Chapter 101
"That said, there's no real risk of failure. Yuuka’s strength already surpasses that of an average demon, and there's no issue with your bond either. It seems you’re even capable of sensory sharing and telepathy with her. As long as there's sensory sharing—which is a key indicator of the necessary bond for demonization—then all that’s left is strength."
"Really? But we’ve been able to share senses for quite a while now, haven’t we?"
"Ah, yes. That was when Yuuka had that nightmare—about two months ago, I believe."
Has it really been two months since I had that nightmare about my old job? Time flies.
"Hmm. And how long had it been since you two met at that point?"
"Let’s see… around a week? Maybe ten days?"
"Yes, that sounds about right."
"Oh? Just a few days? That’s quite fast. Normally, it takes two to three years for a typical demon and their kin to develop sensory sharing."
"What? No way—it takes that long?"
I’m shocked. We managed something like that in just a few days?
"Well, it probably helps that the Belgand family, starting with Albert, has always been friendly toward humans. As Guardians of the Rift, they’ve protected both the human and demon realms. So it makes sense they'd have a deep understanding of humans. But the biggest reason, I’d say, is that Albert genuinely cares for Yuuka."
Guardians of the Rift—that’s what they call Albert-sama and the Belgand family. They live in the world that lies between the human realm and the demon realm, the so-called "Rift." Their role is to act as a bulwark, stopping hordes of magical beasts from flooding into the human world.
"To begin with, most demons out there don’t even try to turn their kin into full-fledged demons. It takes time and effort, and they’ve long believed it doesn’t benefit the master demon all that much."
"Believed?"
What does she mean by that?
"When a kin is transformed into a demon, their abilities get a massive boost—much more so than those who were born demons. Their magic, physical strength, compatibility with certain spells, and even their unique magic all improve drastically. And the master demon's power also increases in proportion. There are other benefits too, but that’s the biggest one. Even so, most demons don’t go that far. They’ve always thought it wasn’t worth the effort."
"But that perception changed because of the existence of two people—Cecilia, the eldest daughter of the Belgand family, and her kin, Minato. They demonstrated that it’s possible to evolve into something beyond a demon. It’s not an official term, but we call their kind the ‘Deep Demons’ or ‘Deep Demonkin.’ The two of them are clearly beyond the realm of ordinary demons."
"Deep Demons… Deep Demonkin, huh?"
I see. If evolution is possible, then I can see why others would take interest.
"However, to this day, no one besides Cecilia and Minato has managed to reach that level. I wonder if there’s some hidden condition?"
"Hmm, I don’t think we did anything out of the ordinary. Right, Mina-kun?"
"I don’t recall anything special. Even the demonization process itself was standard."
"Exactly. So we really don’t know."
"Hmm… well, it can’t be helped. Now, let’s return to the topic—Yuuka, are you prepared?"
"How exactly do we perform the demonization?"
"There are various ways, but since you two are engaged, a kiss should suffice, no?"
"A kiss, huh? All right then, Albert-sama—let’s do it with a kiss."
"That was way too casual!? Hold on, Yuuka! Do you really understand what this means!? If we fail, you could die!"
"I’ll be fine as long as I’m with you, Albert-sama. And even if something does go wrong, I won’t have any regrets."
"Wha—but…"
"Albert-sama, do you think we’ll fail?"
"…I don’t think we will. But the thought of losing you… that terrifies me."
Albert-sama looked more anxious than I’d ever seen him. He’s unexpectedly the worrying type. I wrapped my arms around him to ease that fear.
"…Yuuka?"
"I believe in you, Albert-sama. So please, believe in me too. I’ll always be by your side."
"Yuuka… I understand. Let’s begin."
"Yes. I’m ready."
I closed my eyes, wishing from the bottom of my heart that I’d get to speak with Albert-sama again.
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