—-----------------------

“So you’re saying that the Demon Lord attaches stigmas to the Sins. I thought that was something only the gods could do.”

Queen shrugs “It’s just a theory, does your kingdom not do basic intelligence? I figured this would have been known after the first Sin broke its stigma.”

“The heroes normally just kill the Sins.”

Queen and Guard turn as the door to the tea hall is opened. A miserable looking girl wanders in. Three maids rushing in behind her.

She approaches the pair and sits next to them. Laying her head completely down on the table. A maid rushes and pours her a glass of tea.

“So, what’s a royal guard doing with a demon?” The girl says not lifting her face from the table.

“She’s with Anon, and I was just grabbing some pertinent details about the structure of the demon lord’s army, princess.”

The princess drags herself up off the table. She sips the tea then smashes the porcelain cup.

“Get the real man’s tea, not this girly shit! I need energy!” The maids wordlessly scramble around as the princess lays her head back down.

“So Anon’s here? That’s good.”

“Good?” Both Guard and Queen asks.

“It’s hush hush but listen. There are only two heroes who do anything around here. One is living his ideal life and will eventually be my husband due to it being the capstone of his naive fantasy.”

Queenies face flashes red thinking about Anon marrying a princess.

“The other is Anon. Now everyone here thinks Anon is a mass murdering, baby eating, psychopath, but I don’t. I’m smarter than all this rabble. Who runs the country? Who will run the country once they take a hero for a wife? You think a teenage hero with no political training will be able to run a kingdom? I know the truth. I know how to use people. Anon only does terrible things once. He doesn’t attack unless attacked. If you inconvenience him it ends with him kicking your shins for six months.”

“He does eat babies.”

“Yeah, he showed me the list.” the princess sips another cup of tea. “Now this is the stuff.” She blows on it once then chugs the whole thing down. A maid instantly replaces it and the cycle continues.

—-----

“I want Subaro’s children.”

“That isn’t possible!”

“Why?”

“You’re both male!”

“How does that stop me from having his children?”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“No world of magic or technology allows a human male to carry the child of another human male!”

“Children don’t weigh that much!”

This stuns the king but when he recovers he asks. “Why do you even want his children?”

“To eat them. He interrupted me eating my children so I get to eat his.”

Tears of frustration well up in the king's eyes.

—---------------------------

“What’s your name? demon.”

“Name? Anon calls me Queen, since I was the Queen of the changelings”

“Is that your name?”

“The demon lord called me Lust after he made me one of his generals.”

“What’s your actual name?”

Queen looks out the window. The sunlight dancing across the city becomes much more interesting than the line of questioning from the princess. She doesn’t have a name. Her name is her job or her species, or just demon.

“I’ll make it easy on you. What do you want to be called?”

The deflated praying mantis shrugs. She raps her fingers on the other side of the table like a nervous typewriter.

“I’d have to talk to Anon about it.”

“Why?”

“I’m traveling with him, and he’s kinda my guarantor in the human world. Can’t return to the demon world after losing to him.”

“And if I become your guarantor then I can choose your name?”

Queen shrugs. The princess jabs an elbow into Queen’s thorax. “You have got to think for yourself, or is that something bug people can’t do?”

The princess is reflected in the many lenses of her complex eyes. Queen tilts her head. “What use is a name anyway? It’s just a way to refer to someone.”

“So how should I refer to you on the entry form?”

“What?”

“For magical college.”

“What?”

“Oh, my bad. Sometimes I plan something then forget that I haven't told anyone yet.”

“What have you planned?”

“For you to go to magical college, obviously.”

Queen is thoroughly confused with this turn of events. “But what about Anon?”

“Has Anon been to a magical college?”

Queen shakes her head.

“Then he’ll go to magical college. For at least a week, which is all I need. There’s another Hero there that is making great lengths to embed themselves in noble society, a saint like figure who is implanting the children there with false idealism. They seem to think Heros can do no wrong, that the gods send them down because they love the humans of this planet. Then there’s the one treating it like a dating sim. He’ll have fun with that one. And the one that is…. Why did the king allow so many heroes to enter college?”

Queenie becomes more confused by this. “Why not just get rid of them?” This was open and common practice in the demon lord’s army. If someone was in your way, get rid of them. The princess has a lot of power and only some heroes are strong.

The princess laughs. “I don’t want to be perceived as a tyrant.”

—------------------------

“Then give me your children!”

“You can’t eat my children!”

“What if I don’t eat them?”

“She’s already promised to Subaru.”

“Then give me their children!”

“That’s too much of an age gap!”

Anon pauses. “Why do you think I’d take a child bride? Am I that fucked up to you?”

“Says the man demanding children to eat!”

“You gotta reward me with something!”

“Just name something reasonable!”

Anon taps the bottom of his chin. “All the children?”

“Think of the parents!”

“I’ll take the ones without parents.” Anon offers the small concession thinking the king would never take it.

The king makes another move to yell at Anon, but stops. This is an unreasonable demand, but not one that would hurt him, perse. There are alot of orphans in his kingdom.

“Oh, I’ll need land to keep them. So give me some of that too.”

The king shrugs. At least he plans to keep them alive. What’s the worst that can happen from giving some vermin to a ratking.