We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Rescue Princess Priscilla!
“Priscilla-chan!”
We rushed to the reflection room.
The reflection room was located in a section of the Demon Lord’s Castle on a floor where distinguished guests stayed.
It was on the same floor as the guest room we were renting. And, it was originally a room given to the Puppet King!
So, the Puppet King’s room became the reflection room, and it was sealed by the Giant Demon Lord!
Gachan! I tried to open the door to the room.
But, it was sealed, and the door wouldn’t open.
“Good grief. You are hasty.”
The Giant Demon Lord appeared leisurely from behind us, who were in a hurry.
“No, no, but you see? Priscilla-chan is in this room, right?! If you don’t take her out quickly, something terrible will happen!”
I knew that the Puppet King had a mental age equivalent to her childlike appearance. So, I’m sure she would get along with Priscilla-chan.
Still, the Puppet King’s true nature is of the Primogenitor Race, and she is not an opponent to be careless with.
If Priscilla-chan were to be manipulated… the Giant Demon Lord’s country would become like a zoo overflowing with beasts!
“Kukukuku. That would be interesting in itself.”
“No, absolutely not! If that happens, Priscilla-chan’s mother will get angry with us!”
Priscilla-chan’s mother is scary when she gets angry, you know?
“I know nothing of such things.”
As he said that, the Demon Lord placed his hand on the door.
As immense magical power flowed into the door, intricate and delicate magic circles emerged one after another.
Pale blue lightning lances ran around the magic circles.
“!”
Shooting Star Sama inhaled sharply as they witnessed the sealing magic, performed by the Demon Lord himself and using a vast amount of magic power.
I also realized the Demon Lord’s awesomeness anew.
He seems to be pouring in magic power and constructing magic circles easily, but this uses highly advanced techniques that are far beyond what we can imitate right now.
And, another thing that surprised me.
It was the fact that the Puppet King’s actions could not be sealed without implementing such advanced sealing magic.
If the Puppet King were to go all out, even a Demon Race Army of 100,000 would be easily manipulated, and even the Demon Lord would struggle.
How did Astel, the Cat Duke, and Toris, his attendant, manage to defeat such an opponent?
Setting that aside for now.
“Here, I have broken the seal. Be grateful.”
“Thank you!”
After thanking the Demon Lord, I opened the door again.
“Priscilla-chan!”
Then, I surveyed the VIP room given to the Puppet King.
The outer window, which should have let in the soft breeze of early autumn, was closed. Moreover, it was covered with blackout curtains, making the entire room dim.
When I looked into the darkness with dragon energy in my pupils, I saw that luxurious furnishings and furniture were arranged with good taste. Nevertheless, there was still a large empty space in the spacious room, indicating that it was a top-tier VIP suite.
At the back of the spacious VIP suite, there was another door leading to another room. It must be that the bedroom is in a separate room.
However, neither the Puppet King nor Priscilla-chan was in this room.
This means they must be in the bedroom!
We ran and forcefully opened the door leading to the bedroom.
Bann! The door opened with a bang.
On the large bed with a canopy.
There sat a single girl, like a doll.
“Young Lady Elin, where is Priscilla-chan!?”
I shouted, not letting my guard down.
Where was Priscilla-chan, who should have been visiting the Puppet King’s room!
As if mocking our tension and anxiety, the Puppet King let out an un-girlish laugh, “Fufufufu.”
Then, she pointed to her lap, where she was sitting on the bed.
“P, Priscilla-chan!!”
Priscilla-chan lay there, buried in the bedding, with her eyes closed.
“N, No way!”
“Fufufufu. We were enjoying a puppet show just a moment ago. It seems the child is in her nap time.”
Priscilla-chan was sleeping soundly.
The bedding around her neck moved. Then, Nimia poked her head out.
“Nyan. The puppet show was fun, nyan.”
“Nimia!”
Nimia, flapping her wings, flew towards us and said.
“Priscilla and I haven’t been harmed, nyan. But, when we watched the puppet show in the dark room, I got sleepy, nyan.”
“…I, I see?”
Everyone felt a sudden sense of relief.
The unreliable Puppet King.
My anxiety that I had been worried about Priscilla-chan and Nimia being manipulated by that wicked Primogenitor Race crumbled away.
“Fufu. Fufufu. We’ve become friends, after all. Friends should be cherished, shouldn’t they?”
“Can we believe those words of yours, Young Lady Elin?”
“Of course. Priscilla-chan and Nimia-chan are my best friends, you know? Fufu.”
“No, no, you’re way too suspicious!”
The basic mental structure of demons and Primogenitor Races is to play with people’s hearts and deceive them as they please. Therefore, we could not honestly believe the Puppet King’s words!
As we were doubting, the Giant Demon Lord entered the bedroom late and unceremoniously picked up the sleeping Priscilla-chan from the Puppet King’s lap.
“There’s no need to worry whether it’s a lie or the truth. Young Lady Elin, you cannot lay a hand on Priscilla anyway. After all, Priscilla is my favorite.”
“No, no, I don’t think being the King’s favorite is much of a compliment either!?”
I hurriedly rescued Priscilla-chan from the Demon Lord’s arms.
“It is quite something for you to take things without hesitation from His Majesty’s arms, Elnea-kun.”
“Ugh. Now that you mention it…”
I averted my gaze at Charlotte’s retort.
“In any case. Young Lady Elin, don’t lay a finger on Priscilla. I’ll allow the rest.”
“No! Don’t touch us either!”
“I would prefer not to be called Young Lady Elin.”
My voice and the Puppet King’s voice overlapped.
Seeing that, the Demon Lord and Charlotte laughed merrily.
With these two wicked individuals, even the Puppet King ends up being toyed with, it seems.
How terrifying…
“Mumu… Um, good morning?”
Then, perhaps noticing the commotion, Priscilla-chan woke up.
“Good morning, Priscilla-chan.”
“Good morning!”
Priscilla-chan greeted everyone cheerfully, and everyone gave a wry smile.
Thanks to you, we had a difficult time, you know?
However, as if unaware of our worries, Priscilla-chan happily began to recount the events that had just transpired.
“You know, I was playing dolls with Elin-chan? I watched a puppet show too! And then, and then!”
Mistral gently petted Priscilla-chan’s head, as if to soothe her excitement.
“Priscilla. From now on, don’t go with strangers, okay?”
“Huh? Elin-chan isn’t a stranger, you know? You know, she was standing next to my Older Brother yesterday?”
“No, no, just standing next to him doesn’t make her an acquaintance!”
Apparently, for Priscilla-chan, any magic beast she sees is immediately her best friend, and even a demon race member becomes an acquaintance.
This is troublesome, I thought, as Mistral slumped down with his head bowed. Priscilla-chan tilted her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“W-Whatever! We managed to retrieve Priscilla-chan safely. So!”
I entrusted Priscilla-chan to Mistral and faced the Puppet King again.
The Puppet King was still sitting calmly on the bed like a doll.
Her perfect appearance was just like a doll.
The exquisite black attire that enveloped her slender girl’s body suited her endlessly, and if she didn’t move, she could be mistaken for a perfect doll.
However, her true nature is that of a duke of the Primogenitor Race.
And, she has been causing trouble by meddling with us recently.
“Young Lady Elin. I’d like you to stop interfering with us already.”
Ignoring the Puppet King’s words, “Don’t call me Young Lady Elin,” I stated my claim.
“It’s fine to become friends with Priscilla-chan and Nimia. But we’ve had enough of the trouble. If you intend to harm my family or those close to me any further, we will show no mercy!”
“Fufufu. No mercy, you say? Specifically how?”
“That is!”
…I hadn’t thought of that!
What would I do if the Puppet King interfered further?
If she were to harm my kin, I would show no mercy!
That much is certain.
But, specifically, how would I show no mercy?
Would I, like with the Red Ogre Race settlement, annihilate opponents without question?
But, if the Puppet King wishes, she can use magic that manipulates tens of thousands of demons, right?
If we go all out, the Puppet King would surely fight back with all her might. In that case. The possibility that the Puppet King would manipulate me or my kin cannot be denied.
Wouldn’t that lead to an unmanageable situation?
So, how can I make the Puppet King give up interfering with us and become quiet?
In the blink of an eye, I thought of the specific actions to take to fulfill my declaration of “no mercy.”
However, I couldn’t come up with a good plan.
The Puppet King, in a sense, is one of the most troublesome opponents I have ever faced.
She stays in a safe zone and uses magical threads or dolls to attack her intended targets.
The targeted individuals can deal with the immediate situation, but they cannot attack the Puppet King herself. Therefore, they are continuously caught in endless trouble.
It’s understandable that even the Verdant Demon Lord would struggle. She possesses a level of ability that compels one to think so.
Saying “no mercy” to such an opponent makes the words feel hollow due to the lack of specificity.
So, what should I do?
Thinking about that, I remembered.
The Puppet King has a childlike heart, doesn’t she?
The disturbances she causes and her thoughts of toying with others are certainly befitting of the Primogenitor Race, but that doesn’t mean she desires the destruction of the world or the bringing of chaos to people’s lives.
She is merely “playing” by using others. With an innocent heart that wishes to “have fun.”
Well, it’s a huge nuisance!
What would be “mercy” towards the Puppet King, who in a way, possesses such a pure heart?
“Young Lady Elin.”
I looked directly at the Puppet King.
And, I said clearly!
“If you do any more evil to us, we’re breaking off our friendship!!”
“Fufu, wha-!”
At my declaration, the Puppet King’s beautiful doll-like eyes widened in surprise.
“Young Lady Elin can’t enter our Forbidden Territory, right? That’s why you didn’t directly attack us, who were staying in the Forbidden Territory, but instead used the disturbance in the Dragon King’s Capital. If you do any more evil, we won’t leave the Forbidden Territory anymore! Then, we won’t be able to play with our best friends, Priscilla-chan and Nimia?”
At my words, Priscilla-chan pouted and protested.
The Puppet King also listened to me with her eyes wide open.
The Puppet King, who has the heart of a young girl.
In that case, I should think of it as dealing with a little girl!
And, not just girls, but all young children are weak to the word “breaking off friendship”!
For small children, having their relationships, built within a narrow world with limited scope of action, unilaterally severed is an impact equivalent to the collapse of their world.
How about that!
You’re stumped by my merciless declaration, aren’t you!?
The Puppet King remained frozen with her eyes wide open.
We watched her closely.
Then, after a while, as if her thoughts had finally returned to normal, the Puppet King moved.
She stood up from where she was sitting cutely on the bed and walked towards us with a girlish gait.
And, she held out both her hands.
What is it? As we watched with interest, it happened.
In the hands that the Puppet King held out. A small doll resembling the Puppet King appeared.
“Grand Duke, you are a more terrifying person than any demon. After all, I had just become best friends with Priscilla-chan and Nimia.”
Saying that, the Puppet King handed the doll to Priscilla-chan, who was being held by Mistral.
She also handed Nimia a similar doll that appeared between her outstretched hands.
“This is a token of our friendship. I wish to remain good friends with Priscilla-chan and Nimia-chan from now on.”
“Then, you are agreeing to what I said?”
“Fufufu. Fufufu. Yes, to you, Elnea-sama. Of course, I don’t want to be ostracized.”
The Puppet King then produced two cute dolls with both hands.
They resembled the Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte.
“I dislike it. Elnea, abandon it.”
The Demon Lord glared at me, seemingly displeased with the doll made in his likeness.
But, I couldn’t abandon a doll that the Puppet King created as a token of friendship right in front of me!
“Hahaha. I’ll take this, okay?”
I accepted the dolls with a dry laugh and immediately had Ares-chan store them away.
“So, it’s a promise, right? Young Lady Elin will not interfere with our family or companions. If you do anything bad, we’ll break off our friendship!”
“Fufufu. Fufu. Understood.”
The Puppet King readily accepted my proposal with a charming smile, truly like a young girl.
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