A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

In the Imperial Capital (3)

“Hmm, the city has recovered quite well.”

I thought to myself as we walked through the Imperial City.

I remembered this area.

It was the place where I had fought and killed the Undead Corpse Dragon during the war.

A huge hole was opened and the whole surrounding area collapsed, forming a pile of rubble.

Now, the streets had become so clean and vibrant that there was almost no trace of the war. The large hole that used to be the blast site was completely sealed off.

The reconstruction from the war was done with the cooperation of many countries, and I heard that the dwarves, who were especially good at building, took the lead in helping with the reconstruction.

“At any rate, we had to clean up the remains of the war as quickly as possible. If those things are left visually, the human children will remember the battle they lost.”

[Hmmm… if they didn’t hear that there was a war, they wouldn’t know it. They should only know about interacting with other races, as it is a nice scene.]

Apparently, this area had become a marketplace.

Although most people were humans, there were also many other races walking in and out of the market, and it was apparent that they were interacting with each other in a normal way.

The Imperial City became a central relay point for airships, which were also deployed on a large scale and started to operate in many countries, so tourists now come to the city quite often.

The economy was also growing, and to put it bluntly, the economy was booming more than before the war, and thanks to that, many things were starting to turn out well.

The relationship between different races was progressing slowly, but surely.

It may sound like pure capitalism, but money was always a necessity for people to survive.

When one had enough money, one would not be required to work all the time, giving them more free time, and with more free time, one had enough time to relax.

If the heart becomes relaxed, there would be fewer reasons to have fights.

Money may not be everything in the world, but it was important nonetheless.

It was really a positive move to set up a relay point for the airship’s air route here.

I guess the King’s people have a good vision.

I could rest assured and leave the country in their hands for now.

Also, there were a few humans and demons here and there who seemed to be on guard duty, but I suppose that was to be expected.

Even if my family and I were basically an unstoppable force even without including Demon King Finar and Spirit King, soldiers could not neglect their duty since not everyone may know our positions or capabilities.

It would also be impossible to ask for zero guards.

“Here, Rei, Rui, Ro, don’t fly too much out there.”

Lefi called out to the Wraith girls, who were a little edgy, and made them stay close to her, so they wouldn’t fly away as they pleased.

The girls were currently possessing the dolls for going out, but, well, they would be objects of horror to normal people.

Compared to when we were in Layla’s village, we couldn’t let them wander around as much as they wanted.

And Shii was about to wander off, but Layla was there to hold her hand and prevent her from going anywhere.

Well, the dungeon-born group remained faithful to their desires. Who do they resemble? Me, I guess.

“…Mmm, that looks delicious.”

“!! Enne-chan’s sensor reacted! Onii-chan, that meat and vegetable roll is the real deal! Let’s buy it!” (Illuna)

“Oh, it looks like a kebab, I like it, let’s buy enough for everyone. Do you want one too, Demon King (Finar)? The Spirit King doesn’t eat things, right?”

“Well, then, I’ll have some too. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

[Don’t worry about me, you can have it.]

“Sorry, Spirit King, Rei, Rui, Ro, sorry to you guys as well, the rest can wait for a bit. –Old man, I’ll have nine of those, please.”

“Ye, yes!”

The human man at the stall seemed a little nervous about the unknown group, but he was probably used to serving customers. The movement of his hands was smooth and steady, and after a short wait, he prepared enough for the number of people.

The dish was a generous portion of meat, sandwiched between vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes, and wrapped in dough.

It was hot and juicy, with juices overflowing and a good smell wafting through the air.

This food needed something that I could wipe the sauce spills clean, so I needed to prepare that first.

“Alright, let’s eat!” (Yuki)

[Bon appétit!] (Spirit King)

“Oh, a pre-dinner ritual at your place?” (Demon King)

“Something like that.” (Yuki)

And so we started eating the kebabs.

“…yummy.”

“Yummmm! Enne, you have a very good eye for food!”

“You found a good one! Cool!”

“…Nn, Enne’s eyes never miss anything tasty. Enne, the gourmet hunter, is here!”

“”Oooooh!!””

“Haha, well, actually, Enne-chan goes to all sorts of places and eats all sorts of food with Oni-san. Perhaps Enne-chan has the most discerning palate of all of us.”

“I think so too. When I cook for her at home, she can even tell what seasonings I used.”

“I didn’t know she could do that.”

Enne puffed her chest out as we focused our attention on her.

“…Hmm. Eventually, I plan to become a master chef as well, so I can cook a lot of food and help Layla.” (Enne)

By the way, Enne was a master at cutting, so at the moment Enne was the best at making sashimi.

“Mmmm! That’s something I can’t lose! I’ll learn to cook a lot and help everyone!”

“Umm, Shii… will stick to eating.”

“That’s a coincidence, I’d like to specialize in that too!”

“But Lyuu, you’re not a bad cook anymore, you’re good enough at cooking, so you don’t have to say you specialize in eating, right?”

“! Is that so? Well, hehehe… if husband says so, then I’ll work even harder at cooking!”

“Eh~ Lyuu, that’s a bit of a surprise, you know…”

“Shii, a woman has to grow up!”

“That’s right, Shii! Let’s cook together as well!”

“Hmm… When I get home, I’m going to start training.”

“Mmmm…I can’t help it, if you two are so motivated, I’ll just have to go along with it!”

“Kaka, hang in there, you little girls. I’m not very good at it, but even I can cook a little now. You should have no problem with it once you get used to it.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best, as a big sister!”

“I’ll do my best!”

“…Making and eating delicious food is the essence of cooking.”