The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 18

“Guh.. Kill me!”

Cassandra, blushing slightly before me, uttered a line that sounded all too familiar.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but feel an oddly peculiar sensation.

She seemed to think she was hiding it, but from my perspective, it was impossible not to recognize the subtle allure… perhaps a lurking eeriness?

In any case, it was clear she had something lewd on her mind, and I couldn’t suppress a click of my tongue internally.

‘Seriously… what is this, some kind of ero doujin? Is this how most people think in the world of these NTR games?’

Of course, when I considered it a bit more coldly, I realized her reaction couldn’t simply be attributed to being overwhelmed by lewd thoughts…

In truth, it was quite common to hear tales of demon races violating humans in this world. This had fostered strong animosity towards demons among various races, including humans.

However,

Having lived together with demons for the past few weeks and having understood from various hints in the original story, I knew very well that ‘such things don’t happen.’

The demon king and her loyal subordinates placed great value on honor and pride, and the discipline within the Demon King’s army was quite strict, meaning atrocities like that were unlikely to occur.

To begin with, the aesthetic preferences of lower demons like goblins and orcs were typically for rugged, muscular females resembling themselves. A beautiful human like Cassandra would be considered plain by their standards.

Still, the reason such baseless rumors perpetuated…

I personally figured it was likely a ploy by so-called dignitaries seeking to incite animosity towards demons as a justification for war.

‘They’ve been pulling this stunt for years to deflect internal dissatisfaction, so naturally, they’d want to paint demons with a malicious image…’

So, as I recognized once more how the image of demons was in shambles, seeing Cassandra blushing and talking about “Guh, kill me,” my thoughts began to circle back to how I should deal with her.

Cassandra had no enmity against the Hero Party or Glen… to be honest, she could be seen as having a slight affinity because of the brief moment she helped the Hero Party in the original story.

But strategically speaking, considering the elimination of a major force from the Human Empire, killing her or taking her as a prisoner might indeed be the best course of action.

Yet…

‘No, wait a minute… when I think about it, that might not be the case.’

Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind.

In relation to this, a small smile began to form on my lips automatically.

*

Cassandra requested the demon king to bestow upon her a noble death.

Although there was no certainty that this request would be accepted, and given the circumstances, it might instead ignite the demon king’s sordid desires.

Nonetheless, in this moment, Cassandra believed…

No, she wanted to believe.

That the being known as the demon king was, as tales suggested, a figure possessing the nobility of a warrior.

Thus, with desperation, Cassandra begged the demon king for a mercy named death.

But…

“…”

“…”

For some reason, the demon king, with her head bowed, showed no immediate reaction no matter how long she waited.

In light of this fact, Cassandra began to harbor a deep sense of confusion…

Soon, she felt a profound question bubbling up along with an intensifying fear. And above all, an unbearable curiosity began to take hold as she slowly lifted her head.

“Uh?”

At that moment, a short exclamation jumped from her lips.

The sight before her was that of the demon king, who was leisurely turning away, carrying the beastman warrior slung over her shoulder, as if Cassandra herself didn’t even register in her mind.

In this incomprehensible situation, Cassandra felt a surge of deep confusion and shouted at the departing demon king.

“W-why? Why are you letting me live while taking him away?”

“…”

The demon king slowly turned to look at her.

Right after that…

The demon king replied to Cassandra in a voice barely audible to her ear.

“Because you’re not an enemy.”

“W-what did you say?”

In an instant, the demon king uttered something that Cassandra couldn’t comprehend.

However, before she could ask anything further, the demon king vanished from her sight along with the beastman warrior.

“W-wait! What do you mean by that… Guh…”

Cassandra desperately called out to the vanished demon king but was met only with silence.

Thus, the demon king, having attacked Rob, left Cassandra behind in a haze of confusion.

The soldiers who witnessed this were seized by a sense of helplessness and profound shock, left gaping as they watched the scene unfold.

*

In mere seconds, the demon king vanished, leaving behind emotions of shock, despair, and resignation… ultimately culminating in a deep sense of confusion.

Regarding this, Cassandra could only feel a heavy confusion that made her forget her relief at being alive.

‘Not an enemy…? Does that mean I’m not even worthy of being seen as one? No… that can’t be right… Then why would the demon king take the slave of the Hero Party, who possesses a strength equivalent to mine…?’

Somewhere along the line, the demon king had slipped the ring from Cassandra’s hand.

With this, she readily speculated that the demon king had taken the beastman prisoner either for strengthening her forces or for some other motive.

But then, what could be the reason for not taking her?

In relation to this, Cassandra began to contemplate her own combat power, questioning if perhaps the demon king’s preferences inclined towards beastmen, implying she found human warriors like herself rather unremarkable.

While she was buried in such muddled thoughts of confusion without arriving at any solid conclusion, it suddenly struck her.

‘…No… wait a minute… could it be…’

A fleeting realization passed through Cassandra’s mind.

With that, she set aside all her previous thoughts and began to conclude this as the answer closest to the truth.

‘Yeah… that’s probably it… After all, the other party is the demon king. A ruler governing a whole nation, also someone likely possessing a remarkable network of information… If that’s the case, she might actually know about our family…’

As she pondered this, a chill crept over her.

Following that moment, on Cassandra’s face, instead of the anxiety and confusion that had lingered, a shadow of black desire began to bloom into a smile.

*

The devastating scene of destruction left by the fire demon.

As they witnessed it, the soldiers and generals guarding Port Town Rob fell to their knees in shock.

What lay before their eyes was the supplies turning to ashes, reduced to mere debris.

The soldiers, completely distracted by the attack of the demon king and her aides,

Had utterly failed to protect what could be considered the most crucial supplies.

And now, the result was an enormous loss, with over 80% of the military supplies in Rob disappearing into thin air.

Though they struggled to douse the lingering embers with water, the situation regarding the supplies had reached an irrecoverable state.

Countless soldiers attacking the Demon Kingdom were now devoid of the food they needed and the weapons they should wield, turning to black smoke.

Consequently, the generals and soldiers present became engulfed in deep despair…

At that moment, Cassandra, upon receiving this report, wore a somber expression.

“..Are the damages that severe?”

“Yes… We have only enough food left for our immediate needs, and we’ve reached a point where we can’t salvage any supplies.”

“What should we do? If the homeland finds out about this…”

“…Hah… I’ll do whatever I can about this. You all focus on disaster recovery immediately.”

With a heavy sigh, Cassandra responded with a sense of responsibility.

Her subordinates nodded wearily and left her room.

And…

As she watched them leave, a smile gradually began to form on Cassandra’s lips.

‘They say the dead don’t speak… Now that Glen is out of the picture thanks to the demon king, I just have to make use of this…’

*

“Ugh…”

A heavy headache that felt like it might burst.

In that haze, the beastman warrior Terra slowly began to regain her muddled consciousness.

‘What… is this?.. What on earth…’

Amidst the shallow darkness, Terra struggled to comprehend her situation.

But then..

“Ah, finally awake.”

“!”

In the next moment, an unexpectedly familiar voice rang out.

Terra’s face momentarily turned to one of shock…

And right after that, the figure of the speaker came into her view.

“Y-you… Hero?”