The atmosphere in the hall changed. I perceived it immediately, but I have no idea why it suddenly got so chilly. The King continued talking.
“You must find raising those children difficult, no? Why don’t you look for foster parents and marry my daugh-”
“I will wreck the human King.”
“Alright, let’s do it, Ilya!”
I panicked at the children’s sudden behavior and stepped in front of them. They are being impolite to His Majesty. I felt that the twins might do something if I left them alone.
“There, there, there! What’s up with you all of sudden!?”
“I mean, I don’t want to separate from Nii~chan.”
“Onii~san, are you going to abandon us?”
“There’s no way I could do that, right?”
I shook my head seriously at their puppy eyes.
I am grateful to His Majesty for bringing up a marriage proposal, but I have no intentions of accepting it. I have decided to look after the Demon King’s children. There’s no way I could throw away these children just for my own happiness.
If I did that, I would probably get cursed by the Demon King’s soul, and I’m pretty sure I would get killed by his wife even before that.
“Your Majesty, I am very honored and grateful for your proposal, but this is something beyond me. Besides, I have decided to look after these children. It also wasn’t me who defeat the Demon King, but the illness. I am neither a Brave nor a Hero. Therefore, please let’s act as if this conversation didn’t happen.”
“What a diligent man you are. Even though you could say that you have defeated the Demon King by yourself.”
“…… I never thought of it.”
The King smiled wryly at the wryly smiling Yuuya.
“Well, fine. Being honest and diligent is a virtue. Treasure them. Those children are treasures. Take good care of them.”
“Yes. I will engrave it to my heart.”
The King sent the honestly nodding Yuuya a favorable gaze. Yuuya simple reply made him more and more to his liking.
“Minister, reward him. The Demon King aside, he subjugated the Four Heavenly Generals. He did whittle the forces of the Demon King, so he is without a doubt, a Hero. Yuuya, was it? We ought to investigate the Demon King castle once more. There will be many things to ask of you. We have said it before, but if you are looking for a place to stay, standby in the royal castle for a while. Of course, together with the children and companion.”
What a good offer. It’s so good I am worried to be asked for living expenses later.
The problem is Pochi.
He is a monster no matter how you look at him. Even if you try, he looks like a huge animal. We couldn’t bring him to the capital, so he’s waiting outside the gate, hidden in a thicket.
“…… Your Majesty. Umm, I am very grateful for your offer, but…… actually, we have more companions. Bringing them to the royal castle might prove a tad difficult.”
“Mu? If you still have more companions, just bring them in. It would be a different talk if you had an army of companions though.”
“No, that……”
How do I explain? We treat him like a mount rather than a companion though.
“Ah~ Pochi, huh!”
“Pochi, indeed. Onii~san, you do not have to mind him. Just let Pochi sleep out.”
“Pochi?”
His Majesty and the people around had puzzled expressions.
Explaining properly seems to be the way to go.
Thinking that I can still cut him up if he causes trouble, I spoke up.
“It’s a monster that tagged along after I left the Demon King castle――”