It was when I had returned and was happily eating with the crew in the ship's dining hall.
"Viola, do you like that outfit?"
"Yes!"
Viola, who usually wore dresses, was now wearing a sailor uniform like Lena.
Viola in pants-style sailor attire.
This was the first time I'd seen her wearing pants. Looking at her, I made a resolution.
'…I'll do it later!'
It was the moment I vowed to devour Lena and Viola in their sailor uniforms.
Viola then spoke to Beatrice, who was quietly fiddling with her utensils.
"Bea-Beatrice, is something wrong?"
…Don't tell me she still hasn't memorized the name?
As I stared at Viola with a baffled expression, Beatrice, elegantly dressed in gothic lolita fashion, set down her utensils and cautiously opened her mouth.
"I want to go to the Demon King's Castle, nya."
""""….""""
Beatrice dropped a bombshell.
...
...
...
"Ah, so you mean you want to go and properly greet them?"
"That's right, nya."
The point of Beatrice's bombshell wasn't that she wanted to leave but that, since it seemed she'd be staying here for a while, she wanted to properly greet the Demon King.
Even as Beatrice explained herself, Viola was hugging her tearfully.
"I thought you were leaving because you didn't like me!"
"It's bothersome, but I don't dislike you, nya."
"Hng… That's so mean."
She's really blunt.
Viola looked hurt but also relieved.
'Now that I think about it, we said we'd live together for a month before deciding.'
Come to think of it, it had already been a month since we agreed to live with Beatrice.
Fortunately, she said she really liked it here.
"Aside from being bored at night, I like it here, nya."
"That's good to hear. We'll have to find something fun to do at night."
Since she doesn't sleep, all she does at night is wander around the ship.
No matter how fascinating the ship is, seeing it every day for a month would inevitably get boring.
'Not needing sleep isn't unconditionally good.'
Even if she shares the same space as others, living a different life doesn't seem like a particularly good one.
I asked Armonia:
"Armonia, can we go to the Demon King's Castle for a bit?"
"You may go. However, I recommend not staying for more than two days."
"Well, it's just a quick greeting. We'll be back soon. Beatrice, get ready."
Strike while the iron is hot—right after finishing the meal, we prepared to leave immediately.
***
Beatrice and I walked through the Demon King's Castle, guided by a demon guarding the entrance.
"I thought it was impressive before, but the Demon King's Castle is definitely my type."
Dark purples and blackish-reds coiled up the walls and pillars like they were blooming from the ground, and eerie artworks welcomed us.
It felt like we were being swallowed by the monstrous castle itself.
"Are the kids these days keeping their guard up well, nya?"
"Y-Yes! Everyone has been working even harder on guard duty since you left, Lady Beatrice."
"Heh… If any of them look even slightly tired today, I'll discipline them, nya!"
"Eek…!"
"Heehee, just kidding, nya."
"…."
Don't joke like that. You'll give the soldiers heart attacks and send them to their graves.
'…Now that I think about it, even if we visit unannounced, they'll prepare a place to sleep, right?'
[The one who trusts the Suho with enough fervor to pierce the heavens is here. Please rest assured.]
Well, considering they granted my request to bring peace to the hostile nation of Feron, it seems they really do like me.
Above all, only four days had passed here.
'So now that Beatrice is officially staying on our ship, time here will return to normal, right?'
[That is correct.]
'Hmm… Next time, I'll make time to visit Feron too.'
More than anything, I wanted to take Lena back to her hometown at least once.
Technically, I could take her to Feron right now, but even if we warped there, the people of Feron would still be in chaos.
Even if the Demon King granted Feron its freedom, only four days had passed.
Factoring in the time it would take for word to spread, it's likely Feron hasn't fully stabilized yet.
'Lena isn't in the warp room right now, is she?'
[That is correct. Since it's not a mission, only I am currently in the warp room.]
'Keep it a secret. Let's surprise her later.'
[Understood.]
While we were communicating, Beatrice was teasing the guiding demon.
I felt a little sorry for the demon but repeated my earlier warning.
"Make sure the humans living here don't notice we've come."
"Ah, understood…"
Beatrice kept teasing the demon, who answered in a trembling voice.
"Your voice is so small, nya~"
"S-Sorry!"
"Heehee."
"…."
The terror of the two-star duo's arrival.
***
I was welcomed by Demon King Gardia, shared a meal with him, and was then guided to the guest room where I'd stay for the night.
As soon as I entered the room, I flopped onto the bed and hummed.
"Whew… I'm full. Illunia's food is tasty, but it's a bit bland."
Lying alone on the guest room bed, I looked around.
This was the same room Viola and I had stayed in before.
'Now that I'm here alone, I feel a little guilty.'
When I came here, I left Viola and Lena on the ship.
I considered bringing them along to enjoy the scenery, but since we'd only stay for a day and leave in a hurry, I decided to save it for later.
Besides, the original plan was to just greet them and leave immediately.
The reason I couldn't leave right now was the warp usage limit.
Since I'd just returned, eaten on the ship, and then headed straight to the Demon King's Castle, I'd already hit the warp limit and couldn't go back yet.
'Armonia, how can I increase the warp usage limit?'
[Charging for 3 warps costs 500,000 Enel.]
'…Not doing it.'
Damn Enel…
But she explained that spending 500,000 Enel to increase warp uses would also reduce the recharge time.
Originally, one charge took 12 hours, but increasing the limit would reduce it to 8 hours.
'Someday, when I have the spare funds….'
Muttering to myself, I looked out the window.
The sunset cast its glow over the castle grounds, where demons bustled about busily.
And among them, something caught my eye.
Noblewomen living in the castle were lining up in rows, heading somewhere.
'Oh, the ladies. Wonder how they've been?'
Honestly, I didn't care how they were. I was just curious since I saw them.
The reason I'd told the demons to keep my visit a secret was because of those women.
[Indeed, if they learned of your visit, they would undoubtedly become a nuisance.]
'Ah, that's not the reason.'
[…?]
Being a nuisance wasn't a big issue.
I figured since I was here to resolve Beatrice's matter anyway, I might as well spend the night with the noblewomen.
[…Was that why you didn't bring Viola and Lena?]
'Pfft, don't be ridiculous. Why would I bother with them when I have Viola and Lena?'
Frankly, with Viola and Lena around, there's no reason to sleep with those women just to satisfy urges.
Viola and Lena are on a completely different level from the noblewomen here.
With women like them, there's no reason to look elsewhere.
Armonia seemed confused and asked:
[Then why…?]
'I'll show you later.'
I smirked and watched as the sun fully set.
***
"We knew you'd come!"
Noblewomen of various appearances surrounded me, clinging and pleading tearfully.
Even though only four days had passed here, the shackles of hope had made each day a living hell for them.
Humans are like scales perfectly balanced between hope and despair—the moment the balance tips, it becomes irreversible.
Even if just to preserve the weight already placed, they keep adding more, leading only to the scale's destruction.
With faces full of anticipation, the noblewomen grabbed my sleeves and spoke.
"Are you taking us with you now!?"
"We didn't think you'd come so soon!"
"You missed us, didn't you!?"
I spoke to the women clinging to me desperately.
"Ah, sorry. It's still not possible yet."
"Ah…"
The noblewomen's faces fell into despair as they hung their heads and began to sniffle.
Figuring I should calm them down, I comforted them.
"This time, I couldn't resist coming to see you. Next time, I'll definitely take you with me."
"Really!? You'll really take us next time!?"
"Of course."
I smiled while laughing inwardly.
'Today is the last day you'll ever see me.'
...
...
...
Patricia lay on the bed, spreading her legs seductively as she panted.
"Haa… Haa…"
Between her obscenely spread legs, thick semen—my release—dripped from her contracting vagina.
I'd ejaculated into the vagina of six women, but the amount was far from insufficient.
If anything, saying Patricia's legs were overflowing with cum would be more accurate.
Ignoring the semen dripping onto the bed, I carefully examined the pattern engraved on her lower abdomen.
———
[Patricia (Subjugation Level 1)]
Level 1 Subjugation: Basic skin contact is freely allowed. Requests that don't harm survival or reputation are readily accepted.
Vow: (—)
You may write one desired vow. -Sentence format is also acceptable-
———
The reason I'd wanted to come here was precisely for this—the "Vow."
I'd only used it on Min Ha-yeon before and wanted to test how effective it would be on the noblewomen here.
I couldn't just mess with Min Ha-yeon's vow recklessly.
'Let's try writing a vow now.'
[What kind of vow are you considering?]
'First, let's try it in sentence format!'
I wrote an absurdly long sentence.
-When the sun sets, an exposure vow activates, and at the same time, an incontinence vow forms, causing her to wet herself on the spot. Whenever she sees a demon, her arousal drips, and she goes into heat.-
[….]
'…Is it possible?'
—==
Please write only one vow.
—==
I figured as much, but it was worth a try.
'Tch….'
[The attempt was commendable. If this had worked, you wouldn't have needed Level 2 subjugation.]
Not sure if she's being sincere or sarcastic…
At least I roughly understood the vow system now.
Even if written as a sentence, only one vow can be formed.
A sentence-format vow seems to be a feature where multiple conditions can be attached to a single word-based vow.
For example, if I just wrote "exhibitionism," they will become a reckless exhibitionist. But if I wrote, "She enjoys thrilling exhibitionism at night," then they will become a woman who secretly walks around naked at night without being noticed.
In other words, it was the same concept of exhibitionism, but in a different form.
'Can I not replace it once it's written?'
[If it's under subjugation, you can erase it using Enel. However, only the vow itself will be erased—the accumulated memories and negative physical traits will remain.]
This means, if I wrote a half-baked vow, they enjoyed it for a while, and then I erased it, they might end up with a split personality.
Though that's an extreme example...
'Oof... I'll have to be careful.'
[By the way, erasing it costs 100,000 Enel.]
'...'
Guess I'll have to be extremely careful...
For reference, since I used the "Subjugation" skill to write the vow, the cost of erasing it is relatively low.
I was told that erasing an originally existing trait would cost an astronomical amount of Enel.
[Negative traits not only cost a significant amount to erase but also have a chance of recurring even after removal.]
'They recur?'
What, so Enel isn't all-powerful?
[It can erase negative traits. However, if the memories of the actions remain, those negative traits may resurface.]
'Hah... So even if I struggle to erase them, it's pointless?'
[Mostly, yes. When protagonists raised in Sanctuary or Zodiacs become filled with negative traits, their handlers often resort to natural death and then reincarnation as a last resort.]
'Ah! So that's why they reincarnate.'
[Correct.]
The representatives can use Enel to maintain their protagonists' youth, but they don't do so because the upkeep cost is outweighed by the negative traits.
No matter how perfect a protagonist is, they're still living beings—and living beings are inherently unstable.
Armonia once told me that the Headmaster of Stura was one of the most exceptional talents in the entire universe.
'So that guy was really something... Huh?'
While Armonia was explaining all this to me, Patricia clung to my arm, giggling.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Ah... just some worries..."
I brushed it off with a laugh.
But then Patricia glanced around, eyeing the girls sprawled asleep on the bed.
Only after confirming they were all asleep did she press her lips to my ear and whisper softly.
"One of them has her eyes on Berius."
***
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