"Hehe… Seishuuin family head, although I don't intend to pursue this matter with your clan, there's one thing I've always been curious about."
Snatching a piece of the snack from Athena's hand and tossing it into his mouth, Sora chewed while looking at the Seishuuin family head with a mischievous expression.
The little loli whose snack was stolen glared at Sora angrily, but seeing he ignored her, she pouted and huffed but said nothing.
"My lord, please speak."
Though her heart had not fully calmed, after what had just happened, Seishuuin Suiko couldn't help but feel a trace of awe toward the young man before her and quickly bowed in response.
"To dare to plot against a demon king, I really admire the women of your Seishuuin clan. But I wonder, was this your idea as the family head, or someone else's?"
Sora gave the Seishuuin family head a half-smile.
Hearing Sora's voice, everyone in the room was stunned, not understanding what the demon king was up to. He didn't even intend to blame the Seishuuin clan anymore, so what was the point of asking?
Though full of doubt, no one dared to ask.
Seishuuin Suiko felt her face flush and her heart race again. But at this point, she had no way out and decided to answer honestly after a moment's thought.
This young demon king was far from the simple figure they had imagined. The Seishuuin family had barely escaped disaster. If they caused this demon king's displeasure again over trivial matters, she would have nowhere to cry!
"My lord, this idea was proposed by someone in the clan and then discussed and decided upon by me and the family elders. The Seishuuin family admits its mistake and hopes for your forgiveness!"
Now, the Seishuuin family head had no choice but to speak truthfully, though her heart was uneasy, silently praying the demon king wouldn't suddenly change his mind.
"Hahaha… don't worry, don't worry. I said I wouldn't blame you, so I won't."
"Legend says that when the gods created Pandora, the ancestor of your women, they gave her everything except wisdom, which a stingy goddess withheld. As a result, she was foolishly deceived and made a grave mistake. To atone for her error, that woman foolishly tried to make amends alone. What a silly woman! Hahahaha…"
"Don't take it to heart. I'm just asking out of curiosity. After all, the other three family heads' clans have been obedient. Only your Seishuuin clan has some secret thoughts. I thought maybe you were deceived or manipulated by someone."
While patting Athena's little head, Sora spoke casually, laughing heartily as if carefree.
Athena looked up angrily, glaring at Sora. How dare this despicable scoundrel call her a stingy goddess?!
Athena's wisdom was unique and priceless, far more precious than any so-called power. She had no relation to Pandora, so why would she give her anything?
Besides Athena, somewhere in the Netherworld, a purple-haired twin-tailed girl was angrily punching and kicking the void in front of her.
Damn Sora, talking bad about her behind her back! How despicable! How shameless! How evil!..
Erica and Liliana, standing behind Sora, exchanged a glance and both smiled slyly. They finally understood: their evil demon king had been scheming all along!
Though Sora's words seemed casual and carefree, they were actually quite "malicious"!
Sayanomiya, Kuhoutsuka, and Renjou, the heads of the three great families, all felt a sudden sinking in their hearts, a sense of foreboding rising, and their expressions became somewhat awkward. Meanwhile, Seishuuin Suiko was completely stunned, her mind repeatedly echoing Sora's words—
Pandora, deceived, manipulated…
Recalling the scene from the family meeting back then, at first Seishuuin Suiko was somewhat opposed to the idea. It would be fine if it succeeded, but if it failed and they were accused of spying on the king, their entire clan would be in trouble!
However, later, after being encouraged by some people who said that as long as they deployed the family's secret weapon, Ena, success was guaranteed, and that they could pull this powerful and promising Demon King into their family, bringing many benefits, Suiko and some opposing elders warmed up and reluctantly agreed.
After all, if they could really bring this Demon King into their family, the benefits for the Seishuuin clan would be unimaginable!
There is a saying about women: "Long hair, short sight," which, although mostly discriminatory, still holds some truth.
Women are delicate-minded but tend to be petty. Men may seem rough but often have far-sighted vision. Thus, in human history, a tradition has formed where women manage the household and men handle external affairs; major family decisions are usually made by men.
Compared to men, women have a natural disadvantage—this is an undeniable fact. Women can handle the present well but lack long-term vision, making them the easiest to deceive and exploit!
As the head of the Seishuuin family, Suiko was naturally very intelligent. Once reminded by Sora's words, she immediately understood what was going on!
The four great families have been fighting since ancient times; everyone knows each other's true nature. It's true that the Seishuuin clan had some malicious intentions to target the Demon King for the family's benefit, but did the other three families not have the same idea?
They are all groups willing to do anything for their family's interests. If they didn't have such thoughts, Suiko could write her own name backward!
But then, why was it only her family that acted, while the others remained calm and obedient? Were they really afraid?
No, no, no—they were not afraid, just didn't need to. Any risky matter requires someone to test the waters first. It just so happened that this year it was the Seishuuin family!
Everyone understands the logic of "shooting the first arrow." The Seishuuin clan is female-led and has always been the weakest among the four great families, naturally becoming the best target for the other three!
As for how to exploit them, isn't it simple?
The four great families have been around for thousands of years; who doesn't have a few spies and informants from the other three families? The other three only needed to have their planted informants in the Seishuuin clan say a few "appropriate" words at the "right" time to lure them in, and the plan would succeed!
Moreover, the result was exactly as expected: the Seishuuin women, "long-haired but short-sighted," were easily provoked by a few words and foolishly believed that their so-called family "secret weapon" could take down a Demon King.
In fact, the three great families were quite looking forward to it, hoping the Seishuuin clan's trial would succeed so everyone could happily fish in troubled waters together. And if they failed, they could just sit back and watch the show, since it wouldn't be their problem if they drowned!
Finally, Suiko had pieced together the whole story. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, she had no doubt about her conclusion.
They were all old rivals who knew each other inside out. Suiko "trusted" them too well!
Feeling as if a volcano was about to erupt inside her, Suiko's eyes turned bloodshot, and a chilling aura suddenly burst forth from her body. She spun around and stared fixedly at Sayanomiya Hondo, Kuhoutsuka Tomono, and Renjou Hiroshi—the three family heads—with venomous hatred and malice in her expression.
It was because of these bastards that the Seishuuin clan was nearly destroyed! This hatred was immense…
"Hehehe… Three family heads, hello! You are good! You are very good!"
With a cold laugh, Suiko said "good" three times to the three men, but each "good" was filled with endless hatred and coldness.
"Head of the Seishuuin family, you…"
"Hehehe…"
Knowing their little schemes had been discovered by this woman, the three family heads' faces burned with embarrassment. They only gave awkward laughs and said nothing.
Although they had done something shameful, for the sake of their families, they would do it again without hesitation!
As for the Seishuuin clan's hatred—hmph—the four great families appeared harmonious on the surface but had been fighting secretly for over a thousand years. They had more grudges than they could count and didn't care at all!
This sudden change made the atmosphere in the room extremely oppressive. The cold and hateful gaze of the Seishuuin head frightened Ena and Comrade Mikihiko on the side; they still didn't understand what was going on.
Ena didn't know why her grandmother suddenly became so angry. Her gaze at the three family heads was ten or even a hundred times more terrifying than before when they looked at her!
Comrade Mikihiko was sweating profusely, swallowing nervously. He had once thought of marrying a gentle and beautiful woman from the Seishuuin family, but just now, he had completely abandoned that idea forever.
Meanwhile, the eldest Miss Kaoru, the smartest among the three and most familiar with the family's dark side, seemed to have figured something out. Her expression became complicated, and she sighed softly…
As for Erica and Liliana, the two women, they wore expressions of satisfaction and sarcasm when looking at the so-called four family heads.
Although they felt their king was shameless for using such a method to sow discord among the four great families and let them fight among themselves,
They thought: Well done!!!