We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
Are we welcome?
After quickly finishing our preparations, we headed west towards Kusharilla’s territory to search for Ruilala, whose whereabouts had been unknown.
And then.
“Hello! We’ve come to visit!”
We boldly infiltrated Kusharilla’s castle!
“Y-You bastards!!”
General of the Demon Generals, the Black Ogre Baruria, glared at us with undisguised killing intent.
Honestly. We came for a friendly visit, so we don’t accept such one-sided hostility, you know?
Well, Revalia was circling overhead, as if to intimidate the demons, and we landed in the courtyard of the Demon Lord’s castle on Nimia.
Still, we didn’t come here to fight Kusharilla.
“Here, this is a souvenir. Thank you for your great help in early spring.”
With a smile, I presented the souvenirs from Dragon Peak that I had brought.
Precious sake carefully brewed by the Dragonfolk, and fine textiles woven from the rare fibers of exotic animals. We also brought local crafts that would likely be uncommon here.
After unloading the souvenirs from Nimia’s back, we raised our hands to show that we had no hostile intentions whatsoever.
Nevertheless, Baruria continued to glare at us with a murderous aura, remaining on guard.
“See? We’re not carrying any weapons.”
“Nonsense! You humans may not have weapons, but that Dragonfolk woman over there is armed! And how can we believe you when you say you’re harmless while accompanied by a scarlet wyvern and ancient dragon species circling overhead?”
“Mumumu. That’s a difficult point to argue, but consider this: Mistral only possesses minimal armament, and without the cooperation of Nimia and Revalia to get here, we would have had to travel for days on end.”
“Elnea is right. I don’t intend to pick a fight with you or the Demon Lord with just this one weapon.”
We entered Kusharilla’s country on Nimia and Revalia, arriving in about five days.
Along the way, perhaps because the Giant Demon Lord had contacted them in advance, we were not challenged by other Demon Lords or high-ranking demons.
However, we did encounter a considerable number of attacks from monsters and magical beasts, and we would not have arrived this quickly if we had traveled on the ground.
Therefore, Mistral’s possession of minimal weapons for self-defense is unavoidable, and we hope you can overlook our bringing Nimia and Revalia.
“Besides, we want to express our gratitude to Kusharilla and all the demons. You were a great help in defeating the Yōma King.”
We have had various entanglements in the Heavenly Mountain Range, and we have had considerable conflict with the demons led by Kusharilla. Nevertheless, we are sincerely grateful for their help in defeating the Yōma King, and I intend to uphold the agreement I made with Kusharilla.
So, Baruria’s killing intent is misguided, wouldn’t you agree?
Once all the luggage was unloaded, Nimia, now small, flew to my head. Then, with a yawn as if tired, she relaxed, swaying her long tail.
Instead, Revalia landed in the courtyard of the Demon Lord’s castle.
The demons who had been cautiously watching Revalia from a distance also descended.
But Revalia, unconcerned by the demons gathering around with guarded expressions, curled up to rest, as if healing from the long journey.
“Thank you, Revalia.”
“Hmph. Tell them that if the demons make any suspicious moves, I won’t hold back.”
As expected of Revalia.
She rests boldly in the demon’s stronghold and even threatens them.
Since I didn’t bring Rim and Fiorina this time, Revalia could fight the demons with all her might if she wanted to.
The demons, having experienced Revalia’s fearsomeness in various places, are cautious but do not make any unnecessary moves themselves.
Confident that a balance was maintained, I did not relay Revalia’s warning to the demons. Instead, I quickly stated our purpose.
“You see, we’re just here to find our missing friend. And we’ve come to visit because we thought maybe Kusharilla and the demons here might know something.”
Now, please accept these souvenirs without hesitation. I reaffirmed what we brought. Actually, Yufilia, Nina, and Madrine were already apprehending nearby demons and forcibly handing them over.
“As a miko, I will state clearly. We are only here to find our friend, as Elnea-kun said. Therefore, we have no intention of fighting with the demons.”
“Hahahaha! It’s just as Elnea-sama said. We’re just looking for our friend.”
“It might be rude to say it’s a ‘side trip,’ but considering that if we’re looking for someone in this country, we should greet the Demon Lord, we came here out of consideration.”
We all nodded at Ruiseine, Laira, and Sefina’s words.
“As per our agreement, we cannot just move around freely in Kusharilla’s country or its surroundings. Come now, we are trying to proceed amicably, aren’t we? So, please suppress that killing intent.”
We wanted to show that we were not enemies.
However, Baruria did not calm his killing intent at all. As we all exchanged glances, wondering what to do, a great ogre appeared from the depths of the Demon Lord’s castle.
The ogre, with a body like a boulder, rushed straight to Baruria’s side and whispered something in his ear.
Baruria’s displeasure grew visibly. He glared at the great ogre, who had merely conveyed a message, as if he could kill him with his gaze alone. The great ogre turned pale.
This must be the true nature of General Baruria, Kusharilla’s close aide.
Like a demon, he doesn’t try to hide his intimidating killing intent. Even towards his subordinates, if they displease him, he will show no mercy.
Furthermore, he constantly displays power disparities that awe and make subordinates unable to resist.
The hierarchy in the demon world is truly an indicator of power disparity.
Once done conveying the message, the great ogre, shrinking his boulder-like body, hastily retreated into the depths of the Demon Lord’s castle.
Baruria, without watching the retreating great ogre, directed his murderous gaze mercilessly towards us.
“His Majesty has ordered me to guide you to the Gemstone Hall.”
I see. So this great ogre was here to deliver Kusharilla’s order.
It’s a shame for the great ogre to be subjected to such a murderous glare just for relaying a message, but there’s no time to sympathize.
Baruria turned on his heel without waiting for our reaction and quickly began walking into the depths of the Demon Lord’s castle.
“W-Wait!”
We hurriedly followed Baruria.
However, Baruria did not react to our voices.
He’s definitely not going to guide us!
He was ordered by Kusharilla, so he had no choice but to let us in, but he’s abandoning us, thinking, “If you can’t keep up, that’s your problem.” And I suspect that once we’re lost in the depths of the castle, he intends to have his subordinates attack us or obstruct us, preventing us from reaching that place called the Gemstone Hall.
Heh heh heh.
But we’re not that easily deterred, you know?
“What do you think the Gemstone Hall is? Could it be the Throne Room?”
“Who knows? If the Demon Lord himself is coming out to greet us, it might be the Throne Room? I’m not very familiar with these kinds of places either.”
Mistral and I took the lead, relentlessly pursuing Baruria, who was moving at a brisk pace.
“I wonder if this castle was built by the current Demon Lord?”
“Or perhaps by the previous Demon Lord?”
I recall that before Kusharilla took control of this country, another Demon Lord ruled here.
However, that previous Demon Lord, who somehow crossed the Heavenly Mountain Range and advanced westward, was defeated by the Miko Queen in the Temple City, the hope of humankind.
Yufilia and Nina followed, observing the interior, furnishings, and internal structure from a royal perspective.
“Hahahaha. I’m starting to get nervous.”
“Laira-san, if you’re uneasy, let’s hold hands.”
“Ruiseine-sama, thank you very much.”
Ruiseine and Laira, while nervous, walked through the corridor hand in hand, observing everything with keen interest.
“Madrine-sama, leave the rear guard to me.”
“Thank you, Sefina-san. When facing demons, my status as a clergy member doesn’t offer much protection, does it?”
If the opponent were human, simply appointing Madrine-sama or Ruiseine as the rear guard would prevent any unexpected surprise attacks from behind.
However, this is the Demon Lord’s Castle, the stronghold of the demons. Demons have no faith, so they will attack regardless of whether the opponent is a clergy member.
Therefore, Sefina-san, who is skilled at sensing presences, is in charge of the rear guard this time.
Baruria advanced through the winding corridors at a rapid pace, trying to shake us off.
However, while acting independently, we kept track of Baruria and did not let him escape.
Along the way, we encountered various obstacles, such as sudden openings of doors from adjoining rooms blocking our path, or slaves jumping out from corridor intersections, but we evaded all of them perfectly.
“Tch.”
Baruria openly clicked his tongue.
No, seriously, isn’t this going a bit too far!?
Beyond being surprised, we’re actually starting to have fun with these sabotage attempts!
Nevertheless, we continued to follow Baruria to the deepest part of the Demon Lord’s castle.
And finally, we reached our destination.
At the end of the corridor was a mysterious grand hall.
There was no door separating the corridor from the grand hall. Instead, a shimmering boundary of light existed.
Baruria passed through this flickering boundary and entered the grand hall.
“Is it safe?”
As I hesitated, Mistral urged me on with a wry smile.
“Given the minor disruptions so far, I doubt they’d set up a dangerous trap now, would they?”
“Or perhaps they want us to *think* that?”
We’re dealing with demons, after all. If we let our guard down, there’s always a risk of being tripped up anywhere and anytime.
However, my worries seemed to be unfounded.
“Hate you, Dragon King. However, at this point, I do not intend to harm you.”
Kusharilla’s voice reached us from an unseen location. It seems that while Baruria is not hiding his hostility, Kusharilla apparently intends to receive us as guests.
“Well, let’s trust the Demon Lord’s words then.”
With that, I took the first step into the grand hall.
It was a strange space.
I had thought the barrier separating the corridor and the grand hall was just shimmering light, but that was incorrect.
The entire grand hall was a space of shimmering light.
Baruria, who had entered first, was visible in the flickering view.
And beyond where Baruria was waiting, Kusharilla was present.
Yes. Kusharilla’s presence, which is usually vague and indistinct even when close, could be clearly perceived.
“I see, I understand now. This mysterious grand hall is a place for the demons to acknowledge Kusharilla’s existence as their Demon Lord, isn’t it?”
Just as I cannot fully perceive Kusharilla’s aura, the subordinate demons cannot read their ruler’s aura either.
However, there must be many occasions when Kusharilla, as the Demon Lord, needs to instill awe in her subordinates. In such times, Kusharilla likely makes her presence clear in this mysterious space, letting the demons know her fearsomeness.
“Hate. Do not call my name so casually.”
“Oh, my apologies.”
High-ranking demons dislike being called by their names so casually.
Even more so when having a friendly meeting, it’s safer to follow the demons’ customs.
“Everyone, it’s alright. The Fairy Demon Lord is welcoming us from beyond the Gemstone Hall.”
“We are not welcoming you.”
Ignoring Kusharilla’s complaint, I called everyone over.
Everyone who entered the grand hall, like me, was captivated by the room’s strangeness and surprised that Kusharilla’s presence could be felt so clearly.
“Hmm. Is this shimmering light space itself part of the Demon Lord’s existence? The Gemstone Hall, meaning the hall of the Demon Lord’s mysterious light?”
“Annoying, Dragon King.”
I suspect I hit the nail on the head.
By filling this space with her presence, Kusharilla makes her aura clearly felt by those entering the room.
It’s a fitting hall for Kusharilla, like a throne room.
After waiting for my family to gather, I greeted Kusharilla again.
Unfortunately, only Kusharilla and Baruria were in the Gemstone Hall.
I’m sure other retainers are cautiously observing our movements from elsewhere.
But we are only here to find our friends, after all. We are not planning any wicked schemes, nor do we intend to cause trouble.
“So, what is your business?”
I could certainly feel Kusharilla’s presence from the depths of the Gemstone Hall. However, her form was still not clearly visible.
Well, if I squint and concentrate deeply, I can vaguely see it.
Kusharilla takes on a form that I can perceive.
In my case, she appears as a beautiful woman.
Why beautiful?
Because it feels better to interact with and get along with someone attractive, doesn’t it?
“Nya.”
Nimia, as if reading my thoughts, laughed amusingly from above my head.
“Um. I told the Black Ogre General, but we’re just looking for our friend. So, if we can find our friend and take them back, we’ll be satisfied, you know?”
Proceeding amicably is this time’s objective.
At my response, Kusharilla’s aura wavered.
“What is this ‘friend’?”
“Yes. It is Viscount Ruilala, a subordinate of the Giant Demon Lord!”
Without hesitation, I uttered my friend’s name.
Now, I wondered how Kusharilla and Baruria would react.
“As I thought, that is what you’re after.”
Unexpectedly, Kusharilla readily acknowledged Ruilala’s existence.
It seems she had guessed the purpose of our visit from the beginning.
Conversely, we were inwardly surprised.
What benefit could Kusharilla possibly gain by so easily acknowledging Ruilala’s existence?
We honestly confessed that we were looking for Ruilala.
Kusharilla hinted that she knew of Ruilala’s existence, without hiding anything.
This is a negotiation centered around Ruilala.
As I pondered what to do next, Kusharilla made the first move.
“If you are concerned about her, I will guide you. Baruria, take these people there.”
“Understood.”
Wh-What!
Not only did she acknowledge Ruilala’s existence, but she’s also going to guide us to her location!?
We were instead suspicious of this unexpected goodwill from the demons.
If they make the first move to put us in an advantageous situation, are we about to stumble into a trap?
“Follow me.”
Baruria, despite his displeasure, obeyed Kusharilla’s order and exited the Gemstone Hall.
We bid farewell to Kusharilla and hurriedly followed Baruria.
And then, we were met with further astonishment.
“W-Wait! Please forgive me!”
“My, to end so soon, how pathetic.”
We exited the Demon Lord’s castle and were led to a different location.
In a district of the demon capital, at the courtyard of a magnificent mansion, the sight that greeted us took our breath away.
The young man with black arms, Toris-kun, collapsed, covered in wounds.
And Ruilala, with a sword tip filled with killing intent, pointed at Toris-kun’s nose.
“Ruilala! Toris-kun!”
I instinctively intervened between the two.
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