203 Foreign Demon Realm

"Hey hey. New Demon Princess Ariel has arrived!"

Hey, someone say something.

Phone, silent.

Guriguri, quietly look away.

I'll pretend I didn't see anything.

"Wait? Did I slip?"

Yes.

Major fall.

Oh no, this is bad. This is really bad.

Demon Lord, this is turning out worse than expected. What's your plan for taking responsibility?

Me?

No no no.

Not my fault at all.

I'm innocent.

"Hey, what do we do about this?"

Guriguri, don't ask me.

And D, say something.

"Wait? Why is this? Just appearing and getting treated like this, it feels really rude."

Silence.

"Enough. Stop talking. Just your voice makes something inside me mourn."

"Isn't that harsh!?"

"You're the one being harsh!"

Knees giving way, collapsing into an orz position.

Not actually crying, are you?

Well, if an old acquaintance transformed into something this pitiful, wouldn't you feel the same?

I can understand that.

Nodding in quiet agreement, the revived Gyuriguri suddenly grabs me by the head.

H-Hey, that hurts! It hurts!

"Isn't this your doing, to begin with? How do you intend to take responsibility for this?"

Give give!

How can I take responsibility when it's already impossible!?

"No, Gyurie, you're not exactly denying my existence right now, are you?"

"That's not true. I merely lost composure slightly at the unexpected degree of disappointment."

"A little more tact would be nice."

"Tact is what led to this statement."

"Isn't that harsh!?"

I'm tossed aside.

Guff!

Face slammed hard into the ground.

Ow.

Ah, can't rely on auto-recovery. Gotta heal manually.

"Then? What brings you here?"

"Oh, just thought I'd make up with that spider over there."

Huh?

Ah, right—back when we first met, we talked about teaming up, didn't we?

Ah, that memory—Queen of the Elro Great Labyrinth.

Back then, the divine transformation began. The conversation with the Demon Lord was cut short mid-sentence.

Wait.

Why is the Demon Lord even here?

The distance from the Elro Great Labyrinth to this underground facility was considerable.

Did he learn teleportation?

Ah, and what happened to the Queen’s body afterward? That’s something I’m curious about too.

"Ah… even if half of it was the same, seeing the actual form now… honestly, can’t tell what it’s thinking."

Impolite.

I am constantly engaged in complex, layered analysis.

『Spider's thought one: Why is the Demon Lord here?』

Wait!?

D, you really can't read my mind at all, can you!?

You're not actually reading it, are you—this is ridiculous!?

"What? What do you mean?"

『From the spider's perspective, the last time I interacted as the Queen was in the Elro Great Labyrinth. Since then, I awoke to find the Demon Lord appearing here—this is what puzzles me.』

"Wait? Ah. Just woke up."

"Yeah. Just now."

"Spider, I spoke with the Queen in the Elro Great Labyrinth forty-seven days ago."

What?

Seriously?

So that means it took that long to achieve godhood?

Huh.

No comparison.

"By the way, this is the first time I’ve been speaking like this. Nice to meet you, D-sama. I am Ariel, serving as the Demon Lord of this age."

Nice to meet you. Though I suppose there may not be a second time.

Huh?

You've never met the Demon Lord and D before?

Thought two: What became of the Queen's body? Thought three: Were D and the Demon Lord meeting for the first time?

Huh.

You definitely read my thoughts, don’t you?

“That’s right. The Queen’s still alive, more or less. Though she’s little more than a shell without a soul. Just a body, really. Still, you could probably insert another soul and use her as a vessel.”

Ah.

I thought she’d be dead for sure, but she’s still alive.

“I’m the only one who’s ever met D on this world. Even Sariel has never encountered him.”

“Incidentally, he was trembling like a newborn fawn at that time.”

Guriliguiri grimaces.

So it’s really true.

“Lower-tier deities like me don’t often get the chance to face higher-tier beings like you.”

Eh, is D really that powerful a deity?

I thought for sure it was some delusional, mad god like Paparapa.

'The Heavenly Punishment'

Goh...!?

Ggghhhaaaahhh...!

The nature of the attack remains unclear, but the damage sustained is undeniable.

Extremely painful.

Even if asked where it hurts, I can't pinpoint the location—something is excruciatingly painful somewhere.

What is this?

Is this what divine attacks are like?

Frightening.

"Why is this girl suddenly writhing about?"

"Her mind is lamentably flawed. There's nothing to be done."

Hey.

Why are you nodding like you've accepted that, lamentable overlord?

"This conversation isn't progressing at all."

"That's right. I'd like to get serious now. Spider, can you reconcile with me?"

No way.

I'd be perfectly fine with that, though.

I initially challenged the Demon King because I considered the possibility that I might one day be dominated by his servant-control ability.

The heresy immunity existed, but there was still some influence on my psyche.

Now that I have achieved divinity, severed all spiritual ties, and surpassed him in power, I see no reason to force conflict.

Therefore, I nod in affirmation.

"Yes, then. Let's take another step. Are you willing to cooperate with me?"

Ah.

I said something similar during my conversation with the Queen.

Yes, that's right.

I shake my head in negation.