“Nnnnnnnnnnnn?!”
Her breasts were exposed to the air. Shera tried reaching for an arrow from her quiver, but being a monster that lived in a forest inhabited by Elves, the Herbductor recognized bows and arrows as weapons. It had dumped the whole quiver away.
The giant eyeball fixed its gaze on Shera’s body, seemingly interested in her decidedly un-Elf-like characteristics. There was no telling what a monster was thinking, but several tentacles swarmed over her breasts. Shera intended to hide her chest with her hands, but the tentacles bound her arms.
“Uuu...”
The tips of the monster’s vine-like tentacles were shaped like brushes, running over Shera’s skin as if caressing her.
“Fwa?!”
Being stimulated in a delicate spot, Shera’s voice became sweeter. The tentacles brushed over Shera’s armpits as if trying to tickle her, then bounced her breasts left and right once...then once more. Due to having been fondled, her tips became sensitive, and several tentacles climbed up the mountain of her bosom. A sense of dread mixed with curiosity filled Shera’s heart when she considered what would happen if they were to touch her after they made her this stimulated.
But then the tentacles stopped, a fingertip’s breadth away from the summit.
“Uuu...uuu... Uuuh...?”
Relief that they stopped, along with a sense of dread at the monster’s odd actions and the throbbing of her tips... Those emotions mixed in Shera’s heart. It was only then she realized it had stopped because its attention turned elsewhere.
Many more tentacles than the ones that stimulated her breasts swarmed toward her lower half, coiling around her thighs and creeping up to her crotch. They rubbed against the backs of her knees, making a numbing sensation rush up her spine.
“Anh...”
If she didn’t have a tentacle filling her mouth, her voice may have been much louder. The tip of that thick tentacle shrunk, and it explored the inside of Shera’s mouth. It rubbed against the gums of her teeth, coiled around her neck, and advanced deeper into her throat. Down at the lower half of her body, the tentacles began creeping into her underwear—
Unable to speak, Shera screamed silently.
—Not theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!
Tears began welling up in her eyes, the transparent droplets flying into the air.
Quickly catching up to them, Diablo made sure to stop the incident.
“《Heaven’s Fall》!”
Many giant rocks began raining down from the sky. The Tonnerre Empereur multiplied the level 100 attack spell, dropping a barrage of rocks onto the area. But the spell’s range didn’t include the Herbductor; rather, it was meant to destroy all the trees surrounding the monster.
“You’ve had your fill, haven’t you, you random mook?” Diablo glared at his opponent.
In the game, spells didn’t affect the terrain and their animations were only for show, but that wasn’t the case in this world. If the enemy used the trees to get away, all Diablo had to do was destroy the surroundings.
Sensing the gap in strength between itself and Diablo, the Herbductor brandished Shera like a shield. It crept away, slithering through the fallen trees in an attempt to reach out to a tree outside of the spell’s area of effect...
But Diablo could see through its actions.
“Crush everything along with this pathetic creature! 《Lightning Arrow》!”
Diablo launched several bullets of light that flew in the monster’s direction, navigating them so they avoided Shera and hit the center of the monster’s body.
“Hiya?!” The tentacles binding her slackened, dropping Shera down on the ground.
Getting caught by such a weak monster was a major miss, but Shera’s skills were still fundamentally quite high. Twisting her body as she fell, she landed successfully on her feet.
There was nothing more to worry about, it seemed, so Diablo continued blasting the monster with magic.
“How about you have a taste of your own medicine—《Demon Squeeze》!”
Black ivy vines wrapped around the Herbductor’s circular body. It was a level 120 darkness element spell, the improved version of 《Dark Press》. Black ivy vines would wrap up the target, strangling and crushing it. The target would also be inflicted with the 《Bind》 status ailment which used pressure to inflict damage.
But this spell was excessively strong for an already damaged level 50 monster. As soon as the spell began to squeeze it, the Herbductor exploded with a loud popping sound. If he was still in the game, this would be where victory fanfare began playing, but its perhaps unworthy replacement was Shera’s wail as she ran toward him.
“Whoooooooooa, Diablooo!”
“You let down your guard, you bloody fool... Sylvie even told us to watch ourselves!”
“I’m sorryyyyyyy!”
“Well... Wait, Shera, don’t!”
She latched onto him with her chest still exposed, making Diablo stiffen in another variation of the Bind status.
“Aaah... Err...”
“Whoooa, Diablooo... I was scaaared...”
“Yeah, err... Are you unharmed?”
“I’m OK... But I was so surprised! I thought I was going to become that monster’s wife!”
“This is no time for jests.”
“Hehe... Thank you for always saving me.” She hugged him tightly.
Would it be appropriate to hug her back now? But she was essentially naked...which made Diablo settle with placing his hand on Shera’s shoulder.
†
“Ah, I see it! That’s the Kingdom of Greenwood!” Shera called out in elation.
Greenwood’s national flag was tied to a tree, and despite there being no buildings in sight, it seemed they had indeed made it.
Two hours had passed since the battle, with Shera having obviously fixed her disheveled clothes since. Adventurers were the sort to carry sewing tools with them, in case something were to happen.
“I can’t believe you would get lost in your own forest...”
“It’s not my fault... I know the forest around here pretty well, but you went and messed the whole place up...”
After chasing the Herbductor, Diablo had cast the Heaven’s Fall spell that pulverized the trees it used to move around. But that resulted in them losing any perception of where they were. Regrouping with Rem became difficult too, so Diablo and Shera made their way to the Kingdom of Greenwood on their own.
“Do you think Rem and the others will be OK?”
“They should be fine. Rafflesia said she knew the way, so they may have even reached the place before we did.”
“That’s true...” Shera suddenly moved her gaze up. “Ah... Someone’s coming.”
“Mmm?”
Diablo braced himself in case it was another enemy, and, before long, several figures jumped down from the tree branches. It was a group of six Elves; namely, it was a group of elite soldiers Diablo had encountered once before. They all carried bows on their backs and wore tight green clothes, and their facial features were so fair one could easily confuse them for women, despite them all being men.
“Huh...? Could it be you, Princess Shera!?” The young man standing at the front of the group raised his voice in surprise.
“Whoa, it’s you guys! It’s been so long!” Shera waved both hands enthusiastically. It was likely the most easygoing homecoming of a royal heir the world had ever known.
“Princess Shera!” The Elven youth fell to his knees. “You’ve done well to return to us!”
“Yeah, things have gotten really bad, haven’t they... I’m sorry for taking so long.”
“Don’t be absurd, m’lady!”
“Oh, and this here’s Diablo.”
“I am already acquainted with him... We crossed paths once at Faltra’s Eastern Lakefront.”
“Oh, right...”
Prince Keera had tried to abduct Shera once before, and these Elves served as his bodyguards at the time. Shera was in captivity back then, so she wa
sn’t there to see the battle that ensued. That said, having these Elves know Diablo’s power and position saved him some trouble.
“I thank you for defending our princess back then,” the young man said.
“Are you sure you should be thanking me? Wouldn’t you think I stole Shera away from Prince Keera?”
“We are in no position to criticize the prince’s actions. However, you fought to protect us from the governor of Faltra. No words of gratitude would suffice to express how grateful we are to you.”
“Hmph... Galford merely challenged me, so I pushed him back. I will not spare mercy on any who dare oppose me.”
Shera chimed in from the side, mouthing an unneeded, “He’s just shy!”
One hour later—
Led by the elites, Diablo and Shera entered the Kingdom of Greenwood.
“Ohhh...”
Diablo couldn’t hold back a breath of amazement. The place was simply that impressive. Cross Reverie’s graphics were gorgeous, but seeing the place with his own eyes made it all the more stunning.
Several trees, much larger than the other ones in the forest, stood there, with scaffolding set up between them. The Elves used thick branches as rooms and leaves as their carpets. Some were playing musical instruments, some reading books, others simply chatting...
Whenever they became hungry, they would extend their hands and fruits would grow out of the trees. The Elves subsisted mostly on fruit, and while some did hunt for sport and eat meat on occasion, they mostly seemed to prize the bones, as they could be used for art.
It was a perfect paradise.
“Everyone looks depressed,” Shera whispered, eyeing the Elven Kingdom.
—What? This is them being depressed?
Diablo couldn’t see this as anything but a convenient shut-in’s life.
The Elf elites nodded. “Yes... Since His Majesty’s passing, the flowers’ colors have waned, the instruments’ music has grown hollow, and the butterflies flap their wings without vigor. But your return will surely restore everyone’s spirits, Princess Shera.”
“I hope so.”
“Will you be going on yet another adventure?”
“Yep!” Shera broke the hard news to them as if it were nothing.
“We can discuss this later on...” the elites said with nervous voices. “For the time being, let us head to Her Majesty’s side.”
“Is Mother OK?”
“Her Majesty was the most stricken by His Majesty’s passing, I’m afraid. Please, do try to comfort her.”
“I see...”
She then asked the Elven scouts about Rem and the others. The scouts had detected them, but it’d still take some time for them to arrive. Shera asked the elites to aid them, as they may have gotten lost in the forest. Rafflesia said she could guide them there, but if they ran into trouble...? Diablo was concerned, but...he simply decided to leave the search to the Elves, who were more familiar with this forest, and meet the queen first.
Shera headed to a particularly tall tree and Diablo followed in her tracks. But the soldiers guarding the king’s chambers stood in their way.
“Hold. Only Elves are allowed to enter beyond here—so has been decided by God in the age of myth.”
“Oh, right, there was a story like that, wasn’t there... Isn’t there some trial? To prove who this land’s greatest archer is.”
It was part of Cross Reverie’s main story. After beating the trial, you would receive the quest to save the kidnapped queen from the Fallen, though the Fallen was pretty weak.
The Elven guards flinched, as they, too, apparently knew of Diablo’s power.
“N-No, there is no trial...”
“Then do not get in my way, you mere attendants. Do so, and I will reduce your country to nothing but scorched earth!”
“Uuu...” Horror overtook their expressions.
—There, there it is! That’s how people should react to Demon Lord role play!
Rem and Shera had gotten too used to him lately, and would maintain their cool even if he tried to speak menacingly. Not that he wanted to threaten them in particular, but still...if he was acting as a “menacing Demon Lord,” having some “terrified people” on board would be nice from time to time. It wasn’t really role play unless you got the proper reaction after all.
“Heheheh...”
Shera rushed on ahead and waved her hands in his direction. “Over here, Diablo, hurry! Come on, come on!”
“H-Hey... Don’t just ruin the atmosphere like that...” Diablo mumbled in complaint as he took off after her.
†
There were footholds built around the large tree, with a width of a mere thirty centimeters. In the game, they were wider, so you wouldn’t fall even if you had a misstep (people would fall often at first, so it was patched out during an update).
—If I fall off the foothold, my Demon Lord dignity would plummet too...
Diablo silently poured some magical energy into his boots, the 《Empty Sky’s Gambol》. His flight magic should help him in case he fell. A bit of MP was a small price to pay for maintaining his dignity.
They scaled up the tree, reaching its zenith where the royal living quarters were. The queen was the only one there now, and with the top of the tree being flat, there was room for several people to sit. Branches twisted into the shape of a crown surrounded the place, and the queen sat on a carpet of leaves, doing nothing. She wore a green dress, and while her attire was different, her face was very similar to Shera’s. It was as if Shera had blossomed from a lovely girl to a beautiful woman...
Except the size of their breasts was different. The queen was flat, as Elves usually are.
“Mother!” Shera called out.
“Hm? Shera...? Oh, it is you, Shera!”
“Whoooa, Motherrr!”
“Oh you, if you were coming home, you should have at least sent me a letter. I haven’t prepared anything at all.”
“Aaah, sorry. There was some trouble on the way... The Church went all ‘boom, bang’! And then I snoozed for a long time!”
“Really? That sounds awful... Things were quite bad for me too... Oh, yes, how could I forget to mention: Your father died. I was so shocked...”
“Yeah, I was surprised too... But are you all right, Mother?”
“I can’t say that I am, but I should get used to it after a decade or so. I spent a century with him after all.”
“Yeah, you’ll get used to it in no time.”
“Ah, I have some fruit. Are you hungry?” There were apples and grapes lined up on a wooden plate. “Oh, and I knitted some clothes for you.”
“Sure, I’m starved. And you knitted me clothes, huh...”
“What, don’t you like them?”
“They’re always so tight around my chest...”
“That’s because you’re an exception, they shouldn’t have puffed up like that. I wonder who you got that from...”
“Well, I mean, yeah, buuut...”
Suddenly, the queen’s gaze fell on Diablo. “My, and who might you be?”
“Now you notice me!?”
He was feeling terribly awkward for walking into someone else’s home. Honestly speaking, he wanted to go back to his “home” as soon as possible. But after the matter with Prince Keera, Diablo didn’t feel comfortable leaving Shera alone here.
“I am Diablo! A Demon Lord from another world!” he introduced himself once more.
“My! So you’re Diablo! Thank you so much for all the help you’ve given Shera!”
“No, uhh...”
“But my, you’re every bit as terrifying as Celsior said you were... Oh, please, help yourself to some fruit.”
This weird, yet familiar, feeling of airheaded detachment...
—That’s definitely Shera’s mom.
Diablo felt oddly convinced.
“Omnom...” Shera sat down on the leaves and picked some grapes off the plate. “Diablo may be scary, but he’s really nice! He’s always saving m
e.”
“Really? How lovely... But I heard he injured poor Celsior and his troops.”
“That’s because Brother was...”
“Aaah...” The queen sighed. “Keera too. Why did that silly boy try to start a war with the Humans?”
She may carry herself cheerfully, but she had lost both her sons and her husband. It was only natural she’d be depressed over the fact. Not to mention that the Elves live much longer than most races, so both birth and death were rare for them.
“But it’s a good thing you’re here!” The queen cheered up, smiling again. “You coming back is wonderful news. Whoever you marry will be the new Elf king after all. You do remember that, yes?”
“I totally forgot, but I remembered it the other day! Greenwood will be in big trouble if there isn’t a king, right?”
“Correct. So long as we have a king, the forest’s blessings remain unwithered and the sacred treasure God entrusted with us remains protected.”
“So if I marry, I also become the queen, right?”
“Just like me. Which would make me the queen mother... My oh my, that will take some getting used to.”
“But...I still want to go out on adventures...” Shera sighed. “There are still things I have to do. But...we do need a king...”
“Adventures, you say? Well, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Huuuh?”
“You’re still young, darling, so go out on all the adventures you want,” the queen said, to Diablo and Shera’s surprise.
“Yay!!! Thanks, Mother!”
Diablo, on the other hand, found it anticlimactic. He figured it would be strictly forbidden and Shera would be forced to marry, so having it be so casually allowed made him both relieved and oddly exhausted.
“You can still go out on your little adventures,” the queen said with a smile. “But you still need to get married, all right? I’ve already picked a groom for you.”
“Huh!?”
“His pedigree and personality are both very respectable. I’m sure you’ll hit things off right away. You even used to play with him when you were little.”
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord: Volume 7 Page 11
