“I’m gonna be going to the demon realm for a while, so I came by to say hey!”
When Sara showed up with Neigass in tow, Flum had wondered if something was going on. Now that she’d said something like that. Flum couldn’t help but ask her a barrage of questions.
“Wait, even though you only just got back? Are you going by yourself? What did Elune say?”
“I reported it to her, of course. But, uh…we did fight quite a bit.”
“It was kind of like meeting her parents. I never imagined it would go that way.” Neigass rubbed her cheek.
Eterna asked Sara a question this time. “Even so, if it’s been decided you’re going, then that means Neigass was permitted to accompany you. What kind of magic did you use? An older woman in such revealing clothing, saying she was going to take a young girl who was like a daughter to her off somewhere—I’d expect her to refuse point-blank.”
They were harsh words, but also true ones, so Neigass couldn’t retort.
“Uh… We didn’t use any magic. The Holy Saint put in a good word for us.”
“Maria did?” Flum was surprised.
Sara happily recounted what had happened. “Big Sis Maria explained that Neigass has been protecting me all this time. She also said that Neigass has been taking good care of me and watching over me closely, even during the battle in Tokyo. If it weren’t for that, I don’t think Elune would’ve ever allowed it.”
Elune must have been quite depressed after losing Ed, Johnny, and even Sara. Furthermore, the church in the Central District had been damaged by the Children and Mother, killing her fellow nuns. And then Sara had safely returned home, healing a portion of Elune’s wounded heart. It would’ve been impossible for Elune to treat Neigass harshly after hearing how she had saved Sara from danger and kept her safe. Despite Neigass’s suspicious appearance, if Maria had given Neigass her seal of approval and vouched for her being a reliable person, Elune would have no choice but to entrust Neigass with Sara.
Of course, she must still have had some mixed feelings about the whole thing. And there was one other person who couldn’t sincerely rejoice at the news, either.
“That means I won’t be able to see you anymore, Sara,” Ink said sadly.
“It’s not forever!” Sara hurriedly added. “I plan to come back in about a week.”
“Huh? Really?”
“When I come back, let’s play!”
“Yeah, yeah! Let’s play!” The two of them seemed to have overcome the eyeball incident and become even closer friends than before.
“Besides, considering the position the demons are in, it’s not like I can just keep her with me all the time.”
“Have you talked to Satuhkie about this?”
“Yes, I made sure to have a proper talk with him. In fact, Satuhkie and Henriette provided a good pretext to have my little Sara work with me. They said she would deliver an important correspondence to the Demon Lord, serving as an envoy to deepen relationships with the demons.”
“I can understand Henriette, but even Satuhkie was on board with this idea? Huh.”
“He has a soft side to him.”
Eterna gazed into the distance. She must have been thinking about the time she bowed her head to him and asked him to protect Ink.
“Hmm… I’m not sure I fully understand yet.”
“Is something bothering you, Milkit?”
“Sara, are you going to the demon realm so you can be with Neigass the whole time?”
Sara’s cheeks went red when Milkit stated her true purpose so clearly.
“W-well, there is that, yes…”
Neigass’s eyes shone, creased with happiness, on seeing the expression on Sara’s face. After savoring the moment, she spoke up honestly, without trying to hide anything.
“My little Sara said she wanted to be with me—but she also wants to stay in the royal capital, live with Maria and Elune, and help a lot of people. As for me, as the Demon Lord’s adjunct, I can’t very well stay away from the demon realm forever. So we decided to go to the demon realm first to discuss how we could spend as much time together as possible in the future.”
“You’re thinking about the future more seriously than I thought you’d be.”
“Meeting the parents and discussing the future… Sara, are you…going to marry Neigass?”
“Big Sis Flum, you’re being too hasty! Don’t you think so, Neigass?!”
“Demons have no age-related restrictions or anything like that. Once we stop growing, we’re considered adults and can get married.”
“I’m still growing, though!”
“But you do love each other.”
Sara blushed bright red and froze at Milkit’s blunt remark. “Um… W-Well, yes, that’s true… Big Sis Milkit, you really say things straight out, don’t you?”
“Because the same goes for me and Master.” Milkit had a happy smile on her face as she said that. This time, it was Flum who went bright red. For some reason, even Eterna looked embarrassed.