The middle-aged man was frightened when he heard Ziel's voice. But after seeing that the person speaking was a boy, he became angry that his fun had been disturbed.
"Brat… you better get out of here if you don't want to get hurt." The middle-aged man threatens Ziel.
" I warned you." Ziel spoke nonchalantly and broke his arm.
Cracks!
"Aaaaahhh! Bastard! What are you doing…" The middle-aged man screamed in pain. He turned to ashes before he could finish his words.
The black-robed girl trembled in fear upon seeing the scene in front of her. She subconsciously stepped back and intended to escape from that place.
"Princess Irene." Ziel called out the name of the black-robed girl and slowly approached her.
"Do not come close!" Princess Irene shouted in a trembling voice. Ziel stopped after hearing that scream.
"Are you perhaps afraid of me?" Ziel asked Princess Irene. Some people in the Clorius continent might consider killing each other a common thing. But for someone born into a royal family like Princess Irene, killing is scary. Moreover, Ziel killed the middle-aged man without batting an eye like he was an insect. The scariest thing was Ziel killed him without leaving a trace.
"What are you?" Princess Irene didn't dare look into Ziel's eyes. She kept thinking about how she could escape from that place. Right now, her mind was filled with fear, and she couldn't think clearly.
" I'm Miss Clara's butler and one of the people who helped heal you this afternoon, don't you remember?" Ziel asked her back. He knew what Princess Irene was thinking right now.
"Don't joke with me! How could the butler of a noble's daughter have such power? That person was at least a Sword Master! I couldn't even bring out my strength when he grabbed my shoulder! But you killed him like it was nothing!" Princess Irene kept yelling at Ziel. She started to think Ziel had other motives when he approached her.
"Do you think I approached you because I wanted to hurt you?" Ziel narrowed his eyes at princess Irene. If it weren't for Clara and the other girls who wanted to see Princess Irene again, Ziel would have left her long ago.
"Isn't that the truth!?" Princess Irene bravely asked Ziel back.
"If I wanted to kill you, wouldn't now be a good time? You can't do anything anyway. After all, I won't help heal you either if I had bad intentions towards you from the start." Ziel spoke coldly to princess Irene.
Princess Irene trembled after hearing Ziel's explanation. He realized that he had done bad things to her. Even though Ziel had helped him from a perverted man, she responded with wrong prejudice instead. Princess Irene's mind became calmer, but she felt guilty towards Ziel for what she said earlier.
"I...I'm sorry." Princess Irene said apologetically while lowering her head. Her voice sounded like she was holding back her tears.
" You don't have to worry about it. The most important thing right now is to take you to where Miss Clara and the other girls are. Don't you want to meet them too?" Ziel must ask Princess Irene's opinion first before taking her. That's because he could see the hesitation in Princess Irene's actions when Ziel saw her keeping an eye on the academy's people from behind a rock.
"Can I join you guys? You know, I'm a princess from the demon race. Wouldn't I cause trouble for you if I came to that place? Besides, if I keep wearing this black robe, I will only be suspected by the people there." Princess Irene smiled sadly. She took off her hood and showed a pair of small horns on top of her head. Ziel raised his eyebrows after hearing her answer.
"Just because of that?" Ziel asked Princess Irene. He was sure that King Raghnall would allow Princess Irene to join the barbecue with the help of the heroes and princesses.
"It's not a trivial matter. You should know the relationship between the human race and the demon race is... ugh! What are you doing!? Uh! What have you done to me!?" Princess Irene didn't have time to finish her words, but Ziel suddenly flicked her forehead. Princess Irene's body was shrouded in the grey light, and the horns on top of her head disappeared.
"I've removed the horns on your head for a while. You can freely go there and hang out with Clara and the other girls. Too bad, I thought those horns of yours looked pretty and suited you." Ziel left the frozen Princess Irene.
"Eh? What have you said?" Princess Irene quickly checked the horns on top of her head. When she touched all parts of her head, she was surprised because the horns had completely disappeared. But then she remembered what Ziel had told her at the end of his sentence.
(a human said the horns on my head are pretty?)
Princess Irene muttered in her heart. She felt her heart beat faster. It was the first time she had been praised for having beautiful horns by a human. Usually, humans would feel disgusted at the horns on the heads of the demon race. But princess Irene didn't feel that way from Ziel. Instead, he praised her horns.
"Why are you just silent? We have to get back to Miss Clara's place right away, or she'll be worried." Ziel stopped his footsteps and looked back at Princess Irene. After that, he walked back to the barbecue venue. Ziel's voice wakes up the dreamy Princess Irene.
"Eh? Hey! Wait for me!" Princess Irene panicked after seeing Ziel was far away from her. She quickly ran after him.
***
When Ziel returns to the barbecue venue, Clara and the other girls quickly notice his appearance.
"You're back, Ken!" Clara put down her plate and walked over to him. Princess Freya and the other girls followed behind her. Clara and the other girls were shocked when they saw the black-robed person following Ziel.
"Who's that person behind you, Ken?" Clara asked curiously. Besides Kalya and Lilith, the other girls also feel the same way. Ziel just said he had business to do. But they didn't think he would bring someone back when he came back.
Ziel didn't answer Clara. He just stepped aside and let the black-robed girl answer.
"Didn't we just meet this afternoon, Clara?" Princess Irene walked forward and opened her hood. Clara frowned when she heard the black-robed person speak in a girl's voice. But then her expression changed when she saw the girl's face.
"Princess Irene! You came!?" Clara said excitedly. Princess Freya and the other girls also felt happy with the appearance of Princess Irene in that place. They even forgot to ask why she came together with Ziel.
"Of course. Didn't I say that I wanted to chat with you more before I returned to the inn?" Princess Irene smiled. The other girls approached and surrounded her. Princess Irene quickly mingled with Clara and the other girls.
Ziel left them after dropping off Princess Irene. He returned to the grill and took over his duties back from Lilith.
"What's with the horns on your head, Irene?" Princess Aishia suddenly asked Princess Irene. The other girls finally realized that Princess Irene had no horns on her head at this time.
"Ah, that's… a perverted boy pulled out my horns while I was on my way to this place. Luckily I was able to heal the wound quickly." Princess Irene put on a sad face while rubbing where her horns grew before. Then she glanced at Ziel, who was grilling not far from where they were chatting. Clara and the other girls were shocked after hearing Princess Irene's answer. On the other hand, Ziel's mouth twitched upon hearing her confession but chose to remain silent and ignore it.
"Who is the boy who dares to do that to you!?" Clara asked angrily.
"How cruel!" Rhea added Clara's words.
The girls other than the two of them could only look at each other because they felt there was something strange about Princess Irene's words. Besides, Princess Irene looks like she's holding back something at the moment. But in the end, she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Ahaha… I was joking with you guys. I used magic to disguise my horns temporarily. You know the relationship between the human race and the demon race, right? I don't want my appearance here only to bring you trouble." Princess Irene smiled at the girls. She felt guilty when she saw the angry reaction of Clara and Rhea. They were angry for him, and that made Princess Irene happy. She had promised Ziel that she would not say that Ziel was the one who helped her disguise her horns.
"So what you mean is..." Clara was surprised to hear Princess Irene's confession because she seriously took what she said earlier.
"She lied to prank us, Clara." Princess Iris smiled and patted Clara's shoulder gently.
"Hmm... I won't care about you anymore if you do the same thing!" Clara pouted and averted her eyes from Princess Irene.
"You can't be like that! We were just friends this afternoon, and you're already mad at me!? I apologize. I promise I won't do it again!" Princess Irene panicked after Clara said that.
"Ahaha… I was only joking with you. Then we draw!" Clara chuckled after seeing Princess Irene's panicked expression. The other girls laughed too.
"You! I will repay you later!" Princess Irene's face turned red with embarrassment. But then she smiled because she felt a new atmosphere that she had never felt before.
"Alright...you girls put that aside for now. By the way, Irene. If you wear a black robe like that, don't you mean you came out secretly without your father and mother knowing?" Kalya suddenly interrupted their conversation and asked something that had made her curious. If what she thought was true, then the people of the academy and the Cirlus Kingdom would be in trouble if king Redis found out that his daughter had suddenly disappeared and was found in that place with them.
"That is..." Princess Irene didn't know what to say. She had disobeyed her father's orders to stay at the inn and had gone secretly to see Clara and the other girls.
"You don't need to answer it because I already know the answer from that expression of yours. You don't have to worry about it because there will be someone who can handle the matter if your father finds out." Kalya smiled gently and calmed her worries. Princess Irene was confused because she saw the other girls smiling at her like they understood what Kalya's words meant. The only person in that place who still didn't understand was Clara.
"Thank you." Princess Irene was touched by the treatment of Kalya and the other girls. She could feel that they genuinely cared about her.
Ziel could only shake his head when he heard their conversation. He was still busy with the magical beast meat on the grill. But suddenly, he looked towards the ocean and narrowed his eyes.
"The main ingredient for enhancing Miss Clara's strength to the next stage has finally appeared." Ziel muttered and then returned his focus to the meat on the grill.
***
On a large warship in the middle of the sea, General Rudolf sat quietly examining the last report his men had given him. But his concentration was interrupted when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" general Rudolf answered with a bit of anger.
"Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you, general. But I have to report something important." The demon soldier quickly said the reason for seeing him.
"Say!" general Rudolf answered curtly. He returned his focus to the other report in his hand.
"We detected a horde of magical beasts in the sea that came from the Demon Kingdom's territory and headed for the Cirlus Kingdom. We assumed they were magical beasts who ran away and suddenly disappeared during an ambush that we once carried out in our kingdom's sea territory in the past. We estimate that the magical beast horde will pass by this place soon." The demon soldier started to give his report. General Rudolf's face suddenly tensed, and he dropped the report in his hand.
"How many magical beasts are there, and at what level are their powers?" general Rudolf asked seriously.
"About a thousand and all are high-level magical beasts. We received the signal of a magical beast of an absurd size, but it suddenly disappeared. So we thought it was just a glitch in our detection magic." The demon soldier explained their observations.
"What!? Run the battleship at full speed and get away from this place immediately! We must avoid the route that the magical beast hordes will take!" General Rudolf shouted at the demon soldier. He sensed something terrible would happen if he stayed in that place.
"I understand!" The soldier quickly left the room to carry out the orders of General Rudolf.
"I must report this matter to His Majesty as soon as possible!" General Rudolf got up from his seat and quickly sent a message to King Redis, who was in the Cirlus Kingdom at the moment.
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