Chapter 43

*knock knock*

The officer politely knocked on the double doors and announced loudly.

"The one your eminence has requested has arrived."

He briefly waited, before a soothing voice was heard from behind the door; declaring that the officer was free to go. As soon as the words were heard and processed by the officer, he promptly fled the scene.

Hm. Funny guy; why was he so apprehensive the whole time? Bothered by something? Well, whatever.

Soon, the doors slowly swung open; simultaneously, and in perfect sync―they were magical, it seemed, and were built with automation in mind―as the inner contents of the room behind it were revealed.

"Greetings. My name is Leila. Though the circumstances are chaotic, I do sincerely hope that any potentially burned bridges can be rebuilt stronger than before, and that you find yourself comfortable."

Eloquent words flowed flawlessly from the mouth of a beautiful woman sitting on the opposite end of the room. Of course, It was the Demon Queen of Asphal, Leila Illujhin.

She greatly resembles Rena. Or, well, I should say that Rena resembles her. Aside from the black hair and eyes, the face is almost exactly the same. Scarily so, in fact. The horns, too. Some of the Demons I had met before had smaller, askew, or broken horns, but those of the "royalty" seem to be of perfection. I see now, just where the three siblings acquired their looks.

Jae stepped into the room that contained no other presence―an indication that it was the truth that Leila intended this to be a peaceful, fruitful discussion. He walked in, and the doors shut behind him automatically. As soon as they closed, he once again checked for any unseen, hidden presences. He confirmed the only two people in the room were him and the Queen.

Only then did he open his mouth for the first time.

"...I must say, I'm rather disappointed that I was held back a few hours due to a mere framing scandal. I would expect better treatment from the ones in a hot seat of trouble and in dire need of assistance, but it's water under the bridge I suppose, and now really isn't the time to complain anyway. I'm Jae."

Due to his elevated sense of pride, which was something exceptionally difficult to suppress with「Steadfast Mind」, Jae ended up rather annoyed at the fact he was made to wait in a cell for hours all because of a misunderstanding.

Leila simply smiled towards Jae, "I can assure you that we will do all we can to compensate for the mess. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Jae, who I understand is my precious daughter's saviour?"

"Likewise, and yes, that would be true. On more than one occasion, actually."

"Is that so? Then, firstly, I give you my deepest gratitude."

She slightly bowed her head as a show of thanks, before lifting it again and gesturing towards the two luxurious sofas in the middle of the room; they were separated only by a clean, crystalline coffee table. Maybe they had just been moved there? It all showed no signs of prior usage.

"Why don't you take a seat?", she suggested.

Jae nodded and sat down without a word. He had a lot to say, but now was not the time. Leila raised from where she previously sat―a long and sturdy wooden desk which seems to have just recently been cleared of all its items, as it was completely barren―and gracefully walked over to the sofa opposite of Jae.

"Would you like a drink, or perhaps something to eat?", she asked. Normally, it wouldn't at all be strange for someone to say yes in this situation, as Jae had just been taken from a cell directly to this room, with no time for anything else like food, but he declined.

"No thanks, I'm alright."

The ever-growing, gnawing pain of his hunger, in addition to his hunger itself, was multiplied numerous times by the power of「Gluttony」, but Jae could afford to put this off for now. He wanted to get right into the lucrative part of the discussion as soon as possible, as he thought the less dawdling, the better.

"Very well then. I suppose you wish to not waste unnecessary time, and neither do I, so I will be direct with you."

Leila's black eyes―a distinctive feature of the Demon race―seemed to shine powerfully as she looked at Jae.

"I would like to request your assistance in the rebellion that is occurring in my city."

"Hmm.", Jae groaned and leaned back in his seat. It almost seemed as if he was disappointed somehow, as a slight frown appeared on his face.

Leila asked, confused, "What might be wrong?", But then, she seemed to realise something from Jae's overly laid-back attitude. He spoke.

"Well, you see, I was already planning on sorting that out once I got here. In fact, I could do it by today if I had the authority."

It was currently only about noon, so Jae was claiming that he could resolve the entire rebellion in under twelve hours. Leila was speechless for a moment but didn't let her bewilderment show.

"Today, you say? My... Then, may I ask just how you would accomplish the placation of approximately hundreds of thousands of citizens?"

"Well, before I get to that, there is something I need to know: Why is there a rebellion in the first place? I'm sure that most people would agree when I say that a rebellion usually only occurs when the people are dissatisfied with their leader or government."

It was indeed a good question, and one that Jae had been deathly curious about the answer to for a long time now.

In response, Leila's expression did not falter in the slightest. Though Jae made the inclination that she was a bad ruler, she instead spoke with confidence.

"There are three major things I have ordered since becoming Queen: Firstly, was to continue the conquer of the Land of Beasts, which the plans for have not been cancelled."

"Secondly, I advocated for the possibility of a peaceful future of coexistence with the Human race; after which, Rena, my youngest child, was kidnapped."

"And Thirdly, I funded towards the research of the Cursed Zone. This has since been cancelled due to being a fruitless endeavour."

Jae thought while listening silently to the Queen's candid words.

Land of Beasts? I can ask about that later. But, peace with humans...? Somehow, I don't see that happening any time soon. The Cursed Zone, I remember Jiyeru telling me all about. I helped him a little as well, but I don't think anything came of it, and the danger was quite high for ordinary people, or even just people who can't shield themselves from miasma like me, so it's understandable that it was cancelled.

Yet, there was still one thing that didn't make sense to Jae. Something he had wondered ever since he first found out about the rebellion. And that was...

"So then, how did Rena get kidnapped?"

Leila understood clearly what he meant, though the essence of his question was hidden. She spoke confidently and truthfully, however, for the first time, she also spoke with hesitation.

The heart-wrenching pain of regret was plastered all over Leila's [Condition], so Jae knew she wasn't faking it.

Condition : [Calm], [Regret], [Heavy Regret], [Minor Sorrow]

Despite this, a flame had lit within Jae. The fuse of his anger was running short.

"I... I allowed it to happen."

Jae hissed, "You what?"

The Queen was very clearly pained, both emotionally and mentally, but she managed to confess to Jae what she had never said to anyone else.

Meanwhile, he was doing all he could to prevent the activation of「Wrath」

"...Truthfully, it was a bait; a scheme to lure out the mastermind behind the rebellion, as I had already noticed by that point what was going on."

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"You could have stopped it?", he asked with plain disgust present on his face. Leila paused for a moment.

"......I could have. I could have prevented both the rebellion and the kidnapping. Unfortunately, I was careless; blinded by what I thought was a simple issue to solve. I waited for the opportunity to pluck out the weed by its root, believing that the child would not come in harm's way during the process. I even made plenty of preparations for her safety, for insurance."

"But that chance never came, and the "safety" was not there.", Jae added. Leila meekly nodded, to which Jae grit his teeth and audibly clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Tch! Insurance my ass. And to think that Rena loved you so dearly. You would do such a thing to your own daughter... Even if it wasn't intentional, to call you a good mother would be a stretch."

"..."

"Quite frankly, I am fucking disgusted with you. Do you even know what she went through? No, right?"

Every word that exited his mouth was drenched with unwarranted hostility.

The accusations and insulting remarks from Jae could be considered highly hypocritical, as it was him who was too careless for leaving Rena, a Demon, alone in a village full of humans when he was well aware at the time that discrimination was a huge cause for concern.

It was a big mistake on his part to blame solely Leila for Rena's tragedies, but unfortunately, he was too blinded by his unjust blame. There was no person here that could remind him of this, as the Sin skills simply observed the confrontation, amused and silenced.

Eventually, Jae sighed.

"Well, not that it matters anymore. She's back, safe and sound, right? I'll drop it. Anyway, I only hope that you take better care in the future so that it doesn't happen again. To that, I will give as much assistance as is necessary."

He took a deep breath and changed the subject. Leila seemed to have already recovered from her sad state and only watched him with calm eyes.

"Ah, I heard that there would be a "meeting" here soon? If you don't mind me asking, what's that about?"

"Hm. Truthfully, it is about the first thing I ordered."

They conversed as if nothing ever happened.

"And that's... "Conquering the Land of Beasts", you said, correct?"

"Indeed.", Leila nodded, "To conquer the Land of Beasts has been a long-time ambition of my people, as we Demons have been striving towards the goal for hundreds of years. The order has been passed down to future rulers, almost like a tradition. I imagine it will not cease to do so until the conquer is successfully completed."

Jae was surprised to hear this.

"Hundreds? And how much progress have you made?"

"To be honest, it is hard to say, as progress goes back and forth... Still, I would argue that we have attained control of approximately 25% of the total land."

He held a hand to his chin and muttered with narrowed eyes, "Twenty-five per cent... After hundreds of years; just how strong are these beasts?"

There can't be anything like dragons, right? No, that would be impossible.

"It is almost impossible to calculate an average, as the overall strength is so high, but the weakest recorded hostile creature to have been encountered on that land that was ranked as C+."

C+... How strong is that, though? I have no idea. Well, for the weakest, it can't be that tough.

"What was the strongest?"

It was a question that anyone would want to naturally ask. Unfortunately, Jae would have to wait for the answer.

"There are all kinds of records about the Land of Beasts in the library. By all means, you are very welcome to help yourself to any materials you find yourself curious about. I will arrange it so that your authority in this place is known. Additionally, I would be endlessly grateful if you lend your strength to our endeavours."

"Well...... I'll think about it."

"It is much appreciated. For reference, the land that we have gained from the conquest makes up roughly 50% of the current Asphal."

"That land is the 25% you have conquered?"

"Correct."

......It's big, huh. 25% of the Land of Beasts is 50% of Asphal. So it's four times bigger? Wonder what kind of monsters are there. Now that I think about it, it might actually be quite worth going there. I could probably get a lot of skills, and there might even be a Dungeon. I wouldn't be surprised if there was one, hearing how vast it is.

"May I see a map?"

"Of course, I will arrange one for you in a few hours."

"Alright. By the way, how long have you ruled?"

"This year's anniversary will be the 25th."

25 years... It's longer than I thought.

Leila was only 40 years old, despite her youthful appearance. That means she became the Queen at only 15.

Is that why she was able to be so cold in the face of her daughter's kidnapping?

Of course, Jae only knew this fact because he had been looking at her Soul State.

Soul State - Demon

Name : Leila Illujhin Soul Level : 122 / 300

Title : Ruler of Demons

Age : 40 Years Health : 215

Magic Energy : 158,600 Power : 4,983

Magical Ability : 8,295

Defence : 4,830

Magical Defence : 2,897

Resistances : 5,196

Speed : 5,432 Condition : [Calm], [Minor Relief]

She's strong.

There wasn't much to say, really, except that Leila's Magical Ability was way higher than anything Jae has ever seen before, and her physical abilities are higher than he expected for a mage-type character.

Of course, he already expected to see the [Ruler of Demons] Title. Jae thought it'd be stranger if she didn't have it, in fact.

Well, Rena did say she was the strongest. It's not that unbelievable for a magic-centred race to be this skilled in magic. Though, to reach this point all the whilst leading an entire country--no, an entire race of people; that's some absurd multi-tasking...

Suddenly, he began to smirk when a thought occurred to him. He quickly covered it up with his hand.

Is this where Rena's insane growth rate comes from? After all, I can't imagine there would be much time to reach a level like that as a Queen, right? Well, it's not like Bailey is behind, either. To be honest, his growth is also a lot better than I originally expected...

For some reason, he was proud. In any case, although Jae was still curious about many things, he decided to finally get to the main topic.

"So? After twenty-five whole years, why are the people dissatisfied with you all of a sudden? Is it about wanting coexistence with humans?"

She nodded, "Correct. I understood even before the announcement that I would cause a disturbance within some, due to the nature and magnitude of it, however, I seemed to have underestimated just how deep-rooted the hatred towards the humans really was."

"If you knew that people wouldn't like it, then why..."

"Nevertheless, I decided to stand by my goal of coexistence, as I believe it will be of great benefit to us Demons in the long term. An unending war doesn't exist in any kind of world. Even when a war ends, there is no "winning side". I wish not for my people to live their lives loathing a large portion of the world's population, simply for the fact that their blood differs in origin."

"..."

"Also, I believe that it is inevitable for a great leader to make great changes.", she added.

Jae already shut his mouth, just listening to what Leila had to say as she continued.

"Despite the vast amount of people that seem to disagree with me, below the surface I know that isn't really the case."

Her ideals are certainly...

"Meaning?", he asked after a short thought.

The Queen responded with one word.

"--Flocking."

Jae almost immediately realised what she meant, but she went on to explain further anyway.

"Though it may seem rather ill-mannered for a ruler to say this about her people, I believe that my citizens are not dissimilar to sheep in a way. They follow the herd with but a slight nudge, even if that is not what they truly believe in. If it means they fit in with that herd, it is even more so."

...'Mob Mentality'. It's just like humans, Jae thought.

"I see... So, you think that there's really only just a few people that are against you? And that those people―I assume they are extremists―are the ones manipulating the thoughts of the populace? In reality, it is not hundreds of thousands of people you need to appease, as they are only mindless followers."

"Although you put it in a rather harsh way... Correct. Only, I am currently having difficulty identifying exactly who those few are, as they are quite meticulous in their ways. You claimed earlier that you could solve this by the end of today. And I ask you, how will you go about that? There may also be a need to soothe the 'sheep-like' population, depending on the method used, mind you."

To this, Jae smirked.

"Well, isn't the solution simple? If the sheep are being driven in one direction by a predator, then all you need to do is remove the predator. Then, the sheep will calm down and continue to eat grass as normal, right?"

"...In theory, I suppose it could have a significant chance of success. However, the main issue still stands: identifying and locating the primary perpetrators."

Jae lightly waved his hand as if to disregard what Leila said.

"Oh, that's easy. I know who the head is already."

Leila appeared both confused and impressed, "My... And why would that be?"

"I already found one of the guys responsible before coming here. He told me pretty much everything in hopes of mercy."

"Mmm. And so?"

"I think... the name was 'Des', or something?"

Her cool, composed demeanour was shattered the moment Jae said the name.

Leila, as intelligent as she was, had always known that the one responsible for all of her recent hardships and stress in the past couple of years was someone close, as there would otherwise be no way for such a radical idea like a rebellion, or revolution, to appear in the heads of the people simply because she advocated for peace with humans.

The only way something like that could spread so fast and without her finding the cause was if it was someone in a high position in the lead. Be that as it may, never in a thousand years would she imagine that it would be her closest aide, Des, of all people, who was the perpetrator.

As such, the Queen was, understandably, quite shaken by this news.

"...I... I can't... I can't believe..."

It was the man who had been widely renowned as the "Right-Hand of the Demon King" for over two hundred years. How could Leila believe such a man was the cause behind an attempted lèse-majesté?

Ordinarily, such an absurd accusation would be easily brushed off, and immediately disregarded. After all, Jae was a person she had never met before today, and his alleged claims had absolutely no sense or standing within the Demon race's sphere of common sense.

"I can't believe this, but... I cannot imagine you would lie about this, either..."

And yet, she trusted in Jae's claim and believed him. Even with zero physical evidence, she knew that what the man in front of her told her was the truth. And it was because of who she knew the man as that she could think so.

Leila quietly muttered, "...Rena's Father."

Jae flinched at the sudden change in subject. Well, that wasn't exactly it... He quickly realised, though, that it was because of Jiyeru's reports, that she said what she did.

Oh, that's right! Rena still hasn't gained her old memories back, so there's no way she could've told them something.

Then, Leila began to speak with regained confidence and plenty of vigour.

"Jae Kang.", she said.

...But how do they know my name? Jiyeru was the one who told them everything, right? I never told him my name.

―He couldn't be more wrong.

"Since the child believes it is so, I wish to make it the truth."

"What? What are you saying?"

Leila stuck her hand out―as if to ask for a handshake―and spoke in a resolute tone of voice, all the whilst looking him in the eyes.

"Take my hand in marriage, Jae Kang. I will not accept a refusal from you."

"......."

Jae was blown away by the Queen's abrupt proposal.