. The banquet is the place where these magicians exchange what they need."

"So, has anyone invited Mr. Sagan to participate?"

"We'll have to see the contents to know."

Since it's an invitation from the Demon King, there might be some kind of trap or mechanism involved. However, this letter doesn't seem to be enchanted, so there shouldn't be any danger even if it's opened.

Sagan stomped his heel on the ground again, this time pulling open a drawer on the table, from which emerged a small knife hidden in an exquisitely carved scabbard.

The knife floated and floated until it landed in Nefarian's hand.

"Open it for me."

"Yes."

It seemed she had adapted to the situation… or rather, become numb to it. Neferpitou responded in her usual flat voice, picked up the knife, and tore open the envelope.

A card appeared inside.

Read it to me.

Sagan initially thought that he could just read the contents of the letter himself, but he also felt that the act of speaking out could brighten his mood.

...Well, there's another reason, actually, he just wanted to hear Neferpitou's voice.

Nefi nodded without question.

"Very well—My esteemed Lord Sagan, the Demon King, this banquet is being held to facilitate further interaction with you, a newcomer. We cordially invite you to... huh?"

Neferi was speechless for a moment after reading half of it.

Sagan asked in the gentlest of voices possible:

"What does it say?"

"...We cordially invite you and the residents of the castle: Lord Sagan the Demon King, Miss Neferia the White Elf, Miss Varefal the Undead, Lord Raphael the Former Holy Knight Commander, and the beautiful former cleaner—Miss Shestie Liqtrist the Holy Sword Maiden."

Upon seeing this content, Sagan couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

So, someone was monitoring us a long time ago?

The Demon King knew everything about Fael's true nature, even about Shestie, who had only worked as a cleaner in the city for a few days.

It seems the castle has been under the watchful eye of this "Demon King" for at least a month.

Nephew continued in a trembling voice:

"We earnestly request the aforementioned five individuals to come and join us in this grand undertaking."

As for the rest of the details, it only includes the location and time of the banquet.

"Looking forward to your satisfactory reply. Respectfully invited by Bifron, The Demon King."

The invitation concludes with the name as the closing word.

—Thirteenth place: The Demon King…

Sagan was terrified when he faced a demon other than himself for the first time.

He thought he couldn't leave Neferpitou in a place where she associated with these monsters, so he tried to stay away from her.

That was a humiliating and disastrous memory.

But this time, Sagan scoffed and said:

"What an arrogant invitation."

Hearing Sagan's slightly amused voice, Nefi turned around in surprise.

Sagan was about to say that she had finally turned around when she noticed that her ears were drooping nervously.

"Mr. Sagan, are you planning to attend?"

Sagan looked puzzled when she asked him that question.

"The Demon King has personally invited us, so what reason do we have not to go?"

In any case, they are opponents we will have to contend with sooner or later.

Sagan saw this as a perfect opportunity to see how much of a power gap existed between himself and the other Demon Lords.

The most important thing is that he must make the other party fully understand how unprofitable it is to go against him.

He has always used those ignorant intruders as a warning to others, and this habit will not change even if the opponent is a "Demon King". It can even be said that precisely because the opponent is a "Demon King", if a clear line is not drawn this time, similar harassment will never end in the future.

Neferpitou was first stunned, then spoke hesitantly:

"You might think I'm being too nosy by saying this, but... don't you think this could be a trap?"

"...? This is obviously a trap."

Sagan even wanted to ask what it could be if not a trap.

The other Demon Lords also knew that Sagan valued Neferpitou more than his own life.

This time, the other side chose the worst way to provoke them—targeting Nefarian and sending her an invitation, which was tantamount to a friendly reminder to Sagan, "This is a trap, but don't run away from it."

"Since that's the case..."

Nephew's pointed ears trembled, unable to hide his bewilderment.

—That's true. Nefi was just harassed, so it's no wonder she's scared.

To put Neferi at ease, Sagan intended to put on a smiling face, but knew that his smile would make him look like a villain.

Sagan wanted to pat her head, but because he had pretended to let Neferi sit on his lap earlier, his hands were full and he couldn't cheer her on with just his feet.

—In that case, what can we do to put her mind at ease?

At times like these, he always painfully realizes how bad he is at sweet talk.

But even if I wanted to hug her, she was already sitting on my lap, so hugging her wouldn't make much sense.

After a few seconds of disorientation and confusion, Sagan finally came to a conclusion: the closest thing to Neferpitou that was still free to move was his own head.

—Now that you think about it, I remember that rubbing your forehead against someone is also a way to comfort them!

He had seen Neferpitou speak to Pharrell like that before.

Although Fa'er was giggling from the tickling, she looked quite happy. As long as we do it that way, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

then--

"Eee-woo!"

Sagan pressed his face close to Nefertti's cheek.

Her face, though thin to the touch, was supple and dry, as if sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sagan could feel her body temperature rising with panic.

With intense panic, Nefi's trembling ears slapped against Sagan's cheek.

Oh no, I must have done something wrong again!

Sagan originally wanted to press his forehead against hers, but since he was hugging Neferi from behind, he had to settle for touching his face to his face instead. Now that he thought about it carefully, wasn't that just rubbing his face against hers?

Anyone would be at a loss if someone suddenly rubbed their face against theirs.

Even if you know you've made a mistake, there's nothing you can do now.

Sagan cleared his throat and then spoke:

"Whether it's 'The Demon King' or a trap, since the other party has caused you to become so depressed, of course you should teach them a lesson they won't forget."

"—!"

The trembling ears stood up straight due to tension.

Although it sounds like she's trying to evade the issue, this is indeed what Sagan finds most unforgivable right now.

Soon, perhaps because her body relaxed, Neferpitou's pointed ears went limp.

"...It seems nothing escapes Mr. Sagan's eyes."

Illustration p037

"That's right... well, it's not everything. At most, I can only see that you look listless, Neferi."

It's really embarrassing to talk about.

Sagan wanted to know what had just happened to Nefi, but he didn't want to force her to say it.

The only foreseeable possibility is encountering fellow countrymen who survived from their hometown.

But Neferpitou had already told Sagan all those secrets. Although she was not at peace with herself, she was not to the point that she couldn't tell Sagan the truth.

So it seems there are other reasons?

But Sagan just couldn't figure out what it was all about.

Sagan waited silently for what was to come, and Neferpitou then spoke with trepidation:

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Sagan. I still don't know where to begin."

"Is that so... Then let's talk about it when you have a way to do it."

"……yes."

Neferpitou responded hesitantly.

But the tone no longer sounded as gloomy as before.

Nefi then asked the question with his back still to Sagan, his tone tinged with concern.

"Mr. Sagan, may I ask...?"

"What's up?"

"Excuse me, are you doing this to comfort me...?"

"Does it look like it?"

—So it really doesn't look like it at all!

Actually, Sagan knew perfectly well that she didn't need to say it, but she just couldn't think of any other way.

Neferi seemed to appreciate all of Sagan's thoughtfulness and immediately smiled.