"When is Dantalion coming back?!"
Gamigin burst into the imperial palace and screamed.
The hem of the toga she wore in the style of the ancient empire dragged across the marble floor. The maids, who had been waiting quietly, startled at the sudden appearance of a Demon Lord. Behind Gamigin, elven guards were scrambling to catch up.
"Y-Your Grace! You cannot do this!"
"The Court Count has urgent business at the border and is currently away—"
Gamigin whipped her head around.
"When you address me, you will say 'Your Majesty, the Demon Lord.' Children."
"…!"
Including the guards, a total of ten demonfolk dropped to their knees in unison. It was not by choice. Her dominion was being exerted so powerfully that their minds reeled. The demonfolk's shoulders sagged as though crushed by gravity multiplied several times over.
"Dantalion is a Demon Lord, not a Court Count. Have today's children forgotten even such a simple fact?"
"Y-We are terribly sorry… great existence."
Gamigin swept her hair back.
"I know everything about how Dantalion returned yesterday. Summon him here at once."
The Cat Tribe head maid clattered her teeth together.
As Gamigin had said, the Court Count had returned to the imperial palace yesterday. The problem was that an iron command had been issued to keep this fact secret for the time being — a command from the Court Count himself, and from someone of even higher standing.
If he capitulated to Gamigin now, he would die.
"Your Majesty… if I may be so bold…"
"Since when."
Golden magical power bloomed in Gamigin's pupils.
"Did a mere attendant just find fault with the words of the Demon Lord?"
"A-A-Ahh…"
"Apoloize."
The head housekeeper clutched her own throat with both hands.
Gack—the head housekeeper let out a choked gasp. She thrashed wildly.
She tried everything to pry her hands free, but her arms refused to obey her own will. The Cat Tribe's crushing grip bore down mercilessly on her slender neck. Moments later, her breathing ceased, and she collapsed onto the cold marble floor.
"Phew."
Gamigin smiled, looking satisfied. Her expression was so impossibly gentle that it was hard to believe she had just driven someone to their death. She turned her head to seek out her next target.
Just then, the oppressive weight bearing down on the demons evaporated in an instant. The demons gasped for air, like people surfacing after a long time underwater.
"I can't believe this—how could you be so barbaric!"
A single Demon Lord strode out into the hallway.
"Gamigin!"
It was Paimon, the one with the crimson hair.
Had she happened to be staying in one of the palace's side chambers? She must have rushed out in a panic, because her attire was disheveled. No—disheveled was putting it mildly. She was entirely naked, with nothing but a thin blanket draped loosely over her.
"Oh my. Looks like I woke someone up from their sleep?"
Gamigin's face broke into a beaming grin.
"Do you even realize what you've just done?!"
"Hmm. I suppose you could say I was teaching a rude child their place."
Paimon's face twisted with fury.
"You murdered an innocent attendant who had done nothing wrong!"
"The crime of daring to address the Demon Lord by a mortal title. The crime of defying the Demon Lord's command despite being a demon. That's two counts of treason right there."
"You murderous brute...!"
How convenient, Gamigin thought.
She had never liked the wretch in front of her. Paimon had been the very first to spread the ridiculous notion that the Demon Lord was nothing more than a public servant to the citizenry. Countless demons had cheered at her honeyed words and rallied behind Paimon.
True to her trashy Succubus origins, the little harlot was. She would spread her legs generously for the citizenry if it meant winning popularity. Gamigin had risen to the fourth rank through sheer effort and cunning alone, which was why she regarded Paimon as nothing more than a lucky slut who'd stumbled her way up.
What bothered her most of all was that this slut was also Dantalion's lover.
'At first she tried to have Dantalion killed.'
When the tide turned against her, she'd quickly offered her body. It was so obvious it was pathetic.
Gamigin's heart blackened with rage. The man who had stolen her affection couldn't be content with just her and was reaching out to other women. From Gamigin's perspective, this devalued her worth beyond measure.
Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to teach her a lesson.
Gamigin grinned broadly.
"So? You're going to punish me?"
"I'll prosecute you in accordance with Imperial law!"
"Wow, how terrifying. Imperial law, you say. At this rate, a fragile Demon Lord like me will be too scared to even walk around properly."
Gamigin raised her right hand. A golden magic circle materialized in the air.
"But you know, Paimon, you self-proclaimed beacon of justice."
She flicked her fingers.
The guard's head exploded. He was the same man who had addressed Gamigin as "Your Grace" moments ago.
"Aaaaaah!"
The handmaidens screamed. Blood splattered everywhere. The headless corpse teetered for a moment before crumpling lifelessly to the floor. The demons collapsed to the ground in terror.
Some turned to flee immediately. They likely relied on exceptional survival instincts, but in this particular case, they were out of luck. At the very moment they tried to dash past the corridor, their heads exploded into pieces, just like the guard's.
"……."
Paimon's mouth fell open in shock.
It didn't take long for that shock to transform into rage.
"What on earth are you—?!"
"Hmm? I'm acting in accordance with Imperial law."
Gamigin tapped her finger against her cheek.
"To bring a lawsuit against a high-ranking noble of Count rank or above, you need at least three witnesses of Sub-Noble standing. Even if you, Paimon, count as one, how are we going to find the other two? Hm?"
Paimon's face turned pale.
Because four people had been killed in an instant, only six remained in the corridor now. They were handmaidens and guards employed in the Imperial Palace, so one could argue and classify them as Sub-Nobles. However, the reason Gamigin specifically brought up the law was...
"It'd be nice if you could protect all six of them."
It was a provocation, challenging Paimon to try and stop her.
With a flick of Gamigin's hand, the head of one handmaiden who had been sitting on the floor flew off. Gamigin tilted her head cutely.
"Oh, was it five? Hehehe."
"……."
Paimon ground her teeth. In her haste to rush out, she hadn't gathered any magical supplies. That was a mistake. She never imagined her opponent would react so decisively.
All she could do was stand before the demons and position herself between them and Gamigin. There was nothing else she could possibly do.
"And especially when your precious magic circles have all been smashed. What gave you the audacity to try and lecture me, huh? Paimon? I'm asking purely out of curiosity."
"……."
"Even to punish just me, you have to rely on laws and such. Don't you think that's a bit pathetic?"
Gamigin flicked his finger.
A sharp wind blade shot toward the maid. Just before her head could be split into eight pieces, Paimon raised her right hand. The wind blade plunged straight into Paimon's forearm.
"What?"
Gamigin let out a dumbfounded voice without realizing it.
Bright red blood sprayed into the air. The arm, reinforced by magic power, wasn't severed, but the wound had carved in as deep as if the blade had bitten into it. Paimon clamped her mouth shut tight. Agonizing pain was searing through her.
"Don't tell me you... just blocked it with your body?"
"......"
Paimon stared at Gamigin in silence, offering no reply. In her crimson pupils, a cold resolve had settled. Reading her intentions, Gamigin found it unbearably amusing.
"Ahaha, hahahaha! What a masterpiece! This is a masterpiece!"
"......"
"The great Paimon! A Demon Lord who once commanded the Demon Lord's army at will! And now you can't even save a few maids, so you throw your own body in front of magic? Ahahaha!"
Gamigin doubled over and laughed for a good while, clutching his stomach.
The rage that had seized his heart washed clean away. A pleasant satisfaction swelled up inside him. He couldn't even fathom how long it had been since he'd tasted a victory this sweet. All the stress that had quietly accumulated over the years vanished in one go.
He'd laughed so hard that Gamigin ended up achieving his original objective.
"Oh my. Is something entertaining going on?"
Drawn by her voice, Dantalion walked down the corridor from the far end.
Dantalion halted his steps and casually surveyed the corridor. Five headless corpses lay sprawled about, and Paimon's right arm was mangled into a state beyond recognition, like a tattered rag. Dantalion nodded.
"This is hardly an appropriate venue for you ladies to be brawling."
"Ahaha, haha... This is all because you showed up late, Dantalion."
Gamigin raised his waist and looked toward Dantalion.
"If only you had come out sooner, how wonderful that would have been."
"I can't be alone for even a moment. I barely managed to pull back Polydunia's army from the border and return, and people have been showing up since last night. What a nuisance."
Dantalion shrugged his shoulders.
Gamigin's eyebrow twitched at his words.
"...Since last night?"
"Yes. Barbatos and Paimon both came barging in one after another. It's quite troublesome."
Gamigin's feelings cooled in an instant.
She turned her head and looked at Paimon. Paimon wasn't wearing proper clothes. She had assumed earlier that Paimon had been woken from a morning sleep and rushed out in a hurry.
What if Paimon had spent last night with Dantalion?
What if she had run over wrapped in nothing but a bedsheet?
"..."
The anger that had settled into silence began to creep up once more.
She could understand Barbatos to some extent. Dantalion had grown up within the Plains Faction and achieved his success thanks to it. He would have to maintain his loyalty to Barbatos until the end.
But Paimon—that she could not tolerate.
Being reduced to a state where she fell behind that whore—that was absolutely unforgivable.
"You didn't even tell me you were coming."
Gamigin murmured.
"...Hmm."
Dantalion frowned, sensing something unsettling in her voice.
"You didn't even let me know you came yesterday. But Barbatos and that bitch knew? How? Why?"
"Gamigin. Calm yourself. There was simply something I needed to take care of."
"It seems sleeping with that bitch was included in the things you needed to take care of."
Gamigin sneered coldly.
Dantalion sighed.
"Gamigin, look. Let's not be childish about this. You have a tendency to let your temper get the better of you far too easily. I was simply a little busy. I had no intention of ignoring Gamigin."
"You did ignore me!"
Gamigin pointed at Paimon with her finger.
"That bitch knew, but I didn't! If I hadn't planted eyes in the imperial palace, I'd still be sitting here waiting like a fool, completely in the dark! How can you try to deny such a plain fact—"
"That's right."
Paimon interjected into the conversation. She wore an ominous smile.
"I was told in advance by Dantalion."
"Wait, Paimon. What are you saying right now?"
Dantalion, flustered, tried to stop her.
But when Dantalion approached, Paimon instead pressed her body against his arm. She deliberately raised the corners of her lips — as if to mock Gamigin.
"And we had a deep, intimate conversation all through last night. Can you imagine where I woke up this morning?"
"You..."
"I'm different from you, Gamigin. I don't need to cling to him the way you do."
Any capacity she might have had for thinking things through had long since flown away.
Gamigin unleashed a barrage of wind blades.
Straight toward Paimon's head.