Scarlet stepped aside, bowing. I entered a magnificent carriage with windows open on the sides, allowing the populace a direct line of sight to my barely dressed form. It was being pulled by two devilish-looking horses, which appeared almost cute to me for some reason.
Scarlet crawled into the carriage beside me and leaned forward as we began to move. I saw several servants gathered alongside the path, and their expressions lit up when they caught sight of me. I noticed that the guards escorting us couldn't even help but gaze back once in a while.
"Your Highness," Scarlet whispered, "the parade has begun!"
A loud shout could be heard, the sound carrying from outside. I looked back and saw the crowd had already started chanting, screaming my name in some kind of wicked glee.
"Queen Alexis! Queen Alexis! Queen Alexis!" they chanted in a rhythm, calling out my name.
The wind blew through the windows, blowing in dust, and stinging my skin, but I barely noticed as we rode. Scarlet was beaming, seemingly unaware or uncaring, her bosomy chest pushing forward in her small suit. I followed her gaze and stared out the window at a vast mass of bodies all crowding together. Most devils were inhumane, as you'd expect a devil to look, but even I knew that devils wouldn't be particularly humanoid until they evolved into imps. By the looks of it, there were no other imps besides Scarlet yet. it was a relatively small kingdom as I could see the edge of the town not too far away. Still, the buildings seemed developed, especially the ones we were heading toward in the center of this realm. They had intricate designs, making me believe that whoever used to rule the Underworld definitely knew their stuff, and had made some significant progress compared to humanity.
"Your Highness, you should step out and give a speech," Scarlet urged.
"Is there any time to practice, or..."
"There's always the first impression, Your Highness!" she smiled.
"Do I look okay?"
She cocked a grin and leaned towards me, tugging the neckline of my swimwear slightly, causing a peek of my boob to reveal itself and adding even more danger for an accidental wardrobe malfunction. "We devils are all terrible at giving speeches. Just say something erotic, and you'll be fine. Maybe even just moan if you have no idea what to do."
I grabbed her and chuckled. "Naughty," I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her, and feeling her naked breasts press into mine. It made me grow more confident as we climbed out the door. My hand took hold of hers, and together, we walked before the crowd of lemures who stared intensely at the half-naked women.
"Ahem," I coughed, feeling rather embarrassed suddenly, though not for my clothes, but due to the hollowness that I felt in the core of my speech.
Scarlet smirked, leaned over, and pressed her hand against my tits, causing an erotic sigh to erupt from my throat. "Agh! No..." I groaned. "Forgive me!"
The lemures all swarmed toward me. Scarlet gestured for me to keep going. I cleared my throat again, looking for words. "My name is Alexis and I'm the current Queen of the Underworld. Ten years ago, the hero took our lives, our freedom, and our... umm, you know, dignity!"
They roared with anger, seeming almost on the edge to charge.
"But fear not! I, Alexis, vow that I will lead the underworld to greatness and bring the deserved retribution to the hero for taking so much from us!" My voice picked up some fervor. "You are brave men and women, all. Together, we will stand victorious! I have awoken to guide us, to lead us to the place of our victory against the oppressors of the humans."
There was silence, all of them still focusing on my barely-clad body.
"T-Thank you!"
They burst into a collective cheer, whistling and yelling as they grew even closer. "Queen Alexis, kiss me!"
Scarlet looked at me, grinning from ear to ear, then nudged me forward and winked. "Wow, you're good at this," she smiled.
"Ehhh. We're both really exposed here and, uhh, having hundreds of lemures all looking at us is something I was definitely not expecting."
Scarlet bowed and grabbed my hand. "You'll get used to it. Just remember your authority is still in power no matter how sexual you appear. Besides, most will want to have sex with the rulers, so having an appearance like this just attracts more attention. And the stronger your followers, the stronger you grow as well. You asked earlier if there were any women willing to have sex with you, right?"
I bit my lips and gazed at her. "Umm, yes."
"Then, our next course of action would be recruiting more allies. I forgot to mention, but the Queen of Succubus has always had a unique ability."
"What's that?" I asked, crawling back into the carriage.
"You can link your soul to anyone you sleep with. If they accept, they'll become your underling, but also gain a fragment of your own strength. So in a way, this parade isn't just to rally up more lemures. It's to create stronger underlings, and allies, and to turn some into true devils, increasing our population. Our goal now is to explore and find women who can help us sow the seeds of dark energy. We can't go to war with lemures, they'll be wiped out in an instant."
I could understand that. When thinking about wars, you needed soldiers and not a bunch of fodders. They'd be cannon fodder at worst. I have fought with the hero long enough to know that these lemures will only drag us down in a battle against him. We had to build an army of devils.
"Then, where should we travel?"
Scarlet smiled snugly. "The City of Orda. The place where the previous ruler was born."