Vol 5 Chapter 7: Saving Private Victoria

The next morning, the very first thing we did, well, I did, was getting scolded by Felicia, for having sex with her and Sherry without them taking their potions first.

"Sorry." I scratched the back of my head, giving her a sheepish smile as I sat cross-legged in front of her. "It's just that… I got too horny last night. Must be the ale I drank."

"Hmph! I'm fine with having your child—in fact, I want it very much—but do you want her now when we still haven't settled down? You were the one who said you didn't want to,” she replied, crossing her arms under her chest. She began this lecture right after she woke up by the way, so she never got to change her clothes. She was still not wearing any panties since I took them off and all. Look. You could even see them to her right! And, the way she sat right now, I could see her privates as well!

"Y-yeah, you're right. I should be more careful.” I replied, glancing down at her womanhood.

You may think it was weird of me to care so much about it since I had seen it almost every day at this point. Silly reader. I was not just a pervert. I was a pervert connoisseur. There’s a big, glaring difference between stealing naughty glances from a woman that doesn’t realize she’s giving you a show than staring at something openly offered to you in a gift basket.

“Oh, stop being a worrywart, Felicia. You think we can’t handle a couple of babies? I’ll protect your baby, if you can’t.”

Without us noticing, Sherry had woken up, and she didn’t waste time at all butting in into the conversation.

Just like Felicia, she was showing off her girlhood as well. I had removed her shorts and panties last night after all. And also like her, she didn’t take any steps hiding it from me. She just sat there with her legs raised, giving me a clear view of her hairless mound.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” She fired back, firing a glare towards the demoness. “We’re up against a Demon Lord soon! And after that, we have to contend with the Goddess and Mira! Do you think it’s wise for us to have children when we still have so many enemies we have yet to defeat?! What if the Goddess decides to torment them next?!”

Uh, Felicia, Sherry can’t remember the Goddess, you kno—

“You’re being a coward, Felicia! My grandmother always taught me not to let my enemies stop you from doing what you want to do in your life! Even if it means conquering the world! You want to make babies with Hugo, right?! Then go make babies with him! Stop whimpering and running away!”

…Wait, what? That’s… weird.

I glanced at Felicia. She didn’t seem to realize it. That Sherry didn’t question the Goddess at all, even though she should already forget about it.

Don’t tell me that the Heavenly Dragon just decides to allow her to remember remotely, without that whole thing with Xaela? Wait, that means He’s watching us. Hey, Heavenly Dragon! Are you here?! Are you peeping on us?!

No response of course.

“Hey, Sherry.” I decided to ask her. “You remember the Goddess?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Of course I do! She's the whole reason you are here right now! Maybe She's working with the Magocracy, maybe not, but I still want to punch both of their faces anyway!" She swung her fist forward.

Holy shit, she actually remembers!

So I guess the Heavenly Dragon must have given her permission. So He knows about me then. And me being an Unchained One.

Hmm, I wonder if He’s scheming something with this.. Technically, He is kind of our ally. Even though I don’t agree with His cold methods.

Why does He only do it now though?

…I really have to meet up with Xaela again.

I exchanged a glance with Felicia, giving her a silent nod.

"But, if you don't want to, then that’s fine by me too,” Sherry continued, looking straight in my direction. “It is up to you, m-my dear husband.”

Her cheeks burned scarlet red. Yeah, don’t think she will start calling me that anytime soon.

And besides, it feels too forced anyway. I’d rather have her calling me by my usual name.

Sorry Sherry. You’re just not Felicia.

Before I could reply, however…

“Hey, Hugo. Orluk’s looking for you.”

A certain cat-eared head looked inside our tent. It was Tama. Well, that’s rare. She never wakes me up in the morning like this.

“Oh for the love of… Get yourselves cleaned up first! You reek of… of…” Her cheeks reddened. “Of that thing you keep doing every night! You realize us beastkin are sensitive to that kind of smell, right?”

“Oh really?” I smirked. “Apologies then, Your Highness,” I said in a mocking tone. “But I thought you and Theo also do it every night in your tent. So your nose should already be used to the scent, no?”

“S-s-s-shut up and get dressed already! All of you!” She glanced at the others before retreating her head.

I chuckled. It’s been a while since I teased that girl, hasn’t it?

ᅠ

Afterwards, we washed ourselves before we got dressed, using a bathtub full of aromatic water, provided to us by the ogres' kindness. Once we were ready, we had our breakfast first, before we finally were ready to have our meeting with Orluk. Only Sherry, Felicia, and I came. I asked Myrilla whether she wanted to come along but she refused, saying something to the effect of, "This is your problem. So deal with it yourself." Well, I’d say she just couldn’t be bothered sitting in a meeting with us.

We met him in his tent. Just like last night, Fia was sitting on his lap, with his one hand feeling up and cupping her breasts. How shameless.

"Let me just get straight to the point." I started the conversation. "I need a favor from you. I have a friend I need to rescue from the clutches of Balthazar and I would need your knowledge. Tell me everything you know about him and his ten wives. And his lair as well, that floating fortress of his. You used to work for him, right?"

Orluk didn't respond immediately. He just sat there, smiling as he patted Fia's head.

"You were right, Fia. He really came back from her."

"Hehe. What did I tell you? Lord Hugo really is the best!"

"Now you're making me jealous!" The ogre laughed. "Who's cooler then, me or him?"

"Mmm, he's a bit cooler than you. But don't worry! I'll stay yours! You're so lonely after all, Orluk, that I feel bad for you!" She giggled.

"Why you…!" He pinched her nipple, earning a moan from her. "Lonely, huh? I'll show you who's lonely!"

Watching this flirting ensue, all I could do was to roll my eyes. For a short second, I actually considered grabbing Felicia and groping her boobs too but Sherry would probably punch me for it.

"Alright, you two, stop at once or I'm really going to slap you both!" Sherry declared. Yep. I was right.

"S-sorry," Orluk apologized with a grin, releasing her hand from Fia's breast. "Where were we again?"

"Victoria, silly! That cool big-boobed knight lady!" Fia giggled.

"Ah, right. Victoria." Orluk looked at me, his grin being replaced by a serious expression. "And you’re willing to go against a Demon Lord for her. You really are something, Milord." He chuckled. "Still, I think you'll need more than my information to do that."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We'll betray our pact with him… me, Father,and the other chiefs. With you as our leader, we'll kill Lord Balthazar. And you will usurp his title as the Demon Lord."

I paused. What?! Is he serious?? That's exactly what we want to avoid in the first place, picking up a fight with a Demon Lord! What he just suggested would be a waste!

"Yes, I know." Orluk continued. "You don’t wish to actually fight him. You just want to rescue Lady Victoria, who has been offered by the traitorous humans as a fiancee for one of his many sons."

"We were there, you know." Fia chimed in, her expression all grim and serious. "When they had their parade. You have no idea how uncomfortable Lady Victoria looked sitting beside that orc prince."

"But, I believe you can do it, Lord Hugo." Orluk continued. "You defeated that orc Demon Lord after all. We all believe you are already at their level as a warrior, something we can only dream of."

His eyes were practically glimmering as he looked at me. It was enough to make me feel a little embarrassed.

"No." I shook my head. "That orc was just a wannabe Demon Lord. I had fought a real one and she… she defeated me, even though she was holding back."

"What?! You fought against another Demon Lord?!" Orluk bolted forward, knocking off Fia from his lap.

“H-hey, be careful!” The dark elf protested.

“Who was it? Was it…” He glanced at Sherry. “No, that can’t be! The legendary Demon Lord of Blades is dead!”

"Hmph! She’s alive and well, thank you very much!” Sherry huffed at the ogre as she sat to my left with crossed legs. “And don't you compare Grandmother with that Balthazar guy!" Sherry glared at me next.. "Grandmother is up there amongst the strongest Demon Lords. If you're fighting some nobody like him, with me by your side, we can win easily!”

Wow, she sure is confident. “How strong is Balthazar anyways?” I asked Orluk.

“I don’t know for sure.” He shook his head after going back to his sitting position. “But the last fighting he did was against the combined forces of the human city-states and the Church and I heard he had his wives fighting alongside him. And they crushed them completely. So I assume if you were to fight him, his wives would come to his defense.”

“Of course they would. His wives are all powerful demons in their own right, no?” I replied.

“Not all of them are demons.” He replied. “One of them is a fairy. An Archfey to be exact. She’s the one responsible for the charms protecting their floating fortress. You cannot go there without her permission. You just simply will never reach the building, no matter how long you fly towards it.”

Oh great, another archfey. As if the last one wasn’t a handful already.

And just like her, she has space manipulation capability, it seems.

"So, that means we somehow must get that permission or we attack when Victoria is out." Felicia commented.

"There's a yearly martial arts tournament that's going to happen soon at their capital." Orluk continued. "The reward is to meet the Demon Lord face to face in his fortress. Apparently he'll grant the winner anything he or she wants. That can be your key to get it, Milord.”

“Ah, that’ll be perfect!” I declared. “We’ll just—”

“But the winner can only be one person. Which means that whoever wins, they have to take him out on their own.”

Oh… right… I guess he won’t be careless enough to just let a bunch of strong fighters meet with him. Assassinations are a thing after all. And since he’s the “Demon Lord of Wisdom”, he should be smart enough to realize that.

“Or you can just ask him for Victoria,” Felicia commented. “Though the chance of him actually agreeing is minimal to none.” She shook her head, folding her arms under her chest.

“Hmm, how about this?” Suddenly, an idea came into my head. “What if I take out the fairy creating the charm instead of engaging the Demon Lord directly? Then the others can come in.”

“Too risky.” Felicia replied. “They’ll gang up on you. You’ll be fighting the Demon Lord and his other wives as well. Unless you can kill her fast enough. And you can make it to her chambers without being detected, which, I seriously doubt you can. They will be watching you like a hawk. You might be strong, Milord, but I don’t think you’re strong enough to take them all out on your own.”

…She’s right. It is too risky.

“Maybe I’ll try dispelling it from the outside.” I suggested.

“Hmm, maybe that’s our best option. Still, it’s not guaranteed you’ll be able to do so. Tell me, will there be another event where the Demon Lord or Victoria came out from their fortress? Like the parade to announce her betrothal? Maybe the official wedding?"

Orluk shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. No such plans were in store. At least, they hadn't announced it yet. But don't worry. I can create such an event."

I raised my eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We'll attack the city. That would force him and his wives to enter the battlefield. And when they did, the fortress would be vulnerable. You can then send someone to fetch Lady Victoria."

"So, you're offering your people to act as bait?"

"No, not bait." A grin appeared on his face. "You will be fighting with us, Milord, won't you not?"

…Damn. His plan may be our best plan after all. I don't have time to wait around. Marina is waiting for me. I have to grab Victoria and leave this continent right away.

"Can you even convince them to join you though?"

"Of course! You're our hero after all! A man that can take out an entire on his own — if you were a demon, we'd start calling you a Demon Lord instead!" Orluk said, his eyes brimming with excitement.

I paused, glancing at Sherry and Felicia for their opinion.

"Take his offer." Sherry declared. "We can beat him. I'm sure of it."

"If it's our only swiftest option then yes, I suppose I will have to approve," Felicia answered. "It's better to fight him out in the open than in his home turf."

"However," She added. "We'll try asking him nicely first. We'll win that martial arts tournament and gain an audience with him. As such," She looked at Orluk. "We'll go on ahead. It will be your job to convince the other chiefs of this mad plan."

"O-of course, Lady Felicia!" Orluk replied.

"Oh, and do tell them that the granddaughter of the Legendary Demon Lord of Blades is with him." She smirked.

"That's a brilliant idea, Lady Felicia! I'll make sure to do that!"

Sherry now had a small proud smile on her face. She tried to hide it but she couldn’t fool me, even if she tried.

I patted her on the back before ruffling her hair, whispering to her that I was glad she was on my side.

And she melted on the spot from it. And I got a jealous look from Felicia.

Yeah. Felicia doesn’t really have some awesome lineage to brag about. She’s a nobody. Just like me. Unlike Sherry who you can argue is technically a princess. Demon Lords have as much respect, if not more, than human kings after all.

I’ll just comfort her later. In bed. As usual. My job as her husband after all.

ㅤ

Afterwards, we chatted for a little bit more, mainly about the specifics of our plan. There wasn’t a lot to discuss though, seeing how we would have to improvise most of it on the spot depending on the situation. For the recruitment effort, most of it would have to rely on Orluk’s own charisma. Though even if he failed, I would still go ahead with the plan. His army would just be a nice help to our fighting force. Nothing more.

And then, I suggested the idea that had hovered in my mind for a while ever since our reunion.

“Hey, Orluk.” I told him with a confident smile. “How about allying your tribe with Sherry’s?”

“An alliance Lord Hugo? With the Izurds?” The ogre looked at me as if I was crazy.

“Yeah! Now that they’ve opened themselves up to the world, there’s nothing that prevents you from doing that, no? Though, of course, you have to consider the distance between here and their village. But I don’t think sending a letter to them is a bad idea. Tell them that you’re our ally.”

He paused, looking away for a moment to ponder my words.

“Will they accept us as their ally, Milord?” He asked, looking back at me. “The Izurds… they’re a really proud race, no? In the past, when they ruled the continent, we ogres were less their allies and more like their subordinates… We ruled our own territories as long as we paid them tribute…”

…Huh… so there’s that kind of past between them…

“T-they weren’t tyrants though, Lord Hugo,” he quickly added, glancing panickedly towards Sherry. “They pretty much let us do whatever we wanted. Some of their females actually married some of us as well. Though once that happened, they would stop being part of our clans and they would go with their wives to live with the Izurds.”

I turned my eyes towards Sherry, curious to see what her opinion was hearing this… revelation.

To my surprise, she didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest. She just sat there cross-legged with her usual slightly intense look aimed towards Orluk.

“Do it. Grandmother will need all the ally she can get. And don’t worry. She will never stab you in the back. We Izurds are just as honorable as you ogres, you know.”

With those words, Orluk had no choice but to do as we said.

Heh, I'm glad that he's doing this whole “chief” gig really well. I still remember when he was ostracized from running away from the village. Now that his rebellious phase is over, and he has a sexy wife on his side, he can finally be the adult he deserves to be.

Too bad for you Miss Succubus. His broken heart is now all fine and well, thanks to Fia.

Still, for him to just pounce on the girl that used to look at him as her little brother…

Oh well. Who cares about the details? As long as they love each other, it’s all that matters. This is the Demon Continent after all. Human morality doesn’t really fit into the equation.

ᅠ

A few hours later, after a delicious lunch, we climbed up our scarabs, our pack growing a lot heavier thanks to all the supplies and gifts the ogres had given to us. I didn’t get to explain to the others about my plan in detail. I’d do it later, once we stopped for the night.

“If we hurry, we should be able to make it in time.” I declared to the others. “So non-stop riding for the rest of the day, alright?”

The others all nodded.

“Good! Then, let’s go. Orluk!” I yelled at the ogre. He was now standing beside my scarab. “If you’re late, we’ll do it on our own!”

“Of course, Lord Hugo.” He bowed. “I promise, by the honor of my name, I will not be late. Your army will be there, waiting for you.”

“Good! And Fia, take care of him for me, alright?” I smiled at the dark elf who was standing beside him, grabbing his arm.

“You don’t have to say that, Lord Hugo!” She waved her hand with a laugh. “I’ll take care of him real good!”

I chuckled. Are all dark elves this dirty-minded?

With those words, we departed, heading to the west and north, straight towards the capital city of the Demon Lord of Wisdom. Ixon.

ㅤ

Victoria

"Well done! Well done! You have blossomed wonderfully, my dear Victoria!"

The half-fey knightness barely registered the archfey's words as she hovered in the air, her wings flapping back and forth rapidly. Her short skirt fluttered, showing off her green panties to the world. But she didn’t care. Not when reality itself was in the palm of her hand.

She could see it all—the threads that connected reality, shimmering with a single touch. She could pull them, push them, tie them up into pretty little bows… whatever she wished, it could become reality.

The power of Chaos. It was in her hand.

She looked down. Two plants shaped like orcs stood there. The orc prince and her mother. She turned the latter because she demanded her to return her son.

No. She wouldn't. He was noisy. Just like her.

"Now, you understand, right?" The archfey spoke again as she hovered near her. "How us feys see the world?"

"Yes." She answered slowly. "Yes, I do. The world is fragile… fleeting… ever shifting…"

"So? How about it?” She was now moving back and forth, from Victoria’s left to her right, and vice versa. “Do you still cling to your old and foolish human dreams? Or do you accept you're a fey? Throw away that weak human half of yours?"

“I…”

Her mind remembered.

The world didn’t care about her. Her weak human self.

Her family hated her. Her servants disrespected her. And Sir Hugo… he had no time to care about her. Not after she had rejected his help foolishly.

She was all alone.

Her mother… She was a fae.

Her father… he was the Legendary Hero. She couldn’t count him as a human either.

No.

There really was nothing left for her human self.

She really should just… throw it all away…

“Good… good…” Selene rubbed her long hair from behind. “Do that, and you’ll finally be ready to join our family.”

“We have no need for weak humans in our fold after all.”