CHAPTER 55
I stared blankly at Sibylius in her changed outfit.
Her usual neat appearance was the complete opposite of this, so I couldn't help but be shocked.
I wasn't the only one surprised—the two who had been fighting, Red and Viol, were stunned enough to stop their brawl on the spot.
Viol looked at Sibylius with dazed eyes and said.
"Who are you?"
The shock was especially strong since they'd known each other for so long. She momentarily couldn't even recognize her.
"Who do you think? It's Sibylius."
"...The Sibylius I know wasn't the type of woman to come to a bar dressed like that."
"You're dressed similarly yourself—how can you say that?"
Sibylius answered nonchalantly and, without asking permission, sat down right next to me.
Then—
"Bartender, I'll have what this gentleman is having."
She said something almost painful to listen to.
Don't tell me she's doing this to seduce me? Sitting next to me and ordering what I was drinking in a sleazy voice—it was exactly the kind of move a guy in my original world would pull when trying to pick up a woman.
Then when the drink arrived, she even winked at me.
...Of all the ways to flirt, you had to go with this?
Your sense of style is so outdated! This is not how a centuries-old Archmage should behave!
Whatever dignified image I had left of you was just completely demolished by that!
When did she become like this? Did she start deteriorating after her love confession last time, or was she always like this?
Come to think of it, the original Sibylius wasn't exactly normal either. A guy who's lived hundreds of years, falling head over heels just because a twenty-something woman was kind to him—pathetic.
Maybe this is her true nature, I shuddered. The other two had turned serious as well.
"Is this really the same woman who slaughtered all those demons by herself and declared herself the Demon King?"
Red seemed to have suffered considerable psychological damage—she'd even undone her transformation and returned to her original form, wearing the expression of someone who'd witnessed something they shouldn't have.
"AAAAGH!!"
Viol outright threw a fit. She screamed, then snatched the glass from Sibylius's hand and hurled it to the floor, shattering it.
"What are you doing?!"
"That's my line!"
Viol trembled with rage at Sibylius's protest.
"If you're going to do it, at least do it the way you always do! Just be shameless like usual. What is that pathetic attempt at seduction? It's embarrassing everyone who has to watch!"
"What was wrong with what I just did?"
"Do I even need to answer that? What was that wink about?!"
Viol, furious, and Sibylius, genuinely unable to understand what she'd done wrong.
Of all times, they had to come and do this while I was trying to drink. I couldn't drink even if I wanted to.
"Hey, just get out of here."
Red approached me, who was frozen in place, and said.
"If you want to rest, you'd be better off going somewhere else while those two are going at it."
"...But what if they actually start fighting while I'm gone?"
"I'll keep an eye on them. You're already stressed enough—don't worry about stuff like this. Just go."
My situation must be really bad if even Red is feeling sorry for me and offering to watch over them.
In the end, I escaped the chaos and left the bar. I wandered aimlessly through the palace corridors.
"Ceres!"
While walking, I happened to run into Alios.
"Where have you been? I went to your room to find you but you weren't there."
"I just stepped out for a bit..."
I couldn't bring myself to describe the carnage at the bar, so I brushed it off vaguely.
"I had something to take care of, so I went out briefly. Don't worry about it."
"Is that so? I thought that Red bastard had kidnapped you."
"She has no intention of doing that."
If she'd intended to, she wouldn't have bothered trying to persuade me earlier—she would have just taken me by force.
"I'm fine. More importantly, what did you come looking for me about?"
"Do you think I need a reason to come find you?"
Usually people look for someone because they have a reason. Alios denied that obvious common sense and suddenly pulled me into her embrace.
"...What are you doing right now?"
"Ceres, I can't imagine a world without you."
"Yeah, okay, I got it, so let go."
"That demon said you were destined to become the Demon King's consort, but that's nonsense! Ceres is mine!"
"Since when am I yours?"
I tried to speak as rationally as possible, but Alios was too agitated to listen.
Just as I was about to lose my patience and yell at her—
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Pulling something ridiculous again, I see."
More people approached. It was Ares and Hames.

Hames glared with a freezing gaze at Alios, who was hugging me, but Ares's gaze was even more fierce. She snatched me away, practically robbing me from Alios's embrace.

"Sir Knight, please, know your limits!"

Ares protested, but Alios responded expressionlessly.

"Why should I?"

"How can you even ask..."

"Ceres has to marry someone eventually anyway."

Alios spoke meaningfully to Ares, who was about to lose her temper.

"If so, I'm the best choice for a partner. After all, I'm much better than a dangerous half-demon or a crazy Emperor."

"...That is not for you to decide, Sir Knight."

"Then who decides? You, Count Ares?"

What?

I flinched at the title Alios used for Ares. Ever since she got to know me, she had always called Ares 'Mother,' but this time she used her name and title together. Alios then stared at Ares as if she found her strange.

"I've been thinking this for a while, but you're a bit strange."

"What about me?"

"No matter how precious your son is, this overprotectiveness is too much. Swatting away every woman who comes near and overreacting if anyone even approaches him. Even for a mother with a son, is it normal to go this far?"

"...What are you trying to say?"

"I didn't think it was weird until I found out Ceres was adopted, but your attitude, I mean. You're far too obsessed for someone just dealing with her son. Could it be that because Ceres is adopted..."

"Stop!"

Before Alios could finish her sentence, Hames shouted.

"There are things that should not be said. Especially when Ceres himself is present."

She had hastily intervened after seeing my sour expression.

"Hero Alios, are you aware that what you were about to say is a very grave insult? It's to the level where it wouldn't be strange if Count Ares challenged you to a duel on the spot."

"...You're right. I went too far."

Hearing Hames's stern reprimand, Alios pretended to apologize, but her eyes were still full of suspicion.

Could you stop? Even if I am adopted, don't make such weird assumptions! It'll only ruin our relationship for nothing.

"..."

"...I'm going to go back to my room and rest."

Ares and I exchanged awkward glances before I finally spoke up first, saying I was heading to my room.

"Too many things happened today. I want to get some rest."

"...I suppose so. Go ahead."

Ares gave me a worried look, but since I made it clear I wanted to be alone, she let me go.

"Ceres, wait. I don't know if this will help, but it's better than nothing."

Before letting me go, Hames placed a hand on my shoulder and infused me with Holy Power.

"Sleep well."

"...Yeah."

Before I went to my room.

"Ceres, me too!"

"Don't you come, you punk! You made the mood all weird, so what makes you think you can follow me?!"

I coldly rejected Alios, who tried to follow me, and went to my room alone.

I went to my room and lay down. I made sure the door was locked tight and tried to sleep, but...

I heard a knock.

"Which bitch is it this time?!"

The moment someone knocked, I couldn't hold back my anger and swore. At that, I felt a flinching presence outside the door.

"M-My Liege. It's me."

"Niobe?"

"If this is a bad time, I will return later."

"No, come in!"

I hadn't expected it to be Niobe. I hastily opened the door and let her in.

"What's wrong?"

"I came because I have two things to tell you."

Niobe spoke with grave seriousness.

"It's about your identity, My Liege. I am about to tell you my hypothesis, so please brace yourself. Perhaps, My Liege, you were created through magic..."

"Ah, I already heard about that."

"...Pardon?"

"Red told me. That I'm a being created from the Heavenly God's feather, the divine relic held by the Whiperion royal family."

I relayed everything I had heard from Red to a dumbfounded Niobe. She listened silently before letting out a sigh.

"So it was exactly as I thought."

"How on earth did you figure it out?"

"I once suspected that the lost feather of the Heavenly God might have fallen into the hands of the Demon King's followers."

She explained that she had long worried whether wicked individuals might be plotting some conspiracy with the feather, so the moment Haas brought me up, she immediately grasped the situation.

"But well, in a way, it is fortunate for us."

"Huh?"

"Because regardless of what purpose you were created for, My Liege, thanks to that, the true bloodline of Whiperion has been resurrected, and we were able to meet you."

I guess you could think of it that way?

Well, it might be different if things had gone south. But since things worked out and the bastards who plotted the conspiracy are all dead, from the Death Knights' perspective, the only thing left is me, an existence that is good for them.

"Please do not worry. No matter the method of your birth, we will continue to pledge our unwavering loyalty to you, My Liege!"

"Really? ...Then what's the other thing you wanted to say?"

In contrast to Niobe's passionate attitude, I replied begrudgingly. I did so because I had an ominous feeling for some reason, and my prediction was spot on.

"My Liege, what are you going to do about all those women? Isn't it about time you properly chose one of them and settled things?"