Taming the Great Demon
Bepahr writhed in agony, curling up under my foot.
"So you came down to the surface to avenge your brother? What if I'd never shown up even after you wrecked the coffee plantation? Were you planning to slaughter the people of this city?"
"Please forgive me!"
"Is that how you beg for forgiveness?"
Bepahr hurriedly dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead into the ground.
"Spare my life, at least, Hero!"
"Begging for your pathetic life after just a few hits? And you call yourself a great demon?"
Damned if he did, damned if he didn't—Bepahr looked up at me with a bewildered expression.
"If you're here for revenge, shouldn't a great demon start by wiping out a few cities first?!"
"Yes! Yes! Exactly!"
"But all you did was wither a few trees—and screw a goat in the process? You're a total failure as a great demon!"
That bastard Margas had terrorized the central continent the moment he descended on Al-Jasha, massacring entire villages in an instant. Yet this so-called great demon Bepahr's big crime amounted to... tsk tsk. Pathetic, even for a demon.
Bepahr trembled on his knees, face pressed to the dirt. It was about time for Celereja to finish him off with her holy power.
"Saintess! Come here!"
At that moment, Bepahr grabbed my pant leg and pleaded.
"H-Hero...! I'll... revive all the coffee trees... so please, just spare my life..."
"What nonsense is this? You can bring the coffee trees back to life?"
Bepahr immediately reached out to the nearest tree. The shriveled black husk suddenly sprouted fresh green leaves, stretching like it was waking from a nap. Glossy coffee cherries began to swell and form in clusters. Watching it, a sudden idea struck me.
"Are you rewinding time, or actually resurrecting the dead?"
"The latter. I killed them, so I'll bring them back. Hero... I beg you..."
Oh? If that's the case...
I squatted down beside Bepahr.
"What will you give me if I spare your life?"
"P-Pardon?"
"Demons love deals and contracts, don't they? What do I get in return for letting you live?"
Bepahr hesitated, his black flames flickering uneasily.
"I'll make the first offer. Revive every last one of these coffee trees."
"Th-That I can do... easily...!"
Celereja had arrived at my side just then. Even on his knees, the great demon towered over her, filling her face with terror.
"Saintess. Put binding restraints on this demon."
"Binding restraints...?"
"To tether him to the surface so he can't return to his home world."
At the words "binding restraints," Bepahr convulsed and let out a guttural scream.
"No! Not the restraints—anything but that!"
"Demons are notorious liars who break promises left and right. Did you think I'd just let you go without precautions?"
"And you call yourself a hero of justice and morality? Even street thugs wouldn't stoop to such dirty tricks!"
"Coming from a demon, that's rich. Turn into human form, Bepahr."
As Bepahr showed signs of defiance, I cracked his skull with the scabbard of my holy sword.
"Fine! Stop hitting me!"
In an instant, Bepahr transformed into a sleek naked woman and crawled toward me, pleading.
"Hero... let me go home... I'll revive all the coffee trees... no restraints, please..."
"Not until you've done everything I say."
Celereja raised her voice at that.
"You're hiring a demon?! Bertrand, are you out of your mind!?"
"Just for some manual labor. Hurry and make the restraints."
After a moment's hesitation, Celereja shrugged in resignation and channeled her holy power.
"Grrgh...!"
Weakened as he was, Bepahr groaned and scuttled backward from the holy energy. Soon, golden restraints clamped around his neck and wrists. A golden gag sealed his mouth—he couldn't speak now. A demon's temptations could drive listeners into severe mental affliction. With those on, Bepahr could never return to his world. And only the caster—not even Bepahr himself—could remove them.
"Everyone wait here a bit. I need to head back to the inn."
As I mounted the camel, Rowell asked worriedly,
"Is it safe to leave him like that, Master?"
"Don't worry, Rowell. He's too weak to break free."
* * * * *
I opened a dimensional gate and went to find Mideronde.
"Hey, elf. Help me out."
"With what, all of a sudden?"
"I need to transplant thousands of trees at once. Use some magic."
"Trees...? Planning to make a forest or something?"
"Not a forest—a plantation. Come on, I'll explain there."
Mideronde promptly opened a gate straight to the coffee plantation.
Surveying the withered trees, she frowned.
"They're all dead. And you want to move these?"
"Yeah."
Her gaze shifted to the restrained Bepahr.
"What's that?"
"A great demon. The one who ruined the plantation. Bound with holy restraints so he can't escape."
"Hmm. A great demon. Anyway... where are you transplanting them?"
"Use that scouting spell of yours. Let's find a good spot nearby."
Mideronde cast her reconnaissance magic, summoning a massive eye-like orb. It shot into the sky and began scanning the surroundings.
"Rowell, come here. Check if there's suitable terrain for coffee trees."
Mideronde projected a shared view of the eye's vision in the air. Rowell peered at it intently.
"Wait. Over there—that plateau looks promising."
The eye swiveled back to the spot.
"Yes, that's it. Perfect elevation, easy access. Spot on."
"Good. Mideronde, transplant all the trees there."
"Kyaaah!!!"
Celereja, watching the projection, screamed. The barren plateau was suddenly filled with dense rows of dead trees. Our surroundings had become a desolate wasteland.
"Excellent work, Mideronde."
"Piece of cake."
She replied with a faint smile.
"Alright, let's move."
The group—including the great demon—teleported via Mideronde's spatial magic to the new plateau.
"What do you think up close, Rowell? Good for a coffee plantation?"
"The terrain is ideal, but... apologies, Master. These are all dead trees."
Rowell gingerly touched a rotten leaf, and it crumbled to dust.
"Plants can revive sometimes, but only if the roots survive... these..."
"Don't worry about it."
I turned to Bepahr, who was drooling and weeping around her gag.
"Revive all the trees here."
The moment I spoke, every coffee tree burst back to life in a wave of green. Celereja staggered in shock, and Mideronde caught her.
"You alright, Saintess?"
"Mideronde... am I seeing what I think I am...?"
Rowell gaped at the trees heavy with ripe cherries.
"M-Master..."
"This is our coffee plantation."
"Hngh...!"
A bizarre noise escaped the refined, polite Rowell.
"But it's unlicensed..."
"Using dimensional gates to ship to another country is unlicensed anyway."
"True, but... if you're not stationing here permanently, how will you protect the farm...?"
"For now... we'll use what we've got."
I turned to Mideronde.
"Can you warp space to keep outsiders out?"
"Easy. Make it so they get pushed farther away the closer they try to get. And camouflage it to look empty from outside."
"Perfect. Do both."
With spatial distortion sealing this place off, I could keep a permanent gate open. Harvest beans here and ship straight to the inn—bean prices would plummet.
Rowell clapped.
"Brilliant, Master. Insane cost-cutting. Even at lower prices, we'd profit."
"The issue is who harvests and manages all these..."
I glanced at Bepahr, sweating bullets in fear.
Put her in charge and summon lesser demons for labor? Nah... can't trust demons.
"Mideronde, last time you fired those human workers, you made golems for the monster zoo, right?"
"Yeah."
"Think they'd work for coffee farming?"
"I can make as many as you want—they're cheap. But training them is on you. It's exhausting."
Perfect. Labor for harvesting secured. Time to wrap this up.
"Saintess. Remove the great demon's gag."
The gag came off, unleashing a waterfall of thick saliva that soaked her breasts and navel.
"Hahk...! Hahk...! Let me go now, Hero!"
"Sorry, but I learned not to make deals with demons lightly."
"Please... if you want my body, take it... just spare me..."
"No interest in a slut who screws goats."
I turned to Celereja.
"Saintess. Let's finish this."