Carried Into the Throne Room—Face to Face with the Demon King’s Four

“Don’t give me that cold face. Smile a little more. I want to see you smile.”

Seeming completely unaware of the awkward situation, Iris even demanded that Furenna not remain expressionless like a block of wood.

Furenna could only force a slight smile, having mentally dismembered the Demon King a hundred times over by now.

“Later is the routine meeting time. You haven’t met this generation’s Four Heavenly Kings yet, have you? Hastur will summon them. How about getting to know each other?”

Iris naturally understood Furenna was forcing a smile, but she didn’t mind. Instead, she started talking about the upcoming arrangements.

“Who wants to meet them? This is truly unnecessary, Master.”

Furenna sighed helplessly. It seemed her first session of torture was about to begin. What methods would Iris and the others use to torment her?

However, if Iris thought she would kneel and beg for mercy without any dignity, she was gravely mistaken.

Holding Furenna, Iris landed smoothly on an open-air platform on the outer side of the Demon King’s Castle. The landing spot was flanked by maids lining the path in welcome.

Maids from various demon races bowed the moment Iris landed, facing the ground at a 90-degree angle, paying the highest respect to the ruler of the demon race.

“We welcome Your Majesty the Demon King’s return to the palace.”

“Hm.”

Iris completely changed from her previous demeanor when interacting with Furenna. Not only did her smile vanish, replaced by a cold expression and a lofty attitude, but her aura also transformed into that of a superior.

This made Furenna, still in her arms, realize that the woman who enjoyed laughing at her was indeed the supreme ruler of the demon race.

What Furenna didn’t expect was that just as she tried to extricate herself from Iris’s embrace, Iris actually tightened her arms, preventing Furenna from leaving.

“Don’t move.”

Iris slightly lowered her head, whispering close to Furenna’s cheek, then proceeded to stride boldly into the castle interior while holding Furenna, right past the crowd of maids.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Master. Put me down now.”

Furenna didn’t understand why Iris was pulling this stunt, but bound by the contract, she couldn’t resist Iris’s actions. For now, she could only obediently shrink in Iris’s arms.

“You’re my little kitten. Of course I have to carry you to work.”

Iris looked completely nonchalant. Even though she maintained a haughty expression and suppressed her tone due to the surrounding maids, Furenna could still hear the teasing intent in her voice.

“Are you humiliating me, Master?”

Just because Furenna couldn’t refuse a command didn’t mean she couldn’t talk back. The Demon King carrying her into the Demon King’s Castle like she was holding a cat, and maintaining this posture for a meeting with the Four Heavenly Kings, was clearly announcing that the Hero had been thoroughly ‘conquered,’ insulting Furenna’s self-esteem to break her mentally.

But how could Furenna comply with Iris’s wishes? She was the Goddess’s messenger, the Hero who fought for humanity. She absolutely wouldn’t let her mental defenses be breached by such a trivial matter.

Demon King Iris didn’t answer. Instead, she walked straight towards the meeting room at the end of the corridor.

Seeing Iris remain silent, Furenna confirmed her own guess and became even more determined not to lose her composure in front of the others later, cutting off Iris’s desire to humiliate her.

As the meeting room door opened, the scene inside clearly fell into Furenna’s view.

Classical decor composed the surrounding walls, without excessive ornamentation. The room’s overall style was unexpectedly simple.

A round table at the center was set for five people. At the moment, only one seat remained empty; the others were already seated, waiting silently.

The moment Iris pushed the door open, the gazes of all four participants converged on them.

“You have arrived, Your Majesty the Demon King.”

A girl completely covered in a yellow robe stood up and respectfully greeted Iris’s arrival. It was one of the Four Heavenly Kings Furenna had seen before—the Tentacle Witch, Hastur.

“Demon King-sama, why are you holding that Hero?”

An inharmonious voice came from the seat to the right of the round table. The words held not a trace of reverence for the Demon King; instead, they carried a strong, aggressive tone.

Hearing the target was herself, Furenna fearlessly followed the voice. A Flame Demon woman wearing low-cut armor came into view: fiery red ponytail, fiery red skin, and fiery red eyes that seemed capable of spewing scorching flames.

One of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Flame Demon Lalaneya. Also one of the survivors from the previous generation of Heavenly Kings whom Furenna had not killed.

“Don’t be angry, Lalaneya. His Majesty the Demon King must have her considerations for doing this.”

“After all, allowing our number one enemy to enter the Demon King’s Castle without being bound hand and foot, crawling on her knees, His Majesty must have prepared a perfect strategy.”

Another Heavenly King who had continued from the previous generation to the new one—the Vampire Aviya—persuaded her colleague from the side.

However, it sounded less like persuasion and more like fanning the flames, guaranteed to make the Flame Demon’s explosive temper escalate even more severely.

“Your Majesty the Demon King, even if today you demand we meet this Hero, I absolutely cannot accept your attitude towards her! The number of our demon brethren who died by her hand is beyond count!”

Sure enough, the easily ignited Lalaneya, after hearing Aviya’s provocation, immediately censured Demon King Iris’s actions.

Iris did not rebuke Lalaneya, nor did she show any intention of punishing her for disrespect. Instead, she first sat down in a seat at the round table, still holding Furenna.

Aviya, who had fanned the flames, stopped speaking. Leaning lightly against the chair back, her graceful figure wrapped in black and crimson gowns, she watched the subsequent developments with a smile.

Furenna suddenly realized the meaning of this round table: it signified equal status. To some extent, did the Four Heavenly Kings actually hold power equal to the Demon King’s? That would explain why Lalaneya dared to so strongly oppose the Demon King’s decision.

Such behavior would be absolutely impossible in the human world. If a minister dared to publicly question an emperor’s decision, the lightest punishment would be losing their head, the heaviest being the extermination of their nine clans.

But here among the demons, Lalaneya could actually censure Demon King Iris to her face. It truly broadened Furenna’s horizons.

“Lalaneya, sit down. What kind of spectacle is all this shouting?”

Hastur scolded Lalaneya. It seemed she was very loyal to Iris. As for the two veterans, the Flame Demon Lalaneya and the Vampire Aviya, both seemed somewhat unconvinced by Demon King Iris?

Furenna silently calculated in her heart, her gaze shifting to the last member of the Four Heavenly Kings, who hadn’t spoken from the beginning.

White hair, grey pupils, the figure of a young girl, wearing a beret and an Alice-style outfit. Her appearance was no different from an ordinary human girl.

But Furenna knew that among the demon races, the only one with an appearance identical to humans was the sparsely populated Puppeteer clan.

Although their physical bodies were weak, their magic effects were abnormally bizarre, often capable of fighting one against a hundred. Extremely dangerous.