Encounter
"Spoil of war."
The warrior gave Queen Sisi simple response. The warrior pulled over the stuff from behind and threw it over to Queen Sisi. Included were two corpses and two heads. One was a young girl and the other was me. I became the warrior's spoil of war.
I felt the sensation of being thrown head first into the ground again. Actually, it was my first time, except that my face came into contact with a soft carpet, instead. My two hands and legs were tied behind me in a similar position to pigs hung from a pole during New Year. I couldn't raise my head in that position; all I could do was chew on the wool on the carpet.
I heard the water swishing from a bathtub. Next thing I heard was feet crossing the carpet. To be honest, I was keen on stealing a glimpse of the beauty exiting the bathtub. I stole a quick gander when I was thrown. Nevertheless, as I was immobilised, I was relegated to admiring a perfect pair of feet with water dripping from them approaching.
She stopped behind the screen for a moment. Let me correct myself there. She almost came out and walked over to the warrior's side. With a smile, she asked, "Is that the Demon King's head?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This is the Demon King's head, and that is his wife's head. Their corpses are also here. I, personally, beheaded them," the warrior behind me, who nearly beheaded me, reported to her Queen.
The Demon King was a stranger to me, but I felt the Demon King and his wife were quite pitiful to have the young girl behead the both of them.
"Amazing. That's amazing. You make me proud my warrior. Can you guarantee it? Can you guarantee that you personally beheaded the Demon King without anyone else's assistance?"
"Yes. The elves and gnomes were occupied outside. I alone killed. The Demon King before you."
Queen Sisi was jovial; however, the warrior's voice was as calm as ever. Her voice never changed when she almost decapitated me, either. Suffice to say, it was a glorious feat for a human to slay a Demon King, yet she sounded as if she only butchered a chicken.
"Amazing!! Amazing!! Veirya, fantastic work!! Ah! Humanity has never done anything to make me as proud as this. Veirya. My dear. You truly are my greatest treasure. Do you know what you did?! You saved the entire world! The entire world should applaud you! You saved this entire world, and I can uplift humanity to the position of leader in the alliance thanks to your bravery. After all, your bravery as a human was what allowed you to slay the Demon King. This is great news. My beloved Veirya, I have never been so happy. Oh, my Veirya!!"
"Your Majesty… my armour is dirty…"
"It's all right, it's all right."
If I were to look in their direction, I would probably see a lesbian scene. I couldn't raise my head. I could only see her go up on her toes on her bare feet twisting side-to-side before the armour.
After checking out the two spoils of war over there, the Queen finally turned her attention to the young girl and me: "What about the remaining two, then?"
Selection MenuA) Touch the maleB) Express Interest
"How interesting. Why was there a human with the Demon King?" Queen Sisi gave me a smile and instructed, "Pull him up. Since he is a human, we are now the victors through your effort and mine. A victor shouldn't be tied up. Veirya, release him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I was easily picked up from the ground. I had no idea why the woman was so strong… She cut the rope restraining me.
I froze at the sight of the stunning Queen. Her burgundy hair colour stuck to her pure silky skin. Her heterochromia eyes drew my soul in. She was about my height. She folded her arms and smiled: "I am curious as to why you, a human, were with the Demon King. Did demons capture you? Do the demons take prisoners of war, as well?"
"Uh… Yes."
I had no way of explaining my presence there, so I responded without too much thought. Nonetheless, Queen Sisi accepted my explanation. She responded with her own small nod, "It sounds as though you are from the North. I have never known much about humans in the North, but you can understand me, which means we can communicate. That's good enough. The North was destroyed in the last battle; I imagine you don't have anywhere to go now."
Queen Sisi was correct. I had no response… I couldn't do anything but look at her. She was my only straw. I was in a world that I didn't know a thing about. I had no information to form a concept of the world. If I was thrown out, death was inevitable. I had no idea what language they were even speaking. I had to find a shelter, or I'd die.
Queen Sisi lost interest in me and turned to check on the girl. The girl lying on the carpet trembled. I didn't genuinely want to protect the girl; I merely wanted Queen Sisi to spare me her attention. Queen Sisi walked up to the girl. Ever since she was thrown in here, the girl never said a word or even cried. I was worried she was dead. However, Queen Sisi picked the girl up and laughed hysterically: "This child looks quite cute, huh? If she wasn't the daughter of the Demon King, I would really want to hug her. But now… Forget it. I am not interested in a girl."
"L-Let go of me!!"
"Sure."
Sisi walked up to the bath and dropped the girl into it. The girl let out a muffled shriek and then made intense gurgling sounds in the water. Queen Sisi immediately pulled her out of the water. Before the girl could catch her breath, Queen Sisi dunked the girl back in.
"Stop!!" I instinctively shouted, demanding her to stop.
Veirya swiftly spun around drew her sword out halfway. After looking back at me, Queen Sisi pulled the girl out from the tub and tossed her aside. Smiling, Queen Sisi wiped her hands and walked up to me. She gently pinched my chin and questioned, "Interesting. Very interesting. You're a human, yet you're showing sympathy to a demon. What's wrong? Did you lose your dignity and stance as a human while with the demons? Were they very friendly with you, or is the demon your child?"
"She is not…"
I hurriedly pieced together what I wanted to say in my mind. I needed to provide a reason, one that could prevent Queen Sisi from killing me and the child. She didn't give the impression of a patient and benevolent Queen.
"What do I say? How can I convince the Queen to spare me?" I deliberated. Eventually, I appealed, "Any dimwit could torment a child, but only forgiving monarchs can give. That is why I am of the opinion you should not do that as a Queen."
To be honest, I didn't know what to say for I didn't understand Quen Sisi. I merely stated what I randomly put together. I had no idea if what I said would be of any use on the sadistic Queen… If I chose my words incorrectly, my life was over.
"Oh?" Queen Sisi took a small step back. She didn't mind. Instead, she clapped, "Well said. My father once said the same thing, except he died after."
I awkwardly stood there, not knowing if I said the right thing or not. Nevertheless, it seemed to drop her desire to continue tormenting the child. She chortled: "Since you like protecting her so much, how about you protect her. I don't want to kill a child, either. With that said, I need you to come to me. I'm quite interested in you. You're a brave one to worry about protecting a child in your predicament."
I didn't have a remote clue as to what to say… Should I have expressed my gratitude and then feigned humbleness…?
"Be my personal attendant. You should be happy to be with the ladies-in-waiting," ordered Queen Sisi.
"Was that… an insult?" I wondered.
Queen Sisi wore her usual grin, except with a tinge of playfulness. I had no idea what she meant by personal attendant. I guessed it was something similar to a maid.
"Putting me to work together with women is her way of humiliating me, right? I guess it's a blessing in this situation, however… I can't ask for anything more than a roof over my head right now…" I reasoned. I responded, "Yes, Your Majesty…"
"Hehe." Queen Sisi caressed my head: "Be my pet from now. It looks as though you know how to cheer me up, right, Little Doggy?"