Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 148

## Chapter 148 – No. 25. Date (1)

After finishing his conversation with Acer, No. 25 cautiously headed towards Jane’s room. He never imagined that simply knocking on a door could be accompanied by such tension. No. 25 took a deep breath and knocked on Jane’s door, and soon Jane’s voice from inside told him to come in. When No. 25 opened the door, Jane was squatting, completely covered in her blanket. Looking as pitiful as a wet rabbit, she faintly raised the corners of her lips into a smile when she saw No. 25.

“You’re here?”

No. 25 steeled his resolve once more and strode towards Jane.
Without being intimidated, he looked straight into Jane’s eyes and spoke about the dissatisfaction he was feeling, without leaving anything out.

“Yes, I’d like you to explain what’s going on. Why did you suddenly say you wanted to have me?”

He wanted to come on even stronger, but he worried it might affect Jane’s mood again. Moderately adjusting her feelings before the worst could happen was No. 25’s role.

Jane didn’t say anything, just stared at No. 25 for a moment before bursting into a chuckle.

“You actually believed that? I was just teasing you because you and Acer seemed so close.”

The brief laughter soon twisted into a sad expression.

“Ha… there’s no way you’d fall for such a lie. And you must have seen it while walking around, right?”

The expressions of the people who had been in pain, reacting to Jane’s emotions, were still vivid in his mind. As No. 25 pressed his lips shut and looked down, Jane opened her mouth in a soft voice, as if to reassure him.

“It was my fault. I’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again, so you can relax.”

She slowly lowered the blanket, sat on the bed, and sighed deeply. Jane, who had been sighing while looking at the floor, looked straight into No. 25’s eyes and asked.

“So? Why did you come here?”

It was a question with a predetermined answer. Jane wasn’t stupid enough not to know that. Nevertheless, the reason she directly asked No. 25 the question was because she wanted to hear the answer directly from his mouth. Even if that answer was a rejection.

However, the words that came out of No. 25’s mouth were an answer that far exceeded Jane’s expectations.

“I’ve decided to stay here longer.”

“Huh?”

Jane looked at No. 25 with an expression that seemed to ask if she had heard correctly. She couldn’t believe it.

Earlier, she had been unable to contain her anger and had been unreasonable with Acer, but she had already given up on the idea that he would actually grant her request.

“The Demon Lord has also permitted it.”

“Wait a minute… permitted? What does that mean?”

“I didn’t mind being here, and the Demon Lord is also worried about District 3.”

“That’s ridiculous. I was just joking, okay? There’s no reason for you guys to worry about me.”

Jane waved her hand in disbelief, expressing her denial. It was a completely different reaction from what she had shown in the studio earlier. Hadn’t she even had a heated argument with Acer to try and make No. 25 her own until just now? No. 25 couldn’t understand her reaction at all.

But could he just leave her alone? That was even more impossible. According to Acer, Jane was in an extremely unstable state, and even a brief surge of emotion had caused everyone in District 3 to have seizures. If the emotions that had been slowly building up were to explode due to some trigger, it would bring about a disaster that would be impossible to recover from. No one wanted District 3, which had been running smoothly like a set of gears with Jane as its ideal queen, to be ruined because a small pebble named No. 25 got stuck in it, causing Jane to lose control of her emotions.

No. 25 spoke to Jane in an unusually firm voice.

“No. I’ve made my decision, and I have no intention of changing my mind.”

Jane, seeing No. 25’s resolute appearance for almost the first time, widened her eyes and stared at him silently for a moment.
A moment of silence fell in Jane’s room, and Jane shrugged her shoulders as if she had lost, and replied briefly.

“Fine, do as you please.”

Only then did No. 25 smile in relief and answer, echoing her words.

“Yes, I’ll do as I please.”

After finishing speaking, No. 25 hesitated for a moment before plopping down next to Jane and neatly gathering his hands.
Jane looked at No. 25, who was sitting right next to her, and asked in a flustered tone.

“What? Why are you so close?”

“Oh? Do you not like it?”

Jane was continuously flustered by No. 25’s bold attitude. She blushed slightly, avoided his gaze, and said in a small voice.

“No… it’s not that.”

No. 25 looked around the room and made a suggestion.

“Should we go out for a bit?”

Jane, who also didn’t want to continue the conversation in this stuffy room, immediately showed her agreement.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Jane, who had finished the suffocatingly awkward conversation, immediately took off her clothes without worrying about No. 25 being behind her. Although he had seen her body once before during the massage-named caresses, Jane’s naked body under the bright lights felt quite different. As No. 25 swallowed his breath and blankly stared at her back, Jane slightly turned her head and smiled.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

No. 25 answered by turning his head away and stood up.

“L-Let’s go out quickly.”

After a series of twists and turns, Jane, who had changed all her clothes, took No. 25 and headed back to the streets.
Unlike before, the people were much more stable, and Jane approached them and offered her apologies.

“Sorry, I had something bad happen.”

A female painter who was drawing a small flower on the stone wall of the street smiled kindly, as if she understood everything, and replied.

“Oh, it’s not like the Demon Lord does this only once or twice. We’re used to it now.”

After leaving that spot, No. 25 asked Jane.

“Does ‘used to it’ mean that this has happened before?”

“Yeah, did you think this was the first time? There are times when I get overwhelmed with emotions too.”

Jane apologized to people, acting as if nothing had happened regarding the incident that morning. None of them blamed Jane. They all smiled as if they were used to it and rather worried about Jane’s condition. No. 25 was curious about the secret to the strong bond between Jane and these people.

“I think I’ve said this before, but you’re on good terms with people, Jane.”

“Really? I think this much is basic, though?”

“This is basic?”

Jane stopped walking and opened her mouth with a serious face that was quite different from before, in the middle of the street.

“Yeah, this is basic. Acer is the one who’s weird.”

No. 25 couldn’t just let it go when she said Acer was weird.

“The Demon Lord is weird?”

Jane sighed once and pointed to a nearby store, suggesting.

“This isn’t something to talk about on the street. Come on in.”

The two of them, who had gone to the innermost part of the store, started talking right away without anyone telling them to.

“Of course Acer isn’t normal. Even though he suddenly inherited the position, he has no sense of responsibility. It’s like he has no intention of taking care of the people he rules.”

No. 25 slammed the table and stood up at the sudden, almost slanderous words.

“What do you know about how much effort the Demon Lord puts in?”

Jane seemed to find that cute, as she chuckled and flicked No. 25’s forehead.

“Oh, you’re talking back to me? Didn’t I tell you before? I know Acer better than you do, what kind of person he is, what kind of life he’s lived.”

He couldn’t argue. No. 25 hadn’t known Acer for even a year. He had actually spent more time with Low. No. 25 barely regained his composure, sat down, and waited for Jane’s next words.
Jane also thought that she could talk to him again after seeing No. 25’s appearance, so she sat down, crossed her arms, and looked like she was reminiscing about the past.

“Where were we… Ah, Acer is bad at handling the people. He’s too bad at it.”

He wanted to passionately explain how deep Acer was, but he wouldn’t be able to reach the desired conclusion if he did that. No. 25 pressed his lips shut and quietly drank the water in front of him.

“Should I give you an example with Orca, who’s called a psycho right away? Even Orca, who acts like a crazy fool, is kind to the people in his district in his own way. He gives bonuses to people who work hard in his own way, throws away his pride, and talks to the residents like a friendly neighbor. Well… the dignity that comes with the position of king doesn’t suit that gorilla in the first place….”

“Anyway, even trash like Orca approaches people like that, but what about Acer? All he does is patrol, read petitions, and take care of the people who are in his territory, not District 7. That’s it? The last one is the worst. It means he’s openly discriminating against people?”

Every word was right. However, No. 25 wasn’t completely without anything to say.

“Well… the people from District 7 are all rough… so I think he’s isolating them before fights break out….”

Jane cut him off with a single stroke, as if she couldn’t listen to No. 25’s foolish words.

“You’re saying something ridiculous again. What? The people from District 7 are all rough, so he’s isolating them in advance? Acer’s attitude is what deepens the divide of dissatisfaction that’s growing among the people. If that’s the case, what about the previous Demon Lord? Everyone followed him without him having to isolate them separately.”

No. 25 couldn’t say anything at Jane’s appearance, who was spitting out words in an instant with veins popping out of her neck.
Jane, seeing No. 25 with his hands on the table and his head down, sighed and stood up.

“Okay, that’s enough of this talk.”

No. 25 protested to Jane, who was raising him up, in an incomprehensible voice.

“What?! Why? It’s just starting.”

“I don’t want to? I didn’t come out here with that in mind.”

Jane, who had finished speaking, hooked her arm around No. 25’s arm like the person who had been passionately talking just now was a completely different person, and showed a friendly appearance as if they were a couple.

“From now on, let’s just have a leisurely date, just the two of us.”