A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

alling that bluff.
We all know you’re going to stay up late tonight anyway.”
“I will do no such thing.
I will be turning over a new leaf and proving myself capable of habits that promote good health! I shall not stay up with you, not even should you beg me to keep you company! If you wish to play board games at night, then you will have to do so entirely by yourself as you wallow in loneliness and despair!”
“A healthy lifestyle, huh? If that’s what you’re going for, then we’re definitely going to have to cut all the extra treats out of your diet.”

“…D-do not misunderstand, Yuki.
S-sweet treats certainly may contain extraneous nutrients, but they are crucial in alleviating the weariness that comes with everyday life.
They are absolutely necessary for the sake of soothing our spirits, and a sudden lack of them is sure to lead the young ones to suffer.
A-as one of their guardians, I could possibly allow you to make such a wicked decision!”
“Well… that was a rant if I’ve ever heard one.”
“Times like these, she always just starts goin’ on and on, doesn’t she, Master?”

I finished tidying up and putting everything away right as we finished joking around, so we took the opportunity to transition into the true throne room.
We were greeted by a pleasant, stomach-rousing scent right as we entered our usual living space.
Breakfast was ready.
The table had been set, with a plate of toast, bacon, eggs, and broccoli for each of us.
There was even a nice bowl of corn soup to boot.
There wasn’t anything “special” about the breakfast per se, it was pretty typical and more or less reflected what we had every morning, but that didn’t mean it looked any less delicious.

“Good morning, My Lord.
Good morning Illuna.” The cook responsible for the wonderfully appetizing meal was there to greet us alongside it.
“How are you feeling today?”
“Are you better?” asked Shii.
“…Your cold.
Is it gone?” added Enne.
“Yup yup! I’m feeling much better.
Thanks for worrying about me, everyone!”
“Let’s save that for later, girls,” I said.
“It’s time for breakfast, and Illuna’s gotta eat up to make sure she stays better.”

A corner of the true throne room began to distort right as we took our seats.
And from the odd warped space came a familiar face.

“I’m home!”
“Nell! You’re back!”

Illuna practically jumped out of her chair as she flagged the newly arrived hero down as one would a plane.
Each of us followed suit soon after and greeted her in our respective manners.”

“Welcome back, Nell.” I was pretty happy to see her, but let everyone else go first before engaging her in conversation.
“Looks like you succeeded in convincing Carlotta to give you a vacation”

She’d used the Orb of Correspondence Mk.
II to let me know that she was probably going to be able to sneak a few days last night.

“Mhm.
Unfortunately, it isn’t going to be a long one.
I’m going to have to leave tomorrow morning.” After responding, she took a long hard look at the vampire.
“I heard you caught a cold, but I guess you must be all better now.”
“Yup! It went away!”
“I’m glad to hear it.”

A bit of a lull in the conversation followed, so Lefi, who had been in the middle of nibbling on a slice of toast, took the opportunity to butt in.

“Have you eaten, Nell?”
“Not yet.
I was thinking of grabbing some leftovers if there were any.
If not, I was just going to whip something up myself.”
“There is no need for that.
I was aware that you could have perhaps returned and prepared an extra share.
Take a seat.
I shall retrieve it for you, as it is clear that you are exhausted, and that you have worked late into the night.”
“Oh… I didn’t realize it was that obvious.” Nell awkwardly tried to laugh it off.
“Thank you, Lefi.”
“Are you really that busy?” I asked.
“Mhm.
I’m going to be going on a very important, long term expedition soon, so I had to get everything ready,” she explained.
“I think they only let me take today off because they wanted to make sure I was as well rested and motivated as possible.”
“In that case, you’ve gotta make sure you take it easy today,” I said.
“I’ll make sure you do!” said an excited Illuna.
“Everyone was really worried about me, so I really want to help someone else because I’m feeling really grateful.
Just leave it to me! I’ll give you all the hospitality you could ever hope for!”

“Thanks Illuna.
I’m looking forward to it.”Nell giggled as she took a seat at the table.

And so began another day in the life of a demon lord.

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