"You don't actually need to follow me all the time... I'm not going to run away."

As Wolfe spoke, her ears looked somewhat listless. She had been thoroughly annoyed by the vampires of this Demon King's territory for the past two days. She looked at the vampire standing in the corner like a butler.

"Miss Wolf, I was just worried you might change your mind~"

As the vampire spoke, his handsome and devilish appearance vanished, and he rubbed his hands together like a fly, much like a servant in a TV drama…fly rubbing hands.GIF.

Wolf waved her hand helplessly and said, "I told you I'm not some rich girl, and my mother and Ira probably never had anything going on... probably."

"..."

"..."

"Um...maybe?"

Upon hearing the vampire's question, Wolfe suddenly realized that the last two words of her sentence might not have been necessary, but she still honestly (naively) said, "Because, I'm not entirely sure either."

"That's..."

Wolfe's tail flicked irritably at the vampire who seemed to want to say something. She said, "But! I wasn't born of Ira, you understand? I was already over thirty when my mother was taken away by the Empire! She didn't return until I was fifty."

"So, you're here to get revenge on Ira?"

The vampire asked this question, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as if he were thinking about something.

"Revenge... Hmph, maybe? But rather than revenge, I prefer to call it 'questioning.' It's not impossible for it to escalate into a fight, since I've always been searching for an answer."

As Wolfe said this, she heard a snap of fingers when she said "probably," and then saw the apologetic smile on the face of the vampire man in front of her.

Huh? Why does it look like you're... apologizing...?

As Wolfe thought this, she felt her eyes growing heavier and her head becoming dizzy, so she slumped onto the table and fell asleep. Before she fell asleep, she heard the vampire mutter, "Ah, who told you to say something like 'probably?'"

"Well, I'm a little embarrassed."

The vampire man smiled helplessly, put down the two empty teacups, and said, "But I really can't allow you to seek revenge against Lord Ira. Blame it on your breathless talking and your careless behavior."

"However, when Lady Ira arrives, I will wake you up, so that you won't wake up and find yourself in the Demon King's territory."

The vampire man, muttering to himself, made a snapping gesture in the air.

"Flying wings return to the nest, bats hang and sleep."

As the vampire youth said this, he sat down on a comfortable-looking recliner and quietly waited for Ira's arrival.

——————————

"Slippery Tribe, Little Iron Duke City, this seems to be the enemy we were talking about before..."

With his face covered, Ira said this and walked into the city through the city gate with Satan Ye. Although the gatekeepers looked at him and Satan Ye with some curiosity, they did not stop them.

Although covering one's face with a black cloth might seem to draw attention, there are actually many people in this world who need to conceal their appearance, about one in ten people on average, so it's a fairly common way to dress.

At least Ira hasn't put on the "person concealing their identity" outfit yet, the common black hooded attire.

"Mr. Ira...why are you covering your face?"

Satan asked Ira, who was leading her, in a soft voice, and the answer to that question was actually quite simple.

"Because many people know me, although it's not good for me to say it myself, I can be considered a legendary figure. If I don't cover it up, it's easy to cause a riot, and we don't need to attract so much attention right now."

As Ira spoke, she remembered what Senata had said about the best meeting place...

"Little Iron Duke City, room 224 of the largest tavern."

As Ira spoke, she weaved through the orcs hawking their wares and heading toward a bustling tavern in the distance, while Satan Ye followed closely behind, observing the orcs around her with their various scales and tails.

Having rarely seen orcs, she seemed very curious about this place.

To be honest, Satan Ye was probably curious about more than just the orcs; she was also curious about this kind of hawking called "setting up stalls," and places like "taverns."

Because these things don't exist in the Demon King's territory, and are these things really necessary? Without a doubt, they are necessary... Perhaps those little demons don't care, but Ira does.

It wasn't that he cared personally, but that he cared on behalf of the little monsters.

Build roads, repair houses, become stronger, redress grievances, strengthen rule, replenish the territory's economic resources, and then... improve the quality of life and increase entertainment options.

The Demon King's territory has a non-circulating economy, so the lower-level monsters have no way to make purchases, which means places like taverns have to be free... This is a construction method that Ira has never tried before.

What is the reason that the monsters are working so hard now? There is no reward or punishment mechanism, so it would be perfectly reasonable for all the little monsters to give up and quit.

Perhaps it's because there aren't enough entertainment options? Or because our horizons aren't broad enough?

Ira was unsure whether the little monsters would become lazy or even unwilling to work once their quality of life improved. He was uncertain about this and unwilling to give up the Demon Lord's territory's greatest advantage.

With this in mind, Ira and Satan pushed open the tavern door, where a noisy drinking contest was taking place. Several people were attracted by the noise of the door opening, glanced at the two of them a few times, and then looked away.

The tavern owner appears to be a snake-beastwoman.

"Would you two like something to drink?"

Satan Ye stared blankly at his fair-skinned, beautiful, and shrewd boss, seemingly lost in thought. Ira, on the other hand, calmly and nonchalantly said, "We're here to find our companion; she's in room 224."

"Hmm, room number 24 on the second floor. Shall I take you up?"

Seeing the owner, who was swaying his hips as he prepared to emerge from behind the bar, Ira shook her head and led Satan Ye toward the stairs beside her, politely declining, "No need, we'll go up ourselves."

...

Wow, that person just now had such a tiny waist!

As Satan sighed, Ira glanced at her, wondering what she was focusing on. He gently knocked on the door of room 224, and the door opened after a series of knocks.

"Lord Ira, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

The vampire male, who was saying this, respectfully stepped aside... revealing the wolf girl lying unconscious on the bed behind him.

Ira: "..."

Satan Ye: "..."

...

Did we misunderstand something?