Chapter 18: Develion Demon Kingdom

Inside a room in the Develion mansion.  

After returning from Orbit, Lucy, who had fallen into a deep slumber, slowly opened her eyes on the bed.  

“Ah…”  

In her gradually clearing vision, she saw her own bedroom.  

So, she had returned.  

As she murmured softly and tried to sit up—  

“Ugh…!”  

A faint shiver ran through her body as the lingering heat of pleasure still remained in her lower abdomen.  

Placing her hand gently over her throbbing core, vivid memories flooded back.  

Even though it had been under the influence of a drug, the fact that they had been so intimately entwined…  

It was impossible to forget.  

“Master…”  

The name she had called out hundreds of times amidst the lewd sounds of their bodies colliding.  

That noble resonance slipped softly through her slightly parted lips.  

Recalling how he had so vigorously displayed his masculine strength last night, her womb still trembled faintly.  

Could she have ever imagined it would come to this?  

Since escaping the hellish life after the death of her devilish parents in her childhood,  

life in the back alleys of the city had been nothing but despair.  

To avoid starving, she had to steal, and children unlucky enough to be caught faced horrific fates at the hands of adults.  

The one who saved her from that place of despair was none other than her Master.  

After being taken in by him, being by his side became her happiness, and whenever they were apart, even briefly, it became her sorrow.  

But last night…  

Even though it was under the influence of a drug, she had been closer to him than any other woman in the world.  

That fact filled Lucy with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.  

Creak—

“You’re awake.”  

“Head Maid Vanessa.”  

“You look much more at ease. How’s your body feeling?”  

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”  

Lucy bowed her head slightly toward Vanessa, who had entered the room.  

The leather outfit she had been wearing was replaced with clean new clothes, and the traces and scent of their coupling that had been smeared all over her body were gone.  

Clearly, several maids had carefully washed and dressed her.  

But Vanessa, the head maid, spoke as if it were nothing.  

“Hehe. Compared to what the Master went through last night, this is nothing. He carried you so carefully all the way from Orbit to this mansion.”  

“Ah…”  

“He handled you so delicately. It made my heart flutter just watching.”  

Clink.

Placing a steaming teacup on the table beside the bed, Vanessa smiled softly.  

At her words, Lucy felt her lower abdomen tremble once more.  

“Master, he…”  

“Ah, and last night, the priestess sent by Lady Milinarize used healing magic on you. She said there shouldn’t be any aftereffects, so that’s a relief.”  

Vanessa spoke in a tone of relief.  

Lucy tilted her head, puzzled.  

The sensation of their union remained, but she felt no pain or fatigue in her lower body, which had been bothering her.  

But there was something she couldn’t quite understand.  

‘No aftereffects…?’  

She stared blankly at her lower abdomen.  

Then what was it that made her womb tremble every time she thought of her Master?  

Even though the drug’s influence should have worn off by now,  

she still longed to be held in his strong arms and let out a delicate cry.  

“…”  

With an unsolved mystery lingering in her mind,  

a faint blush rose to Lucy’s cheeks.  

* * *  

“Lucy is awake?”  

“Yes. She seems to be in good health for now.”  

On my way to the aura training ground, a short distance from the mansion, Vanessa and a priestess came to find me.  

Good. She’s awake safely.  

I felt relieved at the good news.  

“You’re the priestess who treated my side.”  

“Yes. I am Hene, a high priestess serving Lord Pales.”  

A delicate-looking priestess with narrow eyes bowed deeply to me.  

The overwhelming movement of her massive divine power pouch swayed as she did so.  

From what I remember of the original story, Milinarize, the highest-ranking priestess, also possessed an overwhelming divine power pouch.  

Does the Pales sect rank its priestesses based on breast size?  

Putting aside the random thought that popped into my head, I asked Hene what I had been curious about.  

“By the way, is there any concern about Lucy having aftereffects?”  

“She should be fine. Thanks to your excellency’s thorough care.”  

Is she complimenting me for doing a good job?  

Not a bad feeling.  

“Good work. Vanessa, send a ‘small offering’ to the sect soon.”  

“Understood.”  

“Thank you for your consideration. May the grace of Pales be with you.”  

At the mention of a donation, High Priestess Hene’s narrow eyes curved into a smile.  

No need to thank me.  

It’s not my money anyway. It’s Goldman’s money.  

After that, we had a brief conversation, but it didn’t last long.  

If I wanted to ask more about the sect, I could just ask Milinarize directly.  

A short while later, after sending Hene back, and once Vanessa had left to attend to the mansion’s affairs, I arrived at the training ground surrounded by trees.  

There was something I wanted to check before meeting my subordinates later.  

Swoosh—

The wind played through the leaves, and the full spring air brushed past my head.  

I stood on the rustling sandy ground and closed my eyes.  

Swoosh. 

Focusing, I drew out my mana and circulated it through my body.  

The mana, drawn out to its limit, maintained a stable flow, forming a large circle within me.  

“Hmm.”  

As expected.  

My mana capacity had increased significantly compared to when I had trained in aura before.  

Though it still fell short of reaching the Grandmaster level, it was still a considerable change.  

…What’s going on? 

I can’t think of a reason.  

I had been diligently practicing the Develion family’s mana cultivation techniques, but such a drastic change wasn’t something one could expect overnight.  

That was only natural.  

If mana capacity could increase so rapidly in just a day or two, everyone would be a Swordmaster by now.  

So how has my mana capacity increased so much?  

“…Was it because of that time my trait evolved?”  

The moment I met Luke Starlight, the protagonist of the original story, my entire body was engulfed in a sense of omnipotence, and I gained new power.  

The trait known as ‘Absolute Monarch.’  

It granted me three abilities with absurdly powerful effects, and on top of that, my mana capacity had increased dramatically.  

It seemed the message wishing me luck wasn’t just empty words.  

“This is a jackpot.”  

Feeling slightly elated by the excellent gift I had received before the fight with Albireo, I decided to thoroughly train my aura as a celebration.  

By the time I finished, the sun had already passed overhead.  

It was probably time for my subordinates to have gathered.  

I had been so focused on training that I hadn’t noticed the time passing.  

“They must be waiting.”  

With my hands behind my back, I left the training ground and walked toward the mansion building.  

Step, step.

The monotonous, rhythmic sound of my footsteps.  

Was it just my imagination?  

Despite the clear, cloudless weather, a strange mist seemed to hang over the mansion grounds.  

‘It’s not my imagination.’  

It was a highly refined magic.  

Likely meant to prevent anyone other than me and my subordinates from approaching.  

As I walked, recalling Raphaella, who must have spread the mist around the mansion, I sensed strong presences scattered around.  

It felt as though they were vigilantly guarding the mansion, determined not to allow any intrusion.  

‘Are these the elites from Orbit?’  

It seemed Ludenburger had brought his subordinates here.  

Given his deep loyalty, I hadn’t expected him to come empty-handed, but it seemed he had brought quite a lot with him.  

I continued walking with my hands behind my back.  

“…Corpse puppets?”  

“We greet the exalted one.”  

Upon arriving at the building, human-sized puppets wearing white masks bowed deeply to me.  

Positioned like guards on either side of the entrance, their movements were eerily natural, but there was an unsettling aura about them.  

These were the creations of a puppeteer.  

So Laplace has arrived too.  

He must have had a hard time coming all this way, given how he usually stays holed up in his lab.  

Judging by the refined mana imbued in these puppets, they seemed to be high-quality creations he had put a lot of effort into.  

“We will escort you inside.”  

“Very well.”  

As I approached the entrance, the puppets respectfully opened the door.  

Groan.

The door opened with a heavy sound.  

Beyond it stretched a red carpet, flanked by dazzling decorations on either side.  

Gold was the baseline, with statues made of various gemstones, as well as crafts that looked like they were made by dwarf artisans.  

I touched and tapped the treasures laid out before me.  

“Goldman, you really went all out to make the path beautiful for me.”  

It was truly a golden path.  

Feeling pleased with the way the empire’s greatest merchant showed his loyalty to me, I continued forward.  

“Hmm?”  

As I walked, I noticed a separately displayed decoration, a radiant orange gemstone glowing brightly.  

‘Adamantite…’  

A metal blessed by the gods.  

Treated almost as a holy relic by the church.  

Even most nobles would find it difficult to see even once in their lifetime, and a piece of this size could buy an entire noble family.  

It seemed Milinarize had prepared this.  

Is it really okay to bring something like this out?  

Well, given the church’s immense power, it should be fine.  

In any case, I had now seen all the gifts my subordinates had prepared for me.  

I lingered for a moment, savoring the impression they left, before moving on to the end of the central hall.  

There, my five loyal subordinates knelt solemnly on one knee.  

“You’ve all come a long way. Well done.”  

“We greet the exalted one!”  

Their powerful voices, filled with the thrill of reunion, echoed through the grand hall.  

Each of them had a distinct appearance, and facing them, I could feel the immense power they wielded, enough to shake the empire.  

How did I appear to them?  

In their eyes, there was one common thing: a reverence as if they were looking at a god.  

The eyes of my five subordinates were filled with light as they looked up at me.  

To them, I was the world.  

A god…  

Such a sacred title didn’t suit me.  

If anything, something like a Demon King would be more fitting.  

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.  

“Listen, all of you.”  

“Yes.”  

“You’ve all been informed of the plan to establish a new nation, correct?”  

“Yes, an exalted one.”  

“Through this gathering, I will announce the name of the new land we will build.”  

“…!”  

My five subordinates reacted to my words,  

their entire beings focused on me, eagerly awaiting what I would say next.  

Since we had decided to create a new nation, it would be good to decide on a name before the battle with the princes.  

I declared to them, who had shown me unwavering loyalty:  

“Develion Demon Kingdom—that will be the name of our new land.”