Ch.127Demon Lord Maker – 2

After hearing that Gloria’s fate had been decided, Priscilla remained quiet until we arrived at the Agnes Duchy, having excused ourselves from the other three.

Though she still clung tightly to me, considering how Priscilla normally behaved when by my side, her current stillness was quite unusual.

“What do you think, Priscilla?”

“…I don’t know.”

The other men involved with the succubus had already been dealt with, and Gloria was the last one. Being a duke’s daughter, even a rotten one, apparently required more thorough deliberation.

According to the Archmage, they had struggled with deciding her punishment. She had directly seduced noble sons, but the ones she’d enchanted were useless nobodies, and there weren’t that many of them.

‘I suppose even considering this a dilemma is thanks to her family background.’

If she had been the daughter of a minor noble, or worse, a commoner, execution would have been the obvious choice without question. The title of duke carried that much weight.

“We have the final say anyway, so you can take your time thinking about it.”

“Okay…”

We’d received notice that her punishment had been decided, but the real decision-making power essentially rested with us. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have said things like “we’ll follow any alternative solution you might have.”

This wasn’t just a courtesy either. If it were, they would have used vaguer words like “we’ll consider it.” Though I didn’t know the exact reason, it likely had something to do with Priscilla always sticking close to me.

“You know, what I said before about being okay with killing her hasn’t changed. I’ll leave it to you, Mira.”

By “before,” she must mean when we visited the duchy and I shattered her father’s hand. I looked down at Priscilla. She seemed more subdued than usual. I could tell because we’d spent so much time together.

Instead of offering words of comfort, I gently pulled her into my arms and stroked her head. This must have been the right move, as her arms wrapped around my back, holding me tightly.

“What exactly are you doing to my daughter?”

“…”

It would have been the perfect comfort if only we hadn’t been caught by the Duke. Unfortunately, our timing seemed to be completely off.

Duke Maximilian’s eyes blazed with fury the moment he saw us embracing. His face contorted as he strode toward us with purposeful steps. Perhaps embracing like this right in front of the duchy was a bit risky.

However, I wasn’t worried.

“Don’t come any closer, Father.”

Because the one I was holding was Priscilla.

Without even turning around, Priscilla stopped the Duke in his tracks with an icy tone. The Duke froze in place as if his feet were magnetized to the floor.

“Priscilla…”

“Don’t even speak to me. You’re interrupting.”

After stopping the Duke with just a few words, Priscilla wriggled deeper into my embrace. The Duke watched with an expression that suggested he might shed tears of blood.

“Leave us alone like this. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been right now. If any harm comes to Mira or anyone around him because of this, I’ll never call you Father again, and you’ll never see my face. Understood, Father?”

“Nnnghhhh!”

Having received this ultimatum, Duke Maximilian fell to his knees as if he were dying. Priscilla proudly raised her head with a “Didn’t I do well?” expression.

‘If I pat her head now, it would be like teabagging him.’

But if I didn’t, their relationship would deteriorate to the worst. She would think my refusal was because of the Duke.

Inwardly laughing at the irony of having to pat his daughter’s head in front of him—essentially performing something akin to teabagging—for the Duke’s sake, I reached out my hand.

I could almost hear the anguished cry of a father with a daughter.

“The Agnes Duchy may permit this, but Maximilian personally will never forgive it.”

“…Yes.”

Honestly, if I were in his position, I wouldn’t forgive someone doing that right in front of me either.

Feeling the Duke’s burning gaze sent behind his daughter’s back, we arrived at the location the Archmage had directed us to. It was an annex of the Agnes Duchy. Several familiar-looking Archmages were guarding it.

“You’ve arrived, Mr. Mira Crate.”

The Black Archmage standing in front bowed his head and even used honorifics when he saw me. The Duke, momentarily confused, turned to look at me with shock after seemingly piecing together all the possibilities in his mind.

“Could it be… you were the developer of the healing magic?”

Since there was no need to hide it from the Duke, I nodded.

If one calmly considered the recent events and their causal relationships, seeing the Archmage behave this way, it wouldn’t be difficult to deduce. But to comprehend and accept it in just a few seconds was an entirely different matter.

As befitting the head of the family, he seemed quite sharp-minded.

“I suppose that makes you more than qualified to take responsibility for my daughter, doesn’t it?”

“Mira…”

At my words, Priscilla clung to my arm with an affectionate voice.

The title of healing magic developer must have carried immense weight, as the Duke’s eyes had lost almost all hostility despite his earlier declaration that he would never forgive me.

Though his pride seemed to prevent him from saying it out loud.

“Forget what you just saw.”

“As you wish.”

After passing the Black Archmage with a warning not to spread rumors, I stood before the annex door. The Black Archmage who had followed closely behind dispelled the barrier on the door.

After that, he had to dispel eleven more barriers before we could finally reach the second-floor room where Gloria was supposedly kept. I wondered why they had put so much effort into these barriers when she hardly posed any danger.

“Um… Mr. Mira Crate.”

The black mage who had dispelled the final barrier cautiously spoke up. Duke Maximilian still couldn’t hide his astonishment at seeing the haughty Archmage groveling before me.

“About that mana breathing technique you mentioned to Master Valera… I’m absolutely not trying to pressure you! I’m just genuinely curious, so if this seems disrespectful, please forgive me!”

“I’ll start after finishing other matters first. Before the academy goes on break. Satisfied?”

“Of course! I’ll relay that message!”

After confirming that only the three of us remained, I flung the door open. I saw Gloria trying to calm her trembling body by drinking tea.

Of course, it wasn’t working. For every sip she took, she spilled about ten times as much on the floor. The table, sofa, carpet, and even her dress were completely soaked—a pitiful sight.

“M-Mira Crate!”

Gloria stood up as soon as she saw me. Her face, which strongly resembled Priscilla’s but with added viciousness, remained the same, though she seemed considerably subdued due to recent events. She looked about 0.8 Priscillas now.

She approached trembling, then hesitated when she noticed Priscilla clinging to my side and Duke Maximilian appearing behind us, and retreated cautiously.

“F-Father.”

“You’ve heard that your punishment has been decided.”

“Yes…”

“Don’t grovel. Maintain the honor of the Agnes Duchy.”

The Duke pronounced her sentence in an ice-cold voice and then turned to leave.

“Are you leaving?”

“As a father, I don’t wish to see my daughter being punished. Don’t mind me and do as you see fit. If you wish, you may even carry out the execution.”

Gloria’s face turned deathly pale as she realized what punishment awaited her from those words, but the Duke left without looking back.

“Please spare me! I don’t want to die yet! I’ll do anything, please!”

Gloria rushed over, almost crawling, and grabbed my pant leg. Priscilla slapped her hand away with a disgusted expression.

“I can’t think of a more weightless plea than ‘I’ll do anything.’ Especially since you can’t really do anything. The magic should still be in effect, so why should I accept?”

She was referring to the magic I had left on Gloria before. I hadn’t had any reason to use it since then, but it was still active.

“T-then what would make it carry weight?! Huh?! What should I do?!”

“There’s no way.”

“Ah, ahhh…”

Despite Priscilla’s interference, the hand that had been desperately clutching me lost its strength. Gloria began to cry bitterly. I didn’t feel particularly sorry for her. After all, she had brought this upon herself.

Though her crimes were minor compared to what she did in the original story, collaborating with demons was still collaboration.

‘Should I just cut her head off and be done with it?’

While pondering how to handle this, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.

“You said you wanted to stay young and beautiful forever, right?”

“…What? H-how did you…”

“I have a way.”

“I’msorryIwaswrongIdon’twanttodiepleasesavemepleasesavemepleasesavemepleasesaveme—”

The succubi looked at Gloria with a mixture of contempt and curiosity as she crawled into a corner, knelt down, covered her eyes, and trembled violently.

“Turn a human into a succubus?”

The succubus at the front asked. Her name was Cliona, if I remembered correctly. She was the one who had talked the most when I went to awaken Nika. I vaguely remembered her face.

She was using honorifics now, unlike before, probably because she knew about my relationship with Nika.

“Yeah. Nika said it was possible.”

“Yes, it’s possible… but I wouldn’t really recommend it? It’s not like we’re creating one from human semen; turning a human into a succubus will only make her a half-baked one at best. Are you sure about this?”

“That’s why I’m changing her. She said she doesn’t want to die. I want to show her there are fates worse than death.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense. This should be fun after a long time.”

She said she didn’t want to die and wanted eternal beauty and youth, so making her a succubus would be perfect. It would be a life worse than death, guaranteed to be full of torment.

“Mira! Priscilla! Please save me! I was wrong! I was all wrong—”

“Goodness, how noisy. You’ll be screaming plenty soon enough, so why waste your energy now? She won’t need clothes, so strip her. Oh, and bring anyone who likes human female energy.”

The succubi who received Cliona’s instructions grabbed Gloria and dragged her away with curious eyes. Given the instruction to strip her because clothes weren’t necessary, they were clearly planning to use a truly succubus-like method.

Priscilla watched from beginning to end as Gloria was carried away by the succubi, disappearing into what was visibly an obscene place.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“…I don’t know.”

I took Priscilla, who seemed deep in thought, to the very top of the castle. We had no choice but to leave, as all the nearby succubi were visibly on the verge of going into heat.

After staring at the demonic landscape with a complicated expression for quite some time, Priscilla finally spoke.

“At first, I wanted to kill her with my own hands. Our family was in shambles because of her, and I suffered tremendously, repeating it over a hundred times. But…”

“But?”

“…When the opportunity finally came, I felt like a novel character had died rather than feeling like I’d succeeded in getting revenge. I haven’t said it, but I’ve felt that way all along. Everyone except you, Laura, Rosaria, and Elisier—everyone else.”

“Even earlier in front of the mansion?”

“Yes. Since then, continuously.”

So that’s why she had been so dejected.

I quietly took her hand. Instead of burrowing into my arms, Priscilla squeezed my hand tightly.

“Priscilla. I’ve got my answer, so just listen now.”

“…”

“I understand completely. That the people here don’t feel like real people to you. And why that’s the case. I can understand all of it. It’s absolutely not your fault.”

If you’ve seen the same words spoken at the same time, the same events unfolding over a hundred times, and then realize it matches what you saw in a novel, it’s natural to feel that way. It’s a perfectly normal reaction.

Perhaps Laura, Elisier, and even Rosaria, though to a lesser extent, might feel the same way.

“So, you can continue thinking of this world as a novel.”

Priscilla’s eyes widened, as if my answer was unexpected.

“I’ll change the ending for you.”

“…!”

“Every novel has an ending, right? We’ll see a happy ending where the Demon God is killed, peace returns to the world, and we go back to our original world. Together. I’ll make it happen.”

“R-really… Really…?”

Priscilla asked if I meant it. For Priscilla, who would follow my words without the slightest doubt, this question carried more weight than usual.

“Of course. Really. You don’t need to change, Priscilla. Everything else can change instead. To fit you, to fit us.”

“Mmm… yes… I’ll definitely… definitely do that…”

As always, but unlike usual, Priscilla threw herself into my arms while crying. I patted her back gently.

‘A novel character, huh.’

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Despite being able to understand Priscilla, I couldn’t completely empathize with her.

Partly because of what happened in the previous world, but mainly because I had never experienced regression myself. Without experiencing a repeating world firsthand, my empathy would remain merely verbal.

‘What’s that?’

While comforting her for quite some time, I heard a commotion from below the castle.

“Mira, if you have a moment— Oh my, did I interrupt?”

“I was just comforting her. Not in any weird way, so don’t say anything stupid. Why are you here?”

As I was wondering what was happening, Cliona came looking for us. Upon seeing me embracing Priscilla, she quickly tried to turn away but stopped when she heard my words.

“Some guys trying to claim the Demon King’s position have come to visit. The Queen told them indirectly that there’s only one person she serves, but it doesn’t seem to have worked. They find it suspicious that we’re not sending troops to the Demon King’s castle and are maintaining neutrality.”

“And they’re satisfying their desires while they’re at it?”

“That’s not entirely untrue. They could send just a few people, but they come in groups of dozens, and they always insist on embracing us before leaving. Their intentions are obvious. It’s good for us since we get free energy, but their behavior is so atrocious that nobody really likes it.”

“That’s enough then.”

“Pardon?”

I carefully unwrapped my arms from her waist. Seeming to understand my intention, Priscilla also released her arms from my waist. I gently stroked her head and drew my Dragon Fang Sword.

“As it happens, I have something to do as well.”