It was the first time since Walpurgis Night. Meeting the Demon Lords face to face.
Come to think of it, it had been a little over half a year since the hearing. Back then, I attended as the accused. I was interrogated for the crime of killing Andromalius, ranked seventy-second... Now our roles were completely reversed. It was my turn to investigate Paimon's crimes. I couldn't shake the feeling of irony. I suppose that's life.
In the middle ground between the legions, layers upon layers of silk curtains had been erected. Beautiful young men and women stood waiting, stripped naked, ready to attend to the guests. A feast for the eyes.
Barbatos hummed merrily as she admired the body of a beautiful girl—she was Rezda, as you know.
"Hoh. I thought this was just a temporary gathering, but they've gone quite elaborate."
The variety of races was impressive too. Succubus and Incubus—staples of any such occasion—were of course present, along with the Tiger Tribe and Cat Tribe, who traditionally held prestigious ranks among the Demonkin. If you had to compare them to India's caste system, they'd be the Brahmins.
"Allow us to guide you."
When we reached the tent's entrance, six beautiful girls prostrated themselves in a full kowtow. Their pristine white buttocks glistened in the sunlight. They'd stationed girls rather than boys, probably to suit Barbatos's tastes. Either way, Barbatos was clearly pleased.
"Old Marbas sure knows his way around hosting guests."
"Hmm. Isn't it a bit too extravagant?"
Two girls were assigned to me as well. Partly as a pretext to search for weapons, they stripped off my clothes and rubbed fragrant oils all over my body. Then they dressed me in a cloth garment similar to an ancient Roman toga. The outfit left my chest and thighs completely exposed.
In the old days, I couldn't have dreamed of having beautiful men and women treat me with such utmost deference. To take such treatment for granted—that was the privilege of a rank above the clouds. A Demon Lord... That must be how Andromalius ended up with that insufferable personality.
"What, don't you like the luxury?"
Barbatos said. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, running her fingers along a Cat Tribe girl's earlobe. The Cat Tribe girl's face flushed bright red, apparently overwhelmed by a Demon Lord personally touching her.
I wondered if she had any idea that her innocent reactions were stoking Barbatos's sadistic streak. Poor thing. It was like watching a wealthy older woman toy with a rookie hostess. No—what made it worse was that, to the naked eye, the Cat Tribe girl and Barbatos looked like they were the same age.
"Well, I'm not really used to it."
"From where I'm sitting, you're not very Demon Lord-like. For better or worse."
Naturally. I'd adopted a solemn manner of speaking to survive, but that wasn't my true nature at all. I was so sick of using casual language all the time that I'd even started deliberately using formal speech with Laura. Having everyone treat me with unquestioning reverence was far more stressful than I'd imagined.
We followed the beautiful attendants deeper into the fabric curtains. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze, glowing with a sacred radiance in the sunlight. Winding through the maze-like passages between the layers of cloth, we soon emerged into a vast open space. The heart of the curtains.
"Oh my, oh my. Look who it is. Long time no see~."
There was a guest already present. A woman. She was lying lazily on her cushioned bed, dressed loosely—her garment parted just enough to expose her breasts shamelessly through the gap in the thin fabric.
I swear, they were the most enormous breasts I'd had seen since arriving in this world. Beyond merely large—voluptuous to an absurd degree. A G-cup? No, maybe an H-cup? There was simply no way to tell. This was Gamigin, the fourth-ranked Demon Lord among <Dungeon Attack> players—a figure of fiercely polarizing opinion.
The golden-haired beauty was lying on her side, eating grapes. Not with her own hands, though. A white-haired butler was peeling them for her at her side. He'd strip the skin off a grape and hold it out, and Gamigin would snatch it up with a flick of her red tongue, letting the grape roll and tumble down into her mouth. It was a decidedly sultry sight.
Barbatos let out a soft chuckle.
"You've completely let loose, haven't you? Happy?"
"Oh, sooooo happy~. Honestly, I had zero expectations for this gathering. I was sighing before it even started, thinking it'd be some boring, blood-soaked affair. But look at this. The vibe is just too, too good."
"Good grief, girl. The way you're talking, sounds like you've already had a round."
"Consider it the privilege of the first one to arrive~."
We each took our assigned beds. Attendants approached and washed Barbatos's and my bare feet with water. The spaces between my toes felt wonderfully refreshed. Then they immediately presented an array of fragrant wines, one for every taste.
Beyond the curtains, faint music was drifting through the air. It seemed musicians were stationed around this central area, playing for the guests. The sound of flutes tickled the lungs.
Handsome men, beautiful women, exquisite wine, and now music on top of it all. Anyone's hostility would melt away and their heart would go soft in a setting like this. Impressive. Demon Lord Marbas, the host of this gathering, had clearly gone all out in crafting this banquet.
"By the way, who's that gentleman over there? He's not in my memory."
"He's Dantalion, ranked seventy-first. The beautiful golden-haired Demon Lord."
"Oh!"
Gamigin bolted upright from her bed, upper body rising sharply.
"So you're Dantalion! Wow. I was picturing some really perverted, decrepit old geezer, but you look way younger than I expected."
I forced a smile onto my face. Perverted and decrepit, she says—thanks for that. Let me reiterate: there is no purer soul in this entire world than yours truly.
"Oh! Don't worry, I'm into perverted, decrepit old geezers! When I get railed by garbage like that, it makes me feel like I'm turning into garbage too, and I just can't get enough of it. It gets me so worked up!"
"......"
I briefly agonized over whether to take that as a compliment. Barbatos, who had settled onto the bed right next to me, spoke in a flat tone.
"That one's a masochist."
A sadist and a masochist—Barbatos and Gamigin. The Demon Lords' sexual preferences really were something else entirely.
I had zero interest in how wildly entertaining your private lives were, and I didn't particularly want to butt in, but if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't blab about your sexual preferences to a human you've just met for the first time. It's not exactly easy to know how to respond.
Was that it? Some kind of voyeuristic thrill? Did they get off on laying their tastes completely bare? What a perv beyond all imagining… I wasn't saying I was the purest among the Demon Lords for nothing.
"Heh. That's fascinating. Hey, I can use informal speech, right?"
"Of course."
"Okay, great! Since we're friends now, I'm gonna ask you stuff without holding back!"
So casual speech made you friends, just like that. Simple human relationships. Just as I was about to force a wry smile, Gamigin blurted out with her face still beaming:
"Hey, can I kill Paimon?"
"……."
What could I even say to that.
She really didn't waste any time.
When I didn't respond and just kept a friendly smile plastered on my face, Gamigin happily kept talking on her own.
"I've wanted to kill Paimon for the longest time! I hated that she dragged over half the Demon Lords into her faction. And besides, that girl always acts like she's got the good of Demon Realm society backing her up~. Ugh. If I killed her, I'd obviously catch a ton of flak no matter what, so I held back so, so much."
She grinned, showing her white teeth.
"It should be fine to kill her now, right?"
"……."
"This is a secret—I'm only telling the two of you."
Gamigin covered the corner of her mouth with her right hand and murmured quietly. Even though all the attendants around us could clearly hear it, making the whole thing rather pointless.
"There are three hundred wyverns flying a thousand meters above us right now~? The moment I give the order, they'll swoop right down — wham! Hehe. They're cute but pretty tough kids, though. If we all work together, we could probably take down Paimon as a group!"
A chill ran down my spine. Hundreds of A-rank monster wyverns. This woman, who had appeared to be doing nothing more than peacefully enjoying the gala alongside everyone else, had casually revealed that she'd set up a death trap... Was she a schemer who wore one face in public and another in private?
No. She was simply confident in the power she possessed. The absolute, unwavering confidence that once she had the justification, she could obliterate the 9th-ranked Demon Lord in a single stroke. That was why she could speak so casually about someone's death with such composure. That was all there was to it.
I spoke carefully, keeping my expression from cracking.
"The Mountain Faction is the most powerful force within the Demon Lord's army. It wouldn't be to your benefit to move against them rashly, Gamigin."
"Hm? I don't really get it. Isn't it fine to crush them as long as you've got a reason?"
The golden-haired Gamigin tilted her head, genuinely looking as though she didn't understand.
"It's not like the Mountain Faction serves Paimon like an emperor or anything. Only five or six people, Sitri included, are offering blind loyalty — the rest of them can be pushed around easily enough! Not to brag, but I'm pretty damn strong, you know!"
"……."
"If we just cut off Paimon and her little clique, the rest of the Mountain Faction will probably compromise. Well, if they don't, we'll just get rid of them too. Hehe."
I couldn't come up with a response.
Shortly after, new guests began filing in one after another. The 3rd-ranked Vassago, the 2nd-ranked Agares, the 10th-ranked Buer, and the host, the 5th-ranked Marbas. They greeted each other warmly, exchanged pleasantries out of politeness, or were openly hostile. But once Marbas stepped forward to mediate, things generally smoothed over.
And then.
Finally, the 9th-ranked Paimon entered.
She brought along her adjutant, the 12th-ranked Sitri. Paimon exchanged the customary greetings with the other Demon Lords but remained silent throughout.
Our eyes met as well. The two of us simply exchanged a quiet nod. There were complicated emotions swirling in Paimon's gaze. Was she, too, reminded of Walpurgis Night and feeling the irony of it all?
"Whoa, where'd this broad come from?"
Barbatos spoke cheerfully.
"Paimon. I'm so glad to see you. Right? Hehe."
"……."
"Hey, at least she knows she's being shameless. Look at her keeping her mouth shut and not saying a word. If she'd guarded her chastity that firmly back in the day, she wouldn't have been called a whore. Right, you little whore?"
"Shut your mouth. Watch how you talk."
The one who answered back on Paimon's behalf was Sitri, ranked 12th. In the game, she and Paimon had sworn sisterhood. It seemed to be the same here.
Barbatos glared at Sitri.
"You shut your mouth, you shit-talking whore flapping your dick-lips around. You still haven't figured out the situation? You think I came here to play nice and make up all buddy-buddy? I came to beat the shit out of you Mountain Faction bastards, you bisexual vermin."
"Oh, do we look like easy prey?"
Sitri sneered.
"You Plains Faction trash could get swept aside anytime we feel like it. Barbatos, I heard you were crying your eyes out a few days ago? Cried yourself stupid, did you? Wanna throw down right here?"
"Ha! The only trick you know is stabbing your own allies in the back, and here you are running your mouth."
Barbatos fixed Sitri with a cold stare from her golden eyes.
"Fine. I'll throw down with you. I'll cut off your dick and shove it in that whore Paimon's mouth — you should be grateful. You'll get to receive a blowjob even in death. Sounds pretty damn great, doesn't it?"
"You bastard...!"
Marbas sighed and stepped between the two of them.
"You lot never fail to surprise me — in the worst possible way. I'd hoped at least once you might deviate from my expectations, but that was pointless. Do you think this gathering is made up of just the Mountain Faction and the Plains Faction? Restrain yourselves."
"No. I can't restrain myself."
Barbatos spoke.
"Grandpa Marbas. I respect your attitude. But that bitch Paimon is someone I absolutely cannot let slide. If I back down here, huh? She'll think I'm nothing but a pushover. Unfortunately for her, I have absolutely no intention of being treated that way."
She rose from her seat. Then, pointing a finger at Paimon, she declared:
"Banquet or whatever — that's all a discussion for later. I, Barbatos, ranked 8th, will interrogate Paimon, ranked 9th, over the matter of betraying her own kind. I hereby formally request a hearing on this matter, right here and now!"