episode_0084

Alice’s original plan went something like this:

1. Meet Marianne. 2. Become close with Marianne. 3. After killing the Demon King, find out why she commits suicide. 4. Solve the problem. 5. Happy ending.

That was the rough idea, but—

‘How am I supposed to solve it when I don’t even know why she kills herself in the first place?!’

A problem arose immediately.

“You’re saying there’s absolutely no reason for her to commit suicide?!” “Yes.” “There’s really nothing at all?” “Yes.” “No way. There has to be something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t just kill herself for no reason!”

If the Demon King is captured, Marianne dies with a 100% probability.

After confirming that Marianne is alive, if they take the shortest route to the Demon King’s castle, defeat him, and return, they’ll find Marianne dead by suicide.

They tested it over and over.

The result?

They confirmed that whenever the Demon King dies, Marianne always commits suicide.

It happens the instant the Demon King is killed.

This was the conclusion Cain reached after examining every possible scenario.

So there must be a reason.

There has to be something that forces her to take her own life.

…Or so he said, but—

“No matter how much I think about it, there’s absolutely no reason for me to commit suicide?” “None at all?” “Yes.” “Th-that can’t be…” “Hmm… Even if you say that, nothing comes to mind… Should we think about something else first?” “Something else?” “Yes.” “Like what?” “There are two other conditions that lead to my death, right?”

Marianne pointed at the notes in her notebook as she spoke.

“If my identity as a succubus is exposed, I die—but that can be avoided by being careful. However, just meeting the Hero’s Party is enough to kill me.” “Ah… That?” “Yes. So, if we focus on solving this problem first—” “You don’t need to worry about that.” “Huh?” “Because we’re the Hero’s Party.” “Wha—?!” “Now that I think about it, I never introduced myself.”

She gave a brief introduction.

“My name is Alice.” “I’m the Sword Master of the Hero’s Party.” “Uh… I’m… Marianne… a succubus who runs a ranch… I guess…?”

Marianne trembled as she asked:

“Y-you’re really the Hero’s Party?…” “Yep.” “The ultimate weapon of humanity, assembled by the Goddess of Light, Serena, to slay the Demon King… Right?…” “You could say that. It’s not wrong.” “The ones who’d kill me just for meeting them… Those…” “Ah… That’s not the case.” “Huh?” “The future written in that notebook is one where Cain didn’t intervene.” “Then…” “Now, everything’s completely different.”

In the original future, the Hero’s Party would have immediately recognized Marianne as a demon and killed her on sight.

According to the prophecy RPG, Saintess Sophia would have seen through her instantly.

If they had met Marianne with Sophia present, a battle would have started immediately, leading to Marianne’s death.

So?

What if they didn’t bring Sophia?

At first glance, they’d perceive Marianne as just an ordinary ranch owner.

But if Marianne panicked and ran away, they’d realize she was a demon, chase her down, and hunt her.

Even if they didn’t pursue her, the Knight Order would mobilize and carry out an extermination mission.

…And that’s how Marianne would die.

But.

Cain changed the future.

“Our Cain burned his very life researching and even possessed someone just to save one woman. How could we possibly kill her after that?”

To be honest, at first, Alice was jealous.

It made sense.

Cain was so good.

And yet, he loved another woman.

Normally, jealousy would be the natural reaction.

But.

Cain was the benefactor who saved Alice’s life.

The debt she owed him was so enormous, she could never repay it even in a lifetime.

So.

She let go of her jealousy.

All for the sake of seeing Cain smile happily in the future.

“So, promise me.” “Huh?… Wh-what?…” “That you’ll live happily with Cain. If you just promise me that, our Hero’s Party will support you with everything we’ve got.”

Marianne thought for a moment before answering.

“Normally, I wouldn’t be able to say something like ‘I’ll live happily with a man whose face, age, and personality I don’t even know’… The whole reason I’m here is because I yearned for human love.” “Yeah.” “But I also can’t ignore someone who went this far to save me.” “Yeah.” “It was also my wish to meet a man who’d love me sincerely, even knowing I’m a demon.” “Yeah.” “Still…” “Hmm?” “I do have my own preferences… Ah!… Not that I’m super picky or anything!… Just… as long as he’s somewhat attractive…” “Define ‘somewhat.’” “W-well… Looks-wise… Any man in my village between 20 and 50 would be fine, but… if he’s too old or seriously ugly… Y-you know what I mean…”

Of course, of course.

It’d be hard to accept someone too old or seriously ugly.

Gratitude is gratitude, but love is love.

But.

If it’s Cain, it’s fine.

Alice, who had traveled through every nation, could say with absolute certainty:

Cain is insanely handsome.

Some rural village man in his 20s to 50s?

Pfft—

Get your comparisons straight~

A man as good-looking as Cain is hard to find even in the cities~

“H-he’s that handsome?!” “I’ve got a video. Wanna see?” “Yes! Show me!” “Hold on.”

Alice pulled out a crystal recording orb from her bag and activated it.

Then.

Cain’s face appeared.

“Whoaaaa…” “What do you think?” “Wow… I’ve never seen a man this handsome before… This is the guy who likes me that much?…” “That’s right.” “S-such a perfect face… I’m drooling… Ah!…” “It’s fine. I sometimes drool while staring at him too.” “R-right?! It’s not just because I’m a lewd succubus, right?! It’s normal to drool over a man this handsome, right?!” “I… guess?”

Honestly, Alice wasn’t sure what normal even was.

She’d seen plenty of men’s faces while traveling, but she hadn’t exactly been observing women’s reactions to them.

Still.

Based on the reactions of the women in the Hero’s Party, she could calculate the average.

‘I drooled, Lia drooled, Sophia drooled.’

Out of three women, all three drooled while looking at him.

Therefore.

The conclusion was obvious: Drooling over Cain was only natural.

A 100% drool rate!

…After hearing that, Marianne stood tall with newfound confidence.

“See?! This is normal, right?! It’s normal to want to lick those muscles and rub my whole body against him, right?!” “Totally normal. We try to cling to him every day because we want to do the same.” “You cling to him every day?!” “Yep. Hugging Cain feels amazing.” “Ahh… I want to be held by those muscles too… Just one look from that handsome face, and I’d melt on the spot…” “You too?” “You too, Lady Alice?” “We get along pretty well, huh?” “We really do.” “But…” “Hmm?” “Aren’t you uncomfortable with other women being around him?” “Why would I be?” “Most women want to be the only one loved, right?…” “Oh… Is that how human men’s preferences work?…” “Demons are different?” “Yes.” “How so?” “The more women a man has, the more impressive he’s considered… The more women he has, the more attractive he becomes… Humans don’t think like that?” “Usually, it’s the opposite.” “That’s weird… I heard humans also admire strong or wealthy men who have multiple wives… So I thought demons and humans had similar tastes… Was I wrong?…” “W-well… some do, but… demons are like that?” “Yes.”

They talked for a while.

Thanks to that, Alice learned the difference between humans and demons.

Human women fundamentally prefer men who focus solely on them and dislike polygamy.

But.

If a man is truly exceptional, one woman alone can’t keep him.

So, they reluctantly accept polygamy as a necessity.

Demons, however, are different.

Demon women inherently prefer men who have many women.

[Number of women = Male’s attractiveness]

…That’s the equation.

At least five wives.

Only then do the wives feel proud of their husband.

On the other hand,

if a man only has one or two wives, the wives might even scold him to get more.

That’s how important the number is.

“And the more exceptional the other wives are, the better.”

Even if she was just an ordinary demon,

if another wife was a former high-ranking executive of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings?

Then she could proudly boast about being in the same household as a Heavenly King.

So, if possible, they actively help their husbands court even better women.

“Then Cain is…” “By demon standards, the ultimate husband!”

A man who took the entire Hero’s Party as his wives—the greatest man of this era.

He was Marianne’s ideal in every way.

Handsome face.

Great body.

And a stacked wife lineup.

It’d be weirder not to like him.

“So…” “This harem—I approve! I fully support it!”

Thud!

She immediately grabbed Alice’s hand.

“Marianne.” “Lady Alice.” “Let’s make this work.” “Yes!” “But about the ‘legal wife’ position…” “You can decide that among yourselves. I’m not interested in that.” “You’re giving up the legal wife spot?” “Yes. Among demons, the legal wife should be the most outstanding woman—it’s an unspoken rule.”

Even if, say, a baron’s daughter married first,

if a count’s daughter later became a wife, the legal wife position would be handed over.

That’s how the household’s status rises.

And so on.

If someone even more distinguished or capable joined, she would become the legal wife.

…That was their culture.

“But you can decide that among yourselves. If I’m going to live in the human world, I should follow human customs.” “So you’re saying you’ll accept whoever Cain chooses as his legal wife?” “Yes.” “No desire for the position yourself?” “None.”

The woman closest to the legal wife position had just forfeited the battle.

Which meant Alice still had a chance!

‘Nice.’

But.

All of this only mattered if they solved the “problem.”

“If you die, none of this means anything! So think harder! Why the hell do you kill yourself?! Why do you commit suicide?!!” “Uwaaaaah! I don’t know either!!!”

They had to stop Marianne’s future suicide—but how?!

She didn’t even know why herself!!!