Chapter 50: Tenfold
Chapter 50: Tenfold
Maybe it was because I’d spent the entire night tangled up with Lena, but I started the day feeling exceptionally refreshed.
Today, the second day of the Council, wouldn't be a short session starting late in the afternoon like yesterday. Instead, the candidates were expected to engage in much more substantive discussions.
Of course, Lena had handled all the necessary preparations. After finishing the breakfast Mari served, I headed straight to the Room of the Round Table with Lena to meet the others.
Inside the room, Biwon and Wollyeon of the Snow Noble Tribe, along with Nia of the Fairy Tribe, were quietly waiting for the others to arrive.
As I moved toward the same seat I’d occupied yesterday, I felt a stinging gaze and looked up. It was Wollyeon, the black-haired warrior dressed in an outfit that resembled a ninja’s.
It was the first time I’d seen her look at me like that, but the sensation itself was familiar. It was the exact same menacing aura I’d felt trailing behind me on my way back from Vivian’s quarters yesterday.
Thinking back, her voice from the introductions matched the voice of the woman from last night.
As I realized the truth, Wollyeon shot me a look of pure disgust and then pointedly ignored me.
"My, it seems our little stray cat doesn't take kindly to you, Jaejin-nim."
When Biwon showed no reaction to this blatant display of contempt, Lena stepped in, openly bringing up last night’s events to call Wollyeon out.
"Hah, you certainly carry yourself with your head held high. Especially for someone who can't even properly satisfy a Red Oni."
"Oh, you certainly have a lot to say for someone so ignorant. The Snow Noble Tribe must be desperate if they sent someone with such poor insight."
"What did you say?"
As the exchange between the two grew heated, I started to feel restless. Should I stop them? And if I did, which one was I supposed to restrain?
While I agonized between them, Wollyeon’s superior, Biwon, remained perfectly calm, listening to their conversation with an air of leisure.
"Is it not obvious? You followed us all that way and still couldn't grasp my master's true caliber. Or perhaps you'd like to make a bet?"
"A bet? Fine by me. If I can expose the pathetic reality of your Demon Lord candidate, that’s one less rival to worry about."
The two were completely fired up now, seemingly forgetting that this was a formal meeting place and that Nia was watching.
"Very well. Then the loser has to bow down stark naked. I’ll even be considerate of your circumstances and pick a place where no one else is around..."
"Lena, stop...! I know you're doing this for me, but I think this is going too far."
I was annoyed by Wollyeon’s misunderstanding and her dismissive attitude, but I didn't want to go as far as using her delusion to humiliate her.
Lena’s eyes widened at my firm intervention, but she soon nodded.
"I suppose I did go a bit overboard. I shall follow your wishes, Jaejin-nim. You’re lucky, Snow Noble woman."
Wollyeon looked ready to argue with Lena for ending the conversation so dismissively, but she paused to observe the reaction of Vivian and Sheryl as they walked through the door.
"Yo, Ginger. Did you get back okay yesterday?"
"Yes, thanks to you. Ugh... please don't squeeze me so hard."
"What’s with the attitude? After we had such a hot night together. Haven't you heard of the bond of the flesh?"
Between Lena’s smirk and Sheryl’s strangely piercing glare, I desperately wanted to escape, but there was no way out from between the arms Vivian had wrapped around my neck.
Wollyeon looked somewhat shell-shocked. There was a massive discrepancy between what was happening before her eyes and the cock she had felt yesterday.
The more she believed her measurement from last night was correct, the more she had to accept the paradoxical phenomenon of a two-meter-tall Oni reaching climax from a cock no bigger than a finger.
Caught in that contradiction, Wollyeon chose silence over an answer. I felt relieved as well; it would have been awkward to discuss something as embarrassing as the size of my dick in front of all these people.
Soon after, Cuthbert, Veled, and Nero entered, and the day's session officially began.
The Council proceeded smoothly. It began with questions regarding each candidate's knowledge and perceptions of the various races.
To put it simply, it was an ideological screening. Since I didn't harbor any particularly malicious thoughts, I simply answered based on what I knew.
The Three-Eyed Tribe was characterized by their ability to read minds, but beyond that, they provided a broad field of vision through their Mind's Eye, making them responsible for the Demon Race's naval power. Their blue hair was a defining trait, but having Sheryl around made it familiar to me, and they didn't seem particularly threatening.
The Jaun Tribe was the group that had produced the most Demon Lords and boasted the greatest military might within the Demon Race. Between Veled and the others, even just watching them walk gave off a grim, intimidating impression. It was hard to call them a single race because their physical characteristics were so diverse, likely because much of the traditional "demon" category fell under the Jaun Tribe.
The Fairy Tribe was similarly diverse in appearance. Under the category of "Fairy," there were Dryads, as well as Nymphs like Naiads, Sylphs, and Undines, along with Pixies and Spirits. Their personalities were likely just as varied, but seeing Nia for the first time gave me the impression that they were introverted.
The Snow Noble Tribe reminded me of "enhanced humans." Their black-haired appearance was similar to mine as an East Asian, but their physical strength was incomparable. I vaguely guessed that Biwon and Wollyeon’s taciturn and stoic nature came from being part of a well-trained warrior tribe.
I knew nothing about the Demonic Dragon Tribe. I hadn't even spoken to Nero yet. All I had was basic knowledge: they were long-lived, fickle, and few in number, but possessed strength that far outweighed their small population.
The Red Oni were a race commonly seen in the city's shopping districts. Generally, they were like Vivian—large-framed with boisterous personalities. I’d grown used to their reddish-brown skin, and thinking of them as the South Americans of this other world made me feel at ease.
As I shared my impressions using somewhat softened language, the others began to toss questions my way. I was managing the answers reasonably well until Veled spoke up.
"So, tell me. Right now, are you a human or a Lust Demon?"
It was a question that could be considered rude, but it pierced right through my ambiguous state.
"I consider myself... a Majin, marked by the Lust Demon Race."
"I see, a Majin... So you're saying you're no longer human."
I couldn't tell what his intention was, but since it was true, I nodded. Veled asked another question.
"Then, if we go to war with the humans again, can you forget your memories of being human and kill thousands, tens of thousands of them as a member of the Demon Race—as the Demon Lord?"
"That’s... I want to become the Demon Lord precisely so that doesn't happen. I want to live in peace with humans. I want to make sure the people around me don't get caught up in a war."
"How arrogant, Otherworlder. You still don't realize just how much the humans of this world loathe the Demon Race."
I don't know. Those words stung. I had only lived here for a month and a half. The knowledge I’d gained through Lena’s teachings couldn't compare in quantity or quality to the knowledge they had accumulated living here their entire lives.
"I see. Looking at your records, there’s a two-week gap. I assume you visited the United Kingdom to the south? Judging by your reaction, I hit the mark, didn't I?"
Just as Veled said, Lakeside was a major city in Campbell, in the northern part of the United Kingdom. For a place bordering demon lands, their wariness toward demons was relatively low, and it was a good place for various races to blend in.
"Then do you also know this? In the Empire to the west, conflict breaks out every single day. When we win and take humans prisoner, we either turn them into Majin or sell them for a price, but they behead every single demon they catch without exception."
"I... I didn't know that..."
I’d heard that friction with the Empire was severe, but I hadn't realized it was to that extent. I looked at Lena, and she seemed surprised as well, not having expected this line of questioning.
"Even so, we accepted it. Because those were the rules the Demon Race established. We are a community formed by those who were persecuted by humans, so we upheld the will of the First Demon Lord to not become like them. But that does not mean we will submit."
"I said I would forge peace, not a relationship of master and servant."
"No, it is the same thing. They will never stop encroaching upon us, and every time they do, a King who cries for peace will give up everything—his heart and soul—to appease them. Peace with humans is impossible."
"No, it is possible."
Lena, who had been listening quietly beside me, spoke up. She had said she would stay quiet since this was my hearing, but it seemed she decided now was the time to intervene.
"Possible? If you're going to talk nonsense, stay out of it."
"It truly is possible. In history, there have been several Demon Lords who maintained friendly relations with the Empire for over twenty years without even signing a peace treaty. Surely you know of them?"
Veled thought of a few Demon Lords who fit Lena’s description. There was only one thing those Demon Lords had in common that fit her point.
"Overwhelming might."
A Demon Lord who built a force so powerful that humans wouldn't even dare to invade actually managed to maintain long periods of peace.
"With his ability, we could even aim for a permanent peace."
Lena hugged me from behind my chair. While putting on a display of affection for Veled to see, she revealed information the other woman couldn't possibly know.
"Vivian-ssi, would you mind telling everyone how much stronger you became yesterday?"
"Uh... me? It was about 10%, I think? My muscle mass actually decreased, but I was shocked by how much stronger I got."
The eyes of everyone present turned toward Vivian. Since she had no stake in this, her fresh information carried weight. Everyone looked skeptical, unable to believe a testimony that exceeded the records—which stated a 10% increase required at least a month of consistent relations—by several times over.
It was only because Vivian was bad at math that she didn't realize it, but a 10% jump in a single night was an absurd figure.
"Hehe, do you see now? In a year—no, in just half a year—we will be ten times stronger. We can achieve permanent peace without those humans bothering us ever again."