The Demon King replied calmly:
[Nothing.]
"But just now, my heart seemed to beat really fast. Was it because of you?"
Kirishima Hina touched her chest. Although she hadn't been in control of her body just then, she'd still been fully aware of its condition.
Her heart had suddenly started beating very fast. Clearly, it was because of the Demon King, who had taken over her body.
[I just thought... she was kind of cute.]
The Demon King spoke coldly.
Kirishima Hina froze.
...Cute?
[What? Isn't it normal for you humans to fall for something cute? If I hadn't taken over your body, I wouldn't have felt that way either.]
The Demon King sounded unconvinced.
Kirishima Hina was confused.
"But that teacher didn't look very special, did she?"
It was their first time meeting, but the teacher named Haihara really didn't stand out.
[What? Not special?]
The Demon King's tone turned unfriendly.
[She's obviously cute! If that woman turned into a Monster, she'd absolutely be top-tier. The kind of woman I'd marry as the Demon King.]
It had started as a perfectly ordinary conversation, but somehow it had turned into this.
She'd been with the Demon King for a while now, but sometimes Kirishima Hina still couldn't make heads or tails of her.
"Could you... describe it a little? As a human, I find it hard to understand what Monsters consider attractive."
She'd spent most of her life in a hospital bed, but even so, she thought Monsters' standards of beauty were a little too advanced for her.
[It's something like... fluffy feathers, a slightly gloomy look, kind of round... Basically, a really cute bird.]
As a Bird-Type Devil King, she described Monsters from a bird's perspective.
After thinking it over for a moment, Kirishima Hina guessed, "Something like an owl?"
[More or less.]
The Demon King replied casually.
That was just how cute Haihara seemed to her.
Too bad she was human.
Kirishima Hina looked up and studied Haihara again, but she still just seemed like an ordinary teacher to her. She couldn't connect Haihara with the Demon King's description of "cute."
While she was chatting with the Demon King, her resident spirit, a popsicle waved in front of her.
Hina came back to herself and saw her older sister holding two ice pops.
"I remember you get hot easily, Hina. You were starting to look like you used to when you got overheated."
Kirishima Ai smiled.
After staring into space for a moment, Hina took the ice pop.
"Thanks, Sis."
Her sister was always so thoughtful and considerate, looking after her like this. But Hina often couldn't do anything for her in return. She could only accept her sister's care.
Her gaze dimmed a little, but she quickly recovered and looked down at the ice pop in her hand.
It was pale blue and almost translucent. It had started to melt a little.
She hadn't eaten one in ages. There weren't many chances to have popsicles in a hospital room.
Hina put the ice pop in her mouth.
A cool sensation spread across her tongue, with a faint sweetness, but it wasn't quite like she remembered.
It was only faintly sweet.
To be honest, it didn't taste very good.
"It's... not very sweet."
"Is that so?"
Kirishima Ai took a bite of her own.
"Hmm... it's fine."
Her sister didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it.
Hina bit off a piece and held it in her mouth until the ice had completely melted. It was still only faintly sweet, like the last bit of flavorless gum.
It had no flavor, but she couldn't bring herself to spit it out. It felt like she was simply holding ice in her mouth, with only the cold sensation standing out.
Lately, everything she ate seemed to be like this.
That cake the other day had been the same. It had almost no flavor, and the texture had felt like chewing on a sponge.
At first, she'd thought her illness was getting worse, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
[You and I are fused now, so you'll gradually become more like me. It won't just be your sense of taste. Your other senses will fade too, until you become a complete Monster.]
"I see..."
Kirishima Hina showed no particular emotion.
Now that the Demon King had possessed her, there wasn't much she could do about it.
She simply handed control of her body over to the Demon King.
By the time she realized what was happening, the Demon King was sucking on the thing called a popsicle.
"...This is actually pretty good, isn't it?"
The Demon King didn't mind the feeling of her tongue going numb from the cold.
She'd never tasted food before, anyway. She had no concept of sweet or bitter; only pain could stimulate her senses.
Cold was probably a kind of pain she could tolerate.
Without changing her expression, she slowly licked the popsicle, watching the clear ice melt little by little and slide over her bright-red tongue. For once, it gave her a little pleasure.
She'd eaten something like this before...
That damn Overlord had fed it to her.
It was the only memory of hers that she didn't hate.
As for everything else—bathing, getting dressed, reading—they were humiliating experiences that made her furious.
She hated that woman named Lilith more than anyone.
Sorry for the trouble
I'm stuck, so I'm taking a day off. I'll make up for it with two updates tomorrow.
Also, it looks like I might get a new recommendation this Friday. I'll go back to two updates a day then?
Chapter 54: Sakaki Chika's Troubles
"Be good and hold still."
A woman's cool voice sounded beside Kirishima Hina's ear.
She could smell the faint scent of the woman's perfume because they were standing so close.
Then the woman gently wiped Hina's face with her cool hand.
It was sunscreen.
Hina looked up at the person applying sunscreen to her face.
The woman wore glasses and had a somewhat gloomy air about her. Her expression was always cool and composed, unlike any of the adults Kirishima Hina had met before.
Teacher Haihara was her sister's homeroom teacher.
Although she taught high school, she seemed younger than Hina's elementary school teachers had been. She probably wasn't much older than her sister, either.
Did her sister usually listen to Teacher Haihara's lessons?
Kirishima Hina wondered what that would be like.
Just now, Teacher Haihara had put sunscreen on her because the sun seemed rather strong today.
"Your sister really isn't much of a girl. I'm pretty sure I reminded them to bring sunscreen, didn't I? I'll have to put some on her later, too."
The teacher didn't sound very happy.
After finishing with the girl, Haihara put away the sunscreen she'd brought.
Not long ago, they'd arrived at a forested area on the outskirts of the city.
After that, the students were supposed to gather firewood, put up tents, and cook their own dinner over a fire that night.
They were currently gathering firewood and picking wild fruit.
But none of that had anything to do with Haihara, the high school teacher, or Kirishima Hina.
There was no way Hina could go into the forest to gather firewood.
"Thank you, Teacher..." Kirishima Hina said softly.
The word felt a little unfamiliar to her.
After the Monster incident when she was little, she'd hardly gone to school at all. The middle schoolers on this trip were technically her classmates, but every face was unfamiliar.
Earlier, Kirishima Hina had said Teacher Haihara looked ordinary.
But now that she was closer, it didn't quite seem that way...
Teacher Haihara had the air of a cool beauty, and she had a nice figure, too. She smelled lovely as well.
Hmm, her sense of smell hadn't gotten much worse yet.
How should she put it...
She had the feel of an older sister.
Not like her own sister, though Hina loved her, too.
Next, they could sit in the shade beneath a little shelter and wait for the other students to finish their tasks. Then it would be time for lunch.
The shelter had been put up by an older girl named Kazama Kiriori.
After that, the two of them didn't seem to have anything else to do.
Haihara was silent for a moment, then asked, "Um... do you watch magical girls?"
She took out her phone and waved it in front of Kirishima Hina.
Hina blinked, then lowered her head awkwardly.
"I'm not a little kid..."
"You are a little kid."
Haihara said flatly, "If you don't want to watch, I'll watch by myself."
She watched magical girls on her own from time to time, anyway.
Before you continue