Seria Pov:
Seria Ose, to her, Demian was a hero.
She was born the daughter of a concubine of the Ose family. In the Underworld, where polygamy was accepted, a concubine was the lowest-ranking of a nobleman's wives, a position usually held by a lower demon or a member of another race. Of course, there were rare exceptions where one might be taken as a legal wife, but such cases were exceedingly few.
Born to a lower demon concubine, Seria was treated as worthless trash. She was constantly scorned by the members of her own family and was even an object of ridicule for the attendants of the estate.
Child of tainted blood.
The shame of the Ose family.
Child of trash.
Amidst the endless torrent of verbal abuse and contempt, the head of the house did nothing. Despite her sharing half his blood, he had no interest in Seria; on the contrary, the moment he saw her, he would scowl and turn away. He, too, considered her trash.
The only reason Seria's mother had become pregnant with her was because she was a woman of considerable beauty. For that reason alone, the innocent country girl was forcibly brought to the Ose estate, where she was used daily to satisfy the lord's lust. She received his seed and, in the end, became pregnant with Seria.
The lord ordered her to abort the child, but she couldn't do it. Though the child was not conceived of her own will, she could not kill a child that shared half her blood. So she secretly fled the Ose estate and gave birth to Seria in a remote place.
Before long, however, the family's soldiers found their home, and they were forced to return to the estate. Her mother's life became even more painful than before. Yet, the only reason she clung to life was for her precious daughter, Seria. Believing that Seria would die if she did, she fought desperately to keep Seria alive, even in the midst of her suffering.
Seria grew up to be endlessly fragile. She was terrified by the looks of contempt and always cried in her mother's arms. To her, her mother was her last remaining sanctuary. But her mother's health was already in a perilous state, and before long, she passed away.
The persecution and insults began anew. Worn down by the daily despair and terror, Seria grew more and more exhausted. It was then that she was enrolled in the academy for nobles. This brought her no joy, however. The only reason the Ose family had enrolled her was to use her as a toy or an attendant for the next head of the house. No, considering the weight of it, "toy" was probably the more fitting term. Even after entering the academy, she was met with the same looks of scorn and contempt, the same gazes one would give to something insignificant. Not even the teachers offered her a hand. They were no different from the other high-ranking demons; to them, despising the daughter of a concubine was only natural. And so, she grew more and more exhausted.
And then, she met her hero.
It was the same bullying as always. This time, she was being trampled behind the school by several students, including the next head of the Ose family. It hurts again today, she thought. Just then, a voice reached her ears.
"What are you doing here?"
It was a voice she had never heard before. The gazes of everyone present, including her own, turned in its direction. Standing there was a single conqueror.
A boy who looked to be her age, his green hair fluttering, glared at them. But the aura flowing from his body was like a sharp blade, a fierce, cutting presence, as if thousands of sharp blades were slicing through their entire bodies, was felt by everyone there. A tremendous influence that dominated the surroundings by his very existence, a princely air that could only be described as violent. No one could dare to open their mouths. No one could defy him. No one could even meet his gaze.
"I will ask again. What are you doing here?"
A sharp killing intent shot from his fierce eyes. His gaze soon fell upon one of the students. The male student who received his stare began to tremble from head to toe, as if he would piss his pants at any moment, and opened his quivering lips.
"W-we were bullying this thing."
"...This thing?"
"I-I mean this lowly half-breed. W-why don't you join us?"
The male student pointed at Seria, but his body froze on the spot, his finger still outstretched. The aura emanating from the boy had grown even sharper. If before it felt like a thousand blades slicing through them, now it felt like a giant guillotine was moments away from dropping on their necks. The fear of his existence transformed into a desperate craving for their own survival. He was angry now; they could tell.
"...Get lost."
"Y-yes?"
"I said, get lost from this place right now."
The boy stared at the students with a murderous gaze, as if he wouldn't let them be if they didn't disappear immediately. A few of the students, trembling all over, actually did wet themselves. The scent of ammonia wafted from several of them.
"Y-yes, sir!"
The students scrambled away. Once they were completely out of sight, the boy suppressed the aura emanating from his body and approached Seria. He then knelt down and looked at her up close.
"U-um."
"..."
"Th-that is…"
"..."
"N-no…"
Under his silent gaze, Seria didn't know what to say. More than anything, his stare flustered her. It held no contempt, no scorn, no disdain, no condescension. She felt as if she might drop to her knees without realizing it. The powerful charisma radiating from his eyes was just that awe-inspiring, truly worthy of respect.
After what felt like an eternity of staring, the boy straightened his knees and stood up. He looked at Seria and held out his hand.
"Follow me."
"Huh?"
"I said, follow me."
While she was still dumbfounded by his words, the boy forcibly grabbed Seria's hand and began to drag her somewhere. Pulled along without knowing why, Seria found herself brought to the boy's dormitory room. The boy led Seria inside.
Perhaps because every student was a noble, the academy assigned one student per dormitory room. Seria was a rare exception, having not been given a private room and forced to sleep in the stables.
"Wash up."
"What?"
"Can you only ask questions? I said to go wash up right now. Get into this bathroom and clean yourself. Throw away that tattered uniform. I'll prepare a new one for you."
Seria could only be flustered once more by his words. Not only was the boy lending her his private dormitory bathroom, but he was also offering to replace her uniform. As far as she knew, Seria had never seen this boy before. And yet, he was doing all this for her. Seria couldn't understand his actions.
"No, you don't have to…."
"AHH NOISY. Just go quietly into the bathroom and wash up."
The boy pushed Seria into the changing room as if annoyed, then slammed the door shut from the outside. Seria stared blankly at the closed door before turning her gaze to the side. A clean bathroom. For her, who had always washed herself at a fountain, it was an offer she couldn't find anything but alluring. Gulp. Swallowing hard, Seria found herself stripping naked and beginning to wash.
After some time had passed, she heard a sound from beyond the closed bathroom door. The boy had come in. What is he going to do? Just as she was about to assume her usual defensive posture, the boy left as quickly as he had entered, as if to instantly break her resolve. Seria was left with a dazed expression.
Bewildered, Seria wondered what he had come in for. She peeked the bathroom door open and saw a girl's school uniform placed right below it. Not her own tattered one, but a pristine, brand-new one. Seria's expression went blank again. She stopped trying to think.
When she came out, neatly changed into the new clothes, the boy was sitting in a chair, drinking a beverage with a peculiar smell. He looked at her as she appeared, and Seria timidly approached him.
"Does the uniform fit? I just grabbed one at random."
"Ah, yes. It fits perfectly."
In truth, it fit so perfectly it was as if he had known my exact size.
"I see. That's a relief."
The boy nodded and went back to drinking the strange beverage. Seria eyed the drink with a curious look. Noticing her gaze, the boy offered the teacup to her slightly.
"Try it. You seem interested."
"What? No, I couldn't possibly…"
"Try it."
Flustered by the boy pushing the teacup toward her, Seria accepted it and took a small sip. The taste… it was so bitter she could barely stand it. The moment she drank it, she started coughing, making it clear she found it unpalatable.
"As I thought, it doesn't suit your taste. This is called green tea, a drink from the East. It's also excellent as a type of spice. Well, I prefer to drink it as a beverage."
The boy took another sip of the drink called green tea, then quietly set the cup down and looked at Seria.
"You, what's your name? I am Demian, Demian Andromalius."
"I-I'm Seria… Ose."
"Ose? Are you a child of the Ose family, then? Why would someone like that be bullied?"
"...Because I'm the daughter of a concubine."
Seria said it calmly. It was a lineage that wouldn't disappear, a story that would get out eventually. He might not have known her circumstances until now, but he did now. Surely, people like him, once they heard the actual story, would look at her with contempt….
"I see."
….??He didn't. In fact, he was even calmer about it than she was. Seria grew flustered. She looked at the boy with an expression of disbelief. He hadn't reacted at all to the word "concubine," simply accepting it with a single "I see." It was a reaction she had never seen before. Seria couldn't hide her astonishment at his behavior.
"Um, did you not hear me? I said I'm the daughter of a concubine."
"Does being the daughter of a concubine mean you have a disease? Or a monstrous appearance? You don't look much different from any other noble girl, so what's the big deal? To discriminate against someone for 'merely' that… it's utterly ridiculous."
'Merely.' His reaction was 'merely.' He didn't care at all that she was the daughter of a concubine. He treated her without any regard for her lineage. His words were completely different from those of other high-ranking demons. That single phrase he uttered resonated deeply in Seria's heart.
"Hic, hic."
She felt like she was about to burst into tears without meaning to. His kindness, his strength, put her heart at ease. All the pain she had endured until now was on the verge of exploding. But she couldn't cry. Not in front of him. She absolutely could not cry. Just as she was thinking that, her head was enveloped by something. It was Demian's embrace.
"Cry. If you want to cry, cry as much as you want. When you want to cry, letting it all out will make you feel much better."
And then, her tear ducts burst.
-----
After that, she began to follow Demian around everywhere. As long as she was by Demian's side, no one could touch her. Overwhelmed by Demian's charisma and his intense gaze, they could not harm him or her.
Seria decided to serve him. She didn't care about the Ose family's circumstances. She didn't care about the next head of the Ose family. She had found her master. She had found the one she must serve. Compared to him, Demian, everything else seemed trivial.
Seria decided to train her body. She didn't want to just be protected. She wanted to protect. She wanted to become strong enough to protect her master. She wanted to become strong enough to be able to support him. With that single-minded determination, Seria trained her body. She trained it relentlessly. And she earned the right to stand by his side. Everything was for Demian. For him and him alone, she changed herself.
The Azure Wolf Seria. That is who she is now. A hero who serves the great hero of the Underworld, The Great One Demian Andromalius, and who, along with White Night Magic Dragon Rione, is known as one of the Black and White Twin Wings.
Pov end:-