Jeremy pulled all sorts of equipment out of her travel pack. She looked supremely confident.
"Emergency potions, of course."
Clear glass bottles were stored neatly in a wooden crate. Each bottle sloshed with liquid of various colors. In addition to the potions, there were surgical knives, scented candles, and powdered herbs—each nestled tidily in its own compartment. How to describe it. It was like blending an herbalist, a doctor, and a perfumer all into one kit.
"Hm. Come to think of it, you're practically an alchemist, not just a simple assassin."
"To hold a vice-captain position in most assassination squads, you need to have a solid grasp of pharmaceuticals as a baseline."
So poison and toxic fragrances—knowledge of those was essential. That meant an assassin had to be well-versed in both scholarship and combat. It was quite different from the image I'd had of assassins.
The two of us finished our preparations and climbed into the carriage.
Daisy was still slumped on the floor. Jeremy promptly lifted her onto the bed and began treatment. She poured something—a vivid yellow potion—into Daisy's mouth. When I asked what it was, she said it was honey water with several medicinal herbs dissolved in it.
"The aftereffects of overusing potions, and then… Goodness, Lord Dantalion. You hit her awfully hard. Look at her split lip. This might actually be more serious than the aftereffects."
The candlelight cast a red glow over the carriage. Jeremy stripped off Daisy's tattered clothes. Then she soaked a towel in a boiled herbal wash and wiped down every inch of Daisy's body.
"She's a woman, after all. You shouldn't ruin her face."
"Coming from you, that carries a different weight."
"Hehe."
Well, Jeremy did have half her face horribly scarred by burns.
"She provoked me."
I flopped down into the opposite seat.
"A filthy little brat with a nasty streak."
"Oh my, she provoked you? What did she say that made someone like your Lordship lose composure? You're always so calm and collected. I'd love to know."
"Cut the idle curiosity."
She mentioned my mother.
I was enraged to a degree that surprised even myself. The anger still hadn't subsided.
'That little wretch sees right through the way my mind works.'
I thought about it as I watched the treatment being carried out from across the way.
It had been the same in the flower village last time. The ten-year-old girl had spoken as if she could see exactly how my mind operated — as though it were laid bare before her eyes.
How to earn my favor, how to draw out my understanding and mercy — she had read me like an old friend who knew my every thought, piercing straight through with unerring precision.
If Daisy had attempted the assassination and then apologized for it, I would have barely managed to swallow my rage. After all, she was a Hero — no, the dregs of a Hero. Trying to kill me was only natural. What I would not have forgiven was the attempt on my life without my knowledge.
That, I would never tolerate under any circumstances.
Someone acting on their own to kill me while I remained completely unaware — I would never, ever, not ever want to experience something like that again.
"That little brat did it on purpose to get under my skin. The surgery must have hurt something awful, the damned girl…"
"She deliberately provoked your Lordship? What would she stand to gain from that?"
"Meaning she'd rather croak right here and now than say 'sorry' for trying."
I ground my teeth. She might be cocky from having read my feelings, but what that child was scheming was perfectly transparent to me too. Obviously. What else would it be?
But Jeremy, the third party, didn't seem to understand what I meant. She tilted her head.
"I'm sorry, Your Lordship. I'm not quite following."
"To put it simply, it's a battle of pride. She doesn't want to say 'I'm sorry for attempting to assassinate you' and apologize that way. Because then she'd never be able to attempt my assassination again. But she also doesn't want to receive my forgiveness easily by relying on my magnanimity."
That brat wanted to place herself on equal psychological footing with me.
"…You mean she did this knowing full well this would be the outcome?"
"Did I not say so? She didn't just know — she planned it from the start."
My insides churned with fury.
"She declared war on me. Now that we're master and slave, she's saying we can either build our relationship step by step, or — and she doesn't hope for even a sliver of that — we can scratch at each other's nerves and descend together into a living hell... That's what she means, isn't it? That damned bitch."
What's more, she might have factored in that she didn't want me to seize the upper hand.
No — I'm certain of it. According to my plan, I was supposed to show kindness to Daisy while her body was still weak right after surgery, thereby seizing the high ground first. It didn't matter whether that kindness was genuine or a complete sham. The mere fact that she'd received my kindness would keep Daisy from acting rashly.
On my end, I could impose countless acts of kindness on Daisy, while there was almost nothing she could do for me in return. As time passed, kindness would pile upon kindness until Daisy was completely overwhelmed psychologically. That was the scenario.
In other words, if she wanted to reverse the power dynamic, tonight was the golden opportunity. She had provoked me into beating her senseless. Objectively speaking, I had made her my slave, forced a brutal surgery on her, and finally laid hands on a sick patient.
I had lost ground in the psychological battle. From now on, no matter how much kindness I showed her, it would no longer be pure goodwill — it would be compensation for what I had done. That audacious little schemer!
"......"
Jeremy had been listening to my tirade in silence. She carefully, and with some reluctance, opened her mouth to speak.
"Um... Lord Dantalion. Do you think... 'like that' every time you face someone? What they're thinking, what you need to do to gain the upper hand psychologically...? And you do this with this little girl too?"
"Of course."
I furrowed my brow.
"I'm the weakest Demon Lord, ranked seventy-first. If I can't even read what the other person is thinking, I'll immediately become nothing more than prey. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated — isn't that the most basic of the basics?"
"Well... when you simplify it to 'reading their intentions,' then yes, of course. But even so, there's no one in the world who would devote their entire manner of speaking and their body solely to that purpose... No. No, there isn't."
Jeremy let out a sigh.
"So that's the schemer's way. I understand now. My, what an absurd way to live. But how did you figure out that this child is of the same caliber as you?"
I snorted.
"One look is all it takes. She's a real piece of work."
"......"
Jeremy stopped her healing hands and turned to look at me with an exasperated expression. She looked like her mouth itched to say something, but she simply sighed and returned her focus to the treatment. She shook her head from side to side, muttering something under her breath, but her voice was too low to make out.
After about two hours, Daisy finally opened her eyes completely. Perhaps due to the medicinal herbs, the split on her lips had healed cleanly. Her skin had returned to its former porcelain-white complexion.
"......"
Daisy looked our way. Her gaze swept over me and Jeremy in turn, and then she bowed her head politely to Jeremy.
"Thank you for treating me."
"Oh my. Don't mention it."
I felt like I was about to lose my composure all over again. This damn brat was the real deal — the genuine article of insufferable little monsters! That greeting wasn't so much directed at Jeremy as it was a brazen performance aimed squarely at me. She was telling me, point-blank, that she would never show a shred of gratitude to you.
With my trembling left hand, I barely managed to pull the wooden ball from inside my coat. Rolling it around in my palm always helped calm me down.
Once I felt it settle into my hand with a soft *click*, my head cooled down a fraction. That's right. This is it. Calm down, Dantalion... she's a brat more than ten years your junior. Don't fall for such an obvious ploy. You only lost the initiative to a momentary sneak attack — she's got nothing else left.
"So the promising young assassin has awakened at last."
I smiled. I'd regained enough composure to cloak my rage behind a smile. But the mocking tone that slipped out was beyond my control.
"I wonder if you slept well last night. While you were out cold, were you perhaps curious whether your parents' left arm and left leg were still intact?"
"……Hmph."
The girl let out a short scoff through her nose. Damn it all — a scoff. That was exactly the sort of thing to make someone's blood boil. To keep a perfectly blank face and then mock someone with just a nasal sound — it made me even angrier.
My palm tightened involuntarily around the wooden ball. I wanted to slap that smug little brat across the face one more time. People who scoff right in front of someone's face deserved to be dragged to the guillotine and executed on the spot. It wasn't legally prohibited only because a scoff was classified as a weapon! And reacting to a weapon with a slap was nothing more than justifiable self-defense.
I twisted my lips and spoke.
"Fine. Let's skip the unnecessary words on both sides."
"I haven't said anything."
Daisy stared at me blankly as she spoke.
The urge to kill surged through me.
"……Regarding what you pulled off last night — personally, I was deeply impressed. It was a magnificent declaration of war. As a token of my appreciation, I've prepared a gift. Can you see what this is?"
I extended my right hand. A transparent, viscous substance writhed in a round, globular shape.
"It's slime."
"From now on, I'll be putting this inside your body. I do hope you'll come to like it."
"As you wish."
Every answer she gave came short and clipped. She refused to lose ground even in spirit, even if it killed her. Proud and poised — Hero candidate Daisy. I'd be watching with bated breath to see if that expression held up even a few days from now.
"Jeremy."
"Yes."
Jeremy took the slime from me. She tickled the very center of it with a finger, and the slime naturally split into two pieces.
"Now then, Miss Daisy. Spread your legs."
"……."
It seemed that only now did Daisy realize what the slime was for.
She stared at the slime with a blank expression, then looked up at me with the same blank expression. It seemed like a silent protest — don't look. We'd already been through everything there was to see and then some when I engraved the magic crest on her heart, so what was the point?
But somehow it was endearing, so I obligingly turned my head away. A voice came from behind me.
"I'll be in charge of Miss Daisy's training going forward. It would be troublesome if you don't listen to what I say."
"……Understood."
This was the first step. Jeremy would insert one of the two halves of the slime into Daisy's "insides." The transparent slime would likely hesitate and squirm its way slowly inward, deeper and deeper.
"……."
Had she thought it would start right now? I could sense Daisy swallowing hard. The sensation of a foreign object — and one that was a type of monster at that — entering her body would be utterly foreign.
About a minute passed. I was bored, so I tapped the ground idly with my foot.
Jeremy spoke.
"Alright, that's done. Now I'll put the next one in."
"……?"
By now, the slime that had gone inside should have come back out through the gap.
I subtly turned my head to glance at Daisy. She was looking my way too. From her perspective, this must have been a wholly unexpected turn of events.
Her gaze was trying hard to read my intentions, boring intently into my face. I felt amused and let a quiet smile settle on my lips.
Regardless, Jeremy let the second slime slip in. Once again, nothing happened. The only difference was that, unlike the first slime, the second one wasn't pulled back out. In other words, the second slime had taken up permanent residence inside Daisy's body.
"Do you perhaps feel any discomfort?"
"...No. Nothing at all."
Daisy looked like she couldn't believe this was really it.
"I can barely feel anything."
"Oh my, how wonderful. Then it was a success," Jeremy said kindly.
"Now then. Get up and put on a cloak, at least. You must be starving after sleeping for days? There's warm soup left in the pot, so go have a bowl right away."
Jeremy helped Daisy to her feet. He then draped a cloak he had prepared in advance around her body. It was old and frayed, but it was a high-quality piece enchanted with a cold-protection spell.
"Ah, and when you address me, call me Teacher."
"...Yes, Teacher. Please take care of me."
Jeremy led Daisy out of the carriage.
Until the very last moment of her departure, Daisy couldn't hide her guarded expression. But what did she really know? I stayed behind alone in the carriage and chuckled quietly.
No matter how clever she was, she was only ten years old. She had absolutely no way of dealing with something like this. That was precisely the point I was targeting...
Striking at an opponent's weak point was basic military strategy. There was nothing wrong with it. I genuinely looked forward to seeing what expression she would make.
However, unfortunately, I had to go meet the Demon Lords first... The moment I finished the audience and returned, I'd have my revenge tonight.