"——Guah!?"
I jerked my knee upward in a panic. Pure reflex.
My knee, rising blindly, smashed straight into Daisy's stomach. The girl let out a short grunt. She tumbled off the carriage bed and hit the floor. A metallic clatter rang out as the dagger was flung somewhere into the corner.
Even after she'd been pushed away, the cold edge of the blade still lingered against the back of my neck. The tip had been damn close to plunging right in. I could feel the unmistakable killing intent that had saturated that space. The nape of my neck prickled. I dragged my hand across my throat as if wiping something off.
That little bitch of a brat.
I clenched my teeth. Once the fear receded, rage surged in its place. I looked down to see Daisy sprawled on the floor. My knee had apparently landed square on her solar plexus — lucky me.
I sprang to my feet and mounted her body. The girl's small frame offered no resistance whatsoever.
Daisy gazed up at me with a blank expression. It was hard to believe this was the same brat who had tried to murder me mere seconds ago. That apathy poured fuel on my fury.
— Crack!
I backhanded Daisy across the cheek. Her head snapped to the side like a straw breaking. But after a moment, she slowly turned her head back and looked up at me again. That damn brat.
"So you're struggling because you want to die."
"No. I swore I would kill you."
Her gaze hadn't changed. Defiant as ever, unlucky as ever — and utterly insignificant. I let out a audible laugh.
"And? Think you can actually kill me? Ha. Too bad. I'm not going to let things go the way you want. From now on, you need my permission even to breathe."
"So it would seem. Unfortunate."
Daisy spoke with a face that didn't show so much as a sliver of genuine regret.
That displeased me, so I slapped her cheek again. Harder this time. The sound of flesh striking flesh echoed through the cramped carriage.
"Talk. How long have you been awake?"
"Since the sunlight came in earlier today."
She had woken during the day and waited all this time for an opportunity to arise. Having been unconscious for three days and nights, her throat must have been parched with thirst and her stomach hollow with hunger, yet she endured it for an entire day. All to test whether I could kill her or not.
What a vicious bastard.
My chest felt hot enough to burst. I could feel the fury flowing from my own pupils. Daisy either failed to grasp the situation—or, no, she deliberately ignored it—and parted her small lips.
"Who is Jack?"
"What?"
"Were you having a nightmare? You were constantly mumbling names. There were a few that repeated. Jack, Hawk, Orland, Reef… and Mother."
The corner of Daisy's mouth lifted slightly. Her eyes were not smiling at all.
"I'm surprised that even a being like you has a mother."
"…."
Snap.
My reason broke.
Unable to contain my rage, I struck Daisy's cheeks wildly. Again and again. Truly, again and again. Each time, her head would loll to the side, then slowly return to center, her gaze fixed on me with cold indifference. I wielded violence gladly. I craved it intensely.
Naturally, the physical state of a girl who had been unconscious for several days was abysmal. Even her reliance on that venom had its limits.
When her lip split and blood began to flow, even Daisy seemed to finally lack the strength to move her head, letting it droop to the side. Like a doll with its strings cut. Only ragged, gasping breaths escaped her.
I seized her chin with my right hand. Pulled her face close. Close enough to count the number of her eyelashes.
I growled.
"I will beat your mother and father so badly they'll wish they were dead. Understand? If you cut my finger, I'll cut your mother's arm. If you cut my toe, I'll rip out your mother's insides and butcher them. I'll gouge out your father's eyes and shove them into your mouth. You'd best start thinking about saving them. I'm the type who won't be satisfied until I've returned ten times the humiliation I've received."
"…."
Half-lidded, bleary eyes turned toward me.
She spoke as if squeezing the last breath from her lungs.
"That's not possible."
"What?"
"You can't do that."
Daisy closed her eyes. Her breathing grew weaker. She had rambled on as she pleased and passed out as she pleased. My hand, still gripping her face, trembled violently as if struck by a tremor.
She might not have cared about losing consciousness, but I certainly did not. My anger had reached the level of spewing black volcanic ash. Molten lava that hadn't even erupted yet had flooded past my esophagus and stomach, pouring all the way down to my duodenum.
"Fine."
I muttered.
"I'll show you what an eye for an eye means, kid."
I tossed Daisy onto the floor and stood up. It felt like my upper abdomen would burst if I didn't vent even a little of that heat. So I strode out of the carriage, breathing heavily.
It was the dead of night. Outside was completely dark. Scarlet campfires burned here and there. Among them, the one where Jeremy was staying was located closest to the carriage. I walked toward it.
Jeremy had already risen quietly, perhaps sensing my approach. She had once told me that an assassin could detect the slightest presence and wake from sleep at any time, anywhere, and that I should rest easy.
"What seems to be the matter, Lord Dantalion?"
"The child woke up."
"Ah."
Jeremy nodded.
"She must be quite weakened. I should give her honey water right away."
"Weakened? She was incredibly weakened alright. Enough to try assassinating me, of all people."
"Pardon?"
I let out a scoff.
"She hid what happened earlier today and lay in ambush until I fell asleep in the carriage. She dug through my pockets, pulled out the dagger, and was about to stab me right here. That damned bitch."
I pointed at my neck as I spoke. The more I talked, the angrier I got—it didn't settle at all.
"I explicitly told you that you couldn't escape the Slave Brand."
Jeremy let out a hollow laugh, clearly finding the situation absurd.
"What a malicious child. What do you intend to do, Your Grace?"
"I'm going to subject her to excruciating torture. I won't inflict physical pain, though. I need to slice her mind into fine shreds from the tip of her toes before this anger will even begin to fade."
"And then?"
Jeremy asked, his tone oddly intrigued.
I smiled and mentally recited the words.
'Monster Employment Window.'
A hologram shimmered into view before my eyes. A selection appeared, offering F-rank, E-rank, and D-rank monsters. I chose D-rank. A list of hireable monsters unfolded neatly.
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[Monster Name (D)] [HP] [ATK] [DEF] [Hiring Cost]
-Torture Slime 20 1 2 500 gold
-Gnome (Lesser Fairy) 7 2 5 500 gold
-Goblin Cavalry 10 10 8 800 gold
-Goblin Warlock 5 20 5 1000 gold
-Zombie(*) 2 5 5 100 gold
※Your Affinity with Demon Lord Barbatos (Darkness) has reached 50, unlocking Special Hiring (Zombie)!
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I recalled that I had roughly nine million gold on hand. It was because I'd poured five million gold as a down payment to build the Demon Lord's Castle. Right about now, Lapis was probably feverishly overseeing the carpenters alongside Laura, fully absorbed in the castle's construction.
When you factored in the five million gold the Grand Dukes would be sending later, I could hire as many monsters as I wanted without a care in the world. But what I needed right now wasn't a massive army. From the list, my gaze locked onto a single monster.
'A torture slime. Just one.'
A notification appeared asking if I truly wanted to hire the monster.
Without a moment's hesitation, I selected "Yes." A purple magic circle materialized before my feet, and a translucent, gelatinous creature was summoned onto it. Of all the monsters in the world, the slime was one of the most numerous—yet it was a creature I'd had almost no dealings with. One now stood before me.
Jeremy drew a sharp breath beside me.
"Alchemy? No—summoning magic…? And without incantation at that…?"
"My singular talent, unique to me alone. Speak of it to no one."
"Of course, Your Excellency. But to think you've been hiding a trick like this all this time…"
Jeremy looked at me with newfound respect.
"I can scarcely imagine how many claws you have hidden beneath the surface. The title of Demon Lord of the Shadows is truly one befitting Your Excellency Dantalion."
I couldn't so much as cast a single fireball—summoning magic was completely beyond me. But there was no way for the other side to know that. If they drew their own conclusions and filled in the gaps, that saved me the trouble. There was no way I could have explained it anyway.
"I whipped this one up back when I was cooped up in the dungeon, killing time."
I picked up the slime with my hand. The transparent slime could freely contract or spread its body. The moment I issued a mental command, it promptly shrank down small enough to sit in the palm of my hand.
"It's a specialized slime, developed purely for torture purposes. This is what I'll be using."
"Ohh. I see."
Jeremy's face showed that he'd caught on.
"If I may be so bold as to boast to Your Excellency, I'm something of a professional in this area. Slimes are the most basic and standard torture tool, after all. Your Excellency intends to sexually break in that little girl called Daisy, correct?"
I nodded. Jeremy's lips curled into a lewd grin as he smiled with his eyes.
"I'll admit, I've always preferred this kind of thing over the blood-and-bone variety myself. But, Your Excellency—do you really think that little girl will fall? From the attitude she showed during her surgery, she doesn't seem like the type who'll go easily."
"Oh, she won't go easily. Not at all."
I smiled, lips curling with a hint of malice.
"That's why we attack from a different angle."
"A different angle?"
"Come closer."
I laid out the plan for how I intended to torture Daisy, step by step. The more Jeremy listened, the more his expression shifted by the second. At first, he wore a puzzled look. Then it turned to one of disbelief. By the end, his face had transformed into pure astonishment.
"I see. I am sincerely impressed. Infinitely elegant, endlessly befitting a Demon Lord. Tonight alone, I'm getting to witness so many facets of Your Excellency Dantalion."
"She won't crumble in one blow, but I'll steadily wear her mind down."
I tapped Jeremy on the cheek from beside his ear.
"I have to leave with you tomorrow to meet Leraje. I need to select someone separately to handle this matter. Let's hope it's finished by the time we return."
"You said the little girl was unconscious just now, didn't you?"
Jeremy let out a snicker. A classic villain's laugh.
"Wouldn't it be better to just finish it now?"
"No. I want her to witness every last bit of it with her own eyes, from beginning to end."
"Your Excellency Dantalion really is something. Terrible taste you have... Very well, I'll go wake the little girl up."
Jeremy rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"It's been quite a while since I've been this excited. Great and noble Demon Lord. I'll have it done before the night is out, so please leave it to me. Your Excellency, just relax and watch from the finest seats in the house."