Having succeeded in getting far away from the battlefield, I landed in a suitable spot.
"...Phew. Looks like they didn’t notice me, thankfully."
Overwhelmed by relief far greater than my regret at losing my home, I sprawled out right where I had landed.
...What do I even need to do first now...?
There were plenty of things that came to mind: building a home, figuring out which high-ranking demons lived around here, or simply hiding quietly and keeping my head down...
But what I wanted to do most was simply rest like this.
I could always spend time rebuilding my home, and unless they were Arch Demons directly under a Primordial Demon, there were hardly any demons capable of threatening me.
As for hiding... well, if I sensed another powerful presence later, I could hide in a cave or somewhere similar.
So for now, I just wanted to celebrate having survived that crisis and get some rest.
Click...
...Apparently, the demons here had no intention of letting me rest.
...Just one person.
I could sense someone approaching me.
Along with an overwhelming amount of magicules.
What the hell is with my luck today? It’s been terrible from start to finish.
Lamenting inwardly, I drew the Unique-grade sword I had happened to acquire long ago from my waist.
Click, click...
Judging by the footsteps, I could tell that they were not the close-combat type like me.
With magicules this absurdly immense, it was only natural that they would be highly skilled in magic.
...A demon strong in magic. A Greater Demon would be fine, but an Arch Demon...
An Arch Demon on my level bombarding me from range with magic would be quite troublesome to deal with.
Especially Arch Demons that had survived without defeat for hundreds of years or more and earned a title.
...I don’t even want to imagine it, but... what if it’s a great demon that has survived for thousands of years? Could I beat it...?
Even with three Unique Skills, I could not guarantee victory against such great demons.
Which meant I had to fight without caring about methods or means.
That was simply what this place was like.
Thud!
First, I close the distance.
"Hup!"
Circulating my magicules in an instant, I rushed straight at them and swung my sword at their legs to gauge their ability.
...No, I tried to swing it.
"?!"
...My body... won’t move...?
Just before my sword touched my opponent, my body stopped moving, exactly as it had when I had suffered full-body paralysis in my past life.
"...Ngh!"
Perhaps because it reminded me of my past life, the sensation of being unable to move consumed me once again, and I instinctively drew up magicules in an attempt to force my body to move.
But my opponent merely—
"Fufufu, there’s no need to be so wary. I didn’t come here to fight you."
Tap.
Laughing as if I were ridiculous, she took hold of my chin between two fingers.
"...!"
Only then did I realize who the opponent I had tried to fight was.
Long, beautiful pure-white hair reaching down to her waist; ominously gleaming crimson eyes; and beauty incomparable to anyone I had ever seen in my previous life.
One of the Primordial Demons, and the Empress of Demons known as one of Hell’s most dangerous demons alongside [Rouge], she was [Blanc].
She would later receive the name Testarossa, and she was one of the strongest demons—someone I could never defeat.
"...Why... has a Primordial Demon come looking for me...?"
Knowing better than anyone that there was an incomparably absolute gap in power between her and me, I forcibly suppressed my fear.
If her cruelty uncovered my fear, I might instantly be reduced to her toy. That survival instinct was what held my fear down.
An ordinary person’s survival instinct would likely have made their fear spill out even more, but I was a demon. I was far from ordinary.
"Hmm, so you know who I am?"
Perhaps my calm response piqued her interest instead, for she released the magic that had bound me.
Of course, that did not mean I could run away. She could erase me in an instant if she wished.
"...I live in Hell. How could I possibly not know you?"
"Hehe, is that so? Good. It saves us from wasting time for nothing."
"...May I ask why you came looking for me?"
Still holding my chin, she eventually extended an arm so slender and delicate it looked as though it would snap with a touch. Caressing my cheek, she opened her mouth.
The words that came from her lips, wearing such a captivating expression, were—
"Why? It’s simple. I want to make you my subordinate."
—far beyond anything I had imagined.
".........Pardon?"
...What had she just said?
A subordinate? Who? To whom? Me? To a Demon Queen?
"Fufu, you don’t need to be so flustered. Think about it. Where you were staying was quite far from the battlefield, so why did the subordinates of [Viole] and [Jonne] suddenly start fighting there?"
"...Don’t tell me."
"That’s right. I feel a little sorry about it, but I arranged it. But don’t worry. I left my subordinates there after you departed. Those children will guard your residence in your place."
...If everything she said was true, that meant she had known about me for quite some time already.
Which raised a question.
"...Did you really need to go so far for someone like me...?"
She was a queen.
One of the strongest beings in this Hell, and one of its most powerful rulers.
If she wanted to make me her subordinate, all she had needed to do was subdue me by force the moment she first found me.
Yet she had deliberately drawn me out of my home and was persuading me with words rather than force.
Did she really need to go to all this trouble? That question surfaced in my mind.
"Someone like you? Hehe, it seems you underestimate your own worth. You’re a demon who belongs to no ‘color,’ aren’t you?"
Now fiddling with my face using both hands, she continued with an elegant smile, clearly entertained.
"At first, I thought much the same as you do now. I considered taking you by force if necessary. But... fufu, one demon changed my mind. It made me think that perhaps persuading you would be better."
"..."
"But unfortunately, I cannot leave my post for long because of [Viole] and [Jonne]. So I lured in their subordinates and drew you out. I truly want you, you know. You, whose true worth even a Primordial Demon cannot comprehend."
The woman who symbolized cruelty was gradually digging into my heart, pressuring me until I could no longer refuse her.
To the point where I inadvertently thought it might not be such a bad deal.
"...Even if I’m an incomplete demon, an Irregular unlike the others?"
She had maintained her smile the entire time, but at my question, it deepened further still.
"It doesn’t matter. You simply need to become my subordinate. In exchange, if you desire authority, I will give you the position of my right-hand man. If you desire strength, I can personally help you attain it. What do you say?"
...[Answerer]. What she said...
[Yes. There is a high probability that it is all true.]
...
With [Answerer] confirming it as well, I had to make a choice now.
...Well, the answer was practically already decided.
...I have no choice but to accept...
If I rejected her now, there was a very high chance that my second life would be shattered in a single second.
There was a reason she was called one of Hell’s most dangerous demons.
Even in the original story, she had shown no mercy to hostile humans.
"...Understood... Blanc."
In other words, I had no choice.
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