Bonding with Miria (1)

The next day…

In battle against the Magical Beasts, Miria normally accompanied me alongside Vivia.

Of course Ursula and Himeno were also along, but the two of them kept a little distance to make it easier for Miria and me to interact.

"Are you all right with this, Miria? If you're not keen on fighting Magical Beasts, or if you hate it… you don't have to fight."

"Hmph. In the end, the Magical Beasts and I were merely in a relationship of mutual exploitation.

"… Letting loose with skills at full blast was honestly pretty fun while I was irritated, too…

"I don't mind fighting today either."

So Miria said.

"… Thank you, it really helps. If that's the case… please take part in combat.

"But, Vermilion Flare, ease up a little, okay. The ground might disappear…"

The giant crater from yesterday, as if a huge meteor had landed, naturally hadn't disappeared after a single night's sleep like in a game. The gaping huge hole remained… The damage had encroached fairly close to the fort.

… If we'd activated it any closer, wouldn't this have ended in the absurd result of the fort being demolished by a friendly attack?

But the crater was acting as a good obstacle.

The Magical Beasts had no choice but to fall to its bottom as if pitching into a pit, and from there had to climb. Attacking the fort had become quite a struggle for them.

Once they fell into the pit, attacking from above made defeating them all too easy, even without big techniques.

"… So easy.

"Ursula, could you go reinforce battlefields that are in trouble?"

"Mn, understood."

… Ursula went back to the fort, but came right back.

"Reida is handling overall coordination at present. There don't appear to be any battlefields in trouble.

"We have grown used to this and become stronger than before, yet the Magical Beasts have weakened drastically all at once.

"There is nothing to struggle against…"

Or so she said.

Which meant plenty of time for me to talk with Miria and Vivia about various things.

"… This may be a bit much to say now, but Miria, Vivia, you really are strong.

"… If you two had attacked us as a pair from the start, honestly, I don't think we would have stood a chance…"

I shared that honest impression.

"… In that case, the number of towers we could destroy would have dropped, and we figured we'd be short-handed.

"The Magical Beasts had numbers, but useful personnel were limited on our side too.

"Also… I can't deny we underestimated you humans. We figured that even acting separately, two forts could be tackled.

"If only one fell, you'd respond, right?

"By felling two at once, we'd split your response and tip the situation to our advantage in one stroke… that's what we thought.

"… Your strength was tougher than I'd predicted. I'll grant that."

So Miria said.

"… We weren't operating with any margin to spare either. To make the attacks from day 2 onward fierce, we held back on day 1 and then dumped 7 days' worth of Magical Beasts in one go in a short-decisive offensive. That was the trick behind that big assault.

"… And my Demon attribute buff is gone now too…"

… Right. The Magical Beasts had been so strong because Miria's Demon General Command applied a 50% Attack/Defense UP to all of them.

That was simply 1.5x combat strength. And that 1.5x applied to a horde of that immense size…

So that was why it had been so harsh.

Really, by now it had become deceptively easy.

"… This means I can do Himeno's power-leveling too.

"… How old are Miria and Vivia?"

I asked, vaguely thinking they might be about Himeno's age or a little older.

"I'm 13!"

Vivia honestly told me.

…13!? With that strength!? Maybe the Demon Race really were something different from humans after all.

"… Vivia! You shouldn't hand over your information so easily!"

Miria was warning her firmly…

"I am 12! Demon Generals, I shall be thy friend!"

"Wai, thank you, Himeno-chan!"

Watching Vivia and Himeno get along surprisingly well, Miria was… puffing up.

Maybe she didn't like that Vivia was getting close to other girls before her.

How cute.

"…! I-I am not getting moody for the reason you're imagining! It's only that Vivia is too unaware of caution…!"

"But you love that Vivia just the way she is."

"O-of course I do…"

Agreeing with my words, Miria's expression softened.

"… Ku, you're really skilled at slipping in through my openings! N-no more dropping my guard!"

She quickly tightened her expression again, back on alert.

Hmm… Vivia was, honestly, a bit of a simple goofball, but I'd assumed Miria, who could direct a horde of that size, was a seasoned, hardened schemer.

But when we actually talked, I didn't sense any especially old hand's wisdom. She felt like an age-appropriate cute girl.

… Well, that figured. In fact, she was a pure, cute, companion-loving girl who couldn't abandon Vivia.

That was precisely why she lost.

If she'd been more calmly composed, more cold-blooded, I'd be the one defeated by now.

… She was probably immature in various ways, age-appropriately.

"… All the same, Miria's talent is splendid. Ability, tactics, combat technique, every one of them top-class.

"If Miria had been born a few years earlier and had been fighting with more experience accumulated… I'd have been the one defeated.

"Where on earth did you learn techniques to that level?"

"… R-really? Well, that's right. Of course.

"Fufufu, even me, I was top of the class at the nobles' academy. Graduated by skipping grades, called a genius!"

… Oh, lots of openings, really. Heh, so a nobles' academy existed in the Magical Beast territory too… bit by bit, I was drawing out information.

"By 'skipping grades,' you mean…"

"Yes, last year, at 13, I just graduated the nobles' academy that you'd normally graduate from at 16."

"… So Miria is 14, then."

The mismatch of those breasts and her somewhat-loli atmosphere had made her age hard to guess, but now that she said it, 14 fit somehow.

"There are schools in the Demon Race's world too? What sort of place is it?"

… Of course Miria didn't blab freely from the start, but as I praised, soothed, and coaxed her, she became talkative. It seemed she originally cherished her school memories and wanted to tell someone about them.

"We are 'Demon Gods' daughters,' the very highest nobility in the Magical Beast territory.

"Common folk don't get to attend school. But we nobles enter and study at the nobles' academy. Vivia and I met there.

"There's a sister system where a senior teaches a first-year junior.

"That's how Vivia and I became sisters.

"There are many spiteful onee-samas who bully their imouto in the sister system, but I never did that."

"Mn, Miria-chan was very kind, and everyone said how envious they were that Miria-chan was my onee-chan. I was so proud."

"… Because you're Demon Gods' daughters… that's why you're so amazing?"

"Yes, that's exactly right!

"Of course, all of us Demon Race possess strength far surpassing humans.

"But for those of us who have a Demon God for a mother, it's no exaggeration to say we are beings born to become the strongest!"

"Hee… that's impressive. What's your Demon God's name?"

"My mother is Demon God Mileth Flauros! She is the strongest renowned Demon God in this Magical Beast territory!"

"My mother is Demon God Viola Focalor. She's a very strong Demon God, you know, Goshujin-sama."

The two gladly informed me. It didn't seem particularly secret.

The Demon Gods were equivalent to 72 kings in the Magical Beast territory. That meant the two of them were princesses.

"… Viola, Mileth, are they Demon Gods known in the human world too?"

"No, I have not heard of them. Most likely they have not yet invaded the human realm.

"… Why is it that Demon Gods invade the human realm?"

"Hm? That's surely different for each Demon God, isn't it.

"The reason we attacked is as I said before.

"I have 3 real older sisters. Vivia has 4 real older sisters too.

"The custom for a Demon God's daughters is normally to fight among each other, kill each other, and the strongest one becomes the next Demon God…

"But because we love our onee-samas, killing each other to fight over the next Demon God seat is out of the question.

"… So we thought up a method by which we could become Demon Gods without sisters killing each other.

"The Demon-God-husks: those who fell and ended up reincarnated in the human realm.

"If we Demon Generals kill them and devour their flesh, we can usurp the right to inherit the Demon God power!

"That is why we targeted the husk of the strongest Demon God in history, Tiari Belzebute!"

Miria spoke this without the slightest shame, right in front of Ursula.

Hearing all these Magical Beast territory circumstances was very interesting, but brazenly declaring to Ursula's face "I'll kill and eat you" was a bit…

You could say it was an attitude that really screamed "Demon Race after all."

However,

"I see… If I had taken on this attack operation alone, without borrowing Naoto's power…

"Thy aim might have been accomplished."

Ursula was laughing as she watched the two girls who'd openly stated they'd targeted her.

… With the ones who had tried to kill her right in front of her, this composure was amazing. As expected of Ursula.

"… Well, when one tells me they were after my life this brazenly, I can't quite muster the will to be angry.

"Those of the Magical Beast territory live by somewhat different values from us. Holding a grudge or being bothered is pointless.

"… Besides, they are Naoto's companions now. Henceforth, getting along would be best. Are they not lovely girls?"

Ursula laughed.

"… Are you still aiming at Ursula even now?"

"… Let's see.

"… Honestly, that might no longer… be possible. Having actually seen her face and had this much contact…

"Killing and eating Ursula doesn't appeal to me anymore.

"… I'll just go after some other Demon God husk. There are 10 husks in the human realm, after all.

"… In that sense, getting caught by you wasn't bad for the purpose of exploring the human realm."

Miria said this with flames kindling in her red eyes.

She hadn't given up yet. She was still fighting with the strong resolve to surely become a Demon God.

… Well, since she'd become my companion, I really did want to make her dream come true.

That said, the method of killing girls like Ursula, the Demon God reincarnations, and feeding them to Miria and Vivia wasn't a path I wanted to take.

I had to somehow find another way.

"It's just a tentative contract now, since I promised to release you once this attack operation ends.

"… At that point, I plan to ask whether you'll formally contract with me.

"Given those circumstances, I'd be glad to get a favorable answer."

I smiled at Miria.

"… Are you sane? Even with Vivia's betrayal, you may never get another chance to catch this Demon General Miria, you know?

"To let go of it once… I can only think you're crazy."

Miria didn't seem to believe my words. Well, that figured… Normally there'd be no concept of releasing a Garumon.

"But I think the way I trapped you was just too cowardly, and in the end I was only saved by Vivia…

"If I made you a companion just like this, you wouldn't be convinced.

"I want you to become a companion after being properly convinced.

"Right now I can't release you because I can't lose this attack operation. If I released you, we'd absolutely lose.

"… These 3 days, watch me and my companions carefully, and judge from there."

"… Hmph, who can say. A mere human… spouting pretty words."

Miria stayed hostile no matter what.

"Goshujin-samaaa, piggyback, piggyback!"

"Whoop, ahaha… there, there."

Vivia, on the other hand, was super attached.

So, what topics to talk about to win Miria over…

Well, I'd just talk about things I was genuinely interested in. No point putting on airs.

The best thing was to have her judge whether she liked the unvarnished me.

"I was thinking about how I'd direct the Magical Beasts if I were on their side, and the method Miria took was the best move, wasn't it."

I was interested in Miria's tactics.

"I also considered concentrating the Magical Beasts at one point instead of dispersing them to 9 places…"

"In that case, the human side would concentrate their forces at one point too.

"The Magical Beast side is a rabble of mere numbers, while the human side has fewer numbers but, infuriatingly, superior individual performance.

"When both sides concentrate at one point, the human side has an overwhelming advantage."

"Yes, exactly.

"When forces are massed and you launch out-of-battle battles on them, with buff-super-empowered all-target attacks, they're wiped out in no time.

"So by striking all forts simultaneously, you disperse our forces to the thinnest.

"On top of that, you concentrate attacks on weak spots or particular targets.

"… Once again, it was the best move. Did you learn that kind of tactic at school?"

"No. School is mostly about noble lifestyle and manners. Tactics and strategy, you have to figure out on your own.

"Most of the Demon Race are basically brawn-headed and specialize in personal combat power… even if you taught them, their attitude toward learning is hopeless.

"But now, you humans are getting stronger and stronger.

"We Demon Race have to move more strategically too. Just looking down on weak humans, we can't win…"

"… A splendid problem awareness. Miria, you really are excellent."

"… Ehehe."

This girl melted quickly when praised. So cute.

"Wha, b-but, I won't lose to mere humans!

"… If Vivia hadn't betrayed me, I wouldn't have lost!"

"Exactly so. The fact that we're here like this is thanks to Vivia.

"You were very strong, and in a normal match I think we'd never have stood a chance."

"… Ehehe…"

Well, she was a girl who never ran short of praise-worthy material, so I wasn't stuck.

"That combination magic was incredible too. No really, it was incredible. Of all the techniques I've seen up to now, it was, hands-down, the strongest one without buffs."

"Fufu, fufūn. Well, of course. My and Vivia's opposing magic forces, fused by demonic power and forcibly unleashed, the strongest ultimate technique!"

"And cute too…"

"Fueh, fuee…"

Oh, maybe she wasn't used to being praised on her looks?

"Vivia too, but Miria, you're really cute as well."

"Fue… s-stop! I-It's not going to work, currying favor like that…"

"Currying favor… I'm just speaking the plain facts. Miria being strong, smart, and cute is all just plain truth… If you become my companion, I'll be truly heartened and happy.

"Plus, your talent is incredible. The cleverness of grasping ten from hearing one.

"Not just me, I want you to talk a lot with my companions too.

"There's Ursula, and lots of others smarter than me.

"Miria, you can soak up all sorts of things…

"I think you'd make a truly splendid Garumon. You might even be able to become a Demon God by your own power.

"I want to make your boundless possibilities bloom…"

"… Fueee… a, u… w-well, I-I'll… think about it. We have 3 days, after all.

"There's plenty of time to think. F-for now, more Magical Beasts are gathering.

"Direct us, please.

"… Your direction is so easy to fight under, and instructive."

Miria smiled.

Really… her looks, ability, talent… all of it, mouthwatering. Both Miria and Vivia. Even more splendid as a pair.

I couldn't help thinking I wanted them to stay as companions, by any means necessary.

I didn't want to make a girl who hated it into a companion… If I held to that, then as long as Miria kept hating it, I couldn't make her one.

In that case, Vivia would leave too. She wouldn't part with her dear Miria and follow me. I couldn't imagine that.

Losing these two…

Aah, the thought tore at me as if my body were being ripped apart.

I'd come to love both Vivia and Miria thoroughly in this short span.

… Even if I had to abandon my pride… I didn't want to let these two go.

I'd come to want them so strongly that I worried over it.

The sun set, and today's Magical Beast invasion was over.

I didn't have to recount today's battle.

All forts were flawless. Damage: 0. Magical Beast momentum had completely waned, and only sporadic, barely-even-combat subjugations were lazily repeated.

It was all the more certain that this attack operation's victory had been decided by yesterday's battle. Well, couldn't let our guard down till the end.

If I released Miria, we could very well still be overturned even from here.

… But, attack operation aside, set it aside for now.

Reida-san was handling overall command.

My current objective had shifted to growing close with Miria and Vivia, and this was more important.

That fight would continue a little longer.