The Punishment of A Demon General

I bite into my food with a tense stomach, washing it down with a little bit of mulled wine to help warm me up a bit as I look between the four, taking a deep breath before finally deciding I need to have 'the talk' with them.

+Where babies come from?+

(... No.)

At least it'll give me some time alone, especially considering it's not like they or I have a choice. I mean, unless they want to go and fight Wrath right here in the capital, and go 'Hey, the heroine is here, come kill us please' and paint a target on our back.

Stabbing a sausage firmly with my fork, I open my mouth. "I'm going to be heading out alone today."

The Heroine immediately says "What? Nuh uh, that's not happening." Stopping her eating to look at me with that annoying pitying gaze of hers again.

"It's not a request, it's a declaration. I have to go see Wrath today, and none of you can come with me for that. It's a natural result of me coming back here, it's something that wasn't going to be avoidable, though I was more expecting Greed to call me first..."

(Surprise, he would have if we hadn't completely messed up his hookers. The Heroine strikes again.)

The Heroine frowns slightly as she watches me, unable to deny it, realizing that it's probably not a 'I don't want to bring you' but 'I cannot bring you'. Exactly.

By the way she's continued eating, she trusts me enough to at least drop the issue, so I can thank God for that one...

"Llorithen, I'm replacing all previous emergency backups with something else. If I don't return within one to two days, you all are transferred under the Heroine's ownership, basically. She'll tell you what to do from there." My words make him stare at me with bug eyes as I continue to eat my sausages, one foot on my chair, knee hugged against my chest, not minding decorum.

"Madam, forgive me for my impertinence, but may I ask what is going on?" I won't forgive it, but I guess I can give you an explanation. I cross my arms in annoyance, staring at the ceiling, wondering where to start.

"To explain, regardless of what I will likely be letting you all go in the coming days for your own safety, the Heroine will help take you and everyone else back to the human lands and attempt to settle you into a new life and blah blah blah, sappy stuff." I glance over at him while I talk, his mouth hanging slightly open as he stares at me in complete shock.

"Madam, that- I cannot do that! What would you do if you were by yourself here? Who would-" I'm frankly surprised at the amount of emotion and disregard for status he's showing today, I've never seen him so animated before let alone care so little for outside appearance...

"Once again, not a request, a notice." I say, looking away, my heart beginning to do that annoying prickly thing again as I watch him stare at me with a shocked expression.

I can feel my cheek get pinched suddenly, pulled by the Heroine, forcing me to look at her. "I don't like how weird you've been acting since last night."

Hah, weird? You're the one that's been acting weird! Why have you been acting so... So weird?! Okay, maybe that wasn't my best work, but she's been acting weird too! Nobody can deny it!

Ignoring my thoughts, she pinches and pulls my cheeks harder, staring deep into my eyes before letting go suddenly, holding up a piece of food on her fork to my mouth.

"Eat." ... What? Why are you- Instead of letting me try to pull away, she shoves the spiced breakfast cake into my mouth, leaving me to stare at her in shock.

"Why-" I'm not even allowed to speak, apparently, some sausage being stuffed into my mouth the moment I try to.

"If you're not gonna tell me then I'm just gonna assume you're hungry, and stuff you full." What kind of logic is that?! This Heroine really needs some sort of mental help!

I push out my seat and jump back from her feeding, trying to swallow my stuffed cheeks that could only be reminiscent of a squirrel bit by bit. The Heroine meanwhile just sits there, staring at me with a gaze that makes my heart even more uncomfortable... Why does she always look at me like that?!

+Because I'm worried about you, you idiot.+

(Yes, yes. I have figured that out since then.)

"Hey, emo butler. How do you think I should fuck Ilvia to make her actually talk about her problems?" What? I glance over at Llorithen, both of us probably making the same expression as we stare at the Heroine in complete astonishment.

"From what I've heard from some of the maids, whenever they attempt to make the Madam feel better, they have to beg on their hands and knees while worshiping her to-" Wait wait wait, why are you answering that- What?! That's a thing?!

I cover his mouth with my hand to interrupt him, staring at him with wide eyes, the Heroine looking at me thoughtfully now, almost as if she's legitimately considering it.

"... I'm... I'm gonna go see Wrath!" I can't help but escape the room quickly, my cheeks burning up a storm at these two evil bastards plotting against me.

... Obviously I can't just run over there now since I'm naked. I forgot how used to being naked I am in my own home that I didn't even remember to check what they all thought about it. It... Is it weird to them? I mean the Heroine was just wearing her negligee and underwear, so I mean, that was pretty hot, but everyone else was dressed normally...

Did I miss something?

+Yes, you did. The reason everyone was eating so vigorously was to ignore the one naked person and the one half naked person at the table.+

(Please don't remind me... Killa already makes fun of me for it. Plus, it was your fault!)

Llorithen follows me out to help guide me back to my room, keeping silence until I begin dressing in front of him. "Madam, as someone who is apparently not to be your head butler in a short period, I would ask to speak freely."

"Denied." I say curtly, not wanting to hear it. I already feel miserable enough having to let all you go like this, I would rather not talk about it.

"Well, seeing as I'm not to be your butler shortly, I don't have to care about that... Madam, what is happening?" I can't help but let out a sigh of annoyance, realizing he's not going to drop it.

I straighten out the dress on my body, walking over to him and resting a hand on his head, patting him gently. "You don't have to leave your master if you don't wish. I won't deny it."

With those words, he perks up slightly, his bagged eyes lighting up despite his otherwise gloomy expression.

"But know that I won't be offering to rescue you from Greed a second time, so this is your only chance." With those words his gaze darkens once again, staring up to me with a cautious expression.

"Madam, I apologize, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." I pat him with the hand resting on his head.

"It's alright, I have no issues with Greed, he doesn't seek to harm me, in fact, he would stand to have the most to lose if this war ended, so he isn't likely to target the Heroine living under my roof either. I am merely offering this to you personally as my long time butler..." The more I speak, the more his brow furrows as he watches me.

"I don't mind giving you a retirement plan. If you desire, I'll even build a mausoleum for your fallen family to honor them so that you may visit whenever you wish as a reward for your dedicated service." I pull his chin up, his cheeks darkening as he makes eye contact with me.

"... I shall... Keep this in mind, madam." He says, shuffling away suddenly, straightening his suit as he all but jogs out of the room. I wonder what he'll tell Greed this time?

I let out a deep sigh, ruffling my hair, glancing in the mirror while I clean myself up a bit, the appearance in the mirror bringing me a slight discomfort as I look at it, leading me to look away after not too long.

Straightening up my dress, I head out of the room, an empty hall only interrupted by a maid all but running my way, panting heavily as she holds down her cap with one hand. "M-mistress! I-I've been... informed... You'll need a guide... to the front door..." She says, panting heavily, a cute blonde haired girl that almost reminds me of the Heroine. Obviously not as cute, though.

"Yes, yes. Take me there." Honestly, if I didn't see anyone I was gonna just jump out of the window, you didn't need to run all this way.

Why do you look so giddy? You're just leading me there, honestly... My maids really need some discipline.

As expected, the Heroine is chilling by the door, watching me come down the stairs with a pouting look on her face.

"You never dress up like that for me!" She says, you are quite literally the one who picks out my clothes normally, that is entirely your fault.

After several moments of awkward silence, she looks up to me with a strange gaze, making my heart feel uncomfortable yet again. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay going out like this? I mean, you don't really seem like you're acting normal."

You and your worrying... I try to suppress some warmth building up in my chest as I look away, nodding. "I'll be fine."

This will be the first time I'll be completely away from the Heroine's watchful gaze in so long... Technically the town was too, but I was trying not to be hunted and murdered there, so I guess that can't count.

... Honestly, I feel like I'd rather be under her wing when going to see Wrath. I don't even know what Wrath wants from me today, this is going to be such a mess!

Suddenly I'm hugged by the Heroine, she slightly crouches and rests her chin on my breasts, looking up at me while she hugs me in this weirdly awkward and cute position.

I push her head away quickly, my cheeks burning as she tries to pout at me, laughing softly at my reaction. "Stay safe, Ilvia." She grabs me by the chin and plants a kiss on my lips, spanking me before walking away quickly, leaving me dazed while I stand there.

This Heroine is seriously going to ruin me... While shaking my head of those thoughts and pinching my cheeks to try and get rid of the burning feeling, I head out alone.

I spread my wings and with a short run take off flapping with the long strip of runway I have at the front of my castle, picking up off into the sky, looking down at the city from above as I pick up at first dozens, and then hundreds of feet.

The feeling of freedom this brings me, finally being able to fly around freely without any bullshit wearing a dress actually designed for wings, is frankly unparalleled. My mood immediately soars as high as me as I stare down at the large buildings below, the many garish colors becoming a fun sight to see from so high up.

There are some other flying demons up here, some fighting, some just moving about their days, and in general it just reminds me of the once far more relaxing old life I used to live, a one before this psycho Heroine inserted her head into everything.

At least I can't get lost going to Wrath's place! Preservation instinct has helped me learn where it is pretty fast.

I look down as I begin to dive towards a large extremely military looking building, lacking the many niceties of many of the other buildings in the district, painted in dark gothic tones much like my bedroom, many dozens if not hundreds of troops patrolling the outsides like some sort of flash mob army base.

Basically, once I go in there, there's no escape... Good luck, Ilvia... Good luck.

+What if Ilvia dies here?+

(Damn, I dunno. What if I do?)

+I'll probably go collect some Dragon Balls and revive you or something.+

(... I'm sorry, what? You're going to do what with the balls of a dragon?)

+Exactly!+

Author's Note:

Sorry for the lack of, or technically delayed chapter, yesterday was a bit of a tough day for me to write.

I'll be hopefully trying to finish a second chapter today to make up for it.

Next chapter will be smut, so don't worry :)