We've come to play in the town of demons surrounded by a large forest.
　But even though we came to play, Nem Nem and Sufilia are wary of the demons around them, and it seems they have no time for that.

''Just to be sure, it would be better not to leave them too far away. Especially since Sufilia-san is a human and it's dangerous to be alone.

　Sufilia nodded at Lisa's advice with a nervous smile.

'Sufilia, do you have the ring I gave you before?'

Is this the one you're talking about?

　The Sufiria understands my words right away, and shows me the finger of her left hand, which is reflected in the ring finger (...).

　I'm not sure if I should ask her or not. Does the Sufiria understand what she means?
　I don't understand the customs of this world in the first place.
　It's odd to be upset because the ring is on the ring finger of my left hand.
　Do I need to be a little more level-headed?

　But when she showed him the ring, Sufilia stalled for a moment, as if slurring her words.　It's not like she has nothing to think about, right?

''Oh. Keep that on your skin, okay?　As long as it's there, I can pinpoint the exact location of the Sufis, no matter how far away they are. If something goes wrong, I can get you out of there in no time. And besides, I've done a little bit of work on it.

　The workmanship is the "white arm" that was previously released from Toa's ring towards Christophe.
　I filled this with magic 《Binding (Dies)》 and was ready to respond when something happened to the Toa.
　The ring is designed to react when Toa, Sufilia and Nem are in danger.

''Nem is also doing well!

　Nem follows Sufilia and happily shows off a big smile and a ring.

''Oh, you have it right?

Yes, sir!

　This ring also works if you unintentionally leave its owner.

'Get out!'

　Then we heard some kind of boisterous, noisy voice.
　We heard the voice at the same time and turned around to see what it was.

'What is it?'

　I didn't understand, and I said to Lisa, "What's going on? He looked at her and demanded an answer.

''........I wonder. I have a bad feeling about this.

　But Lisa looked at the crowd of people that appeared to be in the direction of where she heard the voices, and she didn't seem to understand as well.

'Urszola is a peaceful country. And it's usually decided that it's Chastain who brings problems into this peaceful country.

　Lisa muttered and stepped forward into the crowd with an unexpectedly confident expression.
　We looked at each other, 'What do we do?' I have no choice but to follow Lisa as she makes contact with me.

　And as I passed through the crowd, I could see what the commotion was about.

''This is a demon country ruled by Lucius-sama!　This is no place for foul-mouthed people like you!　Leave immediately!

　The first thing I saw was a few women dressed in white hakama-like garments.
　All of them were human for all intents and purposes, and all of them had long, lustrous black hair.

　And perhaps those were the guards of the Demon Kingdom. The girls were being persuaded to leave while the two guards stared at them.
　But that's not so much a persuasion as it is a touchy mood.
　And all of them are surrounded by the townspeople glaring at them with contempt laced eyes.
　Here I could see that no one would accept those women in white hakama.

'Lord Cassandra is dead ... by the hand of a human ...'

　Then one of the women at the head of that white hakama opened her mouth in a tense atmosphere, looking quiet and calm.
　Her voice was filled with feelings of regret, sadness and anger.

''It's not just Cassandra-sama. Many of the demon clans were cruelly and unilaterally killed!　You guys think that's okay!

'What do you care!　That's the problem with Shastaine!　Don't bring it to Ursula!

　In contrast, one of the townspeople says in a strong tone of voice. As if to shun him without understanding.

'You think it's just Shastain!　The humans are going to come for this country too, right?　Why don't you realize that it's too late for that to happen!　Do you people care what happens to this country!　Even if they are not the same demon race?　The same demon race.......and that's the demon king......don't you feel anything about the death of Cassandra-sama?!

I don't give a d*mn about the words of the Ninagawa Clan!　You are a disgrace in a disguise!　You're not my people!　If you think we're the same demon race, it hurts on one side!

　As the town's man followed those words, "Get the hell out of here! And the townspeople around us turned to shout angrily.

　Then one Lisa, who should have been in front of us, broke away from the group and got in front of them.
　Maybe we should have stayed put, but we somehow managed to keep our distance from Lisa, but we still kept our distance a little.

　So when one of the guards noticed Lisa walking in front of us, he threw out his chest in a cocky manner.
　But I wondered if he was a funny guy, and from his side, he said to Lisa

Lady Lissana!　I'm sorry that you have returned. It's them again....

　He slurred his words, but called out to them as if they were respectful.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Get some rest.

Ha!

　What is it?　Isn't Lisa just a maid?
　The questions only deepened.

　Then, like the guards, the women of the "Ninagawa tribe," as they are called, noticed Lisa.
　The woman who was in the front of the group gave Lisa a smile that could be described as friendly.

　But as far as I, who can sense emotions, can tell, that smile is tainted with lies, and it's a terrible one at that.

'Lisana Rickman you're back.

Maricias...

　Lisa muttered her name, "Maricias," to the woman in front.

　Then two more women stepped forward from behind them. Like Maricias, a distinctive, fair-skinned woman with long, black hair.

''Oh, isn't that Lisana?　You're back?

　The woman in line to Maricias's right looks at Lisa intimately.
　And the other woman to Maricias' left calls out to her in an equally friendly manner.

'So that means you've found Toatrica-sama?

　Then at the sound of her voice, the woman to the right of Maricius changed her eyes to a snakelike glare and stared at me, leaving Lisa behind, and then looked at the Toa next to her.
　Those eyes staring at Toa are the eyes of a predator that has found its prey. That's how I felt when I heard the word "Ninagawa tribe" just now. And I think that's because I saw the "snake" behind these eyes. For a moment, I was reminded of Shaoan.

"Emo... dormer.

　Lisa said as she shifted her gaze from right to left.

'Are you Toatrica-sama?'

　So, while probing with his gleaming snake eyes, Emo asks Toa about it.
But Lisa immediately stepped in between them and hid the Toa behind her back.
　Then Emo's gaze immediately turns from Toa to Lisa, and she smiles hypocritically.

'Don't talk to me so casually. He's not the kind of person that people like you should be talking to.

You tell me!　Since when did you start asking us to talk like that!

"Who do you think you're talking to, human being?　

　Emo and Doma were bizarrely agitated by Lisa's attitude, wondering what was bothering them. And stopping those two was the leading woman - Maricias.

'Quiet--'

　It was a remarkably calm and quiet voice. But Emo and Doma stopped what they were saying as soon as they understood. And without waiting for the next word, they stepped back.

　The fact that this Maricias woman is not only the leader of this squad, but also gives them the impression that she is irresistible to them.

　What do you mean by "as a human being"?
　Lisa is supposed to be a cat person. She's not human. She's got brown cat ears on her head and she's not human by any means.
　What does the name "Rickman" have to do with it?
　Come to think of it........I think I've heard that somewhere before.......

"Lisana.

　Maricias pauses unnecessarily when he calls Lisa's name and speaks his next words.
　His eyes - which seemed to always be observing the other person - overlapped with Shaone's for a moment.

'Shastain will always welcome you. I'm sure the late Lady Cassandra would be pleased to see you.

Get out. Not the next time.

　But Lisa-san was not amiable and pushed back with strong words.
　With those words, Maricias stared at Lisa-san and then left the town with the group without saying a word.

''-- Secure the border. Don't let anyone enter the country.

　Lisa-san immediately gave orders to the guards beside her. The expression and tone of her voice was clearly not that of a maid, but the style of them - the ones who are above the knights.

　And then the guards scattered, leaving only the townspeople and us in the area.
　Lisa and the Ninagawa tribe should have finished talking about the Ninagawa tribe, but for some reason the townspeople refused to leave.

　Then we saw an old woman get down on one knee and bow to us.

Hmm?　What is it?

　I didn't ask anyone. I just couldn't help but let the question slip out of my mouth.
　But Nem, Sufilia, and Toa seemed equally puzzled.

　Forgetting our doubts, I noticed that the townspeople around us were following the lead of their neighbors and neighbors, knees to the ground and heads hanging down.
　They surrounded us.

　By this time I knew the answer to what they meant.

'Our Princess. It is good to see you back.

　--all the demons are bowing to the Toa.

''Be big..........''

　Some of them had tears in their eyes. It was the old woman who bowed her head first.

　Lisa smiled a gentle but somewhat sad smile at the scene and looked at the townspeople and Toa.
　The missing princess had returned. It must be a joyous occasion.
　But why is Lisa's emotions, including her smile, so full of sadness? the...
　Since you came to this country, or maybe since you met Lisa?　If you go back farther, you'll find a strange feeling that's been stuck somewhere in my mind since Toa's behavior became strange.
　For some reason, it comes here, and for some reason it pulses as if to warn me.
　But the answer remains a mystery.

　More importantly, it's the princess--I would like to say that she's a princess, but it's troublesome to have this done every time she comes to town.
　And Toa is clearly in trouble too.
　But if the duty of a princess is to communicate with her people, then I can't do anything for you.
　This is probably Toa's role.

I'm sorry the snake got in your way.

　Then I see Lisa-san walking towards me as she says this.

''Masamne-sama, let's go back to the castle for today.''

'What?　You're leaving already?　We just got here, okay?

　At my question, Lisa seemed to be thinking about something.

''I'm sorry. I didn't expect this to happen.......it was my mistake. I've only been back in the country for a short time. I didn't expect them to show up in this country so openly.

"They?

'Perhaps he is referring to those in white who just came in.

　Sufiria answered my questions, but I was curious about the nuance of the word "they".
　But what I was curious about was the nuance of the word "they".

That's right. They have seen Toatrika-sama," she said. But that's not so much the problem as the difference. It's not a problem, but we need to tell Lucius-sama once. Could you take Toatrica-sama and return to the castle first?

'That's ... fine, but ...'

　I wanted to do some sightseeing. Later, I wanted to climb up that tree.
　But Lisa's expression is a bit serious.
　And I also feel a strange sense of discomfort.
　Maybe the situation is worse than I thought.

I understand. Well, you can come to town any time you want, and I'm going home for once today. You two are okay with that, right?

　When I checked with Nem and Sufilia to be sure, they nodded without hesitation, as if they had sensed the air.