Time goes back a bit, a few hours before the start of the tea party. In Isis' castle, in the Land of Death, located in the northern part of the Demon Realm, Polaris, one of the Death King's subordinates, was restlessly checking her appearance in front of a full-length mirror.
[...What do you think, Head-dono? Do my outfit have any wrinkles anywhere?]
[No... How many times do you intend to ask me the same question? Even when you're standing in front of a mirror, that's already the 8th time you asked me that... What in the world is with you? Don't tell me, you're nervous?]
Polaris had been like this all morning, checking her appearance at every opportunity. Iris, who had been watching her, asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Polaris is usually aloof and not the type to get nervous, but for some reason, she seemed to be extremely restless today.
[I'll be frank with you. I'm nervous, and I can't stop my heart from beating faster and my body from shaking.]
[Why is that? This tea party isn't that big, is it? Rather, the one back at the White God Festival is much...]
[No, this time... I will be meeting Kaito-sama.]
[...Why the heck are you so nervous about meeting Miyama Kaito? He's a nice guy.]
When Polaris told her that she's nervous without hiding it, Iris tilted her head a little curiously and asked.
[...Kaito-sama is the one who saved Isis-sama. I respect him, and moreover, I admire him... It would be rude to greet him in a strange outfit, and I'm not in any way comfortable with that.]
[I- I see... W- Well, I don't think you should be that on guard.]
[That's true but...]
Iris sighed with a look of dismay on her face, but even though she understands it within her head, Polaris still looked unsettled. A short distance away from them, Death King's other subordinates, Sirius and Rasal, were exchanging words.
[In the end, you're not going to come huh, Rasal?]
[Idiot, our King had already finished replying to their invitation before I became her subordinate. You shouldn't make the King retract her statement. In the first place, I'm not interested in things like tea parties.]
[I see...]
Rasal had only been a subordinate a few days before, and they can't just tell the people who invited them that they will suddenly have one more person with them at a moment's notice.
No, Isis really could have brought her. And since the organizer of this tea party is Lillywood, who is good friends with Isis, having additional participants wouldn't have been any problem, but Rasal herself was declining it.
Considering the members of the event, she convinced Isis that she shouldn't act in such a way that people would see the Death King owing the World King a debt, so Rasal convinced her that she wouldn't participate.
[However, the problem is that why is she "entrusting things here with me while you're all absent"!?]
[Why are you asking that?]
[Even a sh*tty musclehead like you should have common sense, right? You don't just entrust things to someone who has only been your subordinate for a few days...]
[That's because that's what Isis-sama decided. There's no problem with that. Well, I'm glad you're aware that you're a suspicious being who stinks of corpses.]
[...Ahh?]
[...Huh?]
The two of them immediately looked like they're about to fight again, they glared at each other, but since they were about to leave for a tea party, they couldn't start fighting at this time.
Thereupon, the door to the room opened right after that and Isis entered.
[...Everyone... It's time to go...]
[Isis-sama, may I have a word?]
[...Unnn? ...Rasal... As expected, you also want to go?]
[No, that's not it. It's just, I really think you should reconsider leaving me alone here to take care of things. At the very least, you should apply some sort of Monitor or Restriction Techniques...]
[...Even if something goes wrong... If Rasal is here, it will be alright... Rasal is amazing after all...]
Hearing the words Isis said with a gentle smile, Rasal involuntarily looked up to the skies.
[No, I'm not talking about that. I'm saying you should place some kind of countermeasure against me...]
[...Why... should I take measures against Rasal?]
[...I'm a newcomer who's only been your subordinate for a few days, you know? If you leave me here in the castle, you never know what I might do, right?]
[...Don't worry... I trust... Rasal after all.]
[... No, like I said, I've only been your subordinate for a few days...]
[...While we're not here... we're counting on you to look after the place, okay?]
[...Yes.]
Perhaps infected by Isis' smile, Rasal looked as if she had given up on various things.
In the castle after Isis and the others have departed, Rasal was screaming with her head in her hands.
[What the heck is with her!!!? She may have great power, but isn't she too naive and easy to take advantage of!?]
Not understanding why Isis, who she had become her subordinate for only a few days, but trusted her so completely and entrusted things here in their absence, Rasal looked somewhat irritated.
[In the first place, the precautions in place in this castle are just too light. Indeed, Isis-sama has immense power, and considering the location and environment, it's unlikely that anyone would visit this castle. However, it's also impossible to say that there will never be someone who will break into the castle to steal something when Isis-sama isn't here. That being the case, she should have at least prepared a technique or two for intruders. If there wasn't a chance to use it, that's fine, but at the very least, she should have been prepared.]
The monetary value of the many books in this castle, many of which are forbidden or out of print, is immeasurable. The castle is also home to a variety of other items, many of which are very expensive.
[At the very least, she should be something to detect intruders. Considering the size of this castle, just setting up a magic technique also wouldn't work...]
Rasal, who had been mumbling to herself, suddenly had a look of realization on her face and shook her head.
[...What am I doing, acting like a proper subordinate... The reason why I became her subordinate was just a stopgap measure. I'm not swearing true allegiance to her. I'm here because this place is rich in research materials... This is ridiculous, let's just do more research.]
After muttering this, Rasal tried to head to the large library to conduct research, but her legs won't move easily. With a bitter expression on her face, Rasal was reminded of the conversation she had with Isis a short while ago.
————...I trust... Rasal after all.
Saying this, she recalled the face of Isis, whose smile was as if she really trusted Rasal from the bottom of her heart.
[...Ahh, d*mn it!!!]
After roughly scratching her head on top of her hood, Rasal let out a loud sigh and started walking toward a different direction from the big library.
[...It's the researcher's responsibility to create an environment in which research can be conducted.]
Yes, muttering to herself as if she was making excuses, Rasal walked around as she constructed in her mind a magic technique for guarding Isis' castle.