After a full day of shopping, the Mummy Lord no wait, that's wrong Yoru Moonshadow had bags hanging from every possible place on his body.
And now, he'd been caught. By Eriri… something. He couldn't remember the full name, but "Blonde Defeated Dog" sounded just right.
"Who're you calling a Blonde Defeated Dog?! It's Eriri, you damn pervy demon !!"
Whoops. Looked like he'd said that last part out loud, and Eriri no, the blonde firecracker was now fuming. She bared her sharp, adorable little fangs at him like an angry puppy or was that a tiger? If her mother hadn't been holding her back, he probably would've taken a flying kick to the face.
Eriri's father, meanwhile, stood off to the side, talking on the phone. Once the call ended, he let out a long sigh.
Yoru Moonshadow already knew who he'd been calling. It was an international call he'd contacted Yoru's family to let them know he'd been found.
The response on the other end had probably been lukewarm at best. No concern. As if that family didn't even consider him part of it anymore.
"Yoru, about your family "
Eriri's elegant mother looked at him with concern, clearly wanting to say something comforting.
"I'm heading home."
He cut her off.
There was nothing left to say. Years ago, he'd already severed all ties with that house. They were strangers now.
"Sigh…"
That sigh came from Eriri's father. Father and son, both as stubborn as bulls.
"But still, Spencer-san, I'm sorry to have made you two worry."
Truth be told, if it weren't for the help of Eriri's parents, Yoru wouldn't have survived living on his own. He owed them a great debt. His sudden disappearance must've put a lot of pressure on them.
He bowed slightly, his expression sincere, eyes full of guilt and gratitude.
Come to think of it, what was the connection between his family and Eriri's?
As it turned out, Eriri's mother had once been an exchange student at the Imperial Eastern Nation one of the world's superpowers. There, she'd met Yoru's mother, and the two became best friends. Even after returning to their respective countries, they stayed in touch.
Meanwhile, Eriri's father and Yoru's father had also been exchange students from different countries during the same term. By some twist of fate, both ended up becoming diplomats stationed in the same region and fell in love with those very same girls.
Eventually, the two couples married. That's how it all started.
So what went wrong?
Don't ask. You trying to get yourself killed?
As Yoru walked away from the group, Eriri's mother nudged her daughter in the ribs, giving her a meaningful look.
"Forget it! If you want to follow him, do it yourself!"
Eriri puffed her cheeks and turned her head with a tsundere huff.
"Oh right, I still have things to buy, so I'll leave the booth to you two~"
Leaving that excuse behind, Eriri slipped away quickly clearly afraid her mother would pile more errands on her.
"That girl…"
Watching her daughter sneak off in the opposite direction, her mother let out a fond, exasperated sigh.
Of course she knew her child. Even though Eriri and Yoru bickered constantly, deep down she was kind-hearted. She would definitely follow behind to make sure he got home safely.
"Notice anything strange?"
Sayuri Sawamura, Eriri's mother, suddenly asked her husband in a serious tone.
Yoru's sudden disappearance, followed by that weak excuse about "survival training," was clearly a half-baked lie.
"No unusual energy fluctuations in his body. If that's the case, then he hasn't been summoned or pulled into a different realm."
Spencer Sawamura took out a smartphone-like scanner and showed her the stable readings on its display.
"Good. As long as he stays an ordinary boy, he can live a peaceful, ordinary life."
Though... weren't they worried about Eriri following him? What if something happened?
No need to worry. If anything did happen, and others were in danger because of him, Yoru would definitely find a way to warn them. He'd already guessed they'd send Eriri to tail him.
…
After catching the train, Yoru finally left the urban center.
[Chiba Station – Arrived]
Carrying a mountain of shopping bags, Yoru stepped off the train, drawing curious stares.
After just a few steps, he suddenly stopped near the platform exit. Someone in the same train car, who had been trying to stay hidden, was now making a mad dash for the closing doors.
Perfect timing.
Yoru stepped back just as she reached the edge, causing the doors to shut in her face.
Click.
Even without turning around, he could imagine her face, pressed close to the window, glaring daggers at him.
"You'll pay for this, you stupid pervy demon!!"
Her frustrated voice faded into the distance as the train pulled away.
So why did Eriri call him "pervy demon," anyway? Did she somehow know he was the real Demon Lord?
Of course not. It was his username also his pen name: Great Demon King.
"Ugh... don't tell me I cursed myself by picking such a ridiculous name and that's why I actually became a Demon King...?"
He muttered to himself as he walked down the street. Maybe it was time to change that cursed name.
Actually, the reason Eriri called him that had more to do with the fact that he frequently posted a certain kind of artwork.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
She had some nerve calling him a pervert. She was a lewd artist herself.
Now that he thought about it, he was also out of money.
His gaze shifted to the black ring on his right hand's ring finger the Demon King's Ring. It had accompanied him across countless worlds.
And no, this wasn't some cheat item he stumbled into. He forged it himself through blood, sweat, and tears.
Inside it were backups of everything he needed to travel between worlds, along with treasures from the 99 dimensions he had conquered. The ring itself had all sorts of hidden functions.
Right now, though, he was dead broke. Maybe he could sell one of the gems inside?
But how big could it be without drawing attention?
Wait... that didn't matter if he couldn't even activate the ring. Without that, it was just a plain piece of metal.
As he walked on, Yoru suddenly froze.
Someone was tailing him.
He turned around and saw her.
A girl with a calm, graceful face, long black hair that shimmered like ink in the light, and porcelain skin that practically radiated elegance. Her eyes were clear and composed, her lips touched with a natural softness that seemed... carefully untouched. Red ribbon ties dangled from either side of her glossy hair.
She wore a school uniform with a pleated skirt and thigh-high socks clean, stylish, and dangerously familiar to anyone who'd ever fallen in love with a 2D waifu.
In short: a long-haired beauty straight out of a high-spec dating sim.
And she was tailing him.