I activated the summon, and all 200… and 1 of them appeared.
Levi flinched—which was funny—until she instinctively moved to shield me.
…Hmmm.
Did she do that because she thought they could defeat me?
If so, then it's not funny anymore. It's just emotional bullying.
"So, Alicia, Levi," I began, "this is my gang of trustees. Gang of trustees, these two—Alicia Blonde and Levina—are my companions. We'll likely be working together from now on, so get along—"
"Ara? Supreme Lord," came the voice of you-know-who.
And hadn't I told them to drop that 'Supreme Lord' nonsense?!
"You walk around with such a seductive slitherer?" she mused. "If you're starved for warmth and intimacy, wouldn't it be better to copulate with your own kind? Like me?"
…Uh, what?
Levi's aura immediately turned murderous, with Tamayo's name on it.
Which I ignored because—now that I thought about it—there was something odd.
I did feel strangely attracted to Tamayo.
Like, if she actually tried, I could be seduced by her.
It's weird... Until I think of something;
It's actually... weirder: I, an originally four-limbed canine, was more interested in human breasts than the allure of another canine beast.
…Am I okay upstairs?
Tell me, Platform.
{It is already a given, Master is most definitely sick in the hea—}
No one asked for your opinion.
"Wow. What an amusing fox—it is a fox, right?" Alicia asked, leaning her weight casually against Bone Saw. "You should bring her out more often. We could play."
Awww. You know what? That was actually a great idea!
…Just one small problem.
"Human girl," Tamayo purred, utterly unbothered, "do you intend to look down on me? An existence that already surpasses your own?"
Then, with zero change in tone, she added, "And how exactly do you intend to 'play' with me, besides acting as my stepping stone?"
Alicia was… wow. Still smiling.
I never knew she was so matur—
"Ruby?"
Her energy fluctuated violently—the telltale sign she was painstakingly trying to hold herself back, despite the grin on her face.
"Yes, Alicia?"
"I don't like that fox. Kill it for me."
"Whoa, whoa!!"
I quickly stepped in to intervene—before Tamayo also asked me to kill Alicia because she didn't like her.
…Is this how those humans with 40–50 wives live their lives?
I just gained a newfound respect for them.
Before I could fully process that, Trigger joined the fray.
"Oh, beautiful maiden!" He swept into a dramatic bow before Levi and Alicia. "For the Supreme Lord to be in the company of such mesmerizing and fine-looking women, I can only say thank you—for no prize or reward would be enough. Unlike that impudent cur with the unusual number of tails, I am a humble servant of the Supreme Lord. I take it you're his wives?"
…Trigger…?
Alicia and Levi both reddened—and then took a smug pose.
"Oh? How polite and friendly!" Alicia beamed, running up to him and giving him an affectionate pat.
He was bigger than her—normally, she'd be scared stiff, but here she was, acting like she'd found her favorite new toy.
"Now, that's a wonderful servant you have there, Master Raven. HE has good manners."
And just like that, Trigger immediately formed the "Exile the Dark Fox" faction.
Meanwhile, Hachiman behaved himself, standing on guard, while his sister had already given in to laziness, lounging on the ground like a useless sack of fur.
What a big, happy family.
Of course, I firmly forbade them from tearing each other apart or forming weird revolting factions in broad daylight.
Then, I stretched my senses far—about 300 meters wide.
It was time for our second activity of the day.
I was itching to crush something. Anything.
And I wanted to see what my summons could do—especially Trigger and Tamayo, who bordered on my level.
Which—despite me fooling myself at every angle—was still an absurdly high level for a Principality to be at.
They weren't even supposed to be Principality-level at all—just your average monster.
Just some random, mindless summons.
Oh! I found a hapless victim—two of them, in fact—about 100 meters away from our standpoint.
Kukuku (this is Ruben's evil laughter).
Let's go greet them.
And test the waters—If they were edible, of course.
*
The coast was actually a pretty dangerous place to be. It was closest to THE Leviathan, who was currently busy scolding Tamayo.
"Look here, you she-fox. I am the second wife and second baby, if you seek any sort of romantic standing here, you will have to battle both I and Alicia over there."
"Hmph. I shall do no such thing. Why should I fight for something I already possess?"
Any beast or creature capable of being this close to that abomination definitely had guts.
And probably the brawl to back it up, as you can see.
'Wait, what did she mean by wife and baby?'
Anyway, this area was also known as Hades' Border.
It stretched across an absurdly wide range—so wide, in fact, that no one knew its beginning or end.
The wasteland where I and Alicia first appeared?
That was—according to the traitor, Dearth—part of the Underworld, which intersected with Pison.
From there, all the way to the coastal seas and the lands near the coast, and even far beyond progressing toward the human kingdoms, was still within Hades' Border.
And since this place interacted with the Underworld, you could easily find a Devil out here.
Devils were malicious beings.
They wanted nothing good for people—humans in particular.
So when I saw them, I sent them back to their hellhole.
After moving for a while, we met the owner of the presence I sensed.
Walking down a small hill—on the back of a monstrous reptilian fella—was a…
High-class Devil.
{Devil Marquis – High-level Principality}
Devils were already a powerful bunch, even at low ranks, but either way…
I let my magic aura leak from my being.
—It was nothing compared to Alicia's, of course.
No one I'd ever seen—even gods—could compare to her endless well of magic.
But mine was still on a plane where a weak-willed human would lose their sanity just from sensing it.
The Devil Marquis had the head of an owl, a grey-robed body resembling a human, and dragon wings protruding from his back—
…Which really made me wonder why he was riding something when he could just fly. Dumb devil.
And that something he was riding was a 30-foot-long beast—as thick as a wagon.
Definitely, also a high-level Principality, but on the mid-tier side.
It had three eyes on each side of its head.
Green pupils that moved independently—looking in every direction at once.
Gross.
And its teeth?
It looked like its mouth was filled with rusted nails.
To the point that it couldn't even close its mouth.
Saliva drooled out between those jagged things, like it was permanently stuck in a state of hunger.
Well, a feast's a feast.
I'd just remove every harmful substance, roast it alive, and serve it fresh.
It wasn't a disgusting devil, just a powerful monster.
A mere meal.
"Alicia, do you like crocodile meat?"
"I haven't tasted one before," she hummed, interested. "I'm curious, though."
There you have it—she wasn't grossed out… or scared of the thing too.
So…
Yeah, Mr. Owl-Head Devil—I gave him a cool name.
We'll be murdering you now, and stealing your mount for breakfast—if you don't mind!