EPILOGUE: THE TROUBLE AT CHERFLAMMEN (2nd Arc End)

Rumia had been depressed for several days after Sir Loin’s disappearance. The dog-girl neither touched food, nor drank any water, much to our concern. She remained in her room, inconsolable, and holding on the stuffed toy trinket the parka guy gave her the day he left. Her brother Luka stayed by her side the whole time, trying his best to convince his sister to eat and take care of herself.

“Kuro…there’s no word about the search for Sir Loin,” Maddie whispered to me after we brought Rumia’s food. “And the paladins have already crossed into Cherflammen and Cherwind, too. Are you sure that it’s his real name?”

“Well, it isn’t,” I admitted. “I know it was only an alias, but well, I don’t think we can find him even if we turned the entire world upside down.”

“Are you thinking of that weird magical spike that came from your room after he disappeared? Ruro suspects it was Sir Loin as well. However, how can we even search for him if he’s gone outside this world?”

“Ask the gods, maybe?”

“Eeh? It’s something we don’t take for granted, Kuro!” Maddie protested. “I mean, look, we saints are considered as ‘demi-gods’: mortals, but possessing the power of the gods. The laws of heaven apply to us, like leaving the other gods go about their own businesses. So if someone exits our jurisdiction, we should have no care for that person anymore.”

“But you’re able to plead for my life before, right?”

“That’s why you’re an exception. I went to great lengths just to do that!”

“Sorry. I didn’t know…”

“It’s alright,” Maddie hugged me from behind. “I know you’re only concerned for Rumia. That’s why I’m exhausting all the ways I can do to help your Orphans.”

“Thank you, Maddie,” I flashed a weak smile. Honestly, I wanted to do more for the dog-girl, but at the same time, I didn’t wish for Maddie to break rules just to accommodate my selfish requests. I could only give a sigh…

“Ah! There you are, Maddie, Kuro!” it was Lily, who came to us in a hurry.

“Hm? What’s the matter?” I asked, partly hopeful that the search for Sir Loin had borne fruit.

“It’s an envoy from the Demons,” the Head Maid revealed. “She asks if she could meet with the King of Cherwind.”

“I’m not the king anymore, though.”

“Even so,” Maddie suggested, “I think we have to meet her and tell the mistake yourself.”

“Hmm…alright then.”

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The moment Lily, Maddie and I appeared at the guest hall of the Saint’s Palace, a petite lady with an impressive pair of horns in her head, as well as pale white skin, stood up from her seat to meet us. She wore an elegant gown, similar to the ones I saw in history books dealing about the European Enlightenment Age. I was thinking of what’s lacking her costume was an equally-impressive wig, reminiscent of France’s Marie Antoinette.

“I think it would be ridiculous on her,” Maddie whispered to me, after reading my thoughts.

“Well, my world’s fashion can get absurdly ridiculous,” I muttered back. “You should look further into my memories to get what I mean.”

“I will, later,” the Human Saint snickered. “This can get pretty interesting.”

“Lady Kalen Gratianni, may I present to you,” Lily, as prim as ever, began to introduce us, “Her Holiness, Lady Madelaine Ann Rubinforth, and His Majesty the former king of Cherwind, Lord Kuro of Arles.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Holiness, Your Majesty!” Lady Gratianni placed her hand on her chest.

“The demon way of giving respect,” Lily whispered to me once she noticed my confusion about the envoy’s gesture.

“Err…uh, h-he-hello?” even though I’ve been king before, I didn’t know what to say to her, so I got my tongue tied.

“My apologies about His Majesty, Lady Gratianni,” the Head Maid was quick to save me. “The king is just shy around people, see?”

“Oh, it’s alright, Princess von Leese!” the demon envoy laughed. “Shyness is something we demons find rare in everyone these times, so I think it’s admirable of His Majesty.”

“Well, Kuro—I mean, His Majesty is awesome,” Maddie proudly declared.

“Indeed, Your Holiness,” Lady Gratianni smiled at her. “In fact, we’ve been hearing his name back when he defeated that accursed Seirna until he ascended the throne as Cherwind’s king. But in any case, let’s proceed to the reason I came to see His Majesty.”

“Please,” the Human Saint pointed at the chairs, “have a seat.”

Lily then left the room to get some snacks and tea, as I and Maddie took our respective places across the demon envoy. Upon settling down, Lady Gratianni immediately went to our topic.

“My apologies for disturbing you, Your Holiness and Your Majesty, but I was sent here by Prince Hurion Devras of the Demons because of an emergency.”

“Hm?” Maddie raised an eyebrow. “Emergency?”

“Yes,” Lady Gratianni continued, “it’s been a while now, but news eventually reached us that the Demon of the Grey Parka is actually working for the King of Cherwind.”

“Wait…” I couldn’t believe what I just heard, “…Demon of the Grey Parka? Do you mean Sir Loin of Steak?”

Lady Gratianni’s eyes widened in surprise, “Yes, Your Majesty, it’s how that human calls himself! We refer to him as the Demon of the Grey Parka, because he taught the formula of the ‘demon powder’ to us!”

“You mean the ‘gunpowder’, right?”

“If it’s how you call the powder we use to make our ‘demon weapons’ explode, then I’d say yes!”

Finally, there was a lead to Sir Loin’s whereabouts. However…

“But why are you looking for him?” Maddie asked. “What’s the emergency?”

“Your Holiness, he’s our only hope in fighting a new sect that’s emerging in Cherflammen, the Knights of Cassandra David,” Lady Gratianni explained. “As you may haven’t know yet, our saint, Natasha of the Demons, has been missing for a long while now. And we’re pinning our hopes on the Demon of the Grey Parka to help us against those heretics.”

“Missing?” I was surprised to hear that, “Since when?”

“My apologies, Your Majesty, but we have no idea. Lady Natasha always lived by herself in her tower, rarely accepting any visitors. We only got wind of something’s wrong when we noticed she wasn’t ordering her usual…ahem, lewd…magazines anymore.”

Maddie and I exchanged confused looks. From what my fiancée was silently telling me through her expressions, it’s as if there’s something she wanted to say, but somehow couldn’t, as long as the envoy was here.

“I’m sorry, Lady Gratianni,” I told her, “but if you’re looking for Sir Loin, he also suddenly disappeared from our sight. Actually, right now, there are search parties looking for him as we speak.”

“Ah, then I guess our hope against those fools are dashed forever,” the demon envoy then stood up and gave us her respects again. “Thank you for your cooperation in this matter, Your Majesty. And you have our gratitude for accommodating us as well, Your Holiness.”

“Oh, please, would you have some tea and snacks with us first, before leaving?” Maddie offered.

“Thank you, Your Holiness. Honestly, I would love to stay, but because of the urgency of the situation, I have to decline. I hope you understand.”

Then, with that, Lady Gratianni was escorted out of the palace by Maddie’s paladins.

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As for us, we remained for a few minutes inside the guest hall.

“Natasha is missing, Maddie?” I asked her.

“Yes…” my fiancée nodded as well. “Actually, she helped us with some ‘illegal’ experiments about magic circles, that led to the opening of another portal into Cherwind outside Ruro’s jurisdiction. You know what happened next; Lady Henristone and Chancellor Bellingstein entered Cherwind to find you. The moment we realized that our experiment was a success, she was gone without a trace. And Natasha, from what I know about her, wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I’m thinking if her disappearance has some connection to what we did.”

“Then I guess, we have to find out the truth about it. For now, though, we need to head out to Cherflammen and help Prince Hurion Devras deal with those cultists,” I proposed. “After all, he and his people supported us when we badly needed aid.”

Maddie, however, was awfully silent. She averted her gaze from me when I looked at her reaction.

“Maddie? What’s wrong?”

“We’re staying here.”

“Eh?”

“You heard me, Kuro, we’re staying here. No one’s going to help Prince Hurion Devras.”

“Err…but why?”

“Kuro, have you forgotten? You’re mine,” Maddie turned to me, finally revealing her dark, expressionless eyes. “And, long after I’ve waited for your return, I won’t let you go—from my side—ever again!”