“Do you really mean that? You once worshiped the Demon Lord, Elle. You gave him the same love a child does a parent—no, what you held for him was a step above that. You probably felt more betrayed than anything else after learning it was a magic circle, but if the Demon Lord is revived, he will have a real body. Real emotions. And then the Demon Lord might shower you with the love you always longed for.”
Julius’s words crash into me, taking away my breath.
I mean, when he puts it like that, that’s one legitimate outcome… I can’t deny that in the past I loved the Demon Lord and always thought about how I could get him to praise me. I believed the Demon Lord was human and would pat me on the head when I did a good job. I lived under the assumption that he would shower me with kind words. That he would love me.
And that’s why it was such a shock to discover the Demon Lord was really a magic circle all along.
If the Demon Lord is an inanimate magic circle, then he won’t love me, or more than that, he won’t be disappointed, saddened, or angry because of me. He won’t feel or think a single thing about me.
And after seeing the future plotted by the magic circle, I realized that the Demon Lord never thought anything about any of us; it only wanted us to become tools to build a world controlled by magic.
I left my country for that reason.
But say the Demon Lord is revived? The sorcerer who made that magic circle will come back, and when he does, will he…will he pat me on the head and do all the things I’ve longed for? Will he praise me when I do good? Will he get angry if I do something dangerous? And then…
I let my thoughts travel to that point and feel like the things I wished for more than anything else in the past aren’t so great after all.
It just doesn’t sit right with me anymore… After all, I have Elle Village now.
…Julius is here for me now.
He rejoices with me when I’m happy, weeps with me when I am sad, is happy to listen whenever I feel like announcing myself to the room, and eats a meal with me whenever I get hungry. I already have someone special like that in my life.
“Hmph! Julius, don’t start underestimating Elle Village’s grand sorceress mayor Elle! I’ve long since graduated from the Demon Lord. Besides, I want no part of the future envisioned by the magic circle. I’d much rather continue having fun living with everyone in Elle Village!” I make myself very clear, and that finally gets Julius to crack a smile.
“I see. I’m relieved to hear you say that.”
“Hmph! While we’re on the topic, what about you, Julius? You were one of the Four Grand Magi who formerly served the Demon Lord, just as much as I was! Every human in Analia loved the Demon Lord. Will you be okay?” I throw the question right back at him.
“It’s not an issue for me. I have someone…I love much more. So much it appears there’s no room left for the Demon Lord.”
My heart leaps against my chest so hard I cover it with my hand to make sure it didn’t burst out. How could it not ache? He just said he loves someone…
I think back to my favorite scenes in the manga, the scenes where Julius is saved by Aela, absconds from his country, and does everything for her sake…
“…Is the person you love…Aela?” The words spill past my pouting lips.
Crud. I didn’t want to ask him like this… But words can’t be taken back once they’re said.
“Aela? Why would that name of all names come up now?” Julius asks as if she’s the last person he could ever like, his eyebrows raised heavenward.
But I know!
“B-Because you like her…right?” I venture, and it makes Julius release the most exasperated sigh I’ve ever heard. And he’s looking at me like he would an ignoramus!
“Not in a million years. There’s no way I’d fall for a woman I met just the other day.”
“Y-You might think that way now, but you will definitely fall for her once you get to know her better.”
“I will not.”
“You will, too!”
“I won’t.”
“You will!”
I know he will!
“Haa,” he sighs again. “What gave you that impression?”
I have my knowledge from the manga, but there’s also the feeling I got when Julius smiled that one time…
Thinking about his smile makes me say my next words. “B-Because you never smile for anyone outside of Elle Village, and even that is rare, but you were beaming when Aela fixed my arm!”
“Because she healed your injuries!” he shouts back, getting pulled into the heat of the moment with me.
“But it felt like you two were gazing into each other’s eyes for a while. Like this kinda long, loving stare!”
“That’s just your interpretation. Though I was surprised by her unique skill and that may have made me stare for a bit…”
“Aaah! See! I knew it! You were eating her up with your eyes!”
“Eating her up?! Why are you using such a sexual phrase? …Are you possibly…jealous?” Julius asks, wide-eyed. He looks kinda happy.
What? Jealous? Me? Jealous? JEALOUS?!
“I-I have no reason to be jealous! S-S-Save the st-stupid talk for your dreams! Stupid, Jul—” I was about to throw a Yo Mama diss out there, when my face collides with his broad chest.
“Elle.” Julius calls my name in a heartrending voice.
What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on? Why am I being hugged?!
What Laurent said flashes into my mind.
“Please think about how you feel the moment Master does the same thing I did to you. Consider how your feelings differ between me and him.”
How my feelings differ?
Wrapped in Julius’s arms, in his smell, my heart drums a beat and words escape me. He hugs me even tighter.
“I have something to tell you if we succeed in destroying the magic circle tomorrow. Will you hear me out?”
Encompassed in Julius’s strong arms, hearing his sweet whisper near my ear, I finally become aware of my feelings.
No. I was aware of them long ago. But I didn’t want to acknowledge them. Because I thought Julius would eventually fall in love with Aela…
Too embarrassed to speak, I wordlessly nod and nuzzle against his chest.