The Demon King's Pact and the Elf Prize
It took Minwoo a considerable amount of time to soothe the succubus sisters. Only after promising to properly supply them with mana—considering their lingering fear of sexual relations—was he finally able to send them away. Minwoo had a soft spot for opponents who openly took a submissive stance. Of course, that only applied to beauties.
"That said, Minwoo-nim. There's another matter this time..."
"What is it? Anything else left? I just want to rest now..."
Thinking that even sleep wouldn't feel like proper rest at this rate, Minwoo grumbled inwardly.
"My apologies. But it's rather important..."
"...Fine. Tell me."
"Yes. Actually..."
Though exhausted, even Minwoo couldn't help being startled by Jerome's next words.
"The empire seems to have caught on to the Demon King's revival?"
...
'That woman... the Demon King!'
Piria momentarily forgot her own dire situation as she stared piercingly at Ernate. Her ominous hunch had been spot on. The Demon King had truly revived. And to make matters worse, she was now trying to ally with the orcs. An unprecedented catastrophe. She had to inform the empire as soon as possible. Calming her pounding heart, Piria kept eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Indeed... the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I suppose."
Ernate, who had been silently listening behind Siola, finally spoke up.
"That's right. Not a bad proposal, if you ask me."
As Nerka said. Thousands of orc troops appearing out of nowhere like that. It was highly impressive that they'd managed to rally so many orcs right under the humans' noses. How they'd pulled it off was a mystery... But above all, the orcs shared their hatred for humans. When Siola glanced back at Ernate, the Demon King—arms crossed—continued.
"It's certainly no losing deal... But do you really think your power poses a threat to humans?"
"...Are you saying we're useless?"
At Ernate's provocative words, the surrounding orcs growled in irritation. Ernate didn't so much as blink.
"Heh... That's not what I mean. Since we're joining hands anyway, I want to back you properly."
"..."
Meeting Nerka's silent demand for an explanation, Ernate flashed a manic grin. It was a smile brimming with the overwhelming charisma of a true Demon King—nothing like the moaning wreck pinned beneath Minwoo.
"You—become my formal subordinate! Embrace the blood of demons and crave even greater power! Do so, and I shall personally grant you the Seat of Wrath!"
At Ernate's declaration, even the perpetually stoic Nerka's eyes widened in shock. Piria, eavesdropping from the side, looked ready to faint.
"A demon race..."
Nerka muttered in self-deprecation. Any orc honor had long since crumbled to dust. Most orcs, raised as slaves from birth by humans, accepted their lot as natural. The few wandering ones clung to scraps of pride, but even that had frayed to rags over endless years. At this point, Nerka could only nod. There was no honor left to uphold—not after a millennium.
"If it lets me slaughter those loathsome humans, what's a little demon blood? Hell, I'd lick a demon's toe."
"Heh, now that's an answer I like."
Ernate laughed, visibly pleased.
"But..."
As she naturally turned her head, her gaze landed on...
"Is that human wench a tribute for us?"
'..!'
Piria, whose eyes had met Ernate's, froze solid. 'No..! She found me..!'
In truth, Ernate and Siola had noticed Piria ages ago. They'd simply ignored her. Nerka spoke up.
"Nah. Was gonna use her as breeding stock... but I can hand her over if you want."
"No need. Doesn't look appetizing."
"Fair enough."
Piria's magic had already been fully dispelled, and countless eyes now turned her way. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her mouth refused to move. It was a fact unknown to isekai transplants like Minwoo, but the Demon King's gaze itself wielded the power of a demonic eye. Without a knight's level of mental fortitude, merely meeting it would paralyze the body in utter terror. Piria was no exception. A fine mage for her age, perhaps—but before the Demon King, she was a mouse before a cat, utterly immobile.
Then, Nerka's indifferent words drifted into her ear.
"Then we'll just use her as breeding stock, as planned."
...
Minwoo stepped out of the inn in a far-from-refreshed mood. Physically, he felt no fatigue at all, but mentally, he was drained from consoling the succubus sisters in his dreams.
"No, I just can't wrap my head around it. Even if I went a bit overboard, succubi with a sex phobia? That doesn't make any sense."
Since he was basing his thinking on the imaginary succubi of modern tales, his confusion was understandable—but there was context on the succubi's side worth considering. Outside of a few lustful nobles, most common men could be easily milked dry by their looks and teasing techniques alone. Even succubi who enjoyed the act mostly just wrung men out one-sidedly; cases where a man actually satisfied one were exceedingly rare. So unlike the pleasure-drenched fantasies of modern men, real succubi had almost no experience with profound sexual ecstasy. To these innocent(?) girls, Minwoo had unleashed a merciless hell of infinite orgasms. And worse, their succubus physiology gave them just enough resistance that they couldn't even pass out like a normal human woman would—dragging out the torment far longer. Extreme trauma was hardly surprising.
Blissfully unaware of any of this, Minwoo just kept grumbling.
"Anyway, the empire's caught wind of the Demon King's revival? Hmm..."
He suddenly recalled Jerome's report.
"So what happens now? The heroes haven't grown properly yet... and the Demon King side probably lacks the strength for all-out war with the empire."
He mulled it over from every angle, but nothing concrete came to mind. He'd never cared from the start, after all.
"Eh, whatever. If they need my power, they'll figure out a way to contact me."
He had zero knowledge or interest in this world's geopolitics to begin with. His job was simply to unearth top-tier beauties and enjoy himself. Everything else was none of his business.
Shaking off the headache-inducing thoughts, Minwoo wandered the bustling streets, sightseeing without a care.
"Capital city's got some real stacks, alright."
He said that, but with his standards sky-high now, no woman quite hit the mark.
'Bored. Should I just hit pause, strip 'em all down?'
He was seriously pondering that flippant idea while walking when—
"Master! Master!"
"Huh? Me?"
"Aigoo, master! Who else is here?"
Suddenly, a rat-eyed man scurried up to him, rubbing his hands furiously and bowing repeatedly. Classic hawker behavior.
The man cupped his hand over his mouth like he was sharing a grave secret and whispered.
"Master, you in the market for a slave?"
"A slave? Like an orc slave?"
"Tch, master, come on... We do handle orcs, sure—but with this vibe, don't you just feel it?"
"Nope."
Undeterred by Minwoo's lukewarm response, the man kept yapping.
"Here's the thing. Tonight, the Mandren Merchant Group's hosting a slave auction. This ain't an everyday deal! Straight from mighty Mandren Traders—handpicked sex slaves, top-shelf only, lined up like...!"
"Sex slaves?"
Minwoo's ears perked at the tantalizing term.
"Tch, you clearly know the score but play it cool so well! Anyway, this auction's got some ultra-special merchandise you won't see anywhere else!"
"Special merchandise?"
Intrigued by the phrase, Minwoo held off glow-sticking the guy's trap for a bit.
"You bet! Ultra-special!"
Suddenly, the man covered his mouth like he was divulging the world's biggest secret, whispering in a tiny—but perfectly audible to Minwoo—voice.
"Don't freak out when you hear this."
"..."
Whisper whisper. Despite the warning, Minwoo jolted in shock.
"What!? An elf!?"