Chapter 57
After that, Jilbedo and the others really brought back the lord's head.
He must have been over seventy years old. When Yuurai first saw him, his face looked like that of a ghostly specter, but now that it was just a head, the old man somehow had a peaceful expression. That's how it felt to Yuurai.
As promised, Yuurai was about to declare the town under her control, but before she could, Lipia spoke up with a worried tone.
"I think it's a good thing to stabilize the town with Yuurai's power, but... if it's seen as the Demon King threatening humans, wouldn't that give people a reason to come after you?"
Yuurai thought that was a possibility, but in truth, she also felt that it wouldn't make much difference whether she did anything or not.
Just having the title of Demon King meant that, to some extent, humans would resent her. Whether she took control of a single town or not, the situation wouldn't change.
"......Sorry for making you worry. But I don't think the situation will change much over something like this, and I intend to keep my promise."
After saying that to Lipia, Yuurai once again used her Marionette magic and declared her control over the town.
At that time, she also made it clear that while the town would be under her control, the actual governance would be entrusted to Jilbedo. She added a threat that severe punishment would befall anyone who defied her decisions, but as long as they followed Jilbedo, they could live freely.
And for the time being, to maintain public order, Yuurai stationed ten thousand Skeletons throughout the town. Their orders were simple: if anyone was fighting, hit them to stop it.
Since detailed instructions couldn't be given, it didn't matter who was at fault—both parties in a fight would be punished equally. It couldn't be helped for now. With no proper guards to maintain order, this was a compromise.
Because of this, an eerie scene unfolded with Skeletons roaming the town. It truly felt like a town dominated by the Demon King.
However, by forcibly removing violence, the town was on its way to regaining some calm.
Moreover, the townspeople likely started to feel that as long as they obeyed, they wouldn't be killed, which should have eased their mental burden somewhat.
It would take time for the town to fully regain its vitality. Even so, the glimpse of hope was significant.
What Yuurai could do in Yusef was finished in less than a day.
Immediately after, Jilbedo came with another request.
"I'd like the town of Rugimano to also be placed under the Demon King's control."
Rugimano is a town close to Grimoire and Yusef. Jilbedo said he had spoken with the guild leader there as well, and just like Yusef, Rugimano had become unstable and needed Yuurai's power to be saved.
(So, nominally, I'm taking control of two towns at once? I'm starting to look more and more like a Demon King plotting world domination.)
Yuurai felt a bit worried, but she didn't want the town of Rugimano to perish either, so in the end, she decided to place it under her control as well.
Yuurai and her group took a day to travel to Rugimano and made contact with the leader of the Adventurer Guild there.
Repeating the same process as in the Town of Yusef, she also placed Rugimano under her control. Of course, the actual governance was entrusted to the guild leader.
After discussing various matters about the future with the guild leader, it was evening by the time things settled down.
And then.
"......Well, the request is complete, so next, I need to deal with this one."
In a room of a now-ownerless house in Rugimano.
Yuurai faced Fia, who was seated on a chair.
Yuurai sat on a chair facing Fia, while Claire, Gilka, and Lipia stood by her side.
After beating her up once, Yuurai had been dragging Fia around with her. Using Mental Manipulation, she made it so Fia couldn't use magic, rendering her incapable of mass murder or the like. Additionally, with Marionette magic, she restricted almost all actions except breathing, preventing Fia from speaking or even seeing. Incidentally, the task of carrying her was left to a Skeleton.
Her face had been deformed and her body covered in wounds, but Lipia had healed her. Yuurai didn't mind leaving her as she was, but since Lipia looked pained, she allowed the healing.
"......You can open your eyes now."
Yuurai partially released the Marionette magic. Fia opened her eyes, looked at Yuurai's face, and smiled dreamily.
"Demon King-sama......! Finally, I can see your face again......! You're so beautiful today as well......!"
"......You really do love me, don't you? Even though you hardly know anything about me."
Yuurai let out a sigh.
"I love Demon King-sama with all my heart."
"......That's not love for me, is it? You're just in love with the image of a Demon King that you've created in your head, right?"
"That's not true! I love the Demon King-sama who is right in front of me now! I've fallen deeply for your overwhelming power! Please, let me join you in destroying the world!"
"......So, any strong opponent would do? Well, there's no point in saying that. It's true, I'm strong. But that's all I am. All I can do is destroy or kill. It's a very lonely power."
"It's not a lonely power! It's a noble and wonderful power that can purify this ugly world!"
"......Purify, huh. From your perspective, maybe that's how it seems. But I don't think that way. I believe the power to create or heal is far more amazing than the power to destroy."
"Demon King-sama doesn't need such things! With power equal to that of a god, you should ravage the world! It's in the moment of destruction that Demon King-sama is the most beautiful!"
"......Ah, I see."
(This girl is truly a completely different existence from me...... I shouldn't even think about trying to understand each other.)
Yuurai had hoped they could understand each other even a little, but she quickly gave up on that.
"You're free to think however you want, Fia...... For now, just tell me about the Demon King Cult."
"Yes, I understand. What would you like me to talk about?"
Fia nodded readily. It wasn't because her mind had been tampered with to make her speak everything honestly.
Her feeling of wanting to offer everything to the Demon King was probably genuine.