“Hello again. I’ve come to invite you once more.”
When the door opened, a demon girl, who appeared to be around twelve years old, stood there. She had light green hair, horns, brown skin, and bright green eyes.
She was the one who invited me to the Sabbath before.
“Well, it’s been a while. Thank you for the invitation to the last Sabbath. Thanks to you, I had a really fun time.”
As I bowed my head, she showed a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Ugh… this feels a little awkward. Can we keep it more casual?”
She handed me a letter. The date on it was four days from now.
“With this, it might be too late for Lord Belial to make it. It’d be hard for me to go alone…”
“The Sabbath, you say? Hmm, I see, it’s the day after Lord Baal’s banquet. That one goes on until the morning or noon the next day, and it’s in a distant land too.”
When Belial appeared, the demon girl took a step back.
“Uh… could it be? Are you contracted with someone very important…?”
It seemed she didn’t know that Belial was a king. Now that I think of it, she wasn’t at the last Sabbath.
“Didn’t you attend the last Sabbath?”
“Yeah, I had an invitation from a demon of the Duke’s house, but I couldn’t get in, so I couldn’t deliver it… By the time I realized, it was already the day of the event.”
Ah, it was for Kimejes , then. I was about to say that, but Belial spoke first.
“Ugh. Well, it’s fine. Iriya , contact Lord Lucifer.”
… She’s not even listening to us! Why Lucifer, though?
The girl started to leave, but she was urged by Belial to stay and entered my house with me.
Then, a magic mirror to connect with the otherworld was prepared, and an illusion was summoned.
“Gate of the otherworld, open. In the name of the great, reflect this illusion on the mirror. Appear, Lord Lucifer.”
Small sparkling lights gathered, forming the image of a beautiful young demon with platinum hair that shone brighter than silver, eyes as clear as the sky, and wearing a white robe.
With a soft smile, he suddenly spoke.
“Belial. I heard you met with Baal. I’m not accepting complaints.”
“I would like to say something, but that’s not it! Look at this.”
Belial, looking displeased, took out the Sabbath invitation.
By the way, has something happened recently?
“Hm, Baal’s banquet the day after. I see, this way, you won’t offend Baal even if you refuse. You’re unexpectedly thoughtful.”
“Unexpectedly? That part is unnecessary. Take Iriya with you in my place. She seems to find it difficult to go alone.”
“Eh, please don’t worry about me…”
Could it be that they called me for this? I hurriedly tried to refuse, but it seemed there was another plan.
Lucifer still had his usual smile, but he seemed in a better mood than usual.
“That’s not it. This one dislikes Baal’s noisy banquet, so it’s for the best.”
“You’ve created a good excuse. Well then, I’ll attend. Little one, you’ll be the messenger, right?”
“Y-Yes!”
Lucifer’s gaze caught the girl, who had been quietly listening.
The demon girl stood up straight, extending her fingers, and responded loudly.
“Then, you’ll tell them. Lord Lucifer, the King of Hell, will attend this Sabbath.”
“O-Oh… the King!!! I-I understand! I’ll make sure to tell them!”
The girl nodded repeatedly, and Lucifer gently narrowed his eyes in response.
By the way, this girl also had another invitation, right?
“That’s right. You have an invitation for Kimejes , the demon contracted with the Duke’s court sorcerer… I know him, so I’ll hand it to him for you.”
“I-Is that okay!? I’m saved, thank you!”
The girl hurriedly took out the invitation for Kimejes from her bag, and I received it.
The girl then quickly took the message to her contractor.
I also set off to deliver the Sabbath invitation to the Duke’s residence. Sorcerer Hannes couldn’t make it due to business, so by Belial’s arrangement, I would meet Kimejes and head to the venue where we’d summon Lucifer.
Ekvar also wasn’t participating this time. He seemed to be working, keeping in touch with the country.
The day before the Sabbath.
Belial had been invited to a banquet by an acquaintance and headed to the southern country. Though he liked feasts and was a fan of strong drinks, he seemed unusually reluctant.
Lucifer was the one who had invited him, so he probably couldn’t refuse.
Since I would be attending with Kimejes , a demon from the royal capital, and I wanted to do some shopping, I went to the capital. I was looking for equipment and ingredients that couldn’t be found in Renant. Ekvar came along as a guard.
Though I was confident in my magic, I wasn’t sure how to deal with physical attacks.
In the capital, I found imported goods from the maritime country of Grusis, and I could get sea fish. However, since it was far away, they only had dried fish. Egdualum, a country by the sea, had fresh and abundant seafood. Sometimes, I really craved good seafood…
I reluctantly bought some dried seaweed, dried fish, and dried squid. Ekvar murmured that he wanted to eat sashimi.
I also browsed for herbs and tools for crafting items, and I bought a distillation device and arranged to have it delivered to my home. I visited a few other stores, but Ekvar didn’t seem to be shopping much. Maybe I’d dragged him around too much?
When we reached an open area where houses were sparse, I saw a man with a pale blue horse arguing with adventurers.
It seemed to be over a small collision, something trivial…
“Iriya , you’re thinking of getting involved again, aren’t you? Since they’re adventurers, it’s better to leave it to the guild if you want to stop them…”
As I watched the scene, Ekvar placed a hand on my shoulder, probably trying to stop me from getting involved.
“This isn’t between adventurers. That man is involved with a powerful demon…”
“…Eh! Ah, you’re right, he’s not human!”
Ekvar’s sharp observation skills were impressive. The demon was clearly holding back, making it hard to judge the situation.
The adventurer, wearing a B-rank insignia, seemed confident in his strength. It seemed like he’d ended up clashing with a military-like demon. There were adventurers who wanted to test their skills against professional soldiers.
“If that’s the case, I should go to Duke’s place and ask Kimejes for help… No!!!”
Just as Ekvar was about to suggest something, I had already approached the two. If this continued, the capital might be destroyed! The demon in front of us… was stronger than Kimejes !
Why is such a demon here? Are there many demons like Chenkaslar ??
“Excuse me, but what’s going on here, both of you? Why are you fighting in a public place like this?”
“Who are you? …That guy bumped into me. I said if he apologizes, I’ll forgive him!”
The B-rank adventurer frowned.
Ah, at this rate, neither side is going to back down… I bowed my head to the tall demon man holding a horse, who was standing beside me.
“I take it you are a noble from Hell. Please forgive this person’s rudeness.”
“Oh… a woman. Do you understand what’s going on here? Are you a summoner?”
The demon, grinning arrogantly and looking down at me, caused the man who had been involved with him to step back.
“…A demon!?”
“…What did you say to me?”
It seemed I was safe for now. It looks like he was the kind of person who just wanted to pick a fight…
“S-sorry!!”
The adventurer quickly ran off. The demon merely glanced at him but didn’t chase him. He’s quite rational.
Suddenly, my chin was grabbed, and I was forced to look up.
“How dare you help a man you don’t even know. Did you not think something might happen to you?”
Grayish-blue eyes caught mine. His emotions were unreadable.
“This way!”
“Bashin-sama…!!!”
Following Ekvar’s call, the Marquis-level demon Kimejes and the sorcerer Hannes, whom he had a contract with, rushed over. Upon seeing them, Bashin’s hand left me.
“Iriya , you too? We noticed a powerful demon entered the capital and came to check it out…”
“Is this your acquaintance, Kimejes ?”
Interrupting Hannes’s words, Bashin turned his face toward Kimejes . Based on his attitude, it seemed his title was, as expected, Duke or King.
“Yes, that person is…”
“A woman with guts. Interesting. She’s not your woman, though?”
Huh, this conversation is going in a strange direction…?
“No, she’s not.”
“Then she’s mine.”
“She is a contractor of Lord Belial!!!”
Kimejes ‘s desperate shout echoed. Bashin looked suspicious.
“…Huh? You’re telling me she’s Belial-sama’s contractor?”
I infused magic into the ruby Belial had first given me. Since it had the strongest connection, it should allow for communication, at least a little. I hadn’t tried it before, though.
“Ah~ testing, testing. This is Iriya , can you hear me? Please respond!”
After a moment, a reply came.
“I can hear you! Since it’s my first time using this, I was wondering what kind of danger it might be, but what is that… that lazy voice?!”
It seemed everyone could hear it, as all eyes turned to me. Bashin must have figured it out from the voice, and his eyes widened as he looked at the ruby.
“I have an important matter. Please state your name.”
“…Are you mocking me?”
“Wait, I’m not doubting! I understand, I understand…”
“Don’t worry, no voices other than mine can be transmitted.”
“Huh? Is someone else there?”
At Belial’s words, Bashin straightened his back and gave a short reply of “Yes.” He clearly couldn’t hear him.
“Bashin-sama, is it?”
“So, it’s Bashin. He was a polite man. I suppose he came to greet me! A good attitude, but we missed each other.”
For some reason, Belial seemed happy, misunderstanding the situation. Bashin seemed relieved by this response. Given his reaction, he’s probably not a king but a duke.
Since things had resolved without incident, I ended the communication.
“This communication… it’s amazing! We can talk! I wonder if I could use this for communication with my homeland?!”
Ekvar approached me excitedly.
“This can only work because of the connection from a contract, and the magic manipulation required is quite delicate. It probably can’t be used easily.”
“I see, so it’s not as simple as it seems…”
He seemed quite disappointed. Writing letters would be a bit tedious, after all.
“I was summoned from a place south of here. Not too far.”
“…Could it be, the military nation of Tranchetnel?”
When I asked about the situation of the summoning, Bashin answered honestly. Hannes then threw in more questions, seeming to have a hunch.
“Yes, they might have said something like that. I killed the summoner… It seems they had some bad plans. They wanted to summon the king. Be cautious.”
Tranchetnel had recently attempted to invade the Fen Duchy without declaring war. Other countries were on high alert.
As far as I knew, Egdualum had never waged war, only skirmishes. I had thought the world was more peaceful, but apparently, that’s not the case.
Using the kings or dukes of Hell in war is forbidden by the summoning code. While not everyone follows the rules—since there are no penalties or restraints—they are usually avoided as they’d be considered dangerous individuals.
“It’s getting fishy… I hope they give up soon,” Ekvar sighed and looked at me.
I felt like he was warning me to not get involved.
Since Bashin had no particular business in our world, I made sure to send him back properly. However, it was still a dangerous discussion…
Well, I guess worrying about it won’t change anything.
I parted ways with Ekvar, who had work to do, and stayed at the Duke’s mansion.
The next evening, after parting with the Duke and the sorcerer Hannes, I left for the Sabbat with Kimejes .
