The absolute lowest level of the dwarven palace, deep, deep underground.

A classy, stone hall that served as the royal dining room.

Currently, only one member of the royal family was present, accompanied by—

At the head of the table, where normally the king would sit, sat a tall man with pointy ears, a strange black-and-white military uniform, a mask that revealed only his mouth, a pair of shadowy wings and a pitch-black crown.

On his shoulder, a hand-sized girl with butterfly wings.

Next to him, a purple-haired catgirl in some outlandish purple uniform, purring up a storm, repeating some manner of nickname for the man over and over and generally being rather cuddly and clingy.

Half a pace behind stood a pair of beast-children, also in uniform—uniforms more reminiscent of the man’s than the girl’s.

And then, near the man also sat a dragon in human form, a witch in a lab coat, a purple devil in scarcely any clothes at all and a humanoid slime.

Fortunately, the absurd monsters which seemed to have been the dragon’s subordinates were not in the room.

Finally, at the foot end of the table—in other words, the place for a guest of honour—sat the dwarven king with his beautiful white hair like Spirit Steel, a twitching grimace on his face.

There was only one thought in his head.

How did this happen?

How did it come to this?

***

Even the Citadel of Stars, Folis, had its dark areas.

Abandoned buildings and the like were the perfect spot for criminals to gather, but even better was hiding in plain sight.

To put it simply, this was underneath a noble’s mansion.

Generations ago, one of his ancestors had decided to… cooperate with a few ‘unsavoury’ individuals. With that kind of deal left to fester for more than three centuries, the house had now been thoroughly incorporated into the underworld.

And thus, the hollowed-out space underneath, large and stone and dark and moody, was the perfect meeting place for that underworld’s higher-ups.

This was not one organisation—no, to put it more accurately, these were several organisations working together.

Of course, given everyone involved was a criminal, the ‘working together’ part was almost exclusively because of mutually beneficial deals. A group of drug dealers could not expect to get a slave for drug production from a group of slave traders without giving up a cut of the profits.

To represent this… ‘equality’, of sorts, the leaders of the various organisations normally sat around a circular table. Of course, it was a large table and there was much space between the chairs, so as to keep everyone’s faces hidden.

And yet, that space, that dark space that was supposed to be an anonymous meet-up for criminals, where the only known face was supposed to be Count Lucent’s—

Was currently lit up even brighter than as though it were lit by daylight.

And even so, no one’s faces could be seen.

For everyone in the room, save the count himself and a little girl by his side, was wearing a mask.

A mask that covered the entire face, decorated with some manner of religious symbol Count Lucent did not recognise.

In addition, some kind of suspicious set of robes that hid practically their entire bodies.

The little girl, for her part, dressed in absurdly garish black-and-white clothing and with skin as pale as though she were a vampire, wore naught but a smirk on her face.

“Now then,” the little girl announced, her small voice booming throughout the whole room, “ ‘tis time t’ say your pray’rs.”

At her prompting, the people in the room responded as one.

“May the Lord grant us his blessings!”

“May the Lord lead us to the promised land!”

“May the Lord bestow glory upon us!”

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

“All hail the rightful ruler of this world, the Demon King!”

The little girl appeared satisfied, while the count could barely resist the urge to bury his face in his palm.

My family’s carefully cultivated criminal organisations have…

By just this one girl’s meddling, they’ve turned into a cult…

How did this happen?

How did it come to this?

***

In order to answer their questions, we shall have to turn back the clock, to a few weeks before…

***

As I found myself doing more and more often, I was in my private quarters, signing documents.

The changes between “Overlord” and “Prince of Darkness” were much the same as the changes between “Demon Lord” and “Overlord” had been.

That is, more paperwork, and more insistent service from the maids.

In particular, they wanted to make up for their blunder of not realising there were traitors in their midst. On that front, it seemed several of the maids had seen others floating around they had never seen before, but that was a common thing—with this many maids, it would be stranger if they all knew each other.

However, the important part here was that there were maids during the ball that none of the others had ever seen before. Just like had happened to me, it seemed those maids had also given the others chills, which only pointed more towards the person I was already suspecting.

And when it turned out that those maids, who had never been seen before, carried absurd wicked grins and gave people chills just by being nearby, had all but disappeared, leaving not a trace of their existence, that practically confirmed my theory.

“Philia… You have got guts, I will give you that…”

Not only did she attempt to poison the demon king, if it had not been for what happened in Ethalia, she likely would have succeeded, too.

I was getting weirdly fired up for someone who was just signing documents, but I had no time to think about anything like that.

As usual, Alpine lay by my feet and Entropy sat at my side. Also as usual, she was watching me sign documents with the greatest of interest.

The person who would perhaps be most expected to be near me—that is, Nyx, the darkness spirit who had apparently crowned me ‘Oberon’ or whatever, had been busying herself exploring our castle for quite some time, now. Given the castle’s nature, it would not surprise me if she was capable of enjoying it forever.

In the midst of my considerations about traitorous skeletons, boring work and amused spirits, there was a knock on the door. I put down my quill.

“Come in.”

The one who opened the door with a creak and peeked inside was Nexu.

“Um, are you busy?” he asked, his dead eyes flitting between Entropy, who was of course sitting right beside me, and I.

“No, I am just signing documents. Who is it?”

“Miss Charlotte’s here.”

Indeed, the children had now properly entered their employ as my bodyguards, and thus they stood guard at the entrance to my quarters. It was likely that Asami was still at the external door, keeping Charlotte company.

As an aside, I had, in the end, decided to get my quarters ghost-proofed. Of course, I could turn it on and off at will.

“Ah. Well, I did call for her, after all. That said, it has only been ten minutes… Let her in.”

“Okay.”

He left, and soon was replaced by Charlotte.

“ ‘Tis good t’ see thee, Your Highness.”

“Likewise. Is that a letter?”

“Yea. A maids’rvant was carrying it t’ thee, so I thought t’ spare her the work.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I am sure she appreciates it.”

With a nod, Charlotte placed the tray with envelope and letter opener on my desk.

“Well, putting that aside for a moment, Charlotte… How goes your work?”

“Didst thou call me just t’ check on my work? My weekly r’ports should give thee a clear picture…”

“Well, yes, but what I want to know is if you could be missed for several weeks to a month.”

“Oh? Well, it should be fine… Most of the d’ssenters have been tak’n care of, such as the Anti-Demon King Movem’nt, the Freed’m Fund and the S’ciety o’ D’mocr’cy, ‘nd our f’nances are doing well…”

Despite their names, given demons’ general dispositions, it was likely that these groups were just as autocratic as my government was. But—

There are so many anti-me groups? I…

“... Thank you for all your hard work, Charlotte.”

“I-I am und’serving of thy kind words, Your Highness! ‘Tis simply my duty, as thy vass’l…!”

In any case. As her words suggested, she was not just the head of the nation’s finances. Her department also headed what could be considered the darker side of that coin—groups that could cost us large amounts of money were swiftly dealt with, though I had never asked how many executions she performed per month or anything, and they were also in charge of… “acquiring” funding from ruins and the like.

“Well, if you can be missed for a while, then I have a task for you.”

“A-a new mission? Glady, Your Highness.”

Before I had even had the chance to explain what I wanted her to do, she was already curtsying and accepting my commands. I appreciated that, sure, but it was a little…

“Well, just have a seat for now.”

At my words, she sat down on the sofa.

“To put it simply, Charlotte, this mission is one of infiltration.”

“Inf’ltration?”

“Indeed. And your target is none other than the Citadel of Stars.”

“Th-the en’my’s—?!”

With a wicked grin, I nodded my head.

“As for your goal. It is, quite simply, to create a cult.”

“A…”

“You heard correctly. I said ‘cult’. I wonder if it is easier to understand if I say you are to create a group of ‘demon king worshippers’?”

“N-nay, I und’rstood thy intentions…”

“Ah, do you think it is too hard? Well, I do not want to push you into doing something unreasonable… You are one of my precious five Demon Generals, after all…”

“Nay, nay, not at all! ‘Tis not… ‘Tis not imposs’ble. Nay, ‘tis v’ry doable. But the time…”

“Ah. You do not believe it will fit within the time I have allotted you. Well, that is a reasonable point of view, but I do not believe I have ordered you to create a new organisation from scratch. Just take one over. Perhaps take over multiple and merge them.”

“The und’rground w’rld…”

“Exactly. Even a place like the Holy Astal Kingdom should have something like a criminal organisation or two. A kidnapping ring, a thieves’ guild, a group of drug smugglers… Something like that.”

“Well, ‘tis a c’rtain thing that the humans p’sess many crim’nal groups. That would make it easier, but… art thou sure, Your Highness? T’ be w’rshipped by the lowest of the low…”

“I intend to be worshipped by everyone, in the end. Which means the important part is not who is first, but that there is a precedent at all.”

“As always, thy mach’nations are pr’found…!”

… No, in the first place, I am just guessing that this will work, you know?

“In any case. As for the budget and personnel… However much you like, and whoever you like. It is fine to take your entire department, and it is fine to go alone. However you see fit. Just make sure to prepare as grand a stage as you can for my eventual advent.”

With a truly devoted expression, she rose from her seat and, unusually for her, saluted, her back straight and her feet together. “Yes, Your Highness!”

“Ah, one more thing.”

“Yea?”

“Make sure that any subordinates you do not take with you are still outside the castle while you are gone. I am anticipating a… visitor, the next time I leave the castle, and it would be dangerous to your undead to remain as-is.”

“Und’rstood.”

I turned my gaze to the letter Charlotte had brought in. She followed my eyes.

“Hmm… Charlotte, stay here while I read this, just in case. The contents of the letter could end up affecting your orders.”

She nodded and sat back down while I pulled the tray towards me and opened the letter.

The moment the letter opener pierced the envelope, my nostrils were assaulted by a strong perfume, mixed with…

… Catnip?

No, wait, why do I even know what catnip smells like at all? It is not a very strong smell, in the first place…

Perhaps my evolutions were improving my sense of smell, as well, but that would still not explain why I knew the smell…

… Perhaps it is a magical drug, designed to make whoever smells it think the smell belongs to catnip? In which case, this letter is no doubt from her…

With a shake of my head, I decided to finally remove the letter from its envelope.

“Let us see, now…”

Heya, Asty!

How’re ya doin’? I’ve been watching you via my magical crystals, but there’re times when I can’t get video like that, so I really wanna catch up sometime!

How’s stuff going with En? Make any progress? Don’t tell me you two are still denying your feelings for each other or anything, are you?

Well, I’m not writing just to catch up, though. Actually, I have a gift for you! Come swing by sometime to pick it up. And then while you’re here, come hang out! It’s been so loooong.

Ah, right, there was something about visiting the dwarves and the mermaids, wasn’t there? When you go to the dwarves, take me along for the ride! My tower’s right on the way anyway. I can tell you where they live, so please?

I hope to see you soon!

(If you don’t come within a month, I’ll send you a bunch more letters, until your entire castle is full of ‘em♥)

With love from your best (and only) friend,

Great Sage Cyci

“So it is from Cy, as I expected…”

I noticed Entropy’s ear twitch at the mention of the cat-eared idiot’s name, so I passed her the letter.

She gave it a quick once-over.

“Why not go? It should be fine, right?”

“Are you telling me to go for tea at Cy’s place without you? I humbly refuse. She will either cling all over me or pester me about why I did not bring you along.”

“Don’t be like that, Astaroth. She probably gets lonely, doesn’t she? Keep her company.”

“Then come with me. She likes you just as much as she likes me.”

“Erm…”

With a hesitant expression, Charlotte raised her voice.

“Speak, Charlotte.”

“M-may I ask as t’ the ident’ty o’ this ‘Cy’, or would that be…”

“No, no, it is fine. She is… Well, I suppose her own evaluation is not terribly off. Indeed, she is what I might call a ‘friend’.”