The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 402: Isn’t it good to have an endless stock of personal hairdressers?

Chapter 402: Isn’t it good to have an endless stock of personal hairdressers?

When I woke up the next day, Zarfa was already gone, and so did Jade. Ignis did not tell me where they were going, but they burst into my room when the maid was sending in a water basin and a jug of warm water.

[Good morning, Master!]

"Oh, good morning Jade--hmm?" along with the usual energetic greeting was a bunch of flowers that Zarfa gave me.

"We picked this up!"

[Pick this up!]

Oh! I caressed the rough bouquet, made with several kinds of flowers. It wasn’t made with aesthetics in mind, just gathering a bunch of them and tying it up. But flowers were naturally beautiful, and it was even more beautiful coming from my favorite people.

"It’s been a while," I giggled. "Jade used to shower me with petals."

[That’s because Jade can’t pluck flowers from the stalk!]

"Yes, yes--I like it either way, Jade."

The little bird giggled and the maid used some of the flowers to be infused in the water. I put the rest inside the black pendant; a bunch of flowers for our Flower.

"What’s the occasion?" I asked them after washing my face with petal-infused water.

Zarfa just shrugged. "Nothing, just..." she looked at me warily. "You’re going to do something big today, so...I was thinking you deserve some uplifting? Hehe..."

I looked at her worried face and patted her head. "Did you hear from Jade?" I asked, and she smiled wryly. "Don’t worry too much. I wasn’t healed yet at that time, wasn’t whole yet. And it was my first time."

"Hnng..." Zarfa sighed and pursed her lips. "You should have told me before."

"And what can you do if you know?"

It wasn’t like I would stop even if she asked me.

"Then I can prepare my heart more, stupid!" she hit my arm, and she hit me hard, prompting me to laugh.

See, the fact that she could hit me hard meant she knew I was already healthy, unlike in our previous life when she could only tap me gently because I was in a lot of pain.

"It’s fine, I was too impatience back then," I told her as I headed behind the screen to change out of my nightshirt. "I wanted to prove that I’m useful, and I didn’t know my own limitation."

"So you know now?"

"I have a teacher now, you know. I had been studying hard," I said rather proudly. "I know my body better now, so I know when to stop before it gets too burdensome for my body."

"Hmm..."

"That’s why," I stuck my head behind the screen to look at her skeptical face. "I said I’ll do it gradually in a few days."

She looked at Ignis instead of me, and only after the Salamander gave a nod did she shrug. "Fine," she said. "I’ll worry less, then."

I could only laugh at how she trusted my contracted beast more than me, and the bedroom door opened again just then.

"I heard laughter!" Aina came inside and without hesitation dove into the bed. Sometimes, I felt like she was a girl human version of Jade. "Why are you leaving me behind if you’re going to have fun?"

"I sneaked here last night and slept with Val," Zarfa said while giggling scandalously, which made Aina gasp.

"What is this behavior, Miss? I’ll tell the Big Boss about this!"

"It’s fine. They said it’s a special circumstance!"

"Yes, it’s an exception so Valen won’t cry agai--"

"Aaah!" I jumped out of the screen and snatched the Salamander to clasp its mouth. "What are you telling other people, huh?"

Ignis scoffed behind my palm and Jade laughed loudly inside the water basin while splashing the water with its wings. [Master not cry! It’s good!]

Ugh...I guessed they had been the ones to receive my tears on the night I missed Natha too much.

"Whaat? What is thiis~" Zarfa poked my side teasingly. "Were you often crying when you’re lonely?"

"Nggh..."

"Good, it’s good," she suddenly tiptoed to pat my head; the teasing expression was gone from her face. "It means you’re no longer used to loneliness. I’m glad."

She smiled fondly and squeezed my cheeks. Yeah...she was the one who knew me the longest, and most of it was the time when I was at my lowest. Sometimes when I felt so numb I hardly react to anything. She was the one who knew my loneliness the most, and how much I got used to it I couldn’t even express it.

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment, and she grinned before pulling me down to sit in front of the vanity table. "Alright! Now let’s do something about your hair."

Pfft--it seemed like I would never lack a hairdresser anywhere I go.

While Zarfa and Aina fixed my hair the way Angwi did it yesterday, the maid came to take out the water basin Jade used as a bathtub and told us that the breakfast was ready. We came down together and the other three had already been there.

I didn’t know whether I had been too used to the lavish meals in the Demon Realm, or was it because even the nobles had to live with rationing, but the dinner and the breakfast here weren’t something that Natha would call adequate. Of course, I understand, because I once lived in poverty during the first two months of coming here. So I said nothing, and ate my meal quietly. But when we were done with breakfast, Fatia approached me to apologize.

"I’m sorry, Sir. I know you’re an important guest, but I failed to provide a decent service," she bowed her head, which made me worried that I had shown any dissatisfaction in my face earlier.

But a scoffing sound from the Salamander on my shoulder told me that it was Ignis who expressed dissatisfaction. "Oh, it’s alright," I flicked the flaming head in warning. "I’m sure it’s because of the rationing. It’s good enough for me."

"But Natha said you should eat the be--"

"Silence, Ignis."

I smiled at Fatia who returned it with a wry smile. "There’s... another thing I need to apologize to..."

"Hmm?"

Fatia bit her lips for a second and turned to look in the direction of the yard. "As you know, we will use our faction’s magicians to move to the affected regions. But...I would like you to understand that it’s impossible to request their work without informing the regent—that is, my mother."

"Are you telling me she’ll come too?"

She nodded with a worried expression, before swiftly adding. "D-don’t worry! I already told her not to approach you or say anything unnecessary. She just...she just wants to see the purification with her own eyes."

"Hmm..." I tilted my head. "As a regent, or as an elemntalist?"

Her worried face turned into an embarrassed one. "B-both?"

"Well, I don’t like anything complicated..."

"She will wear a disguise, so people won’t know," Fatia shook her head. "I swear no one will disturb you."

"How much did you tell her?"

"Just that we met a druid on our journey," she said. "I didn’t tell your origin, although it’s inevitable if she guessed about your royal blood."

Well, that’s true. I guessed it was fair enough, as long as she didn’t start using me as some kind of propaganda tool. The moment she did it, I would leave the place with Natha no matter what. Perhaps Fatia could sense it too, so she had been walking on eggshells around me.

Wearing my cloak again to hide my face, I followed her to the yard, just in time as a few carriages entered the gate. The magicians came out of the carriage, but one of them had a different color robe, which I guessed was the Regent, Fatia’s mother.

Fatia approached the mages and instructed them to start the spell, before talking to her mother. True to her claim, the ’mage’ did not make any move to approach me, but I could feel her gaze. When I looked at her, she bent her waist to bow at me, and then continued pretending to be an onlooker.

Well, it was a pass for now.

It didn’t take long for five mages to complete a mass teleportation. Of course, Fatia already told them about the presence of two magical beasts that needed to be included in the calculation. Just like yesterday, all of us entered the shining magic circle in the ground, including the ’mage’, and we were whisked away to the impacted region.

We were teleported to an empty plaza, and a man who seemed to be the town mayor had been waiting for us. He must have been informed last night when Fatia made her report, and had provided horses for us to continue.

"The land leading to the place had been damaged, so we can’t use carriages. Is that alright? Can you...umm...ride a horse?" Fatia asked carefully.

"He can ride with me," the Hero said and again, my troop of Natha’s spies stopped him.

"No!"

"I said no!"

"Don’t even dream about it, human."

[No! Master don’t need you!]

I was kind of... feeling sorry for him at this point, seeing his dejected expression. But in fact, there was no need for his...generosity. Valmeier could ride a horse, and I could ask the horse to get me there even if I had no idea how to ride. All I needed to do was give the horse a little caress, and it even lowered itself so I could get on it easier.

"Right, you are a druid," Fatia nodded with a smile as she got on behind her mother.

"Well, what a horse if you can take a wyvern," Aima shrugged.

"Wyvern? He tamed a Nightmare," Zarfa laughed before I shut her up with a flick on the forehead.

In the end, the Hero had to ride with Aina while Ian rode with Zarfa because my horse refused to take anyone else. What a cheeky one. We followed the Mayor, whose task included watching over the corrupted land that was located just two kilometers away from the town.

But even when we were still on the bridge half the way there, I could already see the impacted land. It was apparent from the drying trees and grass, which became more and more devastating the further we went.

And then I saw it; the blackened land that had spread into a radius of several hundred meters, where nothing but emptiness could be felt from the pitch-black center.

"Hmm...this is worse than I thought."