"...No matter what race's village you go to, the 'half-breed suspicion' comes up..." (Reina)
"I don't know!!" (Mile)
Mile got sulky when Reina pointed it out.
However, this time, she wasn't told that she had a modest chest or that she smelled like an elf, so it was still better. Compared to those, the current reason was "Because she can intercept magical communications," a very comforting one...
"Anyway, both of my parents are from the main line of nobility, so there hasn't been any blood of other races in my family for at least the last 10 generations! Human nobles are very particular about bloodlines..." (Mile)
"Eh……" (Other 3)
As expected, even the demons seemed to know that much and looked surprised.
"First of all, before that, there's the problem that this thing doesn't have horns. Even among us demons, there aren't many who can sense magical powers, and that's only because we have horns. No matter how much demon blood you have, it's impossible to be 'hornless'..."
(Hornless. Hornless... I feel like I've heard that phrase somewhere before...) (Mile's mind)
And then, Mile seemed to be deep in thought.
(The Hundred Demons Empire? No, that's not it. Umm, well... aah, "Voltes V (ボルテスV)"!!) (Mile's mind)
Somehow, Mile's face looked refreshed.
"Well, so are people without horns discriminated against?" (Mile)
"Eh?"
The three demons looked puzzled at Mile's sudden question.
"Why should they be discriminated against for not having horns?"
"Do you humans really discriminate against your fellow humans because of appearances like having no hair, being short, having a big belly, or having small breasts?"
"I'm so sorryyyyyy!!" (All CV)
The four girls suddenly started kneeling and apologizing, and the demons couldn't hide their shock...
"...Then, I leave the rest to you!"
"Yeah, leave it to me!"
At the signal... a magical signal... one of the two who rushed to the scene was asked to keep watch, and the first demon they met, Lalark, agreed to guide Mile and her group to the village.
The other had already left to inform the village.
Suddenly bringing four humans into the village would definitely cause a commotion, so he went to give the warning.
Well, since Mile and her party were walking normally, there would be plenty of time for the sprinting herald to inform the villagers, such as the village chief, the elders, the influential people in the village, the swordsman Reltvard, the leader Zawin, and the siblings...
Lalark could have chosen to ask the two he had called over to act as heralds and guides, and continue as lookout himself, but he felt he needed to give an explanation for the discovery, and more than anything, this seemed more interesting than the boring role of lookout, so naturally he forced the roles of herald and lookout to the two of them.
Those two could also send and receive magical signals, so there would be no problem in entrusting them with the watch. That's why they were on standby as "emergency support personnel"...
When he asked one of them to act as a guide and the other to keep watch in his place at the designated location, both of them looked as if they wanted to say something, but Lalark pretended not to notice and ignored them.
Of course, everyone would rather be involved in something interesting than a boring role as a guard. And even though they were lucky enough to be able to be there, they were chosen to be messengers and to stay behind as a guard. That would make them want to complain.
However, this was an important mission for a member of the clan. Although he looks frustrated, he still acted cheerful and energetic and says, "Leave it to me." The man who had taken on the role of lookout could be said to be a proper man.
"...Lalark, tell me more about it later..."
"Oh, yeah..."
"The drinks and snacks are yours..."
"...Oh, yeah..."
The man who was acting as the guard said this with a resentful look on his face, while Lalark seemed a little hesitant.
It seemed he wasn't such a fine man.
As they were moving towards the village, Lalark began speaking to Mile and her party, perhaps hoping to get some information.
"You said you were invited by Reltvard, but what is your relationship with him? And why was you invited?"
"……" (All CV)
They were asked a question that was difficult to answer.
And the only person who could answer that question was Mavis.
"...Um, well, our relationship is that we fought each other with our swords, and the reason is, well, it seems that he wanted to meet me..." (Mavis)
"Hohoo..."
He hadn't heard it directly from him, so he couldn't say for sure. If it was an exaggeration on the part of the girl, it might cause trouble for the swordsman. Moreover, it was just a way to make Mile's wish to visit the demon village come true, and it wasn't something Mavis really wanted and accepted the invitation.
When she thought about it that way, she could only say this with a lack of confidence.
However, the demon man naturally just took it to mean that 'Mavis is embarrassed'.
…Well, maybe that's inevitable…
"Well, Mabel is a mother, Mavis has the doggy attribute, and Mary Bell is a silver rose...[1]" (Mile)
Then, Mile was muttering something to himself, and Mavis's mouth twitched at the content of his mutterings.
"Kaiware, kai ireru, kaiireru[2]..." (Mile)
Mile continued muttering, completely unaware of Mavis's reaction.
And…….
"I remember!" (Mile)
Suddenly, Mile's face looked as if a light bulb had lit up above her head and she clapped her hands together.
"...What, I wonder?" (Mavis)
And there's still a slight twitch around Mavis's _mouth.
"It's the names of those siblings! You see, his brother had a crush on Reina-san, and his sister invited him! I'm pretty sure it was Meril-chan and 'Kairel-nii-sama.' Ehehe, I have a pretty good memory." (Mile)
"Don't remember unnecessary things!!!" (Reina)
Then, with her face red, Reina yelled.
"It seems like there will be more half-breeds.... hiii!"
The demon man muttered this casually, but when Reina glared at him with murderous eyes, his face twitched.
Mile and her party knew that it was just the tsundere trying to hide her embarrassment, but to the demon man who didn't understand such things, it was the gaze of a demon that inspires the fear of death.
"What the... the... the...[3]"
"Are you a horse?!" (Mile)
Mile tried to calm Reina down, but this only made her more heated up.
And so, as always, the Crimson Vow made their way to the demon's village in a disorganized manner...
Translation Note
[1] メーベルはおかあさま、メーヴィスはわんこ属性、メリーベルは銀のばら (Meeberu wa o kaa-sama, meevisu wa wan ko zokusei, meriiberu wa gin no bara)
[2] 貝割れ、貝入れる、買い入れる (Kaiware, kai ireru, kaiireru) each starts with "Kai" and the brother name is カイレル (Kaireru, Kairel). Literal translation: "Crack the shells, put the shells in, buy the shells"
[3] どうどうどう (dou dou dou), like the sound of horse's step; also どう(dou) = how/what