"...All right."
In the end, unable to overcome Ria's insistence, Adelio let out a hollow smile and slowly nodded.
He knew that whenever his lover decided she was going to do something, things always ended the way she wanted. That was why he didn't try to stop her any further.
'...I'm still worried, but... I have to trust her.'
Unlike certain powerful beings who rampaged around relying on nothing but their own strength and no logic at all, Ria was a demon who knew how to act rationally.
Even against an enemy weaker than herself, she was the kind of person who would never let her guard down until the very end, someone capable of using every twist and turn of a single moment to her advantage.
'Besides, this was an identity I was going to have to reveal someday anyway... for Ria, that day just came a little sooner.'
Reaching that conclusion inwardly and deciding to reveal both Ria's identity and his own, Adelio soon walked over to Rimuru and Gazel, who were sharing drinks together.
Because even if both of them were going to reveal themselves here today, the one who had to go first was Adelio.
...
"..."
While Adelio had been hesitating, Rimuru and Gazel seemed to have downed quite a bit. Several bottles had already piled up on the table, and Gazel's face in particular was flushed red.
It was one thing for Rimuru, who as a slime couldn't really feel the effects of alcohol, but for Gazel, whose body was close to [the body of a saint], to be drunk meant he had truly overdone it.
"Rimuru. Gazel."
Just as Gazel was asking Rimuru what she planned to name this country, Adelio called out to them, and both their gazes turned toward him.
"Hm?"
And then—
"Huh? What is it? Why do you look so ser—"
The moment Gazel and Rimuru tilted their heads at Adelio, who was wearing an oddly serious expression—
Fwoosh...
—jet-black demon wings burst from Adelio's back without the slightest warning.
"..."
Then silence fell.
A brief silence from those who couldn't yet process what had just happened right in front of their eyes.
"...Huh...?"
But that silence, beginning with Rimuru's voice... turned into shock.
"W-What is that...?"
"T-Those wings..."
"That's not a human body..."
"No way..."
"...A demon?"
There, in that stunned gathering where Gazel and Rimuru—and even the other monsters and knights—had all fallen speechless, Adelio spoke again.
"...I figured this would be faster than trying to explain it over and over with words."
Saaa...
At last, Adelio drew out even the demonic magic he had kept hidden all this time, then looked around at the people standing there as if they had just been hit by a bomb and gave a small, bitter smile.
Because the true identity he had hidden until now... was even more shocking than the wings and magic they could see with their own eyes.
**
At that same time—
"...Hmmm? This magic... Rio?"
[Fulbrojia], the nation of Frey, the [Demon Lord] [Sky Queen] who ruled the southern part of the continent.
Often called the Heavenly Winged Nation by the world at large, it was one of the great powers that shared part of its territory with the Jura Great Forest.
"...This is definitely Rio's magic, but... why am I sensing Rio's magic from nearby...?"
And inside the audience chamber of [Fulbrojia], Milim—one of the world's strongest [Demon Lord]s, who had barged in without permission—felt the suddenly released magic of her best friend and filled her head with question marks.
She had already been planning to go see him soon anyway, but until recently his magic had mostly been felt around the frozen continent. Then at some point it had abruptly vanished, which had struck her as strange.
"...You suddenly started talking about inviting some random person to [Jistav], and now what are you even saying?"
Meanwhile, Frey, the queen of the [Harpy], who had been watching Milim sway her twin tails back and forth while thinking, spoke with an exasperated look.
"Sorry, but it'll be time for me to return to state affairs again soon. I'll consider what you said about inviting me to [Jistav], so you should head back now too."
Unlike Milim, who did not manage her own domain, Frey, as a queen, placed the country she ruled above all else. So she tried to soothe the childish, pestering Milim as gently as possible before returning to her work.
"Ah...! W-Wait! Listen to me a little more, Frey!"
But Milim, who couldn't understand Frey's way of thinking at all, momentarily forgot about Adelio's magic and stopped her as she tried to return to her office, opening her mouth again.
"Frey, aren't you always saying that anything happening around the Jura Great Forest matters? Well, something big happened in the great forest a few months ago, and Clayman knows all about it!"
The birth and destruction of [Orc Lord] Donduje.
Milim intended to use the [Orc Lord] Donduje incident that Clayman had orchestrated as bait to draw Frey in.
That same trick had already worked on Carrion, whom she had visited before coming to [Fulbrojia], so she was sure it would work this time too.
"...Hmm, the Jura Great Forest."
And just as Milim expected, Frey—like Carrion, whose territory also bordered the Jura Great Forest—reacted sharply to the mention that something major had happened there.
She wanted to believe such a thing could never happen, but if by some chance Veldora had revived or something of that scale had occurred, [Fulbrojia] itself might suffer a severe blow. And for Frey, that would be the worst possible situation.
"...All right. I'll accept your invitation."
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