Chapter 104 : The Goal of the Four Demon Dukes

「Fufufu… good morning, Tama!」

「Nya~an」

A few days later after his power-up, Tama woke up in the morning to find himself stuffed in between Aria’s twin melons. It was the same sight as yesterday.

Aria gently brushed Tama’s head upon hearing his adorable cries.

Just as Tama started to enjoy Aria’s supreme patting technique, he was interrupted.

KONKONKONKON!

Someone knocked on the door.

「Uhm… who’s here early in the morning?」

「So… sleepy~」

「Me… tyuuu~」

Stella, Lily, and Faeri, all woke up upon hearing the knocks.

Stella put on a cloak on top of her negligee and walked toward the entrance while hugging Tama.

「Good morning, Aria-chan.」

「A-Alisha-sama!」

Sword Saint Alisha, clad in her usual maid uniform, stood in front of the door.

Aria’s drowsy face brightened upon seeing her guest.

Part of her reaction was due to her love and respect toward her idol, and the other part was because of her worry for Alisha, who had gone to subjugate one of the Four Demon Duke by herself.

「I’ve heard the story. Although you failed to subjugate Vassago, one of the Four Demon Dukes, you defeated his summoned beasts. Well done, Aria-chan.」

「T-To think that Alisha-sama will give such praise to me! However, I didn’t do it all alone. It’s all thanks to Julius-sama, Tama, and the others doing a wonderful job. By the way, how did your journey go?」

「Nothing to worry about my side. I’ve subjugated Levi, the Demon Duke that I came across.」

「A-As expected of Alisha-sama! While we all barely defeated those summoned beasts, you managed to accomplish such a feat by yourself.」

Aria became even more respectful toward Alisha.

Tama became lost in his thoughts. (Sword Saint Alisha… it seems the rumor about her single-handedly slaying one of the seven great demon kings with a carefree smile on her face is true.) Tama shuddered as he realized it.

Moreover, Prince Julius’s words about her being one of the three most powerful people in the world turned out to be the truth.

「Ah! Cedric-sama has also subjugated the Demon Duke he encountered, Valac.」

「C-Cedric-sama is so amazing!」

Aria raised another joyful cry.

Alisha replied in a nonchalant voice.

「Well, that’s only natural since he’s so powerful. On top of that, he wields the special weapon made by my husband.」

Hearing that, Tama recalled Cedric’s sword that had the power of darkness. He had carried it once before during Demon Beryl’s subjugation mission.

Sure enough, considering Cedric’s role during Ragnarok and his ability that rivaled the heroes, it was a simple matter for him to subjugate a Demon Duke.

Alisha’s face turned serious all of a sudden as she spoke.

「Aria-chan, I think Vassago might lead his army to attack the Elven Village in Lumilus.」

「V-Vassago… Lumilus!?」

Aria’s face became devoid of all color.

Lumilus was the birthplace and the hometown of Aria. So, Aria couldn’t keep her cool when she heard that Vassago might bring his force and raid that village.

「Calm down, Aria-chan. Vassago has yet to make his move and gather his army of monsters. And judging from the situation, he hasn’t recovered to his peak.」

Alisha patted Aria’s head and pacified her with a gentle voice.

After regaining her calmness, Aria invited Alisha inside.

「Nya~n(Are you okay… master?)」

When they sat on the chairs, Tama rubbed his head on Aria’s cheek with a worried look on his face.

Noticing his actions, Aria let out a smile and said, 「Fufufu… thanks a lot, Tama.」.

When she felt it was the appropriate time, Alisha continued the earlier topic.

Stella and the others had just descended from the second floor when they noticed the unusual situation. They sat on the sofa and silently listened to Alisha’s story.

「Vassago will aim for Lumilus, Aria chan, but do you know the reason for this?」

「Demon race, Lumilus… Ah! Is his aim the 〝Philosopher’s Stone??!」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Aria made a guess after hearing Alisha’s question.

A few years ago, the Demon Race had raided Lumilus, and it was when Aria had ended up being saved by Alisha.

At that time, the Demon Race had been after the Philosopher’s Stone.

「Aria, what’s that Philosopher’s Stone thing?」

「Stella-chan, Philosopher’s stone is the name of a magic item that can create a special barrier that wards off monsters. Any monster below A-rank can’t invade Lumilus as long as the special barrier created with the Philosopher’s Stone exists.」

After Aria replied to Stella’s question, Lily and Faeri asked with puzzled looks on their faces, 「Why are they aiming for Philosopher’s stone?」

Alisha took the lead in explaining them.

「Because the Philosopher’s Stone contains an unbelievable amount of special mana. Lily-chan, Faeri-chan, the Demon Race probably wants to use that mana for the 〝Demon King’s Revival?.」

（I see. In short, the attack on Aria’s hometown a few years ago happened because they wanted to revive their Demon King. And since Vassage has been revived, he’ll be aiming for the same thing.）

Tama had understood the gist of the story upon hearing Aria’s and Alisha’s explanation.

Besides, since Alisha had heard about this matter from Beelzebub, there was no doubt about its authenticity.

「However, Aria-chan, something will be different this time. It’ll be a defensive battle for us when Vassago will be attacking Lumilus to snatch the Philosopher’s Stone. So it’s better to have more people.」

「I understand, Alisha-sama. To protect my hometown and the people living there, please allow me to join the battle! We’re at fault for letting Vassago escape in the first place.」

Aria gave her answer without even waiting for Alisha to ask.

「Huhm! Then let me go too. It will be a return gift for the hard fight against that guy’s summoned beasts!」

「Me too! I won’t let them revive the Demon King!」

「Me… tyuuu~」

Stella, Lily, and Faeri decided to go along with Aria. The three of them were burning with fighting spirit.

「NYA~AN(Don’t forget about me, Master!)!」

Tama raised an adorable and lively cry as he snuggled into Aria’s twin melons.

「Everyone, let’s do our best!」

Aria let out a voice of admiration. Her comrades’ support had ignited the fighting spirit inside her again.

Thus, it became the signal for the upcoming battle of the girls and the kitten.