I observed the Kobold in pensive silence for a few moments. Eventually, I crouched down and slowly reached out a hand in its direction.

Before I could get my hand within twenty centimetres of the poor thing, it snarled and took on a defensive posture, its front paws in front of its face.

I stood back up, and decided I would postpone my use of [Appraisal]. “You,” I said to Sleehekt in the calmest tone of voice I could muster.

“Ah… Does she displease you, Lord Astaroth? In that case-”

“Silence. The Kobold’s identity and its past treatment. Out with it.”

“Ah, uh, yes. She refused to enter my harem, so I had her put in prison-”

Before I had a chance to think about what I was doing, my fist had connected with his face. The sensation of his nose breaking was quite an enjoyable one.

“I shall let you off with that, just this once,” I said as I watched the Kobold on his lap scamper away, hiding behind his throne. I looked at my now-bloodied glove for a few seconds, and after some consideration, swapped it out for a clean one from my [Storage].

Sleehekt looked at me, his gaze asking ‘why’, but I gave no answer. Briefly, I turned my gaze to Lilith and Charlotte, but they seemed too preoccupied looking at Sleehekt like a piece of trash to notice.

I returned my attention to the Kobold, which now looked more confused than anything else. Despite the admiration in its eyes, its face showed distrust- it had that kind of expression.

I couldn’t blame it.

Deciding it was as good a subject as Sleehekt, I thinly spread my mana into the environment, trying to have it move slightly upwards as it moved away from me.

Judging from the expression on the Kobold’s face, it was a grand success. The thing loved me. That said, this was probably in large part because I had just punched the man which had mistreated it.

I decided to test its newfound loyalty, under the assumption it had been informed of its general situation.

“I am your new master.”

“Yes!” it replied with a rather cute, if somewhat sloppy salute. Given Kobolds’ vocal cords were rather primitive, its voice was a little rough, but it was not at a level where I could not understand the words.

“Sit.”

It sat down on the ground, its front paws on the ground in front of it.

“Shake,” I said, offering it my hand.

It placed its paw in my hand. Only now did I realise how small the thing was compared to me. Its tail wagged at a speed as if it could fall off at any moment.

I decided to test its limits. “Submit.”

After a moment of what was hopefully silent contemplation, it laid down on the ground, face-up, spreading its limbs so I could see its stomach. I recognised it as a picture-perfect submission pose for many animals.

“Good dog,” I said, petting its head a little. “I will have the maids prepare a collar for you once we return to the castle.”

Although I had expected it to pull back at my mention of a collar, even if just a little, it instead barked a “Thank you!” with a cheerful smile.

I nodded and pointed to a spot near my feet as I rose back up to my full height. It took the hint and sat down as I turned my attention back to Sleehekt, who was nursing his nose with both his hands.

It seemed his Kobold had significantly calmed down, as it was now peeking out at me from behind his throne.

“Sleehekt.”

“Y-Yes, Lord Astaroth?”

“Before we get on to the final reward, you must, must promise me something. Not once for the rest of your miserable life are you to treat a Kobold like this, whether it wants to join your harem or not.”

Although I could not quite tell if the Kobold behind his throne had understood my words—somehow, the Kobolds almost seemed to be getting dumber by spending time with him—it seemed it could tell my words were not necessarily negative for it.

“I, uh,” Sleehekt said, tugging at his collar, “if it would please you, Lord Astaroth.” I questioned if he had understood my message, but I could do nothing but hope.

I nodded. “Then, let us decide my nation’s reward. After all, you did enlist the help of its six strongest fighters.”

He nodded. “What did you have in mind? A trade agreement in your favour, perhaps? An export of resources? We can-”

“As if you have any resources I need. Eskaria is riddled with silver mines, and Black Silver is the best material I could wish for. And for your information, miasma-affected wood is much more useful than anything you could get here, too.”

He blinked, seeming more surprised than anything. “Then…?” he asked, trying to appear as dignified as possible.

Given blood flowed from his nose, that was “not very dignified”.

“I will put this into simple terms for you.”

I called forth my wings and spread them to the side, and moved a hand forwards in an almost pointing motion, as I looked down at Sleehekt and narrowed my eyes.

“Surrender everything to me. Your people, your power, your land—everything. Your pitiful little kingdom shall be part of my nation, and you shall fight for me. If you refuse… I will just have to take it by force.”

The sight of a ninth-grade monster displaying its power seemed… intimidating, to say the least. He crawled back in his throne as far as he could, the necklaces and bracelets on his body clattering as they touched each other.

“B… By force, you say…”

“What? Do you want me to exert the might of a ninth-grade monster? It is said to be at the level where it could ravage a continent…”

“No, no, not at all, not at all, that’s fine, Lord Astaroth!” he said, shaking his head as wildly as he could. “I… I understand. My crown is yours.”

He took the crown off his head and held it in my direction.

“I don’t want it.”

He retracted his hand, though he did not seem quite sure what to do with the crown. After a few moments of hesitation, he gingerly put it back on.

“Charlotte.”

“I am at thy disposal, M’lord.”

“I cannot be bothered to figure out the specifics. ‘We shall have no obligations to them, but shall send them assistance for their borders anyway. Their everything belongs to us.’ With that as a base, negotiate the details. Leave a vampire behind to oversee their development.”

“And what of the b’dget, M’lord?”

“You are the treasurer, Charlotte. As you see fit.”

“If M’lord wishes, I shall make it be so.”

I was about to turn to leave, but without warning, Lilith tossed the mana source back at Sleehekt. He fumbled and dropped it, but the Kobold dashed forward from behind his throne, caught the thing in its mouth and proudly presented it to him. It seemed more than half the mana stored inside it was gone—it would likely take several weeks to recover.

Another point came to mind.

“Ah, as your new king, I have an immediate edict. Prepare for us to stay here for a while longer. And drill this into your skull. Had you not possessed an inborn skill, I would have slain you the moment I saw the Kobold.”

Without a further word, I turned and left.

One of the reasons I had wanted to stay a little longer was simply to allow my subjects to enjoy themselves a little, since the forests around our castle were all but suited for recreation. My Demon Generals, in particular, took their time properly savouring their rewards, and without my notice, almost a whole day had escaped my grasp.

Another reason was the thing, and the people, I had left here. With a quick incantation, I had sent almost everyone back, save one Vampire, my Demon Generals and, of course, the Kobold. With my foot, I erased the parts of the magic circle which contained the castle’s location—since it was not unthinkable for the Goblinoid mages to become half-capable yet, I left the rest of the circle alone.

And thus, the seven of us—the Vampire had gone scouting for a good place for a residence—gathered again on a stage made with Form Darkness.

Davna stood to my left, an expression of bliss on her face—to prevent herself from falling over, she was leaning on me. It seemed the warrior within her had been satisfied. Further next to her stood Charlotte, a faint blush on her face. Apparently, she had drunk her fill. Navillus, further in that direction, looked strangely satisfied despite her lack of a discernible expression.

On the other side, Tempest was playing with the Kobold at my feet, a somewhat dissatisfied expression on her face. Lilith, right next to her, looked somewhat out of it, staring off into the distance as drool leaked from her mouth.

And then, the Goblinoids had once more assembled into a crowd. That said, there was a pile of Goblinoids that looked significantly paler than the rest, who all seemed to be unconscious, right next to what was probably Tekt.

Of course, he had also fainted.

“Everyone,” I said, in an attempt to gain the clamouring crowd’s attention. It was more successful than I had anticipated. “By the grace of Lady Entropy and Lady Gnome, you have been saved. However, do not grow lax. From now on, you shall live under my crown. I will not tolerate subjects which take and take, but do not give. Defend yourselves, and live! For my sake!”

Once more, cheers rang through the crowd, and once more, the names ‘Entropy’, ‘Gnome’ and ‘Astaroth’ were popular.

Still no one cheered for Sleehekt. Unlike last time, I felt no pity.

«Goddess of Earth, Gnome’s request for assistance has been completed.»

«As no reward was specified ahead of time, a reward will be negotiated retroactively.»

«Since Goddess of Earth, Gnome nominated you specifically, you have the right to participate in the negotiations.»

«Would you like the negotiations to be delayed until you arrive at a practical location, or will you waive your right to participate?»

Even without thinking, one would arrive at my decision.

«Confirmed. Negotiations will be delayed.»

With a turn on my heel and a flutter of my cape, I flew off, picking up the Kobold by the scruff of its neck.

Though it yelped in surprise, it did not appear to be in pain.

Unlike our previous return, the mood of the castle was tense, and no platoon of Ghost Maids was present.

The Kobold was a less-than-ideal conversational partner, so I had found myself bored for much of the trip. As a result, I was in a bit of a hurry to find some way to entertain myself.

I placed the Kobold on the ground and approached one of the several Living Armours guarding the gate. “You. Explain.”

Despite my complete lack of words that actually meant anything, he seemed to understand my message. “Lord Astaroth, welcome back! There is, how do I put this, a situation…”

“Don’t dance around it. I am not the type to hurt the messenger.”

“Yes… That is, there is a guest, so the former human and several Ghost Maids are dealing with her, but she has stated she would like Lord Astaroth to tend to her as fast as possible. In addition, there is a girl on the other side who claims to know you. We figured we would leave her to you…”

I repressed a sigh. Only one person came to mind who would go out of her way to demand my presence, and it was never pleasant to meet with her. Of course, before that, there was a certain cute girl who I would likely be seeing on the other side of the gate.

With a light touch, the gates opened—as usual, the castle itself recognised my presence. In a way, it was almost cute.

I had expected her from the Living Armour’s words, but it was still a mild surprise to see my beloved white-haired goddess staring at me, so I was not able to really react in any full capacity.

A number of nearby demons tried to stop her when she rushed in my direction, but I raised my hand and she was allowed to pass—though it was not as if they would have been able to stop her, anyway. I allowed her to roll up my left sleeve and inspect my arm for injuries.

“As you can see, there are no problems, so please do not worry.” I placed my free hand on her head in a gesture of reassurance.

“I can see that.”

With no cause for further worry, she put my sleeve back in its proper place.

“Mayhaps this is the maid’n whom M’lord spoke of?” Charlotte whispered to herself. I was not sure if she was aware I could hear her.

“She’s a bit smaller ‘n I imagined.”

“Lilith, ‘tis nary a good thing to judge based on app’rances.”

“She feels real strong, though!” Davna’s voice did not even qualify as a whisper—I questioned for a moment if she at all possessed the ability to be quiet.

I turned my attention away from my Demon Generals, and soon noticed the Kobold had decided to try and hide from Lady Entropy. Given its idea of a hiding place appeared to be “cowering behind me”, I would not say it had done a very good job.

As was apparently becoming commonplace, an external sound stole me away from my thoughts. That is, from inside the castle came the sound of someone rushing over in my direction without regard for the amount of noise they were making.

I thought I recognised the humanoid shadow, dressed in colourful robes. Its white eyes were familiar, or rather, it felt like I had seen them before.

If this was who I thought it was, her transformation had gone quite swimmingly. I appraised her, just to be sure.

Name

Evyna

Sex

Female

Race

Shadow Grand Mage

Grade

5 (Greater)

Skills

Shadow

[Amorphous Body] [Natural Camouflage: Darkness]

Amorphous Body

Passive: your body does not have a set form, and you may reshape it as you wish.

Natural Camouflage: Darkness

Passive: certain types of monster are naturally hard to detect in certain environments. In your case, you blend in with darkness, whether artificial or natural.

Hero

[Storage] [Grimoire] [Saviour] [Self-status] [Increased efficiency: Light]

Storage

Place an item you are in contact with into or retrieve it from a special sub-space. Living beings may not be placed into this sub-space.

Grimoire

Use a spell written in a grimoire at its original effectivity and efficiency, regardless of elemental aptitudes.

Saviour

Passive: anyone who you rescue from a life-or-death situation will forcibly have their mental state calmed, and gain permanent increased mental resistance.

Self-status

View your own status, as if through the effect of [Appraisal].

Increased efficiency: Light

Passive: the efficiency and effect of any light-attribute or healing-type magic cast on or by you will increase.

Other

[Light-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [Darkness-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [No-Attribute Magic] [Strategist] [Divine Protection: Luciel] [Divine Protection: Entropy (lesser)]

Light-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level light-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

Darkness-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level darkness-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

No-Attribute Magic

You may use various spells that are not bound to any particular attribute. You may use these spells without chanting.

Strategist

Passive: you will find it easier to come up with plans.

Divine Protection: Luciel

Passive: your affinity for light-attribute magic will increase. Your hardiness will increase. You will not feel pain. You will become a ‘Hero’ and gain appropriate power. You will find it easier to see through deception and discern secrets.

Divine Protection: Entropy (lesser)

Passive: your affinity for darkness-attribute magic will increase. Your hardiness will slightly increase. You will find it slightly easier to keep secrets and remain unnoticed.

My deduction was correct. Still, to have been turned into a 5th-grade monster was impressive, especially seeing she likely had much room to grow.

“Mis, mister Astaroth!” she called out, stopping in her tracks to rest her hands on her knees. “The Ice Queen came over to-”

After taking a proper look at the situation, she stopped in the middle of her sentence. I could not identify her expression, given her new appearance—in a regard, she was similar to Navillus—but I thought I detected bewilderment.

And then she dropped a bomb she really should not have.

“Miss, Goddess of Darkness? Why are you…?”

I stiffened as I forced my smirk to stay on my face.

«As you have grown closer to Goddess of Darkness, Entropy, you may now discern her emotional state with greater accuracy by paying close attention to her ears.»

If I had been in an emotional state to think such things, I might have thought something along the lines of 'why her ears'?

«As you have grown closer to Goddess of Darkness, Entropy, you will always be aware of her spacial position relative to yours and, to a certain distance, may communicate with her telepathically.»

I decided to give my new powers a try immediately.

«Did you hear that too, Lady Entropy?»

«I did.»

Our ‘voices’ practically overlapped as we acted what was essentially the same question to the same party.

«GAME, what was the trigger for that?»

«What was, the trigger?»

«The trigger for this development was the recognition by a large number of people of Overlord Astaroth as lover of Goddess of Darkness, Entropy.»

Although the answer was predictable, it was merciless—we stiffened as though statues.

Lady Entropy’s pointed ears wiggled with apparent embarrassment.

‘How cute’—the thoughts running through my head were certainly not an attempt to escape reality.