I'm not a stalker

With Carmilla on my shoulder, we strolled around the streets.

"Keep an eye on people with blonde hair." I ordered her as my gaze shifted from one person to another.

"What about the rest of her party?"

"They don't matter."

"Ah, I see! The target is only Alice because the others are too insignificant to my liege!"

"..."

The real reason was that I just wanted to see Alice. Nothing more and nothing less. It would be ideal if we could avoid encountering the rest of the party. It's not just because I wasn't that interested in them, but also because I had no clue how to start a conversation with them. Especially Jean should be avoided. Even with a different appearance, I still couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling... What if he were to detect something unusual...?

"Hehehe...! I can't wait to see the hero's expression once she realizes that she got deceived as we finish her- Meow!"

"Be quiet." I cut her fantasies off by flicking that cat's forehead.

Some people around us gave me weird looks — most likely because they were witnesses to animal cruelty. I couldn't blame them, but I also didn't care. I just kept looking around for Alice's blonde hair, as it would stand out the most among a crowd of humans.

Most of the people here had brown and black hair. And if we happened to see somewhat blonde hair, it was just a random person.

"Excuse me."

I began to get impatient, thus I decided to approach an older woman, who was selling fruits at her small stall.

"Do you happen to know if the hero Alice was here?" I asked her straightforwardly.

I made sure not to appear suspicious.

"The hero? I heard that she and her party have just returned from a mission. They're surely resting at their inn." she replied thoughtfully.

At their inn, huh? She must be talking about the inn they usually stayed at.

"Thank you very much!"

As a sign of my gratitude, I bought two apples and paid with some copper coins, which Valer handed to me before the infiltration. Using those coins to do transactions made me realize even more that I was actually in a fantasy world.

"I will give you one once we're safe." I told Carmilla, who was looking at the apples with big eyes.

Still, it was more peaceful here than I thought. I suppose there was nothing to fear here as a normal citizen, as demons rarely managed to get inside Esfar — of course, with the sole exception of the former Demon King.

"My liege?"

"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

Carmilla was worried about me after she noticed that I came to a halt and engraved the sight of peace into my brain.

"Remember this sight, Carmilla." I said with a small grin.

"Hm?"

She looked in the same direction as I and saw the crowded street. It was natural that she appeared confused.

"This is what I hope to achieve as the Demon King." I stated determinedly.

After all, if we were to achieve peace between humans and demons, we could interact with each other without trouble. In other words, I could talk with Alice.

Or rather, I hoped to. I knew that it took more steps than that to interact with her. Someone who was not a reader or Alice wouldn't know it, but there was still a huge obstacle that had to be removed.

"I get it, my liege!"

Wait... Did she actually understand me this time?

Allowing myself to hope just a little bit this time, I turned my anticipating smile to her.

"After killing the hero, no one will be able to stop us! Which means that my liege can turn all the humans here into slaves!"

But of course, just like always, it was my mistake to believe that she'd get it...

"Y-yeah, sure..."

First of all, how did she come to that conclusion? And secondly, how did I look to her? Was I some kind of power-thirsty beast, who had nothing in his mind aside from dominance? And here I thought that I built an image of a peaceful Demon King...

Then, we arrived at a water fountain.

"Let's split up. We would only waste more time if we kept searching for the hero together. Let's meet up here once the sun begins to set." I lied with a stern face.

Carmilla nodded her small head before hopping off my shoulder. And after looking at her surroundings, she earnestly headed in the direction I wanted her to go.

"Nice...!" I rejoiced silently as I walked in the other direction.

Sending Carmilla away allowed me the opportunity to meet up with Alice without surveillance. Hence, I could converse with her normally without appearing weird.

"Now, what should I talk about with her...? About demons...? No, I don't want her to turn on her demon-hunting mode! Then, how about adventuring? She and her party don't just hunt demons, they also do some regular quests from the adventure guild. Yeah, that's a good idea!"

While heading towards the inn, where they were regulars, I thought about how to open up a conversation.

"Oh! We should also get some food while we're at it! Once the topic of food gets brought up, Alice will be more willing to hang ou- Ugh!"

Accidentally, I spaced out and bumped into a person.

"Sorry, are you okay?" the other person asked worriedly

But wait... That voice seemed familiar... It was also a voice I tried my best to avoid today...

"J-Jea-" I quickly stopped myself from speaking by putting my hands on my mouth.

His smooth black hair fluttered lightly when a fresh breeze brushed our faces, whereas his clear blue eyes stared daggers into mine.

It was Jean without doubt.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." I responded nervously while scratching the back of my head.

"I-I apologize for bumping into you. I guess I didn't pay attention to my surroundings, hahaha..."

"No need to apologize! I should have noticed earlier!"

The two of us apologized to each other awkwardly.

Argh! So embarrassing! It was just like in my previous world! Whenever I happened to walk into someone, we would always say sorry to each other for ages!

"Ehm, by the way..."

"?"

"I didn't quite catch it, but do you know me?" Jean asked, smiling stiffly.

Ah, shit. Because I was so surprised meeting him, I accidentally blabbered his name out loud.

"Oh, well... How should I say..." I laughed awkwardly, trying to come up with a good excuse.

"W-who doesn't know you...? I m-mean you're Jean! The cool-headed swordsman of the hero's party!" I said desperately.

"I see that makes sense, I guess!" Jean admitted, laughing with a hint of embarrassment.

If someone were to openly praise me, I would likely have also gotten red.

"Sorry, again. It was a weird thing to ask you." Jean stated, stretching his hand out to me.

A handshake?

"S-sure... It's fine..."

Without suspecting anything, I shook his hand.

But once I did, a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't tell what the reason was. I even looked at Jean's smiling face that was void of suspicion.

"Don't mind me if I ask this... But did we meet somewhere before?" he wondered genuinely.

"!"

I couldn't help but widen my eyes, which was a fatal mistake to make in front of Jean, who picked up on every single suspicious sign.

"I..."

Obviously, I should immediately refute it, however, it felt like a frog was in my throat.

"Ah, there he is! Hey, Jean! Which poor soul are you trying to hit on again?"

Jean sighed.

"I'm not hitting on anyone, Sophia. And what exactly do you mean by again?" he complained, shifting his gaze to the incoming group of people.

I, on the other hand, brightened up. This was not the ideal outcome, but it was still a success in some sort of way.

"It's a man this time?" Harald said, surprised.

"D-damn womanizer..." Zera commented shyly but with scorn in her eyes as she hid behind a certain girl, who didn't care at all.

And of course, every person in the vicinity turned their attention to us.

"Look! It's the hero and her comrades!" someone from the crowd pointed out in joy.

Yes, the people who appeared in front of me and helped me from the clutches of Jean were Alice and her other party members.