Borcania gave the command, but the chief merely rolled his eyes and didn’t resist. Borcania slammed her desk in frustration.

“I gave an order, so follow it! It’s the Demon King’s command!”

“So, you’re just at this level, Borcania. Don’t you understand that a relationship based on threats can break at any time? Isn’t your relationship with your subordinates mostly like that? Not a true divine loyalty like Bathesia’s, but more like a contract.”

“……”

Borcania bit her lips as if stung. Indeed, it was. Except for a very small number of monsters, relationships were formed through threats and stratagems, relationships that could easily fall apart.

Karos chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that face. It’s a shame it ends like this. Don’t worry, Borcania. I’ll tell Bathesia everything, whether she believes it or not.”

“…Don’t make me laugh! There are still many goblins. Gather, you wretches!”

Ripples spread from the gemstone. Quickly, the surroundings became noisy. When they pulled up the tent and went outside, the goblins had gathered.

“Now, what should we do? Kill the Demon King in front of us! Don’t even think about protecting the chief!”

“It’s useless, Borcania.”

Karos said leisurely. The goblins were about to rush forward, but when they saw the chief being captured, they hesitated.

Karos shouted.

“Here! Your chief has been captured! Surrender quietly and drop your weapons!”

“What nonsense….”

“Gyah, gyah!”

“Gyah! Surrender!”

“Gyagi!”

The goblins immediately dropped their weapons and sat down. Karos was astonished by their quick response.

“They’re surprisingly fast.”

“…What?”

Borcania muttered, dumbfounded. Only one chief. In contrast, there were many goblins. If they abandoned the chief, they could win, so why?

“Of course, you don’t know the goblin’s nature. Their intelligence is weak. It’s hard for them to come up with something self-propelled. More like they find it bothersome. That’s why they choose a representative like the chief. And what the chief says, the goblins do. If the chief is captured, they’ll give up and surrender.”

“What is this…”

“You didn’t study properly. If you had known this, you wouldn’t have done the stupid thing of sending the chief to my side.”

Karos chuckled. It was a plot full of holes in many ways. If he had done it, it wouldn’t have gone this messily.

“Then, see you later, Borcania. Until then, if you’re still alive.”

– ……

With her lips bitten, she was the last thing he saw before the gemstone went dark. Karos shrugged and held the chief.

“Now, shall we go find the antidote? Lead the way.”

“Gyah, gyah! Yes!”

**** ****

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Water dripped. Bathesia opened her eyes to the slimy sensation. The water had risen to her position.

“It’s cold.”

Her body began to tremble. Normally, she would have suppressed the cold with magic, but in her current state, she was no different from a human.

“…And lonely.”

Bathesia absentmindedly stared into the void. She hadn’t realized it when Karos was around, but she felt lonely on her own. Time seemed to pass slowly.

“…Did I die?”

She didn’t know why he was summoned, and it probably wasn’t for a noble cause. they had imprisoned two Demon Kings, including herself, after all. Moreover, it seems like the one behind this was a ruling Demon King. Even if it wasn’t for the greater good, they had tried to eliminate them.

“I hope he is still alive.”

She muttered to herself, surprising even her. Until now, she had been trying to kill him. Why did she wish for his survival?

“No, it’s because of that. If he dies, I can’t return to being a Demon King. That’s why I…”

She trailed off, silencing herself.

After a while, Bathesia sighed.

“…What am I saying?”

She hunched her body. The dampness crept up from her buttocks, making her entire body cold.

“But still, I hope he’s alive.”

Bathesia Concretia, one of the four great sovereigns. At the same time, she was the daughter of a dirty brothel woman.

In the demon realm, there was a city filled with all kinds of trash. Addicts, prostitutes, murderers – all of these came together in that city. The demons called it the Garbage Village, or Pangtenia.

And Bathesia was born from a lower-class prostitute in that place. When she was born, the first thing she saw was her parents being beaten with a whip.

A lower-class prostitute was no different from garbage in the village. Such beings were discarded when they bore a child. However, Bathesia’s mother didn’t erase her. Instead, she sent her into the world. The result was catastrophic.

She was abandoned in the village. It was significant because even in a garbage village, there were still rules. You didn’t mess with someone with power.

She lost that power.

As Bathesia grew up, all she saw was her persecuted mother. Stealing food while being beaten, and offering those scraps to her daughter, that was her memory of her mother.

As Bathesia got older, her mother’s appearance was all she saw. A mother who was persecuted in the lower-class brothel. Even in the most severe circumstances, Bathesia was happy. Even if she lived on and on, eating remaining scraps and bugs crawling around when she slept, as long as her mother was there, she was happy.

But as Bathesia grew older, her beauty began to shine. Her mother was beautiful too, but she was even more so. She was only ten years old, but her appearance was enough to capture the attention of all men.

If she had been born into a decent household, she might have lived her life without any shortcomings.

However, she was born in the garbage village, a forsaken child with no protective faction. Around the age of seventeen, when she returned home after searching through the trash outside, she found unfamiliar men inside her house.

They rushed at her. Bathesia resisted, but the difference in strength was clear. Just as she was about to be beaten and overwhelmed, Bathesia’s mother returned home.

Her mother screamed and attacked the men. Despite having her nose broken and her joints dislocated from the beatings, she didn’t stop. She did her best to protect her child.

However, the men didn’t care about such desperation. As if ignoring it, they struck her in the head with a bottle. And she collapsed. Her pupils dilated, and her body started to grow cold. The men approached Bathesia, but she was different.

Her mother had died.

The foundation that supported her world collapsed.

Bathesia went berserk. Her magical power boiled with a scream, and she sent the men flying. The uncontrollable surge of magical power destroyed everything around her.

When the police arrived after hearing the news, they saw a girl in the midst of the ruined house, crying.

Hyung_Otaku

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!