The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

After hearing what Lia said, Grey finally remembered that there seemed to be such a thing.

Similar to summer and winter vacations, Astraea Magic Academy has two long holidays a year, during which Lia will go home to stay.

Gray hadn't exactly forgotten about it, but after spending too long in the secret realm and being in a daze for several days, his sense of time was a bit confused.

"It's gotten this far..." Gray sighed.

This immediately provoked Leah's displeasure. She realized that Grey didn't seem to have come back because he remembered she was on vacation, and her voice rose several octaves.

"elder brother!!!!"

Having just sorted out his sense of time, Gray gave a somewhat perfunctory reply: "Hmm?"

Seeing Gray's attitude, Leah became even angrier and fiercely pounced on him, repeatedly pounding Gray's chest with her small fists.

"Your lovely sister came home for vacation, and not only did you not greet her right away, but you also treated her so coldly after she got home."

"Does my brother have a new love interest and doesn't want his sister anymore?!"

Faced with Lia's questioning, Gray calmly replied, "Let's just say I do. What does having a new love interest have to do with whether or not I want a sister?"

Lia couldn't argue back, and pouted angrily, "Never mind that, does your brother still want his sister?"

“Of course I want it.” Before Leah could show her delight, Grey changed the subject: “Although it’s not worth much, it can still be sold.”

This was just everyday playful banter between non-biological siblings, all said in a joking tone. Gray didn't see anything wrong with it, and normally Leah wouldn't have thought anything of it either.

But the situation is different now; Lia has suddenly broken down.

"Brother, no one! (Brother is a big idiot!)"

Starting at zero frames, Lia suddenly burst into tears.

"Wa ...

Gray: "??????"

He's a little confused right now.

Judging from how fiercely Lia cries, it doesn't seem like she's faking it or just being cute.

Did he really make Liya cry?

But he didn't think he had said anything too offensive. It was just normal banter between siblings. Grey didn't understand why Leah suddenly burst into tears.

Since it doesn't seem like she's faking her tears, even though she doesn't know what she did wrong, it would be best to apologize first.

"Lia, it's my fault, please don't cry."

Leah cried, her face streaked with tears, and said in a choked voice, "You... tell me... what did I do wrong...?"

Gree got stuck, not realizing where he went wrong, and chose to use a shortcut answer.

"My mistake was not knowing why I was wrong..."

Upon hearing the answer, Lia's crying stopped abruptly.

Then she started crying again, but this time her cries didn't seem as loud as before.

Lia buried her head in Gray's arms and continued to cry.

Grey realized that Leah wasn't being unreasonable and insisting that he had done something wrong, so he probably hadn't done anything wrong. If she were blaming him, Leah would have resorted to passive-aggressive behavior, not gotten this close to him.

Rather than complaining, Lia's behavior seemed more like she was whining or crying to him...

The moment he realized this, Gray's eyes sharpened.

"Did someone bully you? Was it someone from the academy?"

Gray clenched his fist.

If that's the case, then Gray will definitely find out who that person is, put a urea bag over their head, and give them a good beating.

If the person is too far away, instruct your subordinates to do it for you!

"No..." Lia's voice was broken, but it didn't sound like she was hiding anything.

Seeing this, Gray stopped asking questions and offered his chest to Leah so she could rub against him.

Once she calms down a bit, if Leah wants to tell him, she will; there's no need to keep asking.

Grey's idea was right; Leah was a little tired from crying before she spoke.

"Furni...Lyra...are all gone..."

Gray was startled by what he heard.

Funi is Ipsilon's original name, while Lyra is number 0486's original name.

These two were sent to the Astrea Magic Academy on an undercover mission to immerse themselves in the environment in advance.

Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the cultists during the Holy Light Pilgrimage, they infiltrated and stole... The mission to obtain information about the Astraea Magic Academy was completed. Since Ipsilon and Lyra no longer needed to stay at the academy, they dropped out and went elsewhere to carry out missions.

Gray remained silent.

This matter seems to actually have something to do with him.

The two girls didn't really consider the impact on Liya when they dropped out of school.

When Lia enrolled in school, she was approached and befriended by Ipsilon and Leila, though both women had ulterior motives.

Ipsilon thought it was advantageous to be close to the source and first improve the favorability of the Shadow Lord's sister, while Lyra also intended to protect the Shadow Lord's sister.

The three had a very good relationship, so good that they formed an inseparable little group.

This resulted in Lia not having any closer friends at the academy.

It's hard for anyone to cheer up when their two best friends suddenly disappear.

This isn't a case of "all good things must come to an end," but rather a classmate suddenly dropping out of school.

Ipsilon did leave a letter for Lia, but the contents were vague, not explaining why he dropped out of school or where he went.

When Funi suddenly left, Lia was sad, but not to the point of breaking down.

It wasn't until Lyra also suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a "letter with no address, no contact information" that Lia truly broke down.

When her two best friends suddenly disappeared, Leah was still attending classes at the Astrea Magic Academy and had no one to confide in.

I finally made it to the holiday, but when I got home I found that my brother hadn't come back yet.

Leah wouldn't complain to her father, Ed Brandt, who had high hopes for her and wasn't a loving father figure in her eyes. She also saw her mother as just as strict as her father.

Since childhood, Lia has always relied on Gray for everything.

For her, only her brother would listen to her cries; Leah was very dependent on Grey.

When Lydia saw Gray return, she wanted to rush into her brother's arms and cry, but she didn't actually cry until later.

It turned out to be the case.

Having figured out the whole story, Grey knew that Lydia wasn't being unreasonable.

He should fulfill his duties as an elder brother and provide his younger sister with a safe haven.

After crying her heart out, Lia's emotions had clearly stabilized considerably, but she was still clutching Gray's clothes.

"Brother... thank you... I've been so unreasonable..." Lia choked up.

Gray paused for a moment, then his expression softened, and he chuckled softly.

family.

Even though they weren't related by blood, the Brant family had taken very good care of him. While they didn't treat him like their own son, they weren't exactly evil "adoptive parents."

This is yet another reason, a reason for my fascination with the world.

Cultists, heroes, demons, angels, [heaven], goddess of holy light.

This world is extremely unreasonable.

We must break through!