Christmas.
Originally, it was a holiday that existed only on Earth, the final public holiday marking the end of the year.
Of course, in this other world where all kinds of races existed, it had once been nothing more than an ordinary day, not a holiday at all—
"Ar, over here!"
—at least until about twenty years ago.
A little over a decade ago, [Tempest] surpassed the Eastern Empire and became, in both name and reality, the greatest nation in the world. When its king, [Chaos Creator], declared this day both a festival and a public holiday, Christmas was officially established here as well.
And as this other world's Christmas continued developing in a modern style, it eventually came to look almost identical to Christmas on Earth.
"I know, so slow down, Lea. The festival won't start for a while yet."
A girl with silky black hair fluttering behind her and a sword as large as her own body slung over her back: Clea Ruber O'Bell.
And a red-eyed boy who looked exactly like the ash-gray Hero: Allen Ruber Testarossa.
These two half-demons, linked by the shared middle name Ruber, were hurrying toward the plaza in Rimuru, the capital of [Tempest].
Since this was one of winter's grandest festivals, the closer one got to the center of the plaza, the denser the crowds became. Normally, it would already have been difficult to even get in.
But they were exceptions.
"...Lady Clea? Lord Allen?"
"Are you two heading all the way to the tree this Christmas too?"
The capital's guards, along with the demons who joined security only during the festival, recognized Clea and Allen and personally transferred them straight to the center of the plaza.
Ordinarily, that kind of privilege would have been impossible unless one belonged to the royal family. But Clea and Allen fell under that exception thanks to their statuses as the Hero's daughter and the Devil Lord's son.
"Thank you for helping us even though you're busy, Cien."
"Hehe, not at all, Lord Allen."
In particular, among them were demons who served Allen's mother, including Cien, the third-ranking member of the white lineage, so the two passed through smoothly without any procedures at all.
Security in the capital was important, of course, but there had been fewer than ten crimes in the past several months. Compared to that, the heir who might one day become the new ruler of hell was far more important.
"I hope you both enjoy the festival."
......
And so, a few minutes after receiving help from Cien and the other demons—
"Huh? Lina and Noel!"
—once Clea and Allen reached the very center of the plaza, now crowded with monsters and people gathered for the festival, they quickly spotted two familiar figures.
"......"
A blue-haired girl and a green-haired girl, both strikingly beautiful even amid the crowd.
Wearing unusual outfits that made them look part imperial princess, part maid, the two girls were people Clea and Allen knew very well... no, demons.
"Lea, Ar. You both came early."
Mirine Ruber, daughter of the Primordial Demon Misery, her long green hair swaying behind her.
"Huh? Ar, weren't you supposed to bring Nox and Sylph with Lea?"
Renoel Ruber, daughter of the Primordial Demon Rain, her short blue hair suiting her perfectly.
Like Allen, Mirine and Renoel were born between the ash-gray Hero and the queens of hell. Unlike their older sister—or perhaps cousin—Millen Ruber Testarossa, they were imperial princesses famous for caring only about the middle world.
That was why they always stepped forward first to join festivals like this—and why they enjoyed them so much.
Over the past decade or so, the values of monsters had changed greatly, to the point that many of them now preferred peaceful, leisurely festivals like this in their roles as imperial princesses over battle as demons.
"Yeah... Nox and Sylph said they'd leave separately because of Sedi and Eli. I think they're probably trying to shake off the [Magius]."
"......Honestly, what are we supposed to do with people who claim they'll become the next [Thunder Emperor] and [Heavenly Emperor], then try to ditch their escorts...?"
"Ahaha... still, this time Nox and Sylph are with them, so won't it probably go better than last time? ...Maybe..."
"Well, as long as Sylph's laziness and Nox's aversion to effort are still intact... the four of them will probably handle it just fine."
Maybe it was because their mothers, Sylvia and Luminous, were close. Or maybe it was because they were the same age and the same sex. Either way, the eldest and second sons of the Ruber family, Sylph and Nox, were the sort where worrying about them only wore you out.
One was the second Hero to be born as a High Elf in thousands of years, and the other was the youngest Transcendent, having mastered [Holy Magic] from an early age.
It was better to pray for the fate of the [Magius] who had ended up facing both of them at once.
"Then let's leave that side to Sylph and Nox. For now, let's find Luna, Tia, and Mir first. If it's those three, there's a good chance they're together."
Speaking to her siblings in her usual calm voice, Mirine pointed toward the south gate of the plaza, the one connected to the road leading to the [Dungeon].
"I can sense Mir's magic from over there, so let's head that way."
Sliiide...
"It's been a while since I came here, but I guess they still hold a lot of festivals."
Muttering that was Millen, a blue-eyed demon with snow-white hair cascading down her back.
After becoming the disciple of Guy Crimson, the first Demon Lord and her master, she had spent more time on the frozen continent than in [Tempest]. Now, seeing the plaza lively with Christmas cheer after so long, she let the corners of her lips curl upward.
"I really do like it better here than on the frozen continent."
The frozen continent, where beautiful auroras shone all year round, wasn't bad either—but Millen still preferred this place, where festivals were plentiful.
She turned to the younger girls beside her.
"You two feel the same, right?"
One was a yellow-haired girl, the other purple-haired.
Their names were Karuna Ruber and Artia Ruber, two girls whose faces were flushed from the heat of the plaza and who, like Millen, were demons carrying the blood of the Primordials.
"Well... it's definitely more fun than staying in the [Dungeon] all the time training [Nuclear Magic]."
"Yeah! It's fun, so I like it!"
Unlike Allen, who had awakened his battle instincts early in life, Karuna and Artia had thankfully not fully awakened theirs, so they did not give abnormal answers like their mother would have.
"But shouldn't we be meeting up with the others soon? We said we'd all gather under the tree for this festival."
"Hehe, that's fine. They're already on their way here."
Answering Karuna's question, Millen started walking toward the plaza.
And before she had even taken more than a few steps—
"So all three of you were here."
—a familiar voice and the sound of three sets of footsteps reached her ears.
"Looks like we got lucky."
A voice slightly thin for a boy.
The owner of that delicate voice, matching his androgynous appearance, was not Allen, who had just headed for the south gate with his older sisters.
Sliiide...
A boy with long hair tinged with ash like Allen's, though closer to sky blue, and with one gold eye and one red eye.
His race was... [Slime].
In other words, he was Riolen Ruber Tempest, the third son of the Ruber family and the son of this nation's king, [Chaos Creator].
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