A little shadow servant was in a hurry. Running through the halls of a very impressive castle, the little demon pants, finally arriving in front of his Lord's office door.

Catching his breath, he opens the door, slamming it, "Demon King! A hero has intruded into the castle!"

Blinking, the Demon King in question sighs in exhaustion. One of the heroes was on his way to try and slay him…again.

This Demon King was unlike the others before him. The one called Iwatani Naofumi was a kind sort of Demon King. The short horns on his head the only indication of him being a demon, he wore an all-black outfit, his cloak black outside but green inside with a collar lined with fluffy rabbit fur.

Right now, he was sitting in a chair, a desk full of paperwork before him.

Rubbing his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, he asks, "Which one of those fools is it?"

"None, Sir! It's someone new!" the little servant says.

Surprised, Naofumi ruffles his black hair absentmindedly, careful of his hands getting pricked by his own horns before smiling, "Is that so?"

"What shall we do, Sir?"

"Hm~~…" he thinks before waving it off, "Let him come if he wants. Treat him like any other hero who has come for my head. Now…where are my Cheetos?"

"Uh…" the little servant, confused, but still obeyed orders as he gets a bag of Cheetos out from his inventory, "Here."

Naofumi nods, grabs the bag, "Now shoo. I want to be alone," he says as he kicks the servant out of his room before locking the door.

The little servant just stared at the door, not sure what to do now before one of the older servants escorted him to safety. The other servants had overheard and had already informed the rest of the castle residence.

The usual plan was for them to hide and not get in the hero's way, lest they get themselves killed, and let their King handle it himself. It was a strict order from their Demon King, so they had no choice but to obey.

Hearing footsteps from the hall, Naofumi quietly smiles as he awaits the hero's arrival.

When the door was busted open, a redheaded man wielding a scythe came in. He wore a red vest, brown pants, and black gloves and boots. His bangs were towards one side.

Red eyes met green eyes.

Naofumi wasn't expecting a hero this handsome, and before he could speak, the redhead picked him up and carried him away.

"Put me down!" Naofumi struggles uselessly as he's carried over-the-shoulder like a bag of rice.

The man simply laughs as he takes him out of the castle and back to his home.

All the servant just stared before yelling, "Demon King~~~!" as they uselessly let their King be kidnapped, the bag of Cheetos long forgotten.

When Naofumi was finally let down onto a bed in a mansion, he glared at the man who was just sheepishly laughing.

"I should introduce myself. I'm L'Arc Berg, the Scythe Hero," the redhead smiles, "I just have to ask though…Kiddo, were you captured by the Demon King?"

Naofumi blinks, his mind completely blank at what he just said. Did he not know who he was?

"I am the Demon King," he clarifies.

"Sure~ you are," L'Arc says, obviously not believing him.

A brow twitching in annoyance, Naofumi sighs, letting it go, "….Call me Naofumi," he says as L'Arc smiles at him. 'Is this guy a himbo?'

Rubbing his temples, wondering how the heck this kind of situation happened, 'I have horns, how the fuck does he not believe I'm a demon, let alone the fucking Demon King?'

Then, he asks, "What's your opinion on the Demon King then?"

L'Arc just tells him about those bad rumors. That the Demon King is so bad that soldiers, knights, and mercenaries all cower in fear. That he's so powerful, the Spear, Sword, and Bow Heroes all needed to work together to take him on. That the Staff Hero blames him for his sister's death. That the Church despises him the most, etc, etc.

Sighing and shaking his head, Naofumi says, "Those are just bad rumors. The Demon King has absolutely no interest in taking over the world or destroying it. He just wants to live peacefully."

L'Arc's silent.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Naofumi stares at him in contempt.

"Uh….yeah. I really don't," L'Arc speaks honestly.

Naofumi understands where he's coming from, so he lets it go, "Why did you kidnap me then?"

L'Arc's flustered, a bit of pink on his cheeks, "Well… I just want to ask you…"

Tilting his head cutely, "Hm?"

"Would you go on a date with me, Naofumi?"

Blushing, "Huh?!"

Needless to say, Naofumi was not expecting that.

After about four hours of L'Arc's persistent flirting, Naofumi gives in, agreeing to a date.

Cheering, L'Arc sets him up in the guest room as Naofumi sighs, rubbing his temples, his head throbbing.

Getting into bed early, Naofumi covers himself with the blanket, refusing to talk anymore. L'Arc leaves him be, going to bed as well.

Once L'Arc was gone, a troop of demon servants visit from the shadows…and came in through the window. This troop of spies specializes in stealth and information gathering.

Naofumi sighs, "Half of you, patrol the area in case my enemies try anything while I'm here."

"And what should we do, my Lord?" the leader of the troop asks.

"The other half…you guys get any information on L'Arc Berg, the Scythe Hero. Be sure not to get caught," he orders as he waves them away, the troop flashing back into the shadows in an instant.

After they left, a black wolf and a black cat appear, coming in through the window. Smiling, Naofumi pets his cute familiars, relaxing in their fluffiness before sending them back into his shadow.

Closing the window, Naofumi goes to bed.

The next day, Naofumi makes breakfast for L'Arc. It's delicious. Then, they go on their date, Naofumi putting his hood up to hide his horns.

It goes surprisingly well. L'Arc held his hand the whole time though.

Slightly blushing, he feels very pampered.

That night, his spies report back. L'Arc is a competent and kind hero. He's good. Much better than the three heroes Naofumi usually deals with, now dubbed "The Foolish Trio."

His eternal enemy, the Church, is planning something though. Something big.

'I may have to get involved…' Naofumi thinks to himself before sending his spies away, ordering them to take care of the castle while he's away for a while.

Laying in bed, Naofumi looks at the hand that L'Arc held all day, remembering how L'Arc held it and smiles.

In the next few weeks, and several more dates… Naofumi and L'Arc end up rather close.

They fight seamlessly together like they were made for each other. Naofumi defending and supporting with magic while L'Arc attacks physically. (It turns out that L'Arc sucks at magic while Naofumi is more of a mage than anything else.)

Unfortunately, their peaceful days are over. The Church is trying to take over the Kingdom, so L'Arc had to go stop them, Naofumi tagging along.

The Pope is powerful, almost killing L'Arc with a blast of magic. Angry, Naofumi steps up and reveals his power, the hood being blown down as a powerful wind sweeps through the battlefield.

Shadows spread out from his body, swallowing up the Pope and his followers, making them disappear forever all at once into the dark abyss.

Panting, Naofumi's shadow magic returns to him, having absorbed all of his enemies.

"You…" L'Arc stares at him, "You're really the Demon King?"

Naofumi smiles at him and nods, his familiars appearing out of his shadow, "Are you afraid of me now?"

Shaking his head, L'Arc answers, "Not really…"

Naofumi sighs in relief, "I'm going home. I'm tired… If you want to see me...you know where to find me."

"WAIT!" L'Arc calls out, reaching out his hand, but it's too late. Naofumi and his familiars disappeared into the shadows in an instant.

Back in the Demon King's Castle…

Naofumi sighs, yawning as he flops onto the bed, and is asleep in an instant. He used too much magic…

His familiars whine and whimper, sad because their Master's weak right now, so they curl up around him, nesting and sleeping with him. A little raven was brave enough to sit on his head though as a few black vines start growing.

When L'Arc arrives at the castle, just like last time, no demons block his way. It's likely that they're just watching him from a distance.

Arriving at Naofumi's…the Demon King's room, L'Arc sees a black wolf, a black cat, and a little raven around Naofumi, who's still asleep.

The wolf and cat growl at him as the raven just observes, watching for any sudden moves.

Undeterred, L'Arc just pets the cat, who purrs, and they all calm down. They parted slightly, cuddling around him too, the raven flying to perch on L'Arc's shoulder.

Looking at Naofumi sleeping, black vines growing around his body, a few white roses blooming as if mocking the irony of the Demon King himself. At least they looked pretty and smelled sweet.

L'Arc's a bit surprised at that, but still can't help but brush Naofumi's cheek.

"Mm…" Naofumi blinks, slowing waking up. The first sight he sees is his familiars and L'Arc smiling at him.

"You awake?"

Yawning, "Morning?"

"Afternoon actually," he answers.

"Damn…I overslept…" Naofumi mutters before snapping his fingers.

A servant pushing a cart enters the room, a steaming pot, teacups, and a cup of sugar on the cart as well as light snacks.

Another servant quickly snapped off the vines, burned the ends, cut the flowers, and took them somewhere else since it would be a waste not to use them in tea and such. This has happened before, so their Lord demands it.

Serving coffee, the servant makes two cups for them both. L'Arc looks at him, silently asking if it's OK. Naofumi just sips his damn coffee since it's hard for him to wake up after using so much magic. L'Arc shrugs and follows suit since it seems OK.

After having his coffee, Naofumi asks, "What will you do now, O' Great Hero?"

L'Arc chuckles at the irony, "Not much. Just doing my normal duties."

"Mm…" Naofumi hums in content.

"Do you... really not intent to take over the world?" L'Arc just had to ask.

Naofumi scoffs, "Of course not. It's too much work!"

L'Arc blinks before laughing since, really, that's just like him, "Alright then! As long as you won't, I don't have to kill you."

Naofumi smiles.

L'Arc adds, "But I would still want to date you."

Naofumi sighs, shaking his head, "Alright. But L'Arc…"

L'Arc tilts his head, "Hm?"

Naofumi smirks, "I'd rather you be my lover."

L'Arc's shocked speechless...before smiling, "OK!"

Since L'Arc visits every week to see Naofumi now, peace is restored. And since then, L'Arc doesn't have any plans to kill his lover, the Kindest Demon King in history. Plus, should this Demon King die, his replacement might never be as kind as his predecessor, so it's best to keep Demon King Naofumi alive…or, at least, that what he says to anyone who dares to try and kill his lover.

Omake:

As for the lonely bag of Cheetos… Naofumi does share it with L'Arc. It ends up a cheesy mess, L'Arc licking and sucking the cheese dust off Naofumi's fingers…which ends with them kissing, and later, happily in bed together.