Suddenly, a meadow, a hill and a castle appeared ahead.
　According to Stella, this was the territory of one of the five major aristocracies of the Demon World, the Dukes of Aaserwein.

　She is, as I recall, the heiress of that duke's family.

''But the duke's domain is several dozen kilometers away from the royal capital. Perhaps the geography is twisted, as it is only in a dream world.''
Did Feriah do this?　What does that mean?
It's possible, sir.

　Stella nodded at my question.

'Did Feria have an agenda, causing the dukedom to appear? Or is it a particularly meaningless event? It's difficult to read the intent accurately, since the main source is her dream.''
'Let's just go for it. Maybe there's a clue as to where Feria is.

　We climbed the hill and came to the castle.

　Although smaller than the Demon King's Castle, it's still a magnificent castle.
　In the human world, it could be called a great royal castle.

　In front of the main gate, a female demon tribe was standing there.

　She has semi-long purple hair that is loose and wavy.
　She wore glasses and had an unassuming face.
　She was dressed as a maid in a white catsuit and a white and navy blue apron dress.

''Irene...?''

　Stella raises an eyebrow.

'Welcome home, Miss.

　She - Irene bowed deeply.

　She had heard before that she was originally a maid in Stella's family's home and now working at the Demon King's Castle.
　Was this guy also trapped in Feria's dream?

　Or──.

''........An illusion, right?''

　Stella's forehead eyes sparkled and announced.

'Just like the golem I mentioned earlier, it's an illusion with an entity created by Feria.
''Hmm, as expected of you, Miss. It's easy to see through you.

　Irene smiling.
　Her presence was so real that it was hard to believe it was an illusion.

''Irene, where is Feria?''

　Stella crowded up to Irene.

'Well, well, don't panic. First of all, take a break.
Answer me, Irene.

　Stella's tone is strong.

''Even the Demon King is trapped in a dream world, that's an unbecoming behavior for a vassal.
'Young lady, smile and laugh some more. You'll ruin your beauty~
Irene, this is a time of emergency.
See? She's smiling.

　Irene grabs Stella's cheek and forces her to make a smile.

''Yeah, yeah, let go...''
'Your daughter is worth teasing! That's why I like her.
Totally....

　Stepping away from Irene, Stella puffed out her cheeks lightly.
　Is she sulking?
　And.



...sleep.



　It's the sound of voices.

"What...

　At the same time, the colors disappeared from the surroundings.
　Just like at the Demon King's Castle, the world changed to a black and white bicolor world.

''The magic in the air is getting thicker.......beware, Demon Lord.

　Stella warned.

　The sound of footsteps echoed, tapping, tapping.
　A humanoid silhouette appeared, oozing out of the empty space.

　Light peach-colored hair that reached down to her feet.
　A dainty appearance, with a mischievous smile on her face.
　A highly revealing outfit that could be mistaken for underwear, sensational.
　A thin tail sprouted from her waist, and from her back were membrane-like wings that reminded me of bats.

''........Feria.

　Stella's expression became grim.
　This is one of the Seven Great Demon Army Chiefs──Dreamer Princess (Dead Charm) Feria?

"Immediately deactivate the Nightmare World. How dare you involve the Demon Lord in this?
It's all in my dream.

　Feria doesn't even answer Stella's question and mutters.

"...the living are equal, sleep.
I am Fried, the new Witch King. Listen to me, Feria.
...to sleep forever.

　She didn't respond to my words either.

"In a dream that lasts forever.

　He mumbled a curse and the figure disappeared.

'Looks like it's moved somewhere else...'

　And, Stella.

'In the dream world, Feria is all-powerful. You wouldn't have to make up things like instantaneous travel.
So, that's Feriah from the other day, isn't it?
'Yes. I just felt like I couldn't communicate with them.

　It's true, Feria was just talking one way or the other.

''She probably doesn't even recognize that you're the Demon Lord.

　Stella sighed.

'I've always been the type of person who didn't listen to others very much, but as expected, that's over the limit now.

　At that moment, a red light flooded in from outside the pavilion.

Wow. What is this?

　I can hear Lilim's voice.

　When I stepped outside, a red crystal dome covered the entire pavilion.
　It's like a cage.

　Perhaps this was also made by Feria.

''........Locked in?

　Me muttering.

　What does Feria want?

　She wants to lure us in.
　Stall us?
　Or is it a whim? It doesn't make any sense, just a whim?

　I don't know.
　We were totally at the mercy of.

'The outside of the mansion is completely covered in crystal. There were no gaps at all from which we could escape.

　Stella looked around with clairvoyant eyes and announced.

''If we forcefully break it, it might damage the other demons.

　I think back to when I made a hole in a part of the sky earlier.
　It seems that if you damage the dream world, it will bounce back to those trapped within it.

''I'm sorry, Miss. It's already curfew time~''

　Irene said in a calm tone.

''Tomorrow morning, the cage will be opened. Until then, please stay inside the mansion.
We're in a hurry. Open it now.
You've got to keep your curfew. Mistress will have a talk with me.
...your mother.

　A dark shadow appeared on Stella's face.
　Hmm, what's going on?

If you're going to be out in the morning, we can stay here tonight.

　I suggested.

''My Demon King........''
'I don't want you guys to get damaged again by destroying the cage badly.
That's true, but...
'If the cage is still there in the morning, we'll think of another move. Let's just say that we'll all stay here for the night so that we can all get some rest, okay?
'Yes sir. Now I will go and tell the Lirim and others.

　Stella's expression was still a bit dark.



　We used a room in the mansion as appropriate and rested.

　And midnight.
　I had trouble sleeping and woke up.

"Let's get some air...

　It might not be much fresh outside air, though, since it's caged up.
　I walked out of the guest room I'd chosen to rest in.

'Come to think of it, we're in a dream. How is it possible to sleep even more in a dream...?

　I think about that as I walk down the hallway.

'Kyahhhh...'

　It was then that the screams echoed.
　It came from the end of the corridor.

''That voice...Stella?!

　I started running in a hurry.

　The next moment, the landscape in front of me switched.
　From the castle to a well-kept garden.

　In front of me, a little girl is walking in front of me.

'You...?'

　Her silver hair is cropped at her shoulders.
　With her icy beauty mixed with innocence - she looked a lot like Stella.

　It's as if she had become a child.