Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

Nyxielle had fallen asleep before Asmodeus managed to leave.

Her little arms remained wrapped around his neck while he carried her through the children’s palace, listening to the others arguing quietly about whether waking their sister would earn them punishment.

"Father."

Ardyn followed him towards the entrance.

Asmodeus glanced back. "Hm?"

"You’ll come again?"

The question was simple enough that it shouldn’t have hurt.

Yet it did.

Asmodeus looked down at Nyxielle sleeping against his shoulder, then towards the children gathered behind his eldest son.

"Yes."

This time, he wouldn’t give them some vague promise about being less busy.

"I’ll come back."

Ardyn stared at him for several seconds before finally nodding.

Only after Asmodeus crossed the garden did his expression change.

Beyond the palace walls waited reports, spies, disappearing ships and an emperor preparing to cross the sea for one of his dragons.

Asmodeus looked back once again, as if keeping the image locked into his eyes, until they vanished, becoming nothing but small, tiny dots in the distance.

’Yes, I have to protect them.’

***

Three days later, the Imperial Council convened.

The room seemed almost offensively peaceful as the late morning sunlight poured through the enormous windows overlooking Lumeria, painting the polished stone table in warm gold. At the same time, servants quietly replaced untouched cups of tea, wine and coffee around the chamber.

Asmodeus sat at the head.

Serena sat beside him.

Technically, her seat remained several feet away.

In reality, she’d dragged the damned chair close enough that their arms touched whenever either moved.

’She’s really not letting go anymore...’

Asmodeus glanced sideways.

Serena caught him looking almost immediately.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Her silver eyes narrowed suspiciously before she returned to the documents spread across the table, though the faint curl of her lips revealed she knew exactly what he had been thinking.

Asmodeus couldn’t complain.

After everything he’d said to her, treating this newfound closeness as annoying would make him the greatest bastard alive.

Besides...

’I actually like this.’

Across from them sat Alice.

Unlike Serena, there wasn’t a trace of relaxation in the Chancellor’s posture. Several thick folders rested before her, each filled with reports from Lumeria’s major cities, trade guilds and provincial administrators.

Her expression worsened every time she turned another page.

Nerim occupied the chair beside her.

The Siren looked considerably less imposing in comparison, candyfloss-pink hair falling loosely around her shoulders while brilliant blue scales shimmered along her neck and forearms. Yet the stack of naval reports beside her rivalled Alice’s.

’Fuck...’

Asmodeus tapped the table with a sour expression. "So much... is it this bad?"

Alice pushed up her glasses, not rushing to respond as she tapped a thick stack of documents on the table before sliding the top page across the table.

"No, it’s not bad enough to bring anything severe. But. It’s a dangerous precedent, and I don’t think we should ignore it."

He lifted the document, scanning the details neatly written in her beautiful calligraphy and penmanship as she continued.

"Overseas prices have increased between twelve and thirty percent depending on the product. Certain medicines, processed metals and magical components are worse."

"Because of Leviathan?"

"That was our assumption."

Alice pointed towards several figures.

"Shipping insurance increased immediately after the battle, which made sense. Several independent merchants also refused northern routes until the waters stabilised."

Her finger moved further down.

"But prices continued rising after the sea calmed."

"Hmmm?"

Asmodeus couldn’t help but frown, though he knew there were enemies other than the ocean’s beast. But... to think that someone would suddenly strike at this moment felt almost stupid after seeing what happened.

"So someone is restricting the supply of exotic goods and vital imports...?"

"Precisely." Alice leaned back, taking a sip of her steaming hot coffee.

Her lips curled into a pleased smile before she placed it down.

"Several trading companies connected to the Divine Mainland have either withdrawn their vessels entirely or begun demanding absurd premiums before entering Lumerian waters."

Serena’s expression darkened.

"Those filthy pigs!? How dare they do this to us...!"

"Calm down, darling."

"Hmph... I know; it’s just annoying that those insects used us to calm the waters and remove the disease, and now they are trying to damage our Empire!"

"Possibly."

Alice was careful with the word.

"We cannot prove Imperial involvement."

"But you believe it."

"I believe merchants love money considerably more than politics, and too many of them suddenly decided they dislike our money at the same time."

Asmodeus shook his head, trying to hide his smirk. He knew that Alice took her position more seriously than expected. If there were a sudden flood or issue within the kingdom, her task force and Nerim would be there in hours.

’I cannot forget how lucky I am to have this woman beside me.’

The woman he’d trusted with the machinery of an empire long before most people understood how quickly Lumeria was expanding.

"What products are being hit hardest?"

"Imported alchemical reagents, enchanted metals, preserved medicines, naval timber and several luxury goods."

"Luxury goods don’t matter."

"They matter when nobles begin complaining."

Serena sighed at first, but then, when she glanced at Asmodeus, who remained coldly quiet, his smile hiding a fearsome aura that could be unleashed at any moment.

"Nobles? I don’t remember allowing any."

Of course he knew that she meant nobles from the other nations, but Asmodeus truly didn’t care for their input. When the humans, the elves and even the beastmen suffered in the past, it was he and his wives who saved them.

Not these pompous nobles.

"The medicines concern me more. We can replace most imports eventually, but our domestic production isn’t sufficient yet."

Asmodeus leaned forward.

"Start buying reserves before prices climb further."

"I already authorised it."

He looked at her.

Alice’s lips barely moved.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Don’t give me that look, Asmodeus. You appointed me Chancellor because I’m good at my job."

"Yeah... you truly have exceeded my expectations, Alice. I won’t forget all your hard work and efforts. If you want a reward, be sure to tell me in private."

The moment he mentioned a reward, every woman in the room snapped their head towards him and listened intently, their ears perked up.

’Haha... these women...’

"Gretel, how is your body?" Asmodeus glanced at the quiet maid, her muscular physique hard to miss as she bent over to lift something onto her cart.

’What a fine ass so round... and plump.’

"A-Ah..."

Although it’d been a long time since the two of them slept together, afterwards Gretel needed several days off to help adjust her body to the sudden changes both inside and outside... her height now ten centimetres taller and her figure fuller and more sensual.

"I’m fine now, Your Majesty." Gretel straightened immediately, although the blush spreading across her cheeks betrayed how uncomfortable she felt being examined in front of everyone. "The healers said my body has stabilised completely, and there shouldn’t be any further problems."

"Good."

Asmodeus nodded, allowing his gaze to remain on her for another moment before returning to the documents.

"Then stop lifting everything yourself. You have people for that."

Gretel opened her mouth as though she wanted to object, but one glance towards Alice apparently convinced her otherwise.

"...Understood."

Serena leaned slightly closer to Asmodeus and whispered beneath her breath.

"You really cannot help yourself, can you?"

"I was checking her health."

"Mhm."

He ignored the amused smile forming across her lips.

Nerim, who had remained surprisingly quiet until now, finally pulled several thinner reports from beneath the larger stack beside her.

"There is another matter."

The change in her tone immediately returned everyone’s attention to the table.

Asmodeus looked towards her.

"What happened?"

"We’ve received reports from Baltimore and four smaller coastal settlements during the last two weeks. None of them seemed particularly suspicious alone, but when the harbourmasters started comparing notes, several similarities appeared."

Nerim slid the first page towards him.

"Groups of unfamiliar humans have been arriving by independent merchant ships. Most stay several days, purchase ordinary supplies, ask questions and leave."

Alice adjusted her glasses.

"What sort of questions?"

"Road conditions, harbour depth, the number of soldiers stationed nearby, how quickly the coastal garrisons rotate and whether the larger monsters around the region have returned after Leviathan’s death."

Serena’s previous irritation disappeared.

"Those aren’t tourists."

Nobody was stupid.

It was clear these people didn’t mean well.

Nerim leaned forward, one finger resting against a marked section of the report.

"One group in Baltimore paid several fishermen for information about the southern currents. Another asked whether dragons were ever seen flying between the capital and the coast."

The room became quiet.

Everyone held their breath as if waiting for the incoming noise.

However, Asmodeus just shook his head and pointed his hand at Nerim, who held the following sheet of paper. "Go on."

"A-Ah... If we arrest them now, whoever sent them learns that we’ve noticed. If we allow them to remain comfortable, they may lead us towards whoever is coordinating the operation."

Alice glanced towards her adjutant.

"I approved it this morning."

Asmodeus leaned back.

For several seconds, he merely listened to the distant movement of servants beyond the chamber while his mind worked through the possibilities.

Prices rising.

Foreign merchants withdrawing.

Unknown humans measuring the coastline.

Questions about dragons.

All shortly after the Holy Empire confirmed that Lumeria possessed exactly what their Emperor required to break his curse.

Coincidences existed.

’But not like this, how obvious could these fools be?’

"Don’t strengthen Baltimore openly, but slowly increase the number of our knights by having them pose as adventurers in each domain. They can only attack Baltimore and the south... we have the advantage for now."

Asmodeus reached across the table and pulled the coastal map closer.

"Rotate troops through the surrounding forts instead. Let the cities appear normal, but reinforce everything behind them."

Alice nodded slowly.

"I can move supplies north under the excuse of post-Leviathan reconstruction."

"Do it."

Nerim traced several shipping routes across the map.

"And the foreign vessels?"

"Let them sail."

Her blue eyes narrowed.

"All of them?"

"For now."

Asmodeus smiled, though there was little warmth behind it.

"If the Holy Empire wants to study us, then we should be generous hosts."

However, all women knew... that eerie glow in their husbands’ eyes meant that he was probably going to disappear one of these nights.

And when he did, there would likely be hell to pay.

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