"……."
I just stood there.
If you're wondering what I was thinking at that moment, I wished I had something in my hands to fidget with. My thoughts were a mess. I never expected them to dig into the Andromalius incident like this. I'd never heard that Demon Lords valued their own kind.
"That bitch is whining again. A hearing? Never even heard of such a thing."
"Those ranked tenth and above do have the right to demand a hearing."
"Huh? For real?"
"Though the last time it was actually invoked was well over five hundred years ago. Paimon, making this big a deal over one dead vagrant..."
The Demon Lords were going at each other in a war of words.
Think. I had to think.
This was my only chance. While they were busy arguing, I needed to piece together some kind of logic. The few Demon Lords opposing the hearing weren't doing it because they liked me — they hated Paimon. The chances of them directly helping me were practically zero.
The woman whining in a childish tone was probably the eighth-ranked Demon Lord, Barbatos. The man gravely trying to calm things down was the fifth-ranked Demon Lord, Marbas. Both were big names in Dungeon Attack. The ninth-ranked Paimon represented the demonic factions relatively friendly to humans, while the eighth-ranked Barbatos belonged firmly on the hostile side. The fifth-ranked Marbas was neutral. The clash of inclinations was fueling the conflict here too.
Why was Paimon, someone I'd only just met, attacking me? It was hard to understand. Damn it — was my intelligence stat lower than usual, or was my brain just spinning slower than normal? I furrowed every wrinkle on my face and plunged into desperate thought.
'For all I know, Andromalius might have been part of Paimon's faction.'
If that was the case, then this whole hearing business was just a gesture to show she cherished her own people?
'Was Paimon the type to act so politically in the game?'
My brain immediately answered: No.
Paimon was the perverted character to match her sleazy way of speaking. Her hobby was disguising herself as a human and heading to human cities to pick up men and women. In the game's scenario, the first place the protagonist encounters Paimon is also a human city — and incredibly, she flirts with the protagonist, only to accidentally reveal that she's a Demon Lord.
After that, Paimon latches onto the protagonist with the shtick of "You're the first man who hasn't fallen for my charms!" — though "latches on" doesn't quite convey it. She relentlessly sends wave after wave of monster armies.
─ "At the moment of death, would it really be so wrong to grant a maiden a kiss?"
She never stops throwing herself at the Hero right up until the moment of death. The Hero flails about in indecision before finally succumbing to the woman's glistening, tearful eyes and kisses Paimon. That becomes the protagonist's first kiss. And in an ironic twist, among the dozens of women in the protagonist's harem, it's the Demon Lord who claims that first kiss.
At some point, players had gotten into a heated debate over whether Paimon was truly the most devoted romantic of all time or simply a total slut. Regardless, she never once dropped out of the top ten in any historical heroine popularity poll, and together with Laura de Farnese, there were persistent requests for the developers to make her a romanceable character.
For the record, I hated Paimon. She caused me to get a game over twice. The difference with her was that when you lost to another Demon Lord, you were killed — but when you lost to Paimon, you became her sex slave. That distinction made all the difference.
'Paimon is a pervert, but her behavioral principles are simple.'
In short, she's pro-humanity. She likes humans, imitates humans, and tries to protect humans. Even when relations between demonkind and humanity were spiraling into full-blown conflict, Paimon — along with a small number of other Demon Lords — was one of the few who refrained from indiscriminate slaughter.
It was for an incredibly selfish reason — if humanity went extinct, her source of amusement would disappear — but at least on the surface, she put forth the excuse that "a Demon Lord who revels in slaughter loses all dignity." A woman who cared for herself to a pathological degree, yet behaved in front of others as though she valued authority and decorum above all else. She was, without question, an unusual Demon Lord.
'Andromalius, on the other hand, is the type who treats humans like insects.'
I had made my judgment. The likelihood of Andromalius belonging to Paimon's faction was extremely low. Which meant that Paimon's proposal to hold a hearing clearly wasn't for Andromalius's sake — it was for some other purpose entirely. In other words, the target wasn't Andromalius. It was me.
Why?
'Have I done anything hostile toward Paimon? That can't be it.'
Before this, encountering another Demon Lord at all was something that had never happened to me — this was the first time, aside from Andromalius. But as far as I could tell, Andromalius wasn't the issue at hand. Which meant there was no conceivable way Paimon and I would end up directly entangled. I couldn't see the answer. My chest felt tight. Not knowing the other party's intentions was like swimming through the dark, murky depths of the abyss like a stingray.
'Damn it, where on earth is the connection…'
That was when something small gently wrapped around my right hand.
I turned to the side in surprise. Lapis was looking at me.
"……."
Her clear yet resolutely luminous eyes gazed back at me in silence. In that moment, I experienced something extraordinary — the kind of thing that might happen perhaps five or six times in an entire lifetime. Her eyes told me, without a shred of exaggeration or understatement, that she understood exactly what I was feeling right now — more concisely and accurately than I understood myself — and precisely because of that, she could not help but take my side. Without words, without expression, without gesture, Lapis made her case with silent eloquence. The absence of words left no room for misunderstanding; the absence of expression prevented any overflow of emotion; the absence of gesture meant that only pure sincerity remained.
In an instant, the anxious tension inside me vanished.
In its place arose an infinitely gentle feeling. It was the kind of gratitude that wells up when you encounter someone whose interior and exterior are perfectly aligned — someone whose goodwill toward you is genuine. A Demon Lord's power didn't only allow one to read other people's emotions. It could also align one's heart with another's.
"……."
Lapis and I gazed at each other for a brief moment. All around us, people continued murmuring and exchanging worried words. Suddenly, the whole matter of Paimon's inclinations and whatnot struck me as absurd. My earlier train of thought hadn't evaporated — I had simply risen above it, able to observe it from a higher vantage point.
'Right. Paimon had only one reason to be hostile toward me.'
I smiled. It made perfect sense. I had only ever drawn someone's attention once — and once was all it took. If you connected that single act to Paimon's inclinations, it was easy to understand why he was using Andromalius as a pretext to pressure me.
The exchange among the Demon Lords was slowly winding down. Marbas, ranked fifth, spoke in his usual low voice.
"Among those present, I hold the highest rank. I believe it would be best for me to preside over the hearing. If someone of lower rank were to serve as moderator, I dread to think what kind of catastrophe might ensue."
He shot a glance toward Ivar of the Kunkuska Trading Company. Ivar bowed apologetically, offering his regrets. He had originally been the moderator, and Marbas was rebuking him for his complete failure to quell the Demon Lords' commotion.
I saw things differently.
'The Kunkuska Trading Company must have deliberately looked the other way.'
I quietly asked Lapis.
"Does Paimon also fall under the Kunkuska Trading Company's purview?"
"Yes. One of the company's top executives, Torkel, serves as his dedicated liaison. You've met him once before, Lord Dantalion."
"That old goblin, huh."
A little over a month ago, a goblin had shown up unannounced, claiming he wanted to discuss the epidemic or whatever. So he was Paimon's dedicated liaison. I'd turned him away at the door, refusing to speak without Lapis present — and this was his idea of retaliation.
Marbas stepped into the center of the ballroom.
"I accept the request of Paimon, the ninth-ranked Demon Lord who presides over ruin. This is hereby approved in the name of me, Marbas, the fifth-ranked Demon Lord who presides over dominion. The subject of inquiry is Dantalion, the seventy-first-ranked Demon Lord of the Underworld."
He looked at me, signaling that I was to step forward as well. I reluctantly released Lapis's hand and walked out with measured, unhurried steps despite the faint tension I felt. I could sense Lapis's worry from behind me. There's no need to worry, Lapis.
'I've never been so careless in a game that I'd lose to some NPC.'
Paimon and I stood facing each other with Marbas between us. Paimon wore a predatory smile as he tried to needle me, but I paid it no mind and answered with a smile of my own.
"Paimon has the right to question Dantalion, and Dantalion has the right to answer. Given that this is Walpurgis Night, I will ensure the hearing does not drag on. Both parties are therefore requested to keep their remarks brief — a concise exchange of question and answer rather than lengthy speeches. Whichever party's position is correct shall be decided by vote, in keeping with long-standing tradition."
The Demon Lords who had been scattered throughout the ballroom slowly gathered around us. Like spectators at a boxing match, they crowded close, alternating their gaze between us with keen interest.
"First, the right to question is granted to Paimon, who initiated the hearing. Paimon, you may ask your question."
"Thank you for indulging the girl's request."
Paimon cast a sweet smile around the room. Flirtatious airs seemed to be her habit no matter the occasion. From my right, I could hear the grumbling voice of Barbatos, ranked eighth, muttering, "Ugh, what a slag." I realized only now that since the assembly had begun, every Demon Lord who had spoken up loud enough to be heard belonged to the top ten in rank. Every Demon Lord ranked below that had kept their mouths firmly shut.
That was just how terrifying a figure she was — even Paimon, who stood before my very eyes.
"First, I would like to confirm the facts."
Paimon's smile turned toward me. Hostility churned behind her crinkled eyes — plain for anyone to see.
"Dantalion, you killed Andromalius, Demon Lord ranked seventy-second, nine days ago. Is that correct?"
"That is correct."
I acknowledged it flatly.
"You killed him knowing full well that your opponent was a Demon Lord. Correct?"
"That is also correct."
"In other words, what you killed was none other than a Demon Lord — despite being a Demon Lord yourself. Everyone gathered here for Walpurgis Night, we know this better than anyone in this world: that being a Demon Lord is a godforsaken calling."
Paimon suddenly looked around the room.
"I have no desire to rehash the tired debate about whether our personhood is singular. But this much is certain: we have far too many 'selves' inside us. Our emotions and those of others swirl together and blur together until we can no longer tell who is me and who is someone else. For Demon Lords like us, there is nothing firm enough to call 'I' — and moreover—"
Silence fell over the ballroom.
"Therefore, there is also nothing solid enough to call 'you' without hesitation. The only pronoun we are permitted is 'we.' That is the fate of a Demon Lord — the karma one must bear upon becoming one. But the girl believes there is a single exception, and it is none other than another Demon Lord, one just like us."
She threw her arms wide in an exaggerated gesture as she drove her point home. Such theatrics came naturally to her. Her body language was thoroughly practiced in oratory.
"In this wretched world where we must agonize over whether the emotions we feel even belong to us or not, it is only beside another Demon Lord — only when we are with another Demon Lord — that we have no need to worry. We can feel ourselves as though we were ordinary people, say what we want to say, think as we please. It is only when we are together with our own kind that we can finally feel the sense of 'I.' That is why Demon Lords are precious."
Paimon's voice surged with intensity.
"We may be hostile toward one another, we may clash and fight — but we acknowledge each other. We have no choice but to. There are only seventy-two of us in the entire world. That's right. Andromalius was trash even among Demon Lords. And yet not a single one of us ever thought to kill Andromalius. Naturally! Were we not all of us the same kind of beings — Demon Lords cast into this world bearing the same karma?"
She lowered her arms and stared at me in silence. She no longer made any effort to hide her hostility. She was denouncing me for all to see.
"Yet Dantalion did not hesitate to strike Andromalius down. As a young girl, I cannot help but wonder. Is he truly one of us Demon Lords? If he is one of us, how could he so easily kill another Demon Lord? I am not merely interrogating Dantalion as a lone individual. I am asking on behalf of every Demon Lord in this world — all seventy-two of us — whether he is worthy of bearing that title from the very beginning."
The murmuring that had lingered even in hushed voices faded to nothing. Everyone held their breath and watched us as Paimon spoke with absolute conviction.
"I propose that Dantalion be imprisoned in the eternal frozen wasteland for three hundred years."