"Huh? There's no reason for me to grant that request."
"..."
Upon hearing Seong Suho's words, Lena's body began to tremble like a leaf in the wind.
She couldn't quite pinpoint why she was shaking.
Was it the disappointment of having her request denied, or the anxiety that Suho might be disappointed in her? She couldn't tell.
But even as her body shook uncontrollably, she gathered all her nerves and opened her mouth.
"I'm… sorry. I… spoke out of turn…"
But her words didn't reach their conclusion.
As she bowed her head, a wave of emptiness began to engulf her entire body.
Lena clenched her eyes shut, enduring the overwhelming void.
'No… I don't want to leave a final impression like this…'
The anxiety wrapped around her disappointment and eventually chilled her heart.
Then, she heard the sound of Suho approaching.
Lena barely managed to lift her head.
Suho, standing tall in front of her, placed a hand on her shoulder and said.
"…Let's go."
"…Huh?"
***
Seong Suho took Lena to Gardia.
Lena followed him without understanding why, and the place they arrived at was a dining hall.
Lena, who was supposed to serve, ended up sitting at the table and sharing a meal with them.
After hearing the reason for being summoned in such an incomprehensible situation, Lena asked with a bewildered expression.
"What… do you mean by that…?"
"Exactly what I said."
To summarize what Gardia had told Lena, it was about guaranteeing the basic livelihood of the people, including the Grand Duke of Feron.
He also mentioned sending letters to the vassals residing in the Duchy of Feron to heal the Grand Duke's illness.
Lena let out a hollow laugh and thought.
'This must be a dream… a cruel dream… Why are you showing me this dream, Master…?'
The line between dream and reality was blurred.
Rena mistakenly believed that Suho was showing her a dream.
That misconception delivered the final blow to the sandcastle in her heart.
She fainted.
"Will she be okay…?"
After Lena collapsed at the dining table, she was taken to a guest room and laid on a bed.
[That's what I wanted to say. Please refrain from such reckless actions.]
"Well, I was also caught off guard…"
The chairs Lena and I were sitting on were custom-made for the Demon King's dining table.
When Lena fainted and fell from the high chair, I was startled and tried to catch her, but I ended up falling too, causing a mess.
And since I fell while holding her, my ribs and shoulder bones were shattered.
It was truly astonishing that such injuries could be healed with 100 Enel.
[Lena de Feron has a sturdy physique. If she had fallen alone, her injuries would have been less severe.]
"There are things you shouldn't know…"
[….]
Armonia seemed dissatisfied but didn't say anything more.
In the guest room, only Lena lying on the bed and I sitting on a chair were present.
Viola, perhaps because it was her last day at the Demon King's castle, went sightseeing with Beatrice.
"Was I too harsh?"
[No. I also believed in Lena de Feron's trustworthiness, but I think certainty is important. Since she's completely broken now, she'll listen to your words more carefully.]
Joy exists because there is despair.
Without despair, no one would even know if joy exists.
The reason I delayed telling Lena this fact was that I wanted to give her greater joy when she was at her lowest.
And as Armonia said, this way, she'll listen to me better…
Still, I didn't expect her to faint like that.
After some time passed, Lena groaned and opened her eyes.
"Where… am I?"
"Are you okay?"
"Hah!"
Lena, realizing her surroundings, tried to get out of the bed in shock.
I calmly spoke to her.
"Stay down."
"B-But…."
"Stay down."
"…Yes, understood."
Lena, though uncomfortable, obediently followed my words.
She lay still, her eyes closed, lost in thought, and then she spoke.
"Why… did you show me such a dream…?"
"…What are you talking about?"
"If my request bothered you, I apologize…. But that dream…."
"..."
Lena, with her eyes closed, began to cry.
'She thinks it's a dream…'
[It seems that to Lena, such a thing is too unrealistic.]
I climbed onto the bed and placed my hand on Lena's forehead.
Her pink eyes reflected me.
"It's not a dream."
"But… such a thing… is impossible…"
With my hand still on her forehead, I explained.
I told her that what Gardia said would become a reality.
Lena, lying down, looked at me with a bewildered expression, tears streaming down her face.
"T-That can't be. There's no reason for him to help our country…"
"There is a reason."
"W-What…?"
"Because I asked, he agreed."
"Ah…. Ahh…."
Lena clutched my clothes, crying pitifully as she looked up at me.
I stroked her forehead and said.
"This time, I have a request for you."
"What…."
Lena's voice was choked, unable to respond properly.
I made her an offer.
"Come with me. I need you."
"Ah…."
"Hey!"
Lena fainted again.
...
...
"Don't faint again."
"I'm sorry…."
I explained everything to Lena.
She regained her composure and understood everything I said.
"So… I'll be assisting you on your journey?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard. And there are other things too."
Like Viola's education?
I'm not sure if she'll get along with Viola, but…
Lena began to sob again.
"Really… someone like me…"
"…If you say that again, I won't take you with me."
I've lost count of how many times I've said that.
"Sniff! …I'm… sorry… I'm sorry. Sniff…"
"No, don't cry…"
Who's at fault here…?
I approached Lena and hugged her.
"Sniff… I'm sorry… I just… can't believe it… Sniff…"
"I'm sorry too. I only got a definite answer yesterday, so I couldn't tell you sooner."
"No… Thank you so much, Master… I'll serve you for life…"
As Lena hugged me tightly, tears streaming down her face, and delivered her heartfelt lines, there was a sudden sound.
Click!
"Suho! Beatrice and I…"
"Uh…."
I was so startled that I didn't even think to let go of Lena as I looked at Viola.
She was…
"What are you two doing?"
"W-Well…."
She was glaring at me and Lena with the eyes of an angry cat.
***
"Damn it… They just left us behind…"
"Ah… I just want to die…"
The men were lined up in front of the restroom, waiting to urinate.
Condemned to a life where they couldn't even urinate freely, they lamented their fate.
When evening came and their work was done, they learned that Lena had left the Demon King's castle and were furious.
They thought she had left without granting their morning request.
But that anger quickly subsided as they accepted their harsh reality.
"Hey, I think this is better though…"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"At least it's better than that guy."
The man whispered as he watched Berius, who was coming out of the restroom.
Berius looked like he was about to throw up as he helped the men remove and put on their chastity belts.
"…At first, I was a bit jealous that he got to see the women's stuff. But I couldn't do that."
"Me too… This is definitely better…"
They looked at Berius and viewed their own situation more optimistically.
A man who had to remove and put on other men's chastity belts.
They all muttered that they'd rather clean toilets for the rest of their lives.
As another man entered the restroom, they started talking again.
"Hey, Lorian… will he be okay?"
"He doesn't have to wear a chastity belt anymore, so he should be more comfortable, right?"
"You idiot… I'd rather wear it for life."
"It's just a saying… I couldn't live like that either."
After the incident where Lorian's groin exploded, he was taken somewhere the next day.
They said it was for treatment, but everyone had a rough idea.
They all knew that humans who got injured here didn't receive good treatment.
"…Poor guy. Just listen to them."
"No, honestly, if he hadn't run off like that, I might have done the same."
Everyone nodded.
No one would want to believe that their penis could explode.
In the end, they had no choice but to live their lives with half relief and half anxiety.
***
In a shabby room, a man with his legs spread and limbs tied lay unconscious, a gag in his mouth.
Three purple-skinned demons, covered head to toe in cloth, were conversing.
"Wow… it's completely blown out…"
"Can it be fixed?"
"No. We have to remove it all. But do we really need to operate?"
They were having a meaningful conversation while looking at the man's spread groin.
They were medical officers who treated injured demons during the war.
Now, due to the armistice, the workload had decreased, but occasionally, they still spent their days treating injured soldiers.
For them, performing surgeries on humans was one of those incomprehensible tasks—why even bother with such things?
"How did we end up like this… reduced to performing surgeries on livestock…"
"What can we do? We have to feed our families."
"Let's finish this quickly and go grab a drink."
"Looking at this, I'm craving bull testicles today."
They casually exchanged conversations that would horrify any human.
But to them, it didn't matter.
Just as humans wouldn't hesitate to talk about slaughtering livestock in front of the animals themselves…
To them, humans were nothing more than livestock.
It was then.
"Ugh… Huh… Hrrgh!"
Lorian, whose groin had been torn apart, regained consciousness for the first time and looked around.
As Lorian came to, his vision was filled with purple-skinned demons.
He couldn't speak because of the gag in his mouth, and his limbs were bound, making movement impossible.
'W-What… What's going on!! Where am I!!'
The demons muttered as they looked between Lorian's legs.
"Oh, he's awake."
"Should we anesthetize him…?"
"No, let's not. We'll just get scolded for using anesthesia without permission…"
"Isn't inventory management too strict after the war? Even pig neutering gets anesthesia after the war…"
"This one's not a pig. They do that because the meat tastes better…"
"Shall we begin, then…?"
"Hrrgh!! Hrrrgh!!!"
Ignoring Lorian's desperate screams, the demons leisurely picked up their sharp tools.
'W-What… What are they going to do…?'
One of the demons checked the blade against a mana stone to ensure it was sharp and said,
"First, let's cleanly cut away the remaining bits and insert a urinary catheter. As long as he can pee, that's enough. And then…"
"Grrrgh!"
"Let's cauterize the rest with a branding iron to finish it off neatly."
'AAAAAH! Save me!!!!! AAAAAAH!!!!!'
Lorian's muffled screams echoed through the underground of the demon king's castle.
***
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