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A blue droplet-shaped slime let out quite a sigh.

She could transform into the form of a young girl, but this form was unsurprisingly the form she could relax in the most.

 

She was the only one awake in the room.

That wasn’t to say she was the only one in the room. Her master and his partner for the night, a young fox girl, embraced one another while they slept.

 

“Pyufu~~ that wore me out, my Demon Lord. You were too energetic. …we got the emotions we wanted, but man was that close. And yet, I’m sure that if you could have, you would have still refused this solution and insisted on finding another.”

 

Ciel was relatively new among the monsters of Avalon, but she knew Procell really well. Actually, because she had absorbed a body part of almost every monster in Avalon, thus inheriting their feelings for Procell along with other things, she might be the one who knew him best.

For that reason, Ciel pushed him into this decision.

 

“But it seems you’re still suffering from the corruption brought by overusing [Awakening] in our fight against one of the top three Demon Lords. I thought Aura-sama has healed it, but it seems it has just calmed down. You’re at least aware of your condition, which is good I guess, but that dark side is quite persistent on surfacing, isn’t it? Something must be done, then. We have none of Aura-sama’s golden apples, plus she and the others aren’t here to do something about that…”

 

A side effect of [Awakening] was that one’s dark side tended to surface uncontrollably. Drinking potions made of golden apples had proven effective in holding it back, but the many potions that Ciel had stockpiled were all used up in their fight against one of the three strongest Demon Lords and still hasn’t been replaced.

 

“…and I’m useless right now. I disgrace the title of being the world’s strongest slime.”

 

Ciel said so while her slime body trembled.

 

“…oh well. I’ll just have to do what I can do. Using Aura-sama’s powers might not be possible now, but the High Elves’ skills should be enough to put us at ease. I promise, I’ll get you to Kuina-oneesama and the others, my Demon Lord. It’s a great challenge, but it’s one I’ll accomplish no matter what.”

 

After that, Ciel proceeded to take out from her [Storage] all sorts of medicinal plants and mixing them together. By then incorporating certain skills and magic spells, she was able to increase the potency of her mixtures.

And so, Avalon’s most considerate slime burned the midnight oil.

 

◇

 

The morning of the next day came, and we were eating our breakfast.

I couldn’t help but notice that Cumin was acting strangely.

 

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes. Last night felt great thanks to your gentleness.”

 

Despite being a bit nervous, Cumin cheerfully replied so.

 

“Ahh, there’s that too, but I’m more asking about today. Today’s the day you’re going to be sacrificed, right? Are you scared?”

“I am, but somehow, knowing that you’re here, I feel like everything’s going to turn out just fine.”

“Yup, Ahri’s not worried either!”

 

Even though we haven’t known each other for long, it would seem the sisters already have faith in me.

Then, I better not disappoint them.

 

Should my negotiation with the other Demon Lord succeed, my authority over the sisters would be recognized. But in case the diplomatic approach failed, there was always the militaristic one.

 

At any rate, today’s breakfast was prepared by Ciel.

 

“A green gruel? It’s so green, it’s unappetizing…”

“It’s medicinal. Yeah, it’s not great appearance-wise, but it’s delicious and good for the body. My Demon Lord, you absolutely have to eat this. I’ll get angry at you if you don’t.”

 

Ciel, in her blue-haired girl form, urged me with a firm voice.

No choice then. I’m not eager about it, but I’ll just go and eat it. …wait, this is delicious!

Aside from its overflowing deliciousness, a warmth began to spread from within my body and made me feel pleasant.

I felt my vitality growing, my body becoming lighter, and whatever stress that was dragging me down being washed away.

 

“It’s delicious!”

“Of course, my Demon Lord. I worked my slime ass off to make this for you, you know. Oh, you guys eat too. If you follow my diet for you, your weakened bodies should recover in one or two days.”

“Wow, it really is delicious. Please teach me the how to make it later.”

“I like it too! Another serving, please!”

“Alright, here. I’ve also put some into these canteens. I’ve made it a bit stronger so that it’s still delicious once it has cooled down. The gruel should also be able to retain its medicinal potency for about three days. You two likely won’t have any decent food if any at all on your way to be delivered to the other Demon Lord, so this should come in handy.”

 

It would seem the gruel was a hit to the fox sisters.

 

But I wonder what brought this sudden strictness on me?

 

Ciel had many things within her [Warehouse]. In fact, her ability to supply even our frontlines was another reason I kept her in my [Storage].

Considering that, she didn’t have to teach the sisters how to forage and prepare certain ingredients, and instead could have just given the sisters the food within her [Warehouse]. Her reasoning for going through the trouble was so that the sisters could carry on when we were gone.

And yet, this green gruel was clearly made with ingredients from her [Warehouse]. She could simply be that concerned for the sisters’ weakened bodies, but her strictness to me gave me the impression there was something else.

 

“Ciel, why did you choose to make this gruel?”

“So that you’ll become healthier, my Demon Lord.”

“Hmm, why? Has there been some kind of change to my physical condition?”

 

Ciel should know about my condition better than myself.

 

“This is kind of like preventing a cold. It’s better to strengthen yourself now than when sickness has already hit you. I say it’s better to not mind this too much.”

 

It didn’t seem like Ciel was willing to saying anything more, so I decided to not force her.

But then, there was a violent pounding on the door.

There was little doubt to me that they were the ones tasked to pick up the sisters.

 

“You two, Ciel and I will be out of sight for a while, but rest assured, we’ll always be nearby.”

“Yes, you have our faith.”

“We’ll be waiting!”

“Well then, if you don’t mind, my Demon Lord.”

 

Ciel then swallowed me whole and changed her body’s color in order to blend with the surroundings.

This was a high-rank mimicry. Even if one was to look at directly at our direction, they most likely won’t notice us.

 

Cumin went to greet their visitors, but before she could open the door, it was kicked open.

 

“Ohh, I’m surprised you didn’t try to run away.”

“…we would never think of doing such a thing, much less actually doing it. Now, please take us away as soon as possible.”

“Impressive. For a stupid girl who could have avoided all these by becoming mine, anyway. By the way, where is that man?”

“Procell-sama and us have already parted ways.”

“All that talk and he runs away? Ha! What a worthless man.”

 

When Ahri, who was standing behind Cumin, stepped forward and tried to say something, Cumin was quick to stop her. In my opinion, this was a good call.

 

They then exited the house and rode in a carriage. Most likely, this carriage would take them most of the way to the other Demon Lord’s place.

Once I had ascertained that they have departed…

 

“Alright, let’s go as well”

“Pyui! I’ll transform now.”

 

Ciel said so and then transformed into a Hippogriff, a creature that had the body of a horse and the wings and head of an eagle.

And so, while Ciel carried me, we followed the carriage the girls were in.

Of course, flying like this was quite conspicuous, so Ciel also employed various stealth-type skills. Even without transforming into anyone she has absorbed a body part of, she could still use their skills, albeit at two ranks weaker.

Useful as always.

 

◇

 

We have been following the sisters for two days now.

 

“My Demon Lord, may I cast haste on the carriage? They’re too slow.”

“I know how you feel, but better not do it.”

 

The golem carriages being used in Avalon were at least three times faster than normal carriages. Being used to that made normal carriages seem as slow as turtles.

 

“But this Demon Lord seems to have a large area of operations.”

“Yeah, yeah. They’ve collected sacrifices in each village the carriage stops at.”

“And all of the sacrifices thus far have been young women. This likely isn’t some coincidence. This Demon Lord’s quite the lecher.”

“…e-exactly”

 

It’s preposterous to gather only women. Just what kind of dungeon do they plan on making here!?

The answer to that soon became apparent.

 

“It looks like that’s the destination.”

“What poor taste…”

 

Such was my honest first impression of it.

 

“That… that’s a dungeon, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, seems like it. I previously thought Demon Lords here follow a different set of rules, but in building dungeons at least, it seems we’re the same. And of the kinds of dungeons, this Demon Lord also chose to make a city. Just like me.”

 

I instinctively knew it was a dungeon.

Moreover, at the entrance of the dungeon was a gate with glittering pink fluorescent lights and even indecent images.

To my surprise, humans were passing through that gate one after the other. Lust was written all over their sloppy faces.

 

And so, while we concealed ourselves, we entered the dungeon along with the carriage that transported the fox sisters.

Upon entry, our surroundings changed. Dungeons were actually in a different plane of existence. So, even if a dungeon seemed to only be the size of a house, it could easily be as expansive as a whole province inside. In other words, a dungeon was a Demon Lord’s own realm.

Furthermore, all emotions generated within a dungeon, belonged to the Demon Lord that made it. Such was the case in my original world, and based on the flow of emotions, it would seem here too.

 

Going a bit further in, I realized what the other Demon Lord was aiming for by building a city.

I don’t think we’re going to get along…

 

Women were being put on display as they were being treated so cruelly and so inhumanely. So much so that they might as well be just toys.

In one stage, a running woman was pushed down by dog-like monster and was then violated. Never mind being disturbed by such a scene, the men watching instead cheered.

In another location, a human male was whipping a girl with wild abandon.

 

It stood to reason that these women were the women collected from the villages as sacrifices. Instead of death, they were subjected to all sorts of torture. That way, emotions could be forced out of them. Meanwhile, the men were here as guests so that their lusts could be eaten.

I understood that it might be impossible to find a more efficient method for squeezing unbelievable amounts of emotions from both men and women, but… but it disgusted me.

 

“Ciel, I want to kill this Demon Lord.”

“Let’s not be rash, my Demon Lord.”

“Of course. If I think we can’t win, I won’t start a fight. However, if I can see a way to victory, then I’ll do it. This method makes me sick.”

 

I wanted to kill the other Demon Lord not for justice, but simply because his method was revolting.

Moreover, I couldn’t let this be Cumin and Ahri’s fate.

…but before I did something, I should still meet with the other Demon Lord.

To that end, should I raise a bit of an uproar?

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