Takashi volunteered to be Nephira\'s slave for a reason. He wanted to use his ability to be unconditionally loved by demons to save the country, as Orneo hinted in the slave cell.

If the leader of the Thunder-Lance Charge, Nephira, took a liking to him, they could establish a good relationship. The short-term goal was the liberation of slaves. Eventually, a peace treaty between demons and humans... Takashi dreamed of such a goal.

(But... I was too naive...!) 

Right now, Takashi was filled with regret and trembled with fear.

Nephira, who was supposed to be sleeping a distance away from him, was, for some reason, right next to him. Nephira\'s big chest approached closer to him as she breathed deeply.

"Eeep!? Nephira!! Why are you next to me!?"

He couldn\'t help but shout. Then Nephira\'s body winced in surprise, and she cleared her throat.

"Uhm, I--I... I\'m a terrible sleeper, you know. I\'m afraid I accidentally rolled my way here..."

Takashi glanced at the canopy bed where Nephira slept. The queen\'s quarters were spacious, and Nephira\'s bed was at least five meters from Takashi\'s current position. No, how far did she roll? That\'s a lie for sure!

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Takashi shuddered.

(Surely, she wasn\'t planning to eat me, right?)

His ability might not necessarily mean "Being loved by fiends = Being loved by fiends." One could love a pet or love one\'s favorite food. If so, there was a good chance that Nephira might kill him in the future. Cold sweat broke out on his back as he recalled how one of the twin demons, Kiru devoured Logue. However...

"I\'m sorry about this. I\'m going back to my bed."

"Ah. O--Ok."

Takashi was relieved to see Nephira leave without a hitch.

Nephira didn\'t do anything after that, but Takashi couldn\'t sleep for the rest of the night.

◇

(I\'ll have to prepare something tasty for Suzuki to apologize for yesterday! I wonder what would be good!)

The next day, Nephira was strolling alone in the town market. She felt quite remorseful for having snuck into Suzuki\'s bed in a moment of desire. In order to continue to get along with their master-slave relationship, she wanted to make up to him for yesterday.

But what did humans like to eat, anyway? She didn\'t know. Vegetables and fish were probably safer than bloody beast meat.

While looking at the various foodstuffs laid out on the mat, a well-built troll approached Nephira.

"If it isn\'t Lady Nephira! We have fresh products!"

"Oh. What product?"

"Fresh human hearts!"

"Hey, you...! You\'ve got to be kidding me...!"

As a human, Suzuki couldn\'t eat human hearts. This fiend was trying to tear apart the relationship between herself and Suzuki. Nephira glared at the troll.

"W--Why are you making such a scary face? Lady Nephira... isn\'t human hearts your favorite food!?

"Mu. That\'s true. But, right now, I\'m looking for food for my slave."

"Ah, if that\'s the case, please just say so!"

After the vegetable and fish shopping, the shopkeeper bowed down to Nephira in a humble manner.

"If you like, how about that human heart of earlier as an apology? Free of charge, of course!"

"I appreciate the gesture. But I\'m not really in the mood today. "

Saying that, Nephira left the market.

After walking for a while, she suddenly stopped. Human hearts were indeed her favorite. And the shopkeeper had offered it to her free of charge. Why, then, had she turned him down?

She wondered a little about her change of heart, but more than that, she wanted to see the joy on Suzuki\'s face, so she quickly returned to the castle with the ingredients in her arms.

(Should I boil the fish? Should I grill it?)

Nephira was in a cheerful mood. However, just after passing the castle gate, a skeleton soldier hesitantly approached her.  

"Lady Nephira. There is something I would like to bring to your attention..."