The purple belial keeps screaming. Indeed, its body is small compared to the others. As Gon and Jeneha said, it seems to be still young.

Even though it is a monster, I was not pleased from seeing it in agony. For now, I enclosed the belial in a barrier, taking away its ability to resist, before healing it. If it has ill intent against us, I will kill it right away.

「All right, let’s get to the healing. Ultimate Heal! 」

It was enveloped in the blueish light and its spirit was restored. When the light disappeared, the belial was motionless.

「Hey, are you all right?」

「…….」

The purple belial didn’t answer. I tried giving it some water, but it didn’t stretch its hand. Looking closely, it seems to cry. I appraised this belial with my appraisal skill.

Peris (Belial Princess, 11 years old) LV12
HP: 154
MP: 119
Fire Magic LV2
Water Magic LV1
Wind Magic LV1
Lightning Magic LV1
Recovery Magic LV1
MP Recovery LV1
Presence Detection LV1
Mana Detection LV1
Body Strengthening LV2
Spear Arts LV2
Evasion LV1
Etiquette LV1
Liberal Arts LV3
Flight LV2

I unconsciously leaked a surprised voice. She is 11 years old and has Liberal Arts at LV3. She is quite smart. Her skills are rather high for her age. It seems that her standing amongst the monsters was quite high due to her being a princess.

「For now, I saved your life but left a barrier on you. Your actions would be severely restricted. If you attempt anything weird, you will lose your life in a moment. Still, what the hell was wrong with you guys? You suddenly came and attacked me」

「……」

Silent as always. I used the appraisal again and peeked into her past. [¹]

「Oh, the daughter of the belial king? So you were sent to defeat the Great Demon King to inherit the throne. Ho, those three……are unfortunate fellows…..Yeah, your attack was stupid, it really was~」

「H-how did you!? Do you understand it? Are you the Great Demon King…..?」

「Yeah, kind of. I was one for a moment. Although, I didn’t want to! 」

「Uuu……..」

The purple belial shrank its already small body and started crying. For now, it doesn’t seem to be the problem to undo the barrier.

「Well, if you don’t intend to harm us, I will just let you be. Return to your forest」

「……I don’t want to return」

「Un?」

「I do not want to return to the tribe……」

「Ha? You are the belial princess. You would become the Queen upon your return, right? 」

「….I don’t want to be a queen. And my father…..wanted me to run away when the three fail to eradicate the Great Demon King. They were my escorts」

「Then what are you going to do from now on?」

「I want to know a lot of things…..Why do the stars come out? Why do the plants grow? I want to know the unknown. The queen can’t leave the castle. I don’t want it」

……I see Liberal Arts LV3 aren’t just for show.

「If that’s the case then I don’t mind it. But with your appearance…..You absolutely look like a small dragon. If you are going to live by yourself, then it is fine, but……..」

「As expected it would be impossible for her to live in this world alone」 [²]

「Master, if you aren’t against it, how about letting her stay in this mansion? If found, she would be immediately subjugated, even monsters would treat her as a primary target. This girl doesn’t have much stamina」

「Un, well, I don’t mind, but it’s up to this belial. What do you think? Will you stay in this mansion until you determine your future plans? 」

The purple belial thought for a while and gave a small nod.

「As for the name……are you fine with Peris? The belials won’t launch an offensive if you do not return, right? 」

「……Before his death, father picked a representative to act on his behalf, so it should be fine」

Like that, Peris became a freeloader in my mansion.

I thought she would remain unapproachable for quite a while, but my expectations were immediately overturned. After being impressed by my food, she approached me for its recipe with overwhelming vigor. After that, she gradually started cooking herself and absorbed my recipes one by one.

Originally curious, she started experimenting with various ingredients. In no time, she became much better and assumed a role of the chef in our house.

I could often see her debating with Gon about the intricacies of farming. Gon also considered Peris, who absorbed knowledge like a sponge, as an excellent student of his.

Recently, she created a flower garden with a lot of colorful flowers in the backyard. The appearance of the little dragon cheerfully tending to the flowers gave me a contradicting feeling.

She also wanted to learn how to write and I could often see her staying late to study letters. As a result, one of the rooms on the second floor became hers as if it was a natural thing, before I noticed, she became a new member of our family.

While doing all of those, the winter came and the surroundings transformed into the world of silver. I turned 16 years old, and maybe because I was in my growing period, my height rose considerably. And along with that, I grew a beard. Before I went to sleep, one of the harpies even said that it might be about time to consider shaving.

「Master, we spotted 4 kids stranded in the forest. How should we act? 」

The forest located between me and the Niza Duchy is quite deep. I rarely even see the adventures going there during the winter. This time, they were discovered by a harpy, so I decided to help them if I can. However, 4 kids in the wood is a rare occasion.

「Understood. I will head there right away」

I mounted Irimo and entered the forest.

When I looked at the map, the children moved. Are they about 15 years old? Still young. Although it was a hard work for her, Irimo decided to use her wings and fly all the way there. [³]

When I reached the kind, I called out to them.

「Hey, are you all right?」

They were sitting shoulder to shoulder under a large tree, but the moment they heard my voice, they slowly looked up.

「……A cat? 」

The cats wearing the armor and robes like the humans do. Unlike the beastmen, they looked like giant cats posing as humans. Who on earth are they? [⁴]

One cat discovered me and stood up. Apparently, it was a woman. She quickly approached me.

「Slow! Too slow!! What were you even doing!? Why didn’t you came to pick me up sooner?!! Cold! It’s cold! 」

I unintentionally stumbled. Did her brain freeze in this cold?

While I was wondering about these speaking bipedal cats, an armored cat approached me from behind. Apparently, this one was a man.

「Just where were you all this time? Hurry up and bring us to a warm place. We are hungry. I will leave the meal preparations to you. Un? Did you come alone? What are you even doing? We won’t be able to ride on a single horse. Shouldn’t you bring more horses in such situations? You are useless. Whatever, I and Shera will ride on this horse. You will go walk together with Amalia. Yuriel has no choice but to walk. Don’t you lose the light of Yuriel」

I couldn’t make heads or tails out of this situation. What is going on? I? Came to help you? How did it come to that?

When I tried to assemble the puzzle in my mind, I hear the armored cat’s voice.

「Hurry up and dismount! We can’t get up with you being there! Do you understand!?」

「…….Thank you for your hard work」

「M? What? 」

「…You worked hard getting here. Well, good luck」

「Oi, what are you saying?」

「I’m not your servant and I’m not your slave. I coincidentally discovered you in the forest and thought of lending you a hand. But I’m not in the mood anymore, I don’t want to involve myself with you」

「What Are you saying?! Don’t you know about me? It’s me! Isn’t helping me a matter of course? 」

「Unfortunately, I don’t have any cats as my acquaintances. I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but where you receive a person’s good intentions, you should respond accordingly. I have no intention to help people, who aren’t aware of such a simple thing. Work hard and try to reach your destination. Best wishes」

I and Irimo turned around and headed back. The armored cat ran in desperation and stood in front of us.

「Please help me! I’m the hero! Hero Willis! 」