Lord Demon is behind you

"..."

"..."

"It seems that this time I'm the one who fell behind," the demon king sighed heavily, "Compared to the loyal dog who forcibly moves closer, the hero who is sincerely in love and the girl who is really anxious about feelings is like this. This mode seems to be easier to attract the attention of the brave."

"--Hey?"

Olga was at a loss.

The brave man silently nodded in agreement—yes, Olga's natural expression of emotion at this moment pushed her cuteness to the peak in one fell swoop.

The deliberate cuteness before was very attractive, but the emotions aroused by her actions this time can be called moving.

"However, it's too early for me to admit defeat!"

The Demon King grabbed back the long black cloak and threw it on his shoulders with shaking hands.

"My love for the brave is no less than anyone else. Since she won the upper hand with her true feelings, I can also use the most authentic side to regain the situation; I am optimistic about the cat girl, this is the ultimate meaning of gaining cuteness .Hero!"

His cat ears and tail quivered slightly with the movement.

"Looking down on all living beings in the world with the proud figure of the original superior, the strongest man who regards human beings as playthings in his hands, but finally fell under the eyes of the brave, the former devil king full of drama, based on 'love' The me that exists is about to repeat the gorgeous confession of love here!"

There was a beautiful curve at the end of the cloak.He grabbed the brave man's hand.

— Confession?Recalling the tragic experience of that day for a moment, the brave man's expression became a little subtle.

"I like you, that's right, I like you in the sense of being in love. I, the former Demon Lord——Albert Strelstein, have admiration for the brave Arthur Crane!"

"For you, I am willing to do anything. From the moment I realized it, my body exists only for the brave. This is not a loss of self, rather, the 'me who loves the brave' that exists here It's the real me. After wandering in solitude for hundreds of years, stepping into the human world under the emptiness, but inadvertently catching a ray of light in front of me—that's how I am. What do you think, brave man? I can—"

"Not cute at all!"

The brave said simply.

"--Hey?"

Upon receiving such a blatant denial, the Demon King froze.

"Why! After receiving the confession, shouldn't you feel that the other party's cuteness has risen to a higher level? Or is it that you, the brave man, actually hate me very much, so that's why..."

"No, it's not that I hate you..."

After thinking about it, the brave man decided to tell the truth.

"But in this situation, even if I receive a confession, I just feel a lot of pressure. It is impossible to develop the feeling of 'feeling cute'."

Moreover, the description in his speech is too exaggerated.What fell under one look, the only light in the darkness... Such exaggerated words would only make people feel embarrassed.

What's more, the word "confession" itself will remind him of a series of recent painful experiences, which will create a psychological shadow...

The brave made up his mind almost immediately.

"Sorry, it seems that in this competition, the final winner can only be Olga."

"Eh?...Me?"

The cat girl who has been in a daze since just now raised her face in surprise, "But I, I shouldn't..."

Her doubts were interrupted by the demon king's scream.

"Wait, what, no, the competition is not over yet! Brave, give me another chance—"

The Demon King grabbed the hem of the brave man's clothes and hurriedly defended himself.

"—Even if you are given another chance, do you have any new tricks you can use?"

The brave sighed helplessly, and patted his head comfortingly.

"Actually, this kind of cat ears is quite cute. If it wasn't for the exaggerated confession at the end, it would only be in terms of cuteness. Maybe you can really beat Olga."

He commented fairly.

The demon king was stunned as if struck by lightning, and after a few seconds, he lowered his head as if giving up.

"Well, forget it. At least the brave thinks I'm cute... and there's a reward for touching the head... It's not a waste of my work."

He didn't know if he was talking to himself in a self-comforting manner, as if he had finally chosen to compromise with reality.

This guy recovered really fast—in a sense, he was really tenacious.In other words, did he not really value the outcome this time?

Olga was still kneeling on the floor, still in a state of ignorance.

"Master Brave...you mean...have I defeated the previous generation?"

"Ah, that's it." Although to a certain extent it was his own death, victory is victory.

The brave man reached out and pulled her up.

"It's embarrassing to say that," he said with a slight smile, "but Olga is really cute. No one can deny that."

"Master Brave...do you think I'm cute?"

As if in a dream, she stared blankly at the brave man and repeated.

"Have I received... the approval of the brave man...?"

"Yes. You have passed this test. Not only the cuteness, but also the previous two, whether it's cooking or hotel maintenance, Olga's standard is first-class-that is to say, You have passed all the tests. Olga's excellence is obvious to all of us."

Standing in front of her, the brave man spoke affirmative words again.

"However, I'm very sorry—because Olga, you are a witch and the enemy of all human beings, so even if you escaped and hid as I said before, I will definitely find you out, and then... put an end to it . This is where my duty lies."

He really followed his own heart and made a choice.But that doesn't mean he intends to disregard his duty as a brave man.

Finally, he squeezed Olga's hand hard, then let go, and he put his hand on the hilt instead.

"If you want to escape, do it now. When we meet next time, we will be complete enemies."

Despite what he said, Olga just stood there dumbfounded.

"Excellent...? Me? I can't help you at ordinary times, but now I'm standing in front of the brave man... Me?"

"That's not the case. You have always been a very good companion and an important friend of mine. You are an irreplaceable member of the team and have always played a very important role."

This is by no means empty words of consolation.Brave really thinks so from the bottom of his heart.

"I……"

The corners of Olga's lips tightened slowly, forming a straight line.

"How could it be... Brave, my lord..."

The cat-like eyes were soaked and wet with water droplets.

Without warning, big, big tears trickled down her cheeks.She opened her eyes wide, stared at the brave man in a daze, and let the tears flow one after another——

"Olga? What, what's the matter..."

The brave man suddenly became overwhelmed.He didn't have much experience in comforting girls, and he couldn't understand why she would suddenly cry at such a time.

Got victory and affirmation, shouldn't you be happy now?And she doesn't look very much like weeping with joy.

——At a time like this, why are you crying?

"because……"

Olga spoke intermittently, her voice trembling.

"In that case, Mr. Brave, what should you do next... If you can't eliminate the witch on the fourth floor immediately, you will definitely face more difficulties in the future..."

"You are--"

What is she saying?

The hero couldn't understand what she meant at all.

At this time, there was a slight cracking sound from her body.

"...!"

Realizing what it was, the hero took a step back as if electrocuted.

"Why did you choose to agree with me in the end? I am an existence that is completely unworthy of your affirmation... Wouldn't it be good to deny it? Just kill me and move forward, wouldn't it be good? In that case, I will at least still Can be used as a stepping stone on your way forward, with a little value—"

She spoke incoherently, and the cracking sound became more and more clear.

How is this going?

The cat-eared girl's skin, clothing, and overall appearance are gradually shattering, exposing the pure black essence underneath.

"Olga, you..."

——What the hell are you talking about?

"Brave," at some point, the Demon King had already come behind him, and he grabbed the hem of his clothes with a very calm expression, "Don't you understand? Your conclusion just now finally touches the essence of this sad witch."

"Essence? Olga's..."

"No, have you forgotten again? She is not your former companion, but just the residue left by that person. Her essence is just a residual obsession, as you can see—"

The Demon King pointed with a clear face.

"What is left behind is always fearful and uneasy, wanting to be of use to you, but also afraid of being abandoned by you, the obsession with inferiority complex full of contradictions."

Panic?disturbed?Afraid of abandonment, always inferior...?

The witch standing there has no limbs.The lower body swells up like a ball of black cotton candy or a tutu skirt, the cat ears on the top of the head have disappeared, and the face is covered with a pure black mask, on which the rough facial features are drawn with white pens, and the upward curved The corners of the mouth, the downward-curving eyes -- and the pattern of dripping tears.

It's hard to describe whether it's a smile or a crying face.

The whole shape is like a toy tumbler.

"The body of this kind of acquired demon is specialized according to the attack method," said the demon king. "Her body does not have any sharp protruding parts, which means...she has no attack power. And, also I can't feel any fluctuations of magic power. She really doesn't intend to attack you at all, which means that she doesn't have any grudges against you, right?"

"That's right, just like the previous generation said."

Catgirls' voices sounded all around.Like other witches, her mouth didn't move at all, and she didn't know where the sound came from.

Her tone sounded calm, as if she had recovered from her previous outburst.

"I don't have any unwilling feelings towards Mr. Brave?" She said, "Because, at that time, it was natural to be rejected. Speaking of which, Mr. Brave and I are from two worlds. He He is a hero, a brave man who saves the world, a person who is destined to go to the highest point, and I am just a lost person who was rescued and shamelessly followed behind him."

—No, not like that.

"Master Brave is very gentle, so he will regard people like me as important companions. But I know very well that I have been working hard to do logistics, put on a smiling face, and build a good relationship with everyone, just because I am afraid of being Just leave it behind, it's just... I don't know, if one day the brave man doesn't need me anymore, where else can I go..."

"If you dare to harbor resentment towards such a brave man, and hate the brave man who gave me a place to live, that would be a big mistake."

——No, that's not the case.

"That's not the case. You, Olga, have always been an important companion, and are indispensable—"

"—— Brave."

The Demon King pressed his shoulder.

"Stop it. She can't understand."

"... what?" What does this mean?

"The current her," the devil raised his head and nodded at the wobbly witch, "the basis of her existence is 'self-loathing' itself. No matter how she thinks, she will definitely start from self-denial and end with self-denial."

"--what."

I finally understand - the source of the sense of disobedience during every conversation.I thought she was weird before, she always belittled herself habitually, and her smile was extremely fake.So...is that the case?

Was that smile a fake?Has the real her become such an appearance that even she can't agree with herself...

"I think she should have been very unconfident before, but she has been hiding her emotions."

The Demon King habitually held his chin and said, "According to your description, she should have been carefully facing you and everyone in your team since a long time ago. Try to do everything within your power and always do the right thing. Cope with it, so that you don’t feel any discomfort... In your human psychology, there is a special term for this kind of situation, called 'pleaser personality'. Have you heard of it?"

The author has something to say:

The Demon Lord, who is a psychology buff, began to analyze.