The depths of the 10th basement floor of the Demon Lord's Castle.
Lapis Lazuli was keeping to her post as she always did. Reports flowed into the Minister of State's office without cease—every twenty minutes on the short end, every hour on the long. Today, the dwarves and goblins in charge of the Demon Lord's Castle's construction had come to visit.
"The finishing touches for the inauguration ceremony are still ahead, but we've managed to get everything done, more or less."
"You've all worked very hard over the years."
"Not at all, not at all. To serve His Majesty the great Demon Lord is itself our greatest joy."
Five or six dwarves and goblins laughed.
The construction project, dragging on for nearly seven years, was finally approaching its end. In truth, the work itself was already finished. But a grand undertaking of this magnitude naturally demanded a proper finishing touch, so the dwarves and goblins had been scheming to throw the most spectacular inauguration ceremony in recent memory.
"Ah, Minister, if we may ask—who is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony…?"
"Those with ties to His Excellency Dantalion will be invited. His Excellency Marbas, His Excellency Sitri, His Excellency Gamigin, His Excellency Vassago—all of them will be in attendance. You can look forward to it."
The architects' faces brightened.
For them, the inauguration ceremony was a kind of talent showcase. By demonstrating just how magnificent and impressive the structures they had built were, they could drive up their own value. And of course, a talent show was best performed in front of those of high rank. With Marbas, Sitri, Gamigin, and Vassago present, they couldn't have asked for anything more.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Minister!"
"Don't mention it."
Lapis Lazuli produced a heavy coin purse and handed it to the lead dwarf.
"The inauguration ceremony still remains, but that is nothing more than a celebration. As of today, your mission is complete. Head back to your territories and rest well."
"Ooh…!"
It was, in other words, a bonus.
The purse was quite hefty. The architects had worked alongside Lapis Lazuli for seven years. Ordinarily she was a ruthless penny-pincher who squeezed every last drop of effort out of them—but when it came to handing out bonuses, she was generous. You'd be hard-pressed to find a trace of stinginess.
"Now that's what I call enough to drink until our noses go crooked!"
"If Your Excellency isn't too busy, would you care to join us for a meal? We really ought to treat you at least once……heh heh."
"That's quite alright."
Lapis Lazuli shook her head.
"If I were to join, none of you would be able to relax. Besides, I still have work to handle."
"Haha. Surely not. We'd be the only ones losing out here."
The dwarves and goblins bowed awkwardly, scraping and fawning. To them, Lapis Lazuli was both a distant superior and a client—an exalted figure whom they had to court and serve of their own accord. There would be nothing enjoyable about dining with someone like that, but they had offered out of courtesy. Lapis Lazuli declined just as courteously.
"Then we shall take our leave."
"Very well. Do take care on your way."
The architects filed out of the office in a crowd.
The moment the noisy atmosphere vanished, the air settled with a heavy weight. Lapis Lazuli sat down in her chair and continued processing documents. In Dantalion's stead, she wrote her own name on the signature line and stamped the seal signifying the Minister of State's approval with mechanical precision.
"……."
Before she knew it, she had finished all of the day's documents.
Lapis Lazuli stared quietly at the papers. She gazed at the pile with a blank expression for a while before finally accepting the fact that no one was going to suddenly materialize and hand her another stack just because she sat there doing nothing.
'They said the Demon Lord's Castle was completed.'
Lapis Lazuli rose to her feet. She straightened her attire out of habit. It had become as familiar to her body as a second skin—she sometimes wondered whether she had been born wearing a uniform.
'I don't remember being born, though.'
Lapis Lazuli walked down the corridor of the Demon Lord's Castle.
Her footsteps fell in a steady rhythm. Back straight, shoulders perfectly still, she advanced with her gaze fixed forward—ready to stop and bow respectfully at a moment's notice should Dantalion appear before her.
'It was the eleventh day after birth that my mother abandoned me.'
Half-human, half-demon.
Now it's Dantalion who has implemented policies that have eased the class and slavery systems, but in the era when Lapis Lazuli was born, the Demon Realm still had rigid social distinctions based on tribe. Among them, half-humans and half-demons belonged to no race, no tribe.
Untouchables.
The moment she was born, she was abandoned by her mother. The Succubus tribe grudgingly permitted Lapis Lazuli to live within the village. Of course, they only permitted it — nothing more. From a young age, Lapis Lazuli roamed alleyway after alleyway, house to house, clutching her empty stomach and begging.
'…….'
One day, Lapis Lazuli opened her eyes on the bare ground.
She couldn't remember why she had lost consciousness. All she knew was that her head felt sticky. When she carefully touched it with her fingers, she found a hardened scab. She realized someone had thrown a stone at her and knocked her out.
'I have to survive.'
And so Lapis Lazuli made her decision.
She left the village and wandered into the city. Lapis Lazuli survived however she could, getting her hands filthy with every dirty job and menial task imaginable. When the Kunkuska Trading Company announced it would recruit talent regardless of class, Lapis Lazuli threw herself into the trading house without a moment's hesitation.
'Dirty whore. I don't know why she doesn't just kill herself.'
'She's a Succubus, so you know what she's like.'
'They said even her own mother and father threw her away.'
Of course, discrimination and contempt existed there as well.
Whenever Lapis Lazuli walked through the trading house building, her fellow merchants openly spat on the ground. Many of them were low-class citizens — just one rank above the Untouchables. But Lapis Lazuli didn't flinch and performed her duties regardless.
Opportunity.
Someday, opportunity would come.
Revenge on those who had scorned her — perhaps she had once harbored such thoughts. But at some point, that ceased to matter. Lapis Lazuli simply wanted to prove something. She wasn't even entirely clear on what needed to be proven. She only felt that there was something within herself that demanded to be proven.
A vague opportunity.
After a long wait, it finally arrived.
'It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lapis Lazuli of the Kunkuska Trading Company.'
'Wh-what?'
'From now on, I will be the sole point of contact for the dealings between Lord Dantalion and the Kunkuska Trading Company. I look forward to working with you.'
Lapis Lazuli stopped in the middle of the corridor.
She pressed her palm against the marble-finished corridor wall. It was cold. Refreshing. A luxurious corridor. For Lapis Lazuli, even the most threadbare cave would have felt more familiar.
'I apologize, Lord Dantalion. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I have to say this.'
'Go ahead.'
'In all my short demonic life, I have never seen such a ramshackle dungeon.'
Everything had changed in the span of eight years.
Lapis Lazuli, who had once scraped by at the very bottom of the Kunkuska Trading Company, had risen to become a nation's Minister of State. In times of emergency, she even managed the Habsburg Empire's affairs on Dantalion's behalf. The Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm would respectfully offer their handshakes the moment they laid eyes on her, and even Ivar Lodbrok—who had once been her impossibly distant superior—bowed his head to her.
'Lapis. Let's show them. The pride of the weak.'
The pride of the weak.
Dantalion had kept his promise to her.
He crossed the Black Mountains and subdued Brandenburg, conquered the Habsburg Empire, and crushed the Franks and Sardinians. Every powerhouse on the continent and in the Demon Realm had knelt before Dantalion. And always at his side stood Lapis Lazuli, silently, without a word……
He could have discarded her.
He could have cast her aside and installed a more capable talent as his minister.
But Dantalion had never once. Not a single time had he ever disregarded Lapis Lazuli. If anyone so much as insulted her, Dantalion would immediately behead the offender and throw the body to the dogs.
"Minister of State."
A voice suddenly cut through the air.
When Lapis Lazuli turned around, she found Captain Jeremy of the militia standing there with a pipe clenched between his teeth.
"Everything's been taken care of on my end. It's about time you joined me, Minister."
"Thank you for your hard work, Captain."
Lapis Lazuli gave a slight nod.
"But this is where I need to be."
"I told you everything's already been arranged. When the appointed time comes, this place is going to crumble—right here."
"Captain."
Lapis Lazuli spoke in a flat tone.
"This is where I'll be."
"......"
Jeremy exhaled a plume of tobacco smoke into the air.
She bowed deeply, expressing the utmost respect to the other party. Jeremy wore a cold expression, unlike his usual self. Having no expression at all was her natural face. Jeremy's bow was sincere.
"I had the honor of meeting with the Minister of State Affairs, and it brought me no small measure of comfort. Thank you for everything."
"I'm counting on you with the fiefdom, Captain. Always stay by Acting Lord Parsi's side."
"Yes. ...With my life."
And with that, Jeremy disappeared down the far end of the corridor.
Lapis Lazuli headed in the opposite direction. After a moment, a spacious audience hall appeared before her. Dozens of banners symbolizing Demon Lord Dantalion hung along both sides of the hall. A red carpet was unfurled in the very center, and at its far end, as one would expect, sat Dantalion's throne.
"......"
Lapis Lazuli walked to the center of the audience hall.
Not a single sound could be heard. Silence enveloped everything. Even her footsteps were entirely absorbed by the carpet. As she advanced toward the empty throne, Lapis Lazuli recalled a man.
'Lapis. The act has failed. We've failed...'
'So you intend to take responsibility.'
'Yes.'
Before long, she reached the throne.
Lapis Lazuli sat down on the floor. She rested her cheek gently against the throne, leaning her head there, and slowly narrowed her eyes.
'I want... I want you to stay alive. Lapis. I'll forget everything and...'
'That's impossible.'
From somewhere, a deep rumble shook through.
The entire Demon Lord's Castle trembled. The final operation had begun. The mages had formed anti-magic fields throughout the castle, and the assassination squad led by Jeremy had destroyed the key structural supports. The collapse of the Demon Lord's Castle was now only a matter of time.
'I cannot live forgetting Lord Dantalion.'
'Lapis... Lapis...'
'I'm sorry.'
Please let us bear the responsibility together.
Lapis Lazuli buried her head a little deeper into the throne. Faintly, a scent wafted by. An achingly familiar scent. From some point on, it had become her most beloved fragrance.
'Lord Dantalion.'
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
The banners toppled onto the marble floor. The sound of the ground splitting apart echoed in eerie waves. Cracks ran through the massive pillars, and from every direction, small chunks of stone and clouds of dust bloomed forth. The entire Demon Lord's Castle was screaming. And the screams grew ever stronger.
Lapis Lazuli slowly closed both eyes.
'Lord Dantalion. But the ten underground levels are far too vast. I think it would be fine to scale them back somewhat. For example — yes, eight underground levels would be quite sufficient.'
A cherished memory.
At her words, Dantalion had smiled bashfully. It was the unguarded face he showed only to Lapis Lazuli.
'But then the space that's just for the two of us gets smaller.'
'Huh?'
'No. I mean. Uh, my Demon Lord's Castle. That's what I mean.'
Dantalion scratched the back of his head.
Lapis Lazuli had definitely seen the faint flush on Dantalion's face. Caught completely off guard by his response, she was at a loss for words. She had no idea what expression she'd been wearing at that moment.
"……."
Lapis Lazuli smiled.
In the endless darkness, everything had collapsed, yet it was also quiet.
Utterly so.
Lapis Lazuli loved that silence.
============================ Author's Review ============================
[Reader Comments]
NineBreaker// Because Ivar isn't a perfect iron man. ;ㅅ;
rrrt123// It looks like Dantalion's perspective will be coming soon too.
ArghArgh// But the truth is, Laura has already suffered enough...
Omicron// Ivar's acting skills, built up over thousands of years, will finally be put on the chopping block.
TenThousandAngels// The person who dragged Ivar into hell in the first place is also Laura. (...)
DarkSchemer// Heh-heh.
Skybound// Honestly, I can't accept it either. (...)
Oreuli// Strong New Game... Isn't there a Strong New Game option...
Raha000// I'm sorry, but I have no comment regarding questions about future developments ;ㅅ;
Ke-Ang// For Dantalion.
I cried a little while writing this ;ㅅ;