Prologue

We looked up at the sky, at the landmasses floating impossibly in the air.

They were connected by chains, islands that defied gravity.

Iris and Komekko-chan stood in front of me, their swords drawn in front of them.

I had my crossbow ready, but I wasn't sure how much I could help in a fight of this scale.

Some of the debris floated down and formed a staircase that led to us.

A little blonde girl came down, with red eyes and sharp fangs that she revealed with a wide, taunting grin.

She was wearing a glittering dress with gems stitched onto it, as well as an obscene amount of gold accessories and jewelry that would make even an Elroad noble admit that it was excessive.

"You children might have experienced war, but what I bring is an apocalypse!"

The little girl started maniacally laughing.

I couldn't even joke around like I usually did.

That was because we were up against Tiamat, the goddess of all the dragons.

Behind her, many dragons roared as they flew above the floating islands, elemental breaths of fury filling the skies of Elroad.

Chapter 1

A Ride in The Country for This Prince!

Part 1

It was the first night of the trip to Elroad, where I, Revi Elroad, was due to return, after many months being away.

After the cramped trip, we were eager to get out after finding a suitable place to deploy the portable mansion.

When we found a clearing, we summoned the mansion and had the Crimson Demons cast privacy wards to hide it.

"Good job, girls!"

I said to the Crimson Demon girls, flashing them a smile.

Komekko-chan smiled, while Rueka simply nodded. Arue-sensei gave a thumbs up and a wink.

My simple words of praise caused them to be in a good mood despite the long hours of travel…

This is, of course, since I was in my popular period.

I headed to the mansion with them, noticing that Iris, one of my two girlfriends, if I may add, was looking around the area with an alert look.

"...We already checked the area. What are you snooping around for?"

"The last time I went on the road, we were attacked by all kinds of monsters… I find it odd that we haven't seen any yet."

"If you hurry up to your room like a good princess, you'll see a monster, alright."

I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively at her. She didn't look impressed.

"Oi, take this seriously. Your country is our last hope in winning the war."

"I know, but we're not even there yet. When you're just out on the road like this, it's fine to take it easy, right? I doubt we'll get any time to just have fun once we get to Elroad."

She sighed and slumped her shoulders.

"I guess that's true."

I smiled, seeing that she started to cheer up.

Ever since her family died, I had been trying to lift her spirits, little by little.

It seems that acting like my usual goofy self helps her calm down.

Maybe it gives her a sense of familiarity to a time when she didn't have to worry about invading forces, or having to rule as the sole survivor of her clan.

We headed inside the mansion.

Iris gave us some vague directions of where everything was, and let us pick out our own bedrooms. Even though there were a lot of us present, there were enough rooms to accommodate us.

"Ah, Iris and Komekko-chan… If you two want, you can just share a room with me…!"

They looked at each other, and I noticed there was still a bit of an edge to the way they looked at each other whenever our relationship came up…

Of course, since they were both stubborn, competitive girls, they were still probably vying for that 'number one' spot in my heart…

Even though I, Revi Elroad, have enough room in my heart for them both!

And if they're so willing, I have room for one or two more!

I let those two figure out the room arrangements while I saw Rori-san head to the kitchen.

She opened the magic refrigerator and looked at the ingredients inside.

"There's a lot of food in here! Since everyone is tired from the long journey today, we should make some high calorie food!"

I watched her take out a lot of meat and other fatty foods.

Since Rori-san didn't really need to rest, being a devil and all, it seemed that she wordlessly volunteered herself to make dinner.

"Ah, I'll help you, Rori-san!"

"Eh? Aren't you tired, Revi-san? Go ahead and rest!"

"Hmm… For some reason, I'm not really tired? I don't know why."

Lately, I felt as if I had more energy. Maybe I'm just in a good mood after managing to get into a threeway relationship with both of my dream girls.

"Also… The sight of Rori-san wearing an apron fills me with energy!"

"Ehe… You sure know how to flatter!"

I took a knife and helped Rori-san with cutting up the ingredients.

After I helped Rori-san with dinner, with all the energy that was still buzzing around in my body, I went over to help each of the girls unpack and get used to their rooms.

The one who needed the most help was Regina-sama.

She requested for a laboratory space, so they made one for her in the portable mansion.

She was fiddling around with her equipment in this laboratory, with Serena-san helping her.

"Ah, boya. What are you doing here? Is it dinner time already?"

"No, no, I was just going around helping everyone!"

"I see… Then you can help me move those vials… Ah, be careful. They're experimental potions."

"Is it related to bringing Iris's body back to normal?"

"Yeah, but they're failed prototypes. I still need to keep them around just in case, though."

After I set the vials down to the corner she wanted to store them in, I looked at the various liquids inside.

"What do they do?"

I picked up a pink vial and held it up to the light.

"Ah… That one changes the gender of the one who drinks it."

"Urp!"

I carefully put it down.

"...How 'bout this one?"

"That one is a male enhancer…"

I uncorked the vial and prepared to drink it.

"Oh, no, wait, that's the potion that turns men into lolis."

"How in the world did you make that mistake?!"

I stopped myself in time before I drank it.

"...What does this potion do?"

"Ah, you don't want to know."

I left the dangerous vials alone.

After I was done helping her, Regina-sama said this to me before I left,

"By the way, boya, I'd like to talk to you tonight."

"...Can't you just tell me now?"

"It's an important diplomatic issue… Between my nation and yours."

I blinked and nodded.

"Alright, I'll come visit tonight, then."

"Thank you."

She surprised me by bowing her head, before she turned around to work on her experiments.

I turned to Serena-san for an explanation, only to find her bowing to me as well.

Confused, but knowing that I could just ask them later, I left the lab and looked for something else to do.

Part 2

After Rori-san finished cooking dinner, we all gathered around the dining table.

She made some meat and potatoes, a simple meal that was big on calories.

While we were eating, Iris said,

"So… What do we expect the reception to be like in Elroad."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

I said, while chewing a mouthful of beef and rice.

"Well, you still have to claim the throne, right? I don't remember you having the best reputation last time I checked…"

I blushed a bit when this caught the attention of the Crimson Demons, who weren't aware of the political situation in Elroad.

"W-What are you talking about? I have a great reputation there! I once invented this shoe that I tried to introduce to the market. They're called Reezy's. They're shoes that don't come with shoestrings. Isn't that convenient?"

"...I don't really see the point. Rather, isn't that only useful for people who don't know how to tie shoestrings? Wait, Revi… Are you saying you don't know how to tie your own shoestrings?"

I exposed myself!

Arue and Rueka were looking at each other, as if wondering where the cool Revi from the village went to…

Damn it, Iris! You always make me look like some kind of dork whenever you're around!

This is like when you belong to two friend groups and you're popular and cool in one friend group, but you're always the butt of the joke in the other group. Then when your two friend groups meet, your reputation starts to fall in the group you're popular in!

Not like I know anything about friend groups, being a loner prince until recently.

"A-Anyway… I guess you do have a point. I have to do some work to convince the nobles to let me have the throne…"

Rori-san tilted her head and said,

"Won't the nobles crown Revi-san as the king since they need a leader? It is a time of crisis after all."

I shook my head.

"Since the war hasn't advanced to Elroad yet, I'm thinking the nobles there will still be concerned about internal politics and seizing power for themselves. Elroad hasn't seen much conflict compared to Belzerg, so they don't know the realities of war."

It pained me to admit this about my own country, but that was the truth.

Komekko-chan spoke up this time,

"By the way, you mentioned that there might be a trap in Elroad… Do you still think that way?"

She seemed concerned while waiting for my reaction.

I wasn't too sure myself. All I knew was that I had a bad feeling about something happening in Elroad, but I couldn't sabotage our mission based on a hunch alone.

"Well, let's just hope that I'm just overthinking things, Komekko-chan."

"That's a new problem for you, Revi. Normally, your main issue is that you underthink things."

"S-Shut it, Iris…"

I looked back in a panic to Arue and Rueka, who were whispering again while they looked at me.

I hope they're talking about how hot I am instead of talking about how much of a dork I was…

I glared at Iris, who had a smug grin.

She's totally doing this on purpose…!

After dinner, we split off to our own rooms to rest.

I still had some time until I was set to meet with Regina-sama.

I went to my room and studied the crossbow I got from Hyoizaburo-san.

Using my newly acquired knowledge of how magic circuits and items work, I studied the foundations of the magic absorbing technology in the crossbow.

I intended to work on developing new weapons when I got back to my R&D team back in Elroad.

We needed every kind of advantage we could get for the war, after all.

After I was done fiddling around with the crossbow, I heard a knock on my door.

Arue-sensei and Rueka were outside.

"Come in…"

I said, while letting them in.

They were wearing their sleepwear already, Rueka with pajamas and Arue-sensei with a nightgown.

"What did you two want to talk about?"

I braced myself to hear them call me a dork, or something like that.

"Well, we wanted to talk to you about the residents of the Crimson Demon village. A lot of us came to the capital to fight, but most of the village doesn't intend to fight at all."

"Eh? Why aren't they fighting for their country?"

"If you remember, there were a lot of Crimson Demons who didn't agree with the kingdom's policies, especially regarding the Moguninnin and the mandatory license."

I did remember hearing about the pro-Moguninnin faction and those who were discontent about the kingdom meddling with Crimson Demon affairs.

"The village chief has no choice but to lead those people who don't want to fight away from the war. I heard that they will seek refugee status in one of the neighboring kingdoms, with Elroad being the first choice."

"...They're coming to Elroad, huh?"

It wasn't exactly good for my cause if I brought a bunch of refugees with me, on my return. Elroad wasn't exactly known for being compassionate to the plight of refugees.

This is just another problem for me, huh?!

I couldn't exactly turn away the Crimson Demons, even if I wasn't dating Komekko-chan. They did a lot for me and helped me in a lot of ways.

"Alright… You can leave it to me."

They smiled. Rueka said,

"I thought that Revi-san looked really uncool for dinner, but now we see that you're really cool when it counts!"

So their opinions on me really did drop because of Iris!

I'll sue her for defamation!

Part 3

After I dealt with Arue-sensei and Rueka's worries, it was time to meet Regina-sama.

I went to her shared bedroom with Serena-san.

When I entered the room, I saw that they were both wearing nightgowns.

"...What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Like I said… I want to talk about important matters between our two countries… What's with that face?"

I had a tired expression on, since I just finished dealing with diplomatic matters with the Crimson Demons.

"Alright, so what does Uroborus want?"

"...Why are you making it seem like we're making demands out of you? Rather than a demand…"

She bowed her head.

"...Please accept me as a consort."

"Huh?!"

"...It's already late. Lower your voice."

I covered my mouth, as Regina-sama gestured for me to sit with them on the bed.

I was blushing a bit, having to join her on the bed after she offered to be my consort, of all things.

"...You know, Regina-sama, I understand how frustrated you must be since no one wants to touch that immature body of yours, but there's better ways…"

"Oi, I'm not just looking for a hookup! There's a legitimate political reason!"

She pouted, blushing a bit as well.

…It was the first time I saw this side of Regina-sama, so it was admittedly very cute.

Serena-san spoke up, seeing that Regina-sama wasn't getting anywhere.

"The fact of the matter is, Revi-sama, that Uroburos is in a precarious state right now. It is a new, unofficial kingdom inside a country that is going to war with the Demon King army. It needs protection and a certain kind of diplomatic immunity."

"...Why don't you guys have this talk with Iris instead?"

Serena-san sighed and said,

"Forgive me for being blunt, but I think that no one is under any illusion that Belzerg will still exist in the following months."

So this was their opinion.

I could tell that it pained them to admit this, especially due to their ties with Iris, but it was the truth.

Realistically, unless a miracle happened, the capital would fall sooner or later.

Maybe that was why Regina-sama was optimistic that there wasn't a trap waiting for us in Elroad. She was just trying to look at the bright side of things, since Elroad was her last hope.

"...Regina-sama, since we're being realistic… Um…"

I looked away from her and gulped.

"...W-What benefit is there to defending Uroburos?"

It was a country that wasn't even registered on the map.

It had no economic power that I was aware of, nor any important political ties with any of the surrounding kingdoms.

It might as well be a tree fort that a bunch of kids are playing around in.

Regina-sama bit her lip and I could see that her small shoulders were shaking.

I had never seen her this vulnerable before.

Seeing that high and mighty Regina-sama like this honestly broke my heart.

But if I wanted to be king, I needed to make the tough decisions.

I already let the Crimson Demons in because of a personal bias.

Even then, Crimson Demons were a military asset.

The Demon King army might think twice about attacking Elroad if they know that we have Crimson Demons within our ranks.

So it wasn't merely just an emotional decision that led to me accepting them as refugees.

Whereas with Uroburos…

I admit, their potential for magical tech was enticing, but that was a long term investment that I couldn't afford to make right now.

During a crisis, I couldn't afford to think ten years down the line.

Regina-sama took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"T-That's why… I'm giving myself to you. I know I can't offer anything else. I'm still a goddess… I'm sure that counts for something."

A goddess that nobody knows.

I bit my tongue before I could say that.

Serena-san bowed her head and said,

"For all it's worth… I also offer myself. As a concubine."

"..."

Did they expect me to start drooling and say 'Naisu! I get to bang all these hotties now!'

Well, the old Revi might say that.

If I say yes to them, I would only be doing so on a personal whim.

It would not benefit my country in any way to pledge my protection with Uroborus.

I would be making a decision as a man, rather than as a king.

"..."

I remembered my father saying something like that.

He ceased to become a father, a husband, a man, when he became a king.

Because once you become a king, your identity ceases to become human.

You become a ruler that is expected to sacrifice everything for the country.

I chuckled to myself. So that's the future that awaits me, huh?

"Well, it's too bad that I'm not king yet, then!"

"Eh?"

They looked at me, confused by my big smile.

"I'm not duty bound or anything, so whatever. I accept the deal, Regina-sama!"

"W-Wha…?"

She blinked, confused by my reaction.

She probably wasn't expecting me to say yes. This was a desperate plea.

"Don't get me wrong, I have the powers of a king, but you don't see a crown on my head yet, right? So I can still act like a brat until I reach Elroad. I'll have to act like a proper king once I'm crowned but until then… Well, it's time to live up to my reputation as a shitty prince."

If they're gonna keep badmouthing me, might as well make the rumors a reality.

Yeah, I'm the Prince Revi who just sold his allegiance so he can get some hot girls into his harem.

What are you gonna do about it?

Regina-sama stared at me for a while, then tears poured down her eyes.

"E-Eh? Why are you crying?"

"This means so much to me, you know?"

She jumped forward, wrapping her arms around me.

Her tears were making my pajamas wet, but I just smiled.

Serena-san was crying as well. I guess they really didn't expect anything out of this talk.

Well, I've now promised to invest in a country that doesn't even exist.

Talk about a scam.

But if there's one thing I'm good at, it's business.

Time to make this tree fort into a proper vassal kingdom.

Part 4

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed.

I tried to remember what happened the previous night.

"...I can't recall anything."

I rubbed my head, drawing a blank.

I sat up from my bed and felt the sheets shift.

"...!"

I saw two naked bodies with me in the bed.

The naked bodies of Regina-sama and Serena-san.

"..."

I started to get hazy memories of them saying something like 'finalizing the contract'.

…So I ended up doing it with them?!

But why can't I remember anything?

Have I really become such a sex god that I can't even be bothered to remember sleeping with such beautiful girls?

…What a tragic fate I must lead.

I grabbed Regina-sama's shoulder, but she wouldn't stir.

I tried waking up Serena-san. She had a hard time opening her eyes, but she managed to wake up, while Regina-sama was still tranquilized.

"...! Revi-sama, you're awake!"

Why does she look scared?

"Eeep?! Please, no more! We already went at it for ten hours without a break! Please spare me!"

…What is she on about?

"Um… Listen, I know I'm a king and all, but you don't have to flatter me that much."

Rather, if you're gonna flatter someone at least make it sound convincing.

"Oh, no, Regina-sama, please wake up!"

She went over to Regina-sama while covering herself up with a blanket.

I got a good view of her behind, though.

While I was grinning to myself, Serena-san was trying to shake Regina-sama awake.

"...Y-You pounded her into a coma!"

Serena-san suddenly threw a ridiculous accusation at me.

"Alright, it's starting to get annoying now. Stop trying to raise my ego."

"...I'm doing no such thing! Something came over you last night! It was like you were possessed by something!"

Since she seemed serious about it, I decided to listen to her story.

Apparently, as soon as I put it inside Regina-sama, it was like something shifted inside of me, or a part that was hidden was suddenly awakened.

…It's the kind of development a Crimson Demon will love.

We left Regina-sama alone, thinking that she'd wake up later on in the day.

We started getting worried when she didn't wake up, even when it was time to go.

We were gathered outside the mansion, which had now reverted to its portable size.

While we were packing up and getting ready for another long carriage ride, I had no choice but to address the matter about the unconscious Regina-sama to the others.

"...Oi, Revi, what did you do to Regina-sama?"

Iris said, giving me an accusatory gaze.

"I don't know?! I guess I was so good in bed that I sent her to heaven?!"

That was probably the worst answer I could give.

"Just because I gave you permission to date Komekko-chan, too, doesn't mean you can just go ahead and bone any girl you want!"

Serena-san stepped up to defend me.

"...I apologize, Iris-sama, but it was part of a political deal. You see, Revi-sama has agreed to let Uroburos become the vassal state of Elroad."

"Hah?! Then that's even more reason why I should be consulted, right?! Revi, did you really just promise something important like that because those two seduced you?!"

"W-We're not even officially married yet, so you don't technically have any say in Elroad's affairs! You can nag me all you want after we make our vows!"

I can actually imagine Iris nagging me right there in the altar as soon as I say 'I do'.

"...I hope this doesn't interfere with our agreement, Revi-kun."

Arue-sensei said, stepping into the discussion.

"What agreement?! Oi, how many diplomatic agreements were made last night without my awareness?!"

Iris was red from indignation.

"...Elroad has agreed to let the Crimson Demons in who want refugee status."

"Y-You're poaching the Crimson Demons from Belzerg?! If we weren't already at war, I'd declare war on Elroad for this!"

"Hey, I'm just helping you here! If I was a bit more merciless, I'd use you as a hostage since your people were naive enough to give their only living royalty to a foreign power!"

To prove my point, I grabbed Iris' arm.

"T…That's kinda hot."

I don't understand her.

Komekko-chan rolled her eyes and said to Iris,

"The Devil thinks that you should just trust Revi! There's nothing wrong with him helping Regina's country! He's helping the Crimson Demons and your country, too! If you're the party leader, you should acknowledge that!"

"Well…"

Oh, yeah. Iris claims herself to be the party leader.

Even though I think I'm much more qualified.

"Alright. But if you're going to make some deal with someone outside of our party, you should tell me next time."

"That sounds fair, I guess."

After agreeing to Iris's terms, we continued preparing for the trip.

Sonia, who was watching all this, walked up to me and said,

"It's not so easy being a ragtag group that's supposed to save the world, I guess. I played a lot of RPGs with this kind of theme."

"...I don't think that the world is at stake, here."

"Don't you remember what that masked guy hinted at? The future is doomed if you guys screw up and the Demon King army takes over."

I guess Sonia was around to hear Vanir's prophecy. We should be more careful with the kind of information the imprisoned spy is privy to.

"Do you really think that your leader has the ability to rule the world?"

"You talking about Maouko? Yeah, I think she does have the chops. She not only has the talent, but she has the drive. And she has one more ingredient that all conquerors of the world possess. Do you know what that is?"

When I didn't answer, she grinned and whispered into my ear,

"Paranoid insecurity. Take it from someone who knows the history of my old world."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know that little voice in your head that comes out whenever you feel like someone slighted you, or when you see someone who has what you want? In some people, that little voice is as loud as a dragon's roar. They see a country with more resources than them, they want to take everything from that country and make it theirs. They feel like a foreign ruler has insulted them in some way, they'll go to war over a petty reason. That's what I mean by paranoid insecurity."

I was starting to get a picture of Maouko now. When I smiled, Sonia asked,

"Oh? What's so funny?"

"If that's how you classify a ruler, I'd hate to see your definition of a tyrant. Rather, if Maouko is actually like that, then we might have a chance in this war."

Sonia grinned and walked ahead, with her hands still bound up in cuffs.

"I'm interested to see what you have in store, then! As an outsider from this world, I kind of look at all the events going on like it's a story, one that's playing out right in front of me. It's pretty cool, you know? It's like you're reading a book but you can interact with the characters and even influence the plot somewhat."

"So you view yourself as an observer in all of this. We could use some of your help, you know? Your treatment as a prisoner might improve if you help."

She chuckled and turned her head to look back at me.

"I might help, if I feel like it. It's always fun to have a choice on what you want to do. Isn't it funny, though? That I feel more free now as a prisoner than I did when I was a thief?"

She chuckled to herself as I watched her walk to the carriage, her hands bound but free of any of the work and preparations that her captors busied themselves with.

Part 5

During the carriage ride, we encountered the first monster of the trip.

Arue-sensei, who was driving the carriage, told us that there was a pack of monsters blocking the path.

"Big rock! Big rock!"

The monsters were known as Big Rocks. They were giant boulders that rolled around, and they had a single eye and a mouth filled with rows of crystalized teeth.

From what I knew about them, they were territorial monsters that were known to block the road and fight the travelers trying to cross their territory.

"Big rock! Big rock!"

It didn't seem like they intended to let us pass through.

Komekko-chan and Rueka came out, eager for a fight.

"Fufu… The Devil has a chance to shine! Being stuffed in that carriage all day is boring! I mean, it's fun to play footsies and flirt with Revi, but the annoyed stares from Iris are a pain!"

"It's time to show what we learned in the academy, Komekko!"

The duo posed together, before doing a combination attack.

"[Fireball]!"

"[Light of Saber]!"

Komekko-chan threw a fireball that caused dust to go up, and Rueka cut the dust cloud with a slice of golden magical energy that formed a whip-like blade.

"Big Rock! Big Rock!"

However, even though the Big Rocks looked damaged, it seemed that they huddled together and protected each other from the magic blasts.

They then rolled towards Komekko-chan and Rueka, who easily dodged the slow, clumsy attacks.

"Hah! Their defense is high but they're really slow!"

They were able to dodge the attacks, but the Big Rocks kept going. They were aiming for the carriage.

Since Big Rocks were used to fighting travelers, they knew that aiming for the carriages and horses would make the travelers retreat, since the last thing they wanted is to lose their source of transportation in the middle of monster territory.

They probably made a lot of caravans and adventuring parties retreat that way, or look for another way around.

However, we needed to stay in this discreet path, or else we might be seen by the Demon King army.

That was the reason why we were taking our chance in monster territories.

Komekko-chan and Rueka realized this and stepped in front of the carriage.

"[Earth wall]!"

"[Bottomless Swamp]!"

They attempted to slow down the Big Rocks.

They were successful in slowing down their charge, but the Big Rocks actually absorbed the earth and the mud forming around them. They repaired the damage from the combination attack earlier.

"T-These mere monsters are giving the Devil a challenge?!"

Since Komekko-chan was used to one-shotting everything, she got frustrated by these Big Rocks.

Arue-sensei took this chance to drive the carriage further away from the Big Rocks.

While Komekko-chan and Rueka kept them busy, we talked among ourselves.

"...What do we do? There could be more of them hiding underground."

With burrowing capabilities, if we weren't careful, they could come out of the ground and cannonball us while we were busy trying to get through the first line of Big Rocks.

Iris raised her hand.

"I think I have an idea. I'll need some time to set up, though."

For some reason, she took out a bunch of dolls. She also rummaged through Regina-sama's belongings and took out dolls from her.

"Serena-senpai, I'll need your help."

They started doing something with the dolls.

"...Oi, is this really the time to be playing around with dolls?"

I said, raising my brow at what they were doing?

"Shush. Make yourself useful and keep an eye out with [Farsight]."

I sat beside Arue-sensei and scouted the area, while drawing my crossbow in case Komekko-chan and Rueka needed support. I doubted that my bolts could do any significant damage to the Big Rocks, though.

Meanwhile, Arue-sensei was eyeing the Big Rocks.

"Interesting… They're giving Komekko-chan and Rueka a hard time. Perhaps I should collect some of those Big Rocks and have them used as training for students, to learn how to deal with monsters like this."

She was in full sensei mode while watching the fight.

Suddenly, Komekko-chan backed up and started charging up a spell while Rueka distracted the Big Rocks.

"[Detonation]!"

She used the [Detonation] spell on the rocks, intending to blow them up.

"Big… Rock!"

However, even if she caused the rocks to break, the fragmented pieces were still able to move. In fact, now there were more enemies to deal with.

I could tell that Komekko-chan was getting really frustrated.

I guess it's pretty humbling to find yourself struggling against a bunch of rocks.

Normally, we could just ignore them since they were a low threat monster, but since we needed to stay on this path, we had to fight them.

Still, despite knowing that, Komekko-chan was too prideful to accept defeat.

"Alright, we're done with the preparations here."

Iris said, while holding up the dolls.

"...What are you planning to do?"

"You'll see.

They stepped out of the carriage then did some preparations for their plan.

Once they were done, they stepped back inside.

"Tell Komekko-chan and Rueka to come back."

"...Komekko-chan won't like being asked to retreat."

"Well, we're fighting a war now. She should learn how to stop acting on her own and learn how to follow orders from a superior officer."

I shrugged as Iris asked Arue-sensei to start driving forward.

Komekko-chan reluctantly ran back with Rueka to the carriage.

"...The Devil almost had them!"

"It was a bad matchup. It won't be the last one, so get used to the idea of retreating if things don't go as planned."

Komekko-chan didn't seem convinced, but she still nodded and took her seat.

While the carriage was moving forward at fast speeds, the horses racing past the first line of Big Rocks, I glanced at Iris.

"...So, what are you up to?"

She took out a doll and gave it to me to hold.

"Close your eyes and imagine like you're looking through the doll's eyes."

I did as she said.

I saw through the eyes of the other dolls. For some reason, they were all placed underneath the hovering carriage, tied there by Iris's shadow threads.

They were also holding threads between themselves.

Suddenly, there was a tremor on the ground.

"Big Rock!"

A Big Rock came out from under the carriage, trying to destroy the underbelly.

At Iris's command, the dolls fell down around the Big Rock.

"Big Rock?!"

It turns out the dolls carried a net of shadow threads between themselves. They fell down and the shadow threads pulled the Big Rock down before it could fully emerge from the ground.

Then a thread attached to the doll's backs pulled them back to the carriage.

The image link ended and I saw Iris giving me a smug grin.

"Heh… I'll be taking that torch from you now."

Torch? What is she talking about?

With the Big Rocks contained by the shadow thread net, we were able to safely make it out of their territory.

They didn't chase us when they made sure that we wouldn't come back.

Part 6

Once we made it out of the Big Rock territory, we traveled for several hours until night came.

We found a place to settle and set up the mansion.

During this time, Regina-sama still hasn't woken up from her coma.

…I really did a number on her.

And I don't even remember it happening!

With us looking at the unconscious Regina-sama, Iris said,

"...Oi, Revi there must be something wrong with you if you can knock a goddess unconscious after you slept with her!"

She was pointing an accusatory finger at me.

"Is my technique really that bad?"

Komekko-chan shook her head.

"The Devil can guarantee that's not true!"

We were in Regina-sama's bedroom, watching her sleep.

Arue-sensei put a hand to her chin and said,

"Revi-kun, do you remember what I told you about the records of the red haired people who visited the Crimson Demon village?"

She said something about people with red haired going to the Crimson Demon village and driving the opposite sex crazy with lust.

Something like that, right?

"Perhaps this incident is related to that."

"You think so?"

I still didn't buy into that little theory of hers, but we didn't have anything to go off on right now.

"Alright, so what do we do?"

"If I can borrow Regina's lab, I can do some tests on Revi-kun and see if there's something we can learn."

Iris held up her hand.

"...Hold it. Is this another scheme to seduce my man?"

She was extra defensive after what happened with Regina-sama and Serena-san.

"Tch…"

Why do you look so disappointed, Arue-sensei?

"...I'll just do some simple blood tests, then. Maybe we can find something."

"Make sure that's the only genetic material you're testing on, got it?"

"Hai…"

Arue-sensei had to accept Iris's strict demands.

After dinner, I followed Arue-sensei to Regina-sama's lab.

Serena-san was there just to give her a quick overview of everything.

Once she got all the materials she needed, we set to work on the blood sample.

She took a syringe and withdrew some blood from me, then put it in a vial.

"I'm going to make a magic circle that will identify your blood. Please wait a moment."

She placed the blood inside the circle.

Since I was studying magic now, I asked Arue-sensei about the circle.

"What kind of magic is this identification magic?"

"It has its roots in divination magic, which deals with seeking answers either from the divine or the demonic. Of course, we won't play with anything as scary as… Eh?"

The golden light that appeared from the magic circle as Arue-sensei poured mana into it started to become a menacing red light.

"W-What's happening?"

"I don't know?! The spell isn't supposed to work like this?!"

My blood seemed to bubble up and boil inside the vial.

Then the vial itself broke, spilling broken shards into the circle along with the hot blood.

Before we could do anything, a plume of smoke blew out from the circle and spread throughout the room.

We coughed and waved our hands to clear the smoke away.

Serena-san ran up to a switch and turned on the exhaust system.

As the smoke cleared, we looked around.

"...What's that?"

"Po-ke! Po-ke! Po-ke!"

On the magic circle, where my blood used to be, there was a small red imp.

It was a female imp with white hair, red skin, horns, and big ears.

It was wearing a little black cloak and had a tail with an arrow shaped tip at the end.

"...It seems friendly enough."

I said, somehow knowing that this creature would listen to my orders.

I held my finger out and its cloak revealed itself to be cloth-like wings that spread out, as it fluttered to my hand.

"Po-ke! Po-ke!"

Arue-sensei looked at me warily.

"...Something about your blood just transformed a simple identification spell into a demon summoning spell."

I blinked and said,

"What, is that weird or something? I thought that blood is ordinarily supposed to be used as an ingredient for black magic."

"...Like I said, I only performed a simple identification spell, but your blood did something to corrupt the spell."

"Maybe Arue-sensei just screwed the spell up."

"Even if I did, then the spell would have simply failed. I put a failsafe, after all, but your blood overrode that."

Serena-san went closer to the little imp that was summoned and watched it.

"...What about this imp? Is it dangerous?"

"Well, even if it was, I don't think it's a threat to any of us."

The imp seemed to notice that its power level was being dissed. It started jumping around on my finger.

"Po-ke! Po-ke! Po-ke!"

I looked to Serena-san and said,

"Do you know anything about summoned imps?"

"...I only know a few things that a disciple of a dark goddess would know. I know that the imp's master can summon and resummon the imp at will."

I tried thinking about having the imp go away.

When I thought that, there was a small puff of smoke on my hand and when it disappeared, the imp was gone.

When I thought about summoning the imp again, it reappeared, perched on my finger like a parrot.

"Po-ke! Po-ke!"

"..."

"So that definitely confirms that you're the master."

Arue-sensei said, as she started to clean up the broken vial and the failed magic circle.

My blood can summon demons… What's that supposed to mean?

We were only trying to find answers about what happened to Regina-sama, but ended up with even more questions than we started with.