Chapter 2
A Homecoming for this Prince!
Part 1
While we were on the carriage, I looked at the imp that was perched on my finger.
The others were watching the imp that I summoned before them.
"Po-ke! Po-ke!"
Komekko-chan was starry eyed as she watched the imp.
"Have you become a Devil summoner as well, Revi?! It seems that we are fated to become lovers, after all!"
"It seems to be a demon, not a devil."
"You mean part of the Demon King army? What if it's a spy?"
"No, imps are devil summons. They are lower demons that devils use as servants. Since the Demon King army regularly cooperates with Hell and even employs their Arch-Dukes sometimes, they need a way to communicate with each other. Imps are used as messengers between both, so they respond to the call of a devil when they are summoned."
Serena-san said, explaining the distinction.
As the priest of a Dark Goddess, she was well versed in demonic lore.
Iris held her finger out to Poke. The friendly imp hugged Iris's finger.
"...I'm disappointed in you, Revi. Summoning such a lowly creature! I'll teach you some summoning magic so you can summon a greater devil like Hoost!"
Komekko-chan said, leaning over and excitedly announcing her intent to train me as a Devil summoner.
"Hold on, I don't even know how I managed to summon this imp with my blood, in the first place. I'm a normal human, you know?!"
"...Perhaps this is a side effect of the fake body that Regina-sama gave you?"
Serena-san said, as she leaned back and rubbed her chin.
Arue-sensei shook her head and said,
"No, I believe that it has something to do with his bloodline. Perhaps we will find our answers once we reach the kingdom of Elroad."
Once Arue-sensei declared that we wouldn't find any answers just by merely speculating, we resumed our long journey. Rori-san was driving the carriage this time, while Serena-san was relaxing with us in the carriage.
I wouldn't say that the ride was totally relaxing, though, since it was still a bit cramped.
During the ride, we spent the time amusing ourselves with Poke.
"Does it know any tricks?"
Iris said, as she watched Poke dancing for us.
"...I don't know. I can summon it and resummon it at will. It also follows simple mental commands."
I asked Poke to fly to Iris's shoulder and give her a kiss on the cheek. Poke flew with her cloth wings and followed my order. Iris smiled.
"Well, aren't you a cute little imp!"
She stroked Poke's chin and the imp purred.
I turned to Rori-san, who was driving.
"Rori-san… Got anything to add about the imp?"
"Hmm… Well, most imps usually have some kind of spatial ability that deals with teleportation and dimensional travel, since they need to send messages from Hell to the Demon King army, after all."
That sounds cool!
I looked at Poke and willed her to teleport inside Iris's blouse.
However, Poke misunderstood my intent and resummoned herself to my hand.
Iris watched me trying to figure out Poke's ability. She said,
"Why don't you try that trick I taught you with the doll? The one where you saw through the doll's eyes?"
I recalled the sensation I got when I tried to see through the doll's eyes.
It worked with Poke. I saw through Poke's eyes. In fact, I saw myself looking at myself.
Hello, handsome!
"Oh! It worked! I can see through Poke's eyes!"
"...That's a normal function when it comes to familiar summons, though."
Rori-san said, making me deflate.
"Urp… Hey, Poke, do you have any special abilities? Like, can you erase space or something cool like that?"
"Sigh… I swear, this amateur… It's a low level summon, Revi. Why would it have such a powerful ability like that?"
Komekko-chan, the devil summoning master, was getting impatient with all my newbie questions.
I tried thinking of all the spatial and extra-dimensional magic I could think of and see if Poke would respond to any of them.
"...Multiply!"
I tried to get Poke to multiply the space in front of her.
She blinked and tilted her head.
"Force push!"
I tried to imagine space itself being pushed away. Poke burped.
"Ugh…"
I resummoned Poke to me and scratched under her chin. She let out a happy sound.
Maybe I should just think of Poke as a cute little pet.
It's not good for a parent to have such high expectations of their children, after all!
I took a candy from the jar of treats we had and unwrapped it. After popping the candy in my mouth, I was about to throw the wrapper away.
"Oi, what are you doing littering?! You're still in my country, so follow our laws here!"
Iris got mad when she saw me trying to throw the candy wrapper out the window.
"...We're literally in the middle of nowhere. Who cares."
"I do! Keep it in your pocket until we find a place to throw our waste!"
I sighed. My pocket was already full of candy wrappers. Why did she think I was trying to throw it out in the first place?!
I turned to Poke and lazilly held the wrapper out to her.
"Why don't you hold onto this for me, Poke."
She took the wrapper from me.
Then a circle of red light formed above her and she threw the wrapper into it.
"...?!"
The circle closed and the wrapper disappeared inside.
"W-Wah…?!"
I thought about the wrapper appearing again. Poke twirled a finger above her and the circle of light appeared again and the wrapper fell on her head. She bumped the balled up wrapper with her head and the wrapper landed on my palm.
"My child is a genius?!"
"...What are you on about, Revi?"
I showed them the trick Poke showed me.
Rueka, who had been quietly watching until now, said,
"It appears that it's pocket dimension magic."
"I see… Then let's call it the [Po-ke Dimension]!"
Komekko-chan went ahead and named the ability by herself.
I tested the ability, giving Poke more candy wrappers to absorb.
When I couldn't eat any more candies, I put in some coins.
After a while, the pocket collapsed and all the contents inside spilled out.
"...I guess there's a weight capacity, huh?"
I dumped in a bunch of Eris coins I had. There was about 4 kilograms worth of Eris coins in the pocket dimension before it couldn't handle any more.
There wasn't a lot of capacity…
"Do you think we can make this pocket dimension bigger?"
"All summons become more powerful once their bond with their master deepens."
Komekko-chan explained, copying some of Arue-sensei's mannerisms while she was teaching a lesson.
I played around with the pocket dimension some more. I had Rueka-chan use some wind magic to fill the pocket dimension with air. The air got released once the limit was reached. The pocket dimension could store most physical things.
I even tried to store sound into it.
I yelled into the pocket dimension. Then I tossed some coins in, since I don't think you could fill a pocket dimension with sound like you could with air.
Once the coins broke the limit, they poured out, along with my yell, which startled Iris and almost made her choke on a candy.
Part 2
About three days into our journey, we were halfway to Elroad.
Regina-sama had yet to awaken.
Since we didn't know what happened with my body back then, I abstained from doing any lewd stuff with the girls.
"..."
Needless to say, I was dying.
"I don't get it! Shouldn't I be getting some super powers or something?! I heard from some monks that you can reach enlightenment when you practice abstinence!"
"...Why would refusing to nut give you powers or enlightenment?"
Iris said, rolling her eyes at me.
She was also affected by my choice to abstain.
We were in that carriage again. Being surrounded by female bodies all day while you're trying to abstain is not good for the heart.
I chose to drive instead. Even if Rori-san didn't need to rest, I was sure that even devils needed some kind of mental break every now and again.
Those who say that fatigue is just an illusion are the same as those dudes who say that holding in your nut gives you enlightenment.
I held the reins of the horses, letting them go at a steady pace.
We were still staying incognito, so we avoided the safer main roads, which were mostly likely patrolled by demons already.
Or worse, merchants who would want to curry favor from their new demon overlords and would surely snitch on us if they saw us.
There were all sorts of reasons to avoid the main road.
However, that meant that we had to go through the monster infested territories.
While I was zoning out, letting the unchanging scenery of trees and dirt paths pass by me in a blur of motion, I saw a peculiar sight ahead.
"...Are those onion ducks?"
I stopped the horses, slowing them to an easy trot.
"Revi, why'd you stop?"
Iris stuck her head out from the passenger's side.
"Well, I saw a bunch of onion ducks, so I thought we'd want to get the EXP."
"Oh! Lucky!"
Onion ducks are weak monsters that give a lot of EXP for some reason.
Some theorize that a goddess created Onion ducks to give humans an easy source of high EXP.
However, all that ended up happening was that other monsters ate the Onion ducks, the plentiful EXP source giving them a boost in power and evolutionary potential.
Once we reached the Onion ducks, I stepped out from the driver's seat and told everyone at the back that I was checking something. When I went down to look at the Onion ducks, I noticed that something was wrong.
"...Wait, they're corpses already?!"
The Onion ducks that were gathered around were already killed by another monster.
Iris came down to look at the Onion ducks with me. Since she was addicted to quest-like events, she didn't want to miss this opportunity.
"...That's unfortunate. It's unusual to have so many onion ducks all gathered in one place. That's the most I've seen at once, anyway."
Iris said, sighing from the missed opportunity.
"If the monster that killed these things is still around, we should go. Maybe it gained a lot of power after getting a lot of EXP all at once…"
Monsters don't get skill points and abilities like humans do when they gain EXP and level up. Instead, they gain more powerful forms after they undergo a flash evolution.
Ordinary goblins can turn into Horned Goblins, like the ones we faced in that quest. They could even branch off into Hobgoblins, Shamanic goblins, Goblin Lords and the strongest evolution, Goblin Kings.
If an evolved monster was around…
Just then, we heard rustling in the bushes.
"...! Quick, go back to the carriage!"
I tried to push Iris back into the carriage.
"Huh? Why are you trying to run away? All that EXP went to one monster. If we kill it, we'll get a lot of EXP! Maybe enough for a level up!"
"It's not worth the risk!"
Evolved monsters aren't something you should underestimate. If a One-shot bear was the one who killed all those Onion ducks, and it evolved into a Reaper Bear or some other kind of ridiculous mutation, then we were all screwed.
While I was trying to force Iris to retreat, the creature that was making all those rustling sounds came out of the bushes.
A Horned Rabbit came out.
"...Pffft! You were scared of a Horned Rabbit! Hahahaha!"
Iris started laughing hysterically once the weakest monster type came out.
"Hm? What's going on? The Devil senses that there's something fun outside?"
Komekko-chan came out, along with the others. Iris went over to them and they all laughed once she told them what happened.
My carefully constructed reputation… Iris is destroying it!
I looked at the Horned Rabbit scornfully. Because of this thing…!
I took out my crossbow and aimed it at the Horned Rabbit.
It didn't look like it evolved or anything, since it only had one horn. The evolved forms had two or even three horns.
I released the bolt at the Horned Rabbit, expecting it to die in one shot.
However, the Horned Rabbit disappeared and my bolt ended up hitting nothing but the ground.
"...Eh?"
I felt a burst of pain, and when I looked down, I saw a horn piercing my stomach.
"Gurk…!"
It pierced through the leather armor I was wearing. Even if it was made from reinforced Giant Toad leather!
When I fell to my knees, with blood trickling down my mouth, the Horned Rabbit disappeared again and reappeared in front of the girls behind me. They stopped laughing and watched the rabbit that now had my blood on its horn.
"...Eh? Revi, did you really just let that weak monster injure you?"
"...T-That thing has a rare mutation!"
Sometimes, there were monsters who gained special abilities and features that are uncommon among their kind.
This Horned Rabbit is a Velocity Rabbit…!
The one that killed all those Onion ducks was a Horned rabbit, and it gained a rare mutation after getting a bunch of EXP at once!
"Hurting Revi like that… The Devil will not forgive you! [Light of Saber]!"
Careful not to hurt everyone else with her powerful [Fireball] spell, Komekko-chan used a more precise spell.
The Velocity Rabbit disappeared in a flash, avoiding the lance of light that streaked towards it. If it could dodge an attack that was light-based… That's a scary implication!
The Velocity Rabbit reappeared in front of Komekko-chan, but before it could pierce her like it did me, demonic energy formed around Komekko-chan, protecting her. The manifestation of Hoost appeared and protected Komekko-chan.
"Rueka! Time your attack after mine!"
"Yes, nee-san…!"
"[Light of Saber]!"
Arue-sensei summoned another blade of light that lashed out at the Velocity rabbit.
The Velocity Rabbit disappeared once more.
Once it reappeared, Rueka-chan manifested the attack she was withholding.
"[Delayed Light of Saber]!"
She released the blade of light, aiming it at where the Velocity Rabbit reappeared.
The Velocity Rabbit moved its head at impossible speeds and struck the light with its horn. The durable horn, more powerful than it would usually be, redirected Rueka-chan's attack.
I saw sparks of electricity around the Velocity Rabbit's horn. The horn gained a magical property… That means that it can deflect even [Light of Saber]?!
Moreover, not only did its movement become absurdly fast, but its reaction speed was lightning fast as well. Not to mention the anatomical durability that allowed it to move its neck that fast, without suffering from major whiplash.
Once it landed, the Velocity Rabbit charged up for another high speed attack at the girls. It aimed for Iris this time.
Serena-san stepped in front of Iris, holding her arms out.
"...Eh?! Serena-san?!"
Iris yelled out, surprised by Serena-san's gesture.
"Don't worry, my damage reflection will kill it!"
It attacked Serena-san, but when the Velocity Rabbit received damage back, it eyed Serena-san warily.
Its instincts as a monster told it that it was dangerous to attack Serena-san.
It changed its target, going back to the Crimson Demon girls that it had more success fighting against.
The Velocity Rabbit stopped, then dashed side-to-side, before running circles around the girls. It was moving so fast that it was creating after images.
"Wah… The Devil is getting dizzy!"
"...We can't use any spells if it's this close to us!"
"Have mercy on me. I'm just an innocent schoolgirl."
Even with those lines, Rueka-chan still had a neutral look on her face.
The Velocity Rabbit attacked from all sides. The manifestation of Hoost tried to protect the girls, but it wasn't fast enough to block every attack.
I saw a shadow thread appear on the tree I was leaning against and Iris appeared beside me.
"[Heal]!"
She casted a healing spell on my wound.
I felt the wound close up. The blood stopped dripping out.
I sighed in relief, but I saw that the Crimson Demon girls were in trouble.
"...So, what do we do, oh-great leader?"
I asked Iris, while trying to adjust to the Velocity Rabbit's speed. It was impossible to track with my eyes.
Oh, whoops. Iris warned me about saying those lines that belong to mooks and weaklings.
"...It's kind of discouraging since we're having trouble with a bunch of supposedly weak monsters."
There were the Big Rocks earlier and now this Velocity Rabbit, which was a variant of the weakest mob monster, Horned Rabbits.
"It just goes to show that we shouldn't be overconfident…"
Since we had three Crimson Demons with us, I thought that we could face any threat.
I watched Rori-san fly up, trying to support the Crimson Demon girls by providing illusory copies of them, so the Velocity Rabbit would be confused, however, the Velocity Rabbit raised its ears, used its enhanced hearing, and ignored the illusions.
…It was probably differentiating the real bodies from the targets by their breathing patterns and heart rate.
Wasn't this monster too OP?!
"Should we just retreat?"
It would be hard, but there was ultimately only one monster. Since it was wary of Serena-san already, we could hide behind her damage reflect ability and run away.
Iris thought about it, but she shook her head.
"Only as a last resort. Komekko-chan didn't take her defeat by those Big Rocks pretty well. She didn't say anything to you, but she was really pissed that we made her retreat. The other Crimson Demon girls were pretty peeved as well."
Right… Crimson Demon pride and all.
And Komekko-chan was the most prideful of them.
"So you're telling me that our strongest fighters' morale will crash if we make them run away again, especially from a drugged up Horned Rabbit?"
"Pretty much. Remember your war tactics classes? Never take easy victories if it will ruin your long term plans."
We still had the bigger issue of the war going on, and party morale was already pretty low with the long journey we had to go on to reach Elroad.
There was also the fact that their home was currently being taken over by the Demon King army.
Being forced to flee their homes probably wounded a lot of the Crimson Demon clan members' pride.
"Alright, so what do we do? Most of our attacks can't deal with high speed enemies."
"All the more reason to gain experience in fighting them. So, start thinking of a plan."
Easier said than done…
Part 3
The Crimson Demons were holding up with assistance from Rori-san and Serena-san, but the Velocity Rabbit was seemingly tireless.
Hoost couldn't keep up with it and the Crimson Demon girls were getting small cuts on their bodies from glancing blows from the Velocity Rabbit's horn.
They couldn't cast an AoE spell since they will hurt themselves in the process, with the Velocity Rabbit being so close to them.
They might also damage the carriage if they did that.
As for why this Velocity Rabbit was so intent on defeating us, it was probably on a power rush after gaining a new mutation.
Its instincts were telling it to keep fighting and gain more power.
While I was thinking of something to do, I felt Poke moving on my shoulder.
"Po-ke!"
My imp was glaring at the Velocity Rabbit for hurting her new friends. Poke was punching the air, as if declaring her intention to fight.
"...Say, Iris, how much do you think a Velocity Rabbit weighs?"
She seemed to get what I was trying to do.
"The [Po-ke Dimension] is a new ability, though. Are you sure you can use it for the first time in battle?"
"Well, we can try."
"We're not even sure if living beings can end up inside the dimension… Hey, what are you?!"
I had Poke open a portal and I stuck my finger in. I didn't feel anything inside. The air was a bit cooler, but that was it.
"Seems I can stick my finger in."
"...You did that without knowing the consequences?"
I tried closing the portal around my finger. I felt a bit of suction before the portal spit my finger out.
"Either it rejects living beings, or it tried to bring my body inside but rejected me since I'm too big. Well, it's not the first time I'm too big for a hole."
I wagged my eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes.
"Alright. Well, might as well try it out."
I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled out to the girls.
"Hey! Use a wind spell or something to blast the rabbit here!"
They nodded and held their hands out.
"[Wind Wall]!"
They couldn't use a more powerful offensive spell since it would just backfire on them, so they caused a huge gust to form a wall in front of the Velocity Rabbit.
However, it just disappeared in a blur of motion and jumped above the wall.
…This thing is a pain in the ass.
"...I have an idea, Revi. I have a spell that I don't really need to aim for it to hit. Well, it might still miss, but it should be faster than [Light of Saber]."
"You're talking about [Akashic Transfusion], right?"
It was the ability Regina-sama gave her that lets her accurately funnel any damage she receives at a target.
Since it seemed to be a near instantaneous ability, it would probably hit the Velocity Rabbit, or at least barely graze it.
"But you need to receive damage to use that skill."
"Doesn't have to be from an enemy. I know it's hard, but you'll have to hit me…"
I punched her on the shoulder.
"Ow?! Oi, you punched me without any hesitation!"
She humiliated me so much during this trip that I got kinda excited getting a chance to hit her.
"It's nothing personal! I'm just trying to save the girls as fast as possible!"
"...I saw a sadistic look in your eyes, bastard."
"Oi, use the spell now before the pain wears off!"
"This isn't over! We're having a discussion about this later, mister! [Akashic Transfusion]!"
While I was dreading the nagging I would receive later, Iris used her damage transfer spell.
A purple light appeared around the Velocity Rabbit, but it was able to sense the danger and dash away.
However, it wasn't fast enough in completely dodging the damage.
Its tail got affected.
It let out a cry. It turned around, looking for the source of the damage.
I grinned and waved at it.
"Yoo-hoo! Come here, you dumb, stupid mob monster! Just 'coz you got a bit of a power-up, you think you can mess with us, huh? Come and get it!"
I didn't think it had enough intelligence to understand human language, but it did get aggravated enough to come over to us.
Well, maybe the fact that Iris was emitting purple energy from her hand helped in attracting its aggro more than my little monkey act.
The Velocity Rabbit made its way over to us without any effort. When it got close enough, it disappeared in a blur of motion.
"[Po-ke Dimension]!"
I stood in front of Iris and had Poke open the portal.
…However, the Velocity Rabbit was faster.
I should have accounted for the fact that Poke had way slower reflexes than the Velocity Rabbit!
"Gurk!"
I felt another surge of pain as the Horned Rabbit hit me again, on the place above the wound it caused.
I coughed out some blood, but I grinned.
I always have a plan B! And a C and a D!
I have a whole alphabet of contingencies, really!
"[Ensnaring Shot]!"
I took out the bolt that I was hiding behind my back and let it fall on the Velocity Rabbit trying to eviscerate me.
The bolt fell down and transformed into vines that entangled the Velocity Rabbit.
It let out a cry of fear as it struggled to get out, but with it being caught in the vines, it couldn't move or try to dash away.
I gave an evil grin while looking down at the Velocity Rabbit.
"This cocky little wabbit got too cawwied away huh? Aww, aren't you cute widdle thing!"
"...It can't understand you, Revi."
Iris said, unamused by my antics.
"I'll put you in time out, wittle wabbit! Think about what you did! [Po-ke Dimension]!"
This time, Poke was safely able to store the Velocity Rabbit inside.
I deactivated the [Ensnaring Shot] and released the bolt before it could interfere with the carrying capacity of [Po-ke Dimension].
With that, the little speedy bugger was trapped inside my pocket dimension.
"Po-ke! Po-ke! Po-ke!"
Po-ke danced around. I gave her a high five.
I joined in her dance.
"Po-ke! Po-ke! Po-ke…! Gurk…!"
I forgot that I had a whole above my stomach and face planted on the ground, vomiting blood.
Part 4
I spent the rest of the trip recovering from my injuries.
I didn't dare to let the Velocity Rabbit out from [Po-ke Dimension], so I withheld from trying out new tricks with it.
I did try to bond with Poke, though.
"...On the chance that you grow up into a sexy imp girl, I should treat you well now!"
"Poke?"
My imp summon was confused by what I was saying, but she didn't seem to mind the massage I was giving her. I was rubbing her little back with the tip of my pointer finger.
It was the last night of our trip, finally. We were about to approach Elroad's border soon.
I was outside the mansion while we were stopping for the night. We found a little clearing in the woods to stop at.
The night sky was covered with dark streaky clouds, but there was an oval shaped gap that revealed a host of stars and a crescent moon.
I was outside with Poke, enjoying the ambience of the woods at night, the chill, the chirping sounds of insects, the faint rustling of trees.
"The world always looks more beautiful at night as it is the time closest to the realm of dreams."
Iris said, as she stepped out of the portable mansion to join me. I patted the blanket I was sitting on and she joined me.
"I didn't know you studied Elroadian poetry."
"Know thy enemy, and all that. Knowing a country's culture makes it easier to come up with ways to fight it."
"...Is Belzergian education all about warfare and wartime tactics?"
"The history of this world is cloaked in the stench of blood and steel. Those who do not know war are doomed to spill their blood and add to the stench. My children shall smell of steel, not blood."
She said, reciting a famous quote attributed to an ancestor of hers.
"It's not all about battle and stuff, you know? What about beauty, what about philosophy? Look at how tranquil the night is right now."
I said, gesturing to the scenery around us.
"The freedom to appreciate the beauty of a blood soaked world is the privilege of those who stand atop a mountain of corpses."
"Another quote from your ancestors?"
"Nah, I just made that one up."
She winked and stuck her tongue out. She said,
"Seriously, though. If we want to preserve the culture and histories of our respective kingdoms, then we have to fight and win against the Demon King army. We'll have to be stronger, Revi. We have to utterly destroy the enemy before they can destroy us… Even if it means wiping them out for good."
I sighed and scratched under Poke's chin, who was watching us while we talked.
...She still wants revenge for what happened to her family.
She will never admit it, not even to herself, but I could see that it was her main motivation.
"...Isn't there a more diplomatic option available to us? Vowing to utterly destroy another race is barbarism in its purest form. I'd rather not be responsible for any genocides."
"It's us or them. No matter how much you want to put a philosophical flavor to it, the essence of struggle is sustained by the universal desire to survive. The Demons want to conquer humanity due to their curse, and if we don't want to fall, then we must take them out before they take us out. Simple as that."
"If that's really all there is to it, then I don't think the divines would have given intelligent races the gift of reasoning and wit. Otherwise, the only thing that separates us from monsters and beasts is that we have more creative ways to kill each other."
Instead of horns, claws and fangs, we use swords, magic and skills.
If war and conflict is the basis of survival, then what's the point of rational thought?
"What separates us from monsters and beasts is that we have times of peace and progress, but only after the time for blood and steel has passed. There can't be peace without war. There can't be survival without conflict. Diplomacy gives the bloodshed of war some kind of meaning and closure. It does not end wars, it rationalizes them. It appoints the winners and the losers in affairs where everyone has lost too much, for too little."
"Hah. Typical Belzerg barbarian. I'll have you reeducated once we reach the society of true thinkers."
"...Elroad is a country where the national pastimes are gambling and orgies."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, princess."
We shared a laugh.
After chatting a bit more, we headed inside the portable mansion to get a good night's rest.
Tomorrow, we will reach Elroad.
Part 5
A dry, desert environment filled with palatial buildings. Merchants in the street hawking their wares. Ladies in belly dancer outfits trying to draw in customers to the casinos.
The familiar sights of Elroad greeted us.
"Ohh! So this is Revi's kingdom?"
Komekko-chan looked around in wonder as Arue-sensei drove our carriage through the road.
"Indeed! Welcome to Elroad, my friends! Start spreading the news~! I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it. Elroad, Elroad!"
"Spare us the song. Hey, doesn't it look like the people are glaring at us?"
When I stuck my head out of the carriage, the people saw my red hair.
They were whispering among themselves while watching me.
"Hello, my subjects! Your prince has returned!"
I held my arms out to them.
"...The idiot prince is here."
"Did he even leave? I never noticed."
"I heard that he's going to claim the throne. I hope the nobles hold a coup."
The reception wasn't good at all.
I weakly chuckled while I went back to the carriage.
"Does Revi-kun have a bad public reputation in his country?"
Arue-sensei said, watching the people glare at me. Some were even booing. The guards that were scattered around weren't doing anything about it.
"...Haha, well, you know how the peasantry are!"
"Revi used to be quite the frivolous prince back in the day. He spent the national budget on stupid purchases. He had a bunch of monsters locked up in his personal circus."
"I-It wasn't a circus! Anyway, that stuff is in the past now, Arue-sensei. As you know, I've matured a lot since then…"
I worked hard to maintain my good image in Arue-sensei's eyes.
When the crowd started to throw tomatoes, the guards finally stepped in.
"This way, your highness…"
"Actually, it's 'your majesty' from now on."
"...Please hurry along, your highness."
What a cold glare this guard is giving me.
They escorted us to the palace. The guards weren't doing anything to deflect the tomatoes, though.
Komekko-chan went out and manifested Hoost, who swatted the tomatoes away.
"Harassing Revi like this… Oh? This tomato tastes really good? Who threw this!"
"Ah… That's my tomato…"
"It's really good! Throw the devil another one!"
Komekko-chan started eating the tomatoes that were thrown at us.
Soon, the crowd was taken in by the charming girl who was eating their tomatoes.
"Try this cactus dango from my stall, ojou-chan!"
They were giving her all kinds of food to try.
…Maybe she makes for a better royal than me?
We safely made it to the palace with people offering their food for Komekko-chan to try.
Once we made it through the palace gates. Komekko-chan said,
"I hope they have a feast waiting for us in your palace, Revi!"
She was still eager to eat after sampling a bunch of free food in the streets.
Outside of the palace, I saw the high-ranking nobles and advisors waiting for me.
I rolled my eyes and sighed when I saw them.
"...I assume they're not going to approve of you taking the throne, Revi."
"Definitely not. And if we force their hand, they'll definitely turn the army on us."
Since I spent most of my budget on the R&D department and largely neglected the army, I didn't have much influence on the military.
The generals and knights hated my guts.
Of course, the scientists and artificers of the country were incredibly loyal to me, but they won't do much in a battle if there's a coup.
The nobles and advisors came out to greet me with a fake smile.
The crowd that followed us was watching from outside the gate.
"The prince returns! Your presence was sorely missed!"
Haha. This guy can kiss my sore ass!
"Hello, Lord Dick… I mean, Lord Rickford. Thank you for running things while I was gone!"
"Oh, you little… We have a feast to celebrate your return. Right this way…"
"Ah, wait, let me help the ladies out first."
"...The ladies?"
Starting from Arue-sensei, who was driving the carriage, I started letting down the girls one by one.
There was a murmuring from the crowd as they saw me helping all kinds of beautiful girls down from the carriage.
"...This playboy prince! There's a war going on but all he's been doing is seducing girls, huh?!"
"Wow, she's hot… Damn this guy! Flaunting those beauties around like that!"
"I mean… Didn't Prince Revi get a lot more handsome, too?"
The opinions among the men and the women were largely split.
As for the nobles, I saw them eyeing the girls, clearly checking them out.
"...! Wait, is that… Is that Iris-sama, the dragon slayer?!"
When Iris came out, I saw that her looks returned to normal.
Rori-san was behind her and she winked at me.
I see! Rori-san wanted to improve the mood and used her illusion magic on Iris!
I said in a loud voice,
"As I wrote in my letter, Lord Rickford, I will now take Queen Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg as my wife, and she will be under the protection of Elroad."
The crowd cheered. It was clear that the nobles made no effort to spread this news, probably because they knew it would raise the public's opinion of me.
It will also legitimize my claim for the throne!
Well, there's no one else that qualifies for the throne, but my unique circumstances means that it's not a clear path to succession.
With the crowd cheering me on, I led the girls inside the palace.
"Ohhh! I smell good food?!"
Komekko-chan let out an impressed cry when the servants led us to the feast hall.
I caught a glance before we entered. There were other prominent nobles waiting for us.
Before Komekko-chan could appear in the feast hall, I grabbed her by her cloak.
"R-Revi, what manner of betrayal is this?!"
She actually looked betrayed and hurt when I stopped her.
I looked at Lord Fredrick and the others, who looked disappointed that I caught onto their stupid trick.
They wanted us to appear in the feast hall looking all dirty and beat up from travel.
"...Maids, please take the girls up and get them changed into suitable attire."
"Right away."
They took the girls up. They had some trouble dragging Komekko-chan up, but thankfully Iris convinced her to follow.
"Ah, I'm sorry, your highness! It didn't occur to us that you would want to wash up and dress before the feast!"
They're not even trying to hide their intentions.
The last remaining maid, Zoe, who was the maid I was closest to, bowed to me.
"...Revi-sama, you should go to your room and get changed as well."
She noticed that I was starting to get pissed off and led me away.
While we were heading up the stairs, I looked at my trusty maid and smiled.
"Thanks for that, Zoe. Those nobles really get me peeved!"
"It's nothing to worry about, Revi-sama. It is one of my duties."
I looked at Zoe, the maid who I had a crush on for a while.
I looked at her brown hair that was tied into a bun, as well as her clean and tidy maid uniform.
I remembered all those times I peeped at her while she was changing in her room.
While I was looking at her, Zoe looked back at me and smiled.
"Revi-sama, you've grown since I last saw you."
"Ah, well… I got a growth spurt recently."
"And it seems that you've become acquainted with a lot of beautiful female companions…"
I rubbed the back of my head and laughed uneasily.
Zoe was both a sister figure and a mother figure for me, so it made me a bit embarrassed talking to her about this kind of stuff.
…Well, she was also my first crush, so it's a weird relationship we had.
Zoe led me to my room and closed the door, saying that she will go to the others and assist the maids in dressing up the girls.
I didn't need as much help, so I went to prepare on my own.
I took a quick bath, then changed into a white, military style formal uniform.
I also wore a sash with the family's crest on it, a golden scale with two scimitars crossed behind it. I wanted to put on a display of power and also remind those ambitious nobles that I had the right to claim the throne.
I put on a ceremonial scimitar, even though I never really used swords in battle.
Once I was ready, I headed out to join the others.
Part 6
I waited for the other girls to finish. There was quite a bit more to do for a girl when they dress, so I waited patiently.
Once they were done, the maids led them out.
"...?!"
Arue-sensei and Rueka were both wearing matching pink dresses. Serena-san was wearing a purple dress, Regina-sama's colors. Rori-san was wearing a yellow dress.
However, the ones who were the main attraction were…
Iris came out, still with her blonde hair, wearing a white dress with blue trim, and Komekko-chan walked beside her with a red dress with black trim.
They looked so good that it was hard to believe that they put on those dresses at the last minute.
"Regina-sama and Sonia are in separate rooms… Hm? Revi, are you paying attention?"
Iris came to debrief me, but I was stunned by the beauty of these girls.
"U-Um… Yeah."
"Alright. So, Revi, obviously you'll go at the front. Komekko-chan and I will be slightly behind, but we'll hold your arms. The other girls follow behind us at the back."
I was surprised that Iris was allowing me to personally escort Komekko-chan as well.
It means that she acknowledges that Komekko-chan is her equal in status.
"Why are you surprised? We agreed that we'd share you, right? So it's more convenient if we make it clear to everyone that this is our arrangement."
"...I see. Then we should get a tiara for Komekko-chan as well."
Iris was wearing one, so I felt it was appropriate to give Komekko-chan one as well.
"...Is it alright for the Devil to have one?"
Iris smiled at her.
"We already had this discussion, remember? Of course it's alright."
"No, I mean, won't it get in the way when I'm eating?"
That's all she cares about, huh?
The maids brought a tiara for Komekko-chan to wear.
While they were getting the tiara fitted for Komekko-chan, I turned to Serena-san.
"Normally, I would have Regina-sama in a prominent position, too, but…"
"I understand, but let's deal with that when she's actually awake… I don't think I should take her place."
Well, it'd probably make a better impression with a curvy beauty like Serena-san at my side than the childish Regina-sama.
But Serena-san didn't seem to catch on to my hints.
Also, Regina-sama would kick me on the shins if I said that.
With everyone properly dressed for the occasion, we went to join the feast.
"Won't it be a problem since we took our time?"
Arue-sensei said. She looked a bit nervous, clearly not used to being in events like this. She said that she spent some time in the capital tutoring nobility in magic, but formal events where nobility is involved is a different league than that.
"No, actually, it's better if we're fashionably late. It lets everyone know we're in charge if we're the last to arrive, right?"
When we made it to the feast hall, I looked at the cryer and gave him a list of names. He nodded after I was done whispering to him.
"Announcing Prince Revi Elroad! Accompanying him is Queen Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg and Lady Komekko from the Crimson Demon clan! They are further accompanied by Serena, Representative of Queen Regina of Uroburos, Lady Rorisa of Axel, Lady Arue of the Crimson Demon clan and Lady Rueka of the Crimson Demon clan!"
All eyes turned to us and the crowd gasped.
They were entranced by the beauties accompanying me.
There were also some whisperings about the Crimson Demons in my entourage, especially the one wearing a tiara walking beside me.
I also heard some whispers of people wondering who Queen Regina was, and if Uroburos was actually a real country.
We took our seats at the long feast table. Iris and Komekko-chan took the seats closest to me, while I sat at the head.
The first round of appetizers came out, which was flatbread covered with butter, black sesame seeds and melted cheese.
When the servants laid the plate out for Komekko-chan, they were surprised to see that it was already empty before it even touched the table.
"Ah, forgive me, milady…"
They took the empty plate back and put another plate in front of Komekko-chan.
The same thing happened.
"Eh? I-I could have sworn that there was food on that plate!"
She couldn't see that Komekko-chan was quickly eating the food before the plate was placed on the table.
"...Servant, you are to bring this one a heaping plateful of whatever you're serving us."
"R-Right away, your highness."
While everyone was enjoying their appetizers, one of the nobles spoke up.
Here we go…
"Your highness, what beautiful ladies you have with you. We are not familiar with any of the ladies… Aside from Queen Iris, of course. Where did you find them?"
'Where did you find them?'
Going by that wording, he was implying that I picked them up from the streets, or worse, maybe even a brothel.
Before I could answer, Komekko-chan said,
"We met up in Axel to start an adventuring party."
"Ah… Adventurers, are you?"
I was about to say it in a much more delicate way, but Komekko-chan went ahead and said the truth plainly.
This gave them more ammunition to mock and scrutinize us.
"I see… So that's what the prince was doing to occupy his time…"
The nobles started snickering. Ah, they think I was just playing around, huh?
"Lady… Komekko, was it? That tiara, as well as your close proximity with his highness, may I ask what your relation is with him?"
Since Komekko-chan was acting like a complete bumpkin, they were specifically targeting her.
"Hm? Well, Iris said that we could share him, so I guess you could say I'm his second girlfriend, or whatever."
Their eyes widened. They looked at Iris.
"Your majesty… Is this true?"
"Would you really allow… A commoner to share your…"
Iris held up her hand to stop the noble mid-sentence.
"I consider myself Lady Komekko's equal. Although she does not have a title right now, I assure you that she will have one in the future. Please refrain yourself from calling her a mere commoner."
"A-Ah… My apologies."
Even though she isn't that bold in her home country… I guess Iris is the type to feel more comfortable in other people's houses.
Seeing as Komekko-chan wasn't someone they could attack, they looked at the other Crimson Demons with her.
"Then… These Crimson Demon ladies, are they Lady Komekko's ladies in waiting?"
Arue-sensei and Rueka looked at me, wondering what they should say.
Since it will become public knowledge soon, I thought that there was no point in delaying it.
"Actually, they will act as the ambassadors for the Crimson Demon clan who will migrate here in the following week. I made an agreement with them, allowing them to cross our borders in light of the war in Belzerg…"
I intentionally didn't say the word 'refugee'.
"You mean to say refugees will come here?!"
Yet, they went ahead and said it.
"I didn't use that word, did I? The use of that word implies that they need our help. Crimson Demons don't need help. They simply don't agree with the war that's going on in Belzerg and have chosen to allow Elroad to make use of their services."
"...But their housing, food and other supplies will be provided for by Elroad, yes? Then that still makes them refugees. It's one thing if they are migrating here and have passed the necessary requirements for citizenship, but that takes years to attain, ordinarily. The fact that they are crossing our borders during wartime makes them refugees, no matter how you choose to word it, your highness."
Lord Rickford was the one to say this. He swirled wine in his glass and watched my reaction with a sidelong glance.
"Are reinforcements from another country called refugees when they come to assist in the war effort? No, of course not. We are not receiving simple peasant folk. We are receiving military assets from Belzerg. Isn't that right, Iris?"
Iris nodded and said,
"I officially approve of the Crimson Demons coming here to provide Elroad aid. I feel that they will be more useful here, as we will rely on Elroad's aid in these trying times. Of course, there is much to discuss about this war, and I will save that for another time. For those with proper clearance."
Those who didn't have said clearance immediately closed their mouths. Iris did a good job at excluding them from the conversation.
Most of the attempts to find holes in the Crimson Demon's migration to Elroad died down when the main courses started arriving, but I knew it wasn't the last time the topic would come out.
"Ohhh! I've never seen this kind of fish before?!"
A large, golden, deep fried fish coated in spicy garlic sauce was brought in front of us. Alongside it were smaller plates that had traditional Elroadian salads, leafy greens and tomatoes. There were also fried crepes filled with melted cheese, spinach rolls with rice inside, minced meat shaped into tear drops, mashed chickpea dips, as well as garlic sauce dips and many kinds of flatbreads and deep fried fritters to eat with them.
This main dish was a kind of fish called a Dune Fish. Instead of living in water, they live in the sand dunes.
Instead of targeting the Crimson Demons, the nobles moved on to the topic of Uroburos.
"This… Uroburos, where exactly is this country?"
A noble said, glancing at Serena-san. I noticed that his gaze was centered on her cleavage, though.
"It is a new country in Belzerg. His majesty, Revi-sama, was kind of enough to offer my queen the status of consort."
I braced myself as murmurs filled the table.
"...With all due respect, what is it that this… Unknown country can offer Elroad that his majesty would offer it the status of a vassal country?"
"Let's just say that there's a goddess sleeping in this palace tonight. She is the ruler of Uroburos."
I said, trying to keep it as vague as possible.
"A goddess?! You mean, this Queen Regina is a goddess?!"
"How come I've never heard of her? I'm a professor in World Religions!"
"Which domains does she rule under?"
Serena-san spoke up for me.
"Regina-sama's domains are 'Home' and 'Retribution'."
Eh? Wasn't it supposed to be Revenge and Manipulation?
Ah, I get it, those were her original domains before she fell as a dark goddess.
"Regina… The goddess of the Home and Retribution… For the life of me, I have never heard of such a goddess."
It was the World Religion professor who said this.
"Ah… Perhaps the kingdom is spending too much on its education system if the professor of World Religion doesn't even know of any goddesses outside of Eris and Aqua?"
"...! Ah, actually, I do believe I remember now! Ah, your majesty, it's because you didn't use Regina-sama's native name, that's why I was confused! Please don't use a goddess's localized name next time. It really confuses historians such as myself."
He started to pretend that he knew who Regina was to save his own skin.
"I see… Well, if the professor says so."
The nobles couldn't help but go along with the professor, since they didn't know any better.
"Be that as it may, a goddesses' power lies in their influence and fame. The fact that such a learned professor couldn't even recognize this Regina-sama at the start tells me that this goddess is not all that powerful. Can it really be a benefit to us to side with a goddess such as this? What if it angers our chief goddess, Eris-sama, the goddess of luck and fortune, that we have decided to make this obscure goddess a consort to our prince?"
Lord Rickford said, picking holes in my argument again.
Since Eris was the goddess who governs luck, of course she would be the chief goddess in a country of casinos and merchants. You never want to be on the bad side of lady luck.
Just like Belzerg, we use the Eris currency in order to honor Eris-sama.
"That's right! We shouldn't favor any other goddesses, lest we anger Eris-sama!"
"This was a bad move, your highness!"
"What is the GDP of Uroburos, anyway?!"
Despite our best efforts, the news of Regina-sama becoming my consort wasn't taken well.
After the main dishes were cleared away, desserts were brought out. Pistachio cakes, gelatinous sweets touched with rose water and pastries generously drizzled in honey, served with a fragrant, rich tea with a golden color, served in glass cups that displayed the pleasant color of the tea.
The feast came to a close when the deserts were taken care of. The nobles started to disperse, but not without some snide comments directed my way.
We went upstairs and only then did I start to show my frustration.
"Those damn parasites! Acting like they do anything for this country other than use up taxpayer money for their own frivolous expenses! And that damn Lord Dickford with that smug smile of his!"
"...You sure have it rough, Revi."
Iris said, sympathizing with me as a fellow royal.
I thanked everyone for their proper behavior during the feast. Komekko-chan could use some instruction in etiquette, but at least she didn't make a big scene.
I sent everyone to their rooms to get some sleep.
The following days would be very busy, and I wanted everyone to be in their best condition.