The Grand Dukes were initially delighted to have met Dantalion and Gamigin together.
After all, both Demon Lords were big names. For a social gathering, there could be no more extravagant casting than this.
But right now, they were silently screaming for someone to get them out of here, even one second sooner.
'Why did you have to bring up Barbatos at a time like this!'
'By any common sense, it was clearly time to praise Lord Gamigin!'
'They're trying to make us drink poison or something...'
The Grand Dukes berated Dantalion while desperately picturing peaceful scenes. Like a cemetery quietly standing on a blue coastline...
It was all to keep their emotions in check somehow.
Demon Lords could read emotions. That was why, even if they poured out complaints with their minds, they needed to keep their emotions ambiguous at the very least. The Grand Dukes were quite familiar with this trick.
Though when the other party was the fourth-ranked Demon Lord, even that was useless.
"Haaaah~."
Gamigin was frowning at a thousand different impressions in her heart, but her voice was cheerful. It had to be cheerful. In this kind of atmosphere, who else would brighten the mood?
"Dantalion, you're really too much. I'm right here, yet you just have to bring up another woman? Keep this up and I'll really get mad, you know?"
She had to step forward.
Her position demanded it. Despite having received the most outrageous insult a woman could suffer, she herself had to mediate. Gamigin felt disgusted—utterly so—but there was nothing she could do.
Dantalion replied in a playful tone.
"I'm sorry. If Lord Gamigin were to hate me, I would truly be so lonely. Please, graciously forgive me."
"Yes, yes. Do be careful."
Pretending not to be furious at all. Pretending not to be offended in the slightest.
From the inflections in her voice to every glance, Gamigin controlled it all with precision. It was so close to instinct that the thought of "controlling" it was barely conscious. The acting was skilled enough to fool the Grand Dukes.
"Haha. Lord Dantalion truly has quite the unique taste."
"Indeed. I have no intention of denying Your Grace's thoughts, but isn't Lord Barbatos rather baby-faced?"
As Gamigin redirected the flow, the Grand Dukes quickly hopped on board. They were simply grateful that no incident had occurred. One wrong step and the entire banquet could have exploded.
"Gentlemen, don't blame me too much."
Dantalion smiled sheepishly.
"It's not that I like Lord Barbatos because I like girls. It just so happens that the person I happened to fall for looks like a girl, that's all."
"When we listen to Your Grace, it truly does seem that way, which is sometimes frightening. Lord Dantalion, we are but ignorant souls—please go easy on us. We might actually start believing it!"
"What a brazen one you are."
Dantalion and the Grand Dukes all burst into hearty laughter.
After that, the banquet proceeded smoothly. This banquet was held under the guise of a gourmet festival. Renowned chefs from across the Demon Realm presented one spectacular dish after another, as if competing in a kind of culinary tournament.
The advantage of a gourmet festival was that conversation never dried up. Just when talk was about to die down, a new dish would arrive.
"Oh my. This is quite a distinctive flavor..."
"Lord Gamigin, this finishing dish is rather impressive."
"Chef. What were you thinking when you created this dish?"
And so, the conversation was recharged once more.
The servers were, of course, the most beautiful women and maidens—some of the Grand Dukes were already vowing that "from now on, whenever we entertain Lord Dantalion, we must hire women with girlish faces."
Conversation was like alcohol. If a person kept talking without rest, their mind would grow hazy as if drunk. Add real alcohol to the mix, and people would lighten up, laughing and chatting with each other, enjoying themselves.
The haziness of the mind made words flow freely, and the free flow of words made people mistakenly believe they had grown closer. It was precisely for this effect that the Grand Dukes offered the Demon Lords what they called "fine-tasting conversation."
"Heh. White wine is still my cup of tea."
"Is that so? I do feel as if there's some hidden flavor to it."
"Lord Gamigin, your palate is truly sharp. This wine is a special release this summer from the Lava Peaks of the Scalding Hell..."
People laughed easily.
Everyone was thoroughly drunk on words and wine. Everything was hazy and dreamlike. Demon Lords didn't get drunk by nature, but whether it was Gamigin or Dantalion, they seemed intoxicated by the atmosphere, their laughter growing ever more generous.
"Nice. Very nice."
Gamigin playfully shook her empty wine glass.
"Another glass of wine here, please."
Her single line perfectly captured today's gourmet festival.
One of the Grand Dukes spoke with a flushed face.
"Lord Gamigin. I've been curious for some time. May I ask a question?"
"Sure. Ask anything. With wine this good, it'd be absurd not to have at least one question~."
"By any chance, do you have a special relationship with Lord Dantalion?"
Gamigin gave a soft "Hmm," and smiled faintly.
"Well now. Dantalion? He's asking us. Whether he and I have a special relationship."
"Of course. We've had a special relationship for quite some time."
Dantalion downed the red wine in one gulp.
The Grand Dukes made a refined fuss.
"Actually, the rumors have been swirling for years! That the two of you have a deep relationship. The rumors were true after all. But Lord Dantalion, as everyone knows... aren't you also involved with Lord Barbatos?"
"Ah. Indeed I am."
Some of the Grand Dukes gathered here had experienced being blackmailed by Dantalion. The sight of Barbatos clinging naked to Dantalion while crying like a slave was a secret they would have to take to their graves.
"And furthermore, I hear that even Lord Paimon and Lord Sitri are part of this web of relationships..."
"I swear on the Goddess Artemis, it's true."
"Good heavens! Then Your Grace is dating all the most beautiful women among the Demon Lords!"
"Isn't that going too far?" the Grand Dukes chimed together in protest.
"You lot are the ones going too far."
Dantalion snickered.
"What did I do wrong that you'd blame me like that?"
"If monopolizing beautiful women isn't wrong, then what is? Come now, share your secret. How did you win the hearts of those beautiful lords?"
"The important thing is the heart. As you all know, everyone has some part of them that is ailing. You just have to gently embrace that part. Nothing more, nothing less."
The Grand Dukes whistled.
"How impressive. Lord Gamigin, what do you think of what Lord Dantalion just said?"
"Hmm~."
Gamigin beamed with a wide grin.
"I just wish someone would smack me on the back of the head while walking down the street."
"Kahahaha!"
"It seems the lady Demon Lords think differently, Lord Dantalion!"
Dantalion merely shrugged his shoulders in silence.
As the night grew deeper, things became increasingly raucous. Among them, some Grand Dukes openly harassed the female waitstaff. Since this was the kind of gathering destined to flow this way, nobody offered any criticism.
"I'll just step out for some fresh air. I'm getting too drunk today."
"Ah, me too~. My head is screaming for some outside air."
That was why, even when Dantalion and Gamigin quietly rose from their seats, the Grand Dukes didn't think much of it. They simply wished them well. Those who hadn't yet consumed as much alcohol even wore knowing smiles.
In a corner of the banquet hall, a separate room had been prepared for those who wished to spend some so-called "private time."
A table sat with chairs and a sofa. On the round table, a wine bottle rested in an ice bucket as if freshly prepared. Beyond the large window was a marble terrace. It was truly a place for lovers.
"I was really just thinking of getting some fresh air, you know."
Dantalion said as he closed the door.
As if the drunkenness had never existed, his expression and tone became calm.
"Having played along up to this point, the Grand Dukes should be satisfied. Shall we make our way to Lord Gamigin's villa?"
"Hnng~."
Gamigin ignored Dantalion and walked past him.
She pulled the wine bottle from the ice bucket and poured it generously into a glass. Her control was off, and the wine overflowed. Gamigin's right hand was soaked in wine, but she didn't care and simply downed the drink.
"...Lord Gamigin, I hate to ask, but are you perhaps drunk?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Good heavens."
Dantalion furrowed his brow.
"A Demon Lord of your caliber couldn't possibly be drunk from this amount of alcohol. You deliberately turned off your regeneration ability."
"Mm. Heh."
"Are you in your right mind? No matter what, those are rulers of Hell. The moment you let your guard down, they'll tear into you like wolves. I can't understand this."
Gamigin poured the wine again and downed it in one gulp. The drink trickled from the corners of her mouth. The red liquid slid along her jawline and dripped onto her snow-white collarbone with a soft plop.
"What's so great about being a Demon Lord like me anyway."
"Pardon?"
"I'm just a woman inferior to Barbatos, aren't I? Nothing all that special."
"..."
Dantalion's gaze shifted to the look one would give a lunatic.
"...You really are completely drunk. Well, everyone has times when they want to get drunk. It's just a bit hard to understand why it had to be on a day like today."
"You, I tell you, hmm. You really are a bastard, Dantalion."
Dantalion sighed and sat down in a chair, as if he had no intention of dealing with a drunk.
At that sight, Gamigin was gripped by an indescribable emotion. The last shred of her reason helped her cast a soundproofing spell over the entire room. After confirming that no devices were hidden anywhere, Gamigin growled in a low voice:
"I can't keep playing along with this kind of act anymore. I'm sick of it. Completely fed up."
"..."
"Did you have to humiliate me right in front of other Demonkin? I get it. Barbatos is important to you. But, you know, there's a time and place for everything."
Dantalion quietly pulled a pipe from inside his clothes and placed it in his mouth. Soon, a pungent herbal fragrance wafted through the room.
"I have my pride as a Demon Lord too. Not that a lowlife like you would understand."
"Lord Gamigin. Have you cast the soundproofing spell?"
"Oh-ho-ho, how quickly you notice, our ever-wise Lord Dantalion."
Gamigin let out a snort.
"What, scared that your act might be exposed? You're a coward. A useless, good-for-nothing coward. All you know how to do is threaten and humiliate people, and you can't even get drunk at a drinking party. Am I in my right mind? That's rich. And you? How right in the mind are you?"
"Fine. If you want to stop, then stop."
Dantalion smiled with a faint, cold grin.
"But have you perhaps forgotten something? From the very beginning, you brought this upon yourself, Lord Gamigin."
"Yes, I'm so sorry. I'm truly sorry for conspiring with Agares and meddling in your territory!"
Gamigin hurled her wine glass onto the marble floor. The glass shattered with a loud crash.
"Why don't you just use that to bind me for decades, centuries to come? You know what? I can attack your precious lover anytime I want. Don't make the mistake of thinking Agares is the only Demon Lord who has it out for Barbatos!"