The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
The Demon King’s castle stood in the mountain range at the western edge of the Western Continent.
It was the stronghold of all demons.
And the castle where the Demon King — master of all demons — slept.
Its appearance was far too massive to simply be called a castle.
It contained over a thousand rooms, and its topmost floor reached above the clouds.
It sprawled across the entire mountain range, more a city than a castle.
In one corner of that Demon King’s castle…
in the residential district where lower-ranked demons lived,
there was a small girl.
She appeared to be around ten years old.
Her orange hair looked almost like a blazing flame.
By contrast, her eyes were a deep blue.
Beautiful like gemstones, yet carrying a certain coldness.
"Ah."
A large-bodied demon bumped into the girl.
She fell backward onto her bottom, her gaze cast down.
The big demon leered at the little girl with a sadistic smile.
"Hey, hey, what’s a brat like you doing here? You’re in the way. Move it."
"…"
"This whole area is my turf. No one comes or goes without my say-so. Even a little brat like you."
"…"
"For now, hand over everything you’ve got. And… entertain me. Yeah, strip, bow down in the dirt, and give me everything you’ve got to amuse me."
"…"
"Hey, you listening?"
Irritated by her silence, the demon raised his voice.
At that, the girl twitched slightly.
She slowly raised her face…
"Wh-what the…?"
"Heehee."
The girl was smiling.
Smiling happily, delightfully.
"Found you."
"…Hah?"
"You’re the one, aren’t you, mister? The one that’s been causing trouble around here? I heard you’ve been bullying the other lower demons. Sometimes even killing them."
"So what? Hah? You gonna preach to me or something?"
"If a lecture would be enough, that’d be fine. But hey, why don’t you stop? Even if they’re half-breeds, the lower demons… they’re still our precious comrades. Bullying is bad, you know?"
"Oh-ho, you really are gonna preach. What a cheeky little brat!"
The demon grabbed the girl by the collar and easily lifted her small body.
He brought his face close, glaring at her.
But the girl didn’t flinch in the slightest.
She didn’t show a shred of fear.
At that point, he should have realized who she was.
Even if he’d rarely had the chance to meet high-ranking demons,
he should at least have known about her.
"Mister, you’re not planning to repent?"
"Like hell I would, dumbass. Everyone here is just my toys. I can do whatever I want."
"I see."
The girl smiled sweetly.
"If there’s no hope of reform… then die."
"…Hah? The hell are you— huh?"
Suddenly, the demon’s vision tilted.
In an instant he collapsed to the ground —
and the girl slipped free.
What happened?
In the blink of an eye, his arms and legs had been severed.
The wounds were sealed as if scorched by superheated flames.
"Wh-what is this!? My legs! My arms! Why, why, why…!?"
"You’re noisy."
The girl waved her hand —
And the demon’s entire body erupted into flames.
In the span of ten seconds, he was completely incinerated, leaving not even bones behind.
"Really now… you mustn’t do bad things, okay?"
The girl puffed out her cheeks like a child.
It was cute… but she was the one who had killed a demon in an instant.
The other demons who had witnessed it all trembled in terror.
"Good grief… going straight to execution, huh."
"Ah, Reez-chan! Hiya!"
From seemingly nowhere appeared another demon, dressed in a provocative outfit — Reez.
Apparently the two knew each other, and the girl waved to her cheerfully.
"Lady Altera. Even if they were a criminal, I do wonder if executing them without question is really the best way."
"Ehh—. But, but, they were a bad demon, right? And they didn’t have any hope of reform, right? Then killing them is the only option!"
"I can’t say I completely disagree, but… if you could consider that our demon forces are limited…"
"If garbage like that is around, they’ll just get in the way anyway. So I think killing them quickly is better."
"When you put it that way…"
Reez often had a rather extreme way of thinking herself, so she almost found herself agreeing with the girl’s argument.
But she quickly snapped herself out of it.
As she had just witnessed, the girl was overflowing with initiative.
It was to rein her in… to serve as a brake on her actions, that Reez had come here.
Even if there was some logic to her thinking, Reez had to be strict.
"Even if they were to be punished, there are more useful options, such as offering them as sacrifices. To kill them immediately without thinking of that is, after all, a problem."
"Hmm… when you put it that way, maybe so."
"Well, that decisiveness of yours is very much like you, Lady Altera."
"Are you… praising me?"
"In any case, starting today, I will be accompanying you for a while. I will tell you when something is not okay, so I would appreciate it if you thought it over before acting."
"Mmm… if Reez-chan says it like that, okay, got it. I’ll make sure to think first."
"Thank you very much."
Reez bowed her head deeply.
If one judged by appearances, Reez seemed to hold the higher position…
But in reality, it was the opposite.
The girl held the higher status.
And more power.
She was…
one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
The Fierce Flame, Altera.
"By the way, why did Reez-chan come here? I thought you were busy with various things on the human continent?"
"I was asked by another to come and support you, Lady Altera, since you would be making a move soon."
"Ohhh, I see! Ehehe, I like you, Reez-chan, because you’re so kind. Let’s do our best together, okay?"
"Yes. By the way… what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Huh? They didn’t tell you?"
"They said I should hear the details from you personally, Lady Altera."
"Geez, everyone’s so irresponsible. Well, whatever. What I want to do is really simple."
Altera raised her index and middle fingers and began folding them one by one.
"First, we attack a human city. Then, in the chaos, we secure women to use as seedbeds. Actually, attacking is kind of just a bonus. The real goal is to abduct human women in the confusion. I’d really like to rampage even more, but if I go too wild while the Demon King is asleep, I might get scolded, you know?"
With a childlike smile, Altera spoke such horrifying words.
Her innocent, childlike cruelty sent a chill down even Reez’s spine.
Thank you for the chapter!
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