67 – Lurking within
My girls and I were headed to what will soon become our new base. Apparently Lu-chan's hometown, Clara's workplace and Lotte's white tiger clan are all one and the same place. In Asura Kingdom, it's a settlement called Araklios.
Okay, although it originally started as a village, it soon grew quite large because it had both access to a harbor and resources from the mountain.
Although beastmen and demons both lived here in harmony, at the end of the day, Araklios was considered the beastmen capital.
Still, towns in this world sure are smaller than what I was used to in Japan.
I didn’t want to walk all the way back, so we made something similar to a raft and Lotte flew us over here. It was quite a funny scenario. Normally I would have asked Vira for transportation but a dragon approaching a town… you get the picture.
Eventually we could see the town. I saw a variety of beastmen. Werewolves, centaurs, kemonomimi types that had various bunny ears, dog ears and fox ears, and the most important… NEKO GIRLS!!! And of course, demons and tigers as well.
We basically landed in the central area of the town. And our reception was unexpected.
"HURAAAAH! She's back!!”
"The lost heir has returned!"
"Lieselotte Dragulia… she's real!! Long live Her Highness!!"
Everyone started cheering and clapping.
"Err… Lotte… what's going on?"(Yufine)
"People know me well around these parts. Beastmen age differently compared to humans. There are still faces I recognize. Still. Even I didn't expect such a reception. What should I do, nee-chan?"(Lotte)
You're asking me?
"How about acting as a Demon King?"
"Okay… ahem!
SILENCE!!”
Lotte released quite a significant amount of blood lust and magic power. The air became stiffer. As expected everyone froze. In fact the pressure was so intense that some even forgot to breathe. But she quickly canceled the force. After everything settled down, all the people prostrated themselves. They got on the ground and took a deep bow. Beastmen really appreciated and respected power.
“Listen up! Starting today you will all be under my care. I won’t hurt you with no reason. I will take care of you and under my rule, this place will reach greatness. A place for everyone to enjoy!
I see the races as flowers that haven’t bloomed yet. Submit to me and I shall make you bloom. Betray me and I shall cut you down. Only together can we achieve the dream that I once had. We all will make a beautiful garden. Together with my friends, we will establish a new order.
Treat them the same as you would treat me. Follow me and one day you can lift your heads! Together, we shall aim for the top!”
I wonder how long it took for her to prepare such a speech. It's clear that the tiger clan appreciates her, but… there are also fake cheers mixed. This is just the first step. One word gets out, the ruler of Asura won't let this declaration go unnoticed.
But this is the path I chose to take. After a town meeting was held, the main building was given to us to use as a form of Demon King castle. It was a huge mansion, and the fact it's ancient Chinese style really made it look like a castle.
We started exploring this place. It was a 2 floor mansion. The bottom floor was a big empty hall. There were shiny orange crystals instead of candles. Lu-chan told me that by pouring mana into them they will glow strongly until that mana runs out. These crystals were similar to light bulbs. I liked them quite a lot.
The bottom floor also had a large kitchen behind a door and a service bathroom. I should probably mention that there was no hot water. Water for baths would be heated with magic. As for the sink and toilet… Let’s say that although it was far away from modern plumbing it was rather clean. A water generating stone would be placed in the sink and toilet for washing and flushing.
The first floor was meant for the servants’ quarters. It had simple style rooms to accommodate maids, cooks, gardeners, you name it. Roughly 10-15. I didn't count them.
And the 2nd floor was basically meant for us. It had only 2 large bedrooms, and 4 smaller single rooms, a huge library and some sort of parlor that I think was meant when important guests would visit, or a conference was necessary. In the end, as expected, this place is way too big for just us.
Of course, I wasn’t ready to trust some newly hired servant either.
There are lots of things we'll have our hands busy with for the next few days. Interviews for people wanting to work for us, looking into the local army and enforcing loyalty, preparing the city for potential attacks… yeah. We're going to have our hands full for quite some time. But it's necessary to consolidate Lotte's position. And Lu-chan and Nana will have the biggest impact most likely. They are used to these kinds of stuff. Me on the other hand… I will take a different approach on things.
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The footsteps of a man echoed across a dark corridor. Descending step after step on the apparently endless stairway, the man showed no complexion on his face.
If one looks at the pure white temple above, nobody would suspect that such a stairway would be hidden in a holy place like this. Yet the true horrors could only be found at the bottom.
“What heresy is this?”
The man snapped his fingers to generate 3 flame orbs to light up the entire room. The room was akin to an altar. But the walls were the ones that told a terrible story. The true nature of The Old One. The more human sacrifices he receives, the stronger he gets. And his favorite meal is otherworlders. What’s more, he doesn’t care about conquering the world. His objective is only to devour.
He will let some live to carry out his will. But just like a flood, he will wash everything in his way. The carvings were gruesome and some contained images that could drive people crazy. That was the terror behind them.
“Hou? So you found this place, Raziel-sama? I thought I gave clear instructions not to go near the statue.”
A voice echoed from behind. The man with long blonde hair and elf ears, turned around.
“My, oh my! And here I thought you went missing. I suppose I miscalculated. But since it’s come to this, care to explain when did all this happen? How did The Old One corrupt someone as holy as yourself? You even had the blessing of a Goddess, yet you took that path? Leon-sama, I am disappointed in you.”