With his power completely out of control, he’d apparently destroyed himself from the inside out.
According to Barbatos, he was in such a state that they couldn’t have turned him back into a light demon, even with the help of Mira’s power. And upon reaching such a state, a dark demon could be nothing other than a vessel of malevolence. Therefore, his only option had been to put the dark demon down.
“I see… No, I’m sorry. You ended up having to destroy your own friend.”
Judging from the calm and yet sorrowful look in Barbatos’s eyes, it had certainly been a decision that he’d made with a heavy heart.
And so, Wallenstein felt sorry as well. Not just because he knew this, but because Barbatos had had to do it with his own hands. It was as if he’d forced him to kill his own former friend.
“Please don’t worry about it. I deemed it necessary, which is why I did it with my own hands. He was my friend, and so it was only right for me to be the one to do it. Such is the demon way,” Barbatos informed them quietly.
It was a friend’s duty to set another friend straight when they went astray. He added that demons had originally felt very strongly about this.
And yet, this was nothing more than a white lie that Barbatos had come up with on the spot. However, there was an earnest look in his eyes that showed how serious he was.
In any case, the dark demon who’d personally been behind the whole monster-repelling amulet trap was no more.
They got in touch with Liliella and her companions and learned that they’d successfully accomplished their mission as well.
Thanks to Helknae and her sisters, they’d managed to put Etoto’s mother’s worries at ease and persuaded her to properly hear them out.
Currently, they’d successfully brought Marchosias, as well as Etoto and her mother, back to their base, where they were now giving them the grand tour.
“…And just one other thing. There was a message that Bruce wanted to leave for Mira,” Wallenstein added, after finishing explaining to everyone else the situation on the other end. Apparently, Bruce had said that afterward, when Mira and her companions returned to Valhalla to deal with the remaining monster-repelling amulets, he wanted to tag along as well.
The reason was that he wanted to see just what kind of place Helknae and her sisters, who were now his ride-or-die companions, lived in.
“Hrmm, well, they’ll be spending quite a long time together, so I suppose he ought to know that much.”
This was Bruce they were talking about, and so, while at least half of it was probably just curiosity, his justification for wanting to go was undoubtedly sincere.
And at that moment, someone else spoke up.
“I wanna go too!”
Indeed, it was Meilin, who then began babbling about how she wanted to train more with the highly skilled Valkyries.
However, a moment later—when her stomach loudly rumbled, Meilin’s expression changed completely.
And yet, it wasn’t a rumble of hunger, but rather, something closer to impatience.
“Ah, I promised that I’d train with them…!”
Recently, it’d been Meilin’s morning routine to have breakfast together with the Adamses.
What’s more, in exchange for being allowed to stay at the Adamses’, she’d volunteered to train the children of the household.
And yet, if she were to go to Valhalla that day, then she couldn’t make it back by the end of the day, meaning the children would miss out on a day of training.
What’s more, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t trained with them the day before either.
The main thing Meilin felt deep inside now was that she couldn’t very well keep breaking her promise.
And yet, going to Valhalla sounded so awesome, which made her quite conflicted.
“I can take you to Valhalla any time, so go train with the kids first,” Mira said. Seeing Meilin’s hesitation about whether or not to keep her promise and return, she’d felt compelled to reassure Meilin that Valhalla wouldn’t be going anywhere.
And, sure enough, a bright smile flashed across Meilin’s face, and her steps, which seemed to have been weighed down by her conscience, suddenly became light.
“You promise! Okay, geezer? You swear?!” Meilin said, her eyes burning with anticipation.
“Hrm, yes, yes. I promise,” Mira answered with a nod, as if to say that Meilin didn’t need to worry.
“Thank you, thank you!” Meilin said, looking extremely pleased. She then turned her hopeful gaze toward Barbatos. Her eyes glittered brightly and seemed to be saying, “Next time, we’re definitely gonna do some sparring.” This feeling was so clear that anybody could understand it without needing to hear her say a single word.
“S-sure thing. Then, perhaps the next time we meet…” Barbatos found himself saying unconsciously, having seemingly caved to the unspoken pressure Meilin was pouring on him to agree.
“That’s a promise, okay? You swear!” Meilin answered, smiling faintly now that she’d gotten Barbatos’s word. She then started hurrying off before saying, “Ah, Mr. Emo, bye for now. See ya next time!” and departing.
Wallenstein smiled wryly that not much had changed, while Barbatos fretted over whether it’d been a good idea to answer as impulsively as he had.
Meanwhile, Mira simply smiled faintly as she watched Meilin leave, appreciating how she was the type of person who repaid any kindness done to her with interest.
Therefore, so long as you delivered on a promise to her, you could ask considerable favors of her in return.
In short, she could later ask the girl for help testing spells and techniques, gathering materials, and all sorts of other things.
Since Meilin could also fight well on the front lines, Mira’s options grew further.
A very useful ally had dropped right into her lap. Happy about her good luck, Mira smiled and began thinking about what she’d have Meilin help her with next.