Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

Inside the royal box, the King watched the arena with wide eyes. Beside him, Alan also watched with a grim face, holding the armrests tight. Anne remained at the front, watching with an excited look on her face, while Liana also looked delighted at Ryuji's display, her small fist clenched tight the moment he made the old knight surrender.

However, the queen scoffed and made a comment that caused the two sisters to boil with anger.

"Hmmm, I don't agree with such a disgusting monster being praised. Look at how he lacks elegance and style, even hitting a woman without care." The queen's disdain for Ryuji was clear, causing a rift in the otherwise tense atmosphere.

The king frowned at her comments, knowing that Ryuji was Alan's friend but he too didn't speak up. Rather, Alan seemed to struggle to contain his desire to fight. The heroic aura of his flickering like a broken bulb.

'Ryuji... my first true friend outside of the kingdom... I want to fight you, to use my power to erase my pathetic defeats to that woman! Yet... I feel from you what I never felt from her. Horror...

I am terrified of the darkness that you carry, wield... and makes you who you are!'

Alan's eyes never left Ryuji.

There was no look other than respect and the desire to fight.

However, the clash of his mind and duty as the hero, along with his feelings of affection as a friend, caused his body and mind to fight against each other. The shame, dishonour and agony of losing to the Demon Queen tried to awaken his heroic aura and use it on Ryuji just to clear his pathetic feelings of defeat.

"Calm down, little prince." Velvet's hand touched his shoulder before Alice, who sat beside him, also held his hand, her sharp, husky voice filled with venom. "Do not touch him. He is not yet awakened or standing in the same arena as you. Brother, if you don't remember your friendship, I will marry him on the spot."

"What?! Alice, you can't do that! He is too much for you!" The moment Alice made that threat, the holy aura cracked and vanished, most people in the box oblivious, like the queen and Lord Qwass, but for those who knew... It made them realise how lovable Alan really was.

"Forget it, brother; you know I am going to be the one teaching him martial arts in the future. You said yourself he seems to love it. I want to see if he can cure me, like little Liana."

"Big brother doesn't allow it!"

"Fufu, can you really stop me? You know that in our duels, you've lost all two hundred of the past two hundred!"

"Ugh... that's because you cheat, and don't let me use my magic..."

"You are the same, no? If I used my magic..."

"Don't! The whole world would end!"

"Oh my... brother is such a worry wart. I will teach him; you may watch, but what is fated in the stars, even the hero cannot stop from happening."

What Alice meant was how the Calamity that once only bound Ryuji and Yumiko now spread from him to several other women, although the link was weak and shallow... Like displayed with Erika now it shone almost as bright as Yumiko's connection...

Meaning it could change, improve and grow. Even the small threads that were connected to Velvet, Alice and Liana.

***

Avandar leaned back on his throne. He felt the sudden change in his brother and heaved a heavy sigh of relief, though feeling strange because his wife vanished into the back rows, now speaking with Lord Qwass about something he couldn't quite hear.

"Liana, you are quite well-behaved. Are you not excited that Ryuji won?" He half expected her to cheer and scream after seeing how she had changed over the past few weeks. His daughter seemed to grow up faster than he could adapt, causing him to feel lonely, and his weakening body didn't help him either.

"Father, you said I could continue to meet with him as long as I remained well-behaved and didn't forget my role as the kingdom princess." The little princess gave him a toothy smile, her cheeky dimples showing, making the King's heart feel a sense of delight, and a weight fell from his shoulders because Liana actually listened to him. She didn't hate him!

"Oh? So Ryuji is a beneficial influence on you, is he?"

"Yes, father. Uncle is also happy! However, he seems to enjoy the thought of fighting against him so much that it makes their relationship a little strange. We should marry Uncle off as soon as possible." Liana's words made the King's eyes widen as he wondered where his cute daughter learned such things.

'I hope Ryuji is not a bad influence...' Avandar worried. However, he felt a strange connection forming between the two. Somehow, even without meeting him often, he understood Ryuji's character better from the tournament and the surrounding people, though he might seem violent and ruthless. He knew that to his brother and daughter, Ryuji was a gentle and good friend.

"Who needs to marry?!" Alan joined in the conversation, his face shocked as he confronted Liana in their usual Uncle Niece conflict.

"Uncle, you need to marry! So big sis Alice can become happy!"

"But I am happy!" Alan seemed to panic.

"Are you?"

"..."

Alan fell silent as he remembered the woman he fell in love with but could never marry because they no longer lived until his mind returned to the small date he enjoyed with the hero Akari.

A quiet yet peaceful date, nothing like the royal and noble gatherings, something that made him forget who he was for a moment in time... "I... Have someone I am seeing..." Alan confessed, surprising his brother Avandar, while the Queen and Alice were both shocked because they did not know who it was.

Meanwhile, Velvet and Alice looked at each other and nodded with a smile.

"Huh, Uncle, who would like you when Ryuji is around?" Liana casually insulted Alan's sore spot. He used to be the only blonde hottie in his circle, but now the wild and more aggressive Ryuji appeared and stole his thunder.

Alan felt conflicted, feeling Ryuji stole his image as the blonde hottie... 'it's okay... Akari likes me, not him...' He comforted himself, no longer slumping on his seat, while his brother patted his shoulder with a bitter smile, remembering the past girls who chose him over Alan.

"Liana, don't pick on Alan; he is already pitiful enough. Besides, Ryuji is Alan's first and only friend, so leave him alone." Avandar defended his brother, causing his Queen to scoff and mutter under her breath in the background. Her hand slipped over Lord Qwass' lap.

"Friend... That monster is no friend!"

Avandar ignored the queen, and Alice, who heard the insult, also did not dare say anything because she didn't want to cause Ryuji trouble. Liana seemed to ignore her mother-in-law's mutterings, as she was a smart and wise child, understanding that her mother's opinions and behaviour would only cause her father and Alan pain.

"This second match is a little boring, huh..." Velvet muttered while sitting next to Liana, eating some salted nuts from a bag, nothing like you'd expect someone of the royal family to act.

"Big sister, you don't like the tournament?" Alice asked, but Velvet just swatted her hand in the air.

"No, no, Alice, I am a supporter, but compared to the exciting antics of that boy. I'm just bored. Hmm, Alan, why not bet with me on this round? The loser has to give the winner a month's wages."

"It's already three on-one!" Alan exclaimed; this match was too one-sided, as the leading female crushed the male, who seemed like a simp.

"Eeeh... just bet with me, I need money~ big brother Allen!"

"Who is your damn big brother, you ancient..."

The next moment, Alan's body vanished from the royal box. Meanwhile, Velvet watched his vacant spot while the figure of Alan appeared over two hundred metres away after using his hero abilities to flee.

"Did he just use the divine powers given to him by the goddess to run from me?"

"..." Alice and Liana fell silent. They understood Alan was a little cowardly, especially in the woman's presence he feared. Velvet was the woman who trained him and although she wasn't strict, because he mentioned her age while thinking she went home... She started training him while using her body-enhancing magic and traumatised him.

"Velvet, are you bullying my brother again?" Avandar asked with a bitter smile, but Velvet looked back innocently.

"Me? How could a cute, lovely maiden like me bully a fully grown man with the hero's blessing? My little cousin, you know I am not that kind of woman, right?" The sound of her knuckles cracking echoed, causing even the king to sweat, though inside his heart, he felt at ease. This was the family interaction he remembered that vanished after Alan suffered his second defeat...

Now, thanks to the appearance of Ryuji, his family started to gather together again.

"...."

It was at this moment he decided to throw the difficult things to Ryuji and Alan; since his brother wanted him to accept the lad, Avandar would make sure he earned his keep!

***

Meanwhile, the queen seemed to have passed a message onto Lord Qwass in secret. The thing she placed on his lap was a dirty parchment.

Despite him seeming to be the dominant partner during their act the other day, it became more clear that, in fact, she was the mastermind and leader as his body trembled like a fearful puppy whenever she touched his skin or spoke to him.

"Do not forget, Qwass. If you fail, I will crush you." The queen whispered, her eyes changing from a strange golden colour to a simple green shade as she returned to the king holding another parchment, which seemed to be the camouflage for her rendezvous with Lord Qwass.

"My dear, this is the document you requested from the Western nobles about repairs, costs and monster dens that have formed near their lands or bandits. Lord Qwass worked many nights to complete the entire thing."

"Oh? Good, just what I needed. This will give that damn brother of mine something to do!"