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Title: Maoh, A Day Late

Summary: Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun. Season 2.

Notes: There's a downside to everything. Also, living arrangements are discussed.

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Part IV, Chapter 1

Healing

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Covenant Castle was in a state of barely controlled chaos.

The 27th Demon King, Yuri Shibuya, was about to be formally crowned, and along with the usual concerns from organizing a huge event came a series of unexpected difficulties.

"What do you mean, where should you accommodate the foreign delegates?" Gunter Von Crist, in charge of preparations, repeated. "Where do we usually lodge foreign guests?"

"We don't... usually have foreign visitors," a harried-looking chamberlain explained tentatively. He seemed a little in awe of the very prospect. "No foreign nation has sent a delegation to a Demon King's coronation in centuries. The few that come from Hildyard always insist on lodging in the city..."

'Because of mistrust,' Gunter thought. 'They didn't trust us enough to sleep within the castle walls. But His Majesty has changed thing so much, in just a few months! Ah, he is truly an amazing king already!'

Gunter sighed smittenly at his own thoughts.

But marveling at His Majesty the Demon King wouldn't solve their current problem.

"Then just put them in the guest wing," Gunter directed.

"We haven't finished renovating it since... you know," the man said, wringing his hands.

"The Bearbees, of course," Gunter sighed. "This is certainly a dilemma..."

"What is?" one of the servants asked. He had stopped to listen to their conversation, his arms full of sheets.

"We don't have to be gawking, boy!" the chamberlain snapped. "Get back to work!"

Gunter made a strange noise, staring at the boy. "Y-your Majesty!" he exclaimed, startling the poor man next to him. "Please, I beg of you, stop covering up your beautiful double-black colors! And stop pretending to be a servant!"

Sulking, Yuri allowed the illusion to fall, changing his previously brown hair and eyes back to black. "Come on, Gunter," he whined, "let me enjoy it while I still can. Pretty soon, everyone at the castle will be too familiar with me for it to work."

"Y... Your Majesty...?" the chamberlain stammered. He bowed deeply at the waist, baring his neck. "I deeply apologize, Sire! I had no idea it was you! I would have never knowingly taken such a tone with the Demon King himself!"

"It's okay," Yuri assured him. "Everyone is really busy. I wasn't actually going to pretend to be a servant again, but I wanted to help out."

"How noble, Your Majesty!" Gunter all but wailed.

"...Right. So, um, what problem were you talking about?" Yuri asked.

Quickly composing himself, Gunter explained, "The human nations of Francia, Cavalcade and Hildyard sent representatives to witness Your Majesty's coronation ceremony and to offer their congratulations. It's... a little unusual. Previously, the only country we had diplomatic relations with was Hildyard, and those were mostly mercantile in nature. Their representatives prefered to come after the coronation, to find out any changes in policy."

"But now we have treaties with Francia and Cavalcade, right?" Yuri said, beaming. "And Mr. Heathcrife probably came from Hildyard."

"That's right!" Gunter exclaimed. "But, unfortunately, that presents a problem. Simply put, we have nowhere for them to stay. Each delegation would need a separate suite, for security if nothing else. And the castle is already full, with all the noble families that have come to witness Your Majesty's glorious crowning!" For a moment, stars seemed to sparkle in his eyes, as he imagined what would take place the next day. "It's made worse due to a certain incident that rendered the guest wing unusable. Not to mention that the number of visitors is even higher because of the Great Birth Ceremony as well."

"That does sound like a problem," Yuri agreed. He thought for a moment, not noticing the way Gunter swooned at his king's considering expression. "What about all the empty rooms next to mine?" Yuri asked finally.

"Those are for the Demon King's family and retinue," Gunter replied.

"I don't have any retinue, or any family for that matter. Can't we use them?" Yuri wondered.

"Your Majesty, that would be highly irregular," Gunter protested.

Yuri met his eyes squarely. "Gunter," he said seriously, "this is really important, to me and to the Demon Kingdom. We need to do everything we can to make these alliances work. I'd give up my own bed and sleep in the stables if that's what it would take."

For a moment, Gunter looked like he would burst into tears. "That... would be inadvisable," he managed. "The nobles would riot. But... I suppose it's possible. The only ones in those rooms are Her Prior Majesty, Lady Celi, and her sons." He looked a little sheepish. "In all the confusion, we haven't actually gotten around to making new living arrangements for them. I suppose they could stay with their families during the coronation."

Yuri nodded decisively. "I'll ask them. It was my idea after all." He smiled at Gunter and the chamberlain as well. "Thanks for all your hard work!"

"Ah, Your Majesty~!" Gunter swooned as Yuri rushed off.

~.~.~

"Fine," Gwendal snapped, not looking up from the paperwork he was scanning through at amazing speeds. "I would stay with the Von Voltaire family in any case. It's my duty as clan head, to show solidarity." Suddenly, he barked, "Where are those permission forms?! They should have been filed last week!" Thankfully, it wasn't directed at Yuri.

"Thanks," Yuri said quietly and side-stepped a soldier rushing by to deliver another stack of papers. Ducking his head, he quickly snuck out of Gwendal's busy office.

"That was easier than I expected," he mused. "Heh, I guess it was a pretty good idea after all!"

Yuri found his next targets, Celi and Wolfram, together in the courtyard. They had been crouched next to the familiar flowerbed by the fountain, discussing something in hushed tones.

"...in just a few days," Celi was saying, smiling gently at Wolfram. "They're very strong like that. It's very fitting, don't you think?"

Wolfram didn't look nearly as happy, but to Yuri's eyes, his scowl was more embarrassed than displeased.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yuri asked, coming to stand next to them. Wolfram flushed, jerking away.

"Oh, just a bit of gardening," Celi said lightly, her smile becoming just a bit secretive. "Actually, growing new strains of flowers is my hobby. All these lovely ones are mine."

"That's amazing!" Yuri beamed, helping her up. As Wolfram stood as well, Yuri noticed that the knees of his pants were stained with dirt. His hands, though he tried to hide them quickly, were also muddy.

'Was he planting something?' Yuri wondered. But taking one look at Wolfram's thunderous expression, he decided it was better not to ask. Instead, he said, "Actually, I have something I wanted to ask you..."

As he quickly outlined his situation and made his request, Celi looked thoughtful, one finger against her chin. "Hm... Yes, this is very important, isn't it? Of course I'll help. I can stay with my brother," she said, giving Yuri a kind smile. "Making peace with human nations... how amazing. I wonder if any of the delegates are good-looking?"

"Mother..." Wolfram groaned in frustration. He huffed, but nodded as well. "I'll stay with my uncle, then." Seeing Yuri's slightly confused look, he clarified, "Not Mother's brother. My father's family, the Von Bielefelts. I chose to take their name at my coming of age ceremony."

"Oh, I see," Yuri nodded, but he darted a quick look toward Wolfram. He hadn't missed the flash of anger that passed across his face at the mention of Celi's brother. Hadn't Yuri heard something about him before?

'I guess I'll meet him later,' Yuri decided, shrugging.

"Do either of you know where Conrad is?" he asked instead.

For some reason, the question seemed to surprise Wolfram and Celi, and the former Demon Queen looked a touch sad.

Wolfram snorted. "How could we? Weller's been avoiding us," he said, crossing his arms and looking away angrily.

'Should've known. Two out of three brothers are bad at emotional things, so why would the third be any different?' Yuri thought, sighing.

"I see. Well, does he have any hobbies? Or a place he's likely to go?" Yuri asked instead.

Wolfram looked strangely uncomfortable. He seemed to hesitate before finally answering, "Swordsmanship. He's the best swordsman in the Demon Kingdom." Another pause, and then, "He likes horses too, I guess. And hangs around with commoners a lot."

'Swords, horses and commoners,' Yuri thought. '...Wait, are any of those even hobbies?'

"Okay, thanks," Yuri said, smiling to cover up his confusion.

He wandered away, lost in thought. Although Yuri had seen soldiers training in the courtyard, everyone was too busy with preparations for that. The stables were also in a swarm of activity, but Conrart was nowhere to be found. Yuri thought about checking the city, but imagining Gwendal's anger at that idea made him cringe and reconsider.

In the end, Yuri had to shrug and give up. Instead, he simply used another illusion as he passed through a shadow and called out to the nearest maid.

"I've got a message for Lord Weller, but I can't find him anywhere!" Yuri told her, making sure to sound worried, as if he thought his neck was on the line. He could have, theoretically, asked her as himself, the king, but that tended to take much longer.

The maid resettled her load of blankets as she thought for a moment. "I heard he's been helping unload supplies," she said. Leaning in conspiratorially, she added, "Everyone's been wondering if he got demoted or if he's being punished for something. Lord Weller is always very kind, but just hauling things around like that is a bit much even for him!"

"Demoted?" Yuri repeated. "I don't think so, since His Majesty wants to ask his advice about something." Privately, he thought, 'It's so weird, talking about myself in third person.'

As the maid scurried away, looking excited at this newest bit of gossip, Yuri made his way to where he knew most supplies were delivered. During his various stints as a nameless servant, he had been sent there on several errands.

Conrart was, indeed, among the men moving and fro with crates of supplies. As Yuri watched, Conrart heft what looked like a barrel of wine over his shoulder, with enviable ease, and carried it out of the trader's wagon.

Yuri almost hailed him when he set it down, breathing deeply and already turning back to get another, but at the last moment, he reconsidered and paused to drop his illusion.

"Conrad!" Yuri hailed him cheerfully, stepping out of the shadows.

Conrart, as well as every other person in the vicinity, turned to stare at him.

"Your Majesty," Conrart greeted him with a pleasant smile, hiding any surprise he might have felt. Instantly, whispers broke out among the other servants.

"Call me Yuri," the king said, though this time he refrained from implementing another of Miko Shibuya's special tactics. Instead, he continued, "Do you have a moment? I need to ask you something."

"Of course, Yuri," Conrart replied, expertly ignoring the way the whispering around them had grown in force. They were certainly generating a lot of extra fuel for the rumor mill, especially once Conrart carefully pulled Yuri aside, so they would have at least some privacy.

As Yuri quickly explained his problem, Conrart nodded attentively and smiled. "It's amazing that you've already changed things this much. Making these alliance is a very important step for the Demon Kingdom," he said. "In the future, I'm sure arrangements will be made ahead of time, but for now your solution is a good one. I'm sure my mother and brothers will understand why it's necessary. Strictly speaking, they should have probably already left the Demon King's wing of the castle."

"I already asked them," Yuri said, smiling as well. "They agreed! They'll be staying with their families."

Conrart's expression turned surprised. "That's good, but... in that case, why did you want to talk to me about it?" he ventured.

"...Gunter said Miss Celi and her family were staying in those rooms," Yuri said slowly, feeling as if they had run across some fundamental miscommunication, "so I wanted to ask you if there was another place you could stay too. Is your family also coming to see the coronation or maybe the Great Birth Ceremony?"

For a moment, Conrart appeared to hesitate, and Yuri realized he had said something unfortunate, or at least something completely off-base.

"...I'm staying with Josak at the moment," Conrart said finally.

That didn't tell Yuri much at all. 'And where does Josak live?' he wondered. 'The barracks? But that's a really weird way of putting it then. Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter...'

Seeing the confused, dubious expression on Yuri's face, Conrart hurried to explain. "I was declared deceased for quite some time, Your Majesty," he said, still smiling. "And things since our return had been very busy, so I'm afraid there hasn't been time for anyone to assign me new living quarters... or new duties."

He gestured around him to indicate the cargo unloading, and Yuri made an "oh" of realization. 'I guess his old duties must have all been reassigned,' he thought, a little sadly.

"Sorry," Yuri said, sheepishly. "I guess it's been pretty crazy. Hopefully, it'll all die down soon."

Conrart nodded. "I'm happy to help even in a small way," he said.

Another caravan of wagons had been led in, all brimming with more urgent deliveries for the castle. The servants, who had been shooting Conrart and Yuri very interested, very badly hidden looks, suddenly swarmed into action, beginning the unloading process all over again.

Bowing to Yuri, Conrart and excused himself and joined it.

It wasn't until Yuri had quietly slipped out that he realized just how many unanswered questions he still had.

~.~.~

The long day had finally drawn to a close, but Yuri's nerves kept him awake even long after he had retired for the night.

He had been pacing his room, trying to remember every detail of what would be expected of him during the coronation and the Great Birth Ceremony afterwards, when sharp knocking suddenly sounded at his door.

Pulling the door open, Yuri stared in surprise at Wolfram, who took the initiative and quickly shoved him inside.

"Sorry about that, but I didn't want anyone to overhear," Wolfram said, closing the door as he followed Yuri in. He hesitated for a moment, staring at the wood in lieu of turning to face Yuri's inquiring gaze.

Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he finally spun around and said gruffly, "Can I stay with you tonight?" His scowl did nothing to hide his embarrassment.

"Sure," Yuri replied automatically. "Why?"

"T-there's nothing weird about it!" Wolfram insisted, though Yuri hadn't said it was weird at all. "Young men often stay at their friends' manors when they have trouble with their family! Like when Drake refused to join his father's evil extremist council and ran away to stay with Theo, in the fifth book!"

'Fifth book? What book?' Yuri wondered, before shaking his head. 'That's not important!' His expression shifted to concern. "You had trouble with your family?" he asked.

Wolfram sighed, the fight suddenly going out of him, leaving only tired sullenness. "...You could say that," he muttered. Meeting Yuri's gaze, he explained, "My uncle figured out right away why I suddenly wanted to change rooms. He... wasn't pleased. He didn't think it was appropriate for humans to be in the castle at all, much less in the Demon King's wing."

"He wouldn't let you stay?" Yuri asked, feeling the first stirrings of anger at the thought.

"That's not it," Wolfram sighed again. "He wouldn't put me out like that. It's just... we argued. I didn't want to stay there anymore." In other words, he had stormed out, and his pride wouldn't let him go back. He smiled wryly, with more self-awareness than he could imagine having just a few months ago. "We're all very passionate, in the Von Bielefeld family."

Moving to the couch, he plopped down and leaned back with a sigh.

"It's because you defended my decisions, right?" Yuri asked, sitting next to him. "I guess not everyone is going to be happy about making peace with humans." 'Of course not,' he thought, frowning. 'I should have expected that. Gunter and Gwendal probably had to cover for my decisions, too.'

"Don't worry. No matter what they say or how they feel about it, even the Ten Families will follow you," Wolfram said, weary but certain. "It's the Great One's will. You are the Demon King. Starting tomorrow, it'll even be official."

"But I don't want them to obey just because the Great One said I should be the Demon King," Yuri muttered. "I want them to understand what I'm trying to do that, that this is for the good of the Demon Kingdom."

Smiling, Wolfram let his eyes slip shut. "They'll understand one day." 'Like I did.'

There was a moment of companionable silence. Then...

"...Wolfram, did you bring a change of clothes or anything?"

Groaning, Wolfram bit off a curse.

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((I wanted to convey a certain sense that Wolfram might be a bit inexperienced with interpersonal relationships. So all he knows about manly friendship comes from adventure novels.))

((And Wolfram makes his way into Yuri's bed :P Wouldn't be KKM without it.))

...Wait, no. What the hell. No! Where did this pseudo-Yuuram nonsense come from?! I don't like Yuuram! I don't even like Wolfram! Why has my own story betrayed me?!

Anyway. We're back! From now on, we're on a strict schedule of updates Monday-Wednesday-Friday mornings. And by strict, I mean I'll update if I feel motivated. In other words, please review.