The figure that appeared in the Bone Mountain had an unknown appearance. It had a body that looked like a mixture of an insect and a human with black, shiny armor, and no visible eyes on its head. Instead, it had a remarkably large mouth. It bared its sharp teeth, the size of its mouth, with a grin, its lips curling upwards.
“Oh? Oh my, oh my? I thought you were a monster, but you’re human. And you possess considerable power. Could it be that you are allies of the adventurer who broke the seal of this room?”
It seems that this creature is indeed the mastermind behind this disaster. It also appears to know about the adventurer who discovered this room.
“Who are you? Are you an ally of that demon woman over there?”
“Are you returning a question with a question? Well, very well.”
The creature replied in a grating voice.
“I am a gentleman, you know. I will tell you anything I can answer.”
Perhaps it’s because they’re completely looking down on us, but they’re quite generous with their service.
“A gentleman? To me, you just look like a bipedal insect.”
“Kuhuhu, you’re quite the joker. Forgive my late introduction, but I am Victor, a High-ranking Demon. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, even if it’s for a short time.”
A High-ranking Demon! I recall that lower-ranking demons are equivalent to B-class. If that’s the case, then this creature’s strength is…
“…? Your mouth is pulled up at the corners. Did something amuse you?”
Oops, did it show on my face? Kelvin covered his mouth with his left hand. Gerard, who had been watching this, let out a silent sigh.
‘The King’s bad habit is showing again…’
‘A bad habit, you say?’
‘Ah, Efil wasn’t around when the King and I fought. Well, you’ll understand eventually. For now, focus on the enemy.’
‘?’
Although Efil was puzzled, she switched her focus to fulfill her role.
“No, don’t worry about it. So, what about the woman over there?”
“Her? Well, she is…”
Pointing to the sealed beauty who showed no signs of waking, I directed my question to the demon. The demon grinned again and stated,
“She is the Demon King’s daughter.”
At that moment, the door that should have been open suddenly closed, and a barrier was deployed. Was this a trap set beforehand?
“I don’t think this is very gentlemanly behavior.”
“Kuhuhu, it’s just a coincidence that the mechanism was triggered. Even so, to remain so calm despite your retreat being cut off. Kuhuhu, I like it.”
It’s going to play dumb, that guy. But that’s not the priority right now. The Demon King’s daughter?
‘There have been three Demon Kings in the past. If we’re talking about the most recent one, it would be Demon King Gustav. It’s true that her hair color resembles Gustav’s red hair.’
Oh? And what happened to that Demon King?
‘It was when my predecessor was serving as a God, but he was defeated by the Hero of that era. According to records, it’s not stated that Gustav had a daughter.’
Did the Demon King not publicize it, or is she a pretender claiming to be his daughter? Either way, she’s a dangerous existence. Perhaps I should try to get a bit more out of this chatterbox.
“Didn’t Demon King Gustav have a daughter?”
“Oh… That’s excellent insight. You’ve figured that out without me even mentioning the Demon King’s name. It was a long time ago, but it seems you’ve studied well.”
Indeed, Melfina is very knowledgeable.
“As you say, Demon King Gustav had no blood-related children, and it’s the general historical recognition that his army disintegrated when he was defeated by the Hero. However, this was the Demon King’s strategy.”
“So, he kept his daughter’s existence a secret in case something happened to him?”
“Correct.”
Melfina, is there a chance she could become the new Demon King?
‘There is a possibility. She might harbor animosity towards humans due to the resentment over Demon King Gustav’s defeat.’
Along with Victor, she can’t be left unchecked, can she?
“You are allies of the adventurers who unsealed this room, aren’t you? I was right to let you escape. I never expected such strong humans to arrive so soon. I’ve already cleared out the monsters in the vicinity as a form of tidying up, so it should have been easy for you to get here?”
“So, we were lured here. Are these piles of bones the remains of the dungeon’s monsters? What is your purpose, then?”
I still can’t quite grasp Victor’s objective. From his words, he seems to be a subordinate of the Demon King, but he’s revealing too much about important matters.
“Alas, it’s rather embarrassing, but this chain binding her cannot be broken by anyone other than a human. As a demon, I can’t even scratch the chain itself, let alone the target.”
“So, you want us to break the chains? Do you really think we’d do that after hearing this?”
“No, no, I won’t do that. It’s just that…”
At that moment, the quality of Victor’s presence shifted into hostility.
“I just want you to be devoured by me and lend me your strength.”
