“…S-She actually said ‘okay’!?”
Did this Hero, who had the aura of a literal demon, actually reach out her hand so obediently?
Histori froze for half a second before swallowing hard.
Her hands trembled as she supported the back of the Hero’s hand.
It was soft and slender — a delicate touch exactly as she had imagined.
“…”
Histori lowered her head, pretending to examine the shape of the Hero’s hand with professional focus, but her mind was racing at a mile a minute.
‘Wait, so the Hero is actually a girl?’
She had suspected as much when she first saw the Hero’s face, but with that pitch-black heavy armor and the frigid aura that felt like she had just crawled out of a pile of corpses, it was almost impossible to guess she was a girl.
Histori carefully lifted her head, stealing a glance at the Hero’s face out of the corner of her eye.
A few traces of blood from an unknown source stained her exquisite jawline.
Between her brows, partially hidden by messy strands of hair, lived a deep gloom, paired with a set of pitch-black eyes that radiated a murderous intent.
“…What? Are you not going to start?”
The Hero narrowed her eyes slightly.
The heavy sword she had thrust into the floor seemed to hum in response.
“…R-Right away! I was just thinking about which color would better suit your aura, Sister!!”
Histori jerked in a startle.
She quickly forced a brilliant smile onto her face and pulled a nail file and some polish from her storage space.
“I see you don’t have much experience with manicures. For your first time, why don’t we try a classic bright pink?”
“Fine.”
Having received a calm permission, Histori took a deep breath and held it.
Her movements were as gentle as if she were defusing a nuclear bomb.
First the index finger, then the middle finger, then the ring finger…
‘No, why isn’t the Demon King ready yet!? I’ve already finished six nails!! If I keep going, I’ll have to convince the Hero to take off her boots so I can paint her toenails!’
‘Quickly, Father! My patience is wilting like a flower! If you don’t show up soon, I’m going to wither right along with it!’
Although Histori consciously slowed her pace, it wasn’t long before all ten of the Hero’s nails were painted clean.
“…”
The Hero gently raised her hand, staring at her transformed nails against the sunlight for a few seconds.
It was impossible to tell from her expression whether she was pleased or not.
“Um, Lady Hero, are you satisfied with the service?”
“…”
The Hero gave Histori an noncommittal glance before resting one hand back on the hilt of her pitch-black heavy sword.
“…Ah! Please wait a moment! Y-You, look at your hair! How did it end up in such a state?!”
Just a second before the Hero could draw her sword, Histori tightened her vocal cords and let out an exaggerated cry of shock.
Immediately after, Histori stood up from her chair and hurried behind the Hero, cradling the ends of her hair, which were covered in dust and dried blood.
“Goodness, this dry texture! These split ends are hard to look at! Even though you have a great foundation, you haven’t been paying any attention to your hair maintenance at all, have you!?”
“…”
The Hero released the hilt of her sword.
She pursed her lips in thought for a moment and then gave Histori a silent nod.
“Sigh, this simply won’t do! I can’t stand to watch! A beauty like you deserves smooth, silky hair to match! Sit here and wait for a moment. I’ll go prepare the tools!”
Before the Hero could respond, Histori grabbed her teacup and walked over to a barely functioning water outlet by the balcony to collect some water.
‘Nice! As expected of me! Just a few words and I’ve bought the Demon King even more time!’
She turned back, intending to ask the Hero to get into a comfortable position, only to find that the Hero had already closed her eyes and leaned back against the round table.
“…”
Histori had been too nervous to notice before, but looking at her now…
She had long eyelashes, a high bridge of her nose, and delicate features — a gorgeous face without a single flaw.
‘And that defenseless, bare neck.’
In that instant, Histori’s flattering gaze turned cold and sharp.
When she was doing the Hero’s nails, they were sitting face-to-face.
If she failed an assassination attempt then, she would surely die.
But now was different.
As long as the Hero kept her eyes closed, this was the perfect opportunity!
Histori gently curled her fingers, condensing a tiny blood blade at her fingertip.
Next, she only needed to reach out, and she could easily slit the Hero’s throat…
Just as Histori steeled her resolve to kill the girl in one strike, the Hero, who had been silent until now, suddenly opened her eyes.
Those indifferent black pupils peered through the wet strands of hair on her forehead, quietly meeting Histori’s gaze.
Histori helplessly retracted the blood blade into her body.
She transitioned the movement into a scalp massage, her smile looking worse than if she were crying.
“…Um, is the water temperature alright, dear Hero?”
“Mhm.”
The laconic Hero closed her eyes again, offering Histori nothing more than a simple syllable.
—
The next 1.5 hours turned into a humiliating history of survival for Histori.
After finishing the nails, she washed the Hero’s hair; after washing the hair, she washed her face; after washing the face, she applied lip balm; and after the lip balm, she drew on eyeliner.
Who said makeup skills were useless?
They were incredibly useful.
Histori only regretted that she hadn’t learned more, as she had exhausted her repertoire just to stall this long.
“Is it over?”
“…Yes, it’s finished.”
At the very end, Histori wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and carefully handed a silver hand-mirror to the Hero.
In the mirror, the bloodstains on the girl’s face had long been wiped away.
Her messy black hair had become as smooth as silk.
The originally gloomy and violent look in her eyes had miraculously softened under the modification of pink eyeshadow and eyelid tape.
With the murderous aura faded, the black-haired girl standing before Histori had become a peerless beauty who could rival even Histori herself.
“…Hm.”
This time, the Hero stared at her reflection for a long while before placing the silver mirror back on the table.
She turned around and gave Histori a slight blink.
“My name is Emil.”
‘Wait… at a time like this, we’re suddenly entering the self-introduction phase?’
“I-I see? My name is Histori. It was a pleasure serving you.”
Barely keeping up with the Hero’s logic, Histori smiled and shook the Hero’s hand.
“Then, shall we continue—”
“—BOOM!!!”
Before Histori could finish, the sky over the Demon King’s Castle turned as black as ink.
A violent wind whipped up debris on the balcony, and the clouds high above were torn apart by rampaging mana.
“Eh, Histori? You’re actually still ali—cough, I’ve kept you waiting, my beloved daughter.”
In the center of a massive magic circle glowing with purple light, a demonic dragon large enough to blot out the sun slowly descended from the sky.
‘Wonderful! It’s the immortal and unrivaled Lord Demon King!’
Feeling that terrifying, world-ending aura from above, Histori was so moved she nearly shed tears.
Even though he had almost blurted out something that would have made her disown him, it didn’t matter.
As long as he was here!!
Histori quickly let go of the Hero’s hands, scrambled backward, and let out a long-repressed, maniacal laugh toward the person in front of her.
“…Ha, Hahahaha! You fool! Your end has finally come!! Go for it, Great Demon—”
“—BOOM!!!!!”
Before Histori could finish her cheering, the Demon King’s descending body suddenly lurched.
Immediately after, his sun-blotting dragon form fell straight out of the sky.
With a thunderous crash, it crushed the top two floors of the Demon King’s Castle into dust.
In the swirling clouds of smoke, the Demon King’s dragon scales were shattered everywhere.
A massive hole that went clear through his body had appeared in his chest.
“…Huh?”
Histori froze in her cheering pose.
At some point, the black-haired girl who had been sitting in the chair admiring herself was now standing firmly on the Demon King’s mangled back.
Her black hair, which Histori had treated so carefully, fluttered wildly in the wind.
Ten fair fingers with bright pink nails were gripped tightly around the hilt of the pitch-black heavy sword embedded in the Demon King’s chest.
“*Squeltch.*”
After pulling the heavy sword from the Demon King’s body without expression, the Hero flicked the dragon blood off the blade.
She looked down at Histori with her tape-enhanced eyes, quietly waiting for her to finish the sentence she had started.
“…”
Histori looked down at the seemingly very dead Demon King, then looked up at the beautiful black-haired girl on the dragon’s back.
Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud.
“…D-Demon King Dad?!?”