After Kuromueina finished talking with her, Shalltear put on a mask she
had taken out of nowhere and followed Kuromueina's lead.
After hearing what happened from Kuromueina, Ein and the others
became less cautious to some extent, and Shalltear was brought into the
house where Kuromueina and the others were staying.
[Well~~ I apologize for the trouble I caused earlier. I'm sorry. Well, in
my defense, your side was the first one to direct your killing intent
towards me… though I guess let's just let bygones be bygones and say
that both sides are at fault. I've already let the matter go. Ahh, excuse
me, cake refills please!]
Dumbfounded… They stared at Shalltear with such an expression on
their faces as she stuffed her face with one cake after another. Seeing
Shalltear being so relaxed at their home, making it hard to believe that
they had killed each other just a few minutes ago, they didn't know
what to do with her.
Kuromueina, the one they could consult what to do about, looks like she
had experienced something shocking though, as she had shrunk in a
corner of the room, muttering about her "having great sense" or
something.
[Once again, my name is Shalltear. I will be in your care… Ah, I don't
want the care of that gorilla over there though.]
[Ahh?]
[I mean, what the heck is with that vulgar gorilla… A pet? He's a pet,
right? Kuro-san, I can understand if you want to keep that hundred-feet
lizard as a pet, but keeping gorillas isn't a thing anywhere, you know…
Where the heck could you find anyone who would want to keep a
gorilla as a pet…]
"L- Lizard?"
It seems that Shalltear is aware that Megiddo is the one who directed
his killing intent towards her, as she speaks to Megiddo in a very sharp
manner.
Of course, the short-tempered Megiddo almost boils over immediately,
but he is aware that he is the cause of this problem, so he stifles his
anger and responds.
[Y- You b*stard, just because I'm silently listening, you're yapping all
you want… Listen here, my name is…]
[Ahh~~ No, it's alright. I'm not interested. It's probably just some
stupid name like Gorilla Gorilla or Gorilion, right?]
[Ahh? You wanna fight, midget!?]
However, the hot-blooded Megiddo could only hold himself back once.
However, Shalltear's eyebrows twitched when she heard Megiddo call
her midget.
[Ahh? Oi, barbarian swine. What did you just say?]
[I said, you wanna fight!? Midget!!!]
[…You've said it twice huh? Fight? Yeah, if you want to fight, I'll give you
a fight, you freaking muscle daruma. Reluctant I may be, I guess I'll
discipline Kuro-san's pet in her stead huh?]
[…Bring it on!]
Both Megiddo and Shalltear stood up from their chairs at the same
time. Megiddo and Shalltear then closed the distance and was about to
begin fighting, Megiddo with his fists and Shalltear with her knives…
but before their strikes could reach the other person, both of their
heads were smacked by Kuromueina.
[Gyaaahhhh!?]
[Guoooohhh!?]
[…No fighting.]
[ [… I- I'm sorry. ] ]
Hearing Kuromueina's calm words, Megiddo and Shalltear obediently
retreated to their sides.
After that, both of them looked a little uncomfortable… but after a few
moments, Shalltear spoke.
[…Y- Your name?]
[Ahhn?]
[Your name, I said. Name. I'll remember it for Kuro-san's sake, so tell me
your name.]
[…It's Megiddo.]
[Megiddo-san then.]
[And you're Shalltear, right? You're from another world?]
[Yeah.]
With Kuromueina's mediation, the two have a somewhat awkward
conversation… but even though it was a little, their quarrel brought
them a bit closer…
[…Is that why you're dressed so weirdly?]
[…Huh? Weird? Which part of me is weird?]
[No, I can understand how your clothing is different, but what I'm
talking about is that mask… Do people from another world dress
strangely like you?]
[Haahhh~~ For you to not understand how cool my get-up is, you're
really no good, aren't you? Well, I guess I shouldn't expect any aesthetic
sense from a musclehead like Megiddo-san huh?]
[…Ahh?]
A tense atmosphere flowed between the two again. Shalltear, who
speaks in a way that agitates others, and Megiddo, who says exactly
what he thinks… They're completely incompatible with each other.
Moreover, Megiddo is easily provoked, so in a sense, it's inevitable that
a fight will develop between them.
[No, no, you don't have to worry about it. Different outfits suit different
people. I think something like hide skirts or cudgels suit Megiddo-san,
you know? It stupidly suits you well.]
[…Ahh, I see. I guess a wacko like you would know if such strange
outfits would suit someone huh…]
[Hahaha, Megiddo-san is quite funny, aren't you~~]
[You're also a pretty great fellow…]
Both of them are smiling, but their eyes aren't smiling at all.
[Ahahaha…]
[Fuhahaha!]
[ [ I'll freaking kill you!!! ] ]
[…You both want to get hit again?]
When Megiddo and Shalltear heard that silent, but clear mutter… The
both of them immediately stopped moving, and after Megiddo
transformed into a human form, the both of them firmly shook hands
with each other.
[Well~~ It seems like Megiddo-san will get along with each other. I will
be in your care from now on.]
[Yeah. I've never seen someone as interesting as Shalltear before. I
know I'll learn a lot around you.]
The two shook hands so firmly that their grips would have been strong
enough to crush a lump of iron to pieces… and they did such a thing
with smiles on their faces.
Seeing the two of them, Kuromueina nodded her head in satisfaction
before speaking.
[Yes, that's great. Shalltear is going to be part of our family now, so we
should get along well.]
[…Wha!? I- Is that how it is?]
[No, to be honest, this is also the first time I've heard of this. I wonder
where she got that idea from? How strange… Well, whatever!]
[You're too easygoing, oi. You stupid or what?]
[I don't have anywhere to go after all~~ Even though I don't feel like
having a pet gorilla, it looks like I will have fun around here.]
As sparks flew between Megiddo and Shalltear again, the both of them
talked to each other with a bright smile on their faces.
[Ohh, that's right! Shalltear, after we eat… how about we go for a walk
to deepen our friendship?]
[Ahh~~ That sounds great. Let's go somewhere together! I'd like to go
somewhere as wide and empty as possible though.]
[Ohh, leave it to me! I'm familiar with this area after all… I know a good
place "where you can crush trash as much as you want"!]
[That's very helpful~~ I'm not familiar with the geography regarding
this area… so it saves me the trouble of "having to look for a place to
bury a gorilla's corpse".]
From a distance, they looked like close friends laughing with each
other… but in fact, it was as if Hannyas were materializing behind their
backs. Ein and the others were aware of this too, and even though they
had a dumbfounded look on their faces, only Kuromueina looked
satisfied, mistakenly thinking that the two of them had really become
friends.
"…It seems like another person with a thick character joined the family
huh."
"Yes, my head hurts just thinking about the future."
[…I'm glad… that the family increased… Ahh… Ein… tea please…]
[And you're also going at your own pace huh. Yes, here you go.]
[…Thank you.]
And like that, an eccentric girl from another world… Shalltear joins
Kuromueina's family.
Thanks to her advanced combat techniques, the fighting ability of the
Six Kings as a group later improved but… other than that, with her
appearance, the nature of the Demon Realm itself was about to undergo
a major change.