Taking a plate to herself, the angelic figure didn't hesitate to take part in the festivities.

Taking notice that all eyes were on her, she looked around with a timid expression.

"Haha.... is everything alright? If everyone is looking at me like that I won't be able to eat in peace...."

With this statement, the people of the city let out sighs of relief, and the tension in the room cleared as everyone returned to their own conversation as usual.

"Would you like me to bring you a drink, your eminence?"

Claire turned to see a ferret standing behind her.

This ferret woman who had bright red eyes looked at her with a strange submissive smile that was oddly contrary to her own appearance.

She wore an extravagant dress and was dressed properly for a banquet, yet she also wore an apron over her dress which suggested that right now she took the position not of a host, but rather as a servant.

"It looks like you've been working real hard, haven't you?", Claire noted with a smile. "Thank you. I'll have a fruit punch."

"I will retrieve it immediately."

With the light bow of her head, the woman walked off slowly before coming back with the drink on a platter and setting it down lightly at the side of the angelic figure.

"Is there anything else you wish from me, your eminence?"

"No, thank you! Go ahead and sit down with the rest of us. This banquet.... it was thrown in order that you may apologize to those you harmed. Correct?"

"Indeed it was. Which is why I would like to say a few words now."

The ferret walked over to her own seat while remaining standing, and looked up and down the table of people before speaking.

"Her eminence is correct. As many of you might know, the entire reason I have held this banquet.... and the reason why I have taken it upon myself to serve each person here, is because I have done something unforgivable to two of the people here. I understand well that something as simple as this small humiliation is not enough to pay for what I've done.... but even so, I cannot sit back and do nothing."

Turning to look at the two girls who had been subject to her own personal torture, Tiffany looked upon them with remorse.

"Lisa and Gina..... I was obsessed with becoming the most beautiful woman in the world, by an objective standard. I failed to realize how futile such a thing was, and deluded myself into believing that if I were to make everyone else ugly.... that I would become beautiful."

Bowing her head while facing the two, Tiffany spoke out with fervor, almost brought to tears as she recalled the decrepit pleasure she gained as she violated the two girls.

"Please forgive me..... I can't believe that I would do such a thing....."

The two girls who were being bowed to merely nodded.

"That's all water under the bridge, isn't it?", Lisa stated.

"Now that we all are underneath her eminence, what we've done in the past.... doesn't matter.", Gina agreed. "The past has been erased. The only thing that remains is the future."

Looking up at the faces of the two, Tiffany bit her lip.

'Why? Why can they simply forgive so easily? How can they just accept it?'

"You experienced the same thing, didn't you? By my own hand."

Claire spoke to Tiffany as she wondered this, reminding her of her own actions.

"But you did that in retribution for my own wrongdoings!! I did it.... for no reason. There was only selfish motive behind my actions.... nothing more!!! Those two did nothing.... and yet I took out my own long running frustrations on them..."

"That may be true, but can't you see that they have already forgotten your actions?"

As Claire cut into a steak with a smile, she looked back and forth between the three.

"Tiffany. Remorse is important. Excessively so. Do you understand why? It's because remorse is the difference between the past and the present."

Standing up, Claire walked over to the woman who was bowing her head, placing her hand on her back.

"Everyone in this world can do evil. It doesn't matter who you are or what position you are in. We all have a choice each day at every moment to do good or evil. Because of this, there isn't a person in this room who can say that they've never done something wrong. There isn't a person on this planet who hasn't done something they regret."

With sad eyes, Claire clenched her own demonic hand.

"That includes me."

Looking up to the two who were being apologized to, Claire continued speaking.

"But.... there is something else that we should look at here. And that is.... who is the person in front of us right now? Are they the same person who they were before, rushing forward to hurt someone for their own benefit without any form of regret or hesitation, or are they a changed person who is willing to apologize and bow their head for the wrong they have done, working to ensure that they do not perform such actions again?"

Claire could feel the quivering of Tiffany as she kept her own hand on the woman, supporting her from behind.

Sitting back down in her seat, Claire continued to cut her own steak while she spoke.

"For those who have done something wrong in the past, it doesn't matter. The past is not now. However....."

Claire recalled once more the sneer of the man who mercilessly killed her, running from all consequences.

"There are some people who refuse to admit their own wrongdoing. There are some people who continue to harm others beyond all recognition with no remorse or regret. There are some people in this world who must be eliminated. And that is why I am here."

Stabbing her own knife into the steak, a demonic smile came across the angelic face of Claire.

"To slaughter anyone who continues to destroy."

Ripping the meat from the bone, Claire began to furiously chew the steak, fangs growing from her lips which she used to tear it apart.

Fina looked up at this point, nodding to Claire and then looking back at the two she was apologizing to.

"She said it all. I don't need to say anything more.", Lisa said with a shrug.

"Yep.", Gina agreed with a nod.

Wiping the forming tears from her beautiful red eyes, Tiffany used the sleeve of her gown as a handkerchief.

"Don't cry in front of all these people. Here."

Al pulled a handkerchief out of his own jacket pocket, using it to wipe off the tears of the lady next to him.

"T....thank you..... thank you to the ones I have hurt....and thank you, your eminence.... if it were not for you..... if it were not for your objective beauty..... then perhaps I would never have come to this realization....."

Al helped Tiffany to sit down as she weakly lost control of her limbs in sorrow.

"Were it not for you.... I would have spent the rest of my life chasing after something unobtainable which had already been obtained by another."

----

Claire finished her meal as the other people at the banquet made light conversation with one another.

When she finished, she clapped her hands together, quieting down the people before she spoke.

"Well then... I know that this was an event for everyone to sit down and relax after a hard day of work, but since everyone is gathered her anyways I suppose I should share with everyone my own plans for the future of this city.... and of this nation."

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As Claire said this, each and every person at the table perked up, putting on professional faces.

The words which were about to be said were something which would effect not only their lives, but the lives of everyone in the nation.

"As everyone here knows, I have taken over this city for one purpose. To unite the people of the monster realm. This includes not only the ratmen, but many other peoples as well. Within our nation, we are currently under the control of the fishmen, the lizardmen, the snakemen, the insectoids, and a single human village in the Empire."

Looking forward, Claire spoke without flinching as she folded her arms.

"I heard from my own comrades that an attack was led today on the Capital of our nation. As a result of this, almost every member of the birdmen race was annihilated, and the majority of people of the snakemen village were also annihilated."

Having heard such news, many gasps were heard across the table.

'My goodness....'

'This nation spans so far, and so many people have already died or been taken over.....'

"I..... understand that the people who died today were among those that could not be saved. My comrades are already working intensely on the optimization problem when it comes to assisting people and saving lives.... and they have determined that the ones eliminated today and over the past events have been necessary."

'It's wrong.... but if it isn't done, then even more people will die. Therefore.... I will kill, and I will not rebuke my comrades when they kill.', Claire thought.

Her heart was torn as she heard this from Trevor, yet she understood well- especially based off her own decisions of the day to kill the ones who had their own fear removed- that sometimes, people had to die.

"Our nation is growing at a massive rate of expansion. And we have no intention to stop here. However, it seems that our own actions have attracted the attention of another group."

"Another group?"

Ramrod asked while fixing his monocle, curious of who Claire spoke of.

"Yes. It seems we've attracted the attention of a group which many of you already know of."

Thinning her eyes, Claire spoke with a slight bit of resentment in her voice.

"There has been an incident even within this town today involving the head of one of the 7 houses. The Host of Wrath."

"The..."

"The Host of Wrath...."

Many people were taken aback at hearing this name.

Every single humanoid in the monster realm understood that demons were higher beings of immense power.

All humanoids were originally created by a demon, and among demons the leaders of the 7 houses were the most powerful.

They were untouchable existences who lived in a plane high above that of the humanoids.

The reason which the people of the ratmen village had been so terrified of Claire and the antiheroes were because they were among the demonic races- beings of power who could not even compare to the humanoids.

Yet the fact that one of the 7 houses had made a move filled the people in the room with great concern.

"Your eminence..... isn't this extremely dangerous then!? If one of the houses has become involved..... are you certain that you actually hold the power to fight against them!?"

Ramrod voiced his own concerns, and the others at the table with Fina aside were also filled with worry.

"Allow me to finish my own story first. However, you said something incorrect just now. In all likelyhood, it is not just one house that will be obstructing our expansion."

With a grin, Claire's eyes seemed to flash for just a moment with a sinister bloodlust.

"It appears that all 7 houses have been making moves recently."

"All 7!?!?!?"

"Your eminence...."

"Is this truly alright!?!?!"

Ramrod, Tiffany, and Gina all shouted out as soon as they heard this.

The 7 houses were known to contain the 7 most powerful demons in the world.

In such an era where heroes did not exist, this meant that the leaders of the 7 houses were quite literally the most powerful beings in the world.

Going against all of them at once was nothing more than madness.

Insanity.

Even if Claire was the Determined, or even if she was the strongest demon in existence, the possibility of her being able to take on all 7 houses at once was inconceivable.

"I do not doubt your own power, your eminence.... but is it not reckless to make enemies of such powerful figures!?!?"

Having dropped his own cigar onto the table, Ramrod stared at Claire with fear.

However, the angelic figure before everyone merely began to laugh.

"Ah, it seems like there is something else that you all aren't exactly aware of. I said that all 7 houses would be involved, didn't I? However, 2 have already been taken out of the picture."

"Eh??"

Each and every person in the room almost ceased their own breathing at hearing this statement.

"2.... have already been taken out of the picture? I see.... so you were able to negotiate a peace with them then?"

Closing her eyes, Claire began to tap her demonic claws on the table.

"As much as I would like to extend peace to the world, there are some people which I cannot extend a peaceful hand to, for in exchange they will cut off that hand."

Opening her eyes, Claire's words cut into the souls of the people around her.

"There are some people who simply cannot be negotiated with, no matter how much is done. I killed one of the house leaders earlier today."

"Your eminence...."

"You.... killed..... a house leader?"

"How.... how is that possible? I thought.... I thought the house leaders were the most powerful...."

Even Al seemed to have been overtaken by surprise at this point.

Claire began to twirl her own hair with her finger as she spoke with boredom.

"How is it possible? It's simple. Just because someone is fast and strong doesn't mean everything. Sure, that demon was stronger than me if you put us side by side. But he lacked something."

Standing up and holding out her hand as if she was grasping something, Claire cut into the minds of the people before her.

"He lacked the power to Determine his own future."

----

"With that being said.... we will be going to war quite soon with the remaining households. However, I won't be taking a large part in this war just yet. The antiheroes will be doing most of the planning, and my role will simply be to remain here and defend the people of this city and any other cities of ours from potential attacks.... for now. Ah, and there is another issue that I will be attending to tomorrow, but you all don't need to worry about that. I'll be working from here."

"A war among demons.... we really have gotten ourselves into something insane. Is there even anything we can do, your eminence?", Gina asked.

"Nope! Everyone in this city is weak, so don't worry about it! Me and my comrades will take care of everything ourselves, so just sit back and relax for now."

"Sit back and relax while a war is going on between our rulers? That's a strange order, your eminence.", Al stated. "But if that's your order, fine by me."

The tension in the room was relieved, and many of the people within the rooms were reassured that their leader knew what she was doing.

"I will follow your orders and complete the objectives you place upon me, so long as sister is not put into any danger.", Fina stated.

"We'll do whatever you tell us to, C", Mori and Lisa chimed in with resolved expressions.

"Haha.... a war between demons.... fine then. I will simply do as you order, your eminence.", Ramrod chimed in.

"As will I. You saved me from myself, so even if you were to throw me to another demon, I would have no right to complain.", Tiffany stated in agreement.

"Don't say something like that. Only a piece of trash would throw away their own subordinate.", Claire stated while sitting down once more.

Leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes, Claire recalled her own conversation just before with the antiheroes.

"Ah..... it looks like we're gonna be really going to war after all..... I suppose it's inevitable. But that's fine.."

Sitting forward while folding her hands, Claire grinned.

"We'll take over every last corner of this wretched world, and twist it into what we want it to be."

----

"Then.... that's all I wanted to say. You all are free to go now.", Claire stated, waving everyone off with a smile.

Many people began to get up, however one robotic voice interrupted the shuffling of everyone as they stood.

"Your eminence, there is one final thing I wish to ask. It is a request."

As if a class had been dismissed only for someone to ask another question at the last second, everyone halted in their tracks to listen in.

"What is it, Fina?"

"I have been made aware recently that as a subordinate of a master, one must treasure every last detail regarding their master, and that receiving a portion of such a master to love and treasure is an acceptable method to do so."

Claire looked at Fina with confusion, unable to understand what Fina was getting at.

"What do you mean? You want something from me? I'll do my best I suppose, but there's no need to go so far as to treasure it."

"Is that so? I will ask either way. Your eminence, may I obtain a sample of your saliva?"

The people around Fina dropped their jaws as they heard such words escaping from her mouth as she spoke without the slightest hint of emotion.

"Fina, what are you talking about!?", Gina asked. "That's.... that's weird!! That isn't something you should ask someone for!!!!"

Tiffany seemed to be hiding her face behind Al in embarrassment for putting such an idea into the head of Fina.

'Ahhh.... I hope they don't link this to me.... what the hell is she saying!?!? I told her not to bring this up!!!!'

Claire seemed to be slightly disturbed, a crooked smile covering her face which demonstrated her own confusion.

'Uh.... why would she ask for something like that? I.... what the hell?'

'Let's do it. Sounds interesting.'

'EH!?! No way!!! I'm not gonna do something like that!!!'

'Too late. HAHAH!'

The demonic hand of Claire stuck itself into her mouth, pulling out a line of drool. She placed it into her own empty goblet, and slid it across the table to Fina.

'EH!?!?! Why did you do that, Clarice!?!?!?'

'For fun. HAHAHA!!!'

With a light bow of the head, Fina spoke in gratitude.

"I thank you, your eminence. The one who receives this portion of you will surely treasure it."

Grabbing the goblet, Fina walked around the table to where Tiffany was and presented it to her.

"Ferret with the red eyes. I do not quite understand the concept of embarrassment, however I am aware that you would be too humiliated to ask her eminence for such a gift. Therefore, I have taken the efforts to obtain this for you. I am aware of your own views on such a thing, so I am sure you are very pleased and will treasure this for all your life."

Holding out the goblet that contained the saliva of Claire, Fina smiled lightly.

Tiffany however, who was hiding herself behind Al, seemed to have swirls of confusion and embarrassment in her expression. Her face was flustered beyond belief, and with every aspect of her being she wished to bury herself in a hole.

"I NEVER SAID I WANTED SUCH A THING!!!!!!"

"I see.... so you did not wish for this? Does that mean you do not consider her eminence to be your master above all? Or does that mean your previous statement was incorrect?"

"I.... you.... AGH!!!!!"

Rushing out of the room, Tiffany shut the door, too humiliated to even remain in the room with all these people who merely watched the strange scene with straight faces.

As soon as she left, the room burst out into laughter.

"AHAHAHA!!!! You pulled a real good one on her, robotic girl!", Al stated while lighting one of his cigars.

"What a disturbing spectacle.... yet I cannot help but chuckle at it.", Ramrod stated while tapping the ground with his cane.

Mori and Lisa merely looked at one another before bursting out in laughter as well.

"I guess that was her real punishment for her actions?", Gina asked. "Sister, you are far too cruel."

Fina on the other hand merely looked around with confusion.

"Hm? Punishment? What are you referring to? I was merely presenting her with a gift that she desired.... or so I thought."

Claire made her way out of the room holding her head in confusion.

'Why did you do that.... that's so nasty, Clarice!!!'

'It was funny wasn't it!? HAHAHA!!!! Did you see the look on the woman's face!! I didn't expect that to happen!!!'

'You are too cruel....'

'And you are too kind.'

Exiting the room, Claire spoke to everyone, calming them down.

"Please get some rest, everyone. Report to my office tomorrow morning for further orders."

Everyone nodded and calmed their laughter, and Claire left the room.

With a smile, both the demonic and angelic voices inside the head of Claire overlapped with one another.

'But it is through the combination of kindness and cruelty.... that we will ensure everything goes our way.'