Vol 4 Chapter 28: The Game of Demons

"You… you came back! How dare you show your face here again after that display? Throwing a decapitated head in front of our Lord's estate! We'll hang you for that offense!"

When we arrived back at the estate, our reception was exactly as I had predicted. Unwelcome. The guards had their spears and bows pointed at us. There were at least thirty of them, not to mention the archers on the walls behind them. Like I had said before, the place was like a miniature castle.

"W-wait, hold on, if he's here, doesn't that mean he won against the Ten Braves?"

"Are you serious? A brat like him winning against the strongest adventurers in all of Arborea? Do you have any idea how many S-rank monsters they have slain?"

Ignoring their banter, I threw the decapitated head of the blond leader guy on the ground. Look at that. I already forgot his name.

"Y-you—you bastard!"

"Move one muscle and I'll kill every single one of you in a flash," I replied, aiming my wand at them. "You know you guys are outmatched, so let us go in and meet your mistress."

"Let them in."

Our conversation was interrupted by none other than the head butler. The old man had appeared behind the soldiers. He looked quite livid, judging by that stare he's giving me.

"B-but Sir—"

"Our mistress orders so. Would you disobey her wish?"

"I-I see. Well, if you say so, Sir…”

The soldiers withdrew their weapons and opened the gate. I put my wand back in my pocket in response. Manners, dear Hugo. Even when you're entering hostile territory.

The butler took us through the courtyard and the front door. This time, he didn't tell us to wait in the guest room. Instead, he led us to the second floor where the meeting room was.

And there, three figures stood.

The first was the unpleasant, villain-looking middle-aged man I was already familiar with. Victoria's father. He had a frown on his face.

In front of him, taking the center stage, was a girl I had not met before, standing before me with a grin on her face. I took notice of her wand first. It was far different from mine, as it looked like a metal rod embroidered with small jewels and a large one on the tip.

I noticed her large boobs second. Size wise, definitely bigger than Felicia's.

Lastly, I noticed the rest of her. She was a blonde, with her hair tied into a single long braid to the side. She wore a dress common to noblewoman, a mixture of white and blue.

Victoria's sister. Marlene Fay Relfatia.

And speaking of Victoria, she's here too. And how she looks so different wearing a dress instead of her armor. Her boobs still were as noticeable as ever though—there really isn't any way to hide them when they're that large.

She stood meekly far to the side, a position a maid would be in. And yet, she was obviously staring at my direction.

As for the room itself, it was surprisingly large. It was longer vertically than horizontally, so they were standing quite a distance away from us. There were a dozen chairs and a long table in the middle of the room, with a map laid on top of the latter. Armored statues decorated the west and east side while a family painting rested at the south side of the room. Of course, Victoria's picture was nowhere near to be found.

"So, you're the kid who has defeated the Ten Braves. And just when we had come to an arrangement too. Greetings. My name is Marlene Fay Relfatia. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She gave a quick curtsy, her boobs bouncing in the process.

Dragging my thoughts away from those melons, I replied, "Sorry, but they kidnapped my friend. And they were the one picking a fight with me in the first place." I replied.

"They did? I assume to force you to fight them? Ah, adventurers. Untrustworthy mercenaries, the lot of them."

"So why are you calling me here then? If you're telling me to fight your war in exchange for forgiveness, think again."

"Now now, let's not rush ahead. First, I want to see the adventurer my little sister is so enamored with. And I have to say, your strength is more impressive than your looks."

...That was an insult, wasn't it?

"Victoria. Come here. Tell them what we have discussed."

My attention shifted to the half-fairy. Slowly, she walked to the center of the room, where I could get a better look of her. Her dress was dull brown and her hair was tied to a bun. She timidly looked down, a far cry from the bombastic chuuni I met back on that ship.

"I… I want to tell you… that I'm thankful for everything you did for me." She spoke, still averting her gaze. "But, from now on, you don't have to worry about me anymore. Big Sis… she needs my help now. So I will stay here to accompany her."

"Yep!" The sister placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Victoria! With you by my side, the prosperity of the Relfatia Family is guaranteed."

I wasn't impressed. Clearly, Victoria's heart wasn't fully in it—whatever she wanted to do with her.

"Hey, Victoria." I smiled at the girl, giving her a short wave of my hand. "How are you doing? Do they treat you well here? It's been two months since I last saw you after all and I couldn't help but feel a little bit worried."

"W-worried?" She finally looked up to face me. "You're worried about me, Sir Hugo?"

"Yes, I do. Even though it wasn't long, we were traveling companions after all. It's only natural for me to be worried."

Damn, she looks like she's about to cry at any second. And she keeps stealing glances at her sister. Something is definitely going on here.

"Oh, you're worried about my dear little sister? How sweet." She put her hand once more on her shoulder, causing her to visibly flinch from the impact. "You know, she's single. If you want her, I can give her to you." Her smirk widened.

What.

"Do you take Milord for a fool? You want his power, don't you?" Felicia, who had kept her silence all this time, finally spoke. "You want to force a marriage on him so you can have him work for you! Well, it wouldn't work! Because he already has me as his future wife!" Felicia patted her chest with a proud smile.

"Oh?" Her gaze shifted towards her. "You are her, are you not? The runaway necromancer?"

...Oh crap.

And judging by Felicia's smile vanishing, she was just as surprised as I was.

"Cordelia Flameu. Or Felicia Myne." She now had a victorious grin on her face. "The infamous murderous necromancer. Kingslayer. Schemer. Witch of the dark and shadows. A demoness. Need I say more? I've gotten all the info I need. From the Church, the Guild, and my own information network. There's no denying it."

Welp, cat's out of the bag then.

But how about us killing that lamia alchemist? Does she know about that too?

"...No," I answered. "You have said enough. Blackmail, isn't it? Work for you in exchange for you not telling the Church?"

"Now we're talking. I like it when I converse with someone that has a brain."

That smug smile… really makes me want to punch her in the face.

It's just like the smile of that bubble girl. What is up with strong mages always being this arrogant?

"...No. There's another option I can take. I can just kill you right here and now."

"Ohohoho! You want to face me, a Grandmaster-level mage? My strength is equal to a nation's entire army! You adventurers are just ants underneath my perfect, flawless self! And besides, you don't want to make poor Victoria here be an orphan, do you?"

She was now grinning outwardly. Gone was the dignified image she once had. Her sadistic side was now on full display.

"Victoria." I switched my gaze to the half-fairy. "Are you okay with this? Living with her? With this family?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine! So please! Don't hurt them, Sir Hugo!"

...Welp, guess we don't have a choice. At least for now.

I moved my eyes back to the grinning witch. "So, you want us to go to war against the demons? Is that it?"

"No, not yet. For now, you'll stay in the city and be a good boy. You can go exploring in that dungeon of yours. Your part in this conflict has not come yet."

Well, that's… surprising. I thought the humans would gather a counterattack force immediately.

"You're not taking back the mines? How about Fontaine's defenses?"

"Oh, dear, I'm not going to explain politics with you. An adventurer like you should not concern yourself with such delicate and complicated matters. You are the muscle. I am the brain."

God, this girl's smugness is off the charts. And not in a good way like Fiora. She has that cute side to her smugness. She, though, she's just aggravating.

...Wait, did I just call her cute? N-nevermind.

"But, if you have to ask, we simply need more time to prepare. The Demon Lord has said that he wouldn't push the offensive further if we let the mines be his. So we intend to use this time to build up a massive army and crush him and his kingdom once and for all."

"And you're just going to take him on his word?" I replied.

"Well, the bulk of their army has retreated from the frontline, so yes."

...No. This is too convenient. She's not telling the whole story.

But, I don't think I can really coax it out of her.

I guess for now, we can accept her terms.

I turned to face Felicia. "What do you think?"

The redheaded mage didn't respond right away, not before she eyed the arrogant girl from top to bottom.

Sighing, she said to me, "We don't have a choice. That idiot girl wants her family alive after all." She smiled grimly at me, before looking towards Victoria with a scowl. "Hey, Miss Idiot Knight. I hope you don't regret protecting these people."

"I… I am not an idiot!"

To my surprise, Victoria actually fought back.

"My sister—she needs me now! I know you and Sir Hugo don't really need me! I'm just the third wheel! A burden! So of course I'm going with her!"

...What happened to her these past two months?

"...So be it. Have it your way." She turned back to face me. "Do as you wish, Milord."

Victoria was now hugging the right arm of her sister. I guess this is what happens when you give praise and attention to someone who's starved for it.

Godspeed, Victoria. I guess me sleeping in those G-cup breasts every night would just remain a fantasy.

"Very well." I turned to face Marlene. "We'll accept your terms. For now, at the very least."

"Wonderful." She smiled. "Now, if you would stay for the night—"

"No thanks. We're busy. We're going back into the dungeon tomorrow."

"I see. How unfortunate."

And so, our meeting with the famed Marlene Fay Relfatia ended. Better than expected, to be honest. I was ready to fight against her if I had to. Even if she was a Grandmaster-level mage. I would never be a coward again after all.

Still, Victoria seemed to have made up with her older sister. I didn't know whether to celebrate or not. She was definitely just using her.

But, what else could I do? Victoria seemed to be just fine being used like that, as long as she got the praise she craved.

It's sad. I used to be like her in my previous life, but my pride made me convince myself to go completely the opposite. I would pretend that I didn't care if I disappointed everyone around me.

In a way, her situation is even sadder than that.

Heh, maybe that's just my pride talking though.

-------

We told everything that had transpired to Theo and the others afterwards. Theo, being Theo, thanked me again for the hundredth time, while crying tears of joy. I apologized quickly though, knowing this whole mess happened because of me in the first place.

Felicia then checked up on Tira. She seemed to be perfectly fine, to our relief. They didn't do anything untoward at her, thankfully enough, only drugging her to be a bait for me. Just like they said.

Well, they have some honor, at the very least.

After having dinner together in their apartment, we made our way back to our workshop.

It had been a long day. And I certainly could use a good rest.

---------

Victoria

"Well, that went swimmingly well. All thanks to my perfect negotiating skill of course."

Once Hugo and Felicia left, Marlene began to celebrate her victory. The strongest adventurer in all of Arborea… was now under her thumb.

"Good work, little sister." She ruffled Victoria's hair. "You played your role perfectly."

The girl responded by blushing. "T-thank you, Sis. I did just as you told me to."

"See? You belong to our family, not with those two. It's a shame, though, that you can't seduce that brat while you are with him. You're too much of an idiot for that."

Without warning, she grabbed Victoria's breasts from behind.

"Aahnnn! Sis, what are you—"

"Look at these. If I were in your position, that brat would already be in my fingertips. Of course, that middling necromancer would be gone as well."

Releasing Victoria's chest, Marlene walked to the corner of the room behind her, where her father had silently stood all throughout the meeting.

Except, it wasn't her father at all.

With a poof, the man that once stood there transformed into a beautiful young woman.

"Hmm, his power is indeed impressive. Stronger than those five for sure. Still, no match for me or Balthazar."

She was none other than Virana, the Demon Lord of Illusions.

"T-then, I really was right to accept your offer, Lady Virana."

Facing her, Marlene's usual composure disappeared into the wind. She gripped her wand tightly, sweat wetting her eyebrows. Her smile was visibly forced as well.

"Of course you are." The fox demoness smiled. "The days of human heroes are long over. Your kind is weak, trapped within your own mortality to see the truth of life. The only reason your kind still exists is because us demons do not care to make you extinct."

Her eyes traveled to Victoria for a single moment, causing the girl to flinch and jump behind her sister. She was there when the Demon Lord made her sudden visit a few days ago. Never before had she seen her sister and her father looking at someone with pure terror in their faces. And her mother, she laughed before fainting the moment she learned just who she was.

Of course, she couldn't tell her Sir Hugo about her presence. For if she did, she would be killed on the spot. The Demon Lord had promised that to her.

She didn't even dare to glance at her. That was how frightened she was.

"Though, personally speaking, I do not care much for your boring civilization and culture, unlike Balthazar. If you bore me enough, I'll just destroy this city and be on my way. But he'd scold me if I did. And that would be no fun. I want in in his little wargame after all."

The truth was, Balthazar didn't really care about the mines. It was profitable for sure but he didn't need the extra income from them.

No, the reason why he attacked was that he wished to force the humans into a full-blown war. He wanted to see how humanity does their war with his own two eyes. As a self-admitted “admirer of humanity”, there is nothing else in his long life that manages to catch his interest.

The only one who knew of this truth was Marlene. He spoke it to her himself when he captured her. And she had yet to tell it to anyone else.

As for why the fox demoness was helping him…

She was bored. That’s all. She had nothing interesting to amuse her for the past two hundred years. No other demons were a threat to her, not when she possessed her level of power. Even destroying random villages, human and demon alike, became boring after a while. The last fifty years… she just pretended to be an ordinary adventurer, traveling the lands without showing her true form.

And so, when she one day visited the Demon Lord, and he gave his proposal, she agreed.

To start a war that might end thousands… just for a hobby or to relieve boredom… quite the demonlike attitude indeed.

“Continue to play your game, little human.” She smiled as she patted Marlene on the shoulder. “Your salvation, and this city’s survival, depends on whether or not you play the part of the villain. Gather your forces and declare this city state’s betrayal loud and proud. Once you survived the waves of armies crashing down on your gates long enough for Balthazar to be satisfied, then he would come down and save you. You’ll still have your independence, your family will still retain your authority, and we wouldn’t destroy your city to make an example. Let’s see, he said he wanted to destroy at least two cities. He never did that before, at least to human cities, so he wanted to know how it felt.”

“R-right. Thank you very much, Lady Virana.”

“Oh, and of course, that half-elf over there must be prepared to be one of his son's wife, just like our agreement. Unless you want to take her place?”

“N-no, she’ll be the one doing the marrying. I need to be here to be the successor of the Relfatia Family.”

“I see.” The fox demoness smiled. “Well, now I’ll leave for a bit. Has to report this to Balthazar after all. So I’ll be back in a month or two. Ta-ta!”

With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

....

“Imbecile!”

The moment the fox woman disappeared, Marlene walked over to Victoria and slapped her on the face, hard enough to make her fall to the ground.

“You say your Hugo is really strong! Well, he’s not strong enough to beat that bitch, is he?! How dare you lie to me, you worthless piece of flesh?!”

She proceeded to kick her on the head before yanking her up on her hair.

“I-I’m sorry, Sis… I-I thought he’s like… the heroes I read…”

“You and your stupid books!” She threw her back to the ground. “You’re giving me false hope to be triumphant over that whore! My perfect self, forced to kneel and bend the knee over another, unthinkable! Unconceivable!”

Marlene was now panting, her face filled with sweat. “You’re a half fairy, are you not? Don’t you have some special power you can use? Or are you only good for your body?”

“I… I don’t—”

“Arrghh, that’s enough. Not a single word out of your dirty mouth. Go back to your room. I don’t want to see your face for the rest of the day.”

Victoria stood up, nodded weakly, and left the room with a sprint.

That was another reason why she couldn’t leave her family. Her sister needed her. Even if she sometimes would slap and kick her, it was only because she was angry at her own powerlessness. It wasn’t out of malice or anything! Or so she told herself.

Like she said, she was powerless. If she could purchase the safety of her family and her city with her body, then so be it. She would marry anyone, even if it was the son of a demon lord.

She was not a legendary knight like Lady Ashleen. But she could still be of use that way.

She had found her purpose at last.