Chapter 378: Catching Up

"And that is why I, Yuki, have assumed the post of Rogarde's emperor," I said theatrically. "This human country shall change under my rule and take upon itself a multicultural identity."

Illuna, one of the members of the audience, tilted her head as would a confused puppy.

"Emperors are kings, right? But aren't demon lords supposed to be kind of like kings too? …How does that work? Are you two kings at the same time now?"

"Uhhh, not exactly. Demon lords aren't actually kings," I explained.

"Really? I thought they were."

I did have to admit that she had a point. Demon lords are basically set up to be dark lords, many of which are actually kings and whatnot. We've even got all the monsters and domains and stuff to boot.

Of course Illuna's the one to catch on too. She's always been pretty quick on the uptake.

"I'm not really sure how that happened, but I'm glad you're back in one piece," said Nell, with a tired laugh. The hero had come home after I pinged her over the orb of communication.

"Sorry I made you worry," I said. "Anyway, war's over and we won. We'll be benefitting down the line too, but that's still pretty far off. Nell's probably going to be the only affected right off the bat."

It'll take a while, but sooner or later the kids'll be able to pretty much head wherever they want. I'm thinking two or three more years should do it, at this rate.

"I'm not really sure I will," said Nell. "My jobs mainly involve maintaining public order and fighting off monsters, so I don't think there will be any major changes. His Majesty is going to be in for a really rough time though."

Yeaaaaaaaah, just a bit. Being one of the most powerful human-run countries, Allysia was sure to have its work cut out for it. Its king was going to be swamped with sorting out diplomatic relations with the freshly defeated but similarly sized empire. Wait, wasn't he going on about how he wanted to retire? There goes that idea. Again. Maybe I should ask Nell to bring him another batch of potions sometime.

"Oh yeah, so I'm pretty sure Lyuu's folks are supposed to be paying us a visit sooner or later. Did they end up stopping by while I was away or something?"

"I believe not," said Lefi. "I recalled it and focused my senses on occasion, but I was unable to detect such a group in our vicinity."

Turns out everyone else really was covering my ass while I was out to war, huh? That's another one I owe them.

"U-Uhmm… M-my dad's a real stickler for the rules 'n stuff, so normally he'd come right on the day a year's up 'n gone," said an awfully embarrassed Lyuu. "If he ain't here yet, I think it's 'cause he's busy with all the war stuff that's been goin' on. But there ain't no doubt he'll be here soon."

"I guess we better get everything ready then," I said. "Are you going to need anything, Lyuu? Don't hesitate to speak up if you are."

"I will, Master," she said, with a giggle. "It's finally time for me to be gettin' married for real. It'll be official."

"There is no need for official recognition," said Lefi. "You have always been one of us."

"I'm still real happy 'bout it!" said Lyuu with a huge smile. "It almost feels like it ain't real. I ran away from home, only to find some real good friends, a husband, and a whole new family. It's almost too good to be true."

How cute.

"Congrats, Lyuu!" said Illuna.

"Congrats!" echoed Shii.

"Mhm. We should celebrate," said Enne. "With a dance."

"A-a dance?" asked Lyuu.

"That's a great idea!" said Illuna. "Let's dance!"

"We can spin around! And twirl!" cheered Shii.

And so, for reasons that I couldn't quite put together, all the kids, wraiths included, suddenly started dancing. A very confused Lyuu was dragged along for the ride, while the rest of us adults sat around, watched, and laughed.

***

"Oh yeah, Leila, we actually happened to meet your teacher," I said. "She seemed mad famous too."

I switched gears after asking everyone about the things that had happened while I was away and started talking more about the various random points of my experiences abroad.

"Nell had already told me that Eldegaria would be participating in the war effort," replied the sheep horned demon. "It isn't the first time she's been called to war. She spends most of her time cooped up in her laboratory, but she can be an incredibly competent mage when she wants to."

"Yeah, the demon king guy seemed like he trusted her too. Must be some sort of big shot. Whaddya think of maybe paying her a visit once Lyuu's stuff is done?"

"That… would involve going home."

Though she spoke in what was more or less her usual demeanor, she seemed a little flustered or maybe even bothered by the proposition.

"Something wrong?"

"Not exactly… I just think that visiting it will prove… rather troublesome for you, My Lord."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you happen to be aware of our race's lack of males? The vast majority of our population is comprised of women."

"Yeah?"

I think I vaguely remember her telling me something like that a while back. Apparently, only one in every ten kids was a boy, and the women were the ones with all the power and authority.

"If a member of my clan wishes to have a child, then they will often have to seek a father from another, and that's the second reason that so many of us leave Baachsburgh, with the first being the pursuit of knowledge."

I see… so they need to go out into the world if they want to get hitched.

"Why did you end up heading out?"

"For the sole sake of satisfying my curiosity, of course."

I don't know why I expected anything else.

"If we visit Baachsburgh, even with all the others along with us, all the residents will begin to think of you as my fiance."

"I uh… see…"

So basically everyone assumes you're getting married if you bring a guy back home. Makes sense to me.

"That would be why I think that visiting may prove rather bothersome, though I don't think it will be a major problem if we don't stay for long. We should be able to talk our way out of most encounters."

"I don't really mind, but I guess I should probably talk to everyone else about it first, huh?"

"That would be for the best, My Lord, but we should focus on getting everything ready for Lyuu first. She's been looking forward to this for quite some time," she said, with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, I know. Hopefully this makes her stop feeling like she isn't as good as Lefi and Nell."

"It certainly isn't difficult to see why she might feel that way. Lefi and Nell are both awfully charming," she said. "You'll have to shower her with love if you want to help her get over it."

"…I'll try."

Responding to my awkward comment with a bit of a giggle, the impeccable super maid got right back to work.