Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Seran was walking through the streets of the Holy Kingdom. His expression was grave like something was weighing on his mind.

“Why are the cities of you humans always so cramped?”

The reason for his headache was the demon walking next to him—Yuriga. Of course, the voice most definitely belonged to Yuriga, but as she wore a hood, paired with a cloth covering her mouth, she looked like a regular human woman. It even hid her demon horn. But this was only possible because the clothes she wore were a magic item made to conceal her identity. This new face of hers, created by magic, showed barely any change in expression. The cloth hiding her mouth helped conceal the fact that nothing would happen even if she talked. But amidst this crowd, nobody even gave Yuriga and Seran much attention, so it worked all out in the end.

“Now I don’t know what the big cities over at your place are, but this much is nothing out of the ordinary over here,” said Lieze, who was walking behind the two.

“I knew that there are a lot of humans around and about, but do you have to stick together like glue?”

“Personally, I’m a bit curious about what your towns look like, Yuriga.”

“Why am I even here…”

Seran listened to their conversation which didn’t interest him one bit and aggressively scratched his head as he sighed. He managed to return all letters from Luiza thanks to the support of Yuriga, and yet he was dragged out by those two without a break. Of course, there was a particular reason for that.

“A souvenir for the Demon Lord, huh… What should I even buy for her?”

This was the biggest reason for his current headache.

“Maybe you should ask somebody else. Someone who isn’t me, of course…”

It made sense that Yuriga wanted to buy a souvenir for her master Luiza. However, having Seran choose this very souvenir made no sense to him.

“No, it has to be you, Seran! How do you not get that?!” Lieze roared in anger.

Seran perfectly understood why it had to be him, but that made things worse. He didn’t even understand why he was put into this cruel fate, or why the Demon Luiza of all people took an interest in him. That said, as a fundamental problem, Seran didn’t know how to even act around the Demon Lord. And yet, Lieze was somehow absolutely supportive of this relationship.

I mean, she’s definitely a beauty…But we’re still talking about the Demon Lord of all demons. I mean, her personality may not be all too different from that of a human, and I can prioritize the good looks over everything but…No, that’s not the problem here!

Seran was constantly busy losing himself in his own thoughts. Since he knew how troublesome this would become, Seran wished to just push this onto Kyle or Lieze instead. However, Yuriga forced this duty onto him instead, and since he owed her one, his hands were tied.

“It’s important that you choose. Because…Luiza-sama has high expectations.” Yuriga gave Seran a complicated look.

To nobody’s surprise, she wasn’t exactly in much favor of her master getting all close to a human. Especially so, if other demons learned of this fact, as it would tarnish Luiza’s name. But even more than that, she wished to grant her master’s wish.

“That’s right, you have to carefully choose…Because she’ll be happy to get something from the man she likes,” Lieze said while her mind wandered to the charm she had received from Kyle.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it already. But I can’t think of anything myself, so you at least give me some support over here.” Seran raised his hands in defeat, as the two girls looked at each other in thought.

“Yeah, choosing is crucial here. An accessory would probably be the least best template, but as a first present, it’s a bit too boring. Especially so if you just bought something random off the stalls here.”

Lieze crossed her arms and brooded over it, considering they were dealing with the actual Demon Lord.

“Luiza-sama isn’t particularly picky about accessories and the like. So don’t worry about the price.”

“But that opens up the possible options even more…Is there something she’s particularly fond of?”

“I’ve been serving her for a long time, but I cannot think of anything.”

Both Yuriga and Lieze were still pondering. Watching that, Seran realized this would drag out even more, and considered running away at the first chance he’d get. But while doing so, he remembered something about Luiza.

“That reminds me… She said for me to get some hobby.”

Naturally, the hobbies Seran had weren’t exactly qualified to be hobbies. It was more about fighting and killing. Seran looked around him, where he spotted a souvenir shop that was fully equipped with pictures of this country’s Holy Ruler.

“That old man over there sure ain’t popular.”

If anybody else heard these words from him, Seran may have received a harsh punishment, but since Seran saw the man in person, he couldn’t swallow his impression. But it helped him otherwise.

“Oh yeah, I think I may have come up with something,” he said to the two girls behind him.

***

To the east of the demon territory, rather close to humanfolk territory, was a large lake. The island in the center of his inhabited the manor of the one governing all demons…Demon Lord Luiza. Normally, she would reside in the Demon Lord’s castle in the dead center of the whole territory, but she frequented this small island as of late. The reason she remained here most of the time was so that she could give orders and receive reports from the demons within humanfolk territory. In fact, she mostly only decided the direction of the army’s movement, but she left the local high-ranking demons to their own accord in the various areas. Of course, she had the influence to control every last aspect, but she was the leisurely type of ruler, which gave her more than enough time for other things.

“I have returned, Luiza-sama.”

“So you’re back…”

Luiza was resting on the throne in a less listless way compared to usual when Yuriga arrived. The trained eye could tell, that Luiza even leaned forward on her throne. She had always been disinterested in most things before, but that changed after Kyle and the others were over. Needless to say, even Yuriga caught on to this. Albeit, she wasn’t sure if this was really for the better or not. Even so, she was happy to see her Master being more energetic compared to before.

“I have reported the status of the new armor to the human Kyle…”

“Yes, of course. I will hear all the details later. But more importantly…” Luiza’s gaze wandered to the small bag Yuriga carried. “Could that be… you know…”

She spoke in a casual tone like she didn’t hold much interest, but her fingers were restlessly tapping on the throne, so her true feelings were more than obvious.

“Yes. I have brought the letters from him, as well as his souvenir.”

“I see…I see…Then let me see them.”

Luiza knew she shouldn’t get all too excited, but she struggled to contain this excitement. Especially since the only person present, Yuriga, knew exactly that this was all just an act. Luiza decided she would read the letters later, and instead focused on the bag with the souvenir. As she wanted to learn more about human culture, she would often have various objects delivered, and she even read a few of humanfolk’s romantic works. As a lot of them declared that a classic souvenir would be a ring, a necklace, or anything of the accessory sort, this is what she expected.

“…What even is this?”

Met with an unexpected object, she furrowed one brow as question marks appeared above her head. Inside the bag was a greenish pot, the inside filled with soil. And covered inside the soil was a small seed.

“It’s a plant called Homiro. It seems like those humans like to care and raise them…”

A Homiro was a plant that, if cared for properly, grew vibrant flowers. Since they could grow inside, paired with them helping against sickness, they were some of the most common flowers of humanfolk.

“Grow? What good would that do? Are they edible?”

“I tried to ask those questions myself, but he said to…simply watch.”

“But this plant doesn’t move, right? How am I supposed to watch…?” Luiza was only getting more confused as time went on.

Demons could never appreciate the beauty of flowers, so she was at a complete loss. Yuriga shared this sentiment, asking for Seran’s intentions, but Lieze just said “Wow, that’s one caring choice I didn’t expect from you, Seran!”

“Normally, it would probably be better to just keep a bet, but that’s too difficult for a beginner. So, a plant,” is what Seran said, as he handed Yuriga the plant.

“Look forward to it growing,” said Lieze with a smile, so Yuriga had no other choice but to accept it.

He chose a plant like that because, when he and Kyle were younger, their parents Leyla and Seraia forced them to look after a plant. Seran didn’t understand it at first, but after watching it change and grow, he started appreciating the beauty of things a bit more. Seran knew that Luiza had spent 300 years in solitude, so this experience was especially aimed at her.

“It needs a small amount of water in the morning and evening, paired with a good amount of light. But not too much, or the leaves will dry.”

“This sounds…more complicated than I thought.”

“It is said that it will take three months until it is fully grown.”

“Three whole months…?” Luiza looked at the seed, wondering what kind of flower would greet her after those three months.

Its color, shape, scent…She started looking forward to seeing it all, which surprised her. Over the past 300 years, she felt nothing but boredom and listlessness, not even aware of how many years she had been alive in this prison. And now, things were different. She could look forward to the flower growing.

“I can’t wait to see the flower in its full bloom.”

“Yes, so am I.”

The master mumbled to herself, and Yuriga nodded happily.

Since that day, a bud grew, leaves sprouted, and the color changed. The roots grew thicker, and Yuriga was even slowly getting annoyed with her respected master reporting every small change.