I was reincarnated into another world and became a witch so I want to live a slow life but the Demon King won't let me go.
[The Demon King's Castle at That Time]
Translated by: ME
"What do you mean Miya quit?!"
Almus's shout echoed through Tims's room.
"I don't know what to make of it either. She suddenly said she was quitting and left."
"Stop her!"
"There wasn't even time to stop her!!"
Only the two of them shouting echoed emptily. Miya suddenly declared her resignation and ran off. They hurriedly tried to trace her presence, but she was already nowhere nearby. They waited, thinking she might have just gotten angry about something on a whim and would come back someday, but several days passed without a word.
"Still no sign of her?"
Tims has his familiars searching everywhere, but all they've reported is that she's vanished without a trace, and there's been no further news. No one seems to be considering that she might have gone to a place where humans live.
"Right now, I've sent someone to inquire at the place Miya used to live."
"Find her no matter what."
"I know."
They didn't seem to realize it, but the improvements to the Demon King's castle since Miya arrived have been remarkable. It's not just that work has become smoother; thanks to the culture of sweets, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, and many new roles and systems have been created. Most importantly, the bratty Demon King listens to what Miya says. Miya was doing her job as a matter of course, responding to the Demon King's unreasonable demands and smoothing things over with sweets. The Demon King, who is capable but temperamental, speaks to Miya cheerfully and even seems to be acting spoiled. How many hundreds of years has it been since the Demon King's castle has been so peaceful? I was impressed by how competent a secretary could be, but...
"I never expected her to quit so suddenly."
Unlike Tims and Almus, who were born to serve the Demon King, she wasn't bound by a subordinate contract, yet she was so diligent. It's typical for demons to be free-spirited, but Miya always did her job properly and was a reliable presence. Now that she's gone, they're stunned by the magnitude of her absence. They had been running things smoothly because Miya had been taking care of the miscellaneous tasks. It's only been a few days since she left, but documents and dust are already starting to pile up. There are maids who were trained by Miya, but they're not secretaries, so they can't do as much work as she did.
Of course, the chaos isn't limited to just the two of them. Even though they learned how to make sweets, Lilia and Rorona have lost their motivation since Miya, who used to take care of them, is gone, and the soldiers have noticed that no new sweets are being made, causing a stir.
More than anything, the Demon King is in a foul mood.
The Demon King, with a sulky expression, is leaning back in his chair, stuffing cookies baked by Lilia into his mouth and drinking tea roughly.
"The taste is different from usual. Make it again."
The maid, looking flustered, tremblingly makes the tea again, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't get it to taste like Miya's.
"It's not fun without that secretary, and the sweets and tea are mediocre. Bring her back quickly."
"We're searching now, but we haven't found her."
"...Why did she leave, that one?"
"I don't know."
"Damn it!"
The Demon King kicks the desk roughly. It's a wonder it doesn't break, but it seems Miya cast a strengthening spell on it because the Demon King breaks things so often.
Demons are free. If they do a job, they're rewarded, but there's no rule that punishes them for not doing a job. There's no blame on Miya for disappearing, but he's never had someone who he's been inconvenienced by their disappearance, so the Demon King doesn't know how to handle it.
"...Has this room always been this messy?"
The Demon King frowns as he looks around Tims's room.
"Because Miya isn't here..."
Before, it was always tidy, clean, and smelled of sweets and tea whenever you came, but now it's not as clean as it used to be, documents are scattered, and it's somewhat dusty. The maids are doing their best, but they can't keep up with Miya's work.
"Miya?"
"The secretary you're looking for."
"So her name is Miya."
"...You didn't know?"
I think he often called her name in front of the Demon King, but he probably didn't pay attention. The Demon King is capable, but he only focuses on what he wants to do and what he cares about. He remembers the names of Tims and Almus because he has a familiar contract with them, but he probably doesn't remember the names of other beings unless something extraordinary happens. He mostly doesn't even remember their existence, let alone their names.
Miya, would she even understand what it means that the Demon King is desperately searching for her?
"...Tch."
The Demon King clicks his tongue irritably and stands up.
"Find her, no matter what. Absolutely."
"Yes, sir."
However, even after several years, they still couldn't find a trace of Miya.
"You useless lot."
The Demon King, burning the regular "We haven't found her" reports from his familiars, had a vein throbbing on his forehead. Even though it's been several years, it's only been a few months in demon time. Still, it feels like an eternity to those waiting. Tims and Almus, standing before the Demon King, are hanging their heads, feeling crushed by his aura of displeasure.
Even without Miya, the system of sweets making, tidying up, and document organization that she had built somehow remained, and they clung to it as they spent their days, but they were nearing their limit. Especially the Demon King's limit. Every time he opens his mouth, he complains about how he wants Miya's sweets, how he doesn't like the way the room is tidied up, and makes a barrage of unreasonable demands. He's constantly irritated that he can't see her. The Demon King himself doesn't even know what he's irritated about. Even if someone he liked ran away or disappeared, he had never searched for them or chased after them before.
"We found the witch Hiiragi, who took care of Miya, but she hasn't seen her since she started working at the Demon King's castle, and she doesn't know where she might have gone. We're searching around where she was born, but we can't find any sign of her."
"She didn't just disappear, did she?"
Demons are made up of masses of magical energy, so if they lose their balance and consume too much magical power, they can disappear. For a moment, he imagines the worst-case scenario, but it's hard to believe that a demon who can use as much magical power as Miya could disappear so easily. Besides, if a demon who belonged to the Demon King's castle disappeared, there should be some kind of trace.
"If we can't find her after searching this much, maybe she went to a place where humans are."
Almus's expression changes to one of shock at Tims's words.
"A human place? What for?"
"For some reason, Miya was very knowledgeable about human ecology. Sweets and tea were originally habits favored by humans. Maybe she has some connection to humans."
"I've never heard of that."
"She might have just not said anything."
Demons don't have the habit of being interested in others and asking them a lot of questions, so they had never cared about Miya's past.
"We can't send familiars to places where humans are."
There's a bigger gap between where demons and humans live than Miya thinks. Demons who are too strong are repelled, and demons who are too weak may disappear due to the thin magical energy. More than anything, they're afraid of the reaction from the other side.
"I've heard that demons with wavelengths close to humans sometimes go in and out and get involved with humans. Hiiragi, who took care of Miya, is said to have lived as a witch with humans for a while, so maybe, just maybe..."
"...A place where humans live, huh."
"The agreement is that demons of high rank are not allowed to enter."
The Demon King ponders.
"If that's the case, there's no way to search."
"I'll go."
"Huh?"
"I'll go search for her myself."
"Y-Your Majesty the Demon King!!??"
Without hesitation, the Demon King stands up and draws a magic circle.
"There's an agreement with the other side, you know?"
"The point is, I just have to get in without being recognized as the Demon King, right?"
The Demon King's aura shrinks rapidly, his large horns are hidden by his hair, and his glittering golden eyes change to a pale amber color.
"Your Majesty!"
"Do whatever you want while I'm gone. I'll bring back someone who can do the job."
The Demon King, with a strangely cheerful look in his eyes, waves his arm, and his figure vanishes suddenly.
The two talented subordinates who were left behind held their heads in their hands, worrying about what would happen next, and felt sorry for Miya, who was being searched for by the Demon King.
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