Chapter 21

When I noticed, the morning light was streaming in through the window. It seemed to be quite early still.

Perhaps because I moved, the lashes of Beatrice, who was sleeping next to me, trembled.

“Mm...”

Then she lay on her back, revealing her disheveled sleeping posture. Her body had become more fully materialized after absorbing the essence and converting it into magic, so there was no longer any transparency.

I decided to let her sleep and slipped out of bed.

Last night, it was difficult to fall asleep, but because she trusted me so completely, I didn't feel the urge to make any mistakes.

I wondered if I had done right by the comrades who had cooperated with me.

However, Beatrice's vulnerability must be due to her complete lack of worldly experience. Or perhaps, as a higher race of Rais, she has the power to not need to be wary of men.

“...Sir Dick... Are you leaving already?”

“Hey, you’re awake. I'll bring the Demon King here again, so wait for me.”

I tied the tie of my shirt and put on my jacket. It was a fine suit made by a high-end tailor, which I liked for its comfort. At 15 gold coins for the top and bottom, it was quite expensive for clothing, but it was worth it since it was made from high-quality fabric by a famous tailor.

Beatrice sat up, hiding her materialized body with the sheet she pulled up. Her silver hair, which she had let down while sleeping, had a bit of bedhead—another sign of her further materialization.

“I had forgotten to ask, but wouldn’t it take several months to bring the Demon King here, including negotiations...?”

I thought for a moment and decided not to tell Beatrice yet that the Demon King was living in my guild as a live-in maid manager. Until the contract with Duke Stollen was overwritten, there was a risk that the Demon King's information might leak to the Stollen family, regardless of Beatrice's will.

“Bringing her here isn’t that complicated. After all, we are in the position of having defeated the Demon King. While I told her not to leave her territory, I can also ask her to come temporarily.”

“Is that possible...? Is it because of the contract made when you defeated the Demon King?”

“Well, it’s more of a verbal agreement. Verlene has been faithfully keeping it. If we had destroyed all the demons, the kings of other demon countries wouldn’t have stood idly by. Ideally, a permanent ceasefire would have been the best.”

Our five opinions eventually aligned. Codi’s suggestion to advise the Demon King to surrender was something we had already discussed and decided on.

Before the Demon King taught the monsters to live without attacking humans, most of them were vicious. Intelligent sub-human races regularly attacked human towns and villages, and the village where I grew up also suffered from monster attacks. That’s why I had plenty of opportunities to learn combat—though let’s leave the old stories aside.

However, having intelligence means understanding the futility of resisting the humans who defeated the Demon King.

After the Elsain Demon Kingdom surrendered, the number of monster hunting jobs for the guild decreased dramatically, but even so, there are still jobs to hunt harmful beasts and prevent monsters from other Demon Kings from invading the country, so adventurers are still required to have combat skills. Thanks to this, our combat skills have been maintained without decline.

“...It’s a good thing the Demon King was defeated by brave heroes like Sir Dick. If the demons had been destroyed, I would have had no choice but to fight you. Even if I couldn’t win, I would have tried to avenge my clan’s grievances.”

“That’s true. I haven’t fought the Raisqueens or the higher races of Rais, so I think your clan is safe. But I can’t say that irresponsibly without confirming it.”

“I want to return to my clan once when the contract with the Stollen family is terminated and I leave this mansion. My family holds the position of ‘Six Demon Dukes,’ so if they learn of the favor I received from Sir Dick, they will surely offer a reward...”

“No, this time I just helped out of the situation. I’d prefer if you stayed as the caretaker of this mansion, but I won’t force you. Choose freely what you want to do from now on.”

I conveyed my thoughts. If she stayed in this mansion, I could use her ability to gather spirits to regularly satisfy Yuma’s desire for appeasement.

But her family must be waiting for her, considering she has been living alone in this mansion.

“I understand. Once the contract with Lord Stollen is terminated by the Demon King, I will choose my path myself.”

“Right. By the way, make sure you don’t catch a cold... or is that not a concern for Rais?”

“Yes, while there are diseases that affect the undead, we don’t catch colds. Thank you for your concern.”

Her negligee, like her, is made of a special material—something akin to an ethereal body. It’s called ‘Aether material,’ which changes in degree of materialization along with her. It was neatly folded and placed in the bedside chest.

If an undead joined my guild, the range of requests we could handle would expand. I thought about this but didn’t recruit her right away. I didn’t want to limit her choices by doing so.

◆◇◆

Beatrice’s ability to gather spirits was blocked by the barrier Yuma had set up, so there were no more ghostly disturbances in the mansion. Yuma and the others returned to their respective homes in the morning, and I returned to the guild house after seeing Yuma off.

Verlene, responding to my request, visited Beatrice’s mansion in the afternoon before the next night.

Beatrice, standing by the dining room window, bowed deeply when she saw Verlene.

“You don’t need to bow. I am no longer the Demon King. I have already abdicated to my younger brother.”

“Verlene-sama abdicated...?”

“Yes. I ruled for about thirty years... Your clan served me well. You don’t need to worry about your family; they were ordered to guard the rear and did not engage in combat with the Demon King slaying party.”

“...The Six Demon Dukes are supposed to be the shield protecting the Demon King. Why did you give such an order...?”

Verlene, in her elf form, dispelled the illusion and returned to her dark elf form. Her black skin and purple-tinged hair made her look almost like a succubus—while her usual elf form was that of a chaste maid, now she gave the impression of a literal demon maid.

“The Demon King slaying party entered the Demon Kingdom without the Six Demon Dukes appearing, moving unpredictably. They then attacked my castle while the Six Demon Dukes were absent. Honestly, it was hard to believe that five people, including a boy and a girl, could come and fight properly.”

“I knew that Sir Dick reached the Demon King’s place five years ago... from the person who bought this mansion.”

“I was 13 at the time. The youngest, Yuma, was 9.”

Hearing that the oldest, Codi and I, are still 18, Beatrice was speechless again, and Verlene seemed to be reminiscing about the battle with us.

“Dick... no, I’ll call you Master. I entrusted something important to him as the Demon King. I show loyalty to him to retrieve it.”

“Does that mean Verlene-sama is contracted to Sir Dick as a servant?”

“...I’ll keep that a secret, but it’s something similar.”

“No, I don’t think we have a contract... do we? We didn’t make any contract documents or anything like that, right?”

“N-no, Sir Dick...”

“Beatrice, after the human contract is terminated, you will return to my dominion. That means you will be under Master’s dominion. Is that acceptable?”

Verlene tried to push the conversation forward. The fact that she was trying to cover up the contract issue suggested that she might have contracted with Verlene without my knowledge.

When and where did that happen? As I thought about it, I reached one conclusion.

Yes, the ‘Demon King’s Amulet.’ The only thing that could create a strong binding force between me and Verlene was that.

“...Huh? N-no, I don’t intend to dominate Beatrice... So, it’s just a change of master, and you’ll remain a human servant, right?”

“Have you considered that it might be fine? Why do you think a Raisqueen who has tasted Master’s magic can easily leave? It might sound off-putting, but Master’s magic is very comfortable to be near.”

“Verlene-sama, if you say that, I... I’ll start to be aware of the magic that’s overflowing in this body...”

Beatrice hoped to form a summoning contract with me.

Even if I wanted to recruit her, I was thinking of waiting for the next opportunity, but this changed everything.

“Then, let’s begin. When the contract is formed, Master’s magic will be transmitted when it runs out. And when called by Master, you must respond to the summoning no matter where or when. Is that acceptable?”

“If it’s acceptable to Sir Dick... I would like to form a summoning contract...”

Beatrice said, blushing. Verlene didn’t seem to mind other demons forming a contract with me—perhaps because she was living with me, she felt at ease.

“Verlene Elsain, using the power of the ancient demon god, I declare a re-contract. Break Beatrice’s old contract and bind her to the new master, Dick Silver...”

“...”

Verlene touched Beatrice’s neck, and a blue-white mark appeared on her white skin. The same mark appeared on the back of my hand. It was neither hot nor cold, but had a peculiar sensation characteristic of contract magic.

“From now on, I will inscribe a new true name for Beatrice. Beatrice Silver. Engrave the name of Dick Silver’s servant in your soul.”

“...Beatrice Silver. My new name... I humbly accept it.”

The mark disappeared after the contract ceremony. Beatrice, stroking her neck where the mark had been, looked at me happily.

“So, I’ve become Sir Dick’s possession...”

“Summoner and contractee. It’s not that unbalanced a relationship.”

“Hmm... I wonder. It might be a living hell for Beatrice, but it’s the same for me. Let’s both love and watch over Master together.”

“What are you saying in the confusion... Don’t think I’ll let you love him so easily.”

Verlene and Beatrice laughed together. The barrier between the former Demon King and her subject had been broken, and a friendship had formed between the two women.