■ Assembly □
We joined forces with the Demon King’s Army three days later.
As if hinting at an all-out war, all of the Four Heavenly Kings except Dorothea were participating, and the Demon King’s Army was advancing straight toward the capital in an unstoppable force.
Initially, it seemed like they were held up for quite a while on the Hamburg front, but Walter Leonhart, the Demon King’s right-hand man, eventually intervened by personally leaping onto Hamburg’s Castle Wall, clearing out the Kingdom’s soldiers, and opening the City Gate.
When I first heard about that feat, I wondered what kind of superhuman physical abilities he possessed.
Of course, as a Were-Lion, he must have had incredible strength, but even among Beastmen, very few could scale a castle wall over 20 meters high without any equipment.
That went for Hamburg fortress too, which was built on a cliff, though it was taken advantage of when it was half-collapsed due to an avalanche, so that’s a separate matter.
For this war, the Demon King himself personally took responsibility and participated as the supreme commander after mobilizing troops from various tribes located in Doom Land.
With most of the kingdom’s forces having defected and the only remaining bulwark, Master, declaring neutrality, the fate of the Kingdom was hanging by a thread.
Not only the Demon King, but the entire Four Heavenly Kings were gathered. How could we possibly hold out against such forces without a Hero?
The Second and Third Divisions supporting the defense of Hamburg managed to retreat with minimal losses before falling, but ultimately, they were like rats trapped in a jar.
In the end, their only place to return would be the final stronghold surrounded by the Constantinople Wall: Oz.
“Long time no see, Caldlasth.”
“Have you been well during this time, my Lord Demon King?”
“What? Should I not be fine when I’ve been sitting back and watching from the rear?”
The Demon King said this with a playful laugh and pointed to Ozma standing beside him.
“Ozma will also be taking part in this war in a commanding role. Please assist her well.”
“I ask for your guidance. Caldlasth.”
Perhaps feeling the weight of the responsibility, Ozma’s tone was stiffer than usual.
After exchanging a brief glance, she looked back at the Demon King with a puzzled expression.
“You seem to have lost some weight?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. I underwent training under Master. Thanks to it, I’ve managed to reach the Seventh Rank.”
“Seventh Rank!”
The Demon King was impressed upon hearing my words.
He chuckled heartily and patted me on the shoulder.
“Indeed, my eye for talent hasn’t failed me. You seemed extraordinary from the moment I met you, and here you are reaching such heights before turning thirty.”
“You flatter me.”
As I humbly bowed my head, the Demon King turned to Ozma and said, “Ozma! How can you not rejoice when the man who will become your husband has reached a higher level?”
At this, Ozma, who had until then stood with a strict, solemn expression with her arms crossed, suddenly blushed bright red and stuttered nervously.
“What? No, Caldlasth and I aren’t—”
“If a man and woman spend a night together, that should be enough. Are you saying our proud Grand Mage Caldlasth is incapable of taking responsibility for his actions?”
“…”
How does he know?
Though our relationship was consensual, I never imagined the Demon King would find out about the inappropriate nature of mine and Ozma’s connection.
As I nervously sweated at the thought of having to take responsibility for Ozma, the Demon King stared down at me with a cold gaze.
“You haven’t ruined a good maiden’s future and now refuse to take responsibility, have you?”
No matter how I thought about it, denying it felt like a sword would be coming for my neck.
I reluctantly answered, “Yes, I must take responsibility. As a man.”
And thus, my engagement to Ozma was decided.
On the way back from seeing the Demon King, Ozma hurried after me with a flustered face.
“Caldlasth, it’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t say anything.”
I looked at her intently.
She certainly wasn’t lying.
Besides, this girl is so stubbornly upright that once she decides to keep something secret, she sticks to it.
But the problem was that there weren’t many people who knew this fact.
If it wasn’t Barnett, then perhaps Gabriel, or…
“I informed His Majesty.”
It was Camilla, whom I hadn’t seen in nearly three months, who emerged and spoke.
I blinked in surprise.
“Camilla? Why you?”
Camilla placed her hand on her chest and quietly replied,
“One of my original duties was to report everything you did and said while attending closely to you.”
“What?”
I felt a slight chill run down the back of my neck because I hadn’t sensed any of this from her behavior.
I calmly asked, “Why are you telling me this now?”
Camilla closed her eyes slightly and answered,
“Because there is no longer a need to monitor you.”
“No longer a need to monitor me?”
“Yes. The Demon King trusted that you had written the Gears Scroll, but even then, he didn’t fully trust you. He believed that a Gears Scroll was inherently flawed and suspected you might surrender falsely and plot something behind the scenes. That’s why he ordered me to monitor every move you made as your attendant.”
“And when it became clear that my betrayal of humanity was genuine, there was no longer a need to watch me?”
“Yes, exactly. The suspicion of false betrayal was cleared when we captured the Hamburg fortress.”
Listening to her explanation, I reflected on the story.
Certainly, from the Demon King’s perspective, it wouldn’t have been easy to trust a traitor outright.
So he carefully observed me through Camilla for a while.
Now knowing the truth, it was uncomfortable, but at least she was straightforward with me, which was somewhat relieving.
The fact that he trusted me since the capture of the Hamburg fortress was likely true as well.
Had he doubted me, he wouldn’t have entrusted me with guarding Ozma, who is his kin.
“So you’re telling me because you’ve decided it doesn’t need to be hidden anymore?”
“Yes. The Demon King believed that the party involved, namely yourself, should know the truth to avoid future issues.”
Geez, what a straightforward guy.
Still, it wasn’t wrong.
I smiled wryly and told her,
“Alright, I forgive you for deceiving me. We’re in the same boat anyway.”
“…Thank you.”
As I watched Camilla bow and turn to leave, something came to mind.
“Camilla, do you know any Succubi with pink hair?”
Camilla froze mid-step.
“Did she have large br*asts?”
“Almost watermelon-sized.”
After hesitating for a moment, Camilla replied,
“Most likely, it’s my aunt.”
“Aunt?”
“Yes. My mother’s younger sister, and the Queen of the Succubi, Grimori. There’s a high probability it’s her.”
“Why would someone like her tell you to stay away?”
“…Because I am a disgrace to our race.”
“Disgrace to your race?”
Camilla nodded sadly at my question.
“Yes. In truth, I am a Half-Succubus born from a human and a Succubus.”
“Camilla was a Half-Succubus? Never would have guessed.”
Honestly speaking, the revelation that my information had leaked was less shocking than what followed.
To think someone with such an overflowing aura of sensuality was actually half-human?
Upon hearing my story, Dorothea, who was stark n*ked, remarked incredulously,
“Well, humans and demons sometimes hook up. It’s not like being half makes it unusual.”
“That’s true. If the chemistry is right, like you and me, it can happen.”
“But it’s not entirely incomprehensible. Demons tend to emphasize pure bloodlines the higher their status. If the sister of the Succubus Queen was one of the most noble-blooded Succubi, then having a child with a human would indeed be considered a disgrace to the family.”
n*ked Barnett embraced my right arm as she explained.
“For reference, this won’t happen with me, so don’t worry. Dullahan are born from the souls of noble knights, so there’s no concept of lineage for us.”
Half-human and half-Dullahan? Is that even possible?
While they might be classified as fairies, I couldn’t imagine what the baby would look like.
“You! Stop trying to sell yourself so smoothly! Zashya!”
Dorothea shouted belatedly and hugged my left arm, causing Barnett to chuckle teasingly.
“Anyway, since the next person is chosen by him, helping him decide might make things easier, right?”
I glanced between the two women bickering over the next turn and looked up at the ceiling with satisfaction.
‘This dissolute life isn’t bad.’
It was one of the biggest reasons I had completely switched sides to the Demon King’s Army.
