Kays Translations

Milagros Interlude – The Return of the Demonkin

Seeing me off, Sato-san even prepared food and water for the journey, and I set off toward Tigancia.

On the way here, I somehow managed to sneak past without being caught, but the number of guards was insane.

If I were discovered, it would mean the end—so I advanced with the highest vigilance, aiming for the Demon Lord’s territory.

Right now, more than wanting to live for myself, I wanted to bring back this information for Sato-san’s sake.

Whether or not my house—who controls most of the northwestern forces—joins the Demon Lord’s army is a huge issue.
Having had my life saved, and being treated to such unbelievably delicious food, I swore I would repay Sato-san by surviving and making it back to Tigancia.

Perhaps because of that resolve, I was sharper than I had ever been in my life, able to keenly sense the presence of people and successfully cross the border.

Once inside the Demon Lord’s lands, I could finally relax a little, but I couldn’t truly rest until I reported this to Father.

Without stopping for breaks, I pressed on northwest—until at last, the familiar sight of Tigancia came into view.

Unlike human lands, the surroundings of Tigancia were completely devoid of nature.

Sato-san’s home, on the other hand, not only had nature all around, but also fields planted with various crops.

Just remembering that scenery brought back memories of the egg porridge as well, and before I knew it, my stomach was growling.

All of Sato-san’s cooking had been delicious, and the dishes he served me on my final day there were outstanding, but for me, number one will always be the egg porridge.

The gentle yet exquisite flavor that seeped into my body when I was starving… that shock is something I’ll never forget as long as I live.

Drool threatened to slip just from remembering, but I forced myself to refocus on the report ahead.
Surely my brother and sister would nitpick no matter what I said.

Slapping my cheeks to steel my nerves, I returned to our home in Tigancia.

In the living room, Father, my brother, and my sister were waiting. Since quite some time had passed since I had departed, my brother looked particularly surprised that I’d made it back alive.

“Milagros, you’re alive!? I was sure you were dead!”

“Mhm. I nearly died, but somehow I managed to return.”

“And? Did you hear anything from the Dragon Clan? Surely you didn’t come back empty-handed, right?”

My sister asked.

“No worries. I spoke with the Dragon Tribe… specifically, with Yato-kami herself.”

“Yato-kami!? You’d better not be lying!”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

“Milagros, well done. So—what did the Dragon Tribe say? Which side will they take?”

Father’s eyes widened, and he pressed me with overwhelming intensity.
I knew what he expected: Even if it’s a lie, say they side with humans.

But this time, it was the truth—Yato-san had really said the Dragons would support humanity.

“Yato-kami said the Dragon Clan will side with humans.”

“That true? You’re not just twisting her words because you didn’t want to fight, are you?”

“I’m not brother. If anything, Yato-kami said the Dragons might strike first against the Demon Lord’s army.”

“Then… if the Demon Lord’s army attacks, we’d have to fight the Dragons first. Even if we somehow won, we’d immediately have to fight the humans… That means our chances of victory are zero, doesn’t it?”

“I oppose joining completely dear sister. I saw how humans live, and demons have no chance of winning.”

“…Then it’s settled. We will not join the Demon Lord’s army.”

Thanks to my desperate persuasion, Father reached that conclusion.
At the very least, this meant Sato-san and I would never have to fight each other.

“Oi, are you serious!? That just means we’ll starve to death! And who even knows if Milagros is telling the truth!?”

“Then why don’t you go ask yourself? You’ll see I’m not lying.”

“Fine, then I’ll go next! But if you’re lying, Milagros, you’d better be ready to pay for it!”

“Absolutely not! Even Milagros, who excels at stealth, barely survived. Faustino, you’d be found and killed instantly.”

“I forbid it as well. I won’t allow Faustino to throw his life away.”

“Tch! What the hell! If Milagros could survive, then obviously I can too!”

My warmongering brother clearly wasn’t satisfied, stubbornly insisting I was lying.

If he went off and got himself killed, I wouldn’t care—
but if that death led us to ally with the Demon Lord’s army, I would hate it.

Despite his personality, my brother was surprisingly popular.
At this point… I might need to use my trump card.

“I don’t know if this counts as proof, but here—this is a sweet I received from a human close to Yato-kami. It’s unbelievably delicious… once you taste it, you might understand why the Dragons side with humans.”

I took out the sweets Sato-san had given me.

I had really wanted to eat them all myself, but to stop my brother from going berserk, I had no choice but to use them here.

“That weird little bag’s supposed to be candy? No way Dragons would pick sides over something like sweets.”

“Just try it.”

In truth, this was my first time tasting these as well.

Sato-san had given them to me “for the road home,” but I was glad I’d saved them.

I opened the package and handed some to Father, Brother, and Sister.
I pulled out one for myself too and examined it carefully.

It looked like some kind of animal droppings in color and shape… but the sweet aroma was incredibly appetizing.

The three of them waited for me to eat first, so I popped one into my mouth.

“—Delicious!”

The word burst out of me.
It was sweet, delicious, and the texture was amazing—airy and addictive with each bite.

“What is this!? It’s unbelievably good!”

“No way… Damn, this is amazing! What the hell!?”

“…Truly delicious. So this is what human food has become.”

All three of them were shocked, staring at me with faces that clearly wanted more.
There weren’t many pieces, and I hadn’t wanted to share… but I gave each of them one more.

“…I doubted Milagros, but after tasting this, the Dragons really must side with humans. I never thought candy alone could convince me.”

“Let’s stop opposing humans. Also—Milagros, can you contact this human again? I want to eat more of this.”

“I doubt it’ll be easy. But since I owe him so much, I plan to at least send a letter.”

“Best not to be rude. Still, it may be our chance to change our situation. Since you are on good terms with Yato-hime, Milagros, stay in touch with that human whenever you can.”

Father said that, but I had no intention of using Sato-san.
I genuinely liked him, and if he replied, I’d gladly exchange letters often.

At any rate, thanks to the sweets, the matter was resolved peacefully.

My survival, the delicious meals, the chance to speak with Yato-san, and even this peaceful resolution—
all of it was thanks to Sato-san.

I’ll have to find something I can do for him.
Soon… I want to repay him somehow.

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