A Creative Alchemist Enjoys His Freedom – After Being Banished from His Hometown, He Is Now Free to Create Magical Items with Incredible Effects Under the Control of the Demon King - Episode 32

Episode 32: “Sleeping with Mysterious Bedding”

　──That night, in Demon King Luquier’s room──

“I’ve received it, Luquier-sama. It’s a 『Pillow Cover』 imbued with Thor-sama’s magical power!”
“Well done, Mabel!”

　Luquier flashed a wide smile as Mabel burst into the room.
　This was Demon King Luquier’s private room.
　It was located on the top floor of the Demon King’s castle and was divided into an office, a living room, and a bedroom.

　This floor was basically off-limits to men.
　Maids with combat abilities patrol the corridors, checking who comes and goes.
　The only man who would be allowed on this floor would be the one who would become Luquier’s husband.

　Of course, the arrival of a little girl, Mabel, was no problem at all.
　The people in the castle also knew that she was Luquier’s childhood friend.
　If Luquier, tired from work, said she wanted to talk with Mabel for the first time in a while, they would let her in.
　Of course, there was nothing wrong with Mabel bringing an oddly long pillowcase.

“The magic reservoir of『Pillow Cover』 is only for a few hours. The 『Body Pillow』 can only be transformed for one hour after the cover is placed on it.
“Until then, Mabel and I will be able to hold Thor’s hand.”
“Apparently, the only thing that is linked to Thor-sama himself is the sense of touch.”
“So that means he can’t hear what Mabel and I say.”
“It seems he has taken care of it.”
“Well, it’s Thor, after all.”
“Well then, let’s get started…”
“Don’t worry. Let’s get changed into our pajamas first.”

　Mabel grabbed the 『Pillow Cover』 and started to dash off to the bedroom, but Luquier stopped her.

“We only have one hour to be with 『Body Pillow Thor』. First, we should get dressed, wash our faces, and then together… well, we should get into bed.”
“Y-you’re right. Sorry. I was in a hurry.”
“Thor is in his room and ready for bed, right?”
“Yes. He was just changing into his nightgown and getting into bed.”
“I see. Knowing him, I thought he would continue his research without sleep.”
“He promised to sleep holding hands with His Majesty. Thor-sama is a man who keeps his promises.”
“…That’s right.”

　Luquier instinctively hugged her nightgown tighter.
　Remembering what happened during the day, her face suddenly turned red.

　Hearing about Thor’s situation.
　As she was telling him about it, she started crying.
　She ended up saying, “I want to sleep holding Thor’s hand tonight.”

　──I feel embarrassed when I remember it.

　But Thor accepted it all.
　On top of that, he listened to Luquier’s selfish requests.
    He even made a 『Body Pillow』 with the ability to “change form”.

“Thor really is a truly extraordinary alchemist.

     There was no way there could be an alchemist other than Thor who would create a transcendent magical item for a reason like, “My master said she wanted to sleep while holding my hand.”
　Even in the world of heroes, no one would create an item for such a reason.

　Thor was the only alchemist like that.
　The only place Thor could be found was in the castle of the Demon King’s territory.
　Thinking about that made her happy.
　She felt like crying for a different reason than before.

(…Thor is a really troublesome guy.)

“Your Majesty. Stop hugging your nightgown. It’s time for you to get changed.”
“…Uh, I understand.”
“Shall I help you?”
“I don’t like it because it makes me realize the difference in our growth.”

　Turning her back to Mabel, who was already in her pajamas, Luquier took off her loungewear.
　She quickly changed into her pajamas while listening to the sounds of Mabel putting it away.

　She finished all her work for today.
　She finished dinner and took a bath.
　All that was left now was for the two of them—no, all three of them—to sleep.

“… I will sleep holding hands with Thor. Because we share the same senses, the sensation of holding hands will be transmitted to Thor. Not only has he granted my wish, but he has also obeyed the rule of the Demon King’s castle that no men are allowed on this floor. He has accomplished the impossible. Thor…”
“Are you ready? Your Majesty. Let’s join together then.”
“Well, wait, calm down, Mabel.”

　When she turned around, she saw Mabel excitedly holding the 『Pillow Cover』.
   The 『Body Pillow』 itself was already on top of Luquier’s bed.
　All they had to do was put the cover on, and the 『Body Pillow』would transform into Thor.

“…Thor is going to be in my bed… What a thing to happen.”

　Now she was starting to feel embarrassed.
　Of course, Luquier had never slept with a boy before.
　In fact, today was the first time I held hands with a boy.

　She was about to share a bed with the same person on the same day.
　No, the other person was a 『Body Pillow』, not Thor himself.
　No, it wasn’t like that… but it was Luquier who brought it up in the first place.

　When that moment came, she felt embarrassed and ticklish.
　But she had no intention of quitting at all.

　Mabel’s eyes were shining as she held the 『Pillow Cover』 in her hands, and she was fully prepared to put the cover on the 『Body Pillow』 at Luquier’s signal.
　She felt like if she stopped now, she would lose to Mabel.
　Even Luquier didn’t become a demon king with such weak resolve.

“Alright. Mabel.”

　And so Luquier declared.

“Place Thor’s magical 『Pillow Cover』 on the 『Body Pillow』!”
“As you wish, Your Majesty!”

　Well.
　Sasasa.

　Mabel put the 『Pillow Cover』 on the 『Body Pillow』.
　My body pillow had become Thor.
　He was in his pajamas, his eyes were closed, and he appeared to be asleep.

　His chest was rising and falling gently.
　Of course, the 『Body Pillow』 did not breathe.
　But she guessed it was like this to make it look like it was alive.

　As expected of Thor… While thinking that, Luquier couldn’t help but stare at his face.
　Thor was sleeping peacefully and breathing still.
　Just knowing that his figure was in her room made her feel relieved.

“Your Majesty. May I put a blanket on it?”
“Uh, yeah.”

　Next to Luquier, Mabel covered her 『Body Pillow Thor』 with a blanket.
　She turned off the lights in the room, leaving only the bedside lamp on, and just waited for Luquier to prepare herself.

    She was glad 『Body Pillow Thor』 had his eyes closed.
　She still felt a little embarrassed about being seen in her pajamas.
　Thinking about this, Luquier nodded back at Mabel.

　Luquier was on Thor’s left.
　Mabel was on the right.

　The two of them flipped the blanket over and slid their bodies onto either side of the 『Body Pillow Thor』.
　Then fumbling around, she touched Thor’s hand.
　Finally, Mabel turns off the bedside lamp, leaving only moonlight illuminating the bedroom.

　Meanwhile, Luquier finally finds Thor’s left hand…

“…Mabel.”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”
“…How should I hold a boy’s hand?”
“Huh? Wasn’t that something Her Majesty did at the tea party…?”
“…I was so engrossed in it that I don’t remember how I did it.”
“Don’t ask me… I’ve never had that experience either…”
“Should I just hold it normally? Or should I intertwine my fingers…?”
“Y-You can do as you like.”
“Which one is Mabel?”
“Just like Her Majesty…”
“I, I see.”
“That’s right……”

　Their voices echoed faintly in the darkness.
　The longer they wait, the less the duration of the 『Body Pillow Thor』 would last.
　Having prepared herself, Luquier touched Thor’s fingers with her slender fingers, explored them, and then intertwined them.

“Mabel. Did you hold hands with Thor?”
“Y-Yes.”
“How did you connect it?”
“Probably. The same as His Majesty… I think.”
“I, I see.”
“…yeah.”

　For a moment, there was silence.
　Luquier had noticed a fatal flaw in the plan.

　All Luquier wanted was to sleep while holding Thor’s hand.
　However──

(How can I sleep in this state──!)

　Her holding hands were warm.
　Her heart was pounding.
　The other person was just a 『Body Pillow』 in the shape of Thor.

　And yet, Luquier’s body was getting hotter and hotter.
　Even though all she was holding was his hand, it felt like she was embracing a flame.
　Only those who had the bl00d of the Flame Giant could sleep in this state.

“…Ma, Mabel. Are you asleep…?”
“…Mm, that’s impossible.”
“Really.”
“Yes……”
“So, can you tell me something?”
“I, I understand. So, Thor-sama’s…”
“Well, I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about Thor so much, so what’s the point in talking about him?”
“…I can’t think of anything else in this situation…”
“Mabel is so sloppy.”
“Well then, Your Majesty, please tell me something else.”

“Um, yeah. That’s right.”
“Yeah.”
“…………”
“…………”
“…”
“…”
“It’s about Thor.”
“Yes. You mean Thor-sama.”

　They gave up.

“The duke and margrave who tried to sacrifice Thor will be dealt with in the name of the empire.”
“Is that so?”
“The letter from the Empire said something like, ‘At the very least, they will not let them remain a high-ranking noble.'”
“I guess it’s because General Raizenga was angry with him.”
“That’s right.”

　Luquier nodded, staring at the ceiling.

“That let the Empire know that Thor was an important figure in the Demon King’s territory. That’s why Thor became someone the Empire couldn’t carelessly touch. The Empire sent him as a hostage to keep the Demon King’s territory quiet.”
“His father, who tried to sacrifice Thor-sama, who is an important figure in the Demon King’s territory, tried to harm the Demon King’s territory. By doing so, he provoked the Demon King’s territory and, by extension, attempted to harm the Empire.”
“That’s right.”

　Luquier nodded and turned to Mabel.
    Her eye fell on the profile of 『Body Pillow Thor』.
　She could see his cheek illuminated by the moonlight and a mole on his earlobe.
　She wondered how he would react if she blew on him── and in a panic, Luquier averted her gaze.

“Anyway… as a result of these negotiations, the Empire has found out that Thor is an important figure in the Demon King’s territory. As a result, the Empire has no choice but to treat Thor as a 『guest sent to the Demon King’s territory』.”
“It seems that even the Empire has come to value Thor-sama…”
“That’s ironic.”
“If they only just realized how important Thor is to them now… but I wish they should have treated him well from the beginning…”
“I agree.”
“Thor has been treated well – and the duke who tried to harm him has been dealt with…”

　Mabel muttered softly.

“But I… I cannot forgive Thor-sama’s father.”
“Me too. If it had been me at the negotiating table and not Raizenga… no, I would have been wearing a mask at the time. As a Demon King, I wouldn’t have been able to lay hands on the Margrave…”
“Thor-sama also understands His Majesty’s position.”
“Yes… that’s right. I believe in him.”
“But Thor-sama will always be Thor Regus-sama.”
“He will have to continue to use the family name of his father, who did such terrible things to him.”

　Luquier looked up at the ceiling and thought.
　The official name cannot be changed.
　To the Demon King’s territory, Thor was merely an emissary from the Empire, the son of a noble family named Regus.

“But when the three of us are together, maybe we should call each other by different names.”
“…When Thor-sama was working away from home, he apparently used his mother’s family name.”
“What family name was that?”
“It’s Thor Kanan.”
“…Thor Kanan, Thor Kanan…Hmm, that has a nice ring to it.”

　Luquier turned towards the embracing Thor.
　She untied their hands and tried writing some words on Thor’s palm.
   “Thor Kanan”—”Thor Kanan”—yeah. Not bad.
　Much better than the family name of the father who tried to sacrifice him.

“I’ll talk to Thor tomorrow. I’ll see if it’s okay to call him by that name, but only when the three of us are together.”
“…”
“Mabel?”
“Y-Yes! Sorry. You’re right. Let’s talk.”
“That’s right… haha.”

　At last, sleepiness came over her.
　Luquier held hands with 『Body Pillow Thor』 again and closed her eyes.
　She had calmed down a lot—or rather, it was starting to seem natural for her to be in this state.

　It probably wouldn’t be possible to do this all the time, but it might be nice to sleep like this every now and then.
　She felt at ease, and she had good dreams. That was what she felt.

“It’s time to get some rest. Goodnight, Mabel.”
“Yes… Good night, Your Majesty.”

　And so, Luquier and Mabel fell asleep.
　When they woke up the next morning, the 『Body Pillow Thor』 had returned to being a cylindrical 『Body Pillow』.
　Luquier and Mabel were hugging the body pillow tightly from either side—or rather, clinging to it. The comfort of the Thor—specifically 『Body Pillow』 was indeed the best, and Luquier began to think that it might be fine to just use it as is without the 『Pillow Cover』.
　And with that, she parted ways with Mabel, got ready, and began her work as the Demon King.
　In the afternoon, she visited Thor’s room.

“May I come in, Thor?”
“Yes, Luquier-sama.”

　When Luquier entered Thor’s room, he was working on alchemy.
　He had several sheets spread out on the table and seemed to be conducting some kind of experiment.
　She was curious about the details of the experiment, but right now there was something she wanted to try before that.

　It was the name of Thor; she had decided on with Mabel yesterday.
　Mabel was helping out with some work in the room. She may have called him by now…

“How are you today? Thor Kanan?”
“Thank you. I’m fine. So, I made some new materials…”

(……That?)

　It was lightly brushed off.
　That was strange. She thought there would be some kind of reaction since she had changed the name.

“Hey, Thor.”
“Yes, Luquier-sama.”
“I just called you by your mother’s surname. Is it okay to call you Thor Kanan?”
“It no problem. It is Thor Kanan.”
“…I suddenly changed your name; does it feel strange?”
“That’s about it, but I had a strange dream yesterday.”
“A strange dream?”
“I had a dream where someone kept writing the words ‘Thor Kanan’ on both my hands.”

　Both hands?

　Luquier looked at Mabel.
　Mabel looked to the side with a bright red face.
　In other words, it seemed she was doing the same thing as Luquier.

“Ever since I had that dream, it felt only natural that I be called Thor Kanan. I never liked my father’s family name anyway, and it’s fine between me and Luquier. Please call me Thor Kanan.”
“I, I see.”
“Yeah. But it was a nice dream.”

　Thor nodded, smiling kindly.
　Then he looked at Luquier with a complicated expression.

“…Could it be that Luquier and Mabel wrote ‘Thor Kanan’ on both hands of the 『Body Pillow』?”
“…Ugh.”
“No, that’s fine. I’d like you two to call me by that name. However, as an alchemist, I would like to know how you two used me as a 『Body Pillow』. There might be some areas for improvement.”
“”…””

　Luquier and Mabel’s eyes lit up.

　Thor had a point.
　He was an alchemist, so it was only natural that he would want to know what effects his creations had. He said it was fun to hear feedback from people who used them, then refine and recreate them.

“Sorry. I’ve been writing the words ‘Thor Canaan’ on the palm of my 『Body Pillow Thor』 for a long time. Maybe Mabel has too.”
“As expected.”
“But, that’s all, isn’t it? I haven’t done anything else strange!”
“I know. I believe you.”
“……that’s good”

　Luquier simply wrote Thor’s name on the 『Body Pillow Thor』.
　She could say that much with confidence.
　…She was glad she didn’t have to go any further than that──Thinking like that, she looked towards Mabel──

(…Wait a moment, Mabel.)

　Mabel looked embarrassed and clutched her chest with both hands.
　Her eyes flicked back and forth between her large br3asts wrapped in a maid’s uniform and Thor’s right arm.
　What on earth was happening on the right side of the 『Body Pillow Thor』 that I didn’t know about?

“Have you noticed anything else?”

　Thor asked.
　Mabel’s body trembled at the sound of that voice.
　Seeing the two of them, Luquier──

“It’s a maiden’s secret!”

　She couldn’t help but cry out loud.

“Leave it that way; it’s mercy. In the first place, it’s not good to scrutinize a girl for what happened after she went to bed. It’s not nice, Thor.”
“Y-Yeah, for sure.”
“As for Mabel, you see, there seems to be a lot of things going on. No. Anyway, the『Body Pillow』that looked like Thor. I’m satisfied with it. So let’s call it a day!”
“I-I understand!”

　Thus, Luquier succeeded in keeping Mabel’s secret, but…

　She decided to find out later what Mabel had been doing on the other side of the bed last night.
    As much as possible, like a demon king