I Took A Succubus's First Time

When Yuuna finished speaking, Kazuhiro responded with a cold laugh that immediately made the atmosphere around them feel different.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

His laughter carried a strangely chilly tone, almost as though he found the entire situation amusing in a way that Yuuna couldn’t quite understand. Despite how cold it sounded, though, Yuuna couldn’t actually detect any obvious malice behind it. As far as she could tell, Kazuhiro wasn’t laughing because he was angry or because he was trying to intimidate her. He simply seemed to find the accusation amusing, which somehow made the whole thing even harder to read.

"You really think I did all of this because I want to control Kohei-kun while I sit comfortably on my throne, knowing that even if I weren’t the Demon Lord, I would still possess practically the same authority that comes with the title?" Kazuhiro asked. "Is that honestly what you’re saying?"

For all intents and purposes, that was exactly what Yuuna meant.

She had been looking at the situation from that perspective because, from where she stood, it was difficult to imagine another reason for Kazuhiro to involve himself so heavily in Kouhei’s future. If he simply wanted to maintain his influence, then putting someone he could control into the position of Demon Lord would certainly be one way of doing it.

If that really was what Kazuhiro intended, however, then Yuuna couldn’t simply stand there and allow it to happen.

"What if it was?"

"I have no choice but to stop you."

Kazuhiro slowly rose from his seat.

The movement itself wasn’t particularly dramatic. He didn’t slam his hands against the armrest, raise his voice, or make any obvious attempt to intimidate her. He simply stood up and looked directly at Yuuna.

"Can you actually stop me, though?"

Yuuna’s throat suddenly felt dry.

She swallowed nervously as an immense pressure began spreading through the room.

For some reason, the moment Kazuhiro stood up, his mana started swirling around him. It wasn’t merely a small release of magical energy either. The mana surrounding him became so dense that Yuuna could feel it pressing against her body, making something as simple as breathing suddenly feel much more difficult than it should have been.

Kazuhiro’s total mana capacity wasn’t particularly impressive. Like Yuuna herself, he was bound by the curse affecting the Sarushima household, which naturally placed a limit on the amount of mana they could possess.

The Sarushima family had never been known for having enormous mana reserves.

What made the Sarushima household so dangerous was their almost absurd efficiency when using mana. They could take what appeared to be a relatively limited amount of magical energy and turn it into an attack with an output that far exceeded what someone would normally expect from their reserves.

Their efficiency was already frightening enough, but their destructive power was the real problem.

A Sarushima capable of fully unleashing their strength could produce enough destructive force to wipe out an entire city.

Naturally, knowing that fact intellectually was very different from actually standing in front of someone who possessed that kind of power.

Yuuna felt as though she were standing directly in front of a tank with its cannon pointed straight at her, except the tank in question happened to be a person who was calmly looking at her as though nothing unusual was happening. The comparison to a nuclear weapon also crossed her mind, although she quickly decided that thinking about nuclear weapons probably wasn’t going to make the current situation any less terrifying.

The pressure continued crashing down on her.

Despite that, Yuuna refused to back away.

She released her own mana.

Her reserves hadn’t completely recovered after her battle against Via, and she could still feel the exhaustion lingering throughout her body. She knew that she was nowhere near her normal condition, but she still had enough mana remaining to make her position clear.

She wasn’t going to surrender simply because Kazuhiro had decided to intimidate her.

For a long time, Yuuna had simply accepted whatever Kazuhiro told her. She had followed his decisions, listened to his orders, and rarely questioned the reasoning behind them.

This time was different.

If Kazuhiro wanted to threaten her into submission, then he was going to have to do more than simply release his mana.

"Kazuhiro-san."

A voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall.

Yuuna and Kazuhiro both turned toward the person who had just entered.

It was Kouhei.

"Kouhei-kun?" Yuuna asked, clearly surprised to see him there. "I told you that I’d handle this and that you should rest, didn’t I?"

Kouhei looked between the two of them before answering in his usual calm manner.

"Well, this involves me, so I can’t exactly rest comfortably while you’re discussing something this important on my behalf."

His reasoning was difficult to argue against.

Kouhei was the person Kazuhiro had personally nominated as one of the candidates to become the next Demon Lord. Given that fact, it would have been rather strange for him to simply lie down somewhere and wait while Yuuna and Kazuhiro decided his future without him.

Yuuna wanted him to rest because of everything that had happened previously, but she also understood why he had come.

She couldn’t exactly tell him to leave when the conversation was directly about him.

"Kazuhiro-san," Kouhei said as he looked toward him.

The moment Kouhei appeared, the mana surrounding Kazuhiro gradually dissipated.

The oppressive pressure that had filled the hall disappeared as though someone had simply flipped a switch. Kazuhiro returned to his usual calm appearance, giving almost no indication that he had been releasing enough mana moments earlier to make the entire room feel like it was about to collapse.

"What is it, Kouhei-kun?" Kazuhiro asked.

"I want to ask you the same thing Yuuna-san asked," Kouhei replied.

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Actually, more importantly, I want to ask you something else. Why did you choose me as a candidate to become the Demon Lord?"

The question was simple on the surface, but the meaning behind it was much deeper.

Kouhei wasn’t merely asking why Kazuhiro had happened to select his name from a list of possible candidates. He wanted to know what Kazuhiro had actually seen in him.

What had convinced the current Demon Lord that Kouhei was worthy of being considered for such a position?

What quality did Kazuhiro believe he possessed?

Kouhei wasn’t asking about his strength alone, either. He wanted to know whether Kazuhiro had recognized something within him that even Kouhei himself hadn’t fully noticed.

It was almost as though he were asking a much simpler question hidden underneath everything else.

Why me?

What did you see in me that made you think I could lead?

Kazuhiro stared at him for a moment.

"Why do you want to know?"

"It depends on what your answer is," Kouhei replied without hesitation. "If I don’t agree with your reason, then I would have to decline the nomination."

His expression remained serious as he continued.

"Even if this is your personal recommendation, I won’t hesitate to pull my name out of consideration. If withdrawing isn’t actually possible, then I’ll simply refuse to do anything that would make me more likely to be chosen."

Kouhei wasn’t making an empty threat.

His stance was firm, and there was no hesitation in his voice.

If Kazuhiro had selected him because he wanted someone he could manipulate, then Kouhei wanted absolutely nothing to do with the position. He had no interest in becoming another convenient piece on somebody else’s chessboard, regardless of how powerful the person moving the pieces happened to be.

Kazuhiro stared at him for another moment.

Then he laughed.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

It was the same cold laugh from earlier.

Yet this time, there was something else mixed into it.

Kazuhiro seemed to be genuinely enjoying the conversation.

Perhaps he found Kouhei’s attitude amusing. Perhaps he simply liked seeing someone challenge his decisions instead of immediately accepting them. Whatever the reason was, he appeared far more entertained than either Yuuna or Kouhei realized.

"Kouhei-kun," Kazuhiro said, his crimson eyes settling directly on him. "You really are an interesting person."

He leaned back slightly before continuing.

"Fine, then. I don’t particularly feel like explaining every little detail behind my decision, but the reason I nominated you is actually pretty simple."

Kazuhiro’s expression became slightly more serious.

"I want someone like you to lead."

Kouhei remained silent.

Kazuhiro continued before either of them could interrupt.

"That’s genuinely all there is to it. I saw something in you that made me think you could become someone capable of leading others. I don’t have some elaborate scheme hidden behind the decision, and I don’t need you to become Demon Lord simply because it would benefit me personally."

"That’s it?" Yuuna asked.

Her voice carried a hint of disbelief.

Kazuhiro glanced toward her.

"Well, I already said there was nothing more to it."

He sounded almost casual about the whole matter, which only made Yuuna more suspicious.

"And I would also like to make something else clear," Kazuhiro continued. "I have absolutely no intention of using Kouhei-kun for my own personal gains."

His tone remained calm, but there was enough certainty in his voice to make it clear that he meant what he was saying.

"If Kouhei-kun defeats the other candidates and eventually becomes the Demon Lord, then he will be the one responsible for handling everything himself. I’ll help if he genuinely needs my assistance, but aside from that, I don’t intend to interfere with how he governs."

Yuuna listened carefully.

The answer sounded genuine.

That was exactly what bothered her.

There was no obvious contradiction in Kazuhiro’s words, and she couldn’t find any clear indication that he was lying. Yet something about the situation still made her uneasy.

Perhaps she had simply become too accustomed to expecting a hidden motive from him.

Kazuhiro wasn’t exactly the sort of person who inspired immediate trust.

Even when he was being honest, he had a habit of speaking in a way that made people wonder whether there was another layer underneath his words.

"I would like Hell to be led by someone who can change people simply by being near them," Kazuhiro said.

His voice became quieter as he spoke those words.

He didn’t announce them like some grand declaration, nor did he try to make them sound particularly profound. He simply said them with a quiet certainty, almost as though he had been carrying that thought around for a long time.

For a brief moment, the room became completely silent.

Yuuna and Kouhei both heard him clearly.

Neither of them immediately knew how to respond.

Kazuhiro had already made his position clear.

He wasn’t looking for someone who could simply sit on a throne and command others because of their title. He wasn’t looking for someone who could rule through fear alone. He wanted someone whose existence could influence the people around them, someone capable of changing others simply through the way they lived and interacted with them.

That was what he apparently saw in Kouhei.

Whether Kouhei himself agreed with that assessment was an entirely different matter.

Kazuhiro eventually returned to his seat, looking considerably more relaxed now that the confrontation seemed to have ended. He took another slow sip of his wine, seemingly more interested in the drink than the serious conversation that had just taken place.

Yuuna watched him carefully.

Kouhei did the same.

Kazuhiro glanced at both of them before casually waving one hand.

"Now, if you’re both finished with your questions, get out of my sight. I’d like to enjoy this wine in peace."