Chapter 61 – Return (5)

“I am actually the devil.”

How many things have happened before you say this? We are now neatly dressed in the drawing room. Isabel was again wearing the neat and dignified attire of a Florentine woman, and I was wearing one of Carlson’s old clothes, which had been refurbished.

Alice looked contented to have taken a warm shower in her bathtub, and Sophia clung to me like a pet dog. Alice stared at me, then frowned. She didn’t like breaking the mood.

“What are you talking about?”

Elena was also laughing, shaking her head. Isabel was holding my hand, and Sophia was looking at me with her head tilted. I was silent. It was because in order to convey the story clearly, it was necessary to choose the words.

Even before the aftermath of the remark, which seemed to have been said recklessly, had dissipated, Alice inquired as if she could not stand this subtle atmosphere.

“What do you mean? Why is the devil suddenly appearing?”

“It is literally. I didn’t tell you before I went to the academy because I was afraid you would report it, but now we’re all one family, right? I’m saying this because I think we can talk openly now. I’m actually a demon That, the devil that priests and mercenaries hate so much.”

Alice didn’t take my words straight away. She saw the faces of Isabel and Elena. Elena was laughing, and Isabel was nodding at her. Sophia said while stroking my thigh.

“And I’m a devil too.”

“What, is this a joke?”

Alice didn’t want to believe our story. The timing was good, she thought, but she also seemed to have a hard time accepting that the stepdad she knew so well was the devil. Alice pointed to my attire and said.

“Just because you mended his clothes and put them on, aren’t you imitating him all of a sudden? I don’t like jokes like that.”

I let go of my laughter and shook my head resolutely. Sofia lifted herself up beside me and blinked her eyes once. Seeing black wings sprouting from Sofia’s back, Alice stepped back in surprise.

“What, what?”

Sophia said.

“Are you the devil?”

I sprinkled some magi over Sophia’s head, making her eyes shine. Seeing the shimmering Magi in her eyes, Alice finally felt the power that existed in her body.

“Me and Sophia are demons… Among them, incubus and succubus that deal with the power related to lust.”

“…Wait a minute, I’m a bit confused. Wait a minute.”

Saying that, Alice sat down again. After staring at her floor for a moment, lost in her thoughts, she lifted her head and said,

“Well, wait a minute. That person is so evil…”

“Alice. He was originally trash.”

“…It did. Really.”

Alice bowed her head again. I never had any influence on Carlson. Carlson had been a piece of trash before I came, a literal beast he had been fucking with even before I realized his demonic powers.

Isabelle said, squeezing my hand.

“Alice. Evan is a demon, but she’s been through hardships with us. She saved me and she saved Elena from that evil human and made her know her joy as a woman. Alice. I know you are confused and having a hard time right now, but I want you to be sure to accept Evan into our family.”

Alice looked at Isabelle with a complicated expression. I said.

“I have never brainwashed these two or used any powers. And, in fact, I had just recently awakened to my demonic powers, so I was a really powerless slave when I was first sold to Carlson.”

“Alice. Evan is a really nice guy.”

Elena also helped. Alice stared at me again. She cried and scratched her head.

“You barely get away from that filthy human, are you a devil now?”

Sophia winked at me. I grabbed her shoulders and made her sit upright. Isabel and Elena were making eye contact, shaking their heads and closing her eyes tightly.

We waited so long. Alice’s choice will change the fate of this family. Alice closed her eyes for a long while, lost in thought. Like sinners awaiting judgment by a judge, we waited for the words to come out of Alice’s mouth.

“…Do it yourself.”

Isabelle blinked her eyes. Sofia looked at me, and Elena gave me a subtle expression. Alice blushed, and she looked back at me.

“Oh, I like my mother… What am I going to do It’s true that he really saved her mother and her sister… Me, I already decided to call you daddy. It’s kind of surprising, but… That… Ah, anyway, as long as you don’t go around doing bad things. I wish you well in the future. Oh, Dad.”

I smiled and nodded her head. Alice resembled someone and she was very smart and clever.

“Yes, my daughter.”

Sophia sat quietly next to me again and tucked her wings in.

******

“You want to move?”

Isabel asked Alice’s proposal, widening her eyes. She looked at Elena with an expression that seemed to have never thought about moving. Elena was also looking at Alice with a surprised expression. Alice hesitated as they met their gazes, but did not bend her opinion.

“Yes, move. Because earlier. I think the people in this neighborhood themselves are a bit of a bad quality. Because you never know when something might happen. Let’s move to a proper city. Now that I’ve got a job at a decent company. We can afford a small house on the main street.”

“But, Alice. As you know, Evan is a demon. If you go to the downtown area, there is a high risk of getting caught.”

Isabelle looked at me and she said so. I shook my head and said.

“Even at the cost of that, I think I should move. Because when I’m not there, there’s a limit to Rumia’s protection here.”

“Master. Now I have I’m an elite succubus from the Faculty of Magic. I can beat these insignificant people with my bare fists.”

Sophia stood up and threw her fist in the air. Come to think of it, there would be nothing wrong with Sofia staying at home all the time. Because there was only Rumia in this town who could defeat Sophia.

“Ah, yes. Now Sofia will live with us at home. You can just tell Sofia to protect it. He’s a very elite succubus. Chop firewood well and dig the ground well.”

“… Am I doing something like that?”

As long as Isabelle and Elena’s safety was assured, she had no reason to move. For us, this area was an optimal fortress. I didn’t see any other demons around, and the high priest in charge of this area was on my side.

What better place could there be for an evil demon to plan its future?

Alice was annoyed when I suddenly changed her opinion, as she sat back down.

“No, Dad. So are you going to live here forever? The fence is all old and only grows grass, the doors are rusted and screaming, and the village officials are all drunk and trash, so there is no future? I don’t want to leave my mom in a mess like this. If she’s looking here, she’ll think of him, and she’ll get annoyed for nothing.”

In the end, it was filial piety. Alice said she wanted to move Isabel to a better home for her. Even though I could understand her heart, I felt sorry for the current situation where the conditions were not available.

It was because the stability of the forces I had created was my priority anyway. If I went to another area, I couldn’t take Lumia with me, there was a high risk of me getting caught, and there was no guarantee that another area would be safer than here.

“To me, this is where the future lies. There are no people, and the strongest priest in the area is on my side.”

“No, it is, but…”

Alice scratched her head to see if she agreed with me as well, reducing her words. But she just had nothing to refute right now, and she couldn’t let go of her desire to move on.

Isabel and Elena were clearing their throats and drinking tea, averting their eyes as if they were not sure which side to take.

“Excuse me…”

And then, Sophia raised her hand. She looked back and forth at the two of us, timing her words. I gave her her say with a nod of her head, and Sophia cautiously asked her Alice.

“I have a way to make this place super safe. What do you think about it?”

Alice tilted her head as she stopped drinking her tea at those words. I looked at Sophia as I was.

“What do you mean? Safety?”

“Huh. Besides, there is a way to kill two birds with one stone for regional development.”

Sophia said that with her confident face.