—Elves hideout, evening time.
"So, what is your real goal in plundering this village?" I asked Estella, who was the mastermind behind all this mess.
Right now, we were in a small room that was in the Elf' hideout, and the only ones there were me, Alicia, and Estella.
To be honest I was a little doubtful whether we should bring the Demon Lord Leader here, but since there were too many monsters outside, we couldn't safely talk.
I also forced Elvy to leave, because there was a fear that the girl would get angry and thoughtlessly kill Estella when she heard of her motives. Even though she previously refused due to security issues, but I said that everything was fine since I still had Alicia nearby.
After I kept urging her on, she finally left the room reluctantly. But, before she could get out of there, she turned around and looked at me, hers eyes showing worry.
"Riku-san, you promised to rest, right?" she asked which surprised me.
My eyebrows rose.
She really is a good girl, I smiled and answered her. "Of course, I will definitely rest, after all I also promised."
Elvy looked relieved when she heard my answer, and she finally left the room.
Alright, let's move on to our initial talk.
I sat down in front of Estella, crossing my arms I asked.
"So, what are you looting this village for? What's your goal?" My face was serious and I kept looking at the little girl intently.
But—
"Hey, damn it! If you want to talk at least do something to this woman first! Why is she still sitting on me?! I don't understand at all! Are you stupid?!" shouted Estella who was still occupied by Alicia.
"Well, it's just a matter of security. We still can't trust you, I will no longer be as gentle as before."
"Tch, even though I had high hopes for you because I heard that you managed to defeat that troublesome lizard. It turns out that you are just like this woman."
"It's a bit cheeky to equate me with this woman, but whatever. As expected, you guys are in league huh. Is he also the Demon King's Leader?" I asked.
Hearing that, Estella laughed.
"Ahahaha, that lizard? The Demon King's leader? He doesn't even belong to my lord's pet category. That lizard is just a coward, after receiving a slight reprimand from my lord, he wagged his tail like a stupid dog," Estella replied mockingly at the dragon.
My Lord huh…
I thought she was referring to the Demon King.
This might be a rare opportunity, I should be able to extract all the information about the Demon King from this girl.
Not that I want to fight the Demon King, it's just that maybe this could be important information for me to pass on to the other Heroes the next time we meet.
"Estella… -chan," I called out who was a little confused whether to give a sign of respect or not, because of her childish appearance, it was a little weird if I called her with the addition '-san'.
Well whatever, it doesn't matter right now.
Now I want her to tell me everything she knows about the Demon King.
Anything would be of great value to the Heroes if they knew even a little bit about what kind of person the Demon King was.
"Umm, Estella-chan, can you tell me everything you know about Demon Kings?" I asked, trying to be as friendly as possible.
But Estella narrowed her eyes suspiciously and she answered without hesitation.
"No."
Well, I guessed it.
"Riku, it's useless. They have been given a curse that makes them never be able to betray the Demon King," Alicia said, providing quite shocking information.
Since it's her, I'm sure it's not a joke. Estella also clicked her tongue when Alicia told me the secret, it seems she hit the spot.
"Seriously? Really troublesome, I wonder why you guys can follow someone like that," I said, a little curious. "Does that mean that you guys followed the Demon King's orders out of necessity?"
"Of course not!" snapped Estella who spontaneously rejected my opinion. "It's true, we were given a curse so we couldn't betray! But even so, we also have good reason to accept the curse and obey it obediently!" protested Estella.
Hers gaze was so serious, it took me by surprise.
Why is she so adamant?
"Reason huh?" I wondered.
Then, still feeling irritated, Estella explained it to me. "We Demon King Army Leaders each have our own reasons for following the Demon King. It is a very important wish, and the only one who can grant that wish is the Demon King alone! So just put away those stupid thoughts that stem from your sympathy, you brat!" hers spitting sneer.
I twitched in annoyance and wanted to teach this girl a lesson about who's boss here, but I tried to hold it in.
"Just what do you want?" I asked again.
"Heh, did you think I would say that?" replied Estella with a mocking smile, she refused to say anything.
I let out a languid sigh.
"Well, if you really don't intend to say anything, I won't force you."
It's a little disappointing, but I guess I should give up.
"Okay, let's go back to my first question. Just for this one, I hope you want to answer it."
"Humph, are you stupid? Did you really think I would answer? Look, even if you guys torture me, I still won't say anything. Don't ever think I'll just do as you ask!" Estella replied with a proud face full of confidence.
"…."
I stare at her.
"H-Hey what's with that look of yours? Y-You don't intend to sexually assault a little girl like me, right? I trust you, boy! I bet you're not a lolicon! I trust you!"
"Why are you panicking yourself? Why do you believe in your enemy. Well, but it's true, I'm not a lolicon, so you're safe— Hey, Alicia-san, I'm seriously not a lolicon, so can you not look at me like that?"
Seriously, I'm not a lolicon.
Well, I may not hate kids, but that doesn't mean I love them in any remote sense. I just love watching their growth up close.
"Seriously, so could you not look at me with the look of a suspicious person like that, Alicia-san."
Geez, couldn't they be serious for a bit. If it goes on like this, no matter how long this conversation will never end.
"Haaaah…"
I let out a long, tired breath.
Even though the conversation hasn't started yet, why am I this tired?
"Okay, let's go back to our previous conversation. I'm not going to sexually harass you, but instead, I might take away what you call 'Wish'," I said with a faint smile.
Hearing that, Estella furrowed her brows, she looked at me suspiciously and tried to think through what I said using her own head.
Seeing that reaction, I was a little relieved, it means she took what I said seriously.
Finally I can start this conversation on the right track.
My goodness, they are really troublesome.
"What do you mean?" asked the girl who looked wary of me.
I'm still relaxed and answered it. "You said that all of you Demon King Leaders have some kind of curse that must be the price for granting that 'Wish', right?"
"...." The girl's body froze.
Then, I teased her while bringing my face close to hers ear. "I wonder what will happen if I remove the curse?" I whispered.
"….."
Instantly, Estella was silent, her face seemed frozen expressionless.
Seeing that, a big smile started to appear on my face.
"You should know how strong the person currently occupying you is, right? Just so you know, she could have used the [Break Spell] spell to break your curse," I said casually while narrowing my eyes at Estella who looked tense.
At that moment, hers face immediately turned even paler.
"That's impossible! Not even the strongest priest in this world nor someone with the title of Saint will be able to break this curse! There's no way anyone would be able to break this curse!" she argued trying to stay strong.
However, it seems she's also still a little doubtful of her own words, I can hear her speak with a trembling voice.
"Are you sure you can't?" I asked.
"Ahahaha, whatever you do is useless! Even with a powerful magic item, this curse can never be removed!"
She said that with a bold smile, but I could still see her trembling. She looked really scared, cold sweat was dripping from hers face and she was trying so hard to hide it.
It seems that this threat really worked.
I clapped my hands, smiled gently and said in a cheerful voice. "Oh right! Then why don't we give it a try?"
"Huh?"
Hearing that, Estella exclaimed in surprise, but I paid no heed to her and continued with a sweet smile.
"Alicia, can you do this," I asked.
"Oh my, what can I do… [Break—"
"Wait! Wait a minute! Please wait a moment! Alright, I understand! I will answer whatever you want! So please don't remove this curse! Please, I will do anything for you! Please don't remove this curse!" Estella screamed desperately before Alicia could cast her spell.
"Good, I like honest children," I said, grinning like a devil who managed to tempt hers prey.
Seeing that, Alicia sighed wearily.
"I'm so confused as to who the villain is now."