“I appreciate your kind words, Madame, but we’ve only just begun. In a month or so, the village should be somewhat presentable. This place will become a heaven for all of the ladies.”
“I can see it... You’re not like the loads of other men who do nothing but talk a big game. The words you say and the things you show me all have weight.”
(The soap did the trick.)
The Demon Lord smirked internally.
In fact, the simple bar of soap did wonders to clean and refresh the Madame. In this country, where sand dust filled the air, just spending the day outdoors got one covered in dust .
“Such an honor... But I guarantee that the facilities I’m about to show you will bring even more surprises and happiness to your life, Madame.”
“Ooh, how exciting.”
Despite the smiles on their faces, there was tension in the air. At this time, an old man wobbled out of the carriage, following the Madame.
“Hm. This is the village you’ve spoken of, Madame?”
“I told you to wait until I called you, old man!”
“Haf haf haf! Patience wears thin with age.”
He was an elderly noble, a heavy sword hanging from his waist. A blue wrap covered his eyes, and he carried a strange aura about him. Seeing the old man, the Demon Lord raised his guard a little.
“Madame, who may this gentleman be...?”
“I apologize for my last-minute guest... This geezer with one foot in his grave is Comando Sambo. As you can see, his eyes aren’t working. I thought he could use a nice little vacation before he kicks the bucket.”
“Harsh words as always, Madame... Respect your elders!”
“Can it, old man!”
The Madame introduced Sambo with a familiar sense of playful adversary. According to the Madame, he was a courageous man who used to serve as the right-hand man of Marshall Harts. A few years back, when he fought a Hellbeast that appeared in his land, he suffered an injury that cost him most of his vision. Hearing this, the Demon Lord and Tahara each wore a sympathetic expression. Making glancing eye contact, they sprung to action in order to conquer this unexpected obstacle.
“I am so sorry to hear that. However, I do have an extremely competent doctor in my employ here. She can heal your injury, sir, with no issue.”
“W-Who said that...!? Is that true!?”
Sambo walked over in the Demon Lord’s direction, his arms outstretched. Gently holding one of his hands, Tahara spoke to him with sincerity.
“Sir... If you like, I will show you to her first thing.”
“Y-Yes... Please! Please! If there’s even the slightest chance, I will...!”
“That old man... I’m sorry to bring you more trouble.”
“No trouble at all. So, Tahara... Escort our guests, please,” the Demon Lord said with a smile, and Tahara led the Madame’s party to the field hospital. Watching them leave, the Demon Lord sent a Communication... To keep a certain someone under control, no doubt.
——The field hospital in the village of Rabbi.
“This is...”
“Please, come in.”
The Madame, whose jaw had hit the floor upon seeing the field hospital, continued inside, led by Tahara. The first thing she felt upon walking into the building was a perfectly controlled coolness. It was usually hot in Holylight, and while the Madame had the privilege of spending Ice and Wind Spell Stones to keep cool, Spell Stones could only affect a small area at a time. Cooling an entire building (like centralized AC) would cost an exorbitant amount of money in this world. The Madame, partially due to her physique, disliked the heat more than most. Oh, the countless hours she had spent devising a solution for her sweating. Now, to her amazement, she could feel her sweat subsiding as soon as she took a step into the building.
“It’s very cool in here... How many Spell Stones do you use?”
“Master Kunai... is an ingenious man.”
The Madame had asked Tahara, but the answer he gave was vaguer than she had hoped. This kind of response might have irritated others, but the Madame remained unaffected. In fact, it only added to the Demon Lord’s mysterious charm. There were only a few things in this world someone with as much power as the Madame didn’t understand, after all.
(I have never heard of or seen a building like this...)
The Madame walked, containing her excited cries from time to time. The Madame had experienced most everything there was to experience in this world from rarities, extravagance, art, and parties... But she had never entered a modern building before.
“This is the exam room. Please...”
Tahara opened the door with a ceremonious gesture unbecoming of his appearance, showing the pair in.
“Welcome, Madame. And Mister Sambo...”
Inside, Yu greeted them with a bright smile. There was various equipment, medicine, a simple bed, blood pressure gauges, scales, and even an anatomical model.
(It’s like I’ve wandered into another world...)
The Madame thought this sincerely. At this point, it was bordering on becoming comical. With a hearty slap on his back, the Madame sat Sambo down on the chair.
“Here, old man. Let’s get it over with!”
“You are one pushy chick... No wonder men never stick around!”
“Shut your trap, old man! You’ve lost your mind!”
After watching their back and forth with a smile, Yu stripped the wrap off of Sambo’s eyes with an ‘excuse me.’ There was a pair of clouded pupils and what resembled a red burn scar around his eyes.
“I apologize, young lady... It mustn’t be nice to look at. I took the venom of a Red Keelback.”
“I see.”
“Now I can’t make out much more than silhouettes... It would be wonderful if it could be improved, even a little.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. In our country, we have already developed a medicine for this.”
Yu answered with comforting confidence. Sambo, still with some doubt, let out a giddy chuckle. Every doctor he had seen before had nothing they could do about it. A powerful venom (such as that of a Red Keelback) was difficult for even magic to heal, and repairing a complex piece of anatomy like the eyes was impossible.
“Lie down here, please...”
Laying Sambo down on the cot, Yu produced a small vial from the medicine cabinet. It was only eye drops which gave a refreshing sensation. Uncapping the vial, Yu recalled her orders from earlier.
Treat him as if you’ve done so with medicine alone. I think your Hand of God might be too shocking for the Madame.
As soon as Yu administered the eye drops, Sambo let out a peculiar voice. Who could blame him? Such an effective eye drop didn’t exist in this world. Yu placed her thumb on Sambo’s eyes, and gently rubbed them as if to rub in the “medicine.” In a flash, her thumb morphed into a scalpel, and Yu shoved it deep into Sambo’s eyes. He let out a groan, but as soon as Yu’s hand left his face, Sambo’s vision drastically changed.
“Oh... Oh...!? Oh!”
Sambo looked left to right, up at the ceiling, then left and right again. His knotted, distorted vision was healed.
“I...I can see! My eyes! My eyes are back!”
“Really, old man...? You’re not playing!?”
“Oh, Madame! You’ve put on even more weight! What do you eat to keep bloating your physique!?”
“Shut your mouth, you walking corpse!”
The Madame smacked Sambo’s head with all of her might, knocking him off of the bed. Sambo kept laughing as he lay on the floor. Holding his gut, he rolled with laughter until it seemed difficult to breathe. After a while, his laughter shifted into sobs.
“I... I can see. I can see again...”
Seeing him this way, the Madame didn’t know what to say. While they had a long rollercoaster of a relationship, she had never seen him in tears before. Eventually, Sambo wiped his tears, stood up straight, and unlatched his sword from his belt.
“Young lady, I owe you
a great debt... Please accept this sword.”
The sword Sambo had offered had no frivolous decorations, and was made only to be used as a weapon. He had survived years on the battlefield with this sword at his side. A piece of his soul. Seeing this, the Madame yelled in frustration.
“Idiot! What beautiful young lady would want a hunk of metal like that!? And you call yourself a noble!?”
“Hunk of metal!? This sword is an heirloom of the Sambo family....”
“Can it! You there, please go throw this geezer back in the carriage!”
Tahara hesitated for a moment at the Madame’s command.
“...Go see Harts already. That old man will be happy to see you like this.”
“Th-That’s right! Sir Harts... Sambo will return!”
Sambo sprinted outside, and Tahara ran after him. After the two exited, the Madame let out a long sigh in the quiet exam room.
“I apologize for all of the commotion... I’ll pay you in his stead.”
“This is... Are you sure?”
What the Madame had produced from her pocket was a small box... containing a Holy Coin of Ramd. Its value depended on the market, but it was worth at least one hundred gold medallions. Even though Yu had never seen a Holy Coin before, she felt something mystical about it. This payment was ridiculously generous for a medical treatment.
“I’m sure. Thanks to you, two headstrong geezers are going to owe me, big time... And that’s worth a dozen Holy Coins of Ramd to me.”
The Madame laughed with a sense of undertone. In fact, she would not have paid it if she thought the treatment wasn’t worth the small fortune. She was bound to have some non-monetary gains to look forward to.
“Then I will accept... I feel like we’ll have a very good relationship, Madame.”
“What luck. As do I.”
Their eyes met and they exchanged smiles. Frighteningly, these women seemed to have a few things in common.
The Madame
(AKA Buttersauce Butterfly)
Race: Human — Age: ??
* * *
Skills:
The Butterfly Curse
A fattening curse cast upon her ancestor by a certain devil.
Natural-born Leader
Talent for leading a group. Boosts Charisma.
Charismatic
Gives nation-wide fame. Largely boosts Charisma and Charm (Human).
Empress
Garners fear from men and endless support from women. Maximum modifier.
Judge of Character
This skill improves with age. Evaluates an opponent’s character.
Defy Destiny
?
* * *
The empress that rules the party scene in the capital. She garnered overwhelming support from the noble wives, forming a powerful association. In Holylight, she sets the trends. As her land contains numerous mines that produce Spell Stones suited for the Earth element, her wealth is bottomless.
The Madame at the Hot Springs Resort
(This is another building I’ve never seen before...)
After Sambo had left the village in a hurry, the Madame was led to the Hot Springs Resort by a male Bunny. It was a strange building she couldn’t figure out how to describe. Thickets of an unfamiliar plant lined the edges of the building. It was a space where the Madame felt a sense of reverence she had never felt before.
(Harmony and relaxation, I suppose...)
Unlike her sister, the Madame had almost no interest in the arts. However, her eye for beauty was as keen as her sister’s. With one look at the hot springs resort, she understood the essence of the place. The Madame’s interest, in contrast to her sister, was in health and self-beautification.
(There’s a sense of wonder just from looking at it...)
She felt time pass in a magical way in this simple village far from the hustle and bustle of the city. When she listened closely, she could even hear bells chime in the wind.
(How strange. It’s like I’m a kid again...)
She wondered why. The Madame recalled her childhood for the first time in years. Back when she knew nothing, just walking a little farther down the road, through streets she didn’t know, was a grand adventure. Most people would surely have a similar memory. Amidst the quiet chiming of bells, the Madame fell deeper into her distant memories. When they were kids, the Madame and her sister got along well. They explored their manor, and would even sneak out into town from time to time and be scolded together. Once, they had cracked open a watermelon in a field without anyone’s permission and shared the fruit...
“What a wonderful melody...”
How did these chimes evoke in her the fragments of days long gone? The Madame couldn’t help but wonder.
“...These are what we call ‘windchimes’ in our country.”
“Wind...chimes...”
The Demon Lord had appeared as if to answer the Madame’s call. With a ceremonious reach of the hand, he led the Madame into the resort.
“Allow me to formally welcome you... into my world.”
Those words were entrancing. As if they were bound by a powerful spell, they would linger in the Madame’s ears for a long time.
——The Hot Springs Resort, in the village of Rabbi.
“Welcome, Madame!”
The Madame and the Demon Lord proudly walked down an aisle of two lines of male Bunnies in tuxedos, all greeting the Madame. When they stood in front of the building, the clear glass door opened on its own, causing the Madame to jolt. She looked around to see that no one was manning the door. Inside, the building were two Bunnies dressed in scandalously revealing outfits — Kyon and Momo in their Bunny Suits. After intensive training by Tahara, he had given the green light that these two could maintain the expected level of customer service, albeit for a short amount of time. The outfit was so scandalous in fact that the Madame nearly blushed for them.
(What is with the dissonance between the quiet reverence of the building and these outfits...?)
The Madam couldn’t help but ponder. She was sure that the Demon Lord wouldn’t dress women like this without a good reason. Eventually, she reached a conclusion, recalling the themes of beauty and happiness that the Demon Lord had repeatedly mentioned to her.
“These two fruits of... no, the epitome of your quest...”
Both male and female Bunnies were genetically blessed when it came to physical attractiveness. Their allure would naturally grow with such a revealing outfit. Their entire bodies were weaponized, in a way. The Madame saw these two Bunnies as a representation that anyone who frequented the establishment could become as beautiful as them. A living advertisement, in other words. Any woman who would visit the establishment would be greeted by the Bunnies who would remind them to keep working on their appearance. This must have been why the Demon Lord went through the trouble of dressing them in this way and standing them at the entrance.
“Hm...”
The Demon Lord remained silent for a considerable length of time before answering the Madame. Eventually, he spoke as if he had given up on something.
“Guilty as charged... I can’t keep any secrets from you, it seems?”
The Demon Lord made a goofy shrug. This wasn’t an attitude he showed often. Seeing this reaction, the Madame seemed immensely satisfied. She had finally bested him in some way.
When the Madame stepped into the building, though, she was astonished.
(No wonder he told me to take off my shoes...)
Below her feet was a wooden floor scrubbed as clean as a mirror. In fact, the Madame could see her own reflection in it. The most astonishing thing, however, were the paper doors.
“How... do you come up with such outlandish things...?”
What thought processes had led him to create such things? Some of the doors were even adorned with paintings so intricate that anyone would hesitate to touch them. The paintings ranged from cranes, turtles, or brightly colored butterflies. All of these paintings were in vibrant co
lors. The Madame saw it as a fine art piece more than a door. A masterwork with an exotic air and incredible charm.
“Turning such a masterpiece into a door... You really are...”
“This is called a Fusuma... They simply satisfy my taste.”
“T-Taste...”
Why in the world would he turn a priceless piece of art into a door? The Madame didn’t understand. As people would be touching it constantly, it was sure to be dirtied and eventually ruined. At this point, a lightbulb dinged above the Madame’s head.
“No matter how dirtied, beauty never fades... That’s your message, isn’t it?”
This was a sentiment the Madame could wholeheartedly agree with. A woman’s process of self-beautification was filled with incredible efforts, and some of them were not always as clean as they seem under other circumstances. A woman’s beauty was unachievable without those less-presentable efforts... The Madame could even consider this to be her personal motto.
“To prepare such a thing instead of stating it outright... Is this your idea of kindness? Or are you taunting women who haven’t realized it?”
“Hm...”
The Demon Lord remained silent for a considerable time before finally speaking as if he had given up.
“For now... I’ll say it’s both.”
“You sly dog.”
The Madame couldn’t help but smile. She was seeing a subtle and sensitive side of this grandiose and mystical man. The Madame saw this as the Demon Lord testing the wits of women, all the while feeling a glimpse of the man’s humility.
As they walked down the hallway, the Madame spotted numerous vases, china, and framed paintings on the wall. Each one appeared to be a masterpiece in itself.
“My sister would freak... if she saw such a world filled with art...”
Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 2 Page 9