Akatsuki Translations

After escorting the unconscious Zenobia to her bedroom, Mirage, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had made his presence known at his abode, Illusion Castle. He had informed the magicians and knights, who were keeping watch over Roux, that he was going on a patrol around the royal capital.

Even though his days off as Farsa had already come to an end, as Mirage, he still had plenty of time to rest. However, there was no luxury of leisure. In the village of the Wolf Demon clan, Roux had gone missing, and even an imposter of Mirage had appeared in the royal capital. As such, countermeasures on the demon side were becoming more important than those on the human side.

Despite this, the news of the imposter had not yet reached the demon territory, and knowing about it would be unnatural. Therefore, Mirage had to act cautiously.

“Good evening, Tart-chan. I just came by to see if anything’s changed. Is everything okay?” -Mirage

“……” -Astarte

As usual, Mirage greeted her lightly as he met face-to-face with Astarte in the office. Astarte paused her busy pen for a moment but resumed her work without even looking at Mirage. To anyone’s eyes, she was purposely ignoring Mirage, but there was a reason for this.

Just the other day, Astarte and Mirage had fallen asleep on the same bed, hugging each other. Mirage had woken up first and had been gazing at Astarte’s sleeping face. Demons typically don’t need much sleep due to their light slumber. The reaction of Astarte, who had woken up shortly after, was not hard to imagine. She had hurled all sorts of abuse at Mirage, kicked him several times, and finally stormed out of the room to her own.

Mirage had left a message asking her to notify him via a communication orb once she had calmed down, and then left the Illusion Castle as he had a scheduled exploration of the ruins with Bedivere and the others. Since then, the communication orb had not been used, and it was probably unexpected for Astarte to see Mirage showing his face in the office.

Mirage thought it might have been better to give her a little more time, but given the current situation, he had decided to do this out of necessity.

“Tart-chan, actually, I’ve bought some Mirabelle fruit tart…” -Mirage

“……!” -Astarte

Upon hearing Mirage’s words, Astarte stood up so quickly that the sound of the chair’s legs scraping against the floor echoed throughout the room. The Mirabelle fruit that had caused such a reaction in Astarte was a plum with a refined sweetness, cultivated in the Lorraine region in the northeastern part of the Valois Kingdom.

It’s a fruit harvested mainly in early autumn, but its season is short, and it is so popular that the nobles in the Valois Kingdom buy it up. It was still early summer, too early for the season, but due to the whim of the eccentric royal, Aurelia, the first princess of the Valois Kingdom, who wanted to eat it all year round, the court mages were secretly made to think of a way to preserve the Mirabelle fruit.

After several trial productions, they came up with a processing method called the frozen compote of Mirabelle fruit. The one made last autumn was defrosted this summer, i.e., now, and it was judged to be problem-free. It was being talked about in some circles that from now on, it could be enjoyed regardless of the season.

Currently, it was being sold on a limited basis at a shop in the noble district of the royal capital for testing, and Mirage had bought it as a souvenir for Astarte and had handmade a tart of Mirabelle fruit. When Astarte had happened to get her hands on some Mirabelle fruit in the past, she had liked it very much, but she had given up because the climate and other conditions did not match and the production in the demon territory had failed, and because the human country was the place of origin.

For Astarte, the Mirabelle fruit was a long-cherished desire, and its effect was evident.

“It’s a beautiful night with the moon out. How about we enjoy it elegantly while looking at the night view? I’ve made too much for me to eat alone, so I’d be happy if Tart-chan could help me eat it.” -Mirage

“……If Mirage-sama insists, I just happen to be at a good point in my work, so I’ll accompany you for a bit.” -Astarte

Not very straightforward, huh? Mirage thought, smirking under his mask as he quickly opened a gate and began the teleportation.

Mirage and Astarte, who had moved to the terrace on the top floor of the Illusion Castle, sat down on chairs that had already been prepared, facing each other across a table. Mirage quickly took out everything needed for the Mirabelle tart, from dishes, knives, forks to the tea set, using teleportation magic.

Without exchanging words, Astarte began to prepare the tea, while Mirage cut the tart and placed it on each of their seats. The water was kept at the optimum temperature at all times in an insulating magic tool, and the cups were pre-warmed, reflecting Mirage’s good preparation.

In just a few minutes, a late-night tea party began.

“This black tea…it has a scent of roses. I’ve never tasted it before, but it’s really delicious.” -Astarte

“I tried to take a cue from a flower tea of the East, I’m glad you like it.” -Mirage

Astarte, who had taken a sip of the tea, seemed satisfied, and Mirage couldn’t help but react happily. The combination of tea was also something that Mirage had thought of on his own, considering the preferences of Astarte, who was a woman.

While Astarte was slightly surprised by Mirage’s words, she tasted the tea carefully without changing her expression and began to eat the Mirabelle fruit tart. On the other hand, Mirage brought the cup to the mouth of his mask and drank it slowly using teleportation magic.

The town, decorated with lights and visible from the terrace, had a fantastical atmosphere, a view that could not be seen elsewhere. The culture of the town under the Illusion Castle, which Mirage ruled, was highly developed among the territories under the control of the Demon Lord’s Army, with magic lights installed here and there.

Demons generally have better night vision and are stronger in the dark than humans, but it’s still better to see the surroundings more accurately in the light. Before Lilith, the Demon Lord, set up the Demon Lord’s Army, the demons were living in small settlements, far behind humans in terms of civilization.

With their superior physical and magical abilities resolving most issues, and little interaction between different races, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that their civilization hadn’t developed further. However, under the rule of the Demon Lord, various races, including humans, had come together, rapidly absorbing each other’s knowledge and technology, and thus their growth had accelerated.

This land, governed by Mirage, a rare magic user who was keen to incorporate the technology of ancient civilizations, was one such example. Because of the widespread use of affordable magical lighting, such scenes could be observed.

“The town continues to grow and prosper beyond recognition,” Astarte murmured, her voice tinged with melancholy. “I wonder if I would have witnessed such a sight if I had been chosen as one of the Four Heavenly Kings back then.” -Astarte

Since her childhood, Astarte had been preparing to succeed her father, a former Heavenly King. She and those around her had anticipated that she would eventually be selected for the prestigious position. However, the sudden appearance of the masked demon, Mirage, shattered her dreams, and she now found herself relegated to the position of deputy.

Despite her constant efforts to oust Mirage from his seat among the Heavenly Kings, and her impeccable work as a deputy, Astarte seemed somewhat lost in thought. Mirage thought that Astarte’s earnest nature was both her strength and her weakness: She took even trivial matters to heart, often feeling a sense of responsibility that was greater than necessary.

Mirage had some ideas as to why Astarte seemed down. Firstly, Astarte had felt helpless and ignorant about the black skin disease that had swept through a village of wolf demons. Secondly, there was the matter of Roux.

The first issue needed no further discussion. If Mirage hadn’t been there, they would not have been able to treat the black skin disease properly, and it might have spread throughout the demon territories, if not the world. It was a problem that Astarte couldn’t have solved. The second issue was that Roux had disappeared during Mirage’s vacation, while Astarte had been acting as a Heavenly King.

Mirage had guessed that he would receive news of Roux’s disappearance via a communication orb from the Demon Lord’s medical team stationed in the village of the wolf demons. But there was no urgency that warranted interrupting his vacation, hence no news had come.

At this point, it was still less than a day since Roux’s disappearance, and to those unaware of the situation, it could just be a case of a child running away from home. But the wolf demon village had been a hotbed of infectious disease. Even though it was now under control, isolation was still necessary as a precaution.

While Mirage could have used his teleportation magic to investigate the wolf demon village instantly, Astarte could not. Not just Astarte, but even other Heavenly Kings such as Rafale, Bedivere, and Cruel, or even the Demon Lord Lilith, could not do so. But the extremely earnest deputy took it too seriously.

“You’re misunderstanding something, Tart, it’s not because I’m a Heavenly King that we’re making progress, it’s because you’re here as my deputy. Your presence is that important to me. There’s no one else I can trust as my partner other than you, Tart… no, Astarte.” -Mirage

“Mirage-sama…” -Astarte

“I agree that your earnestness is a virtue, and I admit I’m somewhat lax. But if my subordinates are having difficulties, it’s my duty to help them. You have something you can’t talk about because I’m on vacation, don’t you?” -Mirage

“How did you…” -Astarte

“It’s obvious from your attitude, Tart. I won’t be able to relax unless you berate me as you usually do.” -Mirage

Given that Mirage, who supposedly knew nothing about the disappearance of Roux in the wolf demon village, suddenly brought it up, the conversation felt unnatural. Therefore, it was necessary for Astarte to speak of her own accord. Considering Astarte’s character, it was highly unlikely that she would discuss this matter with Mirage during his vacation.

Since Astarte had committed to fulfilling his duties as an acting Heavenly King and allowed Mirage to take a vacation, there was no chance he would do something half-hearted. So, all that was left was to skillfully guide the conversation.

“You really do want to be berated, don’t you, Mirage-sama? You’re such a boundless pervert. Honestly, it’s so disgusting it makes me want to vomit. Your sweet words have ruined my dessert and made me uncomfortable. In the first place, I’m not happy that you, Mirage-sama, who can’t manage yourself, are taking a vacation. You hardly work as it is, and yet you take your rest so seriously. It must be nice to be you.” -Astarte

Mirage felt relieved as Astarte returned to her usual self, and beneath the mask, the corners of his mouth lifted.

As a demon, the first thing to do was to gather information about when Roux was abducted, and now they could finally move on to the main topic.

By the way, in Mirage’s mind, there was zero possibility that Astarte was involved with the doppelgängers that appeared in the royal capital.

In the first place, Astarte, who could create an illusion of Mirage to deceive his absence, could easily frame someone if she wished.

Considering that danger, Mirage had cooperated multiple times in Astarte’s training to enhance her illusion magic. But, as Mirage’s words just now suggested, such a level of trust in Astarte was unthinkable without reason.

“I really needed to hear that. Now, to make up for all the times I’ve been slacking off, I’d like you to tell me if there’s anything I can do.” -Mirage

“Well, Mirage-sama, that’s quite a noble thought for you. It’s about the wolf demon village we visited recently…” -Astarte

With that, Mirage was able to get the information he needed about Roux’s disappearance from Astarte, allowing him to head to the wolf demon village for an investigation without hesitation.