[Jean's POV?]
"... You two are getting married?"
"We are."
"Naturally."
Sitting in the admittedly breathtaking insides of the Demon Queen's residence, I faced the human I had grown used to seeing almost every day, and his… "wife."
Violet Frun, a Grade 1 Fiend-type Demon with an spectacular body that matched her stunning looks.
… But that's as far as her non-outright negative traits go. She's our enemy.
This bastard is the reason why we are here to begin with. The reason why thousands of innocents are dying everyday, and why entire families are being torn apart… Even as we sit here.
In the comfort of this… place.
"Careful with your hands, Jean. You'll leave some fingernail marks if you keep clenching your fist like that."
I glared at him. The one who spoke. "... Randall. Can we talk outside, privately?"
With a lighthearted acceptance on his end, he got up from his chair, and so did I.
"Ren, there's some exquisite food in the kitchen. Be sure to ask Violet for permission, though."
We walked through the hallway, furnished with all sorts of paintings and weapons, and reached a relatively private area.
"Randall, explain all of this."
"Explain what?"
"... Everything. What the hell happened? Why are you two getting married?"
His demeanor changed slightly, freezing up the air around us just a little bit.
"It's the fastest way to stop the war… For good. Killing her wouldn't have done a thing. And besides, her influence will be useful."
"How… On second thought, nevermind."
Marrying her won't do a thing to prevent us from fighting them, but whatever. He'll probably ignore me if I try to reason with him.
So, I'll just let him crash head-on with a wall. And then work from there.
"... That's it?"
"Mhm. Did you think there'd be another reason?"
"Well, yes."
"A-ah, I see…" he muttered, diverting his gaze away.
… Wait a second. Something is off.
"There was another reason, right?"
"... She's kind of cute…"
… Haaa.
Randall, the only reason I'm not beating you down is because I'm tired.
"What about Hiyoshin? And what about… me?"
"..."
… Should I kill him?
I'm sure no one will mind.
'Wait, no. If I do that, my mission would be a failure. Under no circumstances I can let that happen.'
Still…
"I don't get paid enough for this."
Then again, there's no payment big enough to convince a reasonable person to spend most of their time with a walking time bomb. A hard one to understand, at that.
'Yet, here I am. Still planning to stick with him.'
I guess I'm far from reasonable, then.
He pressed his back against one of the walls. "That's a pity. I'd pay you more, honestly, but…"
"I know, you don't even have a wallet to your name." After saying that, I let out a laugh. A rather dry one.
He didn't seem to be laughing. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Of course," he replied, his face flashing with light for a moment. "Like I said many times, it's nice to have you around."
Only for a shadow to suck the brightness out of him. "... It's good to have someone by your side who can understand you. Even if it's just a bit."
'I still don't fully understand the meaning behind that…'
From the conversations we had so far, I couldn't help but wonder if he had parents… and what was his relationship with them like.
I remember being somewhat curious for a while, but that transformed into genuine intrigue the day he met my dad. That intrigue was increased every time he talked about him in the following days, too.
Every single time, with disbelief, followed by… dryness? He definitely wasn't as cheerful as usual, that's for sure.
And whenever I asked if he was alright, his answer would be a plain, almost hollow "yes."
… One day, I attempted to push the questioning a bit, given that he seemed to be particularly downcast. However, not much came out of it.
"Anyway, Ren and Violet should be waiting for us. I suggest we go back." He stretched his back, and took a few steps.
'It's still stunning to see him address people so casually… Truly, a stranger.'
"Are you coming or not?"
Standing ahead, he tucked both of his hands into the pockets of his new clothes.
A simple, blue jacket with something called a "zipper" in the middle covered his shoulders, along with a pair of… pants. They're a tad more elaborate than just pants, though.
"I… Alright, coming."
Randall hurried back, while I slowly walked through the void-like halls of this place.
Spikes acting as some sort of decoration, while strange sets of furniture held a plethora of… stuff?
I mean, I can tell that the wooden structure resting between the two doors is a cupboard made with dark wood. But why is there a lavender-tinted glass on it??
Like… What's the point?
"Come on Jean, you're falling behind."
… Sighing, I caught up to him. He kept his eyes on me, along with a hand covering his mouth. "Boing."
"What?"
"Pfft, nothing," he said… while suppressing a laugh.
…
Throughout the next few hours, many things happened.
Randall and the Demon Queen planned out the basic details of their wedding, alongside the three human Monarchs.
It's hard to believe.
The Demon Queen attempted to explain, but she stumbled with her words at least once whenever a sentence came out of her mouth. The fact that the two Monarchs interrupted her fairly often did not help much.
Weildener's Monarch, Harnold Portadus, mainly used a barrage of insults. As for Alexander Perfiento, he slammed her with multiple facts regarding the broken state of her country, furthering the Queen's stuttering.
The sight was pitiful.
In the end, Orwell had no choice but to brief them on the entire situation. Only then did they agree to listen.
"It actually sounds like a good plan…"
"Right. If it goes well, we'd finally be able to deal with some concerning issues. Namely, the monsters."
I remember Hiyoshin shuddering after hearing that last part.
Though, in the end, everything went somewhat well.
The five of them managed to agree on a "cease of fire", which would last around a month. In that time, the Queen agreed to hosting the wedding in one of Fegendale's cities while wearing multiple sealing artifacts.
One to seal her Miasma, two to seal her morph, and an extra one for her Ego.
All of that combined with multiple Grade 1 individuals present, in order to ensure she wouldn't try to go back on her word and cause destruction unchecked.
… Seeing her accept that deal so willingly stunned me. Honestly, it slightly altered my perception of her for the better.