I blinked. Ivar wanted to become my subordinate?
Ivar was the owner of the Kunkuska Trading Company, and a powerful True Ancestor vampire in his own right. He was a man who possessed wealth, cunning, and martial strength all at once. If he joined my stronghold, he would undoubtedly bring great benefit. But… this was almost too good to be true.
'Status Window.'
I silently murmured the command while watching Ivar. It was the feeling of tapping a bridge to test its sturdiness. Sure enough, Ivar's Status Window appeared in the most basic form — displaying only Stamina, Attack Power, and Defense Power. It meant his Affinity hadn't even reached 20.
A lie, then.
Currently, the ones who had entered my stronghold were Laura and Lapis. Both of them had hit an Affinity of 50 before it became possible to recruit them as allies. It was a systemic limitation. For Ivar Lodbrok, who hadn't even reached an Affinity of 20, let alone 50, to suddenly claim he wanted to become my vassal — I was suspicious of his true intentions.
'Haa…'
Why was it that everyone around me turned out to be this kind of person?
One woman had spent a whole year insisting she hadn't done it, only to then frame me for the very thing she did. Another fellow, knowing full well the truth, subtly pressured me in the name of maintaining factional balance. And yet another woman cheerfully smiled while recommending murder.
Every last one of them was the type who could raise ten snakes in their belly and still have room to spare. And now here was yet another fellow who, despite having no intention of submitting whatsoever, was spouting nonsense about being moved or inspired or whatever. Could they not be political for even a single moment?
Well, that wasn't really my place to talk… I myself was constantly being cunning in front of Laura and Lapis. And that was before even mentioning Barbatos. There was probably no one more political than me. At the end of the day, it was crows among crows — I was sick of it.
I tapped the ground lightly with my index finger.
"I say. Lord Lodbrok."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I'll be honest — I like you."
I spoke with genuine sincerity.
"The wisdom gained from living three thousand years must be truly extraordinary. In order to transcend the limits of Demonkin — who are compelled to unconditionally submit to a Demon Lord — you transferred your soul into a doll to reclaim your free will. You are on an entirely different level from the majority of Demonkin who passively surrender to a Demon Lord and simply get by."
"You flatter me."
"However."
I let out a sigh.
"That is precisely why I'm disappointed. Why are you lying to me?"
"......"
"For the past six months, we have danced a truly magnificent dance together. Without you and the Kunkuska Trading Company, the Crescent Alliance Army would never have assembled here. Do you understand? Our relationship is not simply that of a Demon Lord and Demonkin. We are partners. Companions moving toward a single purpose."
Ivar remained prostrated, motionless.
"If you truly wished to become my vassal, you would have come in your real body, not that thing."
"Your Majesty, this is a misunderstanding. The timing was urgent, and I simply did not have the chance to present myself in my original body—"
"What is so urgent about the timing?"
I smiled faintly.
"There is no reason you must become my sworn retainer right this moment. You should have waited until you had the leisure, then come and observe the proper formalities. Yet here you are, rushing in at a time like this... Your objective must be something else—something that can only be accomplished now and no other time. Am I wrong?"
"......"
"It's Paimon."
Almost too obvious, really.
The truth was, Ivar had one thing he could be held accountable for. The ledger that Paimon had procured and handed over to the Saint. That ledger was nothing more than a contract between the Kunkuska Trading Company and me—it naturally should never have been leaked to anyone else. But this time, it had gone far beyond a mere leak; it had nearly driven me, the contract holder, to death.
"So instead of taking you as my subordinate, you want me to kill Paimon? Is that what you intend to propose? She obtained that ledger through the Kunkuska Trading Company. I suppose you would want to destroy the evidence."
"Your Majesty, that is entirely unfounded...!"
"Ivar Lodbrok!"
I shouted.
"You are always like this! The hearing was the same way! That old Goblin would never have dared to try to swindle me on his own—I guarantee you intervened behind the scenes. Yet in the end, the Goblin took all the blame and killed himself. Have you ever once genuinely apologized to me over that hearing? Not once! You just turned a blind eye!"
As the words poured out, heat surged through me. Was I becoming overly agitated? No. Now was precisely the time to be agitated!
"You were that terrified that letting Dantalion's death slide would become a vulnerability? You tried to silence me—and this time you dragged Paimon into it too... Ha! Your so-called diplomatic skills really are something, aren't they."
"I am..."
"You dump all your mistakes on someone else, and when that's too inconvenient, you just kill them outright. How many people have you killed that way by now? If the Demon Lord is a monster, then what does that make you? A creature far more monstrous than any monster! A Vampire—a bat-blooded wretch who can't survive without drinking someone else's blood!"
Ivar raised his upper body. Our eyes met. The composed, dignified expression of the old gentleman from moments ago had vanished without a trace. Ivar's eyes burned like lava. He thinks he's being insulted.
"Then what would you have me do?!"
Ivar shouted in a strained voice.
"Even harboring disrespectful thoughts is enough for my mind to be read, and even when I want to resist, my body won't obey... That is the innate limitation of Demonkin when facing a Demon Lord! You have no idea what it means to be born as Demonkin!"
The emotions packed into that voice were rage, grief, and a deep sense of injustice.
"At one time, I wanted to believe in people like you. But every single time, all that came back was betrayal! To a Demon Lord, Demonkin are nothing more than pets beneath their station. They loudly proclaim they'll conquer entire continents for the sake of the Demonkin, but on those very continents, the Demon Lord will rule while the Demonkin will be ruled for eternity!"
Ivar stared at me with eyes that carried thousands of years of resentment.
"Tell me! Are Demonkin beings who were born only to be ruled?! If someone orders us to die, are we to die—no matter how terrified, no matter how horrifying—just like machines?! Even after spending centuries learning and mastering something... even after finally forming a precious family... we're supposed to sacrifice everything simply because the other party happens to be a Demon Lord?!"
I grabbed Ivar by the collar. I pulled his face right up to mine and snarled at him.
"You think it's unfair to be born as Demonkin? Don't make me laugh. Being born at all is absurdity. You think I wanted to be born into this world? You think I chose this?!"
"Kuh...!"
"I couldn't care less about how miserable you are. Not one bit. While you're drowning in your own misery, I'm plenty busy carrying mine. But when I see a sorry excuse like you, dumping your misery onto someone who has absolutely nothing to do with it—it makes me sick to my stomach!"
Thud—I headbutted him square on the forehead. It hurt like hell. His physical stats were definitely higher than mine. But right now, I couldn't hold back one solid blow.
"I'm not the Demon Lord who betrayed you! I am Dantalion—only Dantalion! Whether you were fooled by some Demon Lord bastard into offering up your clan, whether you lost your first love—that's got nothing to do with me! Don't you dare lump me together with that Demon Lord bastard!"
Shock spread across Ivar's eyes.
"H-How...?"
"If you've done something wrong, apologize. If you've developed a flaw, don't rush to sweep it under the rug—think about how to move forward together. That's how you treat a comrade! Spouting off about lord and subject while lacking even that kind of basic decency is nothing but nauseating self-deception!"
I shoved Ivar hard with the hand that had been gripping his collar. His body lurched backward.
"Get the hell out! If you're going to prattle on about soft friendship, you'd be better off treating me with outright hostility."
"..."
Ivar and I glared at each other for a long while, both breathing hard. Ivar's fighting spirit had noticeably deflated. His gaze held not just anger but bewilderment too—you can't subdue anyone with eyes like that. In the end, Ivar was the first to turn away. He rose to his feet and left the tent without a word.
"Hah..."
I took a deep breath. The excitement I'd felt earlier—about finding a new feature upon leveling up—had long since vanished. My insides were churning with rage. Damn it, as if dealing with Paimon wasn't enough, now this bastard wanted to backstab me too.
At the end of the day, we're nothing but a relationship bound by mutual interest. Put another way, he'd betray me in a heartbeat the moment he saw a bigger profit. There was even a chance the Kunkuska Trading Company had deliberately leaked the ledgers related to the Black Death. Politically annihilate Paimon, and at the same time tie me up and dispose of me together... That might very well have been the plan. Politics is just like this. Filthy.
I'm keeping Paimon alive.
That was my decision, made then and there. In this campaign of the Crescent Alliance Army—in the war Lapis and I had named Operation Minerva—the Kunkuska Trading Company had rendered tremendous service. But even setting Lapis aside, I couldn't fully trust Ivar. A bastard who might betray at any moment—no, a bitch.
I'd need a leash. Paimon's survival alone would keep Ivar in check.
Paimon was the head of the Mountain Faction, and I was a key figure in the Plains Faction. Both of us were in positions to mobilize Barbatos at any time. No matter how much the Kunkuska Trading Company boasted about being the largest outfit in the Demon Realm, it couldn't withstand the combined pressure of both the Mountain Faction and the Plains Faction.
Come to think of it, Paimon had gotten the short end of the stick from Ivar too. If Ivar hadn't betrayed her at the hearing, she would have beaten me. Let me use that as leverage to try and win her over. With what? An offer to spare her life. If I can't extract a decent amount of profit, I'd be the one losing out... I'd suck even the marrow from her spine dry.
Outside the tent, a catfolk guard spoke up.
"Your Highness. Demon Lord Sitri requests an audience."
"I ought to wring her neck clean off."
The words slipped out before I knew it. Apparently, today wasn't going to be a day of rest.
No—did these people have no common sense at all? Even a battle of words is a real sword fight fought with speech. I was, in essence, a general who had just returned from leading the vanguard of the Crescent Alliance Army's forces. Why were they barging in on someone who had just come back looking for rest?
"Tell her to come back later!"
"Yes, Your Highness... But Your Highness Sitri—forgive me."
I didn't have the energy to deal with Sitri, too.
But the other party was someone who truly had no concept of common sense. I could hear voices arguing outside the tent, and before long, Sitri barged in without a shred of courtesy. I was on the verge of shouting at her for not knowing the slightest bit of manners toward a guest, but the moment I saw what Sitri looked like, I was completely dumbfounded.
"Forgive me. Please, forgive me!"
Sitri threw herself face-first onto the ground before I could even register what was happening. Was prostrating herself the new trend when meeting me these days? No, that wasn't even the real problem……
"Uh, Sitri…?"
"I'll do anything you want. If you want me to be a slave, I'll be a slave. So please—just spare Paimon… spare Big Sister Paimon's life…!"
She slammed her forehead into the floor over and over. This wasn't some polite gesture of courtesy. She was genuinely, wholeheartedly, putting every ounce of her strength into bashing her head against the ground. The sheer force of it was so intense that I involuntarily felt alarmed. I didn't know where to put my eyes and didn't know what to do.
"That's not—I mean, uh…"
"Don't you need a personal pleasure slave? I—I'm actually unmatched in that regard. I swear. I'll give you every pleasure the world above has to offer. Just please, not Big Sister Paimon!"
"……How about you put some clothes on first, perhaps?"
Sitri was completely naked.
============================ Author's Afterword ============================