Chapter 19

Yuri said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Help us?"

"I'll keep it short because soldiers will likely come here soon. In short, you'll become my subordinates for a while... but you'll have to change your appearance and be in a state where I can take your lives at any time."

"Changing our appearance is convenient here."

"Yuri and the others have already been identified."

The demons shouted at Yuri.

"Trusting our lives to you is dangerous!"

"We don't even know who you are!"

To such demons, Elysia said:

"The one here is Prince Alexander the Sixth!"

"Prince!?"

"Yes. I was a demon too... but I was saved by His Highness. His Highness is not someone who oppresses demons. He is a very kind person."

Elysia apologized to me for overstepping her bounds.

I was happy... but what do you think when you hear 'Prince'?

The demons began to murmur at Elysia's words.

"Will the Prince help us?"

"Is he going to use us as experimental subjects?"

However, people with torches were approaching from a distance.

I urged Yuri and the others to make a decision.

"If you want to run, I won't stop you. But they are probably on horseback."

Yuri closed her eyes tightly at my words.

Even if they ran, they would be caught quickly. Even if they managed to escape, they would be wanted. Their identities were already known.

Finally, she began to speak.

"I can't afford to lose my life..."

"Yuri..."

The others around her looked uneasy but did not oppose Yuri.

Kneeling again, Yuri bowed to me.

"Please, help us... make me your servant."

The other demons also bowed at Yuri's pleading voice.

I nodded.

Then, Yuri and the others were enveloped in light.

What appeared were beings that could almost be called human, about thirty young men and women, some still children.

I confirmed that they no longer had one eye, but it was hard to look at them.

They had all become smaller, and their loincloths had fallen off.

In other words, they were naked.

But there was no time to be embarrassed.

The people with torches were getting closer.

"Everyone, gather in one place!"

"Yes!"

I teleported the gathered demons to the northern forest.

"Everyone... made it, right?"

Meanwhile, mounted guards arrived.

"Your Highness, are you all right!? We received a message from the tower and hurried from Roburion."

"I'm fine."

"Is that so? And I heard you chased the demons?"

"They escaped to the sea. But it's dark, and they seemed to be weakening. They won't last long."

"Is that so... at any rate, it's a relief that you're safe. And you saved Roburion. Lord Roburion wants to thank you."

"Am I at the port now? I'll go if I feel like it. I'm a bit sleepy... *yawn*"

I yawned on purpose.

I didn't want to be seen as competent. I'll act childlike.

"Eh? Yes! I'll tell him that! Hey, tell them the demons escaped to the sea!"

The guards split into two groups and disappeared.

"Well... let's meet up with Yuri and the others for now."

Elysia and I teleported to the forest where Yuri and the others were.

I hadn't noticed at first, but it seemed I could teleport them even without holding hands. The increase in magic power from making them my subordinates might be the reason.

Elysia had a slight tear in her eye, perhaps regretting not holding hands.

What was she sad about...

"...Well, everyone's here."

"–!? Where did you come from?"

Yuri and the others seemed a bit frightened.

Well, it is demonic magic... they're surprised, right.

"I can use such magic. Anyway... I'll prepare clothes for everyone. For now, eat this."

I distributed fruits and other items from the *Pandora Box* to Yuri and the others.

There were also arrowheads, but I couldn't use fire, so they'd have to make do with this for now.

"Is it... okay?"

"It's fine. But at this hour, the shops in Roburion are closed. I'll buy them in the capital, which stays open late."

Yuri looked even more confused, but explanations could wait.

Elysia knew a good store, so I teleported to the capital and bought about forty sets of clothes and shoes. I put them in the *Pandora Box* and returned.

"Put these on. Elysia picked them out at a glance, but if the sizes don't fit, let me know."

Yuri and the others put on the clothes and shoes as instructed.

Thanks to Elysia's good eye, everyone found a size that fit them.

They wore simple shirts and pants over their underwear, and leather shoes. Now they looked like ordinary imperial citizens.

Finally, I could look at Yuri and the others directly.

They looked almost entirely human. They had two eyes and hair, so they didn't have the Cyclops' features... well, some men were still bald.

A notable feature was their height, likely due to their Cyclops blood. Their hair was also blue or a bluish black.

Since demons have human blood, they might look more human when they become subordinates.

On the other hand, Elik, the slime, didn't change much, probably because slimes are monsters.

Yuri, their representative, was a tall, slender young woman.

Her short hair made her look a bit masculine, but she was a woman. Her sharp eyes gave her a cool impression. She was as beautiful as Elysia.

Yuri was puzzled by her new appearance for a while but eventually bowed to me.

"Thank you! It's already a great kindness to save our lives, and now you're giving us food and clothes..."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. But this way, even if we're found by the guards, we won't be arrested. When you find a place to settle, I'll release you from being my subordinates. Then you can return to your original forms."

"A place to settle..."

Yuri said, looking into the distance.

"...We don't have such a place. In this form, we might be able to survive in the empire, but..."

"Then it's fine to stay as subordinates... but..."

"Even so, people won't easily accept strangers."

So Yuri bowed to me again.

"Please... can we serve you, Your Highness? We'll do any menial tasks, fight, or work like slaves! We wanted to be your servants from the start."

"For me...? But..."

It would be difficult to employ all of them in the palace.

I have money, but it would run out in a few years if I had to support this many people.

But letting them go like this was also worrying...

This was the biggest problem I was facing now.

"Yuri... do you have any special skills?"

"Our clan has been blacksmiths and miners for generations. We were accepted here because of our iron casting techniques..."

I heard that Cyclops in the demon kingdom make weapons for giant monsters.

Yuri and the others likely inherited such skills.

Those huge chains were probably made or repaired by them.

If I provide the materials and have Yuri and the others make weapons and tools, we could sell them in a corner of the capital.

I could take a small profit... it's not a bad idea, right?

But land...

I looked southeast.

In Tiars, I have a vast land granted to me.

The southeast is also rich in magical minerals called mana stones.

"...Tiars. Shall we go there?"

It's not certain that there are no safe places in the demon realm.

I decided to head for Tiars anyway.