Zavilia's question seemed to be completely unexpected for Captain Curtis, and the captain's eyes widened in surprise, leaving him speechless.
However, Zavilia didn't care about the captain's appearance and continued speaking.
"I'm connected to Fia, so when she recalled her past life, I saw the 'Right Hand', but what on earth was that? She has a terrible fear of being killed, so that fear had a negative effect, and the truth was... I thought she had a more exaggerated memory, but...I wonder if Fia misjudged the number of 'crests'?" (Zavilia)
"Did you see that much...?" (Curtis)
Captain Curtis' eyes widened even more and he let out a gasp.
Then he tried to say something more, but couldn't seem to find the words, so he cleared his throat.
Zavilia was watching the situation calmly, but he squinted his eyes as if trying to discern something and made a suspicious sound.
"...Hmm, what's the truth? I've always wondered why Fia, who sealed away the Demon King, is afraid of his subordinates. It's not like it was the last scene of her previous life when her magical power was zero, but now... If so, even though there are no spirits, Fia's abilities are the same as in her previous life, and she has a decent number of knights and servants. So, even if the "right hand" appears, the result will be different from the previous life, so I thought there was no reason to be afraid." (Zavilia)
"……"
Captain Curtis didn't confirm or deny it, just kept his eyes wide and swallowed thickly.
Zavilia gradually pushed the group leader into a corner.
"Being killed is a powerful experience, so I think that's why Fia is more afraid of him than necessary, but since it can't be helped, at first I tried to let Fia do what she wanted. That's what I thought. But one day, a question arose. ...Fia is calm when it comes to battle. I've never seen her fail to gauge their opponent's ability." (Zavilia)
"...That's right. Lady Fi's power as a saint is perfect." (Curtis)
In a shaky voice, Captain Curtis affirmed Fia's abilities.
There was nothing meaningful about what Captain Curtis said, but from his demeanor, it seemed like he was trying to answer as much as he could, and Zavilia suddenly smiled.
"I see, there's no way Fia would be wrong about her opponent's strength. If that's the case, then that means that the 'right-hand man' was someone Fia couldn't match." (Zavilia)
"……" (Curtis)
Looking at Captain Curtis, who still seemed unable to answer this question, Zavilia nodded in understanding.
"I see. Silence is a passive affirmation." (Zavilia)
Seeing Captain Curtis' face distorted at Zavilia's words, Zavilia thought to himself that his worst guess had come true.
However, what came out of his mouth were calm words of confirmation.
"...I see, is my memory of Fia's 'right hand' correct? If that's the case, he's...many times stronger than the Demon King, right?" (Zavilia)
"……" (Curtis)
Although he didn't make a sound, Captain Curtis finally gave a small nod as if he had figured it out.
Zavilia spread his wings as if in trouble, and swung his tail.
"I see. From here on out, it's probably going to be a complicated story where you'll have to bring up the Book of Beginnings, but it's too troublesome, so I'll keep it simple... Humans, like other demons, don't have crests, right?However, sometimes powerful demons appear, and because they always have crests on their bodies, they are called 'crest-bearing demons.'" (Zavilia)
Captain Curtis nodded slowly, as if agreeing with Zavilia's words.
"...That's right. Demons with crests engraved on their bodies are rare and powerful, so they are distinguished from other demons and given special names." (Curtis)
"Yes, that's right. And a demon's strength is proportional to the number of crests engraved on its body, right? Wasn't the demon king that Fia sealed away called the 'Demon King of Thirteen Crests'?" (Zavilia)
"That's right. Even if it's only one crest, a demon with a crest engraved on its body is feared by people, but because he had 13 crests, he was feared all over the world. He was given the title 'Demon King of the Thirteen Crests.' That's why everyone rejoiced when Great Saint Serafina sealed it..." (Curtis)
Zavilia took up Captain Curtis's words.
"That’s right, normally it would be a happy day, but for some reason that subordinate showed up. And for some reason, that demon king’s subordinate…he had 20 or 30 crests engraved inside.... It's a strange story, isn't it? There's a demon who has more crests than the Demon King." (Zavilia)
"..." (Curtis)
At the last moment, Captain Curtis bites his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Zavilia made a clear statement to Captain Curtis.
"So... that's the 'Demon King', right?" (Zavilia)
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
...