"Meow!"
The next day, early in the morning, Airu woke up from a dream on her bed with a start.
Last night, in a daze, she had a dream.
You should know that the girls of the cat-people race are very sensitive. Any little movement will catch their attentive notice.
So, if we're talking about the most stimulating thing for Airu yesterday... it would naturally be the way Lister carefully took care of her and even defended her in front of Anko.
Because of this, in Airu's dream last night, Lister looked at her with a gentle laugh, caressing her ears and playing with her tail. Then, Airu discovered that under Lister's loose clothing, his chest was so broad and his waistline so alluring...
Ah!! Airu, what are you thinking?!
Putting aside the fact that Lord Lister is human, he is the Demon Lord's man!
If the Demon Lord found out, your cat head wouldn't be safe!
But, but if it's Lord Lister, even if he's human...
No! Restrain yourself!
"..."
Ai, who had already changed clothes, looked at her sister Airu who kept shaking her head as soon as she got up, and couldn't help but show a speechless expression.
"Sister, don't be stupid."
"Eh... eh?! Ai, when did you get here?"
"...I've been here the whole time."
"Oh... then, did you see?"
"Mm, I heard it too. You said it out loud."
"Wah!!"
As if trying to escape reality, Airu buried herself back into the bedding.
"Hey, sis, hurry and get up. It's time to go clean Lord Lister's room."
"Ah, right, Lord Lister..."
Hearing this name, Airu finally reacted. She got out of bed, quickly changed clothes, and stood beside Ai.
"I, I have to go express my sincere gratitude to Lord Lister."
"Mr. Lister is not in his room right now."
"Eh? Then where is he?"
"On the first floor. He was taken away by the Demon Lord early in the morning."
"Boo hoo..."
Airu made a pitiful sound.
"But I think just gratitude might not be enough, sis."
"Hm?"
"Do you remember what Lord Lister fed you last night?"
"Ah, I remember. First it was sweet, then very bitter..."
"That thing is a sacred object (Lister made it up)."
"...?!"
Hearing this term, Airu's entire cat body froze in place, even her swaying tail stopped wagging.
"Sa... sacred object?"
As the name implies, sacred objects are items left behind by gods.
And Lord Lister... actually used an item of that level on herself, who was just a maid?!
This, this, this...
Seeing Airu in this confused state, Ai silently sighed.
Her stupid sister was too easy to understand.
"Sister, are you prepared to dedicate the rest of your life to Lord Lister?"
"Huh? Um... well, if Lord Lister is willing..."
"I can't hear you."
"I, I am willing..."
"With such a small voice, you still want to pledge allegiance?"
"I am willing!"
"Then let's head towards Lord Lister's room!"
"O... okay!"
Airu followed Ai and shouted with vigor.
"And then tell the Demon Lord that sister plans to betray her oath!"
"Eh, eh??!!"
...
In the great hall on the first floor of the castle, a group of monster girls lined up neatly in front of Lister.
And the method Lister said he was best at last night was naturally treatment.
You should know that among most monsters, the concept of family and clan is very important, because it would be difficult to survive in the harsh environment of the demon realm without sticking together.
So, although Lister planned to treat only the people in this castle today, that is, Priscilla's loyal followers, they would go back and tell their relatives about Lister, and their relatives would tell their race, gradually spreading out.
Just like what he did in the border area back then.
Of course, no one knew what the final effect would be, but you had to do it to find out.
Moreover, Lister did not plan to achieve his goal with just this one method. This was just a start... or rather, a relaxing signal he, as a human, first sent out to these monsters who were wary of him.
Don't be nervous, I'm different from other people.
"Next."
After explaining the reason to the arachne in front of him who couldn't produce silk during the molting period, Lister rang the bell to call the next one.
And Anko stood to the side, quietly observing how Lister treated each monster.
He was attentive, calm, gentle, professional, and did not shy away from the varied and distinct forms of the monsters. It seemed that whether it was the arachne's arthropod limbs, the imp's ridiculous wings, or the beastmen's furry limbs and body odor, these forms that were extremely disgusting to other humans were no different in his eyes.
He even... seemed to like them somewhat.
Originally, Anko thought that Lister's composure and calmness when dealing with monsters was him enduring it or getting used to it, so when selecting maids for him, she chose the cat-people sisters Airu and Ai, because their race had the highest similarity to humans.
But now it seemed... he was truly looking at the monsters with a gentle gaze from the bottom of his heart.
Did someone like this really exist? A human like this...
"..."
The next one to come was a dragon soldier wearing armor.
She took off her half-open helmet, revealing the scales and dragon horns on her cheeks.
At the same time, after coming in front of Lister, she unnaturally put her hands behind her back and hid her dragon-featured feet, clearly worried that the noble human in front of her would feel uncomfortable seeing her hands and feet.
"..."
Just like Priscilla back then.
"What's your name? Do you have any discomfort?"
Lister had her sit in front of him and asked gently.
"Um... my, my name is Fallen Scale. Well... recently, I always feel hot under my scales, and sometimes my body also feels hot, like something is going to grow out..."
The voice of the dragon person named Fallen Scale was unexpectedly a bit childish to Lister. But... hot under the scales?
There were many reasons that could cause a dragon person to have a fever. The number one reason should be metabolic disorder, because dragon people have a sac-like heat-producing organ that allows them to breathe out dragon flames at a pressure mark on the trachea above the lungs in their body. At the same time, their well-developed skin-scale dual heat dissipation organs can ensure that their body temperature does not get too high when breathing out dragon flames.
Abnormal functioning of the heat-producing organ caused by metabolic disorders was often one of the main reasons for fever in dragon people. According to Lister's limited case statistics, it accounted for about forty percent.
But if this kind of fever had already spread to under the scales, it would definitely be a very serious situation. It would be impossible to still talk to him calmly like now. This could be ruled out first.
Next was pathogen infection...
"How long has this fever lasted?"
"Um... about a month... two months?"
"Any other symptoms?"
"No..."
"Where do you mainly feel hot under the scales?"
"Arms and waist."
"Okay... then raise your arms and let me see."
"..."
Fallen Scale was clearly shaken when she heard this request, but in the end, she hesitantly took off the armor on her arms and handed them to Lister.
At this moment, her dragon arms covered in scales and with sharp claws were fully visible in front of Lister.
"Mm..."
Seeing Lister carefully examining her arms, Fallen Scale couldn't help but ask:
"De... Demon King..."
"Hm, my name is Lister."
"Then... Lord Lister, do you... not dislike it?"
"Dislike what?"
"My scales and claws... in your eyes, these must look very scary, right?"
"Do you think my expression looks like I dislike it?"
Lister looked up and smiled faintly at Fallen Scale.
"No, no..."
"Right? Then believe your eyes. To me, the characteristics of monsters are not scary. Rather... some are quite charming."
"Eh?"
"Ahem, saying it like this might not be very professional, so let me put it another way."
Lister cleared his throat, then said to Fallen Scale:
"Before I am a human, I am first a doctor; and to me, before you are monsters, you are lives."
"...Doctor?"
Obviously, Fallen Scale, or rather, all the people in this world did not understand the meaning of the word "doctor".
"A so-called doctor is someone who exists to make lives healthier and happier."
"Even monsters?"
"Even monsters."
"...Even if you are... the Demon King?"
Lister looked into Fallen Scale's eyes and smiled.
"Even if I am the Demon King."
...