I had traveled to the Arclesia Empire to meet Lilim-san, a member of the Ten Demons—the elite executives under the Phantasm King—and Chris-san’s mother.
I had coordinated with Chris-san in advance to find a suitable date. Since she was going to handle the introduction personally this time, Pandora-san had stayed behind.
Pandora-san seemed genuinely concerned for my safety, but after Alice confidently insisted everything would be fine, she eventually agreed to leave the matter to Chris-san.
Because of our prior coordination, I was granted an audience with Chris-san immediately upon arriving at the castle. We were now heading together toward the location where Lilim-san resided.
Alice had cautioned me that "Lilim" was a code name and that she went by her real name, Lystia Asmodeus, within the Arclesia Empire. I was to address her as such whenever we were in the presence of others.
"Wait... if we’re leaving the castle grounds, does that mean she doesn't live inside the main palace?"
"Yes. My mother lives in the Inner Palace—the residence for the Former Imperial Consort and the Former Emperor’s concubines. My father had a vast number of consorts, so he spent a considerable portion of the budget on constructing the Inner Palace."
"The Inner Palace, huh..."
"Indeed. To be honest, since the Former Emperor is deceased, the residents should probably have been relocated long ago. However, as the current Emperor, I have no intention of using the Inner Palace myself. Even if I were to dismantle it, the cost of arranging new homes for all those concubines would be astronomical. More importantly, they’ve flatly refused to leave, and I didn't want to go through the hassle of persuading them, so I just let it be."
"I-I see..."
"Well, I don't allocate much of a budget to it anymore, and I’ve kept the staff to a bare minimum, so it’s not much of a financial burden."
As I listened to Chris-san speak with a wry smile, a small question formed in my mind. If she wasn't providing much of a budget, why were the concubines so adamant about staying?
I could understand wanting to cling to a life of luxury, but from the sound of things, that wasn't the case here.
As if sensing my confusion, Chris-san chuckled softly.
"I think I know what you’re wondering, but you’ll understand shortly. Here we are."
The building Chris-san led me to was a magnificent structure that rivaled Lilia-san’s mansion in scale.
A woman dressed in a simple gown stood at the entrance. Upon seeing us, she bowed deeply. For a moment, I wondered if she might be Lilim-san, but that didn't seem right.
"We have been expecting you, Your Imperial Majesty. And you as well, Miyama Kaito-sama."
"And where is my mother?"
"Lysti-sama is in her usual room."
"Understood. I’ll lead the way from here."
After that brief exchange, Chris-san opened the front doors and gestured for me to enter. As we walked down a wide corridor, she spoke up again, her smile still somewhat strained.
"By the way, that woman just now was the Former Imperial Consort."
"What? Really?"
"As for why the Former Imperial Consort is dressed plainly and acting as a servant... the answer is simple. She’s doing it because she wants to."
"Um... what?"
I didn't get it at all. Was it a hobby of hers, like Camellia-san and her love for housework?
"You look bewildered. That’s only natural. I’ll just tell you the truth: the reason the Former Imperial Consort and the concubines refuse to leave the Inner Palace is my mother."
"Because of Lystia-san?"
"Without exaggeration, my mother is the most powerful succubus in existence. She captivates not only the opposite sex but her own as well. In other words, the Former Imperial Consort and the concubines are so infatuated with her that they voluntarily act as her servants just to be near her. That is why they won't leave."
"That’s... quite incredible."
"Fortunately, my mother seems to have no interest in other women, so she really does just use them as servants. But apparently, they’re perfectly satisfied as long as they can be useful to her."
I see... The pinnacle of succubi, possessing enough charm to entrance even those of the same sex. So that was the woman known as Lilim-san. Furthermore, according to Pandora-san, she was quite a handful when it came to men.
I was starting to see why Pandora-san had been so worried... but on the other hand, I wondered why Alice was so certain that everything would be okay.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but since I was about to meet her face-to-face, I supposed I would find out soon enough.
Serious-senpai: "Lilim finally makes her entrance... Well, she’s appeared before, but this is her first meeting with Kaito. Is there going to be a serious development? Probably not, right? It’ll just be fluffy as always. I already knew that."