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

"Even if you're embarrassed, this isn't something you can just change whenever you want, is it?"

When she met Farrar's disdainful gaze, Shess finally broke down in tears.

That scene was so heartbreaking to watch that Neferpitou said to Fale:

"Fair, don't go too far. Shestie has a lot of her own troubles and isn't in a good mood."

"Is Tadpole Head ever having an easy time?"

"I don't know about that, but she must have had a harder time this time than usual."

"...Nefi, I appreciate your kindness, but it feels more like kicking someone when they're down. I'm so sad..."

Well, actually, Fa'er was also advising her in her own way: if she doesn't pull herself together quickly, it's hard to say what the outcome will be.

Both Fael and Neferpitou are generally not good with words and find it difficult to express their emotions. This slight slip of the tongue is just a trivial matter.

It seems that Shestia has already understood Farr's implied meaning, so she wiped her face and finally got up from the ground.

"If even children worry about me, that's just pathetic. I'm fine."

Shessty, her nose still bright red, gave Far a smile, but Far shook her head dismissively.

"It's normal for an elder to be a little nosy. You don't need to take it to heart."

"Hey, wait a minute... how old are you anyway? You look like you're only about ten!"

Dragons are a legendary race capable of living for countless years, their lifespan proportional to their age, and their growth rate is relatively slow. As far as dragons are concerned, although Fa'er is still young, she has already lived a long enough period of time.

However, if you convert that to human age, it would probably be around ten years old.

Sagan thought this and drew a conclusion.

Farrell glared back at Shestie.

"You tadpole-headed brat, don't you have any common sense? Don't you know it's very rude to ask a lady's age?"

"That's true, but didn't you start this whole thing?"

I thought the girl had cheered up, but she immediately became depressed again.

Seeing that Shestia's eyes were about to well up with tears again, Sagan immediately asked:

"By the way, what about your three idiot henchmen?"

Shesty was always accompanied by the so-called Three Fools of the Azure Sky... no, the Three Knights of the Azure Sky. Although they weren't the brightest, they were quite powerful and held a certain status among the paladins.

Shessty nodded awkwardly.

"I left them at the port of Sfornique."

"That's true, after all, those three are bound to cause some trouble if they run into a magician."

"Uh, it's not for that reason..."

Shesitantly intertwined her two index fingers, her face flushed with embarrassment as she lowered her head.

"Because if they were there, I wouldn't be able to have a normal conversation with you, would I...?"

Sagan frowned.

—What did she mean by saying that...?

If Sansa were present, it would indeed be difficult to communicate, but now that Sagan has Nefarian and Fael, she believes she can discern those subtle changes in emotion.

The deeper meaning of that sentence doesn't seem to refer to business matters or ordinary friendship.

Sagan wasn't entirely indifferent to her; in fact, he even harbored a protective instinct towards her, much like he did towards Fa'er.

Well, this girl is so naive that she gives off a sense of crisis, as if she might die right in front of you if no one helps her.

It is said that Shesty is quite popular in the church, but Sagan has always suspected that the affection might stem from his earlier reluctance to abandon her.

Anyway, this is a completely different thing from romantic feelings.

—Never mind, it doesn't matter.

As long as it doesn't bother her or Nefaire, Sagan doesn't care what others think. Shestia probably isn't the kind of fool who doesn't understand her own feelings.

...Besides, she might actually think she's hiding her feelings very well.

Putting everything else aside, if any woman other than Neferi were to show interest in him, Sagan wouldn't know how to respond, so perhaps ignoring her would be the best course of action.

Sagan, seemingly oblivious, continued speaking:

"So, how's that symbiosis faction going so far?"

When asked about this, Shess's eyes widened in surprise.

"I never expected you to care about that kind of thing."

Is it really that surprising?

"Well, how should I put it? Because you completely ignore the church, don't you?"

Sagan nodded in agreement.

"But if I see someone collapsed from poisoning, I'll still feel some sympathy."

"—So, you've been worried about me all along...?"

After answering, Shirley blushed all the way down to her ears.

—Huh? Did I say something wrong again?

I clearly didn't mean anything by it. If she misunderstands, that would be too pitiful. Putting everything else aside, she's already pitiful enough on her own.

Just as Sagan felt a surge of anxiety, Shestie cleared her throat and stretched.

"Thank you for your concern, but nothing's happened on my end... or rather, they haven't asked me to do anything. A month has passed since then, and nothing major has happened."

Is this their usual behavior?

Sagan was taken aback by the unexpected answer, and Raphael then answered on his behalf.

"That's right. The goal of the symbiotic faction is peaceful coexistence and avoiding unnecessary conflicts with magicians. Since the pursuit is to coexist with magicians, your current state is the most ideal example."

Simply put, it seems that all she needs to do is cultivate a good relationship with Sagan, and that should be enough.

When I first heard that concept, I thought they had some grand plan...

But those words all came from Raphael, a man who was always prejudiced because he was not good at expressing himself, as if he were a man who could gather all the misunderstandings in the world.

If Barbarossa were here, he would probably be making a big fuss and saying things like, "How dare you say that about Sagan?" But if he really said that, it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration.

Shess also had a sour look on her face, seemingly unable to accept the answer.

"But we still don't know when the demons will awaken, do we? So isn't establishing a cooperative relationship with magicians the most urgent task right now?"

"That problem can be solved as long as Your Majesty is strong enough."

Although Raphael had left his position as Paladin Commander, he had no intention of simply living in seclusion in the mountains.

—That's probably why you specifically came to be my housekeeper.

Helping Sagan expand his real power was tantamount to indirectly fulfilling the dying wish of the wise dragon Orobas, which is why Raphael decided to join Sagan's ranks.

Sagan was well aware of this, but then he scoffed dismissively.

"You all only say what is in your own interest, but don't forget that if anyone dares to obstruct me, whether they are a paladin commander or a magician, I will not show any mercy."

Although their friendship had progressed to the point where it was hard to bring themselves to hurt each other, Sagan's priorities were not absolute regarding Shesty's presence.

Since Shesty is a loyal servant of the church, a single command from the church can turn her from a friend to an enemy once again.

If a clear line isn't drawn on this matter, Neferpitou and Fael will be put in danger. When the time comes, Sagan can be sacrificed.

—However, if we really become enemies, Neferi will probably be heartbroken. If possible, let's try to handle it as amicably as possible.

After Sagan finished speaking clearly, Raphael laughed.

"Indeed, this is more like my king. Without these principles, how could I lead the other magicians?"

This formidable butler seemed to have thoroughly understood Sagan's personality before deciding to pledge his loyalty to him. Although his words and actions were somewhat unsophisticated, he was a visionary man who put his ideals into practice.

Sagan responded with a shrug.

"What you think doesn't matter, just don't bother me."

"Our sword has long been offered to our king. We have not fallen so low as to break our oath as knights."

Well, it seems his loyalty to Sagan wasn't just talk.

Otherwise, Fa'er wouldn't be so close to him.

Perhaps the topic was too serious and boring to listen to, so Far climbed onto Raphael's back and rode on his neck, but nodded drowsily... It was indeed time for the child to go to bed.

In conclusion, Fal once hated Raphael to the core, but now treats him like family, so this person should be trustworthy.

Shestie patted her chest.

"Sagan, you have your own things to do, right? I don't think I'm so weak that I'm a burden to you... Well, maybe I'm not that great either, but anyway, what I'm trying to say is—"

Shestia muttered to herself for a while before resolutely saying:

"I think maybe I just want to be someone you can rely on."

Shessty's words were so sincere that Sagan was stunned.

Not only him, but Neferi was also dumbfounded.

"You've saved me several times already. I want to repay your kindness. Isn't this the kind of relationship that's meant by symbiosis or cooperation?"

"Do you depend on...?"

Sagan ruminated on those words, his face hardening.

"I'm not really clear on the concept of dependence, since I haven't done that for a long time."

Is that really the case?

"...What do you want to question?"

Sagan looked at Shestie with suspicion, while her gaze turned to Nefert.

"You two have been in a relationship of mutual trust for a long time, haven't you? You've asked Neffi for many things, you just didn't realize it."

After she said that, Sagan was somehow unable to refute it.