Prologue | The Assassin Visits an Ally
I had now encountered several demons: the orc demon, the beetle demon, the lion demon, the earth dragon demon, and the snake demon. Of these, the snake demon stood out from the rest.
She had disguised herself as a human and integrated into human society. This was not done solely out of a motivation to revive the Demon King, however. The snake demon enjoyed playing at being human because she had a fondness for our culture and pastimes. That interest was what gave me room to form an alliance with her. The information she gave me proved a tremendous boon, and I doubt we would’ve defeated the lion demon without her.
But now the first crack has formed in our accord.
The snake demon had elected not to tell me anything about the earth dragon demon. There was a chance she wasn’t aware of everything her fellow demons did and was simply unaware of the earth dragon demon’s activities. However, that became significantly less likely the moment Naoise appeared immediately after we defeated the earth dragon demon. She couldn’t have arranged for her messenger to arrive at that time unless she knew about things beforehand.
Naoise was currently guiding us to the snake demon Mina’s stronghold. I didn’t feel like nonchalantly riding a giant serpent to her base of operations was the best idea, but there were answers that only Mina could provide. I was confident the girls and I could escape no matter what happened, and I’d also prepared some insurance. I wasn’t so foolhardy as to charge into a demon’s home without a plan.
Part of the reason I’d agreed to come along was because of Naoise. I was concerned about him.
“Are you sure you don’t need to blindfold us, Naoise?” I asked. We were being taken to Mina’s base, and I had to assume she didn’t wish us to know its location. Typically, in scenarios like this, visitors would be blindfolded so they couldn’t memorize the route.
“That’s not an issue. You’re Mistress Mina’s ally, after all. And doing so would be pointless anyway,” Naoise answered.
“You got me,” I confessed with a small laugh. It was as Naoise said. Even if my vision had been obstructed, using wind magic to probe the surrounding area would have been a piece of cake.
“…Did Nevan not join you this time?”
“She’s a busy person. She can’t accompany us on every mission.”
Nevan was a daughter of one of the four great dukedoms. She was also a masterwork—the product of generations of selective breeding to create perfect humans—and our upperclassman at the academy.
“Really? That’s…” Naoise paused. He harbored affection for Nevan. I was curious if his next words would be “too bad” or “good,” but he didn’t continue.
“This snake is really fast,” I remarked.
“And the ride is so smooth,” said Tarte.
“It’s slow compared to flying, though,” Dia added.
Tarte’s and Dia’s beautiful gold and silver locks flowed in the wind despite their efforts to hold them down. As far as I could tell, we were traveling roughly three hundred kilometers per hour, a speed that rivaled the Shinkansen.
We continued at that rate through land untouched by man. There were plenty of forests yet to be cleared in this country, and many nobles were hard at work cultivating new regions.
We entered a large wood not on any map, and emerged in an unnaturally open area. The journey took about two hours. We alighted from the snake monster, and it burrowed underground and disappeared. It had served willingly as our taxi, but I imagined a monster of that caliber could easily lay waste to a small town.
“This is Mistress Mina’s demon estate,” announced Naoise.
The structure in question was massive and luxurious. Only high-ranking nobles could have built such a mansion. The rank of count would’ve been required, at the very least. Any lesser aristocrat with profitable businesses might have possessed the funds, but their peers would despise them for shooting above their station.
What caught my attention the most wasn’t the size or the splendor, though.
“…This shouldn’t be possible. The Nebia architectural style only just became popular in high society. And this building…was clearly designed by Nebia himself,” I observed.
Nebia was a genius architect in this country, who had devised the estate of Count Chokorune. The architecture was so impressive that all aristocrats who visited the manor requested that Nebia remodel their homes. Eventually, nobles began to ask designers other than Nebia to mimic his style. It didn’t take long for the architectural method to be named “Nebia,” and it swiftly became the mainstream style in the Alvanian Kingdom.
It was too unbelievable that a demon had constructed a home of that fashion in such a remote location. Naoise looked at me and smiled.
“Your knowledge always impresses, Lugh. You’re right, Nebia himself designed this estate. It was gifted to Mistress Mina by a noble admirer. He divided up his own mansion, then had it transported all the way out here and rebuilt.”
“You make that sound simple. Only the most elite carpenters could pull off something like that. And there’s no way Mina could take just anybody here.”
“Mistress Mina is very popular.”
“So that’s how she did it.”
The snake demon possessed the powerful ability to charm others. She’d likely brainwashed the necessary personnel and brought them to this place, all to build the manor she desired. Personally, I didn’t hate Mina, but this was a good reminder that I was dealing with a genuine demon.
“Lugh, Dia, Tarte, please come with me. And welcome to my mistress’s abode.” Naoise opened the front door and ushered us inside.
So it was that we stepped into the snake’s nest.
Within the mansion, there were many snake people in servant clothing going about their duties. They were hard at work cleaning, and they all bowed their heads when we drew near. Not only did Mina have a magnificent estate, she also kept the interior as clean and refined as any noble would. She even had exquisite works of art on display.
The upkeep on those pieces was flawless. Looking after high art demanded extremely specialized knowledge, and the monsters maintained Mina’s collection perfectly. That struck me as strange. There were even lots of snake people behaving like knights, equipped with armor and swords and standing at attention. That felt off, too.
I could judge a knight’s proficiency to an extent by examining their posture and gait. Unbelievably, Mina’s dozens of soldiers all appeared to be elites. They possessed skill obtainable only after years of training that had to begin at a young age.
It should have been impossible. The concept of knighthood originated from humanity. There was no way monsters could be so familiar with its practices. Even if humans taught them, it had been less than a year since demons began reappearing. No one could master techniques in so short a time, monster or not.
…Hold on, that goes for the servants, too, I realized. Their etiquette was flawless, their skill at housework was top-notch, and they were maintaining art that necessitated specialized knowledge. They couldn’t have learned all that overnight.
Even Tarte, as hard a worker as she was, needed years to reach her current skill level. The snake monsters were also acting way too human for my liking.
This all led me to a hypothesis that I didn’t like very much. I would need to ask Mina about it.
Naoise led us to a guest room. The chamber’s design was especially intricate, and the works of art were of even higher quality than those in the rest of the estate. The shelves were lined with bottles of alcohol, all luxurious items, both domestic and foreign. Each was a high-quality vintage from a prestigious and expensive brand. I wasn’t particularly happy about it, but judging from this room, I could see that Mina’s tastes aligned with mine.
The head of this manor was in the center of the room. “Welcome to my estate, Sir Lugh and his adorable lovers. I’ve been looking forward to hosting you for a very long time. Please, sit down,” Mina greeted us.
She had dark skin and black hair. Her provocative clothing concealed very little of her voluptuous body, and her purple eyes resembled a serpent’s. She was truly a woman of unmatched beauty.
“Your home is stunning, Mina. However, I can’t say that I’m overjoyed with everything I’ve seen. In case you need a reminder, I am a human. It’s in my nature to care for my fellow man,” I responded sharply.
“Oh dear, I thought you might pick up on that,” Mina replied with a suggestive smile. Dia and Tarte tilted their heads in confusion.
“You two saw the snake people working throughout the estate, right? They were created from humans. They’re not monsters trained to become elite houseworkers and knights. It’s the reverse. They’re elite houseworkers and knights who were turned into monsters… Naoise told us earlier that Mina was gifted this mansion by a noble, but that isn’t the whole truth. She was given the staff as well,” I explained.
“What? That’s horrible,” Tarte responded.
“Oh, that makes sense. But that is not okay,” said Dia.
Their faces went pale. They were both disgusted by what Mina had done. Anyone else would’ve felt the same.
“Please don’t look at it that way. I didn’t technically force any of them into it. They said they wanted to be with me forever, so I granted their wish. No harm has come to them. They’re much stronger than humans now, and they are free from the concerns of aging,” Mina protested.
“So charming others into obeying isn’t compulsion to you? That’s rich.”
“My charm is part of my appeal. Complain all you want, but I can’t help that. However, if I have offended you, then allow me to teach you about one of my abilities as an apology. I am able to eat living creatures and lay eggs. If I eat a person, I lay a snake person egg. Eating a dog gets me a snake dog, and eating a cat gets me a snake cat. They maintain their abilities and memories from their previous existences, and are reborn stronger than ever. It’s a magnificent power, isn’t it?”
“It’s certainly a strong one.”
It was repulsive, but I couldn’t deny it was tremendously formidable. Mina was rapidly bewitching humans and making them into her playthings. Once she grew bored of them, she’d consume her toys and add them to her army. Mina had previously claimed she wasn’t very strong for a demon, but having an army at her disposal would make her quite threatening.
“Oh, please don’t give me that frightened look. You’re going to awaken a fury of passion within me… I could just eat you up right now,” Mina purred. She looked me up and down with her snake eyes, and Tarte and Dia stepped forward to protect me. “Please be at ease, adorable little lovers. I meant ‘eat’ in a sexual way.”
“That hardly makes it better!” Tarte protested.
“Lugh isn’t into old hags like you!” Dia spat.
Mina’s face spasmed a little. Evidently, she didn’t enjoy being called elderly.
“Anyway, let’s sit. That’s not what I came here to discuss. Am I correct in assuming you called us here to discuss a matter you can’t speak of anywhere else?” I said.
“Yes. I am continually grateful for your sharp insight. I’ll treat you to some alcohol. Which one would you like?”
“I’ll have the Kurtonyu red.”
Kurtonyu red wine, called the crimson jewel, was very rare and among the finest alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, the special grapes used as an ingredient could no longer be harvested because the vineyard where they were grown was trampled by the orc demon’s forces during the attack on the academy, meaning the wine was out of production. I chose it because I liked it, but also because of the irony.
“Oh goodness, that’s my favorite. Did you know that people with similar tastes are said to be sexually compatible?”
“That’s news to me.”
Mina poured a cup of bloodred wine for all of us. So far, she had shown no signs of hostility. I couldn’t let my guard down, though. One moment of carelessness could mean being devoured and turned into one of Mina’s snake people. I had prepared insurance, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any danger.
I would need to be careful as I talked to her.
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