Everyone was dumbfounded. Barbatos continued her tirade of outrageous statements.
"Ah, that doesn't mean I'm Dantalion's wife, though. To be precise, Dantalion is my consort. You could say I hold ownership over Dantalion. But I'm generous. I'm willing to generously overlook it even if my cute little consort cheats on me."
Barbatos crossed her legs languidly.
"But causing a ruckus through reckless behavior would be a problem. Dantalion. You are now the consort of no one other than me, Barbatos. You're the lover of a supreme ruler. Do you understand what that means?"
"……So if I gain a reputation as a womanizer, it reflects poorly on your image as well."
Having a lover who sleeps around becomes a scandal in itself.
It's not just the lover who gets criticized. Why would someone keep such a person as a partner? Do they really have sound judgment? In this way, even the ruler comes under suspicion and censure.
However, I asked.
"You haven't slept with men, but you've been having your fun all this time, haven't you? Since when did you have a reputation in that area that could be damaged?"
"You fool. Being the only male lover is what matters."
Barbatos sighed.
"Between you and me, we both know there are no sweet romantic feelings or anything like that, but from everyone else's perspective, it looks significant. My dating a man is the first time in two thousand years, you know."
I understood.
In the world of the Demonkin, promiscuity is never a scandal. They are a community that is unmatched in sexual freedom. There are even a small number who proudly boast about having had sex with grotesque monsters.
However, failing to properly manage one's "wife" or "husband" is a different story. The person who cheated doesn't care, but the partner who allowed it to happen is the one who gets ridiculed.
"Being a high-ranking Demon Lord is troublesome in many ways."
Barbatos looked extremely weary.
"If even a hint of a bizarre rumor gets out, it'll spread across the entire Demon Realm in no time. For example, if a rumor circulates that Dantalion is actually an incredibly sleazy womanizer who lured Barbatos into falling for him……"
"Agares and Gamigin would be thrilled to hear that, no doubt. Damn it."
Barbatos was at a disadvantage in the battle for legitimacy. After all, there was no tactic more effective in politics than attacking a rival's image.
So that was it. Had I reached a position where I now had to clean up my womanizing, too? Had I become the kind of person whose reckless behavior and indulgence ended up hurting others? What a nuisance.
I blurted out bluntly.
"Then why did you have to go and declare our relationship in front of everyone?"
At that, Barbatos furrowed their brows in something like disgust.
"Rumors are going to spread no matter what. Unless the thing sitting on top of your neck is a pig's bladder, think about it for once, Bab-ting. You walked into my quarters and didn't come out all night—did you really think no one would talk? Better to just make it official ourselves and put a firm stop to it. Anyway, stop waving your dick around carelessly from now on."
"Ugh."
A sigh escaped me. This was exactly why politics was such a headache.
Just as I was sinking into depression over being trapped in Barbatos's grip with no way out, a brilliant idea struck. I pressed my hand to my forehead and sank into thought for a moment, slowly retracing whether the solution that had just come to me actually made sense.
"...Hey, Barbatos. Can we talk privately for a minute?"
"Hm?"
Barbatos looked into my eyes, then nodded.
"Looks like you've thought of something."
"Yeah. It's a bit of a heretical approach, though."
"Everything that skull of yours comes up with is heretical—why even bother being surprised. Everyone else, get out."
Barbatos waved them out with a dismissive flick of the hand. Lapis, Laura, and Jeremy were ejected without so much as a word of protest. Incidentally, Daisy had to be pulled out along with Jeremy, who cut the line to take her with him.
"Fine. Let's hear it."
"It's true that I need to be careful with my body because of what happened between us. But what if we look at it from the opposite perspective?"
She fixed me with an enigmatic look.
"The opposite perspective?"
I let a meaningful smile spread across my face.
"Simply become the greatest womanizer of all time."
"……Huh?"
What kind of nonsense was I spouting? That was the look on Barbatos's face.
I carried on without a care.
"Barbatos, it's a change of perspective. The problem arises because Demon Lord Dantalion is Barbatos's exclusive lover. If I slept with nearly every female Demon Lord, there'd be no problem!"
"……Huhhhh?"
Barbatos's expression shifted to something like, 'What fresh idiocy is this now?'
How dense. He still hadn't caught on!
"Think about it. What if I entered into a romantic relationship with Paimon, Gamigin, Sitri, and you all at once? Barbatos, it's not that you can't control me. It's that I'd become one hell of a guy."
That's right. If a man is secretly involved with a queen, he'd better watch his step. But what if that man wasn't involved with just one queen, but had relationships with queens from every kingdom around?
He'd become a truly legendary stud.
A woman sleeps with a rake, and she catches flak for it. But what if that rake just so happens to be Casanova? It's not the woman's fault. Casanova is simply that extraordinary.
"……Wait. Sorry. My head is getting really confused right now?"
Barbatos pressed his hand to his forehead and muttered.
"I'm starting to doubt whether you and I are even speaking the same language anymore. Dantalion, so what you're saying is……you intend to bag not only that bitch Paimon, but Sitri and Gamigin too?"
"That's exactly it."
I clapped my hands together.
"Glad you're a quick study."
"——Drop dead, you son of a bitch."
Barbatos launched a kick with all her might.
I had already anticipated that Barbatos would attack, so I barely managed to dodge. Barbatos's face was flushed crimson, and she hissed through her teeth.
"Are you an idiot? A moron? Have you lost your mind? Gone completely insane? You're totally psycho!"
"No, calm down and think about this rationally. This actually makes more sense than you'd think..."
"I'm telling you I gave my virginity to you, you bastard!"
Barbatos shot up from her seat.
"I don't care how much of a free-love advocate I am, huh? You were my first! You really think I would've slept with your brat with absolutely no feelings or thoughts involved? Give me a break. Even with a skull full of sewer water, how can you spout that kind of bullshit? How could you say to my face that you'd go after that whore Paimon—"
"You're number one to me too!"
I threw both hands up and shouted.
"You dense woman, why can you think one step but not two? Let's say I did sleep with Paimon and Gamigin! But then word gets out to Dantalion that 'Demon Lord Barbatos is the most precious one of them all'! Damn it, that would make you the top among all the female Demon Lords!"
"..."
Barbatos froze mid-motion.
"...I'd rank higher than Paimon and Gamigin?"
"That's right! Your pride would be worth a thousand won and then some! People would come up to me and ask, 'Which of the Demon Lords you've slept with is the most precious to you?' And when that happens, I'd drop the line: 'Listen, there's no shortage of beautiful Demon Lords in this world — I've sampled them all, but none hold a candle to Barbatos!'"
I pumped my fist powerfully into the air.
"That's the knockout blow! That's the moment you become my official wife! Got it? Paimon, Sitri, Gamigin — they're all just concubines for a night's entertainment. But you, Barbatos, would be worshipped as the great woman who tamed even the world's most notorious playboy!"
"..."
Barbatos scowled.
"...Shut up. Damn it, when you say it, even bullshit somehow doesn't sound like bullshit..."
"Because it isn't bullshit, so of course it doesn't sound like bullshit!"
"Shut your damn trap, you bastard."
The tone was rough, but I could feel it. She was being persuaded by me right now. I could sense it. It was just an emotional hang-up preventing her from accepting it.
This was the moment to push harder.
This was an enormously important matter. I had thousands of years ahead of me as a Demon Lord — was I really going to let Barbatos walk all over me from the start? The one who should be the concubine in our relationship wasn't me — it was her.
"Hey. Barbatos. I'm saying all this because I care about you."
"Your mouth may be crooked, but at least say something that makes sense… How is sleeping around with other women while leaving me out supposed to be for my benefit!?"
"It's the perfect opportunity for you to crush Paimon — not as a Demon Lord, but as a woman."
I whispered quietly into Barbatos's ear.
If anyone had been watching me from the side right now, they would have unhesitatingly called me a demon. So what? I didn't care at all. In fact, I'd always wanted to become a demon.
"Don't you want to beat Paimon? Not just win against her as a Demon Lord — don't you want to trample her as a woman too? Don't you want to drag Paimon's pride and dignity down into the abyss and laugh in her face?"
"Nn… nnngh…"
Barbatos groaned, clutching her head with both hands in anguish. I felt like a general on the verge of breaching an impregnable fortress as I leaned in and whispered.
"Be honest — it pissed you off, didn't it? Paimon's always calling you a perpetual runt, right? She mocked you as a washboard Demon Lord who does laundry with her chest! Doesn't that hurt your pride? If we leave Paimon like this, huh? People in the Demon Realm are always going to be comparing her to you."
"Nnngh…"
"Let's show the world what's what."
I gently stroked Barbatos's head.
"Bigger isn't always better when it comes to breasts. Being a small woman — no, the smaller the woman, the more beautiful and charming she is. The ignorant masses just refuse to see that truth. Barbatos. This might be your last chance to drag Paimon into a crushing defeat… Don't you think? When else are you going to have the chance to sleep with a man other than me?"
"But… I don't want to sleep with the same man that Paimon did."
Her voice had weakened. This was practically a done deal.
I screamed with joy inside. Barbatos had a kind of complex. Amid a Demon Lord army full of busty, gorgeous women, she was the only one with a small frame. That was exactly the spot I'd targeted.
"It's one step back for two steps forward—no, one step back for a hundred steps forward. This is a war to defeat Paimon. We have to stomach a few losses. Isn't that obvious?"
"Y-You idiot… Where's the guarantee that Paimon will sleep with you? What about Sitri? What about Gamigin?"
Barbatos looked up at me with a tearful expression. The way she clenched her teeth to hold back was actually pretty cute.
"Sorry. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt your feelings."
I fixed my gaze to something serious and looked right at her.
"Actually, Paimon has come onto me about twice already."
"Wh…What?"
"Sitri already likes me. And Gamigin, well—from what I saw last time, she'd fold the second I made a move."
Barbatos's face went pale.
D-Don't you dare lie! Why would Paimon ever like someone like you!?"
"It's the truth. Want me to tell you what she said to me? You used to date Paimon back in the day, right?"
"……."
Barbatos shut her mouth.
"She told me you two talked about it once. You said you were really curious what kind of man you'd both end up falling for if you ever liked a man. And she said she never in a million years imagined she'd fall for the exact same type of man as you—that's what Paimon told me."
"U-Uh…!?"
Checkmate, Barbatos.
I spoke in a sly, low voice.
"Barbatos. Just back me up this once. I'll make you the greatest female Demon Lord there is. Who do you think I am? I'm Dantalion. I'm the one who broke through the Black Mountains and burned the Habsburgs to the ground. Trust me, won't you?"