Arios and his group were heading to a demon's dwelling place near the royal capital.
　A demon is using an abandoned village in the mountains as its base and is harming people on the road.
　The goal is to get rid of that demon.

　Normally, Arios had no intention of dealing with demons.
　What he had to deal with was at least the demon race and above.
　The Four Heavenly Kings and the like were the main ones, and he couldn't be bothered with every little fish there.
　You can leave the small fry to the adventurers.

　In the meantime, might the people be harmed?
　I don't know.

　I was really thinking about that.
　So I usually ignored it, but.....
　This time things were different.

'Come on, Arios. We're almost at our destination. Let's keep up the good work.

　A woman in knight's armor approached Arios with a smirk.

　Her golden hair was cropped at her shoulders.
　Even with her armor on, the crispness of her body was evident.
　The name of the owner of the beauty that would make you look back if you walked the streets is.......Monica Eclair.
　She is a member of the King's direct guard.

　Why is the SS working with Arios?
　The answer is ... surveillance.

　Arios' actions lately have been too much to watch.
　Not only is he too dogmatic, but he also runs into folly that causes harm to his people.

　However, we can't keep Arios, a brave man, locked away.
　However, there is no way to correct his character right now.

　So the king decided to put an eye on him.
　With the eyes of the guard stationed right beside him, reporting his every move, he couldn't possibly do anything stupid.
　The king thought so and sent Monica to Arios.

　At first, Arios did not accept Monica and tried to turn her away, but...
　It was the king's decision to dispatch Monica.
　As expected of the king's order, even Arios couldn't go against it, so he reluctantly accepted it....

　And now.........
　In order to show Monica that 'I'm working properly like a brave man', he had taken on the task of killing the demons that he was supposed to go through, and was heading to the root castle.

''d*mn.''

　Arios clicked his tongue, just enough so that Monica couldn't hear him.

　Why did he have to do this to himself?
　Why do we need to be watched?

　It was completely self-inflicted, but Arios didn't realize that and continued to swear in his mind.
　On the other hand, Aggus, Leanne, Mina and the others were talking to Monica in a friendly manner.

'Hmm, I see.
'No, I'm not even close. There are more amazing people in the SS. And Mr. Aggus. You can call me Monica. I can't help but be tickled when you call me Mister.
All right. Then I'll call you Monica.
Hey, hey, Monica.

　This time Leanne spoke up.

'Yes, what is it?'
Hmm.

　Leanne stared at Monica.

'You have amazingly beautiful skin, don't you?
'What?　Isn't it?
What kind of care do you take?　Can you help me out?　Hey, you're interested in Mina too, right?
'No. I'm not that kind of....
"Look, Mina's interested. Tell me about it!
''Haha..... I haven't done anything special, but........
'What?　Oh, my God, seriously!　It's just the bare minimum!
Yes, sir.
　Monica is a foul play, isn't she?
'No. I'm not particularly interested in...
Wait?　Maybe it's something to do with your daily life?　Hey, hey, Monica....

　........and so on.
　The group, with the exception of Arios, had accepted the existence of Monica rather easily.

　Originally, there is something that cannot be disobeyed because it is a king's order.......
　More importantly, they liked Monica's friendly and earnest personality, which was a big deal.

　The party was falling apart due to Arios' outburst...
　Then a neutralizing agent called Monika was introduced.
　It kept the party harmonious and the smiles growing.

　............except for Arios, that is.

''........tch.''

　Arios looked at his companions, who seemed to be having a good time talking to each other, with a boring look on his face.
　Monica had been sent to keep an eye on them, so why would she get along with a guy like that?
　Isn't your people crazy?
　Rather seriously, Arios was thinking about such things.

''.............Hmph.
H..........?

　Suddenly, my eyes met with Monica's.
　We should have been a good distance away from each other there...
　As if she had noticed Arios' gaze, Monica turned around and met his eyes.

　And then.........she smiled.

　If the others had seen it, they would have judged it to be a gentle smile directed at their companion.
　But Arios made a different decision.

　What a.........cold smile.

　Monica's smile is as cold as ice.
　Nope.
　Ice is not an easy thing.
　It's more than that, something more horrible........
　It was such a smile, like it didn't belong to anyone.

''........What is it with that woman.......''

　Removing his gaze from Monica, Arios stepped forward.

　



----------



　Arios and his group defeated the demons without delay.
　They returned to the king's capital and stayed at an inn prepared by the state.

　And then.........night.

''........''

　It was late, as if everyone had gone to bed.
　A figure appeared from the inn where Arios and the others were staying.

　The figure was wearing a robe and it was impossible to tell who he was.
　He was also acting to avoid the eyes of the people and sneaking around the back roads.

　And then.........the figure entered a certain building.
　It's an unused dwelling now.

''........Fuu.

　Spilling a small breath, the figure took off his robe.
　From it appeared.........................Monica with golden hair.

　Monica looked around the empty building....

Sorry for the delay.
Phew, you're late.

　A voice rang out from the darkness.
　The darkness of the night condensed and was accompanied by substance.

　Emerging from the darkness was........a demon race.
　Its eyes were glowing purple, and an eerie light shone in the night darkness.
　Demon wings and demon horns.
　And a demon's tail.
　He smiled happily, fishing the corners of his mouth with a grin.

'I wonder what he was doing at such a late night?　Perhaps you were having fun with a brave man?
You must be joking, Master Rhys. I have no such relationship with Lord Arios.
'What, it's so boring. If it were, I'm sure it would have been more interesting.
If it's what Mr. Reese wants me to do, I'll oblige?
'Well I was just being playful, but that's not so bad.

　The demon tribe called Rhys makes a thinking gesture.

'You should get along. It wouldn't hurt to do so.'
I understand.
Oh, I'll leave it to Monica to decide if it gets to a physical relationship. I'm not the kind of boss who would force you to do something like that.
We'll see what happens.
Please do so.

　You're dealing with demons.
　Monica, the SS, was on her knees, bowing her head, spinning her words in respect.
　Had there been a third party here, they might have been surprised by this bizarre scene.
　But for these two, this is a normal part of life.

　For Monica, the person she truly serves is not the king, but the demon Reese in front of her.

''Well then, let's listen to what we have to say.''
Yes, sir.
"We will rid ourselves of the human who is becoming a hindrance to our cause, the Rain Shroud. And the other one we're going to redirect the human hero, Arios, to our advantage. Would you like to hear if those two things are working?