The Devildom of Helmuth, a nation that was well-suited for the lives of both humans and demonfolk.
The citizens who lived here were guaranteed a minimum living standard even if they didn’t do any work.
The ancient undead raised by high-ranking demonfolk and black wizards along with the countless demonic beasts contracted by the Demon King did all the work that citizens would usually have done. Thanks to this, Helmuth’s vast farmlands were always covered in golden wheat regardless of the season.
Helmuth’s citizens didn’t have to pay their taxes with money; instead, they paid their taxes in the form of life-force. In other words, even if they didn’t have a single penny in their pocket, it was possible for them to keep to a minimum standard of living just by regularly offering some life-force to Helmuth.
However, like with most beings, their greed was endless. Just by mortgaging their souls and accepting the condition that they would be put to work for ten years after their death, humans who emigrated to Helmuth were able to enjoy a luxurious life.
As for the demonfolk?
They weren’t much different from humans in terms of greed. However, demonfolk weren’t as quick to bargain with their souls as the humans. Because they were familiar with contracts of the soul, the demonfolk were well aware of how dangerous they were and how much care needed to be taken when bargaining with their own souls as a collateral.
That was why demonfolk preferred to do work personally instead of deferring it to after their deaths. While it was true that undead and demonic beast workers were convenient to use, Helmuth didn’t persecute those who chose to work on their own volition. If there was anyone who wanted a job, then they were given priority in being provided with a job.
That was just how capable Helmuth’s Ministry of Employment and Labor was, and how much the Great Demon King, who ruled this immense empire, respected and guaranteed all the rights and freedoms of his people.
Thanks to that, on this construction site, apart from the undead laborers, there were also many of the lowest-ranking demonfolk at work. They had agreed to be paid in some turbid life-force and one hundred thousand sals for today’s labor. Of course, what these common demonfolk really wanted was the life-force rather than the cash.
For demonfolk, life-force was essential for the growth of their strength. However, who the hell would want to make a contract with these common demonfolk to provide them with their needed souls and life-force?
Therefore, the Ministry of Employment and Labor had passed a regulation. Common demonfolk were to be paid with the lowest kind of life-force as part of their wages.
Oooh, how generous of the Demon King of Incarceration!
…But who could have imagined that such a scene would take place at a construction site like this?
“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!” shouted a woman dressed in a yellow hard hat and a worker’s overalls.
Who was this woman who was dancing at the top of an observation tower, shouting out roars of encouragement as if she was singing, and waving a pair of traffic wands in both hands like they were a pair of cheerleader pom-poms?
“Put your back into it! Put your— Hold on, hold on one second! You, over there! Stop fooling around! It isn’t break time yet!”
The woman blew into the whistle that was hanging around her neck.
Peeeeep!
One of the common demonfolk, who had been crouching in a hidden corner of the construction site, let out a sigh and stood back up.
“...Just who the hell is that lady?” he asked one of his fellow co-workers.
“Who, huff, who knows,” came the panting reply.
“Why would there be a cheerleader at a construction site…?”
“A hu — slurp, a human?”
“Mr. Komu, you’re not thinking of doing anything strange, are you? This isn’t some back alley slum or a sewer… if you so much as drool at a human, you’ll be charged with an offense and get your soul even further restricted.”
“Slurrrrp….”
“I know, I know. But you’re a prior offender, Mr. Komu. That’s why you need to be even more careful. The restrictions on your soul have already made holding a conversation difficult… how much more difficult will it be if the next restriction leaves you with a Vocal Ban[1]?”
“Sluuuurp….”
At these words from the cyclops, Gargal, a gloomy expression slid across the face of the sewer slime demonfolk, Komu.
Apart from a few outliers like Gargal, lower-ranking demonfolk were usually quite far from humans in appearance. This couldn’t be helped, as most common demonfolk were actually demonic beasts that had gained self-awareness and become sentient.
“Heave-ho, heave-ho!”
After confirming that the common demonfolk had gotten up and started working again, the woman resumed swinging around her traffic wands while shouting out cheers of encouragement.
“If you hold on a bit longer, it will be time for lunch! Although you should all already be aware of this, the lunch prepared for you today will be based on the questionnaire that you filled out this morning! Within the legal limits, of course!”
Sometimes, there were a few demonfolk who went overboard with their requests. Perhaps because they weren’t good at studying and were ignorant, there were a few idiots who would write down things like ‘human flesh’ on the lunch menu questionnaire.
That was why the woman had emphasized ‘within the legal limits’ while shouting.
“We’re only able to prepare all of these meals according to your desires thanks to the grace of Duchess Noir Giabella, who’s both the client for this construction site and the CEO of our Dreaming Construction Company! Now then, all workers, make sure to thank Duchess Giabella! Let’s all shout together now!”
After a few moments' pause, the workers followed the instruction.
“Our thanks to Duchess Giabella!”
Their loud roar echoed all throughout the forest around the construction site. The woman spun around with a happy expression on her face at these ringing shouts. Then she leapt off the top of the extremely tall observation tower.
“...How impressive,” commented a man with neatly combed hair, dressed in a black suit, who was standing at the bottom of the observation tower. On his shoulders were a pair of golden epaulets and his chest was covered in ornate medals.
In spite of his gaudy appearance, no one on the construction site seemed to be aware of the man. And it wasn’t just the man either. Of the workers busily strolling around, none of them paid any attention to the woman who had just jumped down from the towering observation desk.
“What do you mean by that?” the woman asked.
“I was just in awe of how thick your skin is,” the man explained.
“Aha, you’re talking about their ‘thanks to Duchess Giabella.’ Did that annoy you?” the woman asked as she took off her hard hat. Abundant waves of black hair that seemed impossible to have been able to fit inside that hard hat, poured down her back.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll make sure to include your name for next time. ‘Thanks to Duchess Giabella. Thanks to Duke Lindman.’ How does that sound?” the Queen of the Night Demons, Noir Giabella, asked him with a grin.
In the face of her bright smile, Gavid Lindman shrugged. “That’s not what I was trying to point out. After all, I’ve already known for hundreds of years that you’re someone who’s practically overflowing with narcissism.”
“Then what exactly could be bothering our dear Duke Lindman?”
“Aren’t you fully aware that all the meals served here are just porridge that only barely qualifies as food in terms of providing nutrition, much less taste like anything?”
“As long as they’re happy when they’re putting it in their mouths, it doesn’t matter if they aren’t actually eating the real thing, right?” Noir Giabella said with a smile as her eyes twinkled like a sky full of stars. “Also, since we’ve made sure of its nutritional value, I feel like the point you’re trying to make is out of line. I’m just making sure that they see the things that they want to eat, and they’re actually able to taste those foods while they’re eating the porridge.”
This was all due to the ability of her Demoneyes of Fantasy.
The ability of her Demoneyes had been passed down as a legend even amongst the Night Demons, whose existence trod the lines between reality and dreams. Noir Giabella had already been a powerful Night Demon from the beginning, but a long time ago, she had gotten her hands on the Demoneyes of Fantasy and replaced her own natural eyes.
Ever since then, Noir Giabella had been titled the ‘Queen of the Night Demons.’ Now, several hundreds of years later, she had become the ruler of one of the most powerful greater demonfolk tribes in all of the Devildom of Helmuth.
Noir Giabella got to the point, “There’s no way that someone of your stature would really come here just to ask about an issue with the rations we serve our workers, right? In the first place, I haven't done anything that might be considered a violation of our majestic Demon King’s laws.”
“Please don’t be concerned. There’s no official reason why I’ve come to you today. If I had to say why, then it would just be personal curiosity,” stated Incarceration’s Blade.
He looked around with a calm gaze and listened to the loud noise resounding as this huge forest was being felled at the order of Noir Giabella.
“As I’ve already told you, I went and got permission before doing anything,” Noir pouted.
“I know. This forest has been yours for some time now, and you’re free to do whatever you wish with it. As long as you can afford the cost, of course.” Gavid then turned his head to stare at Noir and asked, “...But just what in the world do you intend to do in this forest?”
“I’m going to build a casino,” Noir proudly declared.
“...Isn’t this site a bit too large for just building a casino?” Gavid pointed out.
“The casino will be pointless if we just keep it isolated in a forest. So firstly, I’m going to clear away everything. Then I’ll start with a casino and a hotel… and after that, I plan on building all sorts of things,” Noir replied with a grin. “To put it simply, I’m planning on creating a huge tourist facility that will serve as my official headquarters, with my Night Demons hired as staff. I might also arrange some play facilities for children and maybe build a museum dedicated to enshrining my exploits? I also want to erect a few statues…. Ah, would you like me to put something up for you as well? No matter what I do, it will be difficult for me to decorate the place all by myself.”
“...How about something for the Demon King of Incarceration?” Gavid eventually asked.
“What would be the point of that? Statues of the Demon King of Incarceration have already been erected all across Helmuth, and every public library is packed full of biographies commemorating the Demon King’s achievements,” Noir said doubtfully.
Gavid piously declared, “No matter how much worship and reverence for the Lord abound, it will never be enough.”
“That’s why I want some for myself,” Noir stated jealously. “Since it’s my land in any case, there’s no problem with me making something to gather some attention for myself, now is there? The ‘Giabella Park’ will become the best tourist attraction in all of Helmuth. I guarantee it.”
Had she already decided on the name? Gavid just nodded with a wry smile.
“If you’ve made up your mind already, then you should just do as you please. As long as you carefully select the skills of the Night Demons you’ll be employing…. Hm, I can’t even imagine how much life-force you’ll end up extracting from the tourists,” Gavid sighed in admiration.
“I won’t avoid paying my taxes, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Noir promised.
“I’m well aware that you keep your hands scrupulously clean when it comes to such matters. However, do be careful to keep the greed of the Night Demons serving you under control,” Gavid warned.
“Have the children under my command ever been accused of violating the standardized intake of life-force?” Noir huffed.
“I’m talking about a different sort of greed,” Gavid said as he stared at Noir with his calm, deep-set eyes.
“...Ah,” Noir nodded her head with a grin. “I already told you this three years ago, but I won’t make any excuses for Olpher. After rising to the position of baron, he got ahead of himself.”
Eoin Olpher, an incubus who had once held the title of baron. Three years before, he had tried to make a contract with Eward Lionheart.
In fact, a demonfolk making a contract with a human wasn’t a crime. However, the other party just happened to be the eldest son of the Lionheart clan’s direct line. Since the Lionheart clan was enraged by this matter, the Demon King of Incarceration had personally apologized for causing any offense to his ‘dear’ Vermouth’s clan by beheading Olpher.
Noir gasped. “No way, are you suspecting that I was involved in the rebellion that took place at the Black Lion Castle a while ago?”
“You have set a precedent for it,” Gavid confirmed.
“This is so distressing. I never even told Olpher to try and sign a contract with a young master from the Lionheart clan.” Noir tilted her head to the side in perplexity. “And likewise, I wasn’t involved with the rebellion at the Black Lion Castle this time either.”
Not everything about the rebellion that had taken place at the Black Lion Castle had been fully made public yet.
Eward Lionheart, the eldest son of the main family; Dominic Lionheart, a Captain of the Knights of the Black Lion; Hector Lionheart, a member of a collateral branch; those three and a secret cabal within the collateral branches, known as the ‘Pride,’ who harbored resentment toward the main family, had attempted to conduct an evil ritual at the Black Lion Castle.
In the process, Deacon Lionheart from a collateral line and the Council Head Doynes Lionheart had been murdered. Eward and Dominic, who had planned this incident, had also perished.
Hector Lionheart had escaped, and the families involved in Pride went into hiding.
That was all that had been made known to the public. The spirit of darkness and the remnants of the Demon Kings, as well as the attempt to resurrect a Demon King with them, hadn’t been revealed.
“In the first place, what reason would I have for getting involved?” Noir continued.
However, even if the Lionhearts hadn’t made it public, demonfolk like these two who had lived for such a long time could make a somewhat educated guess as to the aim of the terrible ritual Eward had attempted to perform.
Doynes had died, and Dominic had been involved in this scheme. This meant that the Annihilation Hammer and the Demon Spear had been involved in the ritual, but how could three people with a knightly background, who logically had no knowledge of the magic, rules, and sacrifices involved in rituals like these, have performed such a dangerous ritual?
Something had helped those three prepare such a ritual.
If the Annihilation Hammer and the Demon Spear had both been brought to the ritual site, then it was obvious what kind of existence had planned the ritual.
“What reasons could I have for desiring the resurrection of the Demon Kings of Carnage and Cruelty, who died three hundred years ago?” Noir asked rhetorically.
All demonfolk dreamed of ascending to the throne of a Demon King someday.
And as the Queen of the Night Demons, Noir Giabella was one of the few among the countless demonfolk who was closest to the position of a Demon King.
Noir attempted to cast Gavid’s suspicions elsewhere. “Think about the members of the households of Carnage and Cruelty who have survived these past three hundred years. They might be the only ones who would hope for the success of such a ritual. As long as they haven’t lost their loyalty to the Demon Kings by now, that is.”
Gavid Lindman gave another wry smile at these words. It was strange to hear these words coming from the mouth of none other than Noir Giabella.
Like she had said, there were still members of Cruelty and Carnage’s households who survived even now, after three hundred years had passed. However, would they still have the same collective strength as they had shown on the battlefield in the past?
The answer was ‘no.’ Most of them had since lost their strength.
Over this long period of three hundred years, they had lost themselves to sweet pleasures, allowing their bodies and minds to fall apart. And it was Noir Giabella who had personally arranged this. She had sent a large number of the Night Demons who served her to comfort these surviving war heroes, and by the time Noir Giabella decided to personally intervene, the veteran demonfolk had become degenerate enough that they were even willing to sign contracts that put their strength up as a collateral.
“...Indeed, there’s no reason why you would be involved,” Gavid eventually agreed.
“If you really do need to suspect someone, then instead of me, how about visiting the Dragon Demon Castle?” Noir let out a short laugh. “Though… I don’t think that dragon drunk on his own sense of self-importance will actually open the door to you.”
“You don’t need to be concerned with the Dragon Demon Castle,” Gavid reminded her.
“How long do you plan on letting them go on like this? Don’t you know just how merciful I’ve been? If I had my way, then I would definitely take a bite out of them as well,” Noir admitted greedily.
Gavid lectured her, “The title of Helmuth’s Three Princes has meaning because there are three of us. You, the Queen of the Night Demons; me, the Blade of Incarceration; and the First Dragon to Fall. His Majesty does not wish for this balance to be disturbed.”
“How disappointing, really…. I don’t think that I’ll ever get a better chance to taste a dragon in my lifetime,” Noir muttered as she licked her lower lip.
“Is swallowing this whole forest not enough for you?” Gavid asked as he looked around said forest.
Noir scoffed. “There’s no way that you’re actually feeling pity for her, are you?”
Originally, this forest was the territory of the Rakshasa Princess Iris. For the past three hundred years, she had lived in this forest along with the dark elves under her command, working hard for the revival of the Fury Independence Army and her inheritance of the throne of the Demon King of Fury.
However, not long ago, the Queen of the Night Demons and the Rakshasa Princess had waged a gambling battle for each other’s territories.
Noir calmly confessed, “I admit that there was some prodding from my side. However, I had no choice but to do so. That girl, Iris, even though her race has nothing to be proud of… can you believe that she actually looked down on me and mocked me by calling me Queen of the Whores?”
Conflicts such as territorial disputes and duels meant to establish the pecking order were a common sight in Helmuth.
Just going back three hundred years, the demonfolk had been a horde of conquerors indiscriminately seeking to tear the continent into pieces. Certainly, they were now trying to get along with the other races, but the demonfolk still thought that the best and most simple way to get ahead in life was to compare their strength against their rivals instead of getting mediation from a third party.
That was why Noir Giabella and Iris had also gotten into a territorial battle.
Was it because the grievances accumulated over three hundred years had finally burst open? That was indeed part of it, but a greater part was because of Noir Giabella’s plans for securing her future. Recently, Iris had started to recruit beastfolk as mercenaries, a sign that she had begun to abandon her obsession with solely ruling over the dark elves.
In fact, this challenge was also something that Iris had been willing to accept. This forest was all that Iris had claimed as her territory. On the other hand, the Duchy of Noir Giabella was considered to be one of the largest and wealthiest lands in all of Helmuth. If Iris were to have won this territorial battle, she would have gained control of Noir’s entire duchy, so it had seemed well worth the risk.
“Just for sparing her, she should be thankful to me for the rest of her life,” Noir said with a snort.
“I heard that it was a landslide victory,” Gavid commented.
“Although I didn’t allow any spectators… if you had asked, I would have allowed you to attend as an exception.”
“What’s the fun in watching a contest with such an obvious outcome?”
“Still, she wasn’t that weak,” Noir conceded. “It seems that she worked pretty hard during these past three hundred years. Not that it would be enough to overtake you, the left hand of the Demon King.”
“Did you hear what Iris had been up to since leaving Helmuth?” Gavid asked.
Being defeated in a territorial battle didn’t necessarily mean being forced to leave Helmuth, but Iris had indeed left Helmuth with all of her dark elves. Was it out of humiliation? Perhaps, partly, but it was also likely because she had realized just how difficult life in Helmuth was going to be now that her entire territory had been taken from her.
Helmuth didn’t hold such a high opinion of dark elves in the first place, and the Rakshasa Princess herself had also made many enemies due to her strong self-esteem. Since she had lost her territory, she would have had to go to another demonfolk’s territory for shelter, but with Iris’s personality, she was bound to die rather than bow her head.
“I heard that she actually smuggled herself into Kiehl and tried to take one of the Lionhearts hostage,” Gavid shared.
“She must be insane,” Noir snorted in laughter as she put the hard hat back on her head. “If she wanted a hostage… did she try to take Eugene Lionheart?”
“It seems that you’ve also remembered his name,” Gavid observed.
“It’s not like his name is trivial enough that I would forget it easily, no? It’s said that he is the youngest to have ever been given permission to enter Akron, and he’s even borrowed ownership of Akasha from that Sienna girl.”
“Sienna Merdein… Do you think that she’s really still alive?”
“Since ownership of Akasha was finally transferred after being without a master for hundreds of years, then I believe that she should still be alive.”
Even as she was speaking, Noir picked up the traffic wands that she had set down.
“However… she wouldn’t be in great condition, now would she?” Noir mused. “If she was in good shape, then she wouldn’t have stayed silent for these past hundreds of years… Instead she might have immediately snuck into Helmuth and tried to assassinate the Demon King.”
“Please don’t say something so profane,” Gavid protested.
“But it’s the truth, isn’t it? Both you and I know through firsthand experience just how strong Sienna Merdein was and how much she hated demonfolk. Especially since there were several times when we faced a crisis due to Sienna Merdein’s magic.” As she pulled a safety vest over her work jumpsuit, Noir looked back over her shoulder at Gavid and said with a grin, “But indeed, you probably have a clearer impression of Hamel Dynas than Sienna, right?”
“Although I have no wish to insult the Lord’s abilities, Hamel’s death truly was fortunate,” Gavid admitted as he retraced old memories.
Thinking back to his first meeting with Hamel Dynas, Sienna Merdein had also been present at that time. The two had been exploring a site ahead of the party in order to perform some reconnaissance and they happened to meet Gavid by chance.
He had thought that it was a great opportunity, so Gavid had tried to kill them both, but he had failed.
Fortunately, it hadn’t become a lifelong regret that Gavid hadn’t been able to kill them at that time. Before he could even reach the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration… Hamel Dynas had collapsed midway.
“If that Hamel guy had survived… then the Oath may not have been sworn,” Noir hypothesized. “He was the only one among Vermouth’s companions who would actually stand up to Vermouth.”
“He had a truly terrible personality. That might be why he died so early,” Gavid muttered as he took a step back.
Noir stared at Gavid with a mischievous smile as he prepared to slip away.
“You said that Iris tried to take Eugene Lionheart hostage, right?” Noir brought another thing up just as Gavid was about to leave.
“That’s right,” Gavid confirmed.
“If it ended as just an attempt, does that mean Eugene Lionheart was actually able to hold off Iris?”
“That could arguably be the case.”
“While I might not have had any real desire for the eldest son of the Lionheart clan…. Fufu, that Eugene Lionheart sounds quite delectable. Do you think that he might come to play in Helmuth? Or else stop by one of our succubi shops?” Noir drooled eagerly.
“...Don’t be ridiculous,” Gavid said as his face contorted into a grimace.
