CHAPTER 45
A few days later.
Haas came out of her underground magic laboratory and headed to Ares.

"How about doing it like this?"
"Good idea. Let's do that."
"Then I'll leave the rest to you, Count. I need to step out for a moment, is that alright?"
"Where to?"
"Actually, there was some outside work I was doing, but I left it unfinished because you called for me so urgently, Count. Don't worry. I'll be back before the task begins."
"Try to return as quickly as possible."
"Of course."

After finishing her conversation with Ares, Haas got permission and left the estate.
She said she was going back to unfinished work, but that was a lie.
Rather, while pretending to work for Ares in the basement, she had been contacting the outside and setting things up.

'Everyone should be ready by now, right?'

Recalling the contacts she made outside over the past few days, Haas headed to a secret location known only to a select few, including herself.
Arriving at a mansion hidden in a forest somewhere in the Empire, she saw that many of those who arrived first were already gathered in the yard.

At least over 100 people!

A considerable number of people had gathered, and all of them were women with appearances that didn't look ordinary.
Even a commoner would feel something unusual and freeze up, but if someone with knowledge of divine power saw them, they would have frozen instantly.

Demons.

Because everyone gathered here was a non-human demon.

'It was really a struggle to gather this many.'

Looking at her gathered kin, Haas put on a bitter expression.
Among them, those who followed the Demon King like herself were a minority. It made sense, since the Demon King was active a thousand years ago.
Most of them were those Haas had persuaded and reeled in using her own power; it was a massive pain to gather those who were living in hiding or doing whatever they pleased all over the place.
Moreover, even after taking the trouble to gather them, it didn't mean they would unconditionally obey her words.

"What, you're only here now?"
"Calling us for no reason when we don't have time."
"If you called us for nothing, you better be prepared."

Even though Haas, who could be considered their leader, had arrived, the demons didn't bow their heads and acted disrespectfully.
Haas was offended, but she couldn't help it. This was exactly the kind of creatures demons were.

'To subjugate demons, who all have nasty tempers, you need overwhelming power or charisma. This is the reason why there were no demon-composed groups before the Demon King.'

Because of that, the ones she had gathered now weren't a proper group either.
If she didn't give them a proper reason after taking the trouble to gather them, they would scatter, or worse, try to kill Haas.
Still, Haas wasn't too worried. She had brought bait that all the demons gathered here would bite.

"My brethren. The reason I gathered you is because I need your power. To cause a massive incident that hasn't happened in a thousand years!"
"?"
"Our goal is to take the Empire's greatest treasure. If I put it like this, you know what I'm trying to do, right?"

When she mentioned the Empire's greatest treasure to her puzzled kin, a reaction came immediately.

"Ceres?"
"Ceres Whiperion?"
"You mean the Empire's greatest beauty!"

There wasn't any specific national treasure that the Empire worshipped separately.
Therefore, the Empire's greatest treasure meant Ceres, who was the most famous in the Empire and renowned worldwide.

"That sounds like fun."
"Ceres, huh. I've wanted to see him in person at least once."
"Hmm, plus, with this many people, it might actually be possible?"

As expected, when she dangled the Empire's greatest beauty as bait—something all women would inevitably bite at—positive reactions poured in.

'Aside from those who share my will, most of these bastards wouldn't listen even if I suddenly talked about resurrecting the Demon King.'

She had only said she would bring Ceres, someone everyone would be interested in, and it worked exactly as expected.
Haas smiled inwardly, but...

"Bullshit. How is a ragtag mob like this supposed to kidnap a guy protected by multiple Sword Masters?"

At that moment, someone's voice ruined the well-laid plans.
From among the demons, a woman who was smaller in stature but several times more intensely ferocious stepped out and approached Haas.

"Red?!"

Haas was startled when she confirmed who it was.

"Why are you here? I didn't call you separately."
"A bunch of demons were flocking somewhere, so I followed them."
"...I see."

Haas inwardly thought this had become a nuisance.

'This one is quite strong even among us, but her personality is dog shit.'

That's why, even though she knew of her existence, she hadn't involved her in this matter. It was bad luck that she found her way here on her own.

"Even if you lots swarm together, taking Ceres is impossible!"

As feared, Red wasn't helping; she was only interfering.

"I've already tried to get my hands on that bastard multiple times. But every time, there are strong ones by his side. That Alios bastard, Ares Whiperion, and some unidentified one."
"Ares Whiperion might be strong, but she's not a Sword Master, is she?"
"I saw her use Aura with my own eyes."

When Red spoke almost like a growl, the demons murmured.
They knew that despite her foul temper, she wasn't someone who would lie about this.
In other words, it was true that there were three Sword Masters around Ceres.

"This is impossible."
"I'm out."
"Still, three Sword Masters is..."

Even for demons, Sword Masters were not beings to be ignored.
As the mood to just go back spread among the demons, Haas urgently shouted.

"Wait, I can separate the strong ones attached to Lord Ceres!"
"What?"
"I am currently disguised as the exclusive mage of the Whiperion family. I've already formulated an entire plan using my cover identity!"

Although she said it urgently to hold onto her kin, it was the truth. Her conversation with Ares before coming here was exactly for that purpose.

"So what? There's also a High Priest bastard who is completely head over heels for Ceres! Because of her cooperating with the Imperial Army to catch me, I suffered like crazy before coming..."
"You, come see me for a second."

As Red kept complaining, Haas grabbed her and hurried inside the mansion.

"What do you want? Why do you keep interfering with my work?"

When she interrogated her fiercely, Red replied nonchalantly.

"And what about you? Why are you targeting Ceres? It doesn't seem like it's just out of curiosity."
"What are you going to do with that information?"
"...If I know, I might properly help you, but if you keep hiding it, I guess I'll just have to keep interfering. Hey, you guys...!"
"Wait!"

She grabbed Red, who was about to go back outside and sabotage things again.

'What do I do?'

In that brief moment, a million thoughts crossed her mind. It was impossible to force Red, a powerhouse even among demons, to shut up through sheer strength.
Then would it be better to just tell her the truth as she wanted and pull her in as an ally? If she really became an ally and helped as she said, it would be reassuring.

"...I'll tell you. I'll tell you, so promise me you'll help."
"Sure."

To Red, who answered bluntly, Haas revealed the entire truth.
The reason Ceres was born, and why she was trying to use him.

"...You guys created him?"

Red was dumbfounded, which was unlike her.

"To resurrect the Demon King and make him her consort?"
"Use the proper honorifics for the Demon King."
"I don't particularly follow the Demon King... But if what you're saying is true, it explains Ceres's strange power."

Red frowned.

"But what's this about a consort? That has nothing to do with resurrecting the Demon King."
"That was the Demon King's original purpose for creating Lord Ceres. She believed that the most noble being in the world, inheriting the power of a god, was fitting to be her most powerful consort."

But the Demon King ultimately died before creating Ceres.
And her subordinate, Haas, didn't just plan to have Ceres fulfill the role of a consort; she also devised a plan to use his Divine Power to resurrect the Demon King.

"That's surprising. But can Ceres resurrect the dead? Even demons, who are the opposite of holy power?"
"Having been created using every single one of the Heavenly God's feathers, he also possesses the resurrection ability to even revive demons. It's just that he doesn't know it because he's never used it."
"But even if that's possible, the Demon King is someone who has already been dead for a thousand years. Isn't resurrecting someone that old impossible?"
"It is possible. If we use Black Pain, her beloved sword."

Haas explained that there was a way to resurrect the Demon King by using Black Pain, the sword she cherished and favored, as a medium for the resurrection instead of a physical body.

"I've told you the main points of the plan. Is there anything else you want to know?"

Hearing Haas's question, Red thought for a moment before speaking.

"Then is the reason Ceres has such a handsome face also because you guys made him that way? To give the Demon King an incredibly beautiful groom while you were at it?"
"No, we didn't intend that. The Whiperion bloodline we added when creating him does have many beautiful people, but we didn't know he would come out looking that good."

It was an appearance that even Haas, who created him, couldn't help but marvel at every time she saw him.
She didn't know the exact reason, but she had a plausible hypothesis.

"Perhaps that appearance is the appearance of the Heavenly God, the original owner of the feathers?"
"...Now that you mention it, it's written in the scriptures that the Heavenly God is the most beautiful in this world."
"Right. His exact appearance isn't detailed, but it's mentioned in that manner. It's said that even demons lose their minds over his appearance when he shows himself, even in the middle of a battle? Because Lord Ceres is a being that can be called a clone of that very Heavenly God."
"I see. So he just cloned the god's appearance exactly. No wonder he didn't have a face that looked human."

Red, with a mysterious expression as if her questions were finally answered, stared blankly into the air for a moment before continuing.

"...Then while you were making him, why didn't you make him better? They said that guy used to be a dying invalid, even if he's cured now."

Pointing out that it would have been a disaster if he had died early due to being sickly.

"Ah, I made him like that on purpose."
"...What?"
"That way, we could manipulate him into listening to us in exchange for healing his body. So, even though we could have made him normally withstand the Divine Power, we intentionally put a flaw in him."

Because he had Divine Power, he wouldn't die even if he was sick; he would just continue to suffer.
She had done it thinking he would naturally give in under those conditions, but it was absurd that he had naturally healed himself, Haas said with regret.

"Any more questions?"
"...No. Hearing your circumstances, you're quite pitiful too."

Red said as if sympathizing with her.

"After going through the trouble of creating him, all sorts of things fall in love with that guy and try to steal him away."
"Still, it's not the worst-case scenario yet. If Lord Ceres had completely gone over to a place like the Temple or the Imperial Palace, there would be no way for me to do anything."

It was especially fortunate that Ares had held back.
She guessed Ares would have goodwill toward him, but if Ares, obsessed with Ceres far beyond what was anticipated, had recklessly picked a fight with the Imperial Palace and gotten caught...
The method to obtain Black Pain would disappear, and the only connection to take back Ceres would vanish into thin air.

"It would have become a situation where living had no meaning."
"Then would you have just given up on everything and thrown yourself into the sea or something?"
"...I might have."

Haas let out a sigh, imagining the worst-case scenario that would have unfolded if Ares died and Ceres was handed over somewhere.

"If you have nothing more to ask, keep your promise now."
"Fine. I've heard everything, so I'll help you as promised."

Thinking she had won Red over, Haas immediately left the mansion.
Because she focused on persuading the other demons again, she couldn't know.

That Red was staring at her back with peculiar eyes.