Episode 14: Clouded Glasses

“Hey, human.”

The shuffling sound of feet came to a halt as they hit the hard stone wall.

The men surrounding Viola closed in with lecherous grins.

Viola sighed, wondering how things had come to this. She had just been preparing a meal as usual—nothing out of the ordinary. Well, maybe becoming the head chef was a bit notable. She felt guilty about Lester, but he seemed happy about it. When Viola was told that being the head chef in his current situation was more of a burden, she reluctantly accepted the role.

However, this was a confidential matter known only to a few. There shouldn’t be a reason for these men dressed as security guards to rudely barge into the kitchen.

“Do you need something from me? I’m busy with preparations right now. Can it wait?”

“You’re talking big, aren’t you?”

A man who had appeared from behind leered, deliberately caressing the sword at his waist. Viola grimaced at the gesture.

“Are you trying to threaten me? My attitude won’t change just because of that.”

“Even if I were to cut you down right here, who would blame me? Human.”

“Well, you’ll probably be punished to death.”

The man in front just laughed at Viola’s deadpan response.

“Do you think you’re someone important? The ruler here is the Demon King, so isn’t everything based on what the Demon King remembers?”

“That’s true.”

“In that case, do you understand the attitude you should take?”

“You mean, kicking you all out from here?”

“Hey, hey, hey.”

The sound of the sword against the man’s hip echoed. It was a crude intimidation tactic, but Viola couldn’t help but be distracted by the pot still simmering on the fire. Just as Viola was about to mention Nox’s name, a calm and dignified voice echoed in the kitchen.

“You.”

“A-Arnold-sama!?”

Arnold, with his hair neatly combed as usual, removed his glasses casually. He wiped them away with a sound and put on a perfectly arranged smile.

“My apologies. My glasses were fogged up, and I have no idea what happened. Can you explain?”

“Yes!”

Viola hurriedly tended to the pot, stealing a glance at Arnold. He had undoubtedly helped her. Perhaps it meant to pretend not to have seen anything, depending on the men’s response.

With deep emotion about the man who had helped her, Viola opened the pot. Arnold, who had looked down at his now truly fogged glasses due to the steam spreading across the kitchen, glared at Viola behind his smiling face from a distance.

“Arnold-sama, there were humans inside the Demon King’s castle, so I was dealing with them appropriately!”

“Dealing with them appropriately? I don’t recall any books on how to deal with humans inside the Demon King’s castle in my memory… Can you teach this ignorant me what the correct approach is?”

Arnold’s words, laced with irony, finally made the men realize something was amiss. They exchanged glances and encouraged each other to speak up. Just then, the kitchen door swung open forcefully.

“Woman!!!!”

“Ignatz, lower your voice. It’s noisy.”

“Arnold, why are you here?”

“I just happened to be passing by. I was a bit curious about something.”

“I see, you came to snack on leftovers! If you were so envious when I talked about it before, you should have let me know—I would have come too.”

“Be quiet, Ignatz.”

“I see, hm, I see!”

“Why are you so good at this?”

Arnold, adjusting his glasses with vigor, turned his back on Ignatz as if declaring the end of the conversation. Ignoring the men in front of him, Arnold seemed to notice them, and Ignatz approached with large strides.

The men’s faces turned pale, almost a sickly color. Even Viola couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. It was clearly overkill for the two close aides of the Demon Lord. Viola wasn’t too concerned about it.

However, the tense atmosphere was not something Viola wanted to interrupt.

“Arnold, who are these guys?”

“They were conducting the ‘proper procedure’ with Ms. Viola here.”

“…What does that mean?”

“I don’t know anyone as immune to sarcasm as you are. Simply put—”

Arnold, cutting his words short, deliberately placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

“Well, a bit of a rough attitude, shall we say?”

His crescent-shaped, narrowed eyes stared at the men as if saying excuses wouldn’t be tolerated. Ignatz’s cheek twitched as he stood before the trembling men.

“So, you guys laid hands on Viola, who is well-regarded by the Demon King?”

Viola chuckled at that statement. From Ignatz’s perspective, Viola’s value probably revolved around being somewhat favored by Nox.

However, Viola realized something. This was probably the first time Ignatz had mentioned her name.

“The Demon King’s…?”

“Yes. If you touch Viola here, the one who’ll probably be most upset is the Demon King. Oh, scary, scary.”

With a suspicious smile, Arnold slowly approached Viola. Wondering what he was going to do, Viola silently watched as Arnold leaned towards the simmering pot. With his glasses now completely fogged up, Arnold took them off again and wiped them with a crimson cloth he pulled from his pocket, all the while speaking slowly.

“Excuse me. Glasses again… So, what were you doing?”

“N-nothing.”

One of the men stammered, his voice trembling.

“Nothing. I apologize for any inconvenience…! Excuse us.”

Viola absentmindedly watched as the men rushed out of the kitchen. It was like a storm—such an unexpected entrance and exit.

“Viola-san.”

Approaching slowly, Arnold received Viola’s ambiguous smile. His demeanor had changed too much from before, and it was scary. He was supposed to be the man who only spoke sarcastically when they met. to think that he would now defend Viola in this way.

“I apologize for the extreme rudeness. Allow me to apologize on their behalf.”

“It’s fine, really. …But yes, I didn’t expect people like them to still be around.”

“Normally, it’s not like that.”

Arnold, who fell silent as if hesitating, was taken over by Ignatz.

“The forces of the hero.”

“…”

“The excellent ones who usually guard the Demon King’s castle are on the front lines. We recruited some personnel suddenly, and you can’t perfectly prevent foolish guys like them.”

“W-well…”

“You don’t have to worry about it, Viola-san.”

Arnold, sighing, interjected from the side. Ignatz responded, “Why do you say that?” to Arnold’s complaint.

“It might be something you understand, but the Demon Lord—”

“What about the Demon Lord?”

“The Demon Lord cares about Viola-san. It’s not good to needlessly provoke her—”

“Um.”

Viola’s raised voice made the two arguing men simultaneously look up.

“Do the heroes reach this far?”

“It’s our job to prevent them from reaching. …I’d like to say that, but—”

“We don’t know the power of this so-called hero. Do you know?”

Viola shook her head in silence. Ignatz nodded, indicating that he thought so too.

“I think there isn’t, but we should be prepared.”

Surprised by his calm demeanor, Viola looked up at Ignatz.

She remembered Lester’s saying, “Even a crying child would fall silent.” Ignatz, standing there, looked fitting for the right-hand man of the Demon king.

Arnold’s silver wings nodded in agreement, seeming uneasy.

“So,”

Viola tensed, expecting what would come next from the somewhat hesitant words.

Seeing Viola’s reaction, Ignatz turned his inquisitive gaze towards Arnold, and Arnold spoke up.

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

Viola burst into laughter a moment later. Ignatz followed suit.

laughter for two, and a voice of anger echoed in the kitchen. The pleasant smell of well-cooked vegetables wafted gently. At that moment,

A sudden sound of the kitchen door being opened without any warning

Viola turned around, surprised that there was no knock, and then smiled.

“Nox!”

“Nox? Who’s that—what!?”

“What’s wrong, Ign—!?”

Ignatz and Arnold, leaning against the wall with crossed arms, looked at the tall man—Nox, who had opened the door. Ignoring their reactions, Viola rushed over to Nox with a bright smile.