Wahahaha! Izayoi gave a loud laugh.
“Bu…But, to climb the spiritually infused mountain of the five digit region is a very arduous journey. How can I allow you guys to go to such an extent……”
“Listen carefully. This is an operation to investigate the real identity of the Demon Lord and not solely for you.”
Izayoi shrugged his shoulders with ease.
Leticia who had heard the conversation from the side had also begun thinking in earnest.
“……That sounds about right. The plan seems like it will be effective. Though Little Garden may be wide, the Herald's main god should be able to pinpoint the whereabouts of its Heralds.”
“Right?”
“Yeah……Haiz, that sure was a blind spot that we overlooked. Once the Harvest Festival is over, let’s go try investigate the Heavenly gates.”
Leticia and Izayoi exchanged gazes and nodded to each other.
Following that, Izayoi turned to face Lily once more and he spread out his arms towards the farms as he started to laugh haughtily.
“And that’s the case. Lily, your mother will be coming back very soon, so you have to think up a plan to show some results before that happens. The current person in charge is Lily right? If you let this kind of view greet your mother, I’m sure you will get a harsh tongue lashing right?”
Izayoi’s smile had a hint of mischief in it. Though those words that he said were very much in a roundabout way, but it was obvious that he meant well for Lily.
“……Thank you. We will be sure to succeed in reviving the farm to its former state!” Lily seemed to be both happy and shy as her reddened fox ears were pressed on her head and she wagged her two tails while she said her thanks.
Lily who was beaming with smiles then turned her back towards Izayoi and Leticia as she ran off from the farmland. Leticia who had been seeing her off with her eyes was giggling as she turned to look towards Izayoi.
“Oh my, oh my, this is really surprising. Though I had that kind of feeling about you before……Master, you’re quite good at looking after your comrades.”
“It’s a little late for you to realize that, you know? If I wasn’t that kind of person, I wouldn’t even want to lend a hand to help this kind of nameless Community.”
“Hehe. Sure. Lily and I have to thank you, my master for your kindness.”
“That’s right. You guys can cry and thank me for being so kind.”
Hearing Izayoi reply in such a deliberate manner, Leticia also started to laugh out loud.
After that, the both of them followed the little path that ran along the side of the farm to reach the place that was already said to be the allotted space to rest when work in the farms started. The whitewashed table and chairs were clean for there would be no problem using casual clothes at this place before the work in the farms officially started.
Sitting down at the table, Leticia took out the tea sets that were packed within the basket that she had carried, while Izayoi casually asked:
“But your curiosity sure is strong. So what if you have heard of my past?”
“It naturally has its uses. By knowing the past of my Master, there may be a thing or two that I can use to my advantage to get a hold over you.”
“Oh ho. I see. But if you have that kind of plan, you shouldn’t be saying it out.”
“Oh my. You’re right. Please forget the words that I’ve uttered previously, my Master.”
Leticia who was hurriedly taking out the teacups gave a slight smile.
Whether it was the conversational techniques that made people feel less bored, or the practiced movements, Leticia was a model for maids and it was to such an extent that no one would have believed that she was a former Demon Lord.
Curious about that point, Izayoi rested his elbow on the table while propping his face with his hand as he shot a question at Leticia:
“Hey Leticia. You are originally a Demon Lord right? Was it due to your defeat in the Gift Game that you became the subordinate of [No Name]?”
“Of course not. I’ve only had three masters till today and it’s you three.”
“But I’ve heard before that as long as one defeats a Demon Lord, they can follow a certain procedure and as long as it meets the requirements they can tame the Demon Lords. Leticia isn’t like that?”
“Oh, so you’re referring to that.” Leticia replied in understanding.
“About that……It’s a long story. I will just give a brief summary. I had gone into a berserk mode after activating my [Authority of the Host Master] and hence my situation wasn’t [Due to defeat from a Game that was solved], but the correct way to put it would be [The Game was forcefully cut off].”
“……Then what happens to the [Authority of the Host Master] that gets cut off forcefully?”
“It’s straight away sealed within the berserk mode. In South Side……No, I didn’t intend to tell anyone about where it’s sealed. Even if it is known, I do not intend to release that seal.”
Talking until there, Leticia gave a smile that seemed to hint of the arrival of her long awaited event.
“Okay, then it’s now my turn to ask.”
“Yea, I know that, you needn’t rush me. Come to think of it, what does my maid want to know about?”
“Nn~” Leticia hesitated for a while.
Although in reality, she had wanted to know more about Izayoi’s origin and his private life situations, but she decided to change the attack of her ball.
“Well……Firstly, let’s talk about those headphones of yours. Was it something that your friend or acquaintance put together?”
“Nope, it wasn’t anything that close as a friend of sorts. I’ve also mentioned it before that it’s only a prototype created by a little urn from the same organization as me.”
“……Organization?”
“Nn. It’s a children's welfare organization that takes in orphans……Or so to speak. But I guess there’s no such organization in Little Garden right?”
Izayoi racked his brains looking for a way to put it in a manner that could be easily understood.
On the other hand, Leticia was feeling relieved about not having asked his origin directly. Though Izayoi might not have taken offense even if she asked, her character was quite sensitive to these kinds of formalities.
[No……just giving it some thought, one would have realized that this isn’t anything strange. For Izayoi, a human who possessed such a rare ability, he couldn’t have lived a normal life in the other world. Needless to say, his biological parents would have been unable to maintain a normal mental state……]
---Leticia’s thoughts were broken off at this point.
Thinking about it carefully, could a normal mortal even give birth to Izayoi who’s a human unbound to the rules of nature?
It’s said that Asuka is an Ojou-san of the financial sector. Then, it wouldn’t be strange even if her ancestors had relations with others who aren’t human. After all, large amounts of wealth tend to attract the gathering of demonic forces.
As for Yō’s power, although it wasn’t an innate power, but judging from the Gift that her father made, it’s possible to deduce that Yō should hold the bloodline of a sculptor or alchemist[5].
Hence, Leticia had assumed at first that Izayoi would be similar to the other two, having his abilities flow from his bloodline.
[Though it’s still too early to reject that possibility…….but this sure is nerve-wracking as I really want to know more details on him.]
Though it was obvious that she wanted to know, she continued to keep her silence. Holding the impatience in her heart, Leticia stuffed the taro cake[6], which was the accompaniment of the tea, into her mouth.
Perhaps he was aware of her feelings?
Izayoi started to take the initiative to start talking about his personal life, laying the foundations step by step.
“Although I had said about the organization, the me that was before the age of twelve had been treated like a ball for a soccer team. Being kicked from here to there. Ah! It wasn’t my own relatives! But from organization to organization or from organization to foster parents and from foster parents back to the organization.”
“……why was it so?”
“Do you still need to ask? Of course it’s because I’m too talented. Although there were as many people who wanted to adopt me as there were stars in the sky, they would soon return the goods within the trial period.”
Despite Izayoi’s loud laughter, Leticia couldn’t bring herself to smile and she could only quietly look down.
……No matter how much power he possessed, Izayoi of that time was still just a young child. Although it was just the foster parents who adopted him, but to be passed around to new surroundings for that many times, it shouldn’t have been healthy for the child’s development.
And so Leticia did not know what to say as she quietly listened to Izayoi’s narration.
“……Anyways, I’ve always been full of the spirit of service[7] from a very young age. Though I did answer all of their requests, it would seem that the stimulation was much too strong for them to handle and those who had volunteered to be my foster parents, not a single one of them hadn’t bowed down to me and said the same words ‘---We beg of you to go back to the organization!’
“And just like that, it was goodbye~ There was also one interesting guy who had tried to make use of me, but in the end, that guy had also ended in the same way……Hng! Now that I recall all these, I still think that it was such a boring ending. I’ve allowed myself to be used by him for that many times and in the end, it was still the same. Hence that was the last straw for me and I gathered the records of how he evaded his tax and the evidences of his embezzlement to send them all to the prosecutors and the television companies.”
“Hng!“ Izayoi drunk his tea to wash away the unpleasantness.
Seeing his reaction, Leticia understood instinctually …
The young Izayoi had actually liked the foster parents who had made use of him, or else he wouldn’t be scolding them with such agitation in his voice