Chapter 80
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80
She had only come to Judeca to rebuild the Demon King's army. She knew she wouldn't receive a warm welcome, but she had thought criticism, ridicule, and contempt would be the worst of it.
After all, for the past hundred-plus years, everyone had always been kind to Melju.
Deep down, she had hoped they would understand at least a fraction of her suffering.
"How pathetic."
The low, muttered word refused to leave her head.
Pathetic? All I'm doing is my best to rebuild the Demon King's army.
"Marmolia, what is the meaning of this…?"
Melju clung to a final sliver of hope as she questioned Marmolia, who slowly raised her head beside her.
Marmolia simply smiled again, a nonchalant grin playing on her lips. It was a smile feigning innocence. Melju’s mind went blank. Staring at that smile, she let out a hollow, empty laugh. "Ah, hahaha…"
It must be fake. That smile. She's trying to deceive me.
Marmolia whispered into Melju's ear.
"Ah. Our little Melju is so stupid."
Her smile stretched from ear to ear. Even so, mindful of Yubar, she subtly turned her body to hide the grin from his line of sight.
"Did you really think a Demon King who lost a war and her entire army would be welcomed here in Judeca?"
She whispered once more.
Her face, renowned for its exceptional beauty even among the Demon Kings, was now twisted with madness.
Even this was likely her holding back. Melju was certain of it, feeling Marmolia’s excited breath brush against her neck. If the other Demon Kings weren't watching, the air in this room would have been filled with vulgar laughter instead of tense silence.
"Descendant of Asmodeus."
Yubar's voice finally echoed through the hall. Drenched in sweat, Melju raised her head at the call.
Unable to bring herself to look Yubar in the face, she fixed her hazy gaze on the throne beneath him.
"I will give you time to make your excuses."
Excuses…
Did he just say "excuses"?
Without even asking what had happened, he was telling her to make excuses?
If it was an excuse for her mistakes…
What did I do wrong?
Was it coming to Judeca shamelessly after being defeated?
…Defeat. Was defeat the problem?
"It is a misunderstanding."
The words slipped out before she could organize her thoughts.
Everyone stared at Melju. Even Marmolia’s eyes widened in slight surprise.
"I did not lose to the humans."
It wasn't a lie. While the situation certainly hadn't been ideal, Melju had not been on the verge of losing to the humans back then. Defeat had not been imminent.
Although she had been quite close to the vanguard swordsman who was blocking all her magic, Melju had been a fraction of a second faster. She had cast her spell with absolute certainty.
Of course, she couldn't be sure she would have escaped completely unscathed, but…
I was winning.
In truth, the only reason Melju had abandoned the Demon King Castle was because of Swallow.
Yes, Demon King Melju de Limp Agrea had not been defeated.
Their premise was wrong. The Demon Kings here had misunderstood.
"It's true! I…"
But.
"I…"
I…
—No one believed her.
The dozens of gazes fixed upon her were all identical: cold and filled with contempt. They clearly thought she had gone mad and was spouting nonsense.
Melju realized it once again. Ah, I see. The Demon Kings here never had any intention of listening to me in the first place.
To de-escalate the heated atmosphere, they had to pin the blame on her. They were all thinking the same thing.
"You didn't lose to the humans?" a Demon King watching from behind questioned her.
"Then do you consider it a victory when the Demon King is the only one who barely managed to survive?"
"That is…"
The Demon King's army had been totally annihilated.
There was no refuting that.
An army's strength wasn't determined solely by the skills of individual soldiers.
Morale, strategy, deployment, proper management… countless factors dictated strength, and in the Demon King Castle, the one who oversaw them all was the Demon King.
If the Demon King's army was wiped out, whose fault could it be but the Demon King's?
It is all my fault…
She hung her head low, her vision going dark. As Melju fell silent, giving up on everything, the surrounding Demon Kings began to whisper like predators that had cornered their prey.
"She is a disgrace to our kind."
"How thick-skinned must she be to come to the sacred Judeca in such a state?"
"She deserves to die."
"She ruined the Demon King Castle her predecessor built with blood, sweat, and tears, yet she has no shame?"
"Doesn't having someone like her as a Demon King drag down our authority?"
"We must strip her of her status as a Demon King."
"Agreed."
"Let's kill her."
"Kill her."
"Even if we don't kill her, we must ensure she can never do this again."
"How about we cut off her horns?"
"Pull out her fangs, too."
"Crushing her wrists so she can't cast magic seems like a good idea."
"Still, we shouldn't let this ruin our banquet."
"Then let's decide her punishment during the meeting on the final day."
"What do we do with her until then?"
"Well, shouldn't we throw her in prison?"
"Sounds good."
"Agreed."
"Not a bad idea."
The words swirled endlessly in her head.
* * *
"Hey, Rene."
"Yes, Lord Swallow!"
"We've been running all the way here without a single break, haven't we?"
"That's true. You worked very hard, Lord Swallow."
"Then why are we heading straight to work the moment we arrive…?"
"Well, we can't just do nothing, can we?"
"No, we can. We can totally rest. This is something we can do after we rest…"
"It's not a difficult task, so I think it's better to get it over with quickly and then rest comfortably. I've already booked an inn, so let's push through just a little longer. Once this is done, we can truly rest for a few days."
Roughly two hours had passed since the carriage carrying Swallow and Rene arrived at the Knecht checkpoint.
Following Rene's instructions, the carriage stopped in front of the largest inn in the city. As was typical in Knecht, the size of an establishment was proportional to its amenities. The inn they arrived at was so well-equipped it was less a simple lodging and more an entertainment complex.
As soon as Rene entered, she demanded the best room. Seeing her ask for a room without even inquiring about the price, the innkeeper eyed the two of them skeptically.
Rene looked presentable enough, but Swallow was an absolute mess.
"The remaining rooms are quite expensive. And it's strictly payment upfront."
He quoted an absurd price, clearly intending to turn them away.
Yet, without so much as blinking, Rene readily paid the ridiculous sum and offered a thin smile, almost as if mocking the innkeeper.
A brief silence ensued.
After that, everything proceeded smoothly. In Knecht, money was everything. With it practically overflowing from their pockets, Swallow and Rene were treated no differently than the owners of the establishment.
The moment Swallow entered their assigned room, he threw himself onto the bed. Perhaps because it truly lived up to its hefty price tag, his face was filled with pure satisfaction as he lay there.
The fact that Swallow—a man who grew more lethargic the more comfortable the bed—remained as motionless as a corpse was a testament to its quality.
"Ah, this is heaven…"
Swallow let out a voice dripping with bliss. It felt as though all his hard work was being fully rewarded. If no one disturbed him, he felt he could lie there for a whole week.
—If no one disturbed him.
"Lord Swallow, you can't lie down."
But the disruption came from an unexpected source. Rene, who he'd expected to say something like, 'Let's rest today and work tomorrow, Lord Swallow,' had apparently had a change of heart. Contrary to his expectations, she shook him awake.
And that brought them to the current situation.
"Why…"
As she looked at Swallow, who was lost in the question of 'Why am I walking right now?', Rene beamed, looking incredibly happy about something. As she smiled, she thought:
Lord Swallow looks so tired.
Ah, Rene was so sad. Every time she saw Lord Swallow in this half-asleep state, her heart ached for him. She felt so guilty for even smiling right now.
…But regardless of that,
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Miss Rene, wouldn't you like to spend some quality time alone with the Boss?"
It was exactly as Patrick had said.
Turning her head slightly so Swallow wouldn't notice, Rene secretly wore an ecstatic expression.
Patrick's request had been simple. All she had to do was drop a few hints like, "I'll just go by myself," during her conversations with Swallow.
And just by doing that, the notoriously lazy Swallow had voluntarily offered to join her. Considering his usual behavior, this was practically a miracle.
She wasn't sure what had suddenly gotten into him, but—it must mean that Rene is just that precious to him.
Interpreting the situation in the most convenient way for herself, Rene clenched her fists.
With her rival Melju gone, there were no obstacles. Thanks to the opportunity Patrick had so kindly created, she could spend days alone with Swallow.
I will make Lord Swallow mine, no matter what.
She had learned a clear lesson from watching Melju.
Pure, passive devotion wasn't enough. One could never win love by simply waiting.
Sometimes, you had to launch a bold, aggressive offensive of affection, and that time was now.
Her plan was perfect.
It was a flawless plan, personally designed by Rene to span several decades, from their first date to their marriage, and from their marriage to the twilight of their lives.
It was so detailed that it was practically complete—all she had left to decide was whether their fourth and fifth children would be sons or daughters.
And this operation would be the starting point to turn all those plans into reality.
"We just need to compile a list of monsters suitable to recruit as dungeon members. If we do it together, it'll be over in no time, Lord Swallow."
Rene smiled once more as she coaxed him.
This, too, was part of her strategy. To prevent their date schedule from being ruined, it was better to get the chores out of the way beforehand. Furthermore, to ensure the smooth execution of her plan, she needed to wear Swallow out a little.
Once the work is done, Lord Swallow will definitely refuse to leave his bed.
Then, she would stick close to his side and spend days and nights together. After all, when a man and a woman shared a bed for several days, affection was bound to deepen.
Devoted care, heartfelt conversations… and eventually, deepening feelings.
And in the end…
Yes, it's perfect! Rene is a genius.
A deep blush crept up her face as she began to squirm. Watching her with uneasy eyes, Swallow grabbed her by the wrist. To him, it looked like her emotional instability was escalating into a full-blown fit, and he worried she might bolt at any moment.
Blushing all the way to her ears at his sudden touch, Rene stammered under her breath.
"I-I hope the monsters up to Room 4 keep getting wiped out in the future, too."
"What kind of horrible thing is that to say?"
The streets were crowded. It was that awkward hour when dusk began to fall, and the streets were congested with people heading out for the evening and others returning home. Swallow trotted along behind Rene, who walked ahead in high spirits, not letting go of her wrist.
"We're here."
Rene stopped in front of a large signboard.
The Subjugation Agency.
In a city that seemed to have no signposts for visitors, this was the one key institution that was clearly marked.
* * *
An orange sunset draped across the sky. Night was fast approaching.
Humans usually wrapped up their business around sundown, and the Subjugation Agency was no exception.
If they delayed any longer, it would close, and their trip would be for nothing.
With no time to hesitate, Swallow and Rene headed straight for the agency.
There was a security check to enter.
As soon as the guard saw them trying to enter, he rushed over and demanded proof of identity. He didn't ask for trivial details like names or ages.
"You only need to show me your badges."
He simply asked for their badges—the one item that could simultaneously verify their affiliated nation, subjugation history, and rank.
Of course, they had badges to spare. Whenever Rene cleaned up the corpses of subjugation squad members, she had made sure to collect any that were still in good condition.
Rene pulled two badges from her apron and handed them to the guard. Upon inspecting them, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah, you're A-rank subjugation squad members."
To those in the Primordial Core, A-rank members were mere weaklings who could be blown away with a single swing. But from a human perspective, an A-rank subjugation squad member was someone who had reached the pinnacle of strength.
They were the vanguard standing on the front lines of the "holy war to win freedom" that was dungeon conquest, and their numbers were few even when combining the Empire and the Kingdom Alliance.
…I've never seen these faces before, and they don't look like A-ranks at all.
A-rank subjugation squad members normally exuded an aura of dignity. It was evident in the quality of their equipment, the Touki they radiated, the scars from countless battles, and their confident expressions.