2. Having the schedule filled

The next morning, Agamennone woke up in the bed in the guest room. The brown-haired man lifted his torso and scratched his head as he looked around.

'Where am I... This is not my home... And didn't I fall asleep on the couch...'

The lord was still half-asleep, so he paid no attention to all the discrepancies between his last recollections and reality, and merely stood up from his bed. Dressed in the same robe, shoes included, he got up and stumbled towards the bathroom. After performing his basic functions, the man similarly headed for the kitchen to have breakfast. There he found a peculiar sight. at the sight of which he let out a yawn.

'... The view is kinda nice today...'

Violante was quietly eating chocolate pastries with only her pyjama shorts on, therefore bare-chested. Her mother was sitting next to her and was completely naked. The two were talking about this and that while watching a comedy show on the TV set. Agamennone took the opportunity to look at the two beauties for a few seconds, and then he proceeded towards the table, acting as if there was nothing wrong. Violante noticed his arrival and, blushing, immediately covered herself with a tank top she had brought along for the eventuality she had to cover herself. 

"S-sorry... Yesterday we talked about it and yet I continue to act in a way that bothers you..."

The reaction startled the man, who turned his head and blushed slightly.

''T-thanks for the consideration you have shown.... However... You don't have to feel guilty about yesterday. Luckily for you, I'm not a sensitive person..."

The girl lowered her head and looked at her plate.

"I got too comfortable with you... Let's say I was happy to..."

Violante blushed

"... Well... To have a new brother to be together with..."

The man scratched his chin as he observed the young woman.

'Why should she see me as her brother?'

'Maybe I shouldn't tell him that I actually felt sorry for him, given the situation he found himself into...'

Valentina, meanwhile, merely waved smilingly at her sovereign in a slightly seductive tone. The man looked again at the redhead's body. The latter smiled even more and hit on the man.

"Is there anything you like, my lord?"

The man did not reply, but he was clearly displaying a certain degree of annoyance in his face.

'That woman... How crude...''

Then he calmed down.

"Anyway... I was thinking... Isn't the castle, theoretically, my property? I could have moved in there instead of being a burden on your balance..."

Both Violante and her mother immediately burst out laughing, which caused the young man to stiffen up.

"What's so funny!?"

"Dummy! hehe... The castle is the administrative headquarters... mhmh... of the entire kingdom. It's full of offices and... haha... storage rooms, you can't live in it."

"Show him respect, my dear daughter, he is still.... Hehe... Your ruler."

Agamennone blushed, and began to clench his fists in anger.

The redhead stood up and put her hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him down.

"Don't worry, you are not a burden to us, my lord."

While Agamennone was being soothed by the naked demoness, with his peripheral vision he noticed Violante getting up from the table quietly, with a smirk on her face that bothered him.

" So... what's for breakfast?"

"Milk!"

The redhead winked sensually at Agamennone, who glared at her as he hunched over in annoyance. The woman tried to make up for her misstep by stroking the man's head with her other hand.

"Don't be like that... I always tell this joke to my husband."

"I am not your husband..."

The monarch spoke in a mocking tone. Meanwhile, Violante returned with a box in her hand, which was placed on the table in front of the man. The girl returned to her place and then took a biscuit, after which she offered one to Agamennone.

"Do you want it?"

"Thank you."

Agamennone began to eat his biscuit while Violante started talking about the box.

"Given your lack of skills, I brought you one of my childhood games: 'The Little Alchemist'."

Agamennone spontaneously assumed an air of cockiness, which was noticed by Violante, who became upset in response.

"I'll let you know that this simple little game is able to teach you the basics of alchemy, my dear..."

Agamennone calmed down partially realising that his housemate's discourse was not a mocking one. However, he was left with the urge to annoy her.

"Rather, you know-it-all, i could use some help on how to make some money."

Agamennone placed his hand on the table, palm upwards. Violante crossed her arms as a sarcastic smile appeared on her face.

"Ah... Strange that you realised you can't live on the taxpayers' tab."

Valentina watched this discussion with delight, seeing in these childish squabbles two people who fit well together.

"Anyway, do you have any skills?"

The indigo-haired girl decided to become serious again. Agamennone thought about it for a moment, scratching his cheek with his index finger in the process.

"I don't think so."

There was a faint lack of interest inherent in Agamennone's words and this slightly irritated the woman.

'Try asking around, but I think that, without skills, either you find an employer willing to teach you the trade or else.... You'll be forced to join the only place that accepts pretty much anyone in its ranks.... The Adventurers' Guild."

The girl betrayed a certain annoyance at the mention of the aforementioned guild. Agamennone felt the same sentiment, for completely different reasons. After thinking about it for a few moments, the man tried to snap his fingers, failing miserably.

"Can't i be hired at the castle?"

"I doubt it... Not only people working at the castle are required to have specific skills which even I can say with fair certainty that you don't have, besides, you would also be your own subordinate, not the best thing in a working environment where hierarchy is important... However... you can always try, if you really want to..."

"Nah... I don't have any pupils I'm trying to hit on so that I can sleep with them afterwards..."

Both succubi were left perplexed. The man did a facepalm.

'What a fool I am... How can I even think that they can pick up any reference to TV shows in my world...'

"This is the expression of one who has realised that the premise behind his hard work is fallacious, isn't it?

"This is the expression of one who has realised that not only the premise behind his hard work is fallacious, but also that the error behind it is also trivial, isn't it?

Violante smiled mockingly. Then she snapped her fingers.

"That's how you snap your fingers... Anyway, getting back to business, if you want, after your special lessons I can help you look for a job, alright?"

The girl smiled sincerely this time. Agamennone blushed slightly.

"T-thanks..."

Violante's smile became irreverent again as she saw the young man becoming embarrassed, while the latter, once said embarrassment had passed, sighed.

'What have I got myself into... I hate the very concept of work!'

"By the way, if you want you can join the city's academy. There are various courses available, such as magic, fencing, cooking... There are courses for everyone, from beginners' courses to advanced ones. Except it costs a lot, also, a uniform is required..."

Violante gestured a lot as she spoke. She also took another couple of biscuits.

"A uniform? The one you were wearing yesterday?"

Violante smiled faintly while Agamennone rolled his eyes.

"Either way. I'm at square one, as i miss the cash!"

"Dummy! I wouldn't have suggested such a thing just because. Given your situation, it is possible that the academy faculty would be willing to make an exception to the rule and might decide to take you in now and charge you later. I wouldn't put my finger on it, but in my opinion an attempt should be made."

Agamennone was not very convinced by the proposal. Violante, noticing this, continued her argument.

"Think about it for a moment. You are our overlord. We need a strong ruler, and you aren't one, just as you are not under warranty and we cannot replace you even if we wanted to. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

The indigo-haired girl's smile turned sinister, surprising the sovereign who remained slightly astonished. Having composed himself, he began to think, resting a closed hand on his chin and scratching it.

"You are suggesting to exploit my position as this nation's ruler to extort a course of study from the academy?"

The man instinctively pointed his index finger towards Violante, who smiled jovially as she waved her hand, which was horizontally aligned.

"Close. You will use your position to get more freedom for your payment."

"A-ah..."

The man was surprised, and bent his index finger downwards instinctively. The woman laughed mockingly.

"Do you think I would have allowed you not to pay for the course...? I am not a criminal..."

Violante ate yet another biscuit. Biting off a piece and swallowing it, she assumed a calm but firm tone.

"Anyway, I think it's time for you to get to the practice ground for your lessons. If you want, I can accompany you."

Violante smiled sincerely, resting her cheek on a fist, and her elbow on the table. The man replied with feigned confidence, intended to hide his embarrassment at being treated like a child.

"Don't worry, it's not far. I remember how to go there."

Agamennone said goodbye to the women, without looking at them, and left the house.

*****

At the practice ground, a knight was waiting for Agamennone to arrive. The horseman was getting very bored, so he decided to take off his own head to use it as a bouncing ball. The knight continued to bounce his head until he saw Agamennone's silhouette approaching. The latter saw the performance and was confused by it. 

'... Huh?'

The armour then put his head back. His reaction to seeing the lord arriving was rather tense, but placid nonetheless.

"Your Majesty, I have been waiting for you for 15 minutes."

Agamennone, embarrassed, lowered his gaze.

"I got lost... This city is huge..."

"Your Majesty, what are you saying! Whatever, never mind..."

The armour sighed and partially extended one arm outwards, then he pulled himself together.

"Your Majesty, I am Volframio, and I am the head of the guards of his majesty the demon king.... Hm... What is your name?"

The pompous tone used by the armour was replaced by one of insecurity when he remembered that he did not know the name of his superior, who responded with frustration.

"Agamennone"

The king crossed his arms.

"Demon King Agamennone!"

Volframio finished his previous speech as if nothing had happened.

"Anyway, I am here to teach you armed combat, my lord. But first I need to check something."

Volframio aimed a fist at Agamennone and then shot it at high speed employing magic at the young man's stomach. Agamennone failed to understand his instructor's intent and was hit by a punch in the solar plexus that hurled him about 10 metres away from where he stood. The man remained on the ground, astonished, for half a minute, only starting to breathe again after this time. Still on the ground, Agamennone resumed to breathe normally after a further ten or so seconds. Then he clenched his fists and began to show all his anger.

" YOU'RE CRAZY!"

The ruler still had not got up from the ground. In the meantime, the detached hand magically returned to its owner. Volframio, standing in the distance, snickered, putting his hands on his head.

"I didn't expect something like this.... Not only you're as tough as a twig, but you also have the reflexes of a rock, my lord."

Agamennone got up tiredly, he then wiped the dust from his robe and returned to the practice ground. He pointed his index finger at the head of the guards.

"MORON!"

Volframio did not reply, but he merely conjured up a spear with magic and then he gently threw it at Agamennone, who failed to catch it on the fly instead picking it up once it fell to the ground.

The armour, who smirked, began to explain to his disciple how the weapon worked.

"That is a spear, my lord. You should point the sharp edge toward the enemy."

The brown-haired man was fed up with how he was being treated and struck Volframio with his spear, sticking it into one of the slits in the helmet, although this only happened after the spear hit one of the metal parts between the slits. The armour was not at all impressed by the lack of accuracy displayed and provoked Agamennone.

"I guess you're one of the ones who misses the target from zero metres, huh, my lord?"

The ruler tried to use the stuck spear to detach Volframio's head, but the latter guessed the plan and blocked his own head with one of his arms. Agamennone kept trying to dislodge the armour's head for a few seconds, then he gave up and pulled the spear from the helmet. The man was upset and threw the spear on the ground. He then attempted to leave.

"Where are you going, Your highness. The lesson is not over yet! If you don't stop I will be obliged to keep you here forcefully!"

Agamennone stopped, huffed, swung an arm in annoyance and then returned to the moving armour.

*****

The man, battered and quite fatigued, was now in the castle, sitting on his throne in an extremely dishevelled manner. Opposite him, the regent was looking at him with a mixture of pity and annoyance, his right hand resting on his hip.

"Your Majesty, a ruler doesn't sit like that."

"MY WHOLE BODY HURTS!"

"Yet you seem to possess enough energy to argue with others."

"HAVE MERCY!"

The regent snorted.

"I am going to fetch you the necessary books and a notebook, my lord."

The regent headed towards room's exit when he heard the young man's still hostile voice.

"Get a pen too perhaps."

The regent turned his head toward Agamennone for just a moment before leaving.

'What a headache he is...'

In the meantime, the ruler also began to ponder, sighing.

'What have I done wrong to deserve this ...'

Returning shortly after with the necessary material, the bovine noticed that the brown-haired man had straightened himself up slightly: he was sitting with his head resting on his right hand with his right arm resting on the armrest.

"Are you mentally ready?"

"Yes, but a couple of questions popped into my head."

The regent gave the notebook and the pen to the lord, who took them with his left hand, not changing position, and put them on his lap.

"Speak, my lord."

The man regained his composure, assuming a certain degree of seriousness.

"First... how is it that I can understand you?"

The anthropomorphic bovine first scratched his head, then he snapped his fingers.

"What do you me-... Ah! yeah, my lord... I think it might be an auxiliary magic related to the summoning magic. We haven't yet analysed the throne he's sitting on, so we don't know if it's a universal translation spell or just a spell that translates only the local language."

The ruler crossed his arms. He was calm, also showing signs of exhaustion.

"I see... And that also answers the second question..."

"Rather, it is necessary for you, my lord, to know that a few days before his appearance, faint magical signals were detected from far away."

The monarch grew gloomy.

"I doubt it's an earthquake, right?"

"Earthquakes do not release magical power. Given their intensity and distance, I am certain these signals mean that other people like you, commonly called 'Heroes', have been summoned."

The ruler was irritated, as well as worried. He sighed and rested his head on his hand, raising his forearm.

"How beautiful..."

The ruler's sarcasm was obvious, as was his unwillingness to broach such a subject, so he deflected the discussion.

"But if they are 'Heroes', why am I a ruler?"

"Because in this kingdom, until the last war, the strongest person in the kingdom assumed the leadership, whereas in other kingdoms the leadership is assumed by lineage."

'I don't know what is worse...'

The ruler was mildly interested in the discussion, which could provide him with targets to vent his frustrations on.

"And why was the system changed?"

"Because people were more interested in fighting to take over the kingdom than in governing. The result was a series of very short and heterogeneous administrations, which often thwarted the achievements of the previous ones thus causing stasis."

"Like a bunch of vectors?"

The ox rubbed his cheek.

"I'm not sure the comparison holds, my lord..."

Agamennone suddenly started laughing. The regent smiled slightly.

"Not the best form of ruling, huh, my lord? It was his predecessor who changed the form of government to the current one, with the demon king in charge and, in his absence, a regent which is democratically elected every three years."

The brown-haired man was thinking, rubbing his head.

" Oh... But what's the point of keeping the title and position of the Demon King? One could as well remove them, couldn't he?"

"Well, his predecessor, as well as his antecedents from other worlds, defeated their political opponents with minimal effort. The people, recognising the strength and often the wisdom of such individuals, unanimously decided to retain the title of demon king for those summoned from beyond. In their absence the title is effectively no more, my lord".

The ruler smiled wickedly, then stood up in excitement.

"As your ruler, I order that the previous form of government must be restored!"

"Forget it, my lord!"

The regent had a satisfied look on his face, his smile deepening as he looked at his superior's confused expression.

"The regent has the right of veto, which he can apply in certain cases, very often related to an assumed lack of trust between him and his lord. Regents, being natives, have much clearer ideas on what to do than someone who is summoned here from one day to the next. It's simple common sense, my lord."

The ruler was shocked.

"WHAT KIND OF RULE IS THAT!"

"From my words, you should have understood how high is the potential of people from another world, right? It is necessary for us that you are rooted in our country. If we let you loose without any way of keeping you under control you could very well leave, ignore us and provide no support when necessary, leaving us at the mercy of events. Or you could abuse your power and bring us down from within. Do you see the point now?"

The bull spoke very seriously, in a dark tone, punctuating his words very clearly.

Agamennone nodded, then he huffed.

'Why are they so foresighted... Of all the fantastic kingdoms I could have ended up in as messiah I ended up in a civilised one... One where absolute monarchy still holds firm, no? Then again, in this state, even as an absolute monarch I'd last only a short time...'

Meanwhile, the anthropomorphic bovine opened the book in his hand.

"Listen carefully: The actual kingdom of Pyrothalassa was founded about 1300 years ago following the demonic diaspora due to their expulsion from the major kingdoms existing at the time..."

The king raised an eyebrow.

"Why?

"The most likely hypothesis is that they were a community with a strong identity and therefore not very comfortable for kingdoms whose population was diverse."

"Ah... From what I know these communities are punctually frowned upon and are the first to be expelled, when they are lucky.... Sometimes these communities are enslaved or even exterminated.... Sometimes these mistreated communities then rise to power and start mistreating other oens. From what I know, at this point I think that destroying whole communities is something very funny, given how often it is done..."

The minotaur blinked rapidly in shock. The man in front of him spoke with a smile on his face. The regent was pervaded by a sense of unease mixed with slight apprehension, which he nevertheless managed to conceal. As if nothing had happened, the regent resumed his original discourse. The ruler quickly became bored and started thinking about other things; all this while staring blankly at the regent.

'Pyrothalassa... Does not pyro mean fire in ancient greek? And thalassa is sea... Leaving aside the rightness of the name of which I have no idea.... The main point is... 'BUT WHERE THE HECK DID THEY GET THEIR INSPIRATION TO GIVE SUCH A NAME TO THE KINGDOM! AND WHY ANCIENT GREEK? Is there such a thing as ancient greek here or do I perceive the name as ancient greek for some reason unknown to me?'

Returning to reality, the man found himself with an axe aimed straight at his face. His reaction came after a couple of seconds, the time he needed to fully comprehend his situation.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The anthropomorphic bovine, which was wielding the bipedal axe normally carried on its back, retracted it, placing it on its shoulder.

"DAMN YOU, I'VE HAD A HEART ATTACK!"

The governor did not flinch at the verbal aggression of the brown-haired man, who by the way was swinging his fist in the air.

"Pay attention and take notes, my lord."

The regent walked away, placing the axe on his back, then reopened the book he had held under his free arm and restarted the lesson all over again.

"The actual kingdom of Pyrothalassa was founded..."

Agamennome stavolta prese appunti, anche se controvoglia e sbuffando spesso.

This time Agamennone took notes, albeit reluctantly and with frequent huffs.

*****

Walking shakily and struggling, Agamennone reached Violante's house. He knocked on the door, which was opened shortly afterwards by Violante. The man, exhausted, did not move immediately, remaining to look at the girl in front of him. She was tall for a woman, she was slender and had well-developed but not excessively large breasts. Her features were gentle and her posture was elegant, but it also showed that the woman was easily approachable. 

"Are you well? How was the training schedule?"

The girl's smiling face was in stark contrast to her housemate's gloomy one.

"I don't even want to talk about it..."

His voice was sounding tired. The indigo-haired woman decided to help the brown-haired man walking.

"Do you want to sit on the couch?"

"Y-yes..."

The young man struggled his way to the sofa, with the help of the succubus, and he laid down on it. A comedy show of dubious taste was on the screen: 'Dr. Pierfrancesco Adamantini'. In spite of the crude comedy, which often lapsed into the vulgar and crude, he started to follow it. The woman was instead preparing lunch, task she was already performing before opening the door to her housemate.

"This is a show I see whenever I want to turn my brain off. You can change it if you want."

The young woman was slightly red in the face and began to laugh out of insecurity.

" It's one of my... Well... My forbidden pleasures... I hope it doesn't change your opinion of me..."

The man did not listen to her. Not because he did not want to, but because he had already turned his brain off; or rather, it had turned itself off. However, the presence of an idiotic smirk on the lord's face reassured the young woman. The lunch was ready after a few minutes. Only Violante and Agamennone were present in the house and the atmosphere was slightly tense. Agamennone looked at the meal: compared to the previous evening's dinner, the dishes were simpler and of lower quality. Violante, who was already eating, was slightly embarrassed after her food was examined by the host in a rather rigorous manner, before he started eating the dish of plain pasta in front of him.

"I know I'm not a good cook..."

The young woman looked away for a moment, blushing slightly. Then she regained her composure and became condescending.

"But if you are not satisfied with my meals you can always cook something yourself..."

The brown-haired man stiffened at the comment, also unable to reply. After a few seconds of silence, Agamennone began a new conversation:

"Where is your mother?"

"She's at work."

The conversation continued at varying speed. Agamennone did not know how to continue the conversation he had started but which, at the same time, did not interest him. Violante, on the other hand, saw no harm in answering the questions put to her and interacted almost instantly.

"And... What work does she do?"

"She runs a chain of brothels."

Agamennone raised an eyebrow.

"You mean... That your mother is a pimp?"

Violante became instantly enraged and slammed her hands, open, on the table, then she stood up, her lips parted slightly, showing her teeth like a small dog ready to growl.

"My mama is an honest person. She does not exploit her subordinates. All the employees have joined voluntarily, they are in compliance with the law, they only do what they want to do, and they are paid more than worthily. They also have a medical agreement included, paid holidays, paid sick days, and even their own union to renegotiate contractual agreements! They also benefit from a discount in case they want to join a gym or go to the beauty parlour! You better remember that!"

The girl, although she kept her voice low, still managed to be threatening. The monarch was astonished, his mouth dropped open and his eyes wide open. Such an aggressive reaction from the indigo-haired woman was completely unexpected from him. The woman, who was staring intently at her conversation partner, began to calm down, gradually blushing more and more; she also sat down and lowered her gaze.

'I'm sorry... It's just that... That term... isn't very... Respectful."

'Indeed...'

The housemate started to think, but less insulting terms did not come to him.

'does a dignified term for that kind of professional figure even exists?'

Agamennone had a vacant look on his face as he searched for a solution to the question.

The couple was silent for about twenty seconds. After that the girl resumed both eating and the conversation.

"My father, on the other hand, is an electronic engineer."

The ruler had already gone off on various tangents of thought.

'Aren't Lagrange's theorem and the mean integral theorem more or less the same thing but seen from different perspectives, at least if the function is derivable? I believe it at least...'

"Agamennone?"

The young woman was able to call the man as soon as the latter had finished his train of thoughts.

"Yeah..."

"What were you thinking?"

"Well... Nothing important."

The young woman smiled.

"Come on, you make me curious..."

"Alright... I was thinking about the mean value theorem..."

"The one for differentiable functions?"

"Yes..."

The conversation was going on fast. The woman took a sip of water from her glass.

"Did you hear me say that my father is an electronic engineer?"

Agamennone did not immediately respond, looking away even more than he normally did during conversations.

"No..."

Violante smiled as she wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, after which she got up and removed the now empty plates from the table. Then the girl served the second course, a pork chop, on the flat plates below those where the first had been eaten. The woman served the ruler first.

"What are your parents' jobs?"

The woman then served herself and finally sat down. In the meantime, the young man had already started eating. He answered the question after a few seconds.

"My mother is a member of the Guardia di Finanza, my father is an architect."

The young woman was interested in getting to know her tenant better, so much so that she instinctively assumed a seductive pose.

'Huh?'

Agamennone's face showed his confusion seeing the woman make such a pose. He decided not to pursue the discussion any further. Violante noticed the slightly astonished look on the man's face and recomposed herself, with obvious embarrassment showing on her face through a giggle.

Lunch continued with the two of them slightly uncomfortable interacting. Once the meal was over, the man got up from the table.

"Listen, I'd like to take a shower, since I don't have a change of clothes, could you possibly lend me something decent to wear?"

Violante looked at him in confusion.

'You already know that it wouldn't bother me at all to lend you something.... However... Do you remember that i have a father, don't you?"

'I am an idiot...'

Agamennone did a facepalm.

"Well... Even better, no?"

The maiden smiled sweetly, putting one hand to partially cover her lips.

"I'll go get everything you need..."

The maiden went to get the required soaps and towels; while Agamennone observed the woman and tried to memorise the position of the various items needed, then he began to think about frivolous things.

'A roasting jack music box that plays as it spins... maybe playing Alouette... would be a cute idea...'

Finished the task, the succubus warned the man:

"Everything's ready."

The man nodded and went to the bathroom while the young woman went to her room to read a comic book, not before casting a couple of fleeting, instinctive glances at the man, of which she was immediately ashamed, blushing.

'He already barely tolerates when I joke about these things.... If I also start throwing lustful glances at him I'll end up being hated by him...'

Red in face, the girl tried to suppress certain thoughts and to distract herself by engaging her mind by reading a light novel. On the other hand, Agamennone started singing rather frivolous songs in the shower: Specifically "Funiculì funiculà."

After about half an hour, noticing that the ruler was still in the bathroom, the young woman decided to prepare clean clothes for him, which she had not done at first as she did not know the man's aesthetic style and wanted his opinions. She took rather neutral clothes belonging to her father from the the latter's bedroom and put them in the guest room. Agamennone was still singing in the shower: This time he was singing "Guantanamera". The woman understood from this that nothing serious had happened to the ruler. She nevertheless decided to knock on the bathroom door.

"Yes?"

"You are slow. It takes me ten minutes to shower. And my hair are long."

The woman was not aggressive, but she still tried to press her companion.

"I finished showering!"

The man, on the other hand, was clearly upset.

"I'll give you another five minutes, after which I'll start spying on you through the keyhole."

The water flow of the shower was turned off.

"PERVERT!"

"I don't deny that."

The woman replied in kind to the brown-haired man's verbal attack. But admitting that she was a pervert, although she did not hide it much, left her red in the face with embarrassment, even putting her hand in front of her mouth.

Sighing, the woman went back to her room.

'I really admitted to being a pervert... I have no dignity... I just hope he isn't offended by my remarks.'

*****

Agamennone had dried himself completely and dressed. He did not like the idea of borrowing Violante's father's clothes, but there was no decent alternative for him. He went to visit his housemate, who had resumed reading the light novel from earlier. The indigo-haired woman noticed his arrival, put the novel down and looked at him. Soon a look of both confusion and amusement formed on her face. Agamennone noticed this and became puzzled too.

"What?"

"You put your shirt on wrong.... you both inverted the inside with the outside and the front with the back..."

"Huh?"

Agamennone looked at his shirt. Violante was right.

"AND I EVEN PAID ATTENTION TO IT!"

Violante smiled. This annoyed Agamennone, who glared at the woman before leaving the room to adjust his shirt. Shortly afterwards Agamennone returned to Violante, who had meanwhile got up and put the story in her bag. He was still upset.

"Is the shirt ok now?"

"Yep."

The woman assumed a more serious tone of voice and started to take out half a dozen comic books, putting them in her purse.

"Anyway, it's time for your training. I remind you that we've also decided to look for a job for you."

"I remember it..."

The ruler displayed all his frustration.

Meanwhile, Violante closed the windows, headed downstairs and waved Agamennone to follow her. The woman smiled.

"Hopefully there will be some progress today."

"Yeah..."

Agamennone was not happy with the discussion that had taken place and although the woman tried to be supportive of him his mood was low. At the ground floor the woman closed the remaining open windows, took the house keys and opened the front door. The girl did it all while whistling a cheerful tune. In the meantime the monarch was again thinking about silly stuff.

'A given set is open if every point in it is an interior point, which means that for every point contained in the subset there is at least one neighbourhood of that point contained entirely in the subset.' ¹This definition and the ones below may be wrong

Violante, having finished securing the house, headed towards the front door and, seeing that Agamennone, who was absently following her, was still in a bad mood, she flashed another smile. She then left, waiting for the housemate to notice her leaving and do the same, as she then had to lock the house.

"Do you happen to know what a closed set is?"

As he was leaving the house, Agamennone uttered this question seemingly without purpose, but a smirk on his face betrayed his not-so-friendly intentions.

'Should she say no, I could assert my superior knowledge.'

After closing the door, the woman took the keys out of the lock. An expression of mild confusion formed on her face.

'Why now he wants to know if i know what a closed set is...'

It didn't take her long to understand the reason for the question.

'He wants to flaunt his knowledge!'

Her expression turned mischievous.

"It's a set containing all its accumulation points."

"And what is an accumulation point?"

"An accumulation point for a given set is a point, not necessarily contained in it, for which any neighbourhood of it contains at least one point belonging to the set in question."

The malevolent smirk on the lord's face soon faded away, replaced by a serious one.

"You know-it-all!"

Agamennone pointed at the woman, who cackled.

"Come on... these questions are not difficult... Don't think you can beat me in a maths contest."

The man rolled his eyes. The two then headed towards the testing ground.

*****

The training had gone the same as last time: no progress on the part of Agamennone and Violante who followed him the bare minimum and then started reading comic books not knowing what to do with him.

"Agamennone, I remind you that we have to find you a job, so as soon as you've recovered we'll go right away."

Violante looked at the ruler, who was seated on the ground, with curious and compassionate eyes.

"Is something like being a waiter even possible? Why should I be an adventurer?"

Agamennone laid his head on his knees, using his hands as pillows, exhausted by the training.

"You're right, you don't need to risk your neck to earn a few coins.... However..."

The girl was overcome by a slight enthusiasm, which she immediately tried to dampen.

"Let's say that we have high standards that those who want to perform these jobs need to satisfy."

Agamennone sighed loudly.

"Like searching for a new university graduate or new high school graduate with experience in the job?"

The succubus tilted her head in confusion.

"What you said makes no sense..."

'I know. And yet such things exist."

" Why should these adventurers have more lax requirements? It seems to me a very simple and risk-free job..."

"Because the adventurers' guild is an international organisation that adopts uniform admission criteria in all the states in which it operates. And let's say that many of those states have much less developed education than ours, and the guild preferred, for convenience, to use their education requirements as a standard. You know. When anyone can work from you manpower is easily found..."

The woman had a sarcastic smile on her face, also extending her arms to emphasise the triviality of her speech. Meanwhile the man was slowly getting up. It did not help him that he found the borrowed trousers rather stiff, while the leather shoes were loose. He had an expression of resignation on his face.

"I have a couple of acquaintances at the guild.... If you want I can try to get you a place that would provide you tranquillity, without the need to take unnecessary risks for some pocket change..."

The woman was slightly red in the face, but with her usual sweet smile on it.

"How much can I rely on your help?"

The king, who had struggled to get up, gestured to Violante to start walking. He was pessimistic, however, and his skepticism reflected this.

"Not much really..."

The woman turned her head towards him, looking down, almost ashamed.

"I appreciate the act though..."

The resigned leader's words calmed the maiden, who pulled herself together and started talking again, looking her housemate in the face.

"If you want... I can prove to you what I said by taking a walk."

The woman was smiling again, in contrast to the man, hunched over and lacking liveliness, who looked at her skeptically.

"Alright..."

The girl pointed at the young man's face with her right hand, resting the other on her hip and taking a pose between the authoritative and the concerned.

''Ah, by the way... If I were you, I'd avoid letting people know that you're the demon king, otherwise it's almost certain that the guild will send you to the front line to train you hard. We have high expectations for you and those would be betrayed at the moment. in hindsight it was a good idea to give up the descent ceremony. And I'm sure the regent didn't spread news about you considering your shortcomings.... Unless someone recognised you when you went for a walk with him you should have no problem concealing your identity."

The man lowered his head and sighed in discomfort, then looked at the tiles of the training ground.

'This title is a conviction! Drat!'

The man clenched his fists and gritted his teeth for a couple of seconds, then he partially collected himself. His companion placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Agamennone raised his head, looked at Violante, who smiled at him, and then he straightened his posture. The two then walked slowly towards the centre of the city, talking about nothing in particular.