When Gallarus understood that no matter what he said, he wasn’t reaching Shuutarou, his fists fell limply by his side as a pained expression briefly appeared on his face.
“What’s going on here?!”
Having heard something, the other Overlords came over to investigate and were shocked to find the door to their master’s room destroyed. Gallarus was treated to furious glares, which he ignored. He walked out of the room without saying a word.
“Wait!” shouted Vampy. “Are you not going to explain what transpired here?”
She sounded as if she wanted to murder him on the spot.
Gallarus looked at the others coolly. “I’m off to guard duty,” he announced before leaving.
Shuutarou stayed silent. The Overlords looked at him with concern.
“Master… Did he say something to you?” asked Vampy.
Shuutarou didn’t speak.
“I’ll head out for a bit,” said Bertrand, who proceeded to follow Gallarus.
When Elroad placed his hand on what was left of the door, it began to reassemble itself.
“Let’s leave Master to get some rest,” said Vampy.
Elroad recast Calm Mind on Shuutarou.
“Please do try to get some sleep,” he told his master before leaving the room with Vampy.
Are we powerless to help him…? Vampy wondered.
She stopped outside Shuutarou’s room, wishing he’d come out as usual to greet her with a smile. It felt as if it’d been years since she’d last seen him like that.
“Master…”
She could force herself into his room, but she wouldn’t dream of doing that.
I’ve tried to be a loyal vassal, but that wasn’t what Master truly needed. What he needed were beings who were equal to him, unbound by hierarchy and obligations.
She pressed her back against his door and sank down to the ground. Taking some comfort from sensing him behind her, she recalled her treasured memories—of Shuutarou breathing life into her Realm of Death, of him gently holding her hand, of him teaching her the meaning of life.
“Let me give you succor as you have once given me…”
She pulled her knees to her face. In that moment, she wasn’t the Queen of the Dead, and she wasn’t an Evil Overlord—she was just a very lonely girl.
Shuutarou had forgiven her even for trying to kill him, which she’d attempted in order to end her own existence. He was now suffering terribly, and she didn’t dare knock down the door separating them.
The Third Evil Overlord’s words played back in her mind.
“We weren’t the source of his inner strength, were we? It was this girl and those other players.”
She was about to question what a man who’d risen to power through brute force alone would know about inner strength, but she stopped herself.
“He was right for once…”
She and the other Overlords were physically close to their master, together with him in their castle, but they couldn’t reach through to him, and that caused Vampy unbearable anguish.
For a while, she sat there with her back against the door, battling with self-hatred. Then she looked down at Punio, which had also come to wait by its master’s door.
“You…you feel the same, don’t you?”
No matter their rank or race, they all loved their master.
Vampy picked up Punio into her arms, cuddled it, and then gently set the slime down by the door.
If I hadn’t met Master, I wouldn’t even be able to touch another being. He has changed me, and I can change even more if I work at it. I will become someone who can offer Master emotional support, too.
She walked away with renewed determination.
Down on the floor by the door, Punio jiggled in the spot she’d left it. And then it flattened itself out and squeezed through the gap under the door.
“Wait up, big guy!”
Bertrand finally caught up to Gallarus in the vestibule leading outside the dungeon. Gallarus stopped before the circle of white light and slowly turned around.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Bertrand leaned against the wall. “I’d like to offer a little advice to a certain overearnest giant.”
Gallarus folded his arms, looking grumpy. Rings of tobacco smoke spread out from Bertrand’s cigarette.
“Guarding a city—isn’t that too easy for you? How would you feel about spicing it up by helping people out as well?”
“Hmph. Why should I help anyone other than Master?”
“What if I told you it would benefit Master, too?”
Gallarus didn’t reply, but Bertrand took that to mean the giant was willing to listen.
“I think you need to learn more about humans. About the people who come from the same land as our master. It might help you understand him better.”
“…Are you putting Master in the same category as that riffraff?”
“You’re bitter that Master values that ‘riffraff’ more than you, eh?” Bertrand said, laughing mockingly.
Gallarus turned away from him and took a step toward the white light.
“I cannot possibly understand humans,” he said before disappearing.
Bertrand’s thoughts turned to the Second Evil Overlord, Vampy, but he decided to leave her to her own devices. He, too, headed to his assigned town.
Meanwhile, Vampy was watching the exit from the floating island, waiting for her partner. When Theodore finally appeared, she welcomed him with a glare.
“…You took your time,” she told him.
“Apologies. I had preparations to make.”
“Let’s go already.”
After their brief exchange, they started walking together.
Putting on a disinterested tone, Vampy asked, “Why do you think Number Four didn’t come back?”
She shot a furtive look up at the stoic knight. She had guessed that Elroad hadn’t really ordered Sylvia to keep searching for Kettle, and she could tell Theodore was also thinking that was a lie.
“It was probably her own decision.”
“She didn’t return even though Master is in such a precarious state?”
“His state is one of the reasons she decided to continue the search…but she’s not doing it for Master.”
“What?” A crease appeared on Vampy’s brow. “Who is she doing it for if not him?”
“For the young miss, Kettle.” Without slowing down his steps, Theodore continued, “For the brief time we spent among the humans, Kettle and the other party members treated us as allies—no, friends. Sylvia is extremely loyal. I suspect that to her, Kettle isn’t merely a friend of our master. The girl is like family to her.”
“What…? How…?” Vampy stopped in her tracks. “It’s…too easy for some…”
“Indeed.”