NOVEL NEXT Ch 72. Our New Home?
Once we arrived at the Demon Lord’s Castle, everyone was shocked. Even from afar, the castle looked imposing and exuded an aura of power and authority. However, now that we were right in front of the main gates, we knew that the previous perception that we had of the place was clearly distorted due to the distance. In other words, right now, the place looked even more intimidating.
We walked in, following the Demon Lord. The place was highly ornamented and there was not even a single dust mote to be seen, not even in the corners. However, there was something weird about this place, and it was that there were almost no life forms inside the castle. A place like this, being this empty, ends up generating an awfully uncanny feeling.
“Well, since you’ll be staying here, you should make yourself comfortable. I’ll show you the dorms and then you are free to go until dinner.”
“Whoooa~!”
“Did she say dorms?!”
“No, she said dinner! What's going on here?!”
Murmurs started at my back from everyone who was there. Indeed, we were getting a place to stay and the food that came with it. Life has taught me that I should be grateful for the things I get, but it also has taught me that I need to be cautious.
I walked towards her, and in order to keep everyone away from this, I muttered in her ear.
“What's your plan, Anastasia?”
“It seems that you are actually clever, right Beatrice?”
“Well, if I wasn't, we couldn't have survived this long.”
That's right, even if we had lost some of our partners along the way, the truth is that Demons can’t take the risk to even rest, this World is full of dangers and enemies. That means, that blindfoldedly trust in someone we have just met, is a no go.
“Well, as you already know, this world could be really harsh for Demons, so I think we should stick together. That way, we'll be safe.”
Noble words were being said by a really suspicious Demon Lord.
“I could go with that, for now. But don't get me wrong, I still won't trust you.”
“What a clever child you are, right? Fufufu~”
We went to the dorms. There were a lot of rooms and on each of them, there were two beds, a single nightstand between them and a window that allowed you to see the beautiful garden made of a wide variety of flowers from different colors and bushes cut out of different shapes.
“T-There are beds!?”
“Whoooaaa! This place is wonderful!”
Another fuss started when everyone discovered the kind of rooms we were having. I looked around and managed to have just a glimpse of Anastasia’s expression. There was a slight smile of confidence drawn on her face.
“Mhmm…”
“Anything wrong, my Lady?”
The one asking was the one with whom I’ll be sharing the room.
“I’m not sure yet, but be on your guard, Phlum.”
“Alright! I'll tell you if I notice something interesting.”
“Thank you.”
I still have no proof of it, but could she be trying to bribe them? I need to be carefull.
Once we were done cheeking the dorms, we started walking around the castle and the surrounding grounds. Just as you might be expecting, there were almost no souls to be seen. In fact, we only managed to meet a pair of girls with cat ears, who were probably of an hybrid kind, that worked as maids inside of the castle. However, the pair was just as mysterious as this place and the Demon Lord who was ruling over it. Why? Well, let's say that both of them were people of a few words, in fact, no one heard them talk, not even once.
The time passed by, and we were called in order to eat dinner.
Food was placed over a huge table, and on the head of it, was the seat for Anastasia, the Demon Lord. The food was so vast and the table so huge that everyone managed to have a seat around it and a fair amount of food.
Even if we had eaten at the Forgotten Library, the fact that we were craving until then, can't be erased by just one meal. At this point, I'm really scared that we ended up turning into a group of spoiled Demons.
Anastasia, who was sitting by my side, seemed to notice that I was worrying about something, so she talked to me.
“Don't worry, I'm not planning to do anything bad. Not to you, nor to your companions.”
“What's your plan then?”
“I want to go even further, I want to become a Great Demon Lord.”
Those words froze me. Is it really alright to dream that far? If that's right, I also want to aim to become someone that can rule over everyone, someone that can protect everyone, someone that will be able to defeat every of their enemies.