"Then why not have me hold onto them? I'm not dying anytime soon, as Touya so helpfully showed in his death. I'm also someone who can take action based on the evidence they contain" (Ryuu)
"Of course. I had been planning to take it to you, but they chased me towards and then across the border, so I wound up here. It's like the author-" (Levia)
"Hey! I'm the only one allowed to break the fourth wall or jab at the author!" (Ryuu)
"So? Make one, or I will" (Levia)
"It's like the author ran out of things for me to fight, ways for me to show off my OP-ness, or reasons to reveal my identity, which was something the author really wanted to have happen for some reason, so he/she/they just decided to add in a strong-villain-ex-machina or something like that to do all three" (Ryuu)
"And then I decided to crash the party because I was bored, so you didn't get to show off as much of your OP-ness. Sorry" (Ver)
"Nah, it's fine. The author can go lick my wings for all I care, they've been pretty shitty to me in many situations. Of course, I met you all, so that's one thing in their favor, but... I'm still mad about that surprise coronation in the middle of graduation" (Ryuu)
Just then, I heard a perfectly androgynous voice resound from the heavens, and so did everyone at all nearby.
"Author here, and... What can I say~ except, 'you're welcome'... sorry, sorry. Memes got the better of me... What can I say except this: Well so~rry! I had to do it... and I was really tired that day. I felt like it'd spice things up, you know? Now then, despite the fact that this is being written down to publish later, I can't remember what this scene was about, so I'll just drop you all off in some frozen wastelands or something, because I'm bored" (Author)
"It's about me meeting up with a demon general, getting evidence against the church and others, and then probably finishing my escort mission for Char's father before returning to the capital to deliver this" (Ryuu)
"Right, right... fine, I'll write that... no, I'll just timeskip parts. I just want this boring stuff to be done with" (Author)
"WRITE IT PROPERLY!" (Ryuu)
"Ow... you didn't have to shout. Oh, very well. If that's what you want, I'll do my best. Author out!" (Author)
"The fuck was that?" (Just about everyone, including me)
With that being the discussion topic for all groups, usurping that from the fact of my being the Demon Lord, all of the groups, Levia's included, went on our joined way, for a few hours. The Sangen group left for the demon lands, their tails between their legs. However, after those few hours, my group and Levia's split off to deliver Duke Ascham to his home, where we met with his wife. That...
"Dear! You're back, finally! Come on in, the chefs will make the best food they can for you! Oh, Lotte's here too? And who's this group of girls standing with her?" (Woman)
"It's... a long story. Grace, why don't we go to a private room with these girls and... we'll reveal something you'll want to be seated for. Gloria is out, I assume?" (Duke)
"Yes, she is out on a quest. She'll be back in a few days or so" (Grace)
"Oh, everyone, this is Grace, my first wife and Charlotte's mother. Gloria is a B rank adventurer and my second wife, you'll meet her at some point, if you don't stay long. Now, let's go" (Duke)
We did exactly that, after telling a servant to tell the cooks to also make food for the Duke and seven others.
"Well, first off, some introductions. This is Ryuu, leader of my party, and everyone here makes up said party besides you and father. After that, we have Mae, Elise, Ver, Tuare, and Haru. Haru is better known as Haruveritat el Isala, the third princess, and one of Ryuu's fiancees. Mae is the daughter of Gazef Austine, the captain of the royal guard, and one of Ryuu's fiancees. Elise is from the demon lands, and has... a complicated and irrelevant family situation, as well as being one of Ryuu's fiancees. See a pattern? Ver is... a long story too, but a relevant one, and one of Ryuu's - you know, the whole party is made up of Ryuu's fiancees, let's just say that. Tuare is actually Tuareninya Lars, daughter and heiress of the first seat of the demon generals in the demon lands. Ryuu... Her name is Miryuu Maou, the Demon Lord, hence the name of the party being The Demon Lord's Harem. For adventurer ranks, Ryuu and Ver are SS rank, Mae and I are S ranks, Haru, Elise, and Tuare are A ranks, making this an S ranked party. Ver, by the way, isn't human, elven, dwarven, a demon, or anything like that. She's a wyvern... well, she was. She's now the eleventh divine beast, the Wyvern Lord Verene. I think that about covers it? Oh, right. I'm engaged to Ryuu too" (Char)
She stayed fine and perfectly conscious for the entirety of that monologue, reacting appropriately to all of it, being only a bit surprised by my identity and our ranks, raising her eyebrows at the divine beast part, but my engagement to Char is what made her faint. What's with that reaction? Was it because she thinks that her bloodline won't be passed on?
"Probably. She's been hounding me a lot recently, asking for some grandchildren. Honestly, I think part of the problem is that she had me when she was younger than I am, so she thinks I'm of an age to have kids" (Char)
"I'm going to top that by a lot, you know" (Ver)
"I don't want to know. I don't!" (Duke)
"Uh... did I say what I was thinking, or..." (Ryuu)
"Your face said it all... saying something like 'is she worried about continuing her lineage, or what?'... See, when she fainted, you raised an eyebrow, glanced at me, raised the other eyebrow, and then returned to looking at her as you rolled your eyes. Would you like the translation step-by-step?" (Char)
"Okay, I don't care who or what you are at all anymore. Charlotte knows and loves you enough to read that from... that. That's more than I can do with my wives. Take good care of her, you hear me? If you don't, I'll find you and make you regret it, 'kay?" (Duke)
"Please do take care of her... Also, I have to ask... can I ask some questions of the great divine beast?" (Grace)
"Oh, you woke up fast. Don't worry, I will take excellent care of every single one of my wives. The day I let something bad happen to one of them is the day this world is fucked, because there'd be something stronger than us. Remember, I'm the one who killed a dragon solo. As for the second bit... Ver?" (Ryuu)
"Please, call me Ver, or Verene. I'm just an ordinary girl, save for being a wyvern and all that. That being the case, ask away" (Ver)
"Well then... Verene... uh... first off, how old are you, in human years... or would centuries be better?" (Grace)
We all looked at one another, the Duke included, and then laughed, creating a puzzled expression on Grace's face.
"Centuries would be awful. I'm barely over a year old, after all" (Ver)
"I... monsters grow differently, I guess. Well, how did you meet my daughter?" (Grace)
"Well, the first thing I saw when I hatched was Ryuu, who'd just finished killing my blood parents, not that I mind, and so I just went with her, she raised me, and she did so when she was Char's roommate... and lover, and teacher" (Ver)
"And... what made you fall in love with Ryuu?" (Grace)
"Instinct, I guess? Is it wrong to love the strong, the beautiful, and the kind? Beyond that, I'm not sure. She's kind, funny, and... Well, I'm not sure how to describe it... honestly, who can truly describe love?" (Ver)
"Fair enough. Lastly, what makes you a divine beast? Not- not how did you become one, but what are the defining features?" (Grace)
"I think it's the ability to take a humanoid form, not sure what other shared traits might be" (Ver)
"So, are changelings all divine beasts? What about beastkin?" (Grace)
"Uhh..." (Ver)
"Changelings are a subclass of magical beast, namely, devils, not divine beasts. Beastkin... this is unverified and somewhat restricted information, but... they're the descendants of divine beasts" (Ryuu)
"We're still trying to figure out what my kids would be! Lizardkin? Wyvernkin?" (Ver)
"And that's just if you had children with a human. With an elf, a demon, a dwarf, or a beastkin, it could change even more. Imagine the mini-wyvernkin you'd have with a dwarf, the demonic lizardkin with a demon, or... you get the idea" (Ryuu)
"Don't remind Tuare of that... remember the last time she thought about that?" (Ver)
"Oh right... that was fun, but... this is neither the time nor the place" (Ryuu)
The conversation moved on to my upbringing before the war, how life is in the demon lands, and so on, until the food was ready, at which point we went to eat and have a more innocuous discussion while doing so. This continued for two more days, at which point Gloria, the Duke's second wife, came back, her arm half cut off by an ogre. The best healer the Duke had looked at her arm, and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can heal your arm with any more certainty than about a 1 in 100 chance. The only thing to do in the other 99 cases is remove it completely" (Healer)
"Excuse me, mind if I try to heal your arm? I think I'd have at least a 1 in 2 chance" (Ryuu)
"And who might you be, little girl?" (Gloria)
"My fiancee, that's who, and the best healer I or even the royal family knows" (Char)
"Oh, Char, you're back. Well, in that case, if it might work and won't make it worse, go ahead and try. Wait, fiancee? You have one now? And it's a-" (Gloria)
"Don't talk, don't move. Okay... Arm's set in the right position... let's try healing it now" (Ryuu)
It worked. Her arm was good as new, and I asked her to keep quiet about it, and instead say that it was some potion. After another round of introductions, and another day of conversations, including talks about when, where, and how to have the marriage ceremony, we left to head back to the capital with Levia. We wanted to get there before news of my identity spread too far, so Ver gave us all a ride on her back, traveling several times faster than a horse.