Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Damn it...” Ron heard Victoria’s familiar, quiet curse from behind him. ”This is truly a sin. I hope Heim can forgive my transgressions...”

Facing the Desire Demon’s teasing, which carried the heat of Purgatory Fire, Ron took a step back and slapped away her increasingly bold hands.

”You’re probably not skilled enough to sense our arrival from so far away and then deliberately pick a ’model’ just for us, are you?”

”Darling, is there any need to fuss over such things?” If the Desire Demon had been held back by her bonds before, she was now pulling out all the stops of seduction. ”I know what you like to see, and I know what you like to hear. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

But what the Desire Demon hadn’t expected was that even as she eagerly served herself up on a platter for Ron, the man remained completely unmoved. He even managed to find a spare moment to cast a Protective Magic spell on himself.

’What’s going on? Have I been tormented by those ugly demons for so long that I’ve lost even this much of my Charm?!’

Just as the Desire Demon was about to re-examine her own delicate, Gemstone-red skin exposed to the air, Ron spoke:

”Honestly, devil, if you’d just stop for a moment to think about my question and answer it yourself, you’d understand that I’m asking you to stop for your own good.”

”Really?” The Desire Demon was still unwilling to give up. ”You bear the mark of Her Majesty the Queen, identifying you as ’Potential Allies.’ I used that to determine whether you were friend or foe.”

”But I still couldn’t quite trust your stance, so I made a reasonable adjustment. Is there anything wrong with that for me?”

The Desire Demon stared maliciously at Ron. It didn’t matter if he was planning to attack or to touch her; she was a Desire Demon, and she had a strategy ready for either scenario.

However, what she hadn’t expected was for Ron to use his words instead of his hands. He just stood his ground and immediately asked his next question:

”Who is this Queen of yours? Gracia?”

”Please, you’re a Mage, after all. Don’t tell me you don’t even know that?” the Desire Demon huffed nonchalantly. ”Or are you just asking something you already know?”

”A while ago, Her Majesty abduc—persuaded a Pollution Worm Demon to join her. You all seemed to be there, right?”

”So it was then,” Ron nodded. ”But did you know that wasn’t actually my first meeting with the Duke?”

”Is that so?” The Desire Demon blinked, asking back with a half-believing smile.

As an expert in manipulating the bodies and minds of living creatures, the Desire Demon could naturally and easily discern the truth in Ron’s words. But it was precisely because she got no sense that ’he’s lying’ that a faint unease began to stir in her heart.

But Ron didn’t care whether she could tell truth from falsehood, because everything he was about to say was true.

”My first meeting with the Duke was in my bedroom.”

”Huh?” The Desire Demon’s claw, which had been trying to touch Ron again, paused mid-air.

”She even got into my bed.”

”Ah?” The Desire Demon’s eyes went wide.

”I turned her down.”

”Eek?!”

The Desire Demon leaped back several meters in terror. The agility she displayed in that instant proved that these creatures were by no means as poor at close combat as rumors suggested. With her eyes and mouth wide open, she stared at Ron’s completely unfazed expression as if looking at a monster, utterly dumbfounded.

”When a mortal opens their mouth, they lie. When a mortal keeps their mouth shut, they’re lying to themselves in their heart.” This was a proverb passed down by the succubi of the Abyss, the old rivals of the Desire Demons. Due to the similar nature of their ”work,” the Desire Demons had a similar saying. But today, the Desire Demon felt it was time to overturn that law.

’Everything that mortal just said... was actually true?!’

’How is that possible? How can that be?! This is insane!’

’What kind of mortal could reject a Nine Hells Monarch who offered herself to him in bed! So what was I just doing? Making a fool of myself in front of a group of mortals who were, just a moment ago, utterly bewitched by me?’

”That’s why I said I was advising you to stop for your own good,” Ron shrugged. ”The princess of the Nine Prisons obviously isn’t going to get serious with a mere mortal like me. But just because she isn’t serious doesn’t mean you can afford not to be.”

Gracia wasn’t serious because she was the Desire Demon Queen, the master of Marborg, a Nine Hells Monarch and Devil Duke. She was also the daughter of that ultimate evil and the little princess of Purgatory. As long as she didn’t attack Heaven Mountain or rebel against her father the king, she could do whatever she pleased. There were few beings in the entire Multiverse who could say ”no” to her, either to her face or behind her back.

But for other creatures to not be serious... what, are you her father, Asmodis?

Ron was certainly not exceptionally powerful, nor was he a saint with unshakable self-control. If the Desire Demon were to tempt him persistently, his fall could practically be written in the future perfect tense. But then what?

Was the Lord of Nine Hells looking to adopt a new goddaughter?

The moment she thought about the potential consequences of her success, the Desire Demon, born in Purgatory, actually began to break out in a cold sweat.

’Duke Glaciesia’s reputation isn’t just built on those titles. What is Marborg? It’s the prison of hell! She herself is both the warden and the most dangerous criminal!’

’If a trivial matter like this were to ”accidentally” reach Her Highness, being judged and turned into an Inferior Demon would be a happy ending!’

”That... that was just a little joke to liven things up,” the Desire Demon said with a fawning smile, while inwardly cursing that this man was indeed harder to deal with than his companions. ”I truly had no idea that Your Excellency had a deeper relationship with Her Highness the Princess than just ’Potential Ally.’”

”But if I may be so bold as to ask: it seems you don’t have a contract on you?”

”It was through the recommendation of a Shadow Spirit,” Ron nodded. ”Any other questions? If not, I have quite a few for you.”

”I will tell you everything I know, holding nothing back!” The Desire Demon had completely lost her earlier attitude of treating mortals as mere playthings; her demeanor had flipped from arrogant to obsequious. ”But in exchange, could you perhaps pretend that everything that just happened... was entirely due to your group’s chivalry, and that I never once tried to actively call for help?”

Although devils belonged to the Order Camp, the exact flexibility of that ”Order” was probably only known to Asmodis and his daughter, an expert in law. The Desire Demon had no desire to take that risk.

”I’m a very cooperative person,” Ron said, not forgetting to cast another Protective Magic spell on himself while her guard was down. ”Just as you are also very willing to cooperate.”

”So, first, please tell me: as a devil, and a Desire Demon at that, how did you end up here?”