“So, what should we do?”
Paimon reiterated, regardless of Jeha’s muttered soliloquy.
“They want the plants from the Demon Lord’s castle garden?”
“Indeed.”
“It’s just a plant. Just give it to them.” Jeha replied dismissively, as if annoyed by the triviality of the question. Paimon remained silent for a second before finally speaking.
“While my Lord may not be aware, the plants in the Demon Lord’s castle garden are akin to a treasure trove, comprising only the rarest and most precious specimens gathered from various domains within your territory. Upon verifying the plants they requested, it was found that they are indeed rare, with perhaps only one or two specimens existing even within the castle garden itself.”
“So, you’re saying we shouldn’t give them away?”
“Everything is as my Lord wills.”
‘He says ‘everything is as my Lord wills,’ but isn’t the elaborate explanation itself a subtle plea not to give them away?’
“Then don’t.”
“Yes, I shall do so.” Paimon responded as if he had been waiting for that exact command.
“And for such trivial matters, you don’t need to ask me every single time. Just handle them yourself, Paimon. What do I know about what’s in a garden I’ve never even visited, or what’s important there?”
“Even if it were but a common weed, merely daring to request something belonging to my Lord is an act that stakes one’s very life. Whether their request is granted or denied, their head must be severed, which is why I inform my Lord in advance.”
Paimon’s expression remained utterly businesslike and calm, despite uttering such terrifying words about severing heads.
“Don’t kill them.”
“…Understood.” ‘It seemed he had indeed intended to sever their heads, judging by the slight delay in his response.’
“So, is that all for today’s news?”
“Indeed.”
“Hmm…” Jeha propped his chin in his hand once more, exhaling a sigh. He hadn’t truly been listening to Paimon’s words, yet he felt a pang of regret that the pleasant white noise had ceased. This sentiment, however, was fleeting, and Jeha soon drifted back into a daze of thought. Observing him, Paimon uncharacteristically initiated a conversation.
“Is something troubling you, my Lord?”
“…Troubling me? What would be troubling me…” Jeha replied slowly, even as he realized he had been subtly hoping Paimon would speak to him. Or rather, he simply wanted to converse with someone.
Jeha turned his gaze, observing Paimon for a moment before casually tossing out a question.
“Have you ever had a first kiss?”
Despite the suddenness of the question, Paimon merely nodded, betraying not a hint of surprise.
“Of course.”
“Right, you’re easily over a thousand years old, so a kiss is probably old hat to you. …So, what was it like?”
“My first kiss, you ask?”
“Yeah.” Nodding, Jeha stared at Paimon with slightly brightened eyes. He found it rather fascinating that even demons experienced something as fluttery as a first kiss.
“It was hot and metallic.”
“Hot… and metallic?” Jeha murmured, as if he’d heard something utterly absurd. Paimon, unfazed, continued his narrative.
“While I understand it occasionally occurs in the human realm, among demons, the first coitus is typically forced upon one by a stronger individual. I, too, caught the eye of a demon before I had fully matured, and was seized by them, forcibly—”
Jeha gasped in horror, the content utterly contrasting with Paimon’s calm demeanor.
“You were forcibly… violated?!”
“No.” Paimon retorted sharply, raising a single eyebrow in a rare display of emotion.
“…Then what happened?”
“As they attempted to forcibly take my lips, I bit off their lips, then plunged my hand into their abdomen, ripped out their intestines, crushed their spine to subdue them, and proceeded to violate them repeatedly until their breath ceased.”
“……”
“It was a passionate first experience, hot and overflowing with the stench of blood.”
Paimon’s “first kiss” and “first experience” had indeed been a hot, bloody, and brutal affair. Jeha suddenly felt a profound sense of solemnity. ‘Despite acting like a mere caretaker in front of him, Paimon must have been an immensely powerful being by nature.’
“So, a demon is a demon, after all…” Jeha mused, feeling the shattered image of demons—which had been somewhat broken by the whole “rare plant protection” debacle—being restored once more.
“Did you kiss your contractor?” Paimon inquired bluntly.
Jeha gasped in alarm, his eyes widening.
“How did you know?!”
“Well, when you suddenly inquire about a first kiss, it’s rather impossible not to notice.”
“No, but still, how did you know it was Hereis and… that?!”
“The only beings my Lord typically interacts with are Zephyr and I, apart from your human contractor. It wasn’t me, and Zephyr would never dare such contact with my Lord, so that leaves only the contractor, does it not?”
Paimon’s words were undeniably accurate. Jeha felt like a child caught red-handed by an adult. He rubbed his face with both hands, squirming in embarrassment. Then, he revisited his usual thought: ‘I’m really not cut out to be a Demon Lord.’
“Are you developing feelings for your contractor?” Paimon was as blunt as ever.
“No, it’s not like that…” Jeha’s immediate reply lacked conviction.
“It’s just… it’s my first time kissing anyone. That’s why I keep thinking about it…”
“First times are always special, after all.”
“…Right? It’s just because it was my first kiss that I can’t stop thinking about it, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps…” Paimon, uncharacteristically drawing out his words, moved closer to Jeha. Leaning in, he brought his face near and asked,
“Would you like to try it?”
“Wh-what?”
“A kiss, my Lord. If you try it, you’ll know whether it’s simply because it was your first time, or if the other person is truly special, won’t you?”
Paimon, with his neatly styled cerulean hair, possessed a strikingly beautiful appearance that Jeha didn’t usually consciously acknowledge. His face was so exquisite that, had he appeared on a screen in Jeha’s previous world, he would have effortlessly outshone any idol or actor.
Involuntarily, Jeha’s gaze flickered to Paimon’s moist, soft-looking lips before he vigorously shook his head.
“No, I’m good! No need!”
“Then it seems the other person was indeed special.”
“No, why would you twist my words like that?!” Jeha immediately retorted. Paimon merely gazed at him with an unperturbed expression, making Jeha feel as if his innermost thoughts were being completely laid bare.
‘Indeed, for a demon well over a thousand years old, seeing through the mind of a human-turned-Demon Lord who had barely lived two decades was probably child’s play. Of course, Jeha himself wasn’t particularly skilled at hiding his true feelings either.’
“Hmph…” Jeha felt an overwhelming sense of embarrassment and powerlessness, letting out a sigh. Even amidst this, a faint memory of his kiss with Hereis lingered in a corner of his mind.
“Is that not acceptable?” Paimon suddenly remarked, having watched Jeha intently. Jeha looked at him, his eyes questioning what he meant. Paimon then elaborated.
“Regardless of who the other person may be, if my Lord finds them interesting, then it is a good thing. Whether it is a purely emotional inclination or an attraction to their sexual allure, if it stimulates my Lord, there is no reason for it to be unacceptable. At the very least, you will not be bored during that time.”
“…So, even if I were to… with Hereis—which, of course, would never happen—but *if* something like that were to happen, you wouldn’t care?”
“Of course. Should such a thing occur, all of my Lord’s retainers would welcome it with open arms.”
“Even though he’s a priest blessed by a god?”
“No matter how immense his divine power, he remains merely a human being. How could he possibly compare to my Lord, a fragment of the Demon God?”
Unable to discern if Paimon was serious or joking, Jeha scrutinized his face, but it seemed he was utterly earnest.
‘They wouldn’t care if he was a priest or a human, as long as Jeha wasn’t bored? This world truly was a bizarre place.’
“Demons, the Demon Realm… I really don’t understand any of it.” Jeha grumbled under his breath. Yet, even as he did, Hereis still drifted in a corner of his mind.
‘A blessed relationship that all his retainers would welcome…’
‘No, no. What kind of premature celebration was this? He wasn’t even sure if his heart was simply fluttering because of the kiss, or something more. And even if he *was* interested, he couldn’t know the other person’s feelings.’
Jeha, who had been resting his chin in his hand, waved his hand through the air. A large mirror materialized, more than big enough to reflect his entire face. Unlike before, this mirror accurately showed Jeha’s reflection.
The Jeha in the mirror was exactly as he remembered himself from his previous world. He had been told a few times that he was reasonably good-looking, but certainly not to the extent that women would flock after him. Just an adequately ordinary-looking man in his early twenties. His attire was quite different from when he was human, but his face remained precisely the same.
‘It seemed unlikely that someone would be attracted to the appearance of such an ordinary man… Especially in the eyes of the exquisitely beautiful Hereis, Jeha’s looks would undoubtedly appear less than ordinary.’
Jeha meticulously examined his reflection, then squeezed his cheeks with his hands.
‘After all, his original body had vanished, and his current form was composed solely of Bellarossa’s demonic power. This meant he didn’t necessarily have to maintain this appearance. Just as one might customize a game character’s looks to celebrity levels, he could transform his current appearance into one of transcendent beauty.’
After a long period of contemplation while staring into the mirror, Jeha waved his hand, making it vanish.
‘Even if he suddenly appeared as a transcendent beauty, when Hereis already knew his original form…’
‘Besides, wasn’t Hereis someone who remained unmoved by even transcendent beauties like Ange and Rose? Presenting a surgically altered face wasn’t likely to change anything. And it would be a blow to his pride to offer up someone else’s face instead of his own.’
“Tsk.” Feeling a strange sense of patheticness, Jeha rose from his chair and threw himself onto the bed.