I had set out in high spirits to annihilate the King of Curses, but all I ran into were small fry. I didn't cross paths with a single creature that even looked like an executive.
In the end, by the time I reached the lowest level on the second basement floor, I had completely run out of patience. I pressured a patchwork giant into leading me straight to the King of Curses.
Yet inside the stone chamber where the giant brought me, there was only a monster of a woman in a dress with a hollowed-out face and some pseudo-plushie monster. There was nothing possessing the sheer presence one would expect of the King of Curses.
Internally cursing the fact that I hadn't encountered a single formidable foe, I slaughtered the pseudo-plushie monsters. Afterward, I intended to extract the King of Curses' whereabouts from the dress-wearing monster who had been lounging arrogantly atop an altar-like dais, but I ended up ordering Belze to handle the interrogation instead.
Once I slipped into full combat mode, holding back became remarkably difficult. Even this monster in the dress—my sole clue to the King of Curses—had been left on the brink of death from a single kick. If I laid another hand on her, I was certain I would kill her in one blow.
Shortly thereafter, the mansion shed its grotesque, visceral interior and reverted to a chicly styled manor. Soon after, I received a report from Princess Fly, an executive in the Belze Faction who had conducted the actual interrogation, but...
"Huh? That was the King of Curses?"
A dumbfounded voice slipped past my lips. And why wouldn't it? From that red-dressed monster, I had truly felt nothing more than the power of a tiny gnat.
"Yes! I interrogated her thoroughly, so there is no mistake."
Princess Fly was a seasoned interrogation specialist. In other words, this was an unquestionable fact.
Still, that small fry had nearly perished from a single kick delivered while I was holding back to the absolute limit. What's more, she had been utterly indistinguishable from the other weaklings wandering the mansion. A goblin in the woods would probably put up more of a fight.
"To say this is a massive disappointment would be an understatement."
I groaned, burying my face in the palm of my right hand.
She had called herself a King, after all; wouldn't it be reasonable to expect at least a little resistance?
As my shoulders slumped before this terribly bleak reality, a woman clad in a pure white robe with her hood pulled low knelt before me. It was Lucile.
"Lord Kai, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for releasing us today."
As Lucile bowed her head deeply in gratitude, the other undead followed suit.
"No, my coming here was purely coincidental. There is no need for you to feel indebted to me."
In truth, I had only come to claim this mansion as our future base of operations in Babel. There simply happened to be an issue, and I dealt with it as needed. In other words, everything I did was entirely for our own sake; they had no reason whatsoever to thank me.
"Regardless of your intentions, Lord Kai, the fact remains that you struck down the vile creature that bound us. Thanks to you, we can finally move forward."
"Is that so? Well, do your best. So, what do you plan to do from here on?"
Tossing out a perfunctory word of encouragement, I got down to brass tacks.
Well, crossing paths like this was a twist of fate in its own right. Among the delightful companions recorded in my Subjugation Compendium, there were those well-versed in necromancy. They could easily guide these spirits to ascend to Valhalla in no time.
Lucile and the others exchanged glances with grave expressions, as though confronting their destiny. Then, nodding firmly, they bowed deeply to me in unison.
"Please, allow us to join your retinue."
They made an utterly preposterous plea.
"My retinue, huh..."
I hadn't dreamed they would ask to become my subordinates. Well now, what to do? Since they were non-humans, adding them as new kin to the Subjugation Compendium was certainly an option.
"Asta, what do you think?"
I sought the counsel of Asta, who was letting out a massive, bored yawn beside me.
"There is nothing Master cannot do. Thus, it all rests upon Master's will."
My will, huh. Even with their families held hostage, Lucile and her companions had tried their best to protect the boys who attacked them. I didn't dislike earnest fools like that. Above all, most of my subordinates had lost every shred of common sense by now thanks to Girimehkala and the others' 'rehabilitation.' Lucas and Oboro had been particularly unhinged lately. Lucile and her group, who seemed to possess a sound mind, would be quite useful for managing our territory in the future. If they wished for it, I had no reason to turn them away.
"All right. Then the only question left is whose kin you will become, but..."
The so-called King of Curses who had bound them was now completely obliterated. In other words, they had lost the anchor tying them to this world. If left alone, Lucile and her companions were destined to vanish before long. Furthermore, it seemed some spirits who failed to pass on properly would degenerate into evil spirits and lose their minds. Well, that was just something Rose had told me, so its credibility was a bit suspect.
That said, since there was a genuine risk of them running wild once their minds slipped, I had already planned to take precautions. If they wanted to serve under me, that made things much easier. Registering them in the Subjugation Compendium would likely establish a foundation for their existence.
However, given their low existence strength, registering Lucile and her group independently in the Subjugation Compendium was probably impossible. They would have no choice but to be placed as kin under one of my subordinates. But frankly, every one of my followers had an overwhelming personality, and few of them were anywhere near normal. It would be a headache if these specters were subjected to bizarre ideological indoctrination and lost their common sense, too. Now then, to whom should I entrust them?
"Lord Kai, please leave that duty to us!"
Asura, Zenki, and Goki dropped to their knees before me and volunteered.
"Hmm, becoming your kin, is it...?"
I weighed the thought. If this were the repulsive Asura of the past, I would have refused on the spot, but setting aside his strength, he had become a respectable, upright fellow. Even so, Asura and his brothers were ogre monsters. Their affinity with humans was notoriously terrible. Was it really wise to entrust former humans like Lucile and her group to them?
As I hesitated, Lucile bowed her head once more.
"This Great One came to our aid. We, too, would like to repay our debt of gratitude to these gentlemen."
She made a plea I hadn't seen coming at all.
Asura and his group had faithfully followed my orders to look after the wounded Lucile and her companions; they must have bonded during that time.
Besides, Asura felt a lingering guilt toward both humans and monsters over that whole Evil Army incident, which made him strongly favor equal relationships. In that regard, since he was unlikely to brainwash them with strange ideas, he might actually be the ideal choice. Above all—
"If that is what you truly wish, I have no objections. I'm counting on you, Asura!"
Since they wanted it themselves, it wasn't my place to meddle anyway. They were free to do as they pleased.
"Hell yeah! Leave it to me!"
As Asura shouted, slamming his right fist against his chest, Lucile and her companions wore expressions of relief, exchanging glances and nodding firmly to one another.
I suppose I should be glad we reached a good compromise.