The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ninth Floor, Bar.
On his way back to E-Rantel, Naohara followed the mark he had left on Clementine and ended up here.
"How did she wind up here?"
Standing at the entrance, Naohara frowned. He had told Lupusregina to take Clementine on a tour of Nazarick. So why was she in the bar?
With that doubt in mind, he pushed the door open and stepped inside to see for himself.
Brilliant lights flashed across the bar. With a single sweep of his gaze, Naohara spotted his target.
Clementine was sitting at the counter, holding a glass of crimson liquor. Her cheeks were flushed, and she let out a drunken hiccup, clearly far gone.
Beside her, Lupusregina—the battle maid—was also holding up a glass, locked in an intense drinking contest with her.
There was another figure at their side who surprised Naohara.
Demiurge.
The demon who should have been on the Seventh Floor was now seated next to them, a faint smile on his lips as he elegantly swirled the wine in his glass.
It was a bizarre combination. Demiurge drinking alongside a human like Clementine truly was a rare sight.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The sound of approaching footsteps drew the trio's attention. The moment Demiurge saw Naohara, delight flashed across his face, and he was just about to stand and pay his respects.
But someone beat him to it.
Clementine staggered to her feet and lurched toward Naohara. Her face was bright red as she stumbled forward and threw herself straight into his arms.
"Clem?"
Looking down at the clearly drunk Clementine in his embrace, Naohara was about to speak when she suddenly lifted her head.
Her flushed face was filled with an oddly serious expression as she shouted:
"Naohara-sama, I don't want to be human anymore!"
"???"
The moment the words left her mouth, she went limp and fell asleep.
Naohara stood there with a head full of question marks.
At that moment, Demiurge and Lupusregina stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Naohara-sama."
"Demiurge, what's going on?"
After settling onto a seat at the counter, Naohara looked at Demiurge with a puzzled expression.
Clementine suddenly declaring she didn't want to be human anymore had to have a reason.
"Naohara-sama, Clementine-san's decision stems entirely from you."
Demiurge glanced at Clementine in Naohara's arms, a subtle glint passing through his eyes before he answered respectfully.
Just as I suspected. This human shares a close bond with Naohara-sama. It seems this move was not a mistake.
Demiurge thought to himself.
"Because of me?"
The unexpected answer left Naohara momentarily stunned. What did her renouncing humanity have to do with him?
Wait.
Thinking back to when Clementine first entered Nazarick—
From that moment on, something about her mood had seemed off.
As she ventured deeper into Nazarick, she had grown increasingly quiet and withdrawn.
At the time, he had assumed she was simply feeling restrained.
But now that he thought about it more carefully, that wasn't all.
It was inferiority.
Clementine was feeling inferior.
Connecting the details he had previously overlooked, Naohara let out a quiet sigh. He understood what Demiurge was implying.
After witnessing the splendor of Nazarick, a gap had formed in her heart. The vast difference in their identities had left his friend lost and uncertain.
"Always thinking about nonsense."
Looking at the drunk, bleary-eyed Clementine, Naohara shook his head in resignation.
Demiurge watched the whole thing from the side.
"Demiurge, you're the one who talked Clementine into not being human anymore, aren't you?"
Naohara turned to the demon in front of him. For Clementine to make up her mind like that, Demiurge had to have pushed her. Honestly, it might have been his idea from the start.
After all, Lupusregina was a battle maid. She wasn't exactly subtle or scheming. If anyone could pull this off, it would be Demiurge, with his talent for manipulating people.
"This subordinate did say a few things to Clementine-san. Please punish me as you see fit, Naohara-sama."
Demiurge lowered his head in a posture of apology. Lupusregina did the same. She bore some responsibility too.
Demiurge didn't regret it in the slightest. If it was for the Supreme Beings, he wouldn't mind being punished.
...
Half an hour earlier.
As soon as Demiurge learned that the three Supreme Beings had returned to Nazarick, he hurried off, intending to report in person on everything that had happened during their absence.
That was when he ran into Clementine and Lupusregina, who were in the middle of touring Nazarick.
The instant Demiurge saw a human inside Nazarick, his first impulse was to kill her. He couldn't allow a mere two-legged sheep to stain the sacred halls of Nazarick.
But the thought vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Demiurge was Nazarick's strategist, not a fool. If a human was here, there had to be a reason, especially with Lupusregina accompanying her.
More importantly, a faint dragon-shaped mark peeking through her hair caught his eye, and for a moment, even Demiurge was surprised.
It was the mark of Naohara-sama.
And now it was on a human.
The reason hardly needed explaining.
"Naohara-sama's human pet?"
With that in mind, Demiurge chose to approach Clementine. To clarify what her relationship with the Supreme Being truly was, he struck up a conversation.
In barely ten minutes, Demiurge—skilled at playing on hearts and minds—had gotten what he wanted.
"This human is quite loyal to Naohara-sama."
"And that look on her face… inferiority, is it?"
Demiurge found himself quietly impressed. She was only human, but he couldn't deny it: her loyalty was enough to make even him take notice.
After that, Demiurge coordinated with Lupusregina and invited Clementine to the bar, hoping to draw out even more information.
Once they had gotten her drunk, Demiurge used inducement magic to untangle the full story.
"So that's how it is…"
"A lowly human, and yet she managed to become Naohara-sama's friend."
As he looked at Clementine, a strange feeling rose in Demiurge's chest. Naohara-sama truly was kind—far kinder than most.
"Perhaps this is another option. The chances are slim, but it's worth trying."
"But the human race has far too little potential. That won't do."
Thinking of his plan regarding Naohara-sama's offspring, Demiurge stroked his chin and fell into serious contemplation.
Aura still hadn't crossed that father-and-daughter barrier. Staring at Clementine, Demiurge decided it would be wise to prepare a second route.
But a lowly human was out of the question. If the plan was to succeed, if she was to bear Naohara-sama's child in the future, then her race would have to be changed first.
After choosing his words, Demiurge's lips curled into an eerie smile. In a coaxing tone, he looked at Clementine and spoke slowly.
"Clementine-san, have you ever considered… not being human?"
"Huh?"