The Demon King is far too wronged
"…Who disappeared?"**
The disappearance of Louise Verft was discovered immediately after she was kidnapped.
"There were loud noises and tremors in the detached palace where Her Highness resides. The knights guarding the palace investigated, but Her Highness was nowhere to be found, and only traces of a fierce battle remained."
"Is that something you call a report?! Find her! At once!"
The Royal Guard moved at once. Not far from the battlefield, they discovered a secret passage.
"A secret passage? After Logar Friedri disappeared, weren't all passages in the capital located and sealed?"
"We sealed most of them, but perfection is…"
"Are you playing games with me?!"
The dwarves trembled before the king's fury.
The knights hurriedly inspected the passage.
"There are signs of someone entering, but none of anyone leaving. The intruder must still be inside."
"And what if they used another passage? If one existed, nothing says there can't be two."
"Th-that is…"
"Find them immediately! If you fail to bring the princess and the bastard who kidnapped her before my eyes, imagine the consequences yourselves."
"We obey!"
But the problem did not end there. The moment the palace guards began a mass search, another incident occurred elsewhere.
"Your Majesty! The Royal Workshop is on fire!"
"…What? That's impossible! How many protective spells are engraved into the workshop!"
Workshops were facilities that worked with fire constantly, so safety against fire was absolute.
But if all those protections had been shattered by a Demon King, it wasn't impossible.
"The artisans—what of the artisans!"
"Thirty-two who were outside the workshop are unharmed, but…"
"Report properly!"
"We cannot determine the whereabouts of forty-nine artisans."
"…Are you saying they burned to death?!"
"No, Your Majesty. If living beings had burned, there would be remains. But nowhere in the half-burned workshop could we find any trace of them."
"Meaning…?"
"They could not have set the fire themselves and then escaped unnoticed, so—…"
The minister swallowed his words when the king's eyelids twitched violently.
"They were kidnapped?"
"That is the most likely possibility."
"And the princess as well?"
"…Yes."
In an instant, the kingdom's precious princess and its greatest artisans had vanished—no, been kidnapped.
The king felt his vision fade for a moment but forced himself to remain calm.
"Lock down all movement in the capital and declare a state of emergency. Find the kidnapper at all costs."
The entire garrison of the capital was mobilized—every force except the King's Guard and the palace's personal knights.
The king, after issuing rapid orders, entered a council with his ministers.
"Whom do you believe is responsible?"
"…I suspect humans."
"That seems correct. The artisans were kidnapped—that alone is evidence. Humans have coveted our technology many times."
It was the most plausible.
The question was which nation of humans…
"So a traitor sold out their own race. And that traitor is here, in the capital."
"A traitor, Your Majesty?"
"The princess and the Royal Workshop are both in the capital. Do you think humans could enter and exit without my permission? Someone must be hiding them deliberately. And dozens of artisans vanished without anyone seeing—it's impossible otherwise."
"Ah…!"
The ministers gasped. It did indeed make sense.
An awkward silence followed.
The king's reasoning was sound—but for it to be sound, one condition had to be accepted:
The traitor had considerable authority within the capital.
Ministers began eyeing one another with suspicion.
Then one minister raised an objection.
"But Your Majesty, even Her Highness the Princess was kidnapped. Humans have no reason to take her."
Anyone who knew how deeply the King of Verft treasured his daughter understood this incident was beyond a point of return.
"They kidnapped dozens of artisans. That means they no longer care about consequences."
"Would humans do something so foolish? If we so much as promise weapons to nearby nations, the humans would be beaten to dust."
"…That is true."
The king and his ministers sank deeper into thought.
"Could this be the work of the Demon King?"
"The Demon King? Why would a Demon King kidnap artisans?"
A Demon King strengthened their tower with its mysterious power. They had no need for dwarven help.
Under normal understanding, yes. However—
"What if the target isn't the tower, but something else?"
"Something else?"
"Recently, in the Seratin Archipelago…"
"Ah…!"
"And remember—she already attempted to kidnap Your Majesty once and had her tail cut off."
"No matter what, the Demon King was badly burned by the assault corps after that. Would she dare…"
At that moment, news arrived that sealed the conclusion.
"Your Majesty! Hero Verding found faint traces of magi in the princess's detached palace!"
The Demon King had kidnapped the princess and the artisans.
***
Vivian Blunt.
A woman whose pride once pierced the heavens after conquering an entire dimension—yet now she found herself blocked by the massive wall called Arein.
Her many attempts had failed.
She had suffered humiliation—being threatened by another Demon King.
But she hadn't lashed out as she normally would, because everything the Demon King said was painfully correct.
"A dimension with over FOUR THOUSAND Heroes! If I'd known, I'd have NEVER come to this lunatic place!"
She lamented her arrogance—thinking the Demon Kings here were simply weak and the dimension perfectly suited for someone who had conquered another.
And she cursed the Archduke Alkaine, who had sweet-talked her into entering this wretched place.
That damned vampire. I should've known the moment he acted too friendly.
She should have ripped out that lying tongue promising her grand rewards.
Not that she could have in reality.
"Well… things worked out somehow. I'm alive, and I'm gathering strength little by little. Yes. That's what matters…"
Her gaze drifted downward as she savored a fresh shine muscat—and then froze.
"…My tail."
Something that should have been there was not.
She still couldn't get used to it.
"My tail…"
Tears rolled down her cheeks. The wound still throbbed painfully.
Yes, it would eventually regrow and return to normal someday—but when?
A hundred years?
Two hundred?
For succubi, their tail—another vessel for storing magi—was not like hair that grew back on its own.
"That bastard… I'll get my revenge for sure…"
She vowed to enslave him and make him gasp beneath her feet one day.
Without fail.
"Ah."
To vent her frustration, she opened her mouth.
"Here you are, hehe."
A sweet fruit was placed into her mouth.
"It's delicious."
"Top-grade shine muscats from southern Hesen. I personally procured them for you, Lady Vivian."
"Procured" meaning pirated.
But neither the speaker nor the receiver cared.
"L-Lady Vivian…"
"When did I ever tell you it was fine to speak to me so casually?"
"M-my apologies!"
The pirate attendant dropped to the floor, forehead pressed down.
"So? Speak."
"Thank you for your mercy. Recently, the Altring faction has been acting strangely."
"Altring…?"
"They are the largest alliance in the Seratin Archipelago—eighty pirate crews under their flag."
"What about them?"
"…They've always been like this, but… They're calling us traitors who've sided with demons—of course, not disrespecting you, My Lady! Just… those arrogant bastards…"
"I know. Continue."
"Yes. They slander us as demon-loving scum. And from the way they're moving… a war may break out soon."
"They want to wage war because I'm a Demon?"
"It's just a cowardly excuse. They simply want to crush us before our forces grow stronger."
"Hm."
Vivian rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
After repeated failures, she finally stepped forward herself and fulfilled the true duty of a succubus.
Once someone falls into enchantment, they cannot escape—whether they know she is a demon or not.
It was the stickiest trap, and the greatest weapon she possessed.
Fortunately, getting close was easy.
While humans of Arein were already accustomed to discreet dealings with demons, the Seratin Archipelago was even worse.
Drugs, smuggling, human trafficking, piracy—this den of all evils did not discriminate against demons.
For them, the two things that mattered most were:
first, survival;
second, "Does this benefit me?"
Thanks to that, Vivian easily made contact with pirates and gradually expanded her influence.
Sometimes she seduced them alone, sometimes she released other succubi to ensnare them, turning them into her loyal slaves.
Like the man kneeling before her now, acting as her footrest—
Or the one fanning her at her side—
Or the one who automatically fed her fruit whenever she opened her mouth.
All were pirates enslaved by a succubus's charm, and all were major power holders in the Seratin Archipelago.
Heroes were no exception.
The heroes wandering the pirate isles were delinquents who had defied their guild's orders and fled.
Heroes were meant to kill demons, but these were different.
For example, the man giving the current report—
He was both a pirate captain and a hero.
And yet, when he once said that even as a hero he could lick the soles of her feet, she truly wondered how far a man's dignity could fall.
"Can you win if a war breaks out?"
Her thoughts returned to the main issue.
Her influence, compared to the entirety of the Seratin Archipelago, was still small—
so of course the pushback was natural.
"In terms of numbers we're at a disadvantage! But who am I?! I am the Captain of the Black Patch Pirates!"
"I am here as well! My Waterfall Beard Pirates will crush those Altling bastards!"
"And I—!"
The three pirate captains ensnared by Vivian competed to show their loyalty.
But it made no difference—
they were all talk.
She knew they still could not win.
A sigh escaped her lips—
and then—
Knock knock—
"Lady Vivian."
A succubus opened the door urgently before Vivian even gave permission. Her brows furrowed.
"Didn't I say not to enter until I call for you?"
"A message from Demon King Jayson. He insists you answer immediately…"
"Why?"
"He said he will speak directly. And… he seems quite angry."
"Angry? Why?"
I'm staying quiet in the Seratin Archipelago just like he told me…
"Leave us."
At her gesture, the pirates and succubi left.
Vivian infused magi into the communicator.
"What now?"
『What now? Is that really something you can say with that mouth?』
The harsh tone from the very first sentence made it clear he was furious.
And amusingly, that anger was directed squarely at Vivian.
"What? What did I do?"
But this time, she had a point—
She really hadn't done anything.
『I told you clearly. Stay quiet. And especially do not touch the dwarves.』
『So how long did that last? How long before you caused trouble? Do you lack the ability to think?』
"…What nonsense is that? I touched dwarves? Me?"
Vivian paused to think.
Was the one fanning her a dwarf?
No.
The footrest?
No.
The one feeding her muscat grapes?
Of course not.
Then recently…?
Were there any dwarves?
Sure, there were dwarves who'd been kidnapped by pirates—
but Vivian herself had never touched one.
She could swear that on the Great First Demon King himself.
"I don't know what happened on the continent or what mess occurred there, but I swear—it wasn't me."
『Your excuses are revolting.』
『Do you really believe that simply denying something turns it into truth? Your one-dimensional stupidity never fails to disappoint.』
"What the hell—!"
『Princess Louise Verft of the dwarves has been kidnapped.』
『And 49 royal artisans as well.』
"…Huh? Louise Verft…?"
『The princess you tried to kidnap before—pathetically got your tail chopped off, then ran like a coward.』
That brutish axe flashed in her memory.
Those sacred muscles ripping through her clothes.
That woman was closer to a barbarian than a princess.
"She got kidnapped? Serves her right. But I'm telling you, it wasn't me."
『Such excuses only work when there is even a shred of possibility. Lady Vivian.』
"What kind of nonsense is that! I haven't left the Seratin Archipelago since that day!"
『Then tell that to the dwarves who will soon aim their cannons at you. Whether they believe you… is doubtful.』
"…What?"
『How do you think I learned this? The dwarves issued a public announcement.』
『Many nations want dwarven cooperation. Many covet their superior technology. If offered a massive reward to subjugate you, countless states would gladly volunteer.』
"Wait. Are you telling me they declared war on me? Why?! I didn't do it!"
『They found magi at the scene where the princess was kidnapped.』
『And 49 dwarf artisans were taken.』
"That doesn't make it me! There are five Demon Kings! Why me!?"
『Because you already attempted to kidnap the dwarf princess once.
And since your tail was taken—your desire for revenge would be sky-high.』
『Correct?』
"That's…!"
Of course!
A succubus's tail was precious!
『And no Demon King kidnaps dwarven artisans. Those who can use the tower's authority have no reason to.』
『Even if they did, the efficiency wouldn't justify risking conflict with the Dwarf Kingdom.』
"I'm a Demon King too! Why would I be different—"
『Because aside from you—who's too busy playing pirate in the Seratin Archipelago—none of them are that stupid.』
『Surely you know that pirates are desperate to steal dwarf engineers to mount magi-cannons on their ships. You knew this, yet you kidnapped them anyway.』
"..."
『You hid the fact that you're a Demon King far too poorly. Pirates may not care, but the continent does.』
『All logic leads to one conclusion: the Dwarf Kingdom has identified you as the culprit.』
『They will begin a massive Heroic March toward your tower. And as before, I will do nothing to intervene.』
『One piece of advice: you should return the kidnapped princess and artisans—』
"No!"
Vivian shouted.
Her face had gone pale—
all remnants of seduction or elegance vanished.
"It wasn't me!"
Her vision blurred.
"Do I look stupid enough to do it again?! To get burned once and step right back into the flames?!"
『Reasonably speaking, yes.
After all, you ignored my warning once and tried to kidnap the dwarf princess.
So it's fully possible you acted without thinking again—』
"No!"
Truly—
"I didn't do anything this time. I swear it… I didn't…"
Her voice trembled.
"I swear it on the Great First Demon King and the true Demon Law…"
Tears like drops of melted glass streamed down her face without end.
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