NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Nahun was heading to Seere’s office to have the conversation they couldn’t have yesterday since Seere had suddenly left.
‘Why did they leave so abruptly yesterday…’
It was still a puzzling part for Nahun. However, understanding that they were at the age of adolescence, a time when emotional fluctuations were widening, Nahun tried to empathize. It was an age where suddenly becoming excited or unexpectedly feeling gloomy wasn’t strange at all. Nahun had experienced that period as well and intended to approach it with an open heart.
With that thought, Nahun knocked on the office door with a smiling face. Although Seere had left suddenly yesterday, they were planning to greet them cheerfully. However, when Nahun knocked, it was Cecili who came out.
“Cecili?”
“Hello, Nahun. I was in the middle of cleaning the office.”
Nahun tilted their head at the mention of cleaning.
“Where did Seere go?”
“The Queen is with the head maid at the moment.”
“With Rea?”
Nahun tilted their head again. It was business hours now, so they wondered why they had gone somewhere with Rea.
“Where did they go?”
“They went to learn some etiquette.”
“…Etiquette?”
“Yes. It was about time for them to start, and there was a request from the Queen as well. Ideally, they should have started at a younger age, but it’s a bit late now. Still, it’s better to get familiar with it before growing up more.”
Nahun nodded at Cecili’s words. That made sense; however…
“Why during business hours?”
“I’m not quite sure about that either. The head maid is conducting the lesson at the Queen’s request.”
“…Skipping work, huh?”
“Well, who knows.”
Cecili covered her mouth with her hand and waved her fox tail lightly, then smiled slightly as if amused.
“Maybe the Queen is just a bit bored with the work and is showing some cute defiance?”
“Hmm… They seemed to refuse when I offered to help with the work.”
Nahun scratched their head slightly, unsure of the reason. Then, they asked Cecili.
“When will the cleaning be finished?”
“It will take a little while longer. I just started a bit ago.”
“Is that so? Then do you know where the lesson is taking place?”
“Yes, they should be in the backyard garden.”
“Alright, I got it.”
Hearing where Seere was, Nahun headed straight in that direction. As Nahun walked away, Cecili recalled what Seere had mentioned to Rea a little while ago and chuckled lightly.
“The Queen is so adorable, you know?”
Cecili smiled brightly. For her, Seere was not only someone she served with utmost loyalty but also a sibling-like figure whom she had cared for and played with since childhood.
She wanted to fulfill anything that Seere desired, even if it bordered on obsession. So, when Nahun visited the office, she pretended to clean intentionally to send Nahun to the backyard.
“I’ll help you as much as I can, my Queen.”
Cecili hummed cheerfully as she resumed cleaning.
#
Nahun headed straight to the backyard, and he could immediately spot Seere.
“Come on, over here.”
“…Okay!”
However, what he saw was a bit peculiar. Seere was not wearing their usual office attire but a long, flowing dress instead. It was a party dress that reached down to her legs.
Moreover, she had piled books high on her head and was cautiously stepping forward. Nahun stared at this odd sight, a bit dazed.
One step at a time, she walked carefully without stepping on the hem of her dress while maintaining her posture. Watching her, Nahun began to grasp what she was doing.
‘Balancing training?’
Yet, Nahun was puzzled as to why such training was part of etiquette class. Seere walked steadily, balanced well, and when she suddenly lifted her gaze, their eyes met.
“…Ah!?”
“My Queen!?”
“Um…”
Crash.
Seeing Seere startled and dropping all the books as she fell made Nahun feel slightly guilty. It seemed she had been taken by surprise upon meeting his gaze without knowing he was there.
“My Queen, you were doing so well! What suddenly happened?”
“T-Teacher…”
“Hmm?”
Rea turned around, and she also met Nahun’s eyes. Nahun raised a hand to greet her with a slightly awkward feeling, and only then did Rea seem to understand Seere’s reaction.
Approaching them, Nahun explained, “I was looking for you in the office, but when I asked Cecili, who was cleaning, she told me to come here. I’m sorry if I interrupted.”
“…It’s nothing. More importantly, what brings you here?”
“Well, I came to talk to Seere about something regarding the 55th floor.”
Nahun glanced at Seere, who was sitting there bewildered, staring at the fallen books.
“Seere.”
“Yes…!?”
“I’m sorry for interrupting. Since this is happening, do you have a moment to talk?”
“Yes…”
While Rea tidied up the fallen books, Nahun went to sit on a bench located in the garden with Seere. He then asked her, “Is work boring?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you suddenly wanted to attend etiquette class. Considering you’re doing that during business hours…”
“N-No, it’s not like that!”
Nahun tilted his head.
‘Not like that?’
Then why was she attending class during business hours? She could have adjusted her own class time to fit in etiquette lessons.
“Then why are you attending class during business hours?”
“T-That’s…”
“I could reduce my class time a bit and schedule it for etiquette education instead.”
“That wouldn’t work!!”
“Hmm?”
As Nahun looked slightly taken aback, Seere realized she had become a bit too excited and shook her head. She then stared directly at Nahun.
“I can’t reduce your class time.”
“…Why not?”
“Because, well… I really enjoy your class. So, I wanted to reduce my work hours and dish things out a bit because if I focus more on my tasks, I can finish them faster…”
Nahun blinked in surprise.
“You cherish my class that much?”
“Of course… Your lessons are that important.”
Nahun felt a warm sensation at the tip of his nose. What kind of teacher wouldn’t be happy to hear such words from a student? If there were teachers who wouldn’t be pleased, they would be fakes masquerading as teachers.
“Alright, I understand your determination. I won’t stop you. But there’s something else I’m curious about.”
“Yes?”
“I know that etiquette class is important, but why did you suddenly start?”
“Uh… Hmm…”
Seere rolled her eyes for a moment and then offered an excuse.
“I just suddenly thought about it. It dawned on me that I had never learned such things, so I figured I should learn it from now on.”
“I see.”
Nahun surprisingly believed her sincerely.
“In two years, there’s the demon world summit, right? So before that, you need to have some basic etiquette, right?”
“Your words make sense. I hadn’t thought of that at all.”
Etiquette, like tea parties, dances, and manners, had always been important elements in the Ebel Queen Maker. They were classes directly related to the stat “dignity,” and if that stat fell too low, several bad endings could occur.
Nahun had been so preoccupied with more immediate pressing matters that he had completely forgotten about it.
“Well then, I’ll take on a portion of your work.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not trying to take over your duties. I’ll return them to you as soon as the etiquette class is over.”
“I’m really fine with it…”
“No. What if you overexert yourself and get sick?”
Seere slightly contemplated being stubborn but then thought of Nahun’s worry for her and nodded.
“Okay, just let me take on part of the work. I’ll manage just fine under your guidance.”
“Huh? What do you mean? You’re already doing better than me, Teacher.”
“What do I do well? Ah, let’s set this matter aside for now since I have something to discuss.”
“Ah, okay.”
Originally, Nahun intended to discuss how to handle the 55th floor with Seere. Before getting off-topic, he introduced the original subject to her.
“At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if Gremony conquered everything right up to our floor.”
“That’s true.”
“However, after hearing what Dein conveyed to us yesterday, it seems they want to form an alliance with us.”
“An alliance? Why would the 55th floor want to ally with us?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure about their intentions, but I have some guesses.”
Seere pondered briefly before tilting her head, saying, “Is it because I defeated Belial?”
“That’s a high possibility. Belial is on par with a mid-level Demon King.”
“Are they considering an alliance with us because forming an alliance with upper-tier levels would reduce their standing?”
“That could also be the case.”
Nahun then asked Seere, “What do you want to do? Are you thinking of forming an alliance?”
“I don’t think it would be bad for us.”
“True. But there are risks involved.”
Seere nodded, as if understanding. It seemed she believed this alliance would be a business deal with no downsides for them. Nahun respected Seere’s thoughts and continued.
“So if we are to form an alliance, there are two options.”
“Two options?”
“Firstly, we wait for Gremony to come down to our floor and then form an alliance.”
“Okay.”
“Secondly, we make a move first, pressuring Gremony, then form the alliance.”
“That might be preferable… but giving me two options also gives the impression that it’s a difficult choice?”
Indeed, she was a sharp child. Nahun nodded, agreeing with her observation.
“It’s realistically difficult for us alone to seize a tier equal to Gremony’s and apply pressure.”
“So…”
“Right, it would likely be better to wait.”
If Gremony swept through the lower tiers, which were the upper tiers from Seere’s perspective, from the 56th to the 66th floors and formed an alliance, then naturally, Seere’s factions would be in a more favorable position. They would save the bloodshed and finances that would be spent on tier conquests.
However, the question was whether they could maintain the balance of power with Gremony’s forces under such circumstances.
“Would that be alright?”
Seere clearly had concerns about those aspects. To her, Nahun proposed a countermeasure he had been contemplating since yesterday.
“Nonetheless, there are ways to apply pressure.”
“Yes?”
“The total number of soldiers on the 55th floor is about 350,000.”
“…That’s a lot.”
“It is. But it’s not an impossible number to catch up to.”
Seere looked at Nahun curiously. Then, seeming puzzled, she tilted her head.
“Don’t we have about 80,000 soldiers now?”
“No, considering we absorbed the troops from the 67th floor, we have about 100,000.”
“Then there’s a difference of 250,000. How can we catch up without conquering that tier?”
“Recruiting soldiers is natural, but there’s more we can do.”
“Yes?”
In Ebel Queen Maker, the demon world comprised various races. They were under the ruling Demon King, but tribes tended to gather in specific areas to form small societies, like the Lamia tribe living on the 72nd floor.
Tribes that formed small communities owed loyalty to their ruling Demon King, paid taxes, and received their protection. In this respect, they weren’t different from other demons, except for the fact that they stayed together…
‘But there are those who don’t fit this narrative.’
Some races completely escaped the Demon King’s control and formed societies of their own. This was generally uncommon, but it happened in cases where they had particularly high pride or were left with too few numbers and had to hide to avoid extinction.
A prime example of the former was the “Vampires,” and a prime example of the latter was the “Gargoyles.” There were even races that fell into both categories.
Nahun knew where these races resided. Quite surprisingly, some of them, to avoid the Demon King’s control, had fled the demon world and were living in the human realm. Thus, Nahun was planning to utilize them…
“We’ll bring in these smaller races.”
He had made the preparations for that.
#
“Smaller races? However, they dislike being ruled by a Demon King.”
Seere frowned slightly at Nahun’s suggestion. Although because he had proposed it, there must be a valid reason, this part still didn’t quite make sense to her.
“Then we should persuade them.”
“How?”
“Do you know the fundamental reason they reject governance? Most Demon Kings tend to seek only to ‘dominate’ demons. They have a strong tendency to see those under their rule as mere tools.”
The personalities and cruel natures of most Demon Kings combined to make them tyrants. Even the seemingly calm Citria, who formed an alliance with Seere’s faction, inherently had a tyrannical nature.
In that sense, Seere was a rather exceptional type. While she was not devoid of cruelty, she unconditionally respected and followed Nahun’s words. Therefore, the publicly known nature of Seere was that of a normal ruler rather than a tyrant.
One could almost call her a ‘virtuous ruler’ with such qualities among Demon Kings. Nahun was planning to leverage this publicly recognized evaluation of Seere.
“Thus, forcing a merger would likely result in failure.”
“Huh? Then what should we do?”
“Just like you allied with Citria, we need to form an alliance with them.”
After hearing Nahun’s words, Seere couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
“An alliance is formed on equal terms, right? I’m a Demon King, and they’re merely demons. You’re asking me to form an alliance with them? That doesn’t sit well with me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Huh?”
“The inherent meaning of an alliance doesn’t include ‘equality.’”
Seere flinched for a moment. Something began to shine in Nahun’s golden eyes as he spoke to her.
“For a purpose, we need to form alliances even with the weak and the strong. That’s how political maneuvers work. When we form an alliance, it may appear equal on the surface, but the underlying dynamics will always be different.”
“The underlying dynamics will be different…?”
“Let me give you an example.”
Nahun pulled out a map he had originally intended to show in the office. It was not a map of the demon world; it was a map of the human realm, which Seere could recognize.
“The territory above the land ruled by the Northern Alliance. It’s known as a desolate zone where no one lives, but that’s not the whole truth.”
“What is there?”
“Vampires inhabit this area.”
“…What!?”
Vampires. A race that, due to their high pride, refused to be ruled by a Demon King and left the demon world. It was well-known in the demon realm that the progenitor of the vampires had been at par with the ancient Demon Kings.
“They rejected rule by the Demon Kings, rather than by their progenitor. They believe that someday their progenitor will awaken and return to lead them. This is where they have gone.”
“…How did you know this, Teacher?”
Naturally, it was knowledge from the game. This was entirely disclosed lore within the game. The strategy Nahun was attempting to employ now was one he had used in his builds within Ebel Queen Maker.
Of course, it wasn’t the method he originally intended to use at this point, but given how Gremony was moving, the circumstances had changed compared to the original story, so there was no helping it.
“You know I have a general understanding of various things, right?”
“Uh, yes…”
Although she appeared puzzled, Seere didn’t probe further. She was indeed a kind child. Nahun smiled in satisfaction and continued speaking to her.
“If we form an alliance with them and draw them into our faction, we can create at least an army of over 50,000 vampires.”
“…That’s not bad.”
“Exactly. However, if they start feeling equal to us and begin to act freely, it could become a problem, right?”
“Right.”
“So this is the approach I’m planning to take.”
Nahun took out a round orb from his pocket. This was the first item he had found after seizing the Demon King Castle on the 67th floor.
“What is that?”
“This is what is called ‘Moon Blood.’”
“Moon Blood…?”
“The moon wouldn’t bleed, would it? So, it’s a metaphorical expression. Seere, do you know what the progenitor of the vampires was called?”
“Huh? Um…”
Seere tilted her head. Then, suddenly recalling something, her eyes widened. When she looked at Nahun, he nodded, affirming that her thinking was correct.
“This is the blood of the vampire progenitor.”
“Uh…”
“By giving this to the sleeping progenitor, awakening them momentarily, and then forming an alliance through them, do you think the vampires beneath them will view us as equal?”
“No…”
Since they would be allied with the progenitor, who was the ruler of all vampires, it was only natural that the vampires following would become Seere’s subordinates. After all, the progenitor would wake only briefly through blood and then enter sleep again, so it would essentially be no different from Seere absorbing the vampire forces.
“Even by such means, we can clearly establish a hierarchy in the alliance. You will be the one who ‘rules’ over them.”
Nahun’s smile grew as he spoke. Seeing this expression, which often appeared whenever he was confident in his plans, made Seere feel a bit shocked.
Finding out where the vampires resided was remarkable enough, but discovering the bloodstone left behind by their progenitor was a feat. Moreover, formulating such a flawless plan from that information was astonishing.
This demonstrated an impressive amount of information power. Seere held deep admiration for Nahun inwardly.
“Vampires will surely yearn for their progenitor to awaken from slumber, so it would be relatively easy to persuade them.”
“That makes sense.”
“What do you think? Is my proposal still unsatisfactory? If you dislike it, we can come up with another strategy.”
Seere gazed at Nahun for a while. Today, there was something different about Nahun’s golden eyes. Yes, it was like the eyes a ‘ruler’ would possess.
Seeing that gaze, Seere smiled softly, recalling what she had written in her notebook the night before and replied, “Yes, Teacher. It sounds good.”
“Hmm, thank you. Then would it be alright if I proceed this way?”
“Yes, by all means.”
“Alright, I’ll make sure to succeed, so rest assured and wait.”
“I’ll always trust you, Teacher.”
With that, Nahun returned to the office first. He knew that convincing the vampires needed to be carried out promptly, hence his preparations.
Once Nahun had left, Rea cautiously approached and asked.
“My Queen, are you truly alright? The vampire race has given up their lives in the demon world.”
“It’s fine. And as demons, they will retain their pride.”
“…Sometimes, I find Nahun’s strategies overly cold. Don’t you understand what it means to bring back those demons who left the demon world for the human realm?”
“Rea.”
Seere spoke with a gentle smile.
“It’s a decision I’ve allowed.”
“…I apologize, my Queen. I overstepped my bounds.”
“It’s fine. I understand where your concerns lie. But remember what you said before? That men prefer women who can firmly support them through whatever they do?”
It was something Rea had taught Seere during her sexual education lessons. It was one of the ‘ideal traits of women that men like’ she had mentioned while teaching her how to allure men.
Thus, Seere had decided…
“So I’ll trust my teacher.”
With a mature mindset, she would allow Nahun to proceed as he wished.