Chapter 227: What a Demon King's Fragment Is (2)
There were no particular problems on our way back to the capital.
Professor Pandel rode in the carriage while I was on Yuni's back. Aside from the fact that she would deliberately adjust her posture to brush against my balls, claiming she felt them as we passed, I had no complaints about riding her.
She stood a bit shorter than a well-trained warhorse, so my eye level felt slightly lower, but I wasn't wearing armor anyway.
"Neigh!"
On top of that, she was happily enjoying the feeling of being tied up with reins in her mouth and a saddle and weight strapped to her back—as if it were some kind of bondage play. So I really couldn't complain.
'If she were still a unicorn, I wouldn't have been able to ride her. And even if I did, my dick probably would've snapped from the pain.'
A horse's back is broad, but without a proper saddle, it isn't exactly comfortable. With every step, her muscles shifted and messed up my posture.
Also, without stirrups, I had to use only my thighs to stay balanced. I could manage for a while, but the fatigue quickly piled up. Without reins, it was hard to steer properly.
[Ah... I want a dick stuffed in me.]
"Stop saying that out loud. People can hear."
Even the coachman looked helplessly flustered.
He was supposedly the second-most perverted guy around here after me, having messed around with a few prostitutes, but he admitted there was no one who reeked quite as much as I did. I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or a diss, but he was sticking close to me regardless.
'When we get back to the capital, won't Owen or the other married guys just fall for her instantly?'
That would be a problem for future me to solve.
Yuni exuded dark energy from her body, which made the other horses nervous, so we had to ride far behind the wagon. Mollang and Shuru peeked out from Yuni's saddle, taking in the passing scenery.
"Hmm..."
After what happened with Bella, I realized that if I wanted to establish order among my lovers, I needed to figure out some sort of ranking.
Just like in royal families, where the children of the queen get succession rights, Mollang technically should come first, but the order had already been mixed up. Still, if I kept the age gap between the kids small enough...
Flash.
"No, not you, little Mollang. Wait, how did you know what I was thinking?"
As I watched Mollang proudly lift up her smaller self, I recalled something I had heard before about the Demon King's fragments.
'Wasn't Mollang supposed to be one of those fragments?'
Back then, I just shrugged it off—evil-looking equals Demon King, or so I thought. But lately, artifacts like the Fairy Sword disappearing and returning, or the World Tree's scabbard for sealing holy or cursed swords vanishing, had been making me suspect these events were connected to the Hero and the Demon King.
'If it's the Demon King, maybe I should ask Frederica?'
Professor Pandel was officially in charge of this mission, so I had already told him that once we reached the capital, I'd pass him off to the others and head straight to Frederica.
"Here. Give this letter to Delphine."
Normally, he'd yell at me to escort him to the base first, but for some reason, Pandel quietly accepted the coffin (even though it was loaded into the wagon) and let me go without fuss.
"Yes."
He also handed me a sealed note written in his own magical script. Even if I tried to open it, I wouldn't be able to without magical knowledge. Sure, I could just crush it with mana and break the seal, but that'd be an obvious attempt to peek.
So I just tucked it into my shirt and tugged on Yuni's reins.
"Hyah!"
As we entered the capital, people screamed and fled at the sight of me riding a bicorn. But apart from the ominous black mist she emitted and her lewdness, Yuni wasn't actually dangerous.
"Neigh!"
[The human city definitely has a nice degenerate vibe. Not as much as my master, though.]
She licked her lips, savoring the scent of the capital, but she clearly had no intention of leaving my side. Apparently, I was still filthier than most.
'C'mon, in a city this big, someone worse than me has to exist... right?'
Surely at least one.
I headed straight for the homunculus workshop with Yuni. The line of people had grown even longer since last time. Just standing in line would take at least two days, so I called over a staff member to summon either Frederica or Delphine.
"Erin!"
"...!"
From horseback, I called out to Erin, who, as usual, was wearing her maid outfit and helmet while serving drinks and organizing customers. She froze, then slowly turned to face me.
Creak.
"What the hell is that?"
Lifting her face guard, she stared in shock. Her hair had grown longer, and the way it clung to her cheeks and forehead from sweat inside the helmet looked strangely erotic.
[You're horny. Totally getting horny right now.]
"No. Not now."
Normally, I wouldn't bother hiding it, but having Yuni the bicorn beside me always calling it out made me deny it instinctively.
Still, it wasn't like I could hide my arousal from her either. But saying, "Yeah, I'm hard right now" wouldn't help.
Creak.
After serving the drinks, Erin approached me. She paused when she saw the horned Yuni, clearly wary of her demonic aura.
"Sniff sniff."
Erin instinctively raised her hand to smack her, but Yuni raised her head and looked back at me instead.
[She's horny too!]
"Oh... really?"
"Who is?!"
[I like this vibe. Like you're about to drag her somewhere secluded, lift her skirt, and pump her full of cum...]
Okay, we had done something similar before, but that wasn't the plan today.
"Quit saying weird stuff. You're drawing attention. Transform."
Before everyone focused on Yuni, I told her to transform. She shifted into human form, still carrying the saddle and reins, while dragging me along.
"What the hell is this..."
"Don't look at me like that."
"Yeah. Maybe Master likes that look of disgust."
"Yuni, shut up!"
I gagged her more tightly, removed the saddle, tied her leash, and dragged her inside.
"Is that some kind of special homunculus?"
"Man, what a kink..."
'No, she's not man-made. She's wild!'
While people speculated about my "tastes," I made my way inside. The place was packed with homunculi moving materials, but they still seemed behind on fulfilling orders.
"The boss and secretary are in the office. Delphine's in the lab. You know the way, right?"
"If you're going to Delphine, can you take this note? Tell her it's from Professor Pandel."
"You come back after months and start making demands?"
Despite her words, Erin took the note and walked toward the lab, showing it to me between her fingers like she had it covered.
"Hmmm."
Watching her walk away made me smile unconsciously.
"Mmmph."
"Whatever perverted thing you were going to say, keep it to yourself."
I shoved Yuni into silence again and headed for the office.
"...What is all this?"
"This month's profits."
Frederica and No. 3 were sitting in front of a desk covered in piles of gold coins. Real gold, not fake stuff. Hundreds of them.
"Wow, Frederica, you must be loaded!"
"Once you deduct materials, investor dividends, future production costs, maintenance, and taxes, there's not much left."
Still, anyone would go wide-eyed at that pile of gold.
"You heard the news, right?"
"What news?"
"About the new version of the mutation potion being completed."
"I was away for two months, so I didn't know. Sounds interesting, but I came for a different reason."
I held up the now-larger Mollang with both hands and showed her to Frederica.
"What exactly is this Demon King's fragment?"
At that, Frederica stopped counting, called in another homunculus to sort the gold, and issued instructions.
"Sort them by the paper instructions. Return the rest as an investment to the guardian dragon, Seyra."
"Yes."
"So, Ban. Why are you asking about the Demon King's fragment now?"
I explained what had happened during the recent mission.
"That Fairy Sword is a holy sword. And the World Tree's scabbard you found in the Elf Forest is used either to contain a holy sword and maintain its power, or to seal a cursed sword."
"Yes. That's why I came to the most qualified person to ask about the Demon King and the Hero."
"Sorry. I know a fair bit about the Demon King, but not so much about the Hero."
Coming from Frederic Endymion, the hero who fought beside the Hero 300 years ago, that was a strange thing to say.
"Did you forget?"
"Do I look that senile to you?"
"At 300 years old, dementia might hit once or twice."
"No, it's just... it's personal. Anyway, you wanted to know what the Demon King's fragment means, right?"
"Yes."
Frederica took Mollang from my hands and pointed at her core.
"It means a part of the Demon King is embedded in this."
"...What?"
I couldn't help but be shocked.
"So you're saying Mollang is the Demon King?"
"Yes. About... one 3.61 millionth of the Demon King."
That ratio was so small, calling her a "fragment" felt generous. It was more like Demon King-flavored.