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Lapis, who had taken the initiative and charged straight in, was now completely at a loss for words.
The moment Edgar's towering, godlike presence descended upon her, every last line of defense she had collapsed in an instant.
She'd never had much of an appetite to begin with, but now she'd thoroughly transformed into a bottomless pit.
Wave after wave of emotions she had never experienced before crashed through her mind like a raging storm tide, leaving no room for anything else.
Her thoughts went blank. In her eyes, there was nothing left but Edgar, standing there in absolute control.
"…My level seems to have gone up?"
In a daze, Lapis felt her blood begin to boil, every cell in her body cheering with joy.
An overwhelming happiness flooded straight into her heart.
Becoming her master's retainer…
It was incredible.
At that moment, Setsuna silently stepped up in front of Edgar.
"Master, Setsuna wants a future too. Don't neglect me just because you have a new pet."
Like a wounded little puppy, she tugged at the hem of Edgar's pants.
Among all the retainers, she had always been the only pet.
But now this little rabbit had overlapping traits with her.
No matter what, she couldn't live without her master anymore.
Seeing Setsuna like this, Edgar paused, slightly startled.
It seemed he really had overlooked how some of his retainers felt.
He honestly hadn't expected Lapis's arrival to hit Setsuna this hard.
Edgar wrapped one arm around Lapis's slender waist and used his other hand to gently pat Setsuna on the head.
"Alright. No matter who it is, you're all my most important wings."
"In my heart, every one of you is just as important."
Hearing that, Setsuna's face lit up immediately.
"So Setsuna is still Master's important pet?"
"Of course. You'll always be my good dog."
"Now, carry out your master's command and help the new companion a bit."
"Yes, Master."
Having her position reaffirmed, Setsuna cast aside all her stray thoughts.
"Miss Setsuna?"
Lapis cried out in surprise as she immediately felt Setsuna's assistance.
Her embarrassment shot through the roof.
Arms, legs, her entire body tensed all at once, clinging to Edgar as if she were trying to squeeze the life out of him.
"Mm…"
Edgar's pupils shrank. The pressure was immense, yet he forced himself to endure it for several minutes.
In the end, Lapis went completely limp, utterly exhausted and stripped of her last bit of fighting strength.
[Lapis]
[Level: LV34]
"A direct level-up. That's pretty efficient."
Recalling her earlier assault, Edgar nodded in satisfaction.
His judgment hadn't been wrong.
The explosive power from her waist and thigh muscles working together was no joke.
That "death lock" move had nearly made him lose face in front of his retainers.
Fortunately…
He'd come out just slightly ahead in the end.
"Master, it's Setsuna's turn to get stronger now."
Setsuna knelt eagerly in front of him, her tail swaying nonstop.
"Alright."
Edgar nodded, then glanced around. "You all should learn from Setsuna."
"Have you been slacking off lately?"
"..."
Akame and the others stopped eating and simply carried the table out of the room.
When they returned, they were already in fighting stances.
Seeing this, Edgar felt deeply pleased.
As expected, none of his retainers were cowards.
Without hesitation, Edgar activated the Rubber Body skill to warm up.
The next day at noon.
Edgar stepped out of the room looking refreshed and ran straight into Carroll, who was approaching him.
"What is it?"
Carroll answered respectfully, "Lord Edgar, I've already gathered representatives from the major races for a meeting."
"We're jointly discussing the plan to attack the Demon King's Castle."
"The conference room isn't far. I'll take you there right away."
"No need. Wait a moment first."
Edgar nodded and immediately activated a communication spell.
He had no interest whatsoever in boring meetings like that.
That was exactly what retainers were for.
"We're about to attack the Demon King's Castle. Esdeath, Leone, Najenda, are any of you free to come over?"
Esdeath replied, "Master, I just finished wiping out a country. I'm free now."
"I want to go too."
"Alright. Come over."
Buzz.
Light flashed, and Esdeath and Leone stepped out of the magic circle.
"Master, where are Akame and the others?"
Esdeath glanced around, looking puzzled.
"Yeah, that's strange."
Leone blinked and looked at Edgar in confusion as well.
Edgar cleared his throat and waved a hand. "It's nothing. They trained too hard last night."
"..."
Esdeath and Leone exchanged a look, both seeing the same subtle understanding in each other's eyes.
Got it.
Completely understood.
Looks like while they were gone, their fellow retainers had been eating very, very well.
Still, hearing this exchange made Carroll secretly delighted.
"Carroll, these two will represent my will. They'll be fully in charge of the meeting."
"Yes, Lord Edgar."
Carroll didn't dare delay and quickly led the two of them toward the conference hall.
As for Edgar…
He was about to head to the dining hall for a meal when he remembered it probably needed renovations now.
Left with no choice, he found a chair, sat down, and flipped through the magic book he carried with him.
Judging by Esdeath's personality, the meeting wouldn't last long anyway.
And sure enough, it didn't.
Faintly, Edgar could hear noises coming from the conference room.
"I think your tactics are completely worthless."
"I agree with Miss Leone. Meeting with you is a waste of time."
"What did you say?"
"You two, that's no way to behave in a meeting."
"You humans, what right do you have to interfere in demon affairs?"
"Chief Carroll, what do you mean by bringing these two here?"
Edgar shook his head and muttered to himself, "Just as I expected."
"As for what comes next…"
The very next second, a wave of icy cold spread through the air, followed by screams and desperate pleas for mercy.
"Looks like it ended even faster than I thought."
No need to guess. Esdeath had definitely taken action.
In front of him, she was a sweet, obedient girl.
In front of anyone else, she was always the sadistic queen.
Those race representatives were definitely having a rough time.
"Master!"
Esdeath and Leone, clearly done with the meeting, walked over.
Behind them, Carroll's face was deathly pale, as if he'd just witnessed something truly horrifying.
"You two didn't kill anyone, did you?"
Edgar closed his book and asked casually.
"No," Leone replied with a cheerful smile. "Sister Esdeath has excellent control."
"A few of them were hurt pretty badly, but they should be fine after lying in bed for half a month."
"Good."
Edgar nodded. "So what strategy did you settle on in the end?"
After hearing those screams, he hadn't paid attention to the details anymore.
"With you here, Master, there's no need for complicated strategies to deal with a mere Demon King's Castle," Esdeath said with a grin.
"We just break in and take the Demon King's head."
"That said, I don't know if you're interested in the Demon King. If not, leave it to me."
Edgar thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Forget it. I'll handle the Demon King myself."
After all, a Demon King should be worth quite a bit of experience.
"..."
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