Bonding with Miria (3)

Late at night, when Ursula and I were about to sleep…

"Ehehe, Goshujin-samaa, let's sleep together～!"

Vivia came to the bedroom with Miria in tow.

"I-it's not like I… but since Vivia said she wants to sleep with Goshujin-sama, I have no choice…"

Miria still wasn't being honest.

"… Come, both of you."

When I said that, the two happily came pattering over and got into the bed.

The way they boldly staked out the spot between me and Ursula made me think Vivia was pretty crafty too.

"Fuaa… so warm…"

Vivia let out a voice melting like sugar, and just like that… fell asleep. Quick to drift off, huh.

"… Mou… here, scoot over a little more."

Miria too tried to slip in between Vivia and me.

"… You're okay with this?"

Making space, I ended up asking.

"Wh-what's the matter… I always sleep with Vivia. And that Vivia is saying she wants to sleep with Goshujin-sama, so… can't be helped, can it!"

So she said, in tsundere style.

"… And that way of calling me too."

"Ah, this? It's only because Vivia keeps yapping Goshujin-sama, Goshujin-sama…

"W-well, that you're my current Goshujin-sama is… unmistakable. So… why not…

"How I call you isn't a big problem, is it… All right, I-I'm going to sleep!"

Saying that, Miria fit herself snugly into my arms.

… Her soft, warm body.

She seemed tense at first, but when I gently stroked her hair…

She calmed down right away, and before long… her breathing turned to sleep.

"… All going well. Before thy charm, even Demon Lords and Demon Generals come undone, it seems."

Ursula laughed.

"Well, I hope so.

"… The day after tomorrow, whatever conclusion Miria reaches… even if we part, I can't help wishing for her happiness…

"Aah, if only she'd stay by my side forever…

"If she did, I could absolutely make her happy…"

I poured these feelings out to Ursula.

"… Mn. Those feelings of thine will surely reach her.

"… Or rather, I daresay they already have… though saying it would be too tactless."

Ursula laughed.

… Thanks to the two, sex with Ursula was on hold tonight, but the two of them looked so cute sleeping that I'd endure it for today.

And then the next day…

"Funyaaa… Goshujin-samaa…"

Vivia was sweet-spoiled mode, as melty as Adelia.

She sat on my lap, snuggling and rubbing her body against me.

Vivia was originally attached to me, so it wasn't hard to understand, but…

What was unexpected was that Miria did the same.

"G-Goshujin-samaa…"

Miria looked embarrassed, though.

Loli-girl Vivia still felt innocent, but having Miria, with those plump buxom breasts, do this was no joke.

"… What's wrong, Miria?"

"N-nothing… Vivia said she wants to be spoiled by Goshujin-sama, so I'm-just-going-along with her.

"… Besides, if you get worked up… w-we could serve you again… How is it? Like this, with our bodies rubbing against you…

"Are you excited?

"Mama's slaves were super-excited just by being touched by Mama, apparently…"

So she said, looking up at me.

"… Well, yeah… I'm excited…"

Miria touched to confirm my words.

"… So it's true. Good.

"A-and, Goshujin-sama's is so big.

"Among Mama's slaves, the next biggest after Mihailov, the biggest, was about the same as yours."

"Among my mama's slaves, you might be tied with Litton for the biggest…"

Comparing me to people I didn't know…

I mean, Demon God society seemed pretty depraved. Like daughters watching their mother's slaves' cock comparisons…

Well, our human society wasn't really in a position to talk either.

"So, how is it? If you can't hold it, we could use our mouths and breasts again…"

"Mn, very tempting offer, but it seems some customers have arrived, so once that's dealt with."

A small number, but Magical Beasts had gathered again.

"Aah, geez! Vivia, let's wipe them out in one go. Vermilion…"

"Wait, wait! There aren't enough enemies for that! Stay, stay…!"

Today started.

Well, Magical Beast combat was completely cleanup-level now, so set it aside, and…

"… Miria. Again, about the time I trapped you, I'm really sorry."

I bowed deeply once more, apologizing.

"… I'm not… mad about it.

"In the first place, that's a standard tactic in the art of war, isn't it? I do understand I should have ignored Vivia and abandoned her.

"… If you saw through me, that I couldn't do that, by gathering information from Vivia, that's a tactical victory for you."

So Miria said.

"But…"

"… To begin with, once you've won and captured your opponent, ravishing them is the rightful prerogative of the victor in this world.

"I heard from Ursula that, since you're a Master transferred from another world, you're not used to it…

"In that sense, what you did wasn't cowardly or anything.

"… If anything, it's normal.

"If you noticed that even this 'normal' was something I couldn't bear, that itself is amazing.

"You won me fair and square, and became my… Goshujin-sama. That… I'll grant."

Miria said.

"… Thank you.

"… What would Miria do? If you could only think of a cowardly method to win… would you carry it out?"

"… Let's see. Since victory is an absolute condition.

"I too would surely have carried it out without hesitation."

"Even if it meant sacrificing Vivia?"

"That's separate. For me, Vivia is the top priority… in that case I wouldn't have chosen it."

Indeed, an answer fitting of Miria, who chose Vivia over victory.

The two's friendship was truly splendid. My chest grew hot.

"Mn… I did, choose that.

"To win, I tried to sacrifice Vivia…

"So I feel bad and pained by it…"

I confessed this to Miria, who held such a fierce friendship.

"… Fuu. Look, Goshujin-sama…"

Miria opened her mouth with a "really now" air.

"To begin with, at that point, Vivia wasn't the least bit averse to being held by Goshujin-sama, was she?

"I alone, without noticing, flew out. Just me.

"… That was a pure trap you set in cooperation with your companions, and I was the one who fell for it.

"If you keep going on about my disgrace any further, even from Goshujin-sama I'll… get mad."

I got cautioned instead.

"Certainly, no one wants to choose a cowardly method if they can avoid it.

"But if you can't win without doing so…

"If that's the only way to win, you have to choose it.

"… If I had won, Ursula might be dead.

"You used the method available to you to protect your companions.

"It may not have been a clean way. It may not be a way you can be proud of.

"But… the result is surely a wonderful thing."

… Miria said.

"Miria…"

Without thinking, I held her.

"… Goshujin-sama…"

Miria hugged me back.

I looked into her face, and…

"Mn…"

Chu, she kissed me.

"Aah, no fair, Miria-chan alone, I want to chu～ with Goshujin-sama too!"

Vivia cut in.

"W-well… if you want to, just do it. Goshujin-sama, isn't going to run away.

"… He's our Goshujin-sama, after all."

So saying, Miria smiled.

After that, the day truly took on a vacation mood. Together with Ursula and Himeno too, we spent the time happily.

"… I thought a Demon General would be a fearsome thing, but it's not so. They're lovely."

Himeno too had completely let her guard down around Vivia and Miria.

With Magical Beasts this scarce, we had room to spare, so… Himeno's power-leveling resumed.

"Light Wave!"

Zubāan!

"Amazing, Himeno-chan!"

Pachi pachi pachi. Vivia applauded.

"Fufun, leave it to me and this much is nothing!"

"… An interesting ability. Even as is, Light Bind is extremely effective in fights against Magical Beasts…

"If this near-future prophecy could be used at will, you might be able to land critical hits on every attack."

"Oh, as expected of Miria. You get it.

"I'm aiming for that too…

"Now, Himeno. Next time, aim a bit more calmly.

"That Magical Beast's weak point is the line between the fangs, at the hairline. Got it?

"Try to shoot through there accurately.

"Right now you're erring a bit upward. Be conscious of stretching your finger out straight. It seems your feelings are getting carried away.

"Calm yourself."

"… Mn… Light Wave!"

Zubāan!

"Waaa, amazing, critical!"

Pachi pachi pachi. Vivia applauded.

"I did it!"

The two clasped hands and rejoiced. They were oddly compatible…

"… With Naoto, even without prophecy, you can pull off criticals all you like."

Ursula laughed.

In this way, all together we warmly nurtured Himeno's growth.

Of course Vivia and Miria, since their levels were high, weren't just left alone.

I pointed out things the moment I noticed them.

But with Suzanne, Patty, well, with everyone really, talented kids overflowing, didn't it get tough trying to point things out? Wouldn't the things to correct run out fast?

Worldly sports coaches: how on earth do they instruct geniuses who vastly surpass them?

If you pick at things at random or say off-base things, you'd be seen through in no time. The coach side is under pressure too.

… But as long as you keep holding ideals high, you can at least pick at things, I suppose.

Setting yourself aside.

I had no choice but to do that.

But it was fun.

Watching talented ones extend was truly fun.

Miria and Vivia were both already overflowing with talent.

I wanted to keep watching, indefinitely, how strong these two would become.

After that…

"All right, since the chance is here, let me look at Eve a bit too."

"Please do!"

Eve's eyes sparkled.

Eve's party members were the following 5:

Magical Girl Eve

Holy Warrior Sanna

Dream Fantasist Maya

Tree-Curse Mage Sakura

Ice Sculptor Helen

All 5 together looked like rare professions you don't see elsewhere.

"No, Holy Warrior isn't all that rare. It's just the Warrior version of the Holy Knight.

"… Well, the defense-strong Holy Knight is the more popular one, I know that."

Sanna said with a wry smile.

"Mou… But your Holy Warrior talent is something hard to come by, for me.

"For me, you're an irreplaceable, precious companion."

So Eve smiled gently.

… Aah, watching a Master who called her Garumon a companion made me happy and warmed me too.

I really did like Eve as well…

Or so I thought, anew.

"Now then… shall we try fighting Miria?"

"… Y-yes."

Eve nodded with a tense expression.

A mock battle against Miria, the highest level even in my party.

That said, without the boss correction, Miria was just a normal Garumon. If she got speed-killed before turn 3 elapsed, it was over.

And it was 1 vs 5… my side might be the tougher one.

Even so, as an S-Class Master, no matter how talented they were, losing to the lowest-rank A-Class Master wouldn't do.

"… Fufufu, this is the first time I get to fight a Garumon Battle under Goshujin-sama."

Miria seemed fired up.

… That scene I'll cover separately.

Eve's combat was well-balanced, and she herself was excellent, also excellent in tactics.

I currently thought she was several grades above Ruria.

… However, in terms of talent, Ruria was by no means inferior. She too would extend rapidly.

The two would clash at next year's A-Class Tournament. I was already excited.

… Who should I cheer for… well, I couldn't one-sidedly side with one of them.

That meant, to balance out the advice I gave Ruria, I had to give Eve advice too.

So I did all sorts of guidance.

"Haaa… Naoto-sama…"

Eve was already pouring sparkling respect and worship onto me.

Being looked up to like this was a happy thing, but I sometimes got the negative thought of "I'd hate to disappoint her with something."

A junior's gaze could be its own kind of harsh…

Well, at any rate, that we'd spent time happily was beyond doubt.

After that, of course, Ursula's training too.

"Hmm… like this?"

"Mn, I think that's good."

Giving instructions and pointing out problems to Ursula, who had reigned at the top as an S-Class Master and been my superior the whole time, still wasn't something I'd gotten used to.

Like the feelings of a salaryman who outranked his former boss…

Or rather, like a husband who married his former boss. Same thing.

"… Demon General, huh."

Ursula suddenly muttered.

"What's the difference between Demon Lord and Demon General?"

"Hmm. Honestly, it's not well understood."

That so…

"Miria called us Demon Lords 'husks,' didn't she.

"When a Demon God is defeated by a human and dies, they reincarnate as a human.

"The class name at that point is 'Demon Lord.'

"It is thought that, with growth, they could become Demon Gods… but no one has yet become a Demon God from Demon Lord. My mother, Demon Lord Esta Belzebute, included.

"Demon General is a race name on the Demon Race side.

"Demon Generals don't have surnames like Demon Gods. Simply, the powerful individuals among the Demon People… that's what was thought, but.

"Hearing Miria's stories, it seems Demon Generals are the Demon Gods' children, the next-generation Demon God candidates.

"She said that among siblings, fighting and the one who wins inherits the Demon God seat.

"Pulling Miria's story together, Demon Lords do harbor Demon God power, but to make that power bloom, some condition is needed.

"However, it is not impossible to forcibly draw out that power.

"If a Demon General kills a Demon Lord and devours their flesh, they can become a Demon God… at least, that's what Miria thinks."

I see…

The path for Ursula to become a Demon God still felt like some piece was missing.

What on earth should we do…

Would asking Miria for details help us understand?

Or perhaps storming into the Magical Beast territory and capturing a Demon God… not realistic yet.

If we got that strong, we wouldn't need to dwell on Ursula's Demon-Godification anyway.

In any case, perhaps the key lay in the Magical Beast territory.

Before long… the morning of day 7 arrived. The attack operation was about to come to a close at last.