Published at 15th of May 2019 10:45 am

Chapter 17 - Off to meet my in-laws

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Then, on my day off, we paid a visit to Laetia’s parents in the hills outside a seaside town. When standing on the hillside, you had a great view of the port town.

“Father and Mother both grew up on rolling farmlands, so it had always been their dream to someday live near the ocean. So, when I got married, they gave me their house and moved out here.”

“Is that so? I must say, they certainly have exquisite taste.”

Angelica interjected with a “Demon lord, you’re so stiff it’s like you’re about to have a marriage interview.” There was no helping it, this visit was making me incredibly nervous.

What would I do if they told me “We can’t leave our daughter and grandchild to a demon lord! Go back to the demon lands!”…? Well, there wasn’t really anything I could do, and there was a pretty high chance they actually would say something like that. But, the more I put off meeting them, the worse their impression of me would get, and I couldn’t possibly just run away either.

All right then, come at me! I won’t run! I knocked on the door to the charming cottage, and someone who appeared to be Laetia’s mother came out. Something about her resembled Laetia, at least.

“Ah, you must be the new husband. You sure traveled a long way. All right, come in, come in.”

Phew. At least she didn’t turn me away or anything. Well, no matter the circumstances, there’s no way anyone in this day and age would reject someone in such an immature fashion.

“Uhh, here, I brought these cookies as a gift. I hope you’ll enjoy them.”

“Look, they’re just like the ones I buy all the time~”

“Oh my, how nice of you. Thank you.”

Laetia chimed in to back me up. Her cooperation was immaculate! Or wait… was it just natural for Laetia to support me…? It was almost like we were husband and wife…

On the other hand, Angelica was—I don’t know what she was thinking, but at the very least I could see she wasn’t smiling. Was she perhaps on bad terms with her grandparents? Or maybe they met so often that it simply wasn’t necessary to express their love out in the open? Well, I didn’t have enough information to come to any conclusion at this point.

Anyway, I would do what I needed to do in a business-like manner. That way, everything would be over before I knew it. It was the same approach I took for government functions. Even if it was incredibly tiring, if I just performed seriously and efficiently, I would make it through.

We were brought into a parlor-like room. There was a low table surrounded by comfortable-looking chairs.

“I’ll go put some tea on. Mister demon lord—is it all right if I call you that?”

“Ah, yes. Demon lord, or Galtau, whichever you prefer.”

“In that case, ‘demon lord’ sounds loftier so I’ll go with that. So, mister demon lord, will tea for humans be fine with you?”

“Yes, I would love some, thank you.”

Mother left the room for a bit. It wasn’t like she felt threatening or anything, but I did find myself breathing more easily.

But wow, it felt like my nerves were being stretched tight. I haven’t felt this way since that rebellion on the frontier. Or really, this was even worse than back then. At that time, I knew for certain that I would emerge victorious; I didn’t have that feeling at all right now…

“Galtau, it’ll be fine even if you relax a bit, you know~”

Laetia smiled at me. Thank you. As long as I had that smiling face, I could weather any storm.

“I understand. I’ll try to unwind a li—”

“Demon lord, you better not let your guard down. Stay on your toes.”

And now Angelica gave me an unexpected warning. Which one? Which one do I believe?!

Before long, Mother came out with a pot of tea along with Father. His hair was short and turning white, but he still had a sharp look in his eyes. His expression gave off a feeling of “I won’t lose to you young’uns yet!” This must be his obstinacy… Such a high defense.

This was it, here was the boss! How would he approach? What kind of actions would he take? Without saying a word, he folded his arms and took the seat diagonal from mine. Wait, huh? Should I introduce myself again now?

“I am Galtau Leuzen, the demon lord of Masgenia.”

It was the first time I had ever introduced myself in this way. I had never done anything more awkward in all my life.

“Mm.”

That was all the boss said. What? You don’t have a name to give me? Is that what that means? Quite a bold move to make in front of a demon lord—is what I thought, but I would never say that out loud.

Mother sat right across from me.

“My name is Sastina, and this here is my husband, Bynedee. He’s a tight-lipped grouch, even for a human, so just leave him be.”

So Sastina is in charge of moving the conversation forward, I see. As a married couple, they slid into their own roles so naturally.

Now then, this is where I seize the initiative. Speed was valuable in combat. If I launched a barrage of attacks all at once, it would increase my chances of victory.

“Ahem… On this occasion, I wanted to announce that Laetia and I have decided to marry… For myself, this will also be my second marriage.”

Should I tell them that I was bereaved of my first wife, Sasaya? Then again, it would be weird if I just started blabbering without them wanting to hear about it. It might feel kind of disrespectful to Sasaya, too. But then, what do I say if they want to know why I’m no longer with my previous wife…?

“That’s right; mister demon lord, you lost your first wife in the war, didn’t you? That must have been very painful for you, back then.”

“Ah, so you were aware of that.”

“Then, Laetia looked so much like your wife that it led you to bring up marriage—I can see it like that, right? And now, you’ve been working hard every day to balance your demon lord job with your new family responsibilities.”

She’s terrifyingly on point! She must have had me investigated thoroughly! How formidable of you, Laetia’s mother. She even sought out the little details. It’s true that without good information, you cannot reap the most benefits from battle. Miss Sastina, despite your quiet demeanor, you are a shrewd opponent. Above all, your fortitude while in the presence of a demon lord… it wouldn’t be inappropriate to call you an Amazon. Oops, I’m losing focus…

“About the marriage, that sounds fine to me,” Sastina easily consented. Oh, so I’ve already completed my objective?! No, wait, I can’t be that hasty. She only said “fine to me.” In other words, I could interpret that as Mister Bynedee’s permission now being required. I couldn’t celebrate quite yet.

“Thank you very much. I may be unsuited for the role, but I swear to do my utmost to make Laetia, as well as Angelica, happy!”

By bringing up her granddaughter here, I can raise my appeal as a dependable marriage partner. I wanted to emphasize the fact that I would not be the kind of trash who would mistreat a child from a previous marriage.

“In fact, the other day, Angelica and I hiked up a mountain together.”

“Yeah, we did. It was basically a full-blown dungeon, with monsters attacking us and everything.”

Heeey, Angelica, don’t say things that put me at a disadvantage! We were at a critical point in the battle!

“Well, Angelica is a hero, after all. That kind of trip must have been fun for you, wasn’t it?”

Miss Sastina, your follow-up was impeccable! That’s right! It wasn’t a big deal at all!

“Now, I do have something important to ask you, mister demon lord. Do you mind?”

Something important? What could it be?

“Do you have any plans to have children?”

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