3
I ended up carrying Snow back to the hideout last night after she begged, through drunken sobs, not to be the only one left out. Which brings us to today…
“…Good morning…”
While I’m sitting in the cafeteria reading a translated newspaper and eating breakfast, a red-faced Snow wanders in.
Judging by her unusually docile behavior, it seems she remembers her drunken antics.
As Snow fitfully sends tiny glances in my direction…
“Mornin’, sunshine. Looks like somebody had a little too much fun last night, huh?”
“K-kill me already!”
Snow drops to her knees while performing a double facepalm as I sip my miso soup and continue perusing the paper.
“‘…Sand King rapidly expanding territory. Caravan merchants are warned to take extra precautions. Our paper also helps provide arrangements with mercenary units; for details, contact us at…’”
…Huh, I didn’t even know there were mercenary units in this country.
They’re industry competitors of a different sort from the Demon Lord’s Army. We should probably go have a chat with them sometime.
Just as I’m thinking up Kisaragi-style “negotiation” techniques…
“Ah, Six, mornin’.”
…Alice walks into the cafeteria, directing an amused look over to Snow.
“Oh, and good morning to our dear Snow, who threw a tantrum while saying things like, ‘I don’t want to go home yet!’ and ‘I’m part of your team, right? Don’t abandon me!’ then passed out from crying too much.”
“How much…? If you forget about last night, I’ll happily agree to any amount you add to my debt…”
As Snow mutters in a shaky voice, Alice casually remarks:
“Androids never forget, I’m afraid. But don’t worry about that. Come with me to the castle. It looks like the emissary from the Demon Lord’s Army is finally here.”
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the palace, and things look quite a bit different on the outside.
There are countless spear-shaped objects buried atop the outer wall, as well as a large, newly constructed moat.
“Huh, I didn’t realize they redecorated the castle. I didn’t think Tillis was the sort of person to shell out for something like this.”
“You do realize you’re the cause, right? This is all because you and your ilk kept breaking into Her Highness’s room.”
…Ohhh, that makes sense. Ten and I did sneak in pretty often.
What a shame. That was a gold mine of Evil Points…
“What are you looking at? Also, make sure you tell your fellow perverts to stay the hell out!”
We have so many perverts at Kisaragi that I’m not quite sure where to start.
I mean, if you exclude me, the only gentleman, we’re pretty much all perverts.
“Yeah, they’re perverts, all right, but they don’t mean any harm. Could you let them off the hook? For me? Anyway, let’s make sure Heine gets an earful for keeping us waiting for so long.”
“Y-you seriously don’t believe you’re any different from the others?”
Hearing that, Alice, who’s been leading the charge, stops and turns back to face us.
“Looks like Heine’s not the emissary. It’s another young woman, so try to keep your hands to yourself.”
Oh hey, I wonder if that means I’m allowed a little wiggle room.
…When we reach the castle gate, one of the soldiers notices us and opens it up.
“Welcome, Lady Alice. Sir Six. Right this way.”
As we begin following the soldier, I hear Snow yelling behind us.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“I’m afraid our orders are to only allow Lady Alice and Sir Six inside…”
When I turn around, I see a soldier barring Snow’s entry.
“D-don’t be ridiculous! I’m a knight of this realm! Not only that, but I’m the former captain of the Royal Guard and a retainer of Princess Tillis! Are you a new recruit who’s never seen me before?! I’ll ignore that insult this time, but don’t let it happen again!”
With that, Snow tries to shove her way through, but the soldier doesn’t budge.
“I know who you are, Lady Snow. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news…”
“Yes, we’ve, um…been told to only allow you in if it’s an emergency…”
“What?! Why?!”
I guess Snow’s recent string of screwups has come back to bite her.
“How dare you expendables mock me! I’ll show you what it means to denigrate a knight!”
“Oh no, she’s drawn her blade! Call for backup!”
“This one’s no longer a knight, just a common criminal! Apprehend her!”
Ignoring the bustle behind us, Alice and I decide to go join Tillis—
“…Sir Six, Ms. Alice, my apologies for the sudden summons. The Demon Lord’s emissary has arrived…”
I suppose you could call it the castle’s salon.
Inside the spacious room are some expensive-looking sofas, and sitting across from Tillis is a winged demon girl.
She seems friendly enough. She stands when she notices us.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Camille. I am a dream demon and longtime servant of the Demon Lord. I’ve been tasked with serving as the representative in the cease-fire negotiations with the kingdom of Grace.”
Camille then bows deeply.
“I’m the Kisaragi Corporation’s negotiator, Miss Alice Kisaragi. Nice to meet ya.”
Alice’s introduction is brief. While the other party might be a young woman, we can’t very well afford to be underestimated by an industry rival.
I stick my hands in my pockets, look her up and down, and glare.
“Yo, I’m the Kisaragi rep in charge of things around here. You could say we’re a mercenary group of sorts. The name’s Six. Mr. Combat Agent Six…”
…Wait, back up. Did she just introduce herself as—?
“…Did you just say you were a dream demon? Like…one of those demons who let you have really sexy dreams? Are you a succubus or something?”
“N-no, I’m afraid I’m slightly different from a succubus. I’m a Lilim, and while we do use dreams to tempt people, much like a succubus, the dreams we conjure aren’t, um, the erotic kind…”
Camille seems a lot more normal than the weirdos we’ve encountered so far. Even the mention of sexy dreams makes her blush faintly as she continues her explanation.
“So you’re in the same line of work as succubi, but you don’t deal in sexy dreams… A succubus downgrade, in other words.”
“N-not at all! We’re not inferior! In fact, we Lilim are the very first demons birthed by the Mother of All Demons herself: the Great Demon Lilith! We’re her chosen children! True elites!”
…
“<Alice! Aliiiice! Did you just hear what she said?! She’s Lady Lilith’s daughter! What the hell?! Who’s her dad, then?!>”
“<Calm down, Six. We’ll make sure to file a proper report. But you know, the phrase Mother of All Demons is really similar to Lady Lilith’s habit of calling herself the ‘mother of all mutants.’ With that much of a similarity, it can’t be a coincidence. Let’s have the other Supreme Leaders ask her directly.>”
Camille tilts her head in confusion when she hears us speaking Japanese.
“Sorry about that; the unexpected information threw me off a moment. Let’s get back on topic. What were you saying about boobs?”
“That word hasn’t come up at all! What is wrong with you?! Are you enjoying mocking me?!”
As Camille starts raising her voice, Tillis holds up her hands to calm her down.
“Despite their eccentricities, their strength is the real deal. After all, Sir Six is the one who defeated the Elite Four pillar, Gadalkand of the Earth.”
“This is the man who took down Lord Gadalkand…,” says Camille in surprise, her eyes going wide.
“Hold on, that happened in battle. You’re not gonna bring that up now, are you? We’ve had plenty of soldiers killed by you guys, too.”
“No, we understand and have no intention of raising it as an issue… I see. So you’re the one Lady Heine mentioned…”
At the sudden mention of Heine’s name, I can’t help but ask:
“What did she say about me? By my calculations, it should be about time for her to fall head over heels for me.”
Based on what I know from reading manga and light novels, since I’ve let her go multiple times after our battles, I should be getting my confession of love any day…
All I need now is an event where I save her life, and then my favor with her will be maxed out, I’m sure.
“F-fall for…? Um, well, she said you were a very strong person…”
I find Camille’s evasiveness suspicious and ask again.
“…What else? She’s been trash-talking me, hasn’t she?”
“N-no, not at… Well. She did mention that you took lots of embarrassing photographs of her and that you thoroughly humiliated her by stealing her underwear before she teleported, but…”
I would’ve complained if her words were nothing more unsubstantiated rumors, but sadly, I remember doing all that.
“But wait, why isn’t Heine the emissary? Was she so afraid of being sexually harassed by me that she sent you instead?”
“N-no, that’s not it at all! Lady Heine is currently—”
As Camille begins to explain, Tillis cuts her off by sharply clapping her hands together.
“That’s quite enough small talk. We have far too much to discuss to fritter away our time…”
“True. I have demands of the Demon Lord’s Army as Kisaragi’s head of negotiations. Though, to be more precise, they concern the mysterious facilities in your castle.”
As the two schemers begin talking, Camille, with a tense expression, balls her hands into fists atop her lap.
“With regards to that matter, I have already received the Demon Lord’s blessing for you to conduct whatever investigations you desire.”
…Huh?
“I had expected a little more pushback, but that was rather quick, wasn’t it…? For our part, we would like to discuss matters of reparations and cessation of hostilities…”
“On those subjects, the Demon Lord would like to meet directly to discuss terms. As such, if you could dispatch a representative with the authority to make decisions…”
The conversation proceeds unusually smoothly. Did Lilith’s overwhelming show of force really scare them into submission?
Just then, Alice and Tillis exchange glances as though confirming something.
“Understood. Then I’ll head to the castle. What about scheduling?”
At Alice’s words, Camille lets out a sigh of relief.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, but we would prefer if you could come immediately…”
With that, she bows deeply once again…
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