Chapter 6: The Demon Lord's "Suspicious" Morning

I had finally managed to fall asleep on the couch after a night of constant tossing and turning, though I still couldn't shake the awkwardness of the situation. I was a demon lord, for crying out loud, and yet here I was, stuck on a couch in someone else's house like a common drifter. My pride stung just thinking about it.

As I stretched and yawned, trying to shake off the discomfort, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. A faint jingling of keys in the hallway, then a door opening—someone was coming.

Thinking it was Aria, I sat up quickly, smoothing my cloak to look a bit more dignified, even if it wasn't working all that well. I heard a voice from the doorway.

"Oh? So you are awake."

I turned to see a woman standing in the doorway, and my stomach did an immediate somersault. She looked young—way too young to be Aria's mother. She had long, flowing brown hair, sparkling eyes, and a soft, youthful face that made it impossible to tell her age. She wore a simple, yet elegant outfit, but nothing about her appearance gave any hint that she was old enough to be Aria's mother.

I froze. Wait… Aria never said anything about having a sister.

In an instant, I came to a completely logical conclusion (in my mind, at least). This had to be Aria's sister. She looked too young, too lively to be her mother. It made perfect sense, right? Aria was likely the older sibling, and this girl must have just come to visit.

I stood up quickly, straightening myself, and bowed dramatically. "Ah, I see now! You must be Aria's sister. How rude of me to sleep on the couch without introducing myself properly. My name is Leonard Nightfall, the mighty demon lord, who has—"

"Sister?" The woman's voice was a mix of surprise and confusion, cutting through my dramatic introduction.

I looked at her in confusion, unsure what had gone wrong. She wasn't reacting the way I expected. Her wide eyes narrowed slightly as she surveyed me from head to toe, as though assessing my very soul. "Um... What exactly are you doing here?"

I blinked, caught off guard by her unexpected response. "W-What do you mean? I'm here visiting Aria. She's been kind enough to—"

"Visiting Aria? Visiting?" The woman's voice rose slightly, almost incredulous. "You're here to visit my daughter? Sleeping on her couch?"

I was taken aback, a bit unsure how to proceed. I tried to smooth things over, but clearly, I was making things worse. "Well, it's not like that. You see, I was kicked out—transported to this world against my will by a spell—"

"Transported?" she interrupted, staring at me with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "Hold on a second, I don't understand. You're not… a friend of Aria's? You're just some random guy who… just shows up at her house and sleeps here?"

"W-Wait! I'm not random!" I stammered, trying to recover from the absolute disaster I felt was unfolding. "I'm Leonard Nightfall, a demon lord! I've been—"

Before I could finish my sentence, the woman's eyes suddenly widened in realization, as though she had figured everything out. "Wait a minute," she said, putting a hand to her chin. "So, you're the 'mighty demon lord' that Aria's been hiding from me? Is that what this is about?"

"Hiding?" I sputtered. "I—what? No! It's not like that! I'm just here because I—"

"Aria has never had a boy in this house before," she said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "And now here you are, sleeping on her couch like some strange nobleman who's just walked in off the street. You can't expect me to believe that nothing is going on here."

I was completely floored. What? I was being accused of something... weird? This was completely absurd!

"What do you mean nothing is going on?" I asked, my face turning redder by the second. "There's nothing like that happening at all!"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "So you weren't trying to sneak into her room? You're telling me that you didn't make some kind of... move on my daughter while she wasn't around?"

I could feel my face turning into a tomato. "No! I swear! I was just—just sleeping on the couch because I didn't have anywhere else to go! I'm a demon lord, not some perverted stranger!"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "A demon lord?" She looked me up and down once more, clearly skeptical. "Well, you don't look like much of a demon lord, do you?"

I was about to respond when I heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway—Aria herself had arrived.

"Oh, no…" I muttered to myself, knowing this could only get worse.

Aria walked into the room, eyes widening as she saw her mother standing there, arms crossed, eyes locked on me with an expression that could melt steel.

"M-Mom, what's going on?" Aria stammered, looking between me and her mother.

Her mother turned toward her, shaking her head. "I knew it! I knew something wasn't right with this 'demon lord' business! Why didn't you tell me about him, Aria?"

Aria's face flushed crimson. "Mom! What are you talking about? It's not like that!"

But her mom wasn't listening. "Aria! You've been hiding this guy in your house without telling me? What kind of boy is he, huh? What's his real intention?"

I felt completely out of my depth, and the misunderstanding was growing more and more absurd by the second.

"Nothing is going on!" I shouted, trying to defend myself. "I'm just—ugh!"

Aria's mother stepped closer to me, still unconvinced. "If you think I'm letting this slide, you've got another thing coming. I've seen these kinds of guys before. You won't be taking advantage of my daughter, got it?"

I could barely form words. "I—I swear...!"

Aria, finally exasperated, grabbed her mom by the arm and dragged her away. "Mom, calm down! Please!"

As they disappeared into the other room, I sank back onto the couch, my mind spinning with confusion.

What is going on? I thought, my head in my hands. I'm a demon lord, not some pervert! How did it all turn into this?