Merea, who was busy washing dishes under Marisa’s supervision, was thinking about what Shaw had just said in a different part of his mind.

――Saisalis religious nation.

He still didn’t have any deep thoughts about the existence of such a country. However, he did have a slight thought about their 『way of doing things』.

――A bulwark to protect oneself, is it?

Although this would also be part of the 『what if』 scenario they had talked about earlier but as a way of handling matters, Saisalis religious nation was also worthy of consideration.

If someone managed to create even a country in order to protect themselves then, they were definitely extraordinary people. That person would definitely have a large amount of knowledge that they would have piled up.

For example, information on the history of an era similar to the current one or the thinking of the people in that era as well.

In any case, that person definitely already knew. The fact that, they would require a much stronger power in order to protect themselves.

――...That’s right.

He recalled the conversation he had with Serius. The words he heard at that time, remained in Merea’s mind as if a wound in his memory. Lively and clearly remained in his memory.

――『I’m not mistaken. The era demanded power』 ――『An era is created by the people. Don’t talk as if an era is something fixed by god…!』 ――『Even so, people cannot resist the era』

Power is required in order to protect oneself. Serius, from beginning till the end, seeked a foundation in an era that was as if it was not something that humans could do anything about.

――『The moment someone is born in a household with a title, they’re a demon lord. That is the kind of custom that we have created. If you want to change it then you just need to do that. If you overturn Mūzeg then you’ll be able to change it you know?』

Serius had said that as well.

――While seeking a foundation in this era, did he unconsciously feel that there is room for change in the system of demon lords, I wonder?

That is probably why he tried to find a foundation in this era that seemed to have been created by god. As if that was a firm matter in and of itself.

Originally, Serius always had a duality that was hard to explain. Merea who faced off against him felt it clearly. All those words might have been his characteristics showing up.

――It’s rather annoying to nod to your words but,

However, after having heard the story of Saisalis religious nation, he again realised that he needed a certain amount of 『power』 in order to fulfil his wish. Of course, it’s not like he had forgotten.

It’s just that, in recent times, he had always been thinking about how to fix the first issue of changing the meaning of the word demon lord so he had not paid too much heed to the 『method』 yet. For the time being, what needs to be done is,

――That’s right, protect oneself.

In turn it’s about storing 『power』. It’s easy to understand this point if you look at Saisalis.

In any case, power would be one of the most useful 『shields』 in the current era.

Though, in order to go against Mūzeg who is trying to create an era, how large a shield might be needed was unknown.

Moreover, how large a bulwark would be needed to protect them as they take the initiative to transform the entire concept and system of demon lords and titles?

In the first place, in order to protect the current demon lords,

――Just how 『powerful』 do I need to be?

In the instant, inside Merea, 『a demon god’s will』 burned up. If it was put in an extremely simple manner then it was Merea’s 『will to become the strongest』.

◆◆◆

After crossing a certain line, power creates a certain untouchable 『sanctuary』. Such an effect was present.

Especially since Merea had listened to the stories of all those heroic spirits, he was aware of this fact at a considerably early stage.

――I need to become stronger than anyone else.

That pride was something he kept sealed in his chest, without telling anyone about it. There was also the pride of having been raised by those lovable heroic spirits. For the sake of their 『reputations』, he couldn’t afford to lose. Moreover――

――I don’t want to lose.

His thoughts continued.

――Don’t forget, Merea. That he was the head of the group trying to do that absolutely insane task.

Those people proclaimed that they would support him. He had never expected to hear such words.

In that case, all the more――

――You really can’t afford to lose to anyone. No matter who the opponent is.

He realised, the moment he lost and succumbed, everything would end.

In all honesty, in case things reached that point, he really wanted to let those people escape and follow a different path.

However, in all probability,

――They would try to fall together with me…

That was their resolution. It was the resolution that they had and the resolution that they swore to, as they were climbing down from the sacred mountain. There would be nothing different from himself.

The same way as he was trying to become the hero for all demon lords, those people probably decided to become his saviour.

――That is exactly why I...『can never lose』.

Most of all, he should never discard the 『will to become the strongest』.

That was the pride of the〈Demon God〉inside the〈White God〉Merea. Just as the will to become the strongest was burning up inside Merea, there was a sudden movement in the scenery in front of him.

Being lost in thought, although he had his eyes open but he wasn’t particularly paying attention to what he was seeing.

In other words――

「――Ah」

When he noticed it, the plate in his hand shattered. Finally breaking out of his thoughts thanks to that sound, Merea slowly turned to look at Marisa, who stood next to him supervising his actions. Fearfully, like a frightened dog would.

「...」

「...he hehe?」

「...」

「Ah, is it no good? Is it bad luck?」

「...why, oh why would you need to use that much spirit just to wash dishes?」

「I, I’m sorry…」

「Haa…」

Marisa heaved a deep sigh and dropped her shoulders but there was an imperceptible trembling going through her body.

◆◆◆

She was actually very surprised. Marisa noticed the moment when Merea seemed to be lost in thought. When she noticed that Merea had his thoughts elsewhere, she was sure that he would mistake the amount of strength he should use and would, no doubt, break the plate in his hand.

Having predicted this, Marisa waited a few seconds before deciding to call out to him.

「Me――」

Just as she thought of tapping him on the shoulder, her hand stopped in midair. The name she was about to call stopped at the first syllable. Both her voice and body stopped moving.

She felt like there was some odd situation going on and just as she was looking around to find out the cause of the situation, she suddenly noticed it.

There was a ridiculous amount of killing intent coming off of Merea’s body.

She sensed it with an almost animalistic intuition and in just a single moment, Marisa realised that the inside of her clothes were drenched with perspiration, causing her to swallow hard. Merea probably did not notice these facts.

With his red pupils which seemed to be like the vertical slits of a dragon’s eyes, Merea did not blink even once as he looked straight ahead and continued his thoughts. That was the kind of feeling he gave off.

A short moment later, he shattered the plate in his hands.

The eleventh plate. While keeping count with the part of her mind that could still keep its cool, Marisa realized what Merea had been thinking about.

Adjusting his strength.

She somehow understood what he was thinking about thanks to that phrase.

Strength. That was probably it.

The moment the plate shattered, Merea’s presence transformed into something terrifying. That alone was enough for Marisa to not have a shadow of a doubt that she was in the presence of a demon lord.

――This person has not forgotten the intentionality of power.

In fact, he seems to be advancing.

At that time, she couldn’t sense a single iota of his usual innocence. In fact, it reached a point where she couldn’t even feel the attraction she usually felt towards Merea as an opposite sex.

A side that was hard to describe, a monstrosity that even transcended the concept of genders. Although that presence was something that she had been sensing less and less lately but that is mainly due to having a lot more to think about recently.

There were already a lot of thoughts inside this lord of hers. He’s probably more worried than anyone else. To the point where, even his monstrous side ended up getting mixed in.

――Maybe, during the expedition this time….

That side might just become even bigger. Marisa, who recalled the Religious Nation of Saisalis, had that kind of a premonition.

「――Seriously, it feels like your destructive housework is actually getting worse day by day」

Noticing that her body finally stopped trembling, Marisa spoke up to Merea. Merea had his head bowed in repentance but he looked more like an unmanageable dog instead.

「....Well, we can’t help what’s already been broken. We can’t really help it so, I’ll just let it go with a punishment」

「Eh!? Why is there suddenly a punishment!?」

Merea opened his eyes wide at this sudden event happening for the first time. Marisa had never once doled out punishment for this matter.

「Although I should normally be on the side which gets the punishment but, Merea-sama is much too kind so it doesn’t seem like you would ever dole out any punishment so I thought I might as well try giving some out myself――」

「When you say punishment, do you mean stuff like, 『climb up a cold mountain on your hands』 or, 『you won’t be getting any food for another week』 or, 『copy my technique 3000 times』 or, 『Ah―, sorry! My elbow hit your eyeball by mistake!』 or maybe, hmmm」

Just who had this lord of hers been getting punished by? In the first place, what was the punishment? Some of Marisa’s values started to fluctuate a little.

「Ah, that’s right, something like 『I want to objectively see how sturdy your body is so, jump off the sacred mountain. It’s fine, you won’t die.. ――Probably』. ...It isn’t something like that right?」

「I don’t think that is punishment, that sounds more like torture」

「So that was torture….」

Merea lookeed towards the distance with empty eyes. Marisa quickly started speaking again to get Merea’s attention.

「That’s right.., in that case」

She waited a beat before speaking.

「Well…, if you let me...lick your feet…」

Just as Marisa was about to finish speaking, while fidgeting the whole time, a voice came booming in from the doorway of the kitchen.

「You’re putting your desires out there a little too much!! Although it is a punishment in a certain sense!! ――Seriously! I just came to get something I forgot and I end up seeing this! God, there are way too many weirdos here! You can’t be too careful around you people!」

「Tch」

Salman retorted while pointing a finger at Marisa with a head full of unkempt hair. Marisa clicked her tongue with regret before turning her gaze towards Salman. She was the very picture of calmness.

「Now then, what might you mean by weirdo? I’m merely a normal woman who is aiming to become the perfect maid」

「If you’re a normal woman then every woman in the world would be completely ordinary!」

「Haa, this is why ignorant people are…」

「I’ll return those words right back to you…!!」

「By the way, your head is completely unkempt, what exactly happened?」

「Hm? Ah, the twins were...well…」

「Ha! Surely you didn’t put your hands on them…」

「Why would you even think that…!?」

「Well you know, you are also a weirdo...no, you are a pervert after all」

「Oi, Merea, it’s fine to punch her right? Even if she’s a woman, I think I’ll be barely forgiven in this situation ...wait, you’re totally trying to escape, aren't you!?」

「Well, then!」

Salman, who had been arguing with Marisa, turned to look at Merea just to find him jumping out the window of the kitchen. He raised his hand towards them with a bright smile.

「Punishment is scary after all!」

The memory of the various punishments he had received in the past seemed to have revived in Merea, it didn’t seem to have much to do with Marisa’s words though. Having focused completely on how to run away, he seems to have decided to use the window to make his escape.

Having flashed a refreshing smile, Merea was out the kitchen window and had run away in the next instant.

「Look what you did, you let him get away!」

Marisa pointed at the window while puffing out her cheeks.

「You seem to be seriously vexed though…」

「Kuu, ...No, I will not give up. I will aim for the next opportunity, without fail!」

「Just give that up…」

Marisa quickly got to washing the rest of the dishes and in the blink of an eye, she had finished her work and quickly inspected the rest of the room before she started to move.

Salman could do nothing but watch that scene while shrugging his shoulders.

「Seriously, they’re even more troublesome because they’re so excellent」

The fist emperor’s sigh filled the kitchen.