novelraw Chapter 134: Iberica - Gremory
Chapter 134: Iberica - Gremory
“A deal?”
After showing me that, she dares say ‘a deal’.
“I’m sure you’re aware that deals with Abyss Corporation are forbidden in Francia.”
“I know, Marquis. That’s why this is a deal with Gremory personally, not Lust Inc.”
“The CEO of Lust Inc., a subsidiary of Abyss Corporation. How can you be a private individual, demon?”
“Well…”
Gremory twirled a strand of her long, golden hair with her finger, pausing for a moment before answering.
“Because the deal I am about to propose violates the regulations of Abyss Corporation.”
Aha, so that’s why she said Gremory, without mentioning Abyss Corporation or Lust Inc.?
I didn't know whether she was telling the truth or a lie.Succubi are specialized in deception, arousing lust by toying with humans. How could I believe this at face value?
I stared intently into Gremory’s golden eyes.
The demon met my gaze with calm, emotionless eyes.
Is this really the same person as the succubus who flitted about with that silly affectation?
Which one is real? Does a real one even exist?
I had a staring contest with Gremory for a while, but soon gave up on wasting time and nodded my head.
…Separate from my fury, it was also true that I felt helpless, with no solution in sight.
“You have my interest, just a little. Speak.”
Gremory, with a composed expression, bowed her waist slightly and gave me a nod of respect.
“Thank you, Marquis.”
Then, she raised her head with a faint smile and spoke.
“What I offer is the countermeasure for the Drones.”
“Drones?”
“Ah.”
Gremory seemed to think for a moment, averting her gaze, before speaking.
“It is the name Abyss Corporation uses to refer to the Magitek Products made by processing primates, including humans and orcs, as materials. The enemies you fought against in Ciudad, Marquis.”
“……Magitek products, you say.”
Drones, worker bees.
Bugs made to work, created by processing humans and orcs with magitek.
They've given them a truly filthy name, those demon bastards.
I had expected it, but it had only been a suspicion until now. Gremory’s words confirmed it completely.
Gremory remained silent for a while, then spoke cautiously.
“May I continue?”
Is this consideration? Or is even this an act, part of the pretense?
“The CEO of Abyss Corporation’s Lust Inc. is offering to tell me the weakness of her own company’s product? You said it was a deal. What is it that you want?”
“First, the defeat of the Drones. Second, I would prefer you not make this a public issue, but you may do as you please with the second part.”
“Ha. You create those things using humans as materials, and you ask me not to make it a public issue? Why should I do that? If I just expose these so-called Drones, I could make Abyss Corporation the Public Enemy of the Continent.”
Gremory seemed to take a light breath and then spoke.
“Because it won’t turn out that way.”
“What?”
“The Emperor of the Germania Empire, didn’t you find him a bit strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Prince-electors of the Germania Empire, the influential figures of Port Harbor, jumped into such a risky affair far too easily, though there was certainly profit to be made, don't you think?”
Her words brought it back to me, the Empire's actions which made absolutely no sense strategically.
Realizing that much, I glared at Gremory. The succubus met my gaze and spoke calmly, without boasting.
“The ability to sneak into dreams and show them what they desire means it’s also possible to guide their actions and emotions.”
I immediately kicked off the ground and drew my sword.
As I swung, Gremory spread her wings, flapped them, and leaped backward to dodge.
“Marquis, I am—Ugh?!”
Before Gremory could finish her words, the dagger I threw tore through one of the succubus’s wings.
She had said that physical force was meaningless in a dream, and it had been meaningless when I had snapped Paimon's neck.
At the time, I had just accepted it.
But the one who said it had been terrified and fleeing from my attacks, even making my sword and dagger disappear.
I just hadn’t thought about it properly because of this succubus’s airheaded behavior. As the world hummed and vibrated with the mana flowing through my body, I rushed towards the falling Gremory and shouted.
“Just as I thought. You yourself, the host of the dream, can’t escape the effects of physical force!”
I swung my mana-infused sword at the falling succubus.
……And it was deflected.
“Kuk!”
Gremory, having fallen to the floor, straightened her disheveled hair and clothes with her hand and then let out a light sigh.
One hand was extended towards me.
“What… the?”
At the center of Gremory's outstretched hand was a magic barrier, no—
A golden barrier, just like the one Eris uses, was glowing.
“Divine Power?”
Divine Power is a natural enemy of the demon race.
That was how Christine's Consecrated Bullet had been able to instantly shatter the mighty Halphas’s magic barrier.
But is a demon, a succubus, using Divine Power?
There's no way that's possible.
Gremory slowly rose to her feet.
Sensuality overflowed with her every movement, yet it felt as natural as breathing, not intentional, which made it all the more unpleasant.
I thought her wearing a nun's habit was simply a demon's twisted hobby, but she uses Divine Power?
“Have you calmed down a little, Marquis?”
“You, what are you.”
Gremory tilted her head slightly and answered.
“A half-baked demon, I suppose? I can’t use a demon's mana because of my Divine Power.”
“How do you use Divine Power? It isn't something demons like you can use.”
The principle of Divine Power as Eris explained it was something that demons couldn’t use in the first place.
Gremory shook her head and replied.
“I wish it wouldn't hurt, I want to save them. ……I want to protect. Isn't that a feeling anyone can have?”
“Heh, a succubus?”
Gremory chuckled, letting out a short ‘kuk’.
“Is there a problem because I’m a succubus?”
Then, she opened her hand, and it radiated light.
The succubus, who shone with a light as brilliant as Eris’s, smiled with her golden eyes and spoke again.
“As you can see, God doesn't seem to mind lending His power, even to a succubus,”
As I stood speechless, Gremory gathered the light and looked at me.
“I cannot use a demon's mana because I possess Divine Power, Marquis. At best, I can only interfere with dreams, which is the inherent ability of a succubus. So even if you continue to attack me, I have no way of harming you. And it's already difficult to play tricks on a man with a strong will like you in a dream for a second time.”
Then, stroking her golden hair, she looked me in the eye and asked.
“On the other hand, it doesn’t seem likely I’ll be harmed if you attack. I am still a little more skilled than your young Saintess, you see.”
“……You wield Divine Power stronger than the Saintess? A succubus?”
Gremory smiled, tilting her head slightly.
“Believe it or not. In any case, it’s a bit much to waste time when neither of us can harm the other, so may I hear your answer to my deal?”
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and sheathed my sword.
A succubus that uses Divine Power. I had never imagined it, but it’s absurd that the Divine Power itself adds credibility to her words.
The corrupt clergy of the Holy Theocracy use Divine Power, but it cannot compare to that of Eris’s. She isn’t called the Saintess for nothing.
So, if this succubus had come to deceive me with malicious intent, it wouldn't explain how she could use Divine Power as radiant as Eris's.
……Or perhaps our entire premise was wrong from the start.
Gremory, seemingly satisfied, smiled slightly and spoke.
“Let me say it again, Marquis. What I will give you is the countermeasure for the Drones. With it, you will defeat the Drones. As for making it public… well, not much would change even if you did, but you can try if you don’t believe me.”
“Too many people have seen them. It would be useless for me to hide it. If Krafte or the Eastern Empire finds out, it should be entirely possible to make Abyss Corporation a public enemy.”
At that, Gremory smiled a feigned, kind smile and replied.
“That would be the case if you were to be defeated in Iberica, Marquis, and if King Kroxx’s nation were to fall and the Drone army were to advance upon the continent. But the Drones will perish if their mana supply is cut off. The upper echelons of each nation, bought off by Abyss Corporation, have more than enough influence to make the unsubstantiated cries of a distant heathen peninsula and a turbulent revolutionary nation sound hollow.”
“Ha, are you so confident that all the human nations are your puppets?”
“Conversely, Marquis, you are too dismissive of human greed and selfishness. It would get a little busy for me, but it wouldn't be impossible to spin this as a pathetic smear campaign by Francia, who dragged in even heathen barbarians to avoid a war with the Krafte Kingdom. ……I’d rather not do something like that either.”
I quietly ground my teeth.
It was a terrible situation, but the succubus's words seemed genuine. If we are victorious, it simply becomes someone else's problem, posing no threat or consequence to other nations.
Right, if the human nations were that united, those fiends wouldn't have been able to sow discord for over a hundred years.
As Gremory stated, unless I abandon Kroxx, there's no guarantee that using the Drones to turn Abyss Corporation into the public enemy of humanity will succeed.
I stared at Gremory for a long time, then asked.
“Your reason.”
She said she was proposing a deal as Gremory the succubus, personally, not as Abyss Corporation or Lust Inc.
“From what you say, it sounds like Paimon is here, and the Drones are running rampant. Abyss Corporation’s position is to unleash the Drones here. What is your reason for proposing a deal that is the exact opposite of Abyss Corporation’s position?”
Regardless of whether this demon's deal benefits me, I don't want to be manipulated without knowing the reason, like the fools from the Empire.
“……I want coexistence with humans.”
“The ones who spouted such nonsense are the very ones who made things like Drones. And you said with your own mouth that you sowed the seeds of discord on the continent.”
Despite my utter scorn, Gremory replied with a still-calm face.
“It’s preferable to take the initial blow, rather than hide the truth and lose trust once it's uncovered.”
Then, after a light, deep breath, Gremory spoke.
“You must have guessed by now, but Abyss Corporation's main enemy is the Eastern Empire. They are the only ones with a navy that could pose a threat to Abyss Corporation. On the Central Continent, we were content to sow appropriate discord and reap profits through trade.”
This was a fact I already knew.
“However, due to uncertain factors, including yourself, Marquis, Abyss Corporation has been cornered. Well, if you ask if it’s the brink of ruin, that's not it, but our position of absolute superiority, from which we have always reaped enormous profits, is being shaken. In that case, one should just back down a little, but they don't want to, so they are increasingly taking unreasonable risks. Like the crazy act of unleashing Drones to capture humans because they can no longer procure materials for Drones.”
“So? That's Abyss Corporation’s position. But what about you? Why?”
“If we achieve victory in Iberica with those Drones, the entire continent will learn of the existence and threat of Drones. If that happens, the animosity that has been diluted over hundreds of years will be revived in an instant, and as you said, Marquis, it will become a public issue and Abyss Corporation will become the public enemy of the entire continent, just as Pandemonium once did.”
“And you don't want that?”
“No, because I am of the moderate faction. I don’t like the Drone technology itself, which treats humans in such a way, and I want to stop going around sowing discord to make humans fight each other. If they are defeated here and it is judged that the utility of the Drones does not justify the risk, perhaps the headquarters will change its mind.”
“Heh, quite the demon who respects humans. I don't know if I can believe this. This ‘demonic respect’ doesn't seem very trustworthy.”
Gremory frowned slightly and replied.
“Then, to your taste, Marquis, I will speak a little more like a demon.”
And then, her demeanor changed.
The succubus who had been speaking so seriously a moment ago now smiled with overflowing sensuality, licking her finger as she spoke.
“Humans, too, empathize with their livestock and raise them with care. They grieve when they die. Is there any reason a demon would not do the same?”
“……It’s infuriating how much that makes sense.”
Gremory chuckled, a short ‘kuk’.
“I am a succubus, a being that feeds on human emotions. It's far better to earn their goodwill than their resentment and animosity; there is nothing to gain from the latter.”
“I don't know, I question whether you really need to earn their goodwill. Didn’t you pester me for my essence? Even if you are an enemy demon, with looks like that, if you set your mind to seducing them, there would be more than enough humans who would go into heat and cling to you.”
“Hmm, humans misunderstand succubi too much.”
After saying that, Gremory tilted her head slightly and replied.
“Marquis, if a truly foul-looking woman invited you over and served you all sorts of delicacies, but then sat across from you, drooling and panting, do you think the food would go down well?”
“……”
“It's the same for me. If I had to say, you look truly delicious, Marquis, ah, excuse me. But still, if I have a choice, good emotions are tastier. Things like reverence, admiration, deep gratitude, pure love.”
“Somehow, I think I understand why a succubus would learn Divine Power.”
Only then did Gremory smile with a truly satisfied expression.
“Wow, it feels like I’m finally being understood, at least a little. That's right, we chose the wrong line of work. What’s the point in earning only human hatred, when you can be rewarded with all sorts of delicious emotions just by being nice.”
With a troubled feeling, I looked at the golden succubus before me.
I have many questions, and I still feel resistant.
But for now, the puzzle pieces fit.
Abyss Corporation’s situation, this succubus’s motives, all of it—if she even wields powerful Divine Power, then it must have some credibility.
But could even that be a thought planted by this succubus? How much can I trust?
As I was contemplating, Gremory spoke again.
“To make your decision easier, Marquis, let me tell you one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Born from a civil war, Abyss Corporation fundamentally forbids all disputes between its seven companies. This is Article 1 of Abyss Corporation’s regulations. It is an absolute taboo that must be observed.”
As I wondered what she meant, Gremory placed a hand on her chest and spoke again.
“In other words, if you, Marquis, were to inform Abyss Corporation's headquarters of my current actions, which are hostile to Sloth Corp's Paimon and by extension Abyss Corporation……”
The golden succubus smiled deeply and added.
“I will be disposed of.”