Chapter 8:
Creature Comforts
“HOW ABOUT THIS?!” Vivi called.
Ejil quietly watched Noela from the bushes. The werewolf girl was in the middle of putting together one of the tents Reiji and the town’s artisans had created, and her coworker was helping her stabilize the tent.
“Stake there!”
“You got it! What about this part?”
“Stake!”
“Aye, aye!”
Mikoto, a girl from town, was also there, helping secure the tent according to Noela’s orders. Both Noela and Vivi had the day off, so along with Mikoto, they’d decided to set up a small day camp beside the river. Elaine had wanted to join them, but her father—the lord of the area—hadn’t let her, much to her sadness.
“If the doctor was so curious, he should’ve come as well,” Ejil whispered to himself.
Although he was fine with the girls’ plan overall, Reiji was concerned for their safety, so he had asked Ejil to watch over them in secret. “I’m sure they’ll be okay,” he’d told Ejil, “but just to be safe, could you check on them?”
“Certainly. I’ll quietly stalk—er, observe them from the shadows.” Ejil had already felt listless due to Noela’s absence, so he couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.
“This might seem odd coming from me, Doctor,” Ejil had added, “but if you’re so worried, why not come along yourself?”
“It just wouldn’t be right,” Reiji responded. “The girls want to kick back together, so I should leave them alone.”
“I see… That’s your thinking?”
“It might not make sense to you, but yeah. So, you better not get caught, got it?”
Thus, at Reiji’s request, Ejil secretly followed the girls.
“Hee hee! I’ll never be caught! If I put my mind to concealing myself, there’s no way three little girls will notice my presence! Ga ha ha ha!” It didn’t take the demon king long to begin cackling in the bushes.
“Arroo?”
“Ack!” he cried, hastily covering his mouth in a panic.
“What’s up?” Vivi asked Noela.
The werewolf girl looked in the direction of the sound. “Heard weird voice.”
“Did you hear anything, Miko?”
“Not a thing.” Mikoto shook her head.
Noela narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Continuing his surveillance, Ejil cackled again. “Hee hee! Normally, Noela would sniff me out. But the river apparently affects her sharp sense of smell!”
“Garroorooo! Tent finished!”
“That was easier than I expected!” Vivi exclaimed.
Assembling the tent took the girls less than ten minutes. The three entered the structure quickly, cheering.
“So that’s the tent the whole town united to design, eh? The doctor certainly came up with something fascinating!” Ejil noted. “I’ll have to do some negotiating to see whether the demon army can use it.”
The demon king desperately wanted tents of his own. A small room that provided cover from rain and could be rebuilt anywhere was terribly tempting. To him, it was a massive deal that the invention was waterproof; that alone would keep his soldiers energized and strong. The fact that tents could shelter his men from the wind was an added—and much appreciated—bonus. Reiji’s team of artisans had even gone to pains to make the water-repellent tents from materials that were easy to carry.
“Tents will be a must-have when we make troops sleep outside,” Ejil muttered. “Now, what’re those girls up to? They’ve yet to come back out…”
Were they napping, perhaps? Ejil snuck closer, which allowed him to eavesdrop on the young women.
“Hey, Noela, is there anyone you’re, like, into?” Mikoto asked.
“Garoo? ‘Into’?”
“I-I wondered the same thing…”
Anyone Noela’s into…? Ejil focused his ears on the tent.
“What ‘into’?”
“Aw…for real? You know, right, Vivi?”
“Y-yeah! Come on, Noela. Miko wants to know if there’s somebody you l-like.”
The conversation was oddly stilted; Vivi and Mikoto clearly felt a bit embarrassed and shy about raising the subject.
“D-don’t tell me my name will come up…?!” Ejil gasped…but it didn’t.
“Definitely Master!” Noela announced.
“I figured. I could never beat the doctor.” The demon king slumped his shoulders.
Then, however, Mikoto continued. “No, no. Not like that.”
“Groo?”
“That’s not how you’re ‘into’ the drugstore owner.”
“That not…?”
“Liking someone is simple. But Miko’s question is a bit different,” Vivi chimed in.
“Noela like Master,” the werewolf insisted.
Ejil was deathly jealous. He was practically turning green with envy.
“Anyone Mikoto into?” Noela asked then.
“Er— Wha…? Um, no. No one.”
“Groo?” Noela seemed doubtful.
“You’re totally interested in somebody, Miko,” Vivi agreed. “Come on. Spill the beans!”
“Th-there’s no one I’m into! Jeez!”
As the three girls chattered loudly in the tent, Ejil finally realized that what Reiji had said was true. “So, Doctor, this is what you meant about the girls ‘kicking back’ together. They would never discuss these things if they knew either of us were here right now,” the demon king observed. “Your observational skills are second to none!”
Ejil felt that hiding was worthwhile if he got to overhear these kinds of conversations. Still, he wondered whether the girls intended to spend the whole day trip in the tent. As he grew curious, the three emerged.
“Build fire.”
“Got it!”
The girls dispersed to collect firewood.
“Noela only brought that tent and some food. Can she really make a fire?” Ejil watched, concerned.
“Vivi! Make flame.”
“What? I’m not able to.”
“Mikoto! Make flame.”
“I didn’t bring a flint or fire life stone!”
Ejil could have just started a fire with a spell, but none of the girls knew how to use magic.
“I suppose I’ll have to pretend to pass by, then help her out,” Ejil told himself. At that point, however, the demon king remembered the bag Reiji had him bring. He dug through it until he found what he was looking for: Hell Flame, a Kirio Drugs product that was a must-have in the girls’ situation. Reiji had also packed a fire life stone—a cheap magic stone that produced flames when magical energy ran through it.
Ejil trembled at his employer’s skillful guesswork. “Is the doctor clairvoyant or something?!”
Meanwhile, the three girls gathered in front of their firewood, the atmosphere decidedly bleak.
“Can’t heat dried meat,” Noela said sadly.
“How do you even start a fire?” Vivi wondered. “Sorry. I wish I could help more.” Hearing the lake spirit give herself a hard time briefly caused Ejil to reflect on how annoying she could be.