In order to meet Lilim-san, one of Phantasmal King's executives, the Ten Demons, I have arrived in the Archlesia Empire.
I had already contacted Chris-san beforehand and confirmed a date where it would be convenient for both of us for me to visit. And this time, Chris-san said she would introduce us herself, so Pandora-san didn't come.
Pandora-san seemed to be quite seriously worried about me visiting Lilim-san, but when Alice confidently told her that I would be fine, she agreed to let Chris-san handle Lilim-san for the time being.
Because I had contacted Chris-san beforehand, I was immediately led to her when I arrived at her castle, and together with Chris-san, we moved to the place where I think Lilim-san was.
Incidentally, the name Lilim was just her codename, and in the Archlesia Empire, she was using her real name "Ristia Asmodeus", so Alice warned me to call her by that name when there are people around.[……Arehh? Since we left the castle, does that mean she wasn't living here?]
[Yes, Mother lives in the inner palace…… where the former Empress and the former Emperor's concubines live. The former Emperor had so many concubines that he had spent a very large sum of money to build a palace for them.]
[Inner palace huh……]
[Yes. Though I say that, with the former Emperor dead, originally, the people in the inner palace probably should have moved elsewhere already…… but I, the current Emperor, have no intention of living there, and even if I were to have it removed, the cost would be too much considering the cost of looking after his concubines, and more importantly, they themselves are adamant about not leaving the inner palace. It would be a hassle to persuade them to leave, so I just left them as they pleased.]
[I- I see……]
[Well, we don't have much of a budget at the moment, and thus, we only assign the minimum number of servants, so it's not that much of a burden.]
When I heard the words Chris-san said with a wry smile, I had some doubts in mind. It sounded like they didn't have that large of a budget, but if that was the case, why were the concubines so adamant about not leaving the inner palace?If they had been living a luxurious life, I would understand why they wouldn't want to give their current lifestyle up…… but that doesn't seem to be the case.
As if she understood my doubts, Chris-san smiled.
[I can kind of understand your question, but you'll soon understand…… Now, we've arrived.]
Chris-san led me to a place where we found a magnificent building that was comparable to Lilia-san's mansion.
A woman in a simple dress stood at the entrance, and when she saw us, she deeply bowed her head. For a moment, I thought she was Lilim-san, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
[We've been expecting you, your Majesty, the Empress, Miyama Kaito-sama.]
[Where's Mother?]
[Risty-sama is in her usual room……]
[I understand. I'll be leading him there, so you don't have to come with us.]
After a short exchange, Chris-san opened the door of the mansion and asked me to go inside. Following her inside the mansion, as we walked down the wide corridor, Chris-san spoke with a wry smile on her face.
[……Incidentally, that woman just now is the "former Empress".]
[Huh? Eh?]
[As for why the former Empress wore a plain dress and acted like a servant…… The answer is simple. It's because they themselves wanted to do it.]
[……H- Hmmm?]
What the heck is that, I have no idea what she's talking about at all. Does that mean that she enjoys doing housework like Camellia-san?
[You seem confused. Well, I think it's understandable…… I guess I'll tell you the answer first. In the first place, the reason why the former Empress and the concubines don't want to leave the inner palace…… is because of Mother.]
[Errr, Ristia-san?]
[Mother is the most powerful succubus in existence. Her charms affect not only the opposite gender, but even the same gender…… In other words, the former Empress and the concubines are so in love with Mother that they don't want to leave the inner palace, and are even willing to serve as her servants.]
[……T- That's kinda tremendous.]
[Fortunately, Mother doesn't seem to be interested in the same gender, so she's really only using them as servants…… and they themselves are happy to be of service to Mother.]
I see…… The pinnacle of Lustful Demon, possessing the power to charm even the same gender. So that's the being named Lilim-san huh…… On top of that, according to Pandora-san, she had the bad habit of messing around with men.
I guess I could understand now why Pandora-san was worried…… but why was Alice that confident that it wouldn't be a problem?
H- Hmmm, I don't really get it, but we're about to meet now…… Would I be able to understand after I met her?
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Lilim's finally making her entrance…… No, she did already make her entrance in the novel, but this would be her first time meeting Kaito…… Serious development…… I guess there wouldn't be one huh…… It would end just like usual…… I knew it.]
