'I don't really like alcohol, but I wouldn't mind getting drunk for today…'
Suddenly, the door to the balcony upon which Tom was seated burst open, with a single girl jumping forward.
"Huuuh?! What do you mean? Her Highness Lily is at this place?! Wake me up earlier then!"
"Pffft?!"
Tom spat out the mouthful of beer in a classic spit-take. He coughed as he looked forward. The girl with pitch black hair and eyes, Ellin, had come out onto the balcony and now held onto the guardrail as she leaned precariously over the edge. When she noticed Lily passing by, she waved her hand excitedly.
"I-it's true! It's Miss Lily! Miss Lily~!"
A group of Orcs quickly rushed out onto the balcony and restrained her.
"Oi! This is why I told you not to tell her!"
"But, what if she made another scene because we didn't say anything?"
"Ellin! Don't act so rash! Keep your composure! The Demon Lord is in procession!"
Tom's eye muscles began to twitch.
Lily, who was proceeding on the wagon, heard a familiar voice and turned her head. Her face brightened as she noticed Ellin waving her hand excitedly upon a second floor balcony.
"Ellin!?"
As she instinctively tried to raise her hand to wave back, she stopped herself and lowered her head. The demons out on the street turned to Ellin, only to focus back onto the Demon Lord. Lily grew red, out of embarrassment, and waved her hand much more timidly. As this happened, Lily noticed a man sitting a little distance away from Ellin: A demi-human in a unique attire, with leaves and hides all over his body.
Lily saw him and tilted her head in confusion. She couldn't see the details of his face due to the hood, but his eyes were glowing with an unusually bright light within the darkness.
'I think I recognize him…?'
"Aaah! Miss Lily! It's Miss Lily! I'm going to go down right now to meet her!"
When Ellin tried to step upon the railing to jump down, the Orcs held her back.
"Oi! Don't jump down!"
"Ellin, compose yourself! Y-you're too excited!"
"Why is she so strong for a doppleganger?! Isn't she too relaxed because there's no other apostles here?!"
"No! Let me go! I'm going to meet Miss Lily! Damn it! Let me go! Miss Lily is passing by!"
"At the very least take a normal route! Don't just leap down from the rooftops!"
The Orcs were struggling to stop Ellin. Within that commotion, a dignified voice cut between them.
"Just what are you guys doing?"
The Orcs and Ellin froze, then shrank back. Their collective heads turned to the new Orc that had just arrived upon the balcony. This Orc emitted a far more intimidating presence than the others. He was two meters in height, and had a bulky frame consisting of almost pure muscle. He was covered entirely with heavy armor and wore a massive mace behind his back. This Orc glared menacingly at the group, while revealing a canine jutting out from his lower lip.
Ellin saw him and froze immediately. She lowered her leg from the railing carefully and immediately grew tense while changing to a more militant posture. It wasn't just Ellin, but the Orcs as well.
"…C-commander Karakul."
"Ellin, I heard you returned yesterday. But, I heard you didn't seek me out and instead chose to stay the night here."
She stood at attention and spoke rigidly, full of tension.
"T-that is… I tried to make my report, b-but I wanted to rest a bit as well… Also, these guys… wanted to play…"
Ellin sneakily raised her finger toward the Orcs. The Orcs seeing Ellin do this watched her, slack jawed.
'We're fucked!'
'How could you betray us?!'
In reality, she was telling the truth.The Orcs had asked her to join them for some leisure as soon as they saw her. Karakul had taken in Ellin and raised her, so naturally the other Orcs were close to her as well. Thanks to that, despite Karakul's methods of education, her personality had grown more similar to the free and wild Orcs. It was due to their influence that Ellin had become how she was today.
"Is that an excuse?"
When Karakul looked at her with cold eyes, Ellin jumped in surprise and spoke apologetically.
"I-I'm sorry."
"… Resting is fine, but It would have been better after a report."
Ellin could only hang her head in silence.
"I've heard you left Demon Kingdom and went to a human region called the Golden Fief."
"H-how did you know…?!"
Ellin was baffled.
"I have ears as well, but I want to hear more. What happened there? More importantly, who did you meet and leave behind? Tell me everything."
Ellin tilted her head, puzzled. Out of everything, she didn't understand why he was asking about the people she met and left behind. At most, they were humans she would never meet again. However, she couldn't refuse, so she simply nodded.
Karakul turned to the Orcs.
"T-that is… Captain, we just wanted to play with Ellin."
"It was just a simple card game! A game that humans often play…!"
"…I'll have a personal talk with you two at another time."
The shoulders of the Orcs slumped lifelessly. As Karakul turned around to leave, he could feel someone's gaze on him, so he turned around to see if he could find the perpetrator. It had been bothering him all this time that someone had been sneaking a peek at them for a while.
As Tom watched them, their eyes met.
"…A-ah… M-mas…"
Karakul's eyes grew wide as he instinctively tried to kneel down and lower his head before he stopped himself in surprise. Ellin and the other Orcs were in the vicinity. The figure he had formally dedicated himself to was the 'Demon Lord', not Tom, who was sitting before his eyes.
'… Just why is he here?!'
Cold sweat began to form upon his brow as he couldn't decide what to do.
'Should I greet him? Or ignore him completely?'
As Karakul was in an awkward posture in the middle of trying to kneel, Ellin and the Orcs were watching him strangely.
"… No, it's nothing. Ahem… Hm…"
Karakul faked a cough and looked at them imposingly. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly to clear the awkward mood.
"Ellin!"
"Y-yes?"
"… Get ready immediately. You'll protect the Demon Lord."
Ellin's face grew bright at the thought of being able to meet Lily again.
"I understand!"
Ellin quickly leapt off the balcony. Karakul watched her before turning to the remaining Orcs.
"Both of you, follow Ellin. If you don't want to die that is…"
Karakul's cheeks twitched as if he was forcibly holding back his anger. The Orcs paled at the sight and hurriedly left the scene. They knew if they didn't leave immediately, they would certainly be pummeled to death.
With the Orcs gone, there was no one left on the balcony other than Tom and Karakul, who was now standing stiffly in place. Karakul checked that there was no one else in the bar before looking back toward Tom. Seeing that, Tom waved his hind and smiled back.
"It's been a while, Karakul."
"… I greet you, Master."
Finally, he could lower his head and pay his proper respect.
— Ω —