“...To begin with, I became an adventurer to defeat the Demon Lord sealed within me,” Rem said, holding a hand in front of her chest.
“Right.”
“If the Empire is after me, it’s in my nature to fight and oppose them, not run.”
“Even if it means death, or a fate even worse than that?”
“...I am a summoner. I’ll believe in the one I summoned, Diablo. I’ll believe in you.”
“You’re quite the odd one to put your faith in a Demon Lord,” Diablo said, and this time he couldn’t suppress the blush on his cheeks. He turned away so as to not be seen.
“And besides...” Rem carried on. “I want to save Alicia and bring her back.”
Evidently, Lumachina had already told her.
“It seems she was taken captive.”
“...Alicia fought 《Violanos of the Purple》 to let me escape.”
“She’s changed, that one.”
Once before, Alicia had tried to sacrifice Rem.
“...She told me to run. And yesterday, I wasn’t prepared to fight the Magimatic Sols, so I had no choice but to listen.”
“Mm.”
“...When Alicia intended to kill herself, I felt that I wanted to protect her. But she didn’t believe her betrayal could be forgiven.”
“She did say that.”
Once her plots were exposed, Alicia tried to end her life. Diablo forbade her from doing so, and Rem said she wanted to forgive her.
“...Had Alicia died back then, I might not be alive right now.”
“True. I’d only made it to you in time thanks to her.”
“...And that’s why the only thing left now is my friendship with Alicia. The two of us, we shook hands.”
When they set out from Faltra, Alicia and Rem exchanged a firm handshake. Diablo could faintly remember that, but he didn’t quite commit it to memory. Maybe it was because Diablo felt they spoke of friendship like that in the spur of the moment? But it seemed that, if nothing else, those words weren’t just a superficial lie to Rem.
“...I want to save Alicia, Diablo. Could you help me?”
She said those words, knowing she was very much putting her life on the line.
“You never change, do you...?” Diablo heaved a sigh. “You seek to save another when you’re the one being pursued.”
“...I’m not that good of a person. The ones pursuing me are the same Empire that took Alicia captive. It just happens to be the same opponent.”
“Hmph...” Diablo scoffed.
It wasn’t that simple. He had to defeat the enemy commander while defending Rem in the process and also rescuing Alicia. If this was a quest in the game, Diablo would be clamoring for a balance fix right about now.
“...I did think this through, though. Violanos of the Purple didn’t use its weapons against me yesterday. It seems, for whatever reason, they want to capture the Girl of the Vessel... Or rather, me, alive.”
“So it seems.”
The old man that appeared in the sky did say that the Girl of the Vessel was ‘before his eyes.’ That old man was likely the Emperor of the Gelmed Empire. Viatanos of the White also crushed Rem’s legs, but it didn’t kill her. With all of that, it seemed fairly clear the Empire aimed to capture Rem alive.
“And I’d much rather choose death of my own accord than be captured by them,” Rem said, turning her fingertips toward her own neck.
“I shan’t allow it!” Diablo shook his head.
“But...”
“If that is your resolve, I will not take you along! You must promise to return unharmed.”
Rem’s cheeks flushed red.
“...Uuu... Y-You hold me so dearly, Diablo?”
“Ah, no...”
He couldn’t deny it. He’d only said it as part of his Demon Lord role play, but he ended up mouthing a pretty embarrassing line.
What the hell? Am I some kind of normie?! Guess I really should explode and die, huh?!
“Understood,” Rem said, blushing profusely. “I promise to return safe and sound. So you must promise me the same thing, Diablo.”
“Mm...?”
“We both have to come back safe. Together.”
“Hmph... Of course.”
Rem whispered his name and looked up at him with moist eyes. It was the same expression she had back then. Which clearly meant she was expecting him to...
“...Diablo... Please, give me courage.”
With the sound of fabric sliding against skin, Rem’s nightgown slid down to the floor. She stood before him, unclothed, undressed... And while it wasn’t the first time he’d seen her like this, it always unnerved Diablo’s heart.
“Aaah, erm, aaah...”
Diablo was unable to keep up his acting, and could only let out odd exclamations and squeaks. As she implored him, he bent forward, bringing his lips to hers—
When suddenly the sound of a wooden plate and a piece of bread hitting the floor rang out loudly in the room. Diablo hurriedly turned to look.
“...?!”
Standing at the entrance of the room with her eyes wide was...
“Shera...” Rem gulped.
†
Diablo stiffened and Rem swung her hands about erratically.
“E-Erm, Shera! This isn’t me, erm, acting behind your back or anything, right...?! J-J-Just calm down and listen to me...!”
That said, there wasn’t much — or rather, any room for misunderstanding. She did very much make a move on Diablo behind Shera’s back. They were both Diablo’s wives, with Shera’s approval, so this wasn’t technically forbidden or wrong, but Diablo felt a cold sweat wash over him nonetheless.
Shera hurried over to the two of them, and said...
“Aaah, you two are getting along! Diablo, if you’re giving Rem a kiss, that means you have to kiss me too, okay?!”
““...Huh?!”” The two of them replied in unison.
At that reaction, Shera looked between them anxiously.
“Wait, what? Are you saying you don’t want to do this with me...?”
“N-No... I-I’ve made no such statement!” Halfway through the sentence, Diablo finally managed to regain his bearings and return to his Demon Lord role play.
“...You’re all right with this, Shera?” Rem asked.
“All right with what?”
“...I have mixed feelings about having to say this myself, but I... I made an advance on Diablo without telling you. Doesn’t it make you angry?”
“Oh, that? That’s fine. But I’d feel bad if he’d kiss you but not me,” Shera said with a bubbly laughter.
Rem exhaled in relief, “I swear, Shera, you’re so...”
Her cat ears drooped, as did her shoulders and tail. She was seemingly quite exhausted.
“Hehehe... I want to get along lots with Diablo, but I’m glad when you get along with him, too!”
Rem seemed to flinch somewhat at that comment.
“And if Diablo could get along with me too, that’d make me even happier!”
“You’re amazing, Shera,” Diablo said.
At this point, he could only be honestly impressed by this girl.
“...Forgive me, Shera. I was moments away from making a terrible mistake.”
“Huh?”
“...I wanted to be alone with Diablo, but... I’ve realized something. I won’t be happy if you’re not there with us too, Shera.”
“Aww, Rem...”
“...Now that I know how much you care about me, I don’t want us to be apart anymore. Can you believe me, after all this time?”
“Yep!”
“...You forgive me?”
“Of course! Let’s kiss together, then!”
“...Y-Yes...”
The two of them seemed to have come to a conclusion, but what kind of conclusion was that? ‘Let’s kiss together’? Rem and Shera drew on Diablo from both sides. Shera had taken off her own nightgown for whatever reason as well, standing as nude as Rem was. Well, with the exception of their 《Enslavement Collars》...
“Aaah...” Diablo could only manage that measly utterance.
“Diablo! Kiss me, too!” Shera said with a grin.
When she approached him with a smile like that, he couldn’t say no. Rem, by contrast, was blushing profusely.
“...Nng... Doing this together is embarrassing on a whole different level...”
Diablo was beyond embarrassed, too. His thoughts had completely frozen over.
What... am I supposed to do...?
Two pairs of lips drew on him.
“Mmhaaa!”
Shera’s kiss was passionate and ardent.
“Mm, mm, mm...”
Rem, by contrast, gave him several reserved, small pecks.
“Mmgh...” Diablo stiffened in place.
He couldn’t come up with anything tasteful to say, to say nothing of kissing them back. But something in his mind screamed at him that becoming visibly embarrassed would be worse than death, and so they continued their awkward, three-way kiss.
If everything would end with this, it really would be a joyful moment, but...
Shera then pulled her lips away from Diablo.
“Rem, we should get along, too!” she said.
“Huh? A-All right... I’d love to,” Rem stammered.
Shera held Rem’s cheeks tightly with both hands, and suddenly inched her face closer to Rem’s. Rem stiffened, and Shera’s lips locked on hers without any mercy or hesitation.
“Mmmmhaaaaaa!”
“Nnng?!”
“Mha, nhaaa, aaah.”
“Mmmmf?! Nnnngh?!”
Wet sounds filled the room as a pair of tongues writhed against one another. Shera was earnestly, deeply kissing Rem. By the time the two separated, Rem’s cheeks were red and she appeared drained of strength. The kiss melted her to mush to the point where standing on both legs was a struggle. As her legs gave way, Shera caught her in her arms.
“H-Huh? Rem? Did you fall asleep? Are you tired?”
“...Nnng...” Rem gurgled out as she crumbled onto the carpet.
She kissed her into submission?!
Shera then swiftly turned to face Diablo.
“Okay, it’s your turn next, Diablo!”
“Aaah...”
“You don’t want to?”
“I-I, erm, that is not what I am saying... H-However, what meaning is there in doing this...?” Diablo stuttered.
“It makes me happy!” Such was Shera’s frank reasoning.
Diablo had no reason to refuse, but he couldn’t get used to this after just once or twice, which meant he simply remained stiff and frozen in place. Shera pounced on him gently and coiled her arms around his neck, and soon his lips were on hers.
“Mmmhaa!”
A sweet jolt whited out Diablo’s mind. It didn’t feel real to him.
Do I really deserve this...?
The feeling of her lips pecking his was ticklish.
Huh? Wait, this is kind of different from the kissing I know? And it’s different from how she kissed me earlier...
“Hehehe... Solami taught me a few tricks!”
What nonsense did that nympho cat woman put into her head?!
Shera’s tongue invaded Diablo’s mouth with animalistic aggressiveness, coiled around Diablo’s own and brushed against the interior of his upper jaw.
Ah, is she using the Glow?!
An odd numbness coursed through his brain, extending across his body. This explained how she reduced Rem into a motionless mess. And Diablo, who had led a long life of abstinence, was even less capable of resisting this. This was effectively a surprise attack on him. With his brain stimulated, sparks popped in his field of vision.
“Ugh... Aaah... Aaaaaaaaaah...!”
Rained with kisses intense enough to yank his soul from his body altogether, Diablo was stupefied for a while.