Chapter 3: A Refugee Problem For This New King!

Part 1

Revi looked out at the new maids that I recruited for him.

We were in the throne room. Revi was sitting on his throne when I brought the maids out.

He looked quite haggard from spending all day with the Crimson Demon girls.

"...What are these new maids for?"

"Zoe told me that I needed to hire new maids. The previous maids retired, since they're loyal to your father. These maids will be loyal to you, now."

"Oh, I see… Well, work hard, guys."

He said, giving them a nod.

Zoe shook her head and said,

"Your majesty, remember what I told you earlier? These maids will serve you not only with their work, but in bed, too."

"Why are there more girls all of a sudden?! I already spent a whole day with the other concubines, now you're telling me I have to 'initiate' these girls, too?!"

"They don't have to be all at once… And if your majesty isn't up to it, these maids will only focus on chores and housework, if you wish."

"Get real! You put all these beauties in front of me and you don't expect me to do anything?! Of course I'll do anything! That's not the problem! The problem is that the heart and soul is willing, but the body is about to break!"

This guy was complaining about having too many women to play with.

The guys back in Axel would crucify him if they saw this happening.

"...Besides, some of these girls… Are they really maids?! I remember seeing some of them during balls and other noble events!"

"That's because they're the daughters of those houses that were exposed as traitors."

"Ah… Is that so…"

For some reason, Revi seemed to feel uncomfortable when he saw some of the girls lined up in front of him. Did he have some history with a few of these noble girls?

Before I could ask him anything, Revi sighed and said,

"Alright, I'll deal with the new maids later. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Thanks for taking over my duties yesterday, Iris. You can take a break today."

"...Taking a break after one day of work isn't really my style. Isn't there anything else I can do around here?"

Zoe spoke up and said,

"Iris-sama, you can help me with the maid orientation, if you'd like."

"Sure, I can do that."

The maids bowed to Revi, who nodded back to them, before following Zoe and I out.

As soon as we were out of earshot, the noble girls started talking.

"Wow… Is that really Revi? He used to be such a dork, but he's a total hottie now…"

"I know, right? Remember when he used to beg us to dance with him? If he looked as hot as he does now, I would have totally given him a dance or two…"

"I would have given him a lap dance after he was done dancing with you."

"You slut…!"

They started gossiping among themselves, while the other maids maintained their discipline and silently stood there.

I was wondering what kind of history these girls had with Revi. It turned out that a lot of them had rejected Revi in the past.

If I didn't find it so amusing, I would have chewed these girls out for making my Revi feel bad like that.

Besides, I also rejected him a lot in the past. I couldn't really blame them. He really was a dork back then.

"Enough! You girls are maids now! You mustn't act in this way!"

"Oh, come on, Zoe-san… It's fine if it's just us, right?"

"The queen is right here! Did you forget!"

"Ah, you're right?!"

They seriously forgot that I was there with them? There were some serious airheads among the noble girls.

Since they lived an easy life relying on their looks and family background alone, there wasn't any for them to develop any kind of intelligence. It resulted in them becoming unreliable airheads once they grew up.

"Alright, let's get serious now! The maid association girls, I request you all to teach the noble girls some basics. Don't worry, you don't need to hold back. They're your equals now!"

The maid association girls didn't seem confident about what Zoe said, but they dutifully accepted her request.

I was getting a bad feeling about the way the dynamics were between the noble girls and the maid girls. I stayed around to look at the groups that were forming, observing them while Zoe was busy instructing everyone.

I ended up following Windry, Lord Rickford's daughter, and a maid with green hair and pink eyes.

The green haired girl said to Windry,

"Hello, my name is Jade."

"...I'm Windry. Maid, go get me some sweets."

"...Zoe-san told me to teach you the basics of housework."

"I don't care about that. You're a maid. Weren't you taught that you should do as the nobles tell you to? I remember you maids were like that. When my father told you to clean, you cleaned. When he told you to cook, you cooked. When he told you to strip, you stripped! You should listen to me, since I'm a noble like my father!"

Did this girl realize that her nobility meant nothing anymore?

I looked at Jade, who had a conflicted expression on her face. Since she was taught since birth that she had to listen to the nobles who outranked her, she didn't know what to do with the situation she ended up in.

I glanced around and saw the other maids were also reluctant in treating the noble girls as equals. While the noble girls were goofing off, the maids let them do as they wished, while they ended up doing all the work.

Realizing I had to do something, I went up to Windry and said,

"Oi, Windry…"

"It's Windry-sama to you! Oh, hello, your majesty!"

She completely changed her attitude and went into a perfect curtsy for me.

"...What are you doing? You're supposed to treat your fellow maid like an equal. Why are you ordering Jade around?"

Windry chuckled and said,

"Oh, come on, Iris-sama. I can call you Iris-sama, right? We're both of superior blood here, born from a special bloodline. You know what it's like. Sure, my family status is kind of in a bad place right now, but we'll surely recover in no time! I'll be back enjoying the rich life soon enough! Maybe I'll even hire Jade here to be my personal maid!"

She grinned and started laughing.

…She really was an optimistic one.

Or more like she was completely oblivious.

"Listen, I hate to tell you this, but you're likely going to remain as a maid for the rest of your life."

"Oh, surely, you jest!"

"It's true. I don't know if you're heard, but Elroad is undergoing a social reform, started by King Revi himself. 'Those who are capable will have positions of power'. Nobility won't mean much anymore. Sure, noble families who stayed loyal to the throne will retain their power, but if they do anything that will betray the king's trust, their powers will be stripped away, too."

She stopped laughing, her smile beginning to fade away.

"I…I don't understand."

It wasn't like I didn't understand her. I once thought that the world revolved around me, too. The truth was that the world doesn't care about royalty or noble bloodlines, or anything like that. I found that out the hard way, with the death of my family.

"I'll be honest here. You're lucky you even have this position. You girls have no relevant life skills whatsoever. You're actually unemployable. I only picked you because I thought that Revi would like you for your appearance, but your personality is actually pretty rotten. Do you remember the other girls in the ball? They're probably all gonna work typical service and hospitality jobs in the future."

Since their houses would no longer have any means of revenue, those daughters who had no life skills would have to learn how to adapt fast.

Those who couldn't find jobs as waitresses and barmaids would probably have to settle for working at a brothel, once all their money runs out.

Part of the reason why I chose Windry for the maid job was because I felt bad for her. I could see such a grim future happening to her.

My words were cruel, but they seemed to have an effect on her. She was finally beginning to see the reality of her situation.

I put a hand on her shoulder and said,

"Work hard here. You're lucky to have this job. Listen to Jade from now on, alright?"

She bit her lip and nodded. I could tell that she still wasn't fully accepting of her current lot in life, but I didn't give her much choice.

If she couldn't accept the truth, she could keep deluding herself until her life fell apart.

Part 2

Thankfully, I didn't have to give the same speech over and over again.

Some girls overheard what I said and word spread around. Soon, there wasn't any more gossiping. They were all paying attention to what their maid senpai were teaching them. Zoe was surprised by the development.

"Iris-sama… You're a natural leader."

"...I'm a queen, you know? It'd be bad if I wasn't at least decent at leading people."

"I didn't mean to imply you weren't! Sorry!"

Since I treated her like a friend, Zoe sometimes forgot that I was a queen.

Even though she lectured the others about that.

Perhaps it was the result of me spending a lot of time among commoners, as an adventurer undercover. I didn't really have a regal aura anymore, at least when I didn't feel like emitting it. If I wanted to, I could blend in with the commoners and they wouldn't even realize it.

"In any case, Zoe, you'll have to be a leader now as well. You're the head maid now, after all."

She rubbed the back of her head and said,

"I must confess, it feels a bit surreal, being a head maid. I always saw myself as more of a follower, not a leader. Besides, my previous head maid was a very capable woman. She knew how to run this place better than anyone. I'm a bit worried if I can do what she did…"

I shrugged and said,

"Trust me, if that dork can run a kingdom, you can be a good head maid. Leaders aren't born into the role, they learn on the spot. Besides, I find that the best leaders are the ones who aren't sure if they can do the job. That means that you're willing to learn and improve."

I'd rather have someone who has potential for growth than someone who is good at the start, but will never develop further in the future.

"...Thank you for those encouraging words, Iris-sama. You always know what to say."

I blinked. Those were the same words I said to Revi.

I thought that Revi had grown a lot recently, but I suppose that I grew up a lot, too.

Should I be grateful that I'm maturing at a fast pace, or should I be saddened that my childhood is already far behind me?

I was sure that I already asked myself this same question before, but I couldn't help but ask it again. Maybe I didn't really grow up that much after all, if I was still stuck with the same problems I had in the past.

…

…

After the maid orientation, I went to the harem quarters to check up on the concubines.

A good leader makes sure that everyone is on the same page.

While I was feeling good about being called a good leader by Zoe, I encountered a troublesome development in the harem quarters.

"Revi-sama liked me more! Who said that I was special! He said that my hair is cute!"

"We all have the same hair color, dumbass! He's just flattering you! He said that he liked my eyes!"

"We all have red eyes, you dimwit! You're not special!"

The Crimson Demon girls were all fighting with each other.

"...What's going on here?"

I said, going over to Sakunori-san, who was trying to get everyone to calm down.

"...It started out well enough. We were all talking about our 'experiences' with Revi-sama yesterday. It became a discussion about who Revi-sama liked better, though. Please forgive us Crimson Demons, we are all very competitive. For one thing, it's clear that he enjoyed his time with me more…"

Just when I thought that Sakunori-san was being mature, she had to say this.

"Huh?! Just because you're more experienced as a former fashion model who had to sell herself to 'sponsors'... You have a leg up on us for now, old hag, but we'll catch up to you eventually!"

"O-Old hag…?! What'd you say?! You want me to show you my [Light of Saber]?!"

She didn't refute anything about being a former fashion model who sold herself to sponsors, huh?

I shook my head while images of Sakunori-san dealing with some old fart sponsor flashed in my mind.

"Break it up! Why are you girls fighting among yourselves?! Didn't Revi give you a lot of alone time yesterday, like you requested?! It doesn't matter who performed better! As long as you find some personal enjoyment in it, that's all that matters!"

"Eh? But Revi-sama told me that he enjoyed this technique I used. He also said that Iris-sama could learn a thing or two from me..."

Funifura said, using a faux-innocent voice.

"...Huh? You do know that I've been with Revi the longest, right?"

"Yeah, good job so far! Thanks for keeping him warm for me!"

"He's not a freaking couch, you little…!"

I jumped forward and grabbed her twintails, pulling on them.

A full on catfight ensued.

"Hmm…? What's going on here?"

Komekko-chan said. She came out in a sports bra and active bottoms that looked more like panties than shorts.

"..."

We all stared at her perfect figure.

"Enemy! We must all band together or Komekko will steal his attention away from us!"

"This little girl has been conspiring against me from the start! I was his first love, you know?!"

Along with the others, we directed our spite at Komekko-chan.

Komekko-chan sighed and said,

"Look, you guys do realize that Revi is an egoist, right? I recognize those traits in him because I'm like that, too."

What a thing to say about yourself. And about another person, actually.

"...I know that you're an arrogant girl. What does that have to do with anything?"

I said, raising a brow at her.

"Thanks!"

It wasn't a compliment.

"What I mean is that he's the type of guy who will sleep around no matter what. Even if he only dated one of us, he's bound to cheat on us one day. That's just the kind of guy he is. He likes conquests and being with new girls."

…I remembered how he slept with Komekko-chan even when we had a good mood going on.

It was his first time, too!

I was saving myself for him and he went ahead and fooled around with Komekko-chan and several girls in the Crimson Demon village.

"...B-But that's just his devil side influencing him, right?"

"That's a part of it, but I think it's a personality thing, too. You know his family history, right? He's come from a family of conquerors. His ancestor united this country together by capturing a bunch of daughters from the surrounding tribes, and turning them into his wives, regardless if they liked it or not."

Aisha, who was idly watching our cat fight, raised her hand and said,

"That's true! We developed a lot of interesting customs because of that!"

Don't remind me about those embarrassing customs!

Komekko-chan went on to say,

"The point is, he's the kind of guy who'd want to taste every beautiful girl he meets. That's just who he is. Sure, he controlled himself back when he was just a regular guy, but now he's a king with a lot of power."

"...He acted as if he was reluctant to accept the new maids, though."

I said, referring to Revi's behavior earlier.

"Because that's the socially acceptable response, isn't it? He doesn't want to come across as some playboy. If he didn't really like it, he would have just reassigned them or rejected them altogether. There's already quite a lot of us here, but he still chose to accept them."

We all couldn't respond to Komekko-chan's claims, since they made a lot of sense.

"...So you're saying that since he has his eyes on a lot of girls anyway…"

"...We shouldn't be worried about who he likes better?"

Komekko-chan nodded and said,

"That's what makes him cool! He can sincerely say he loves all of us, and he won't even be lying! Well, of course, he loves the devil the most out of all of you."

"What'd you say?!"

The Crimson Demon girls resumed their cat fight, this time with Komekko-chan involved.

Komekko-chan had some pretty insightful moments once in a while…

Well, she was good at reading Revi's psyche, at least.

She was a dumbass when it came to everything else.

Part 3

Later that day, after checking up on the soldiers to make sure they were maintaining their training, I went back to the throne room again.

"Your majesty… What shall we do about these refugees?"

One of the council members in charge of foreign relations said, while he was kneeling in front of the throne.

"...The Crimson Demons are one thing, since they're an important human resource, but these refugees are… We're about to fight a war… Well, of course, we can't just tell them that."

I went up to them and said,

"What's going on here?"

The attendant turned to me and said,

"My queen, it seems that refugees from the neighboring kingdom of Potassia are seeking refugee status with us… Word must have gotten out that we accepted Crimson Demons and gave them refugee status…"

Some of Lord Rickfords concerns were becoming reality.

If you let one group in, a bunch of other groups would come in and say 'why not us, too'?

The thing is that Crimson Demons provided a lot of unique advantages to whichever country they ended up in. These refugees from Potassia… Well, they were all probably just potato farmers.

As a country, Potassia was only known for its potatoes. It was their national food and main export. Potatoes were so important to their culture and domestic production that they had a potato on their flag.

They weren't weak in any other areas, or anything. It's just that they were painfully average. Their military was decent, their economy was middling but not stagnant, even their diplomatic relations with the rest of the continent was just average. No one hated them enough to consider attacking them, but no one liked them enough to forge long term allegiances with them.

Sometimes, you forget that Potassia was even a country and not just a vassal state of some of the more powerful countries in the continent, like Belzerg and Elroad.

"It's cruel, but we can't give them entry…"

Revi said, in regards to the refugees seeking entry.

"Very well… Should we let them form a refugee camp outside the borders or our city?"

"...It's troublesome, but we don't want to lose points with the rest of the countries for not even giving them basic human rights. Very well. They can't enter settlements without a guard escort, or gain citizenship, but they can at least set up camp nearby. Have some Crimson Demons clear out the area for any monsters."

I raised a hand and said,

"Revi, can't you just make the Crimson Demons create some houses for them? Those guys can do it in a matter of minutes."

With their golems and earth creation powers, Crimson Demons could create an entire city in one day.

"...We don't want to create that kind of precedent. 'If you come to Elroad, they'll make houses for you, free of charge'. It sounds nice to be altruistic, but you have to keep in mind that resources and space are limited. That's just the reality of things. You can't just give away free things to anyone who needs it, or else those who are already under your care will suffer when resources are spread too thin."

I could tell that it was a tough decision for him, but he didn't have any other choice.

Perhaps, if we weren't about to go to war, he would have been more lenient.

But refugees were not only a drain on resources, they also brought down the morale of the people. There was also a possibility that there were spies among them. We won't be able to surprise the Demon King army if any intelligence gets out.

"Alright, I will go ahead and tell the refugees about the king's decision."

The attendant said, looking like he approved of Revi's decision. Even if they were faithful to Revi, it didn't mean that they were completely sold on his abilities. Revi still needed to prove himself to his officials and council members.

"Wait, Iris, why don't you go with him?"

Revi said, turning to me.

"...Why me?"

"I could do it myself, but it'll be seen as an act of cruelty by the king. Queens have more leeway. If you do it right, it could be seen as an act of mercy if a queen delivers the news."

"...Essentially, you want me to use my beauty and gender to soften the blow, huh?"

I said, looking at him blankly.

"Sigh… That's just how the world works, Iris. If we want to keep doing this, we have to play by the rules."

"...What they don't know is that I can beat you no matter how many times we fight. Well, if they have that kind of image of me, it's fine. I guess I'll get dressed up."

After the meeting with Revi, I went over to the maids again and gave them their first task.

"Basically, I want you to make me as meek and unassuming as you can, while still making sure that I appear as a queen."

I said to the maids, as we went to my walk-in closet.

"Oh, this dress will work!"

"Iris-sama, if you wear this make-up, you'll totally have the defenseless look going on."

"You want to have a demure, but still slightly seductive look. So show a bit of skin around here…"

The noble girls were perfect for the job.

The maid association girls were actually taken aback by how efficiently the noble girls worked in fulfilling my request.

Since these noble girls did nothing all day but play around with dresses and make-up, they were unmatched when it came to this kind of thing.

Maybe they had some life skills after all…

If fashion could be considered a vital life skill.

Maybe not.

Part 4

In the end, I went with a coral pink dress that showed a bit of skin, but not too much.

I went light on the make-up and I didn't wear too much jewelry.

I asked Rori-san to apply some illusion magic on me, to turn my hair blonde, but when I went to her room, she said,

"...Sorry, I'm not feeling too well…"

I was confused, since devils didn't really get sick. They didn't need to eat or sleep, and they didn't have an ordinary immune system like us humans.

"Eh? Is something wrong?"

I said, looking concerned.

"Ah… I absorbed a lot of lust from Revi-san yesterday… I think I overate."

"...I see."

Since Revi got busy the whole day, Rori-san was stuffed with lust from him.

"Ah… I also had some fun with him this morning, which made me even more full with how much lust and life energy he gave me~!"

"I was feeling sorry for you, but that's what it is?!"

I sighed and said,

"Look, Rori-san, can you apply your illusion magic on me or are you feeling too sick?"

"...For some reason, my powers aren't working too well. Can't you just take Regina-sama's temporary transformation potion? Even if the full transformation isn't working yet, the temporary one should work fine."

"Well… I suppose."

It felt a bit overkill to use those potions, since we didn't have a lot of them, but this was a national issue we had to deal with, anyway.

I said goodbye to Rori-san and told her to rest up and get well.

Afterwards, I went to the lab, seeing if Regina-sama was free to accommodate me.

"...Regina-sama?"

"Erp! W-Who's there?!"

I saw her in the nude, in her original adult form, posing in front of a mirror.

"...I'll pretend I didn't see that if you give me a temporary transformation potion without lecturing me about production costs."

"...Deal."

Even though she always raised a big fuss about costs, effort and time, the three magical ingredients that went into making these potions, she wordlessly handed a potion to me.

With the potion procured, I checked myself out in the mirror that Regina-sama was posing on. I drank the potion and saw my blonde hair returning.

I also felt stronger, with my heroic bloodline returning to me. I crushed the potion vial easily, without even harming my skin.

"T-Those glass vials are pretty expensive, you know?! Why are you just crushing them, you brute?!"

She stared in shock at the glass remnants on the floor.

"...Just ask Revi to cover the costs. It should be easy to get anything you want out of him with that new form you have."

"...W-Well… I'm a bit nervous doing it with my original form… I-I mean it's my true form and all…"

She said, poking her fingers together.

"Oi, your main appeal is that you're an adult woman in the body of a loli. If your mind has also turned into a loli, the other lolis in the harem will overshadow you…"

"How dare you! First you break my stuff, now you're breaking my pride?! I was in a good mood before you entered! Get out!"

I was promptly kicked out of her lab.

After I got what I wanted, I met with the attendant outside.

He looked at my dress and hair and smiled,

"Ah, what a nostalgic sight! The dragon slayer has returned!"

"...Oi, I can't look too majestic. If my outfit looks too good, please tell me!"

The whole point was to make the refugees identify with me as a gentle, merciful queen.

A queen who looked too above and beyond them wouldn't be easy to relate to at all.

"...Erm… Well, I'm a big fan of Iris-sama the dragon slayer, so any outfit looks majestic to me… But I suppose this one might work?"

He said, after checking the outfit out closely.

I shrugged, thinking that was good enough.

Since the people of Elroad naturally had a good opinion of me as the dragon slayer, they were biased towards me in how they saw me.

Strangers from a foreign land who wouldn't know about such things as 'Iris the Dragon Slayer' wouldn't have such biases.

…Unless my fame was somehow on that kind of level already.

I followed the attendant to the outskirts of the city, beyond the city's walls.

I saw a group of refugees, huddled around in an impromptu campsite.

They were all wearing rags. They looked like your typical peasants, with bad teeth, skin and thin, malnourished bodies.

I felt bad for them, but I knew that this wasn't the time to be concerned about other people. The fate of the whole continent was at stake in this secret operation we were about to pull off. We couldn't afford to welcome any unknown factors.

Once they saw me, I saw the way their eyes lit up. It was a bit embarrassing, but this was the effect that royalty had over the common people. They saw us as idols, mortals that only had to answer to the heavens.

I remembered the way Rori-sama confessed the way she felt about royalty like Revi and me. She viewed us as the pinnacle of humanity, individuals to be adored and treasured.

Revi also said something to the effect that kings and queens become more like concepts than humans… I saw that at play now, with these refugees looking at me like I was something far away from them.

"Greetings… I am Queen Iris Stylish-Sword Belzerg. I have come to personally answer your request, seeking refugee status from Elroad…"

"Eh? Belzerg? What's the Belzerg queen doing here?"

Since they were just peasants from another country, they weren't caught up to date with current events.

Word travels fast, but some peasants were too ignorant to separate real news from fake news.

"I am now betrothed to King Revi of Elroad. Now, to answer your request… I am sorry, but I cannot grant you refugee status. I am… very sorry."

"E-Eh? B-But my queen…!"

I hung my head and said,

"...I have pleaded with my husband on your behalf, but please understand… His hands are tied. The citizens will not accept any foreigners at this time…"

"B-But we heard that Crimson Demons came here!"

So they really did hear that rumor.

How did they not know about me becoming Revi's queen, but they knew about Crimson Demons coming here?

Something didn't add up…

"Ahem… Can you tell me how you learned that Crimson Demons have been granted refugee status in Elroad?"

The peasant blinked and scratched his face.

"Erm… I think I heard about it from a traveler…"

He didn't seem to be lying. The thing with rumors is that you never know which one will reach the ears of peasants. Even if a rumor did reach them, you don't know which one will stick in their minds.

"Well… It's just a rumor. If there are any Crimson Demons here, they're already citizens of the kingdom from long ago…"

"...Is that so?"

Since they were refugees who didn't know anything about what was happening within the capital's walls, they couldn't refute what I told them.

I felt bad about lying, but we could treat them properly after our operation was over. Right now, we need to do everything possible to keep these refugees away.

"By the way… I'd like to ask you another question."

"What is it, my queen?"

"Erm… Why did you all leave Potassia anyway? From what I understand, Potassia has a relatively stable, if uninspired, economy…"

I realized that there was class disparity to worry about, but it takes a lot for one to leave their country. One doesn't become a refugee unless they were being persecuted, or if the situation in their country was really that bad.

"...Ah… This year's crops have been pretty bad. A lot of people are starving…"

If it was bad enough that even potatoes couldn't grow, I'd understand why peasants were leaving the country.

After they answered my questions, I apologized to the refugees again and bid them farewell.

I gave them permission to plant their seeds and hunt around the area, however, I made it clear that they didn't own any of the land around here, and that Elroad could kick them out anytime.

Once they accepted the terms, I left with the attendant.

"Ugh… I don't wanna do that ever again."

I said, feeling awful for lying to the refugees.

"You did what you had to do, Iris-sama."

The attendant said, reassuring me.

"That Revi… Leaving me with all the dirty work!"

I said, feeling pissed off with the kind of work Revi was making me do.

I went back to the palace, trying to forget about the refugees from Potassia.

Part 5

The next day, we received news in the royal court.

The same attendant who told us about the refugees said,

"T-There seems to be a problem with the refugees…"

"What is it now?"

Revi asked, seeming to be tired about the subject of refugees.

He had to deal with the Crimson Demons earlier, and now he had these people from Potassia to deal with.

"They claim that there are citizens of Elroad who are harassing them…"

"Huh?! Bring them here, I'll have them punished immediately!"

The attendant brought out Komekko-chan, Rueka and Arue-sensei.

"...Huh? Why are they here?"

Revi said, even though he fully understood why they were here. He was just in denial.

I sighed and said,

"...Let me guess. In a misguided attempt to 'welcome' the refugees, you Crimson Demons set up a 'magic show' for them with your flashy spells and stuff, right?"

"That's exactly right! They didn't seem to appreciate the show, though…"

Arue-sensei said, looking confused as to why.

"Fufu… The Devil even showed them my special performance featuring a combination of martial arts and magic…"

"I provided some supplementary magical fireworks…"

Komekko-chan and Rueka said, seeming to recall good memories as they smiled at each other.

"You idiots! We're having them believe that Crimson Demons have been citizens of Elroad for a long time now! Do you girls realize what you've done?!"

Revi said, his face flushed with anger.

"Eh? But we're technically refugees, though."

Rueka said, tilting her head.

"That's why we're lying! We don't want to give the refugees any reason to insist that they be given the same treatment as you guys! Damn it!"

Revi clutched his hair and screamed out from the stress.

"...I apologize for our actions. I didn't realize it was that serious."

Arue-sensei said, bowing in apology.

Revi looked at her and said,

"...It's fine, Arue-sensei. I'm the one who didn't tell you guys about the plan. I can't blame you if there was miscommunication."

"Oi…"

I glared at Revi, who started taking it easy on Arue-sensei after seeing her bow down and getting a good look at her cleavage.

I sighed and said,

"So… What do we do about this incident…?"

"...I have no idea. This situation is just… really bad! The fact that Komekko-chan is the queen of Elroad is even more of a concern! Did they recognize you at all?"

Komekko-chan shook her head,

"No, they were too impressed by the Devil's performance! They were screaming in joy!"

I was pretty sure they were screaming in terror.

Revi was relieved to hear that, at least. He said,

"We have no choice. We'll have to go over there and formally apologize, consequences be damned."

"Is there really no choice?"

"Listen, I'm still thinking about Elroad after the war! I want to come out of this with a lot of profit! I can't have other nations thinking that we commit crimes against humanity here!"

In order to keep Elroad's diplomatic slate clean, Revi was willing to take some short-term losses.

I didn't want to say it, but there was a simpler solution that went unsaid.

We could just eliminate the refugees and make sure there were no witnesses left behind.

Of course, I didn't want to be that kind of leader… But a cold, rational part of me couldn't help but consider the option.

I looked at Revi, wondering if he thought the same thing, and just didn't say it aloud.

…

…

Revi and I went to the refugee camp, fully intent to apologize…

However, when we got there, we saw them packing up.

"E-Eh? Where are you all going?"

"I-I heard that there are demons near Elroad, since they're taking over Belzerg… But I didn't know that they're already here?!"

"Eh? Demons?!"

Revi asked, looking around in a panic.

"Y-Yeah! These demons came here and attacked us… Are they the Crimson Demons that live here?!"

"Eh? Erm… No? Crimson Demons aren't actually demons. That's just the name of their clan."

Revi still hadn't caught on and answered honestly.

That actually worked out for us, though.

"S-So those weren't Crimson Demons… Then they were actual Demons! Scary! So scary!"

"Please tell me where these demons went!"

Revi was still in a panic, not knowing they were actually talking about Komekko-chan and the others.

"Forget it! We're leaving immediately! Thanks for letting us stay here… But it's too dangerous!"

They packed up fast and started to leave, perhaps going to another country.

"...Iris, we need to deal with those demons! Some of them managed to infiltrate!"

"Idiot… They're talking about Komekko-chan and the others!"

"Oh… Ah, you're right. I was shocked by the news and I didn't realize…"

His blush of embarrassment was pretty cute, so I didn't tease him about being oblivious.

"Well… I guess that situation kind of resolved itself?"

He said, tilting his head, still trying to make sense of what happened.

"...You really think that was a clean resolution? It was almost a big diplomatic issue."

"Yeah, we really need to give Komekko-chan more lessons in terms of diplomacy and how to act like an actual queen…"

"Maybe we gave her the position too soon? It was my idea, but…"

Komekko-chan was my first choice, but Revi actually didn't think she was ready.

"...I needed a queen for Elroad to solidify my claim. In terms of maturity, Rori-san would have been a perfect candidate… But she denied the offer."

Rori-san was the clear choice, but she just doesn't want to be out in the open… I guess I kind of understand, considering what happened to the last succubus queen of this country.

"Rori-san would have made a perfect queen of Elroad…"

"Yeah… Which makes it even more disappointing if Komekko-chan acts immature like this… Eh?"

"Hm? What is it?"

His face fell when he pointed behind us.

I saw Komekko-chan there.

"...Erm… T-The Devil thought she'd help fix the situation by apologizing, too…"

After saying that, she turned around and Teleported away.

"...She heard us, huh?"

Revi said, rubbing his temples.

"Yeah…"

Just when I thought our situation got resolved, we encountered another problem.

Part 6

We found Komekko-chan in her room. Shubaru and some of her classmates were outside.

"She suddenly ran inside and locked the door… Did something happen?"

Shubaru asked, looking worried.

"Yeah… Can you girls give us some privacy?"

They nodded and went away.

Revi took out his master key that opened every door in the palace, and we went inside.

"Eh?! How did you two get in?!"

"...I'm the king, you know? Anyway, Komekko-chan, no teleporting. We need to talk."

Revi said, stopping Komekko-chan before she could teleport.

"What? You're gonna nag the Devil even more? You're gonna tell me you crappy I am as a queen?"

"...We never went that far."

"That's pretty much what you said! You said that Rorisa is more suited to be a queen than me! You said she's the first option… I'm just your backup!"

I stayed quiet and waited to see what Revi would say.

"...It's true. As you are now, Komekko-chan… You're really immature and impulsive. You also don't really know how to read the room."

Komekko-chan started tearing up. She turned around, burying her head in the pillow.

"Then why'd you even choose me?! If you just needed a Crimson Demon, you could have picked Arue-sensei or something! Did you just feel sorry for me?!"

"I picked you because I chose to invest in your future. You're a terrible queen now… But I'm betting on your potential. You're a genius after all… Well, you're an instinctive genius."

"...Still going on about that? I don't care what kind of genius I am if you think I'm useless right now."

She turned her head, looking at us with one teary crimson eye.

Revi walked over and sat on the bed, putting his hand on her back, rubbing it.

"Iris, how many years did you spend studying to get where you are now?"

I went over and sat on the bed, too, joining Revi in comforting Komekko-chan.

"Hmm… I spent my entire childhood. And I wasn't even training to become a queen… It was all for the sake of being a proper princess. My brother, who was the actual heir, had a more intense education than me."

"...So the Devil is severely underqualified for the job. I got it."

Komekko-chan buried her face in the pillow again.

Revi chuckled and said,

"Iris is a genius in her own way… But she's a genius of hard work. She can focus on a task and keep going at it for years on end. That's how her swordsmanship got so good. Of course, there's all her bloodline stuff, but do you really think that she could have one-shot a golden dragon as a kid, without a lot of hardcore training?"

I blushed a bit, being complimented all of a sudden.

It was true. My bloodline gave me access to special abilities, but I wasn't a hero myself. I only had the blood of a hero. I had to train for years to properly use my powers.

"Komekko-chan…. I'm saying that you're a different kind of genius. Sure, you'll struggle a lot, but eventually, you'll get it. Just like how you can master a spell or a martial arts move after only seeing it once, I'm sure you'll learn the necessary skills once you get a feel for it."

"...Really?"

Komekko-chan said, turning to face us again.

I gave a sardonic smile and said,

"Yeah… I mean, I'm always complaining about your abilities being unfair, right? You'll struggle now… But I'm sure you'll surpass me eventually. You have unlimited potential, but it's so vast that sometimes you get lost in it and you don't know what to do."

It pained me to admit it, but it was true.

A part of me wanted to stay ahead of her forever, but I also wanted to see how far she'd go.

"...The Devil will work hard. Also… I'll try not to cause any more diplomatic incidents…"

"That's all we could ask for."

We all chuckled, as Komekko-chan sat up and hugged us both.