---o---
Before her audience with the King, Sayanomiya Kaoru had constantly been imagining how he would appear before her.
Would he be majestically seated upon a throne, surrounded by a pack of wolves, looking down upon the mortal world?
Would he reside behind a curtain, his words relayed by disciples, where mortals who saw his face would lose their sight, and those who heard his voice would lose their hearing?
Or would he be hugging a longsword, grinning like a husky?
With such thoughts in mind, Sayanomiya Kaoru walked up to a temporary residence that seemed, frankly, a bit… excessively low-key. She knocked, and after receiving permission, entered.
And then—
She saw a young man lying on the sofa, his face wearing an expression that screamed, "I'm already dead."
Nearby, a girl with heterochromatic eyes muttered, "I knew I should have used less soy sauce and vinegar," over a dish that was a veritable mosaic of culinary horror.
And standing off to the side, looking deeply pained, was a pink-eyed girl who seemed to want to step forward and comfort the King but was held back by some hesitation.
Not long ago, Sirin, whose cooking skills were a disaster of heavenly proportions, had roped in Ana, who had at least some culinary talent, to prepare a meal for a certain someone—a meal that would likely send the consumer on a one-way trip to the afterlife.
She had expected him to take only a bite or two. To achieve the desired punitive effect, she had made it titanically disgusting.
However, the result was that he ate every last bit of the Skyfire cuisine.
Seeing her lover in such a poor state, Miss Sirin's mood was clearly far from cheerful.
Miss Ana, too, had only intended a slight punishment, wanting her lover to suffer just a little.
Watching him endure a small amount of suffering would have brought the satisfaction of a successful disciplinary action.
But—
To eat an entire table's worth of Skyfire cuisine…
Miss Ana's heart was beginning to ache.
Sayanomiya Kaoru didn't understand what the scene before her signified.
But—
She had a rough idea of what the King liked.
The King, it seemed, was fond of beautiful women.
Remembering that the person who opened the door for her was also an adorable little girl, Sayanomiya Kaoru quickly confirmed this point.
Perhaps the History Compilation Committee should try to establish a matchmaking service called the "Lion King Agency" to select beauties for the King.
Perhaps it was due to the traditional Japanese reverence for the strong, or perhaps it was the sycophantic policy that had already been decided upon, or maybe it was a hint from her assistant, Amakasu Touma—whatever the reason, Sayanomiya Kaoru was proving to be very savvy.
But—
The moment she saw Ana's face, her savvy ideas began to dissipate like smoke.
Ana Schariac was also a God-Slayer.
She was the King who had slain the Heretical Orca—ahem, the Heretical Skadi in Los Angeles, and she was also this King's lover.
Presenting women to the King was tantamount to cuckolding this Queen of Ice and Snow.
If they really established a matchmaking service for the King and blatantly carried out a "greening project" on the head of this girl—who was also a monster in her own right—much like what was happening to Miss Mei…
Sayanomiya Kaoru felt that by tomorrow, the entire Far East would be frozen into ice chips and sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Upon seeing Sayanomiya Kaoru, the young man lying on the decidedly less-than-luxurious sofa sat up.
"May I ask what business your committee has with me? Please, speak."
He seemed very approachable.
He seems even more easygoing and polite than Kusanagi Godou, Sayanomiya Kaoru thought.
But—
She knew very well that this easygoing demeanor was a facade.
Standing before her was a being who had ascended to his throne by severing the head of the old king and treading upon his blood.
This God-Slayer, who had hunted down the former king and was now enthroned in the Far East, was the most evil of demon kings, one who could kill his own kind without a second thought.
Just imagine: a monster who could casually slaughter his own kin—would he care about eliminating a few cats and dogs that displeased him?
Knowing full well that in the eyes of a God-Slayer, mages like herself were nothing more than locusts to be wiped out with a single sweep of an Authority, Sayanomiya Kaoru's expression grew heavy.
The answer was obvious: he wouldn't care at all.
A polite demon king was still a demon king.
Acutely aware of how humble her position was before the young man, the sharp-witted woman bowed respectfully.
"I am Sayanomiya Kaoru, the next head of the Sayanomiya family. I wish to represent the Sayanomiya, Kufizuka, and Renjou families in pledging our allegiance to you."
Having not only contacted her own clan but also the other two of the four great families while turning her back on the old king, Sayanomiya Kaoru declared her oath.
"We shall be your most loyal vassals, and we will spread your brilliance to every corner of the Far East's magical world."
A vassal who betrays her old master one day and immediately fawns over the new king the next.
Li Zihan rolled his eyes internally.
However, he wasn't particularly bothered by such things.
After all—
As long as he was alive, these people would remain loyal.
At least for the short term, they would be impeccably loyal.
He was just here to reap some benefits.
After obtaining the Authority he desired, seizing the power of the Final King, and incidentally killing the Fates, he would be on his way.
At most, when he had free time, he would bring his people here to run a few dungeons and grant his girls some God-Slayer buffs.
Therefore, he couldn't be bothered to care whether his vassals were truly loyal.
He only cared if these families—who were essentially disposable tableware, to be thrown away after use—were useful.
If they were useful, he'd keep them.
If they weren't, he'd just spend a little time using his Power of Erosion to make them useful.
Thus, he didn't even care about the fact that only three of the four great families had pledged their loyalty to him.
"Does it not concern you, my lord, that the Seishuin family has not pledged their allegiance to you?" Sayanomiya Kaoru asked hesitantly, as she had not contacted them due to their direct servitude to Susanoo.
"If it's just a matter of gathering intelligence on Heretical Gods, your three families are more than enough."
The young man, who had never feared betrayal, glanced out of the corner of his eye at the two girls who were feeling guilty for having him eat too much Skyfire cuisine. A slight smile touched his lips.
It looks like they'll agree to some of my more… shameful and interesting requests tonight.
Although his thoughts were rather improper, the words that came out of his mouth were perfectly serious.
"A minor family that only achieved a status equal to the other three by relying on a Heretical God—is there any reason to be concerned about them?"
These words fell upon Sayanomiya Kaoru's ears, sending a shockwave through her heart.
The King… knew that a Heretical God existed behind the scenes in the Far East.
Like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky.
The truth of why this unbelievably powerful God-Slayer, who could have easily become king over a much vaster territory, had come to the Far East surfaced in Sayanomiya Kaoru's mind.
He…
He was here to hunt.
The Far East was not his territory; it was his hunting ground.
"You should know what I need, shouldn't you?"
The God-Slayer, who had nearly every God of Steel in the world on his hunting list, smiled faintly.
In Sayanomiya Kaoru's eyes, that smile was utterly bloodthirsty.