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Even deep into the night, the celebration shows no sign of ending.
Belrüsa survives on maritime trade and fishing, so the safety of the sea is more important than anything.
They’ve learned that the mermaids aren’t enemies, and the true threat—the “Demonic Sea”—has been defeated.
The Demon Lord’s Army, which sounded kind of scary, turns out to be surprisingly decent folks.
Well then, might as well have a drink.
That’s the general mood I caught.

But I can’t afford to get too carried away, so I head back to the lord governor’s mansion early to plan what comes next.
It’d be better to actually verify whether the sea route to Lotzo is truly safe or not.
If it turned out there was another island octopus, that would be a disaster.
While we’re at it, going straight east to the fishing city of Lotzo to negotiate wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

As I’m thinking about that on a sofa in the great hall, Garsche comes over.
Surprisingly, he’s not drunk anymore. He’s rubbing his face with a wet towel, looking completely composed.

“Hey, Veit. Good work.”
“Yeah. You too.”

Seems like he doesn’t want to get caught in the festive mood too long either.
I get that. The one in charge always has to be ready to take responsibility, after all.

Garsche orders the rough-looking, tropical-style maids to bring food.
Oh—an assorted sashimi platter.

“Judging by your personality, you prefer eating quietly over wild partying, right?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

Right when I’m in the mood for something to cleanse my palate.
There’s octopus sashimi too. That’s unexpected.

“So people eat octopus too in Belrüsa?”
“We caught them in small numbers and treated them as delicacies. Most of ‘em end up in the fishermen’s bellies though, so shops don’t stock it much. Looked like you wanted it, so I had them make an exception.”

So that’s why I couldn’t find it in the market.
Proper octopus sashimi has its umami concentrated, and it’s delicious—just like what I remember from my previous life.

As I snack on octopus and fish sashimi dipped in soy sauce, I discuss future plans with Garsche. After mentioning that I want to do a test voyage to confirm the route’s safety, I ask him directly.

“Are you close with the Governor of Lotzo?”

Garsche, picking up sashimi, suddenly bursts into loud laughter.

“Oh yeah. That old b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ Petore’s practically my old man! If you want an introduction, leave it to me! Only if he hadn’t kicked the bucket, though!”

He’s talking trash, but he looks oddly cheerful.

“That geezer’s still nagging me even though I’ve been governor for almost twenty years. Always going on about what it means to be a lord, or the proper way to handle diplomacy.”
“A stubborn old man, huh.”
“Heh. You won’t find one that stubborn in either Belrüsa or Lotzo. But I owed him a lot back in the day, so damn it all, I still can’t talk back to him.”

I can kind of imagine what their relationship is like.
Without really meaning to, I recall my own relationship with the late Demon Lord.
Even this sashimi—I wish I could’ve eaten it with him.
Given his personality, drinking while eating sashimi and looking out over a fishing port’s night view would’ve definitely made him happy.
That image looked so clear in my mind.

*‘It’s calming, like the Seto Inland Sea. Isn’t it, My Lord?’*
*‘Indeed. It stirs a sense of nostalgia. Taking time to relax away from duty once in a while isn’t so bad.’*
*‘Would you care for some fresh sashimi?’*
*‘Excellent. At this rate, I’d even like to have some sushi.’*
*‘That’d be nice. Apparently they grow a bit of rice around here too.’*
*‘That’s good news. Perhaps we should promote rice cultivation after all. I’ll have the nearby rivers surveyed at once to see if securing irrigation water is feasible.’*
*‘My Lord… could we leave the work discussion for tomorrow?’*
*‘Ha ha, my apologies. I got carried away.’*

Apparently I was making a strange face.
Garsche looks puzzled and leans in to peer at me.

“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no. Don’t worry about it.”

But I must still be making that face, because Garsche gives a wry smile.

“Ahh, I get it. That’s the face of someone remembering family. Your old man? Your granddad?”
“No. Both my father and grandfather died before I was old enough to remember them. There’s nothing to recall about them.”

At least, not from this life. As for my previous one… I’d rather not think about him.
My father then wasn’t a bad person, but I could never bring myself to like him.
A father-son relationship comes in many forms.

When I hear the word “father” now, there’s only one person who comes to mind.
But among humans, the former Demon Lord’s death still has to remain secret for a while. I can’t say “the late Demon Lord.”
So, partly for that reason, I answer like this.

“We weren’t related by blood, but… I was remembering my father, who passed away recently.”
“I see.”

Garsche’s expression softens.
He doesn’t pry any further.
Instead, as if changing the subject, he says this.

“I always thought demons were a lot scarier.”
“Hm? I see.”
“Same goes for you. Just looking at your strength, you’re an unbelievable monster. You’ve got power, and you’ve got guts.”

I just happened to know a bit about octopuses from my previous life.
I decide not to say that, and Garsche laughs.

“But even a strong demon like you gets misty-eyed thinking about lost family. That part’s the same as us.”

Misty-eyed?
No way.

Laughing, Garsche offers me more octopus sashimi.

“Here, eat more. Unlike that monster, this one’s actually good.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
“Did your old man like octopus?”

The late Demon Lord probably ate octopus in his previous life too. He likely liked it.

“Who knows… but I think he would’ve enjoyed it.”
“That’s interesting. What kind of human…er, werewolf was he?”
“Actually, he was a dragonfolk. A troublesome father who occupied himself with work from morning ‘till night.”

As I talk like this, I gaze out at the night view beyond the window.
Outside, demons and humans are celebrating together in a raucous mess.
As I mentally dedicate this scene to the late Demon Lord, then I venting to Garsche.

“Both of us were so busy with work that we barely met, and whenever we did, all he talked about was work.”
“Sounds like an interesting father. Not the type I’ve got around me. Tell me more.”
“Sure. But you’ve got to tell me about that stubborn old man Petore.”
“Oh, I’ll tell you plenty.”

Looks like it’s going to be a long night.