“?”
Pocalor asked while I blinked.
“Why?”
“Ah,”
Povalor was asleep inside the magic potion, so she usually wouldn’t know what was going on outside.
I who realized this fact belatedly, simply explained the situation.
“...The priest is visiting the Vine Mansion?”
Pocalor’s voice seemed to rise slightly, and she looked around before asking again.
“You’re going to welcome the priest in this state?”
She blurted out the words that I had never been able to say. I couldn’t deny it and smiled awkwardly.
“The mansion seems to have been cleaned up, but the problem is the demons. We can’t expect luck like when the tailor came.”
She frowned and crossed her arms.
“No matter how weak the divine powers of the priests of this era are, they wouldn’t be so naive as to not be able to detect such clear evidence of the demons.”
If you were to ignite a fire with magical power right in front of your eyes and flutter your magical feathers, it would be confirmed that you were a demon.
“That’s right.”
When I nodded, Pocalor narrowed her eyes.
“If you don’t stupidly put feathers in your clothes.”
Poodduk! Bang!
There was a sound of Helbas bumping into something as he transformed into a bird and quietly tried to leave.
Beep...
The poor bird’s voice could be heard, but the demons couldn’t look in that direction.
“If you tell them not to open their mouths, they won’t make big mistakes.”
“Then they’ll definitely make fewer mistakes..."
Wouldn’t the priests sense something strange when they saw the abnormally quiet servants?
And it wasn’t just their words or actions that were the problem.
“Actually, on the first day, I came...”
I told her about the pepper cookies and salt tea I was treated to on my first day.
“...”
Then Pocalor slowly closed her mouth. Then she opened her mouth.
“It’s fortunate that demons don’t need to sleep.”
Her gaze turned to the demons.
“I’ll educate them. How can those who were once human forget their past and live on?”
The demons began to tremble at her cold gaze.
“Leave it to me. I’ll make them human.”
“...Will you?”
No matter how I looked at them, they were afraid of being looked at, so it seemed that her education was scary.
Strict education? I tilted my head, not being able to imagine her educational methods.
“Yes. I’ll warm up after a long time.”
I hesitated at those words.
And then realized belatedly.
...The fact that Pocalor was also a demon.
***
Pocalor conducted the demons’ education briefly and sharply.
I who was observing along with them, was relieved that the education was not as intense as I had thought, but that was a bit different from the truth.
‘You can’t do this in Beryl’s presence.’
Because she showed her ‘real’ self to those who were receiving ‘additional education’ in my presence.
In short, it meant that the demons who didn’t learn proper etiquette when I was around would have to study the rest of Pocalor’s studies.
Coincidentally, it was my one word that decided their future.
“How about this?”
When Pocalor asked, I would say,
“I think you can raise your teacup a little higher.”
That was because I graded them like that, not graded.
Of course, I had no idea what kind of future my one word would bring.
“Just do that and you’ll pass?”
Thanks to that, I nodded, tilting my head slightly at Pocalor’s words.
“Thank you!”
After a while, I learned why the demons were so excited when they heard those words.
Until they reached the capital where Orobas was, the demons worked hard to pretend to be human.
They stopped by large towns that were quite far away, pretending to be travelers, and memorized several human characteristics.
[Humans get tired and hungry.]
That was the first thing they memorized. In short, they sleep and eat.
[They are sensitive to pain.]
After that, they figured out that they were sensitive to pain because they heal slowly and even small wounds can be fatal.
The last one is crucial.
[There are no humans who use special abilities.]
This was it. Obvious things, but if you don't keep them in mind, you can easily make mistakes.
“Be very careful not to make a mistake. Understood?”
Naberus said to his subordinate knights, imprinting the four characteristics on the minds of the demons.
Many eyes were watching at the Orobas banquet, so it would be difficult to make a mistake like in front of the tailor.
“Understood!”
The demons in front of him answered with their minds sharp.
“Then...”
Ronove, who was watching their preparations coming to an end, stopped mid-sentence.
“...What is the decoration that the lady mentioned?”
Even Ronove, who was most familiar with human culture, was trying to call Beryl to the vision, so the situation was serious.
“...”
He looked around, thinking that it was fortunate that Pocalor had entered the magic vessel.
“I brought it.”
Marbes said quickly. Ronove’s eyes turned to that.
It was a metalwork crafted with great care by Marbes.
‘This will help dilute the dark image that Vine has.’
The visionary said that and told him to take it.
But it wasn’t long ago that he collapsed because of that.
'It's dangerous.'
Of course, His Highness Belled opposed it, but His Highness used a force stronger than a threat.
Without asking twice, he put down the decoration with a regretful face.
'...I will warn Marbes repeatedly.'
This was the first time Ronove had seen someone persuade Belled in this kind of matter. Of course, it was a secret technique that he had no intention of following, nor could he follow.
'Really?'
Only then did the vision smile brightly as if he had no idea what kind of magic he had used.
"Hmm."
Diluting the dark image... Ronove, who had finished reminiscing, simply tilted his head.
It did sparkle when it received light, but he had no idea how it would help.
'I guess I'll know when I get used to humans.'
Ronove thought as he looked at the demons again.
If he, who was somewhat familiar with humans, did not hold the line, Her Highness would have to suffer like the tailor when she came.
And that would be rude to Her Highness who thought of the demons and acted accordingly.
"Then, make sure you don't make a mistake at the banquet hall."
Ronove, who had been talking about the banquet hall as if it were a battlefield, stepped back. However, he could not stop looking at the decoration that Marbes was holding.
How could something with a metal decoration stuck behind a piece of wood really change Vine’s image?
Even if he knew a lot about humans, he couldn’t know.
Of course. How could he see the future?
He couldn’t have known that before Beryl returned, Yubar hosted a banquet and received a great response with decorations using light.
***
The Orobas family.
A family that existed since the early days of the Empire, it was one of the first families mentioned along with Vine when choosing a family with a long history.
It is a family that still has a strong influence in the Empire, and its power has continued to this day.
However, if there was one thing that had changed since the early days of the Empire, it was the disposition of the head of the family.
‘You must always be ready to offer everything you have to God.’
It was a maxim passed down to the head of the Orobas family. However, starting with the grandfather of the current Duke of Orobas, that phrase began to be modified somewhat.
'You must be prepared to offer what you have to the Gods.'
The somewhat timid sentence was drastically changed by the previous Duke of Orobas.
'Sometimes you must be able to offer what you have to the Gods.'
And in this Duke of Orobas, that sentence was completely rejected.
"The temple has more than we have, so why should we offer anything?"
Isn't the usual offering enough? That was the Duke of Orobas's thought.
How many bribes do the priests receive in a year!
Of course, the corruption of the priests was behind this change of mind, but the decline of the Orobas family also played a part. They had been failing in business for several generations, and their finances were gradually becoming problematic.
It seemed like a strange fate that the current Duke of Orobas, who had not believed in God even more than the previous generation, had come to open the family's vision.
[Leave it to the descendants of Orobas.]
The Duke of Orobas narrowed his eyes as he looked at the solemnly written cover of the family's vision.
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