The Disappearance of the S-Class Hero (3)
In any refined restaurant worthy of the name, music to accompany the meal is simply mandatory.
Intelligent creatures tend to prefer harmony between two or more elements rather than focusing on just one, and nothing achieves that quite like pairing a fine dinner with beautiful music.
The same principle applied even in this place.
Demons, by nature, are little more than beasts who long ago discarded any artistic sensibility. None of them possessed the hobby of performing beautiful music, so the idea of anyone here being able to play refined classical pieces was laughable. To them, “pleasing the ear” meant listening to the screams of the weak. Even if one scoured all of Tenebris, only the occasional enslaved human might understand such refined tastes. No demon ever would.
That was why my every meal had been accompanied by nothing but cold, barren silence.
“A rather fitting piece, wouldn’t you say, Anima?”
“I agree completely, my lord.”
Now, however, a phonograph played during every meal, and the fact filled me with unexpected joy. No more desolate solitary dinners. That was what I thought.
Of course, even back when I lived as Eternal, I had never particularly enjoyed eating while listening to quiet classical music.
“Ah, the pitch is off. Would you adjust it?”
“As you command.”
Anima immediately set down her utensils, raised her right hand, and touched the volume lever—no, the pitch lever. Only then did the sweet moaning—rather, the music—resume its flow.
“As expected, you’re quite capable, Anima. To think you can handle even this.”
“You flatter me beyond measure.”
The meal was delicious.
No matter how wild the demon race might be, they still needed to eat to survive. And while they might lack artistic talent, their culinary skills were genuinely excellent.
If only their art had developed as well as their cooking, my free time wouldn’t feel quite so tedious.
“This wine is excellent. The best I’ve tasted so far. Where did you say it was from?”
“It is from the Bourgogne region, my lord. Since it pleases you, I will arrange for a sufficient stock to be purchased immediately.”
“Yes, please do.”
Delicious wine, delicious food.
Yes. This was all part of living well.
I knew from experience that neglecting even your own survival only led to cold betrayal in return. If that was how things were, then at least while you were alive you should eat well and live comfortably, shouldn’t you?
“Mm, I’m satisfied. Let’s eat together like this often from now on.”
“That is too generous a suggestion.”
“I’m doing it because I get bored. Eating alone is surprisingly lonely. So eat with me, won’t you?”
“…Understood.”
“No take-backs, alright? I’ll remember this.”
After finishing the meal, I wiped my mouth and leaned back in my chair, waiting for dessert. A meal could not be considered complete without it. Realizing that only half a year ago felt like a genuine loss in my life.
However, something kept intruding on that pleasant time.
“Ah, it’s noisy.”
“Shall I remove it?”
“No. Fix it properly. That squealing keeps breaking through.”
“I will handle it correctly.”
While Anima and I ate, the phonograph—drugged into a helpless state, unable to even touch her own soaking wet pussy—kept letting out distorted sounds like a stretched-out tape.
I couldn’t exactly throw her away.
“Hey, Miriam.”
“Mmph! Hngh! Haaahhh!”
“This won’t do. Add more aphrodisiac.”
“Mmmmmmph!!!! Hnghhhh!!!! Hnguuuuuuuuh!!!!”
Miriam—or rather, the phonograph—thrashed her body wildly as if begging me to stop, but with her powers sealed she possessed less strength than an ordinary woman. Anima quickly pinned her down. The girl twisted and writhed as she felt the cold liquid aphrodisiac seep through the thin fabric covering her tiny pussy.
“You need to perform your role properly. How can you fail so badly at something so simple?”
“Mmmph! Hnguuuuuuuuuh!!!!! Kuuuugh! Kuuuuuugh!!!!”
“It’s too loud. Anima, I permit you to use violence so long as she doesn’t lose consciousness. Just don’t damage her body.”
“A whip has already been prepared. May I use it?”
“By all means.”
Anima rose at once, retrieved a red whip left outside the dining room, and began lashing Miriam without mercy.
“Hnguuuuh! Mmph! Uuuuuph!! H-hngh! Hup!”
Red lines began to bloom across her pale skin.
Where the lashes overlapped, the flesh tore open and crimson droplets welled up. Miriam pressed her head to the floor beneath Anima’s feet, trembling all over in a posture of desperate begging. Only then did the whipping stop.
“Ah, dessert has arrived. Anima, do you like sweets?”
“If it is something you bestow upon me, my lord, I could even consume the flames of hell.”
“No… I didn’t mean it that seriously. I was simply asking about your preference. Dessert is supposed to be a happy time.”
A meal was important.
No living thing could survive without eating. Even plants that could neither move nor speak required water and sunlight to live.
A meal was the most noble and enjoyable time of all.
So how could anyone ruin such a moment simply because their superior had ordered it?
“That’s right. The honey ice cream from last time was delicious. It was genuinely impressive. I think the one who made it deserves a bonus.”
“I will see to it.”
Only after devouring all the fruit and ice cream that had been served for dessert did Anima and I rise from our seats.
Anima immediately grabbed Miriam by the hair and followed me out of the dining room. The servants who had been watching our moods bowed their heads one by one and began cleaning up.
“Ah, Anima. You’re taking her straight to the underground prison, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“I’ll come along. Once you’ve thrown her in, could everyone withdraw for a moment? I have something to discuss with her.”
“You wish to speak with her, my lord?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. I will make the arrangements quickly.”
As always, Anima was completely reliable.
**
Right after returning to the prison, I finally removed the blindfold. The sight of Miriam with her limbs spread and bound was almost comical.
Both arms and both legs were chained to iron spheres heavier than her own body. Unable to move an inch, she couldn’t scratch the maddening itch between her legs. Her expression was one of pure torment.
I stood outside the bars watching her, but she no longer seemed to care. She focused solely on her desperate struggling.
“Miriam.”
“Haa… ahgahhh… uwaaa…”
“Miriam.”
“Want it… want to go… haeu… uwaaa…”
“Miriam.”
“Pussy… my pussy…”
I had come to talk, yet she didn’t even seem capable of holding a conversation.
Disappointing.
Was her mental strength really only this strong?
I had at least expected her to show the same cold sneer she wore when she betrayed me, pretending nothing was wrong. Perhaps I had simply placed too much expectation on her.
So even in this state, I spoke the one word I knew she could never forget.
“Ria.”
“…What?”
“Now you’re finally looking this way.”
“You—what did you just say… hnguuuuh… You! Youuuuu!!! Tell me right now! How do you know that—! Haaahk…!!!”
Her effort was admirable, so I couldn’t help but clap.
Miriam’s eyes were no longer dead. They burned with fierce vitality as she glared at me.
“Didn’t you hear? I said Ria.”
“How—how do you know that name! You, it can’t be a coincidence… Kuuuugh! Tell me right now! No one should know that name… hnguuuuh…!”
“Haha, if you’re going to speak, do it clearly. Mixing in all those moans makes it impossible to understand you.”
“This is all… because of you peeeople…!!!”
“No, no. Because of me and us? Everything is your own fault. You’re the one who’s weak—why blame others?”
“Ugh… you piece of trash. I will definitely kill you. I will tear you apart. I will rip you to shreds!!!”
“Oh, those are promising words.”
Those eyes. Those were the eyes.
The eyes that had burned themselves so deeply into my memory.
An unforgettable expression.
“Tear me apart, you say. Just like that man you personally threw away?”
“You… fuck. Fucking bastard! You know something… hngaaaaaaaah!!!!”
Since her mouth was so filthy, I decided to correct her a little.
I stepped inside the iron bars and pressed firmly on Miriam’s belly. She couldn’t finish her sentence; a mixture of pleasure and pain tore a fresh moan from her throat.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Humans really are amusing, aren’t they?”
“Kuuugh… I’ll kill you. I really will kill you. I’ll tear you apart until not even a trace remains!”
“I’m looking forward to it. Who knows? Maybe that wonderful boyfriend of yours will come to save you again, just like that day. The same way I killed him.”
“Stop iiiiiit! Stop it!!! Stop! Stoooooop!”
“Why are you acting like this? You’re the one who killed him. Shouldn’t you be proud? You killed a traitor to humanity. With the hand of the S-Class Rank One, no less. It should be a proud memory, not a painful one. Or perhaps there’s some hidden truth that no one else knows? Something like that? How ridiculous.”
“Nooooo!!! It’s not true!!! I didn’t—I didn’t mean to! That’s not what I wanted to do!!!”
“That’s enough. The mood has been ruined.”
I closed the iron gate and stepped out.
Miriam, unlike when she first heard the name “Ria,” now sat completely stunned, endlessly repeating, “No. That’s not me. I didn’t mean to do that.”
It was laughable.
You should have never done it in the first place.
As I left the underground prison thick with that vile stench, the rage that had boiled up inside me vanished without a trace.
The cruel moonlight of the night sky illuminated one side of my face.