Chapter 370

Chapter 370

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 370: End Of The Expedition (7)

I implanted my domination technique into the minds of the new recruits that way. Right after the magic entered, their eyes became dazed, but after a little time, their rationality began to sprout.

“Kerrrk…!”

“Kurrrk…!”

You could say they were being reborn.

The ones who had only the intelligence of wild monsters suddenly gained rational thought. In a way, I was like their parent.

“Buril! Take the ones who have come to their senses, classify them, and assign them to each company! Company commanders, take responsibility and assign the recruits to platoons! Platoon leaders, do your best to train them so they can get accustomed to the unit! Understood?”

“Kerrk! Understood! All officers of field and company rank, assemble! Execute! Non-commissioned officers, take charge of the recruits who have come to their senses!”

“Executing, kerrk!”

—Thud!

The goblins moved systematically to receive the new recruits. The imps and kobolds carried out the same task.

Right now, they were still foolish subordinates who had just fallen under the domination technique, but once they entered their platoons and received training and education, they would surely become proper soldiers. At this point, there was no need for me to personally take care of each new recruit.

Once we returned and held an official induction ceremony, I would just need to show my face and offer a few words of encouragement.

“Heh heh heh, good.”

Since my subordinates were handling things well, my burden was lessened.

During my entire time in this realm, I continued to cast my domination technique on the new recruits, expanding my forces. At this point, I could confidently call it a brigade-level force.

And then, the next day.

After completing all preparations, we commenced our return to the castle.

“Grak. Demon King. It feels like a waste to abandon this place, grak.”

Hobgoblin Commander Hookbeak muttered.

“And whether we’ll be able to adapt to the new environment… grak. I worry about that.”

“Don’t worry. You all will manage just fine. Look, after receiving magic infusion this time, you’ve become stronger and smarter, haven’t you? You can handle it. Work hard together with Juragi.”

It wasn’t just goblins, imps, and kobolds. I had also captured and conscripted numerous lizardmen and hobgoblins.

Hookbeak and Juragi, based on troop numbers alone, could each be considered commanders of small battalions.

With two battalions, controlling an entire city would be easy.

By occupying Baron Helson’s territory, placing it under Hookbeak and Juragi’s control, and having the dark elf refugees farm the land, everything would work out perfectly. I would simply collect taxes.

“We’re going to a better place, so put in even more effort.”

“Grak. Understood.”

“Oh, how is Muturi doing?”

“Doing well, grak. But he has no social skills and just keeps making tools.”

Still the same as ever.

Muturi was technically the first hobgoblin to become my subordinate, but I still found him awkward to deal with.

“Not something I need to worry about.”

As long as he was living well and eating well, that was enough.

Anyway, we resumed our march.

And so, the expedition came to an end.

We returned in grand fashion.

—Waaaaaah!

—Ooooooh!

The people of my domain, who had already become devotees of the Saintess, were completely accustomed to the monster soldiers and knew that the expedition had been successful.

—Step, step, step.

As we walked down the main road, people came out to watch and cheer. It seemed they found the monsters and dark elves quite fascinating.

“Kerrrk… The humans are welcoming us.”

“They like us.”

“It’s so strange. I never thought humans would welcome us. Kerrk.”

Buril scratched his head, looking a bit bewildered. He seemed to find it unnatural to be welcomed by humans.

“What’s so strange about it? We’re all on the same side now. We and the people here are allies. They work hard, produce goods, and pay taxes, which allows us to buy armor and equipment.”

“They are good humans. Kerrk. Seems like there are good humans too.”

“Heh heh heh, exactly.”

“Kerrrk.”

Buril kept looking around in fascination at the cheering crowd lining both sides of the road.

Well, it wasn’t just Buril.

“Kurrk.”

“Gyusasat.”

Imsoong and Gyuil were the same. They walked in a bit of a daze.

“Hello, hello! We’re back!”

“Did you miss us?”

“Yahoo!”

The pixies flitted around, answering the cheers of the humans with their own excitement.

“Waaaaah! The angels have returned!”

“Uoooooh! Angels!!!”

During their free days, both the pixies and the dark elves had frequently visited village shops and made acquaintances. It seemed the people liked them.

They were beautiful and cute—there was no reason for people to dislike them.

“Hmm.”

Pixies generally had a tendency to hate humans, but that was only toward their enemies. They actually liked the people of our domain.

Feeling this novel sense of camaraderie, we returned to the castle.

“Ahhh…! You’ve finally returned! I have been waiting for you!”

The Saintess greeted me with overwhelming emotion.

“You’ve waited long, Saintess.”

“Do you know how long I have waited…!”

Of course, I knew.

“Apologies for being late. Please, come into my arms.”

“Ah!”

The Saintess hugged me tightly, and I responded by holding her close and giving her a deep kiss. It had been a while since I last tasted her body, and she was as sweet as ever. I should take her and Lea straight to bed and enjoy them together.

“Hoo…”

But before that, there was something I needed to do after finishing the kiss.

“Saintess? You might not care right now, but take a look over here.”

“Hmm?”

“The Queen of the Dark Elves, Rexabella. She has sworn allegiance to me, so I hope you two get along. We are family now. Ah, and she’s incredibly strong. She will be a core part of our forces from now on.”

I promptly introduced Queen Rexabella.

“…”

The Queen stood with her arms crossed, watching us with interest. The Saintess, who had been nestled in my embrace, stepped forward to face her.

“Rexabella, is it? I am the Saintess. I oversee the administration of this castle and serve as regent in the Demon King’s absence. Let us get along well.”

“Hoooh, is that so? Seems like you have a lot I can learn. Looking forward to working with you.”

The Queen smiled and took the Saintess’s hand.

“Oh, you two greeted each other quite well, didn’t you, Your Majesty?”

“There’s much to learn here. Saintess, was it? She may seem weak, but she knows far more than I do. There’s no harm in getting along.”

A bold and forward-thinking response.

I liked that.

“Hoh. I get the feeling you will be quite competent.”

“She may be a warrior type, but she is still a queen.”

“But that armor…”

“Ah.”

Even the Saintess couldn’t ignore the extreme level of exposed skin in the Queen’s armor.

“Is there a problem? I think it’s only natural to reveal this Queen’s beautiful body.”

“Please wear a robe when outside.”

“I don’t really want to. But… if it’s an order, I suppose I must comply.”

This daring Queen seemed to think nothing was wrong with walking around my domain dressed like that.

While we were having this discussion—

Creak.

“Ah, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting.”

The door opened, and my stepmother, Vera, entered.

“Ah! Mother! I missed you!”

“That was a long expedition. But from the looks of it, you achieved your goal. As your mother, I’d love to shower you with praise and rewards, but first, let’s head to the bathroo—hmm?”

Vera, who had been seductively teasing me, turned her gaze to the Queen.

“And you are?”

“Allow me to introduce her. The Queen of the Dark Elves, Rexabella. She is now part of our family, so please treat her well. She is a powerful warrior, so I’m sure you both can learn from each other.”

“Hoh?”

Hearing the word warrior made Vera’s eyes gleam.

Vera was also a powerful knight. Though she was now a ruler, she had never forgotten her identity as a warrior.

“Rexabella. Queen of the Dark Elves. I know the Dark Elves are formidable warriors. And as their Queen… you seem very strong yourself.”

She was clearly intrigued.

“Thanks for the compliment. You must be the ruler of the humans here? You look strong too. If the opportunity arises, I’d love to have a match with you. How about it?”

“Ahh! I was just about to suggest the same thing. I like your personality. Let’s prepare for a sparring match right away. You seem like someone I can learn a lot from, Queen.”

“I agree.”

The Saintess.

The Duchess.

The Queen.

It seemed the three of them got along well enough, which was a relief. Despite this being their first meeting, they were all high-ranking female leaders, so they found common ground quickly.

If these three women supported me, it would be like an eagle gaining wings. There was nothing to worry about.

“Khahaha! Seeing you all get along makes me happy! Excellent! Mother, I look forward to your match with the Queen!”

“Understood.”

“Look forward to it.”

The two women radiated fighting spirit.

It was a good sight.

“But.”

—Swoosh.

As I was smiling, my mother leaned in and whispered into my ear.

“Rexabella’s armor… is quite bold. A chain-linked nipple cover and a barely-there loincloth… Do all Dark Elf nobles enjoy wearing such things?”

“It’s just something special about this Queen.”

“I see. Seems like you like it, don’t you?”

“Ah, well…”

To be honest, I did.

“I quite like her outfit, Mother. If you wore something like that, it would be wonderful.”

“…”

I said it in a joking tone.

“Heh.”

Vera smirked and ruffled my hair.

“You perverted boy. What exactly are you trying to make your mother wear?”

“Hehehe, who knows.”

And so, we spent time catching up after my return.

As for the night… there was plenty of time for more intimate activities. But for now, there was an urgent matter to discuss.

“The Count?”

It was one of the baronies Vera had occupied.

It seemed that one of them was under attack by a Count. He had withdrawn part of his forces from fighting the angels to launch an assault.

Of course, since he was still engaged in battle against the angels, he didn’t have enough troops to capture our castle. But he had still sent a sizable force to make a show of strength.

“Lady Anna is currently fighting there.”

“It’s been a while since I heard that name.”

She was doing well. That was good to hear.

“Now that I’m back, I’ll wrap up my business here and quickly head out to settle this.”

Now that I had returned, the first thing I needed to do was take care of business.

Of course, I wanted to spend time with my women, whom I hadn’t held in a while, but a great ruler finishes his duties before indulging in pleasure.

Still, things hadn’t gone exactly as planned—I hadn’t been able to have sex for several days. That was because I had spent all my free time working.

And so, as I was once again focused on handling affairs—

Creak.

The door to my office opened.

“Who is it… Ah, isn’t it Mother?”

“You’re working hard. You should be resting, but you’ve been at it for days without a break.”

“Hehehe, it’s nothing special. But—?”

Something was off about Vera’s outfit.

Clink.

I could hear the faint sound of armor shifting beneath her robes. It seemed she was wearing armor underneath, but she had thrown a loose robe over it, covering everything except her face.

“What’s with that outfit, Mother? You should dress nicely when you come to see me.”

“You’re as arrogant as ever. Fine. I’ll take it off.”

—Swoosh.

And the moment my stepmother removed her robe—

“Oh wow.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“This is a gift for my hardworking son, who hasn’t had a moment’s rest. Do you like it?”

Wow.