---

After the Demon King was defeated and the Demon King’s army was dismantled.

The surviving Demon Tribe members slipped into the shadows.

To burn the remaining heretical gods and the civilizations that followed them, and bring the promised world to this land.

For those who originally lived here, it was an absurd statement, but similar things happened frequently. Like the Israelites who were annihilated before the Common Era and established a nation on foreign soil.

And even after thousands of years, the fact that they had not lost sight of their original intentions was admirable.

“Hmm… So this is said to be the key to unlocking that seal?”

“To be precise, it’s a tool to break the seal. Anyway, did you find the lowest level of the seal?”

However, there were those who were not pleased by their persevering resolve over those thousands of years.

Like the Succubus, Marta, facing Lucia.

“Hmm… Unfortunately, no.”

Of course, this was not the truth. Marta had estimated the location of the seal and was confident about it.

“The search is delayed. Soon there will be the festival of the fat king. The adventurers aren’t doing their jobs.”

“Hmm. Yes. That’s unavoidable. Just continue with what you’re doing.”

“Thank you, Lady Lucia.”

Yet, this was something that should not be revealed to Lucia, the ‘representative’ of the Succubus Queen standing before her. She concealed her true thoughts and disguised her emotions as she exited the room.

It was only after she had distanced herself from the room that she let out a small sigh.

“…Pahaaah.”

Really, she still couldn’t understand. The Demon King? The Four Heavenly Kings? The Demon King’s army? Were they not ancestors who had failed and perished before she was even born? To put it plainly, they were others.

However, she couldn’t voice that thought. The nail that protrudes will get hammered down.

In this moment of fleeting pleasure, she was the only nail sticking out.

At this rate, the plan might actually succeed. That shouldn’t happen.

While contemplating as she descended the stairs, her alias was called out by a regular.

“Merian. You still shine beautifully like sunlight on silk.”

“Have you been well, Sir Brian?”

“If you were here with me?”

“Alas, I’m afraid I cannot, as I have some work entrusted to me by the Matron.”

“How unfortunate.”

“Then, please enjoy yourself with the juniors?”

It was truly disappointing for her as well. Even though she was addressing him with an alias, Brian, the Duke of South Coast, as a Succubus, was very satisfied with the nights and days just like a sailor.

Moreover, his expenditures were quite large, so it helped greatly in bringing in the latest trends from the continent.

However, today was not a day for celebration.

“The deep reconnaissance request you entrusted has not met the target.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. The party members are saying they want to rest early since there’s the festival coming up… I apologize.”

“No. Adventurers are their own assets.”

“Oh my. So much. I’m sorry. Here’s the map.”

There was nothing to apologize for. The later the schedule was delayed, the more her peaceful life would be maintained.

However, that peace came to an end when she received word that they had successfully infiltrated the Afterglow Fortress, the last of their targeted facilities.

Marta thought all the good days had passed.

Reports of successful plans pouring in from various places.

Her mood, which had been worsening day by day, was flipped when she heard of the operation’s failure in Iceland.

It seemed that the plan would be postponed, but it appeared Lucia, who had taken her in, had different thoughts. She said she would proceed with the plan and make up for the failure.

After all, if the Dragon Lord, the Red Dragon King, which had been sealed, were to be unleashed, according to legend, it wouldn’t be difficult to wipe out the upper echelon and top forces of the Kingdom of Seophone.

Though generally recorded as unruly, Red Dragons might be generous, but wishes would still be granted. That’s what the legend said.

And yet, the efforts she had made to sabotage her kin’s work for the sake of her long-lasting tranquility would also come undone.

Moreover, if the map currently in her hands fell into Lucia’s hands, it would be the end.

“Sigh. I really don’t want to work.”

The map was an estimate she had come up with herself. It further solidified her confidence about the location of the seal.

She wanted to roll around with a splendid man. She wanted to eat more trending desserts. She wanted to shop flamboyantly at the Wizard Guild’s storefront.

This thought was shared by her mother. Her grandmother had thought the same, and her great-grandmother and those of earlier generations shared that common thought.

So-called family heritage.

But the most important key.

If the shard of the Dragon God came into Lucia’s possession.

If the map of the depths of the Catacombs, gathered over a long time since her ancestors settled in Bendleig, were added in, Lucia would surely find the path.

“Traitors… no, that’s not it.”

She unconsciously recalled the treacherous Demon Tribe who directly contradicted the universal belief of the Demon Tribe and broke out in a cold sweat.

If Lucia had not merely become the representative of the Succubus Queen but had formally succeeded her position, this thought alone would have doomed her.

All the archaic traditionalists who love peace like her, except for the Demon Tribe, should perish.

However… she couldn’t defy it.

“Damn that entourage contract… that damned Lucia.”

The contract of the Demon Tribe handed down through bloodlines has such a rule.

She could be lazy and throw tantrums to the maximum, but she couldn’t evade the work itself.

Normally, such matters would result in immediate death by the breach of contract, but this didn’t apply as Lucia was not officially the Succubus Queen.

Ah… I really don’t want to work.

‘…Should I take the plunge and make contact?’

If this continues, Bendleig would be compelled to burn along with her peaceful life and be forcibly thrown into a war with the unwanted humans.

Then it really was essential to select a contact to approach.

There was one person she could relay information directly to.

That person happened to be a great noble of the kingdom.

After heading to the capital, she had become a regular of Duke Brian Blackpearl of South Coast… but.

Imagining revealing her identity to the dukes who had suffered severe damage to their territories gave her chills.

Nor could she approach Prince Inamark.

As soon as he stepped in, the bloodstained Swordmaster, rumored to be the strongest candidate of the Kingdom of Seophone, would surely pounce on her.

‘In the end, is the Duke of Iceland all that remains?’

He seemed to have seen through and prevented the tricks of the allies here with whom she didn’t particularly wish to become close, right?

She didn’t know any further information, but anyway, the one who had been cautious would likely have a bit more sense than the one being tricked.

Yet direct contact was impossible. Her chance had been when the king left the city along with the dukes, and that opportunity had already passed.

That left contact through an aide.

More precisely, through the aide’s aide.

She had to approach him as indirectly as possible…

‘Chef Karem… wasn’t it?’

The savior of the common people’s dining tables, the genius chef, the young man swallowed by the Grand Spirit of Cold…

Of course, he was just an ordinary human.

He often went out, so she could apply a hint of temptation magic mixed with illusion magic to subtly convey her thoughts along with the map and information about the remaining expedition area…

‘Yes… yes! The plan is perfect!’

But she needed to be careful not to arouse Lucia’s suspicions.

At the guild where she was supposed to be a Demon, paradoxically, it was the humans who didn’t realize she was a true Demon.

Marta thanked again that Lucia was the ‘representative’ of the Succubus Queen as she gathered the final map and headed back to the guild.

Time wasn’t on her side; she needed to secure the map as soon as possible, confirm the seal’s location, and make contact with the chef.

And thanks to my regular, Duke of South Coast, thank you!

Because of that, she had a way to reach the depths easily.

*

*

*

“…What is Henry eating now?”

“Is it… Jajangmyeon?”

“Not that, you idiot.”

Inamark waved his hand at Cordelia’s answer.

The territorial war ultimately ended in a whimper as Crystal Jubilee approached, and he was disappointed to think this was strange…

It was outrageous enough to turn all his disappointment into bewilderment.

Chop chop chop chop—

“Jajaja- Jajaja-”

Sitting in his special chair, Henry was bringing mouthfuls of the brown-sauced noodles, vegetables, and minimal meat to his mouth steadily.

“Is that kid really eating vegetables like that? Why?”

“He’s been trying to avoid any other food except that for a while.”

“…Noodles I can understand, but cabbage and onions?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The people of Seophone lived and died by meat.

To the extent that there are people risking their lives exploring unknown areas and magical realms just to try Dragon meat.

Inamark found his son odd for the first time.

He was the very representation of nobility who had never eaten vegetables even once since birth.

“Isn’t he under some curse or something?”

“I asked Sir Keven. He said nothing is wrong.”

“…So he genuinely likes eating them?”

It was truly remarkable.

And it was unbelievable.

How could a kid who should love meat and eat meat so well be devouring vegetables like that?

“To eat like that at every meal, and especially so many vegetables? What if the kid grows weak from this?”

An incredibly nonsensical statement.

However, it was common sense in Europa and Seophone.

Eating meat gives power.

Eating vegetables drains power.

This was a widely believed common knowledge, and the elves of Bersengzeto, who openly inverted that by eating more vegetables, were the blind spots of the city of the blind.

“Anyway… meat went in, so it’s something.”

“What kind of meat did he eat?”

“They say it’s the meat of a Catoblepas.”

The Catoblepas was a monster that could kill anyone who looked at it on the spot and poisoned the surroundings just by breathing.

At least the kind of meat used was acceptable.

However, the excessive cabbage and onions made him uncomfortable.

“Is it really okay to eat so many vegetables like that?”

“In fact, it’s because there are carnivores like you, but everyone else eats a bit of vegetables, you know?”

“Even so, isn’t it strange to make a child who’s a prince of a country eat that much vegetables?”

“This furry pig is worrying too much. Like I’ve said before, eating a bowl of salad won’t make your belly shrink.”

“What’s that brown sauce covering the noodles?”

“They say it’s the chef Karem’s vision. Something about making garum from beans.”

“Beans?”

In contrast, the king and queen, who seemed to be exchanging words so casually, were in fact not on good terms. They called each other ‘idiot’ and ‘furry pig’ and arguing was part of their daily lives.

Nevertheless, Inamark and Cordelia’s marriage life flowed quite normally.

Not cheating, and arguing only with words, not with violence.

And thanks to Henry, who was so precious it wouldn’t hurt even to put him in their eyes.

Because of that, the king and queen wholeheartedly trusted each other in matters regarding their gender relations and concerning Henry.

“How can you enjoy that tasteless thing?”

“That, I wouldn’t know. It’s concerning that Sir Jackson is openly worshiping that chef as a god, however.”

“That idiot. Of course, that’s a concern, but first let’s focus on Henry. So you’re worried that Henry is only eating that food?”

“He’s been eating there three times a day.”

As it is perfectly natural for parents to worry about their child eating the same food every time, Inamark nodded.

“If that’s the issue, then the solution is simple. Why not just ask that chef, the one who created this, to have him take an interest in other foods?”

“Do you think I haven’t thought about that?”

“Then what?”

Inamark looked at Cordelia as if to question what the issue was, and she gazed at Henry who was determined to shove his face into the bowl and Bella Donna stopping him.

“What if he insists on only eating that noodle dish from now on?”

“Then that chef…”

Inamark couldn’t finish his sentence.

The chef who made the dish his son was going crazy about, the one who had the Captain of the Vanguard protect him as a god?

He was well aware that this chef was the romantic partner of Alfred’s Chief Magic Consultant. Prior to that.

Would Alfred ever even consider letting go of that chef?

Inamark clearly remembered.

The chubby Alfred’s fixation on food since childhood.

Now that he’s in his alternative phase, he seems a bit less keen, but his youngest daughter is completely fanatical about that chef’s cooking.

‘…Ugh. This is impossible to hire.’

Alfred dotes on Alicia.

Just as Inamark favors Henry.

This made him feel that it was even more impossible.

“Should I just ask for the recipe?”

The friendship with his friend.

His son’s palate.

The best solution Inamark found between those two was just that. Then he had to think about the price he would have to pay…

“A ticket for deep Catacomb tours would suffice.”

!?

“A full package… right?”

Inamark was stunned. He had meticulously reserved it as a secret…!

“How did you…?!”

“Surely you wouldn’t say that it can’t be done?”

“But that’s—”

Inamark’s voice, rising in pitch, was completely deflated by Cordelia’s next words.

“That was Sir Jackson’s impromptu action.”

“Ahem. Cough… that’s…”

“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

In an utterly unexpected situation, in which there were other nobles present, the party had not even been authorized, but they referred to him as a god nonetheless. Inamark was momentarily at a loss.

Of course, had it been the usual Inamark, he would have flatly told them not to talk nonsense. However, he couldn’t do that.

The one that Michael had referred to as a god happened to be the beloved partner of his close friend’s aide.

Cordelia pressed this point.

He bolted out during the banquet to watch the territorial war. It was plain to see that if Inamark did not want to appear next time, he would have sprung up for some other reason.

‘Now that it’s become like this, I have to get rid of that damned ticket. That chef, was it said he was close with his employer?’

Cordelia thought to use this opportunity to apologize to Catherine and Karem under the pretext of asking them out on a date.

“Cough. My lady. That ticket—”

“Is there really a thought of saving costs to educate the royal chefs for the sake of my beloved son, while committing an act of rudeness to the aide of a friend?”

Cowardly, traitor!

Having heard such a remark, he had no choice but to back down.

With trembling hands, Inamark pulled out the tour ticket.

 

---