Within Isis’s castle in the Land of Death, the air in the entrance hall had turned thick with a bizarre, unclassifiable tension.
With her forehead pressed firmly against the floor, Rasal remained in a deep dogeza while Isis and Polaris looked on with perplexed expressions. Even in her prostrate position, Rasal’s mind was racing at a frantic pace.
(You’ve got to be kidding me! The Death King? If you're going to call yourself the Death King, you should be a necromancer like me or some kind of eccentric lich! This is wrong! This is a total foul! What do you mean "Incarnation of Death"?! This woman... she’s essentially Death itself, isn't she?!)
As a necromancer, Rasal walked a path close to the very concept of death. This meant she understood the astronomical scale of the Magic Power of Death radiating from Isis far better than anyone else.
Consequently, she also realized in an instant that this was an opponent she stood absolutely zero chance of defeating.
(There’s no way I can win! A necromancer is, so to speak, a being that fights by borrowing a mere fraction of the great power of death. How could a practitioner like me ever hope to win against the literal source of that power?!)
To put it plainly, the mere sight of her had completely shattered Rasal’s will to fight.
(What do I do? I already smashed the door and picked a fight with her subordinate... No, wait, I haven't actually said anything specific yet. For now, I’ll just apologize for the door.)
As Rasal desperately cycled through these thoughts, Isis spoke up, sounding a bit bewildered.
"...Um..."
"I am terribly sorry for breaking your door!"
"...O-Oh... That’s fine, but... who are you?"
"My name is Rasal Marfik! I came here because I wanted to meet the Death King-sama, but I, well, I got a bit ahead of myself!"
She wasn't lying. Regardless of her original motive, it was a fact that she had come to see Isis. However, Rasal’s heart was now so thoroughly broken that the idea of challenging Isis to a duel had become an impossibility. Her only concern now was finding a way to survive the encounter.
Right then, Polaris spoke up with a contemplative look on her face.
"...Could it be that you’ve come here to become one of Isis-sama’s subordinates?"
"...Huh?"
"I simply remember how I myself was so restless and eager before the Head-dono brought me to Isis-sama. Perhaps she was so anxious to see Isis-sama that she broke the door in her haste to enter?"
"...Is that true?"
Polaris’s suggestion caught Rasal completely off guard. Her mind, already spinning in a desperate panic, ground to a sudden, screeching halt.
Taking advantage of the silence, Polaris continued to voice her theory, and Isis’s expression visibly brightened with joy.
"I’m sure she was simply holding back until now. Hearing that Isis-sama’s subordinates have begun to increase lately, she likely hurried here at once."
"...I see... Rasal... did you come here to serve me?"
"...That is correct."
Rasal broke. Seeing Isis so visibly delighted, the necromancer realized that denying it now might incur her wrath. To survive the moment, she chose to go along with the misunderstanding.
"How on earth did it come to this?"
Later, Rasal sat with her head in her hands inside a guest room provided by Isis.
She had finally completed years of research; this was supposed to be her moment of glory. She was going to show the world the fruits of her labor... or so she had thought. In reality, her spirit had been crushed before she could even use those results, and she had ended up as the subordinate of the very person she had intended to overthrow.
"...Rasal... can I come in?"
"Isis-sama? Y-Yes, please do!"
She snapped to attention and replied to the voice. The door opened, and Isis stepped inside.
"Has something happened?"
"...No... since we just met... I don't know much about you yet... so if you'd like... let's talk... over some tea."
"I see... Y-Yes, of course."
Expecting some grave official matter, Rasal felt a bit deflated to find it was just an invitation for tea. However, having no intention of ever defying Isis again, she nodded in agreement.
"...Good... then... I’ll prepare it."
"...Wait. Isis-sama, are you the one brewing the tea?"
"...Yes... why?"
"N-No, that is backwards. For the King, Isis-sama, to brew tea for a subordinate like me... rather, shouldn't I be the one preparing the tea for Isis-sama?"
"...Rasal will brew it for me? ...I'm so happy... thank you."
"...............Please wait a moment."
Seeing Isis rejoice with a radiant smile, Rasal felt her own cynicism drain away. With an indescribable look on her face, she took the cups and began to prepare the tea.
Serious-senpai: "...At this point, it’s not so much that she’s sworn loyalty to Isis, but more like she just got swept along into being a subordinate. Though, given how she ended up making tea for Isis anyway, she definitely feels like the type who’ll be won over in no time..."