“I am ashamed, my Lord.”
Zephyr knelt, bowing his head deeply. Beside him, the succubus sisters, Ange and Rose, were also kneeling. They had reportedly remained prostrate outside the door until Jeha awoke from his slumber, and only after he had awakened did they enter the room to offer their apologies.
Zephyr’s complexion was truly ashen. The sisters, Ange and Rose, were not merely pale; their faces were ghastly blue, seized by terror. Failing to properly execute the Demon Lord’s command seemed to be an immense sin in their eyes.
Indeed, upon reflection, villainous overlords in movies and stories were notoriously merciless towards their subordinates. It was common for them to declare a subordinate who failed a mission useless and summarily sever their head.
Of course, Jeha had no intention of reprimanding them. However, seeing them kneeling before him like criminals who had committed a capital offense, a mischievous impulse surged within him. Especially recalling Ange and Rose’s groping hands on Hereis last night, a needless spite bubbled up.
“To botch the very first command I issued as the Demon Lord like this…”
Jeha lay sideways on the bed, propped on his arm, and furrowed his brow. That alone caused Zephyr and the two sisters to tense their shoulders rigidly. Feeling as if he were truly a villainous overlord, a faint smile threatened to escape him.
To suppress the laughter bubbling up, Jeha sharply turned his head and asked Paimon, who stood rigidly at the head of the bed.
“What should one do in such a situation?”
“Everything is always according to your will, my Lord… however. Despite receiving your direct command, they failed to complete the task, thereby tarnishing your great reputation. Would it not be appropriate to impose the punishment of annihilation?”
Zephyr and the two sisters, whose complexions were already poor, turned even more deathly pale.
“Hmm…”
Jeha scratched his chin, feigning deep thought.
Zephyr, who had been rolling his eyes while his head was bowed, cautiously raised his gaze and spoke.
“My Lord, though our sin of sullying your great reputation deserves annihilation, please grant us one more chance!”
“A chance?”
As Jeha showed a flicker of interest, Zephyr’s complexion brightened slightly.
“Yes. Having been tasked with carrying out your command after such a long time, I was overly excited. Even though enticing humans is usually simple, surely your contractor is no ordinary individual, are they? Proceeding without any prior investigation was a grave mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes, precisely. Though Ange and Rose here are top-tier succubi who have never failed to seduce a human, your contractor, my Lord, must be special, mustn’t they? We should have considered whether that human might possess somewhat… peculiar tastes.”
Zephyr spoke with a hint of renewed confidence.
The phrase ‘peculiar tastes’ in his explanation immediately caught Jeha’s attention. Perhaps seeing this curiosity reflected on Jeha’s face, Zephyr quickly continued.
“As you can see, my Lord, Rose and Ange here are succubi of the highest bloodline. I can confidently say that there is no succubus, among your own familiars or those of other Demon Lords, who could surpass them. However… it is not unheard of for humans with peculiar tastes to occasionally, though rarely, resist their allure.”
Jeha became exceedingly curious about these constantly mentioned ‘peculiar tastes.’
“So, what exactly are these peculiar tastes?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Jeha asked, and Zephyr replied as if he had been waiting for the question.
“We demons, of course, engage in sexual acts freely, regardless of gender, but the majority of humans cannot. This is because, according to the divine laws they revere, sexual intercourse is explicitly stated to occur only between adult men and women capable of procreating. However, not all humans adhere to these laws. Some secretly indulge in their own unique preferences. Especially within temples, where only men are gathered, such practices become even more prevalent, leading to…”
“Prevalent… leading to what?”
“I understand it’s not uncommon for lewd acts to occur between male priests, or between masters and their young disciples.” Having finished speaking, Zephyr subtly glanced at Jeha, gauging his reaction. Jeha furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead.
‘Secret acts between male priests’ referred to homosexuality, and ‘lewd acts between masters and young disciples’ undoubtedly referred to the sexual exploitation of immature young boys.
“Since your contractor also entered the temple in their youth and has lived as a priest ever since, isn’t it possible they might have been influenced by these secret tastes? Therefore, if we were to send a male succubus and a less mature, younger succubus this time, it would surely…”
“Stop!”
Jeha could no longer tolerate it and roared, cutting him off. He rubbed his ears furiously with both hands, as if trying to erase something he shouldn’t have heard. Yet, his mind was already awash with all sorts of fantasies featuring Hereis.
Fantasies of an old priest tempting and indulging in a young, innocent Hereis, or his colleagues, captivated by the beautiful Hereis, stripping away his priestly robes. Or, conversely, Hereis seducing a young and beautiful priest…
He tried to halt the delusions, but his mind spun wildly, churning out all manner of lewd imaginings.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
Jeha covered his face with both hands and flopped back onto the bed. He thrashed his feet, inwardly chastising himself. Even if he had become a Demon Lord, to entertain such sordid fantasies about a perfectly normal human… Even for the leader of villains, this was a bit much.
“My Lord?”
As Jeha’s thrashing subsided, Zephyr cautiously called out. Jeha swept his hands down from his face, then let out a deep sigh. He was struck by a profound sense of self-reproach, wondering what on earth he was doing.
“My Lord.”
Paimon’s voice echoed in the quiet room. Jeha merely rolled his eyes to look up at Paimon. Seeing Paimon’s perpetually expressionless and calm face, Jeha somehow felt his complicated and confused mind settle.
“What.”
When Jeha replied curtly, Paimon cast a quick glance at Zephyr before speaking.
“Zephyr’s suggestion, I believe, holds some merit. Among the temple priests, homosexual acts have been rampant for a long time. Would it not be worth attempting with that human as well?”
“What? Are you siding with Zephyr?”
Jeha grumbled, his face a pout. Paimon did not bother to deny it. Instead, they lightly shrugged their shoulders and spoke.
“After all this time, a millennium of affection, one might say…”
At Paimon’s words, which usually seemed so detached, Zephyr cast a look of boundless gratitude.
“Hmm…”
Jeha sat cross-legged on the bed and let out a sigh. The gaze of everyone in the room simultaneously fell upon Jeha.
The idea of sending a male succubus to Hereis to tempt him once more… Honestly, it didn’t sit well with him. Of course, he knew that in his previous world, priests often fell into homosexuality or sexually exploited young acolytes. So, there was certainly a chance of success, it seemed… But he simply didn’t feel inclined.
Why was that? Was it because tempting a priest with s*x to corrupt them was malicious and cheap? Well, that was certainly a part of it. But to say it was only that… he just wasn’t keen on it.
“What is your decision, my Lord?”
Paimon quietly asked.
Jeha slowly scanned Paimon, Zephyr, Ange, and Rose. With their pointed ears, they were undeniably demons. And he was their king, the Demon Lord. A being of wicked darkness. He was not in a position to agonize over merely corrupting a single human. Moreover, if he failed to corrupt Hereis, he would have to face dire consequences.
“Fine.”
As Jeha’s permission was finally granted, Zephyr’s face visibly brightened. Jeha hastily added before Zephyr could utter his thanks.
“However, no minors… that is, no succubi who are not yet adults.”
“…Understood.”
Zephyr seemed to have something more to say, but swallowed it, nodding fervently instead.
After Zephyr, Ange, and Rose withdrew, Jeha lay spread-eagled on the bed, limbs splayed wide. He then began to ponder the meaning of his own existence.
“Are you troubled by something, my Lord?”
Paimon inquired. Jeha blinked, staring at the ceiling, then turned his head to look at Paimon.
“Me? Honestly, I was a ‘born-solo’… meaning, I was a virgin who had never even held a woman’s hand before becoming the Demon Lord. What’s more, I’ve never really done anything truly bad, like stealing or anything of the sort. I’ve never broken any laws, nor have I ever even thought about doing anything wicked. On the contrary, I’ve done my fair share of small good deeds. So, for someone like me to be acting as the Demon Lord, it feels rather pathetic, you know?”
Paimon, who had been listening intently, subtly curled their lips into a faint smile. It seemed to be the first time Jeha had seen Paimon smile. Of course, the smile vanished as cleanly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there at all.
“My Lord.”
“What.”
“I believe I once told you what a Demon Lord is, do you recall?”
“Hmm… roughly? Didn’t you say it was one of the fragments of the Demon God?”
“That is correct. A Demon Lord is a being of pure darkness, forged from a fragment of the Demon God. In other words, your very existence, my Lord, can be described as the purest essence of darkness in this world.”
“The purest essence of darkness?”
“Yes. And they say extremes meet, do they not? Extreme light is akin to extreme darkness. You, my Lord, are purity itself, transcending both light and darkness. Therefore, whether you perform good deeds or evil ones, it does not impede your identity as the Demon Lord. It is not even worth agonizing over. Your mere existence, my Lord, is a magnificent force that balances the world.”
“…So, in the end, it’s just ‘do whatever you want, just stay alive,’ is that it?”
Jeha grumbled softly, waving his hand dismissively. It was no help at all.