S-Rank Harem: I Became My Character with Extra Control Skill

'I guess I didn't expect him to address me that way. I mean, I expected them to be much more defensive.'

Ryan thought to himself as he took in the surprising welcome. He had arrived at that distant city of Perishing Plains expecting to find a certain hostility or fear sown by the former ruler's tyranny.

With that in mind, Ryan slowly and calmly approached the infernal demon who had spoken first.

"So you know me?"

Ryan asked, stopping a few meters away from the group of horned men. The elegantly dressed man nodded, maintaining an extremely respectful posture in front of him.

"In the demon, human, elven, and dwarven worlds, there is no one who doesn't know your name, Lord Demon King."

He answered very politely. Then, the demon standing to his right also spoke, seeking to complement that grand statement about the fame surrounding the human leader.

"Great tales of your exploits have spread throughout the territory. Naturally, at first we thought they were just human fabrications or exaggerated rumors. Like when you publicly rebelled against the high command of the holy knights and saved a young demon from dying in the south."

As he said that last word, the infernal demon's eyes looked directly at Beatrice. The young infernal was standing right next to Ryan, listening to the conversation in the center of the large plaza.

Beatrice remained completely silent under his watchful gaze. She just observed the situation with a very serious and expressionless face, neither confirming nor denying the famous story of her own rescue in front of the citizens.

The rest of the curious demons began slowly coming out of the nearby buildings. Those citizens, whose magical power didn't exceed the principality rank, approached them, forming a large circle in the broad, round plaza.

Ryan looked at the crowd gathered around him. He quickly noticed that some adults were carrying small demon babies in their arms, and others were walking with children, holding their hands protectively.

It was a very normal civilian community, vastly different from the image of constant war that Rigal projected to the world.

"We were already very eager to meet you in person. If you hadn't come today, we would have gone to your castle ourselves, Your Majesty. It's a true honor that you chose this specific city to visit us."

The first demon added with genuine sincerity in his voice. The demon placed his right hand on his own chest, pointing to himself to formally introduce himself to the highest authority of his nation.

"My name is Elric. I am the leader of this city."

Elric introduced himself in a clear voice and then pointed to the man standing right to his right.

"This is Firmin, and the man on my left is Ilbert."

When mentioned by their leader, all of them bowed deeply at the same time, bending their backs before Ryan. Just like the three men, everyone gathered in the plaza lowered their heads as a sign of deep respect.

'Just like that? I was sure they would oppose me.'

Ryan thought, feeling slightly confused by the warm and peaceful attitude of everyone present. Ryan looked at each of them, evaluating their body language.

"Alright, and from what I see, you three are infernals."

Ryan said in a very casual and direct tone.

Immediately, the calm expression of the three men changed completely. They looked somewhat restless and extremely nervous. Ryan immediately turned to Lise to confirm a detail.

"Are there more infernals in the other cities of this continent?"

Ryan asked, wanting to know if this was a common tactic throughout the Kowarre territory or an isolated case in this huge city.

"They were always reported as principalities, a little stronger than the average citizen, but nothing special to note."

Lise commented, recalling the old records of Rigal's army. The white dragon quickly turned toward the three demons in front of them.

"You bastards were hiding your rank?"

She asked, shooting them a murderous glare. Lise's bicolored eyes shone with pure fury as she realized the deception.

"Ha ha ah."

Elric laughed somewhat nervously, trying to dispel the beast's anger and ease the heavy tension in the air at the plaza.

"You found us out very quickly. As expected from the one who managed to defeat the demon king Rigal."

'Naturally, it's because I'm a support and I inspected you when I arrived.'

'And they aren't carrying relics that hide their power in my interface, or could it be that they're wearing them right now?'

Ryan thought, analyzing the reason why he could easily see their real stats. Then Elric continued speaking to explain the important reasons for their years-long lie.

"Rigal looked down on principalities and treated them like mere pawns."

Elric looked at the civilians in the plaza before looking back at Ryan.

"And we didn't want to be forcibly recruited for the war. It's not that we weren't willing to fight for our own city, but his reasons for war were very petty."

Once Elric gave his reasons for protecting his people from Rigal's ambitions, the atmosphere relaxed a little.

Firmin took a step forward and gave a slight bow to Ryan. With a very quick and fluid motion, he removed a strange dark ring he was wearing on his finger and immediately put it in his pocket.

"This won't be of any use against you anymore."

The demon explained.

"I am very sorry that we tried to deceive you, Your Majesty. Let's just say it was a small test to gauge your senses."

Firmin said, looking ashamedly at the plaza's cobblestone ground. Then he looked up to look directly at Ryan's expressionless face.

"I hope you can forgive us for this offense."

Beatrice remained completely silent next to Ryan, observing everything. But from her tense facial expression and clenched fists, it was very obvious she was annoyed by the demons' bold test.

Just like the young infernal, Lise was also extremely furious at the grave lack of respect towards her beloved master. But both women made the maximum physical and mental effort to restrain themselves and not do anything violent.

They didn't want to act purely on impulse, so as not to damage Ryan's good political image in the city or create wrong impressions about his leadership in this new and delicate beginning.

Among the hundreds of city demons gathered in the plaza, people began whispering to each other in great surprise. It seemed not even they themselves knew the big secret that their kind leaders were infernals.

The citizens were even more surprised to see Ryan's overwhelming capability. The new human king of Kowarre could see right through their concealment relics as if they were absolutely nothing.

"Anyway, that doesn't matter to me, as long as you understand from now on."

Ryan said, completely downplaying the magic ring trick. He maintained a firm and authoritative posture to change the course of the conversation.

"As for the real reason I came here today, it's because I want to hold a grand assembly with all the leaders."

Ryan quickly swept his sharp gaze over the immense place, evaluating the city's grand architecture and the civilian status of the population. And then he continued with his official announcement.

"But before that, I wanted to personally see the demons of these lands to understand how they live."

Ryan addressed Elric, Firmin, and Ilbert directly with a very loud and clear voice.

"I want you to send fast demons as messengers to the other cities today. In a week, I will expect all the city leaders at my castle."

He paused, making sure all the civilians in the plaza also heard his next big promise.

"I am very different from Rigal, so many things are going to change radically in this nation. And I want everyone to know that when all the rulers are gathered."

The demons listened to every single one of his heavy words with total attention and absolute silence. And Ryan dropped a follow-up question to seal his royal command.

"Have you understood?"

"Yes!"

The three leaders shouted in unison, nodding their heads vigorously to show their obedience and loyalty to the new crown of Kowarre.

But it was then that the demon standing to Elric's left, Ilbert, took a long step forward, breaking formation. He looked up at Ryan.

"Lord Demon King, we perfectly understand that you are an immensely powerful being, but..."

Ilbert paused, showing a clear expression of doubt and mistrust in his dark eyes.

"We know very well that you are still a human being, so... whose side are you really on?"

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