"Oh no! I almost forgot! It's her majesty, the Demon Queen!" Mira said in a panic.
"The 'Demon Queen'?" Alex repeated Mira's words with a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected the demons to be led by a female Demon Queen, though it didn't strike him as strange, given his familiarity with fantasy manga and light novels featuring female Demon Kings.
"Yes! Her Majesty, Queen Anna Bael! She was the one who ordered your summoning and provided the enormous mana cost needed to recreate the Hero Summoning!" Mira explained hastily. She then seized Alex's hand and pulled him along, passing the robed women and exiting the stone room. The outside was another dimly lit stone structure, giving the impression of being inside a castle. Despite the castle-like surroundings, Alex had little time to absorb his surroundings as Mira continued to drag him while running quite fast, making him feel like a kite soaring through the air.
"Mira! Please slow down!" Alex shouted to Mira, who was still dragging him through the air.
"We don't have time to slow down, Sir Alex! We can't keep Her Majesty waiting! You need to see her as soon as possible!" She replied, oblivious to the fact that Alex was dangling mid-air, being dragged along with her.
They, or more precisely just Mira, were running through the interior of the Demon Queen Castle, dragging Alex along. They passed by many inhabitants of the castle, including maids, castle guards, soldiers, and others, which of course, all of them were demons. Everyone they encountered was surprised and confused to see Mira dragging a human man with her. Some even shrieked in terror upon seeing the human that Mira was dragging.
Among those they passed were some important figures.
Mira hurried past a well-endowed dark-skin woman knight with a pair of huge horns adorning her long white hair. "Mira! What's with all the ruckus! Is that a human!?" the knight yelled, but Mira paid no attention and focused on her path.
They encountered another significant figure. A bespectacled woman with disheveled short white hair emerged from her room, holding a book in her hand. "Shut up! Who is making all this noise!" she wailed in anger, clearly disturbed from her reading. Mira ignored the bespectacled woman and continued on her way.
Mira passed by yet another figure. "Oh my," the woman exclaimed in surprise. She was a well-endowed woman with long wavy pink hair. What truly stood out was her revealing armor, which showcased most of her skin and assets. Additionally, she sported a pair of bat or devil wings and a tail with a heart-shaped tip.
Watching all of this chaos unfold was a shadowy figure hiding in the castle's shadows... while munching on some potato chip snacks. This petite woman observed Mira running off with the human man with a deadpan expression, all the while nonchalantly enjoying her snacks.
Soon after a quite long running, they arrived at an intimidatingly large and tall double door. Mira then burst through the huge door, revealing a quite spacious room inside with large pillars lining up on both sides and so there were windows at the. At the end of the room was a large throne and there was a figure sitting on said throne. Mira dragged Alex again into the front of the person sitting on the throne.
Mira was breathing heavily from exhaustion, having sprinted as fast as she could to bring the summoned "hero" to the throne room. Meanwhile, the summoned "hero" himself, Alex, lay on the ground barely conscious after the near-life-threatening experience of being dragged like a human kite. Clearing her throat, Mira knelt before the woman seated on the throne.
"Your Majesty, I have arrived," she announced, her voice slightly strained from the exertion. "I have also brought the summoned hero, Sir Alex." With a showing gesture, she indicated towards Alex, who lay sprawled almost lifeless on the floor from the ordeal he had just endured. It was then that Mira noticed Alex was unresponsive. Panic rising in her chest, she hurriedly pulled him up from the ground.
"Sir Alex, please wake up! We are in the presence of our queen, Queen Anna Bael!" she urged, shaking his body quite violently in an attempt to wake him up. After a moment, Alex stirred and finally regained consciousness, albeit only a little.
"So... is this our summoned hero, Mira?" The Queen posed a question, directing her gaze to Mira and then to the barely-conscious Alex.
"Yes, your highness. This is the hero that we have successfully summoned with the summoning ritual," Mira answered her Queen's question. "We are also very grateful for the mana you have provided for the hero summoning, your highness. If it weren't for your contribution, we wouldn't be able to summon the hero as planned."
"Yes... this 'hero summoning' those kingdoms have been using to summon heroes against us was quite the taxing feat..." she said with a weary sigh, her tone betraying the weight of the responsibility resting on her shoulders.
"Indeed, your majesty! They kept sending those pesky heroes to us, and even if we managed to kill one or two of them, they would just summon more of them! How do they procure enough mana to keep summoning these heroes on almost a regular basis...?" Mira exclaimed, her frustration and curiosity palpable in her tone. If the Demon Queen herself had to contribute her own mana to summon Alex, how could these "kingdoms" summon heroes so frequently?
"We will discuss this later. For now, you," the Demon Queen directed her attention once more to the summoned hero, Alex. "You've already been introduced, but I still wish to hear it from your own lips. State your name, hero," she demanded, though Alex remained barely conscious after Mira's ordeal. Seeing Alex being unresponsive, Mira jabbed Alex's side to wake him up, which indeed stirred him from his daze.
"OW! What was that for?!" Alex exclaimed, his voice laced with a mixture of pain and surprise.
"Sir Alex, Queen Anna demands that you introduce yourself!" Mira insisted, her tone conveying both urgency and deference to their queen.
"Okay, okay..." After the rough exchange with Mira, Alex finally managed to gather himself enough to lift his gaze toward the Demon Queen. He was stunned at the sight of her.
Sitting on the throne was a petite woman of ethereal beauty. Her pale white skin gleamed like moonlight, bathed in the torchlight from the pillars and the gentle moonlight that managed to enter the throne room. Cascading down her back was long, white hair, bestowing upon her an almost otherworldly presence. On top of her head, striking red horns glowed faintly, a testament to her demonic heritage. A white tiara with a single red gem embedded adorned her head, marking her as the royalty of the castle. Clad in a black strapless gown and a black feathery choker, she sat with regal grace on her throne.
Alex was left speechless by the otherworldly beauty of the Demon Queen. The Demon Queen herself was puzzled by the summoned "hero" as to why he was just standing there gawking at her, and for some reason, his gaze made her feel a bit odd. Seeing Alex's lack of response, Mira jabbed his side again, resulting in a yelp of pain from Alex.
"OW! Okay!" Alex said through the pain. He then cleared his throat, "Good... evening? Your majesty. My name is Alex Lee, and I'm supposed to be the... hero? I guess?" He said to the Queen while bringing out his Status Card and presenting it to her with a bow, as if it were a business card. Being just a regular salaryman office worker, this gesture was a force of habit for him. Alex realized this too late and froze in place, cursing to himself.
Mira and even the Demon Queen were perplexed as to why Alex was presenting his Status Card like that. They didn't know that he was reverting to his office worker habits. "Y-yes, your majesty! Sir Alex here is showing you his Status Card for you to see! Yes, isn't that right, Sir Alex?" Mira tried to help Alex by explaining that he was presenting his Status Card to the Demon Queen. Alex heard Mira's cue and thanked her silently in his mind before opening his Status Card, as he had been taught by Mira.
Name : Alex Lee
Race : Human
Job : Idol Producer
Level : 1
HP : 27 / 100
MP : 100 / 100
Stats
STR : 10
INT : 10
AGI : 10
END : 10
LUK : [?]
Skills
- Talent Scouter's Eye (Idol Producer), LVL. 1
- Idol Producer's Charisma, LVL. 1 (Passive)
- Musical Mastery (Idol Producer), LVL. 1 (Passive)
- Arcana Realm: Idol Stage, LVL. 1
- Item Box
"Idol Producer? What does this mean, Sir Alex?" The Demon Queen questioned Alex after seeing his Status.
"Uhm... yes, your majesty! Well... my Job is supposed to be about recruiting Idols and nurturing them to be the best Idols... I guess?" Alex answered, unsure to himself whether that was a good explanation or not.
"Idols? As in an 'object of worship'?" The Demon Queen asked for confirmation.
"Y-yes, your majesty! Sir Alex's Job is a support role that can raise the stats of Idol figures such as yourself, my Queen!" Mira interjected, trying to help improve Alex's image to the Demon Queen. Alex had a conflicted look, torn between appreciating Mira's effort to support him and feeling anguish at the thought that they just pushed this Idol thing to an even more outrageous claim, even if he did partially agree with them.
"I see... Would you kindly demonstrate your ability, Sir Alex?" The Demon Queen inquired; her voice tinged with a hint of curiosity as she awaited his response.
"Yes, your majesty!" Alex responded to the Demon Queen's order. He closed his eyes and hurriedly tried focusing his mana to access his skills once more. Opening his eyes, he directed his gaze onto the Demon, who was a bit startled by Alex's sudden serious gaze. With a simple command in his mind, he activated his first skill, 'Talent Scouter's Eye', for the Demon Queen.
A Status window appeared near the Queen and only Alex could see it.
Name : Anna Bael
Race : Arch Demon
Job : Demon King (DEBUFFED)
Level : 90 (DEBUFFED)
HP : 72.000 / 72.000 (DEBUFFED)
MP : 10.000 / 81.000 (DEBUFFED)
Talent : Poem
Idol Power : 7700
Idol Potential : S+
Alex focused his gaze upon Queen Anna's Idol Status. He wondered why most of her stats were marked with 'DEBUFFED,' but the surprising part was her astonishing Idol Prowess, particularly her Idol Potential Rank of 'S+'. In most ranking systems, 'S' rank would be the highest tier. Considering her status as the leader of her people, it made sense for her to have an S+ rank. Lost in thought, Alex studied Queen Anna's Idol Status intently.
On the other hand, Queen Anna felt an odd sense of self-consciousness under Alex's gaze. She had faced adversaries who stared at her with contempt, hatred, fear, jealousy, and more. Many of them were enemies of the Demon Kingdom, including heroes that were summoned by those kingdoms. Even from others were fellow demons. But this time, she felt vulnerable, as if this man had uncovered her deepest secrets with just a glance. At the same time, this feeling wasn't that bad... almost pleasant, even. A tiny blush crept onto her expression.
Queen Anna fidgeted a bit from his intense gaze, while the source of her restlessness was still deep in thought over seeing her Idol Status, oblivious to her condition. Mira realized soon after that Queen Anna was feeling the same kind of sensation she had felt when Alex had used her for testing his skill. "Sir Alex! Please stop your skill! You are making Queen Anna uncomfortable!" she demanded.
Alex was startled by Mira's warning and immediately stopped using his skill on the Queen. "Oh yeah, sorry," he apologized to Queen Anna. The Queen took a few small breaths before clearing her throat. "U-uhm! It is fine, Mira. N-now, Sir Alex... could you tell me what you just did?" The Queen inquired; her voice slightly shaky.
"Yes, your majesty. Well... I just used my first skill, er... 'Talent Scouter's Eye,' which allows me to see most of your Status. But, I can also see your Idol Prowess instead," Alex explained.
"My 'Idol Prowess'?" The Queen questioned further.
"Yes. It's sort of like stats that show your capabilities and your potential as an 'Idol,'" Alex continued his explanation.
"I see... very interesting, indeed," the Queen accepted his explanation. Even Mira was nodding along, happy that their summoned "hero" was accepted by her Demon Queen.
"Also, it seems that you have the talent for 'poem,'" Alex added his last piece of information to the Queen. Unfortunately, that wasn't a very wise thing for him to say.
Hearing the last piece of information from Alex, the Queen was startled a bit, then she looked down, her expression darkened.
"...cution..." The Demon Queen muttered in a low voice.
"Hmm?" Both Alex and Mira were confused by the sudden change of attitude from Queen Anna.
"Execution. You are hereby executed for knowing my secret. Both of you," the Demon Queen finally said. Suddenly, she flared an intense demonic aura that not only was visible to the naked eye but also created a rumbling that shook the castle. Her expression, while not as intense as her aura nor as expressive either, conveyed anger.
"What?!" Both Alex and Mira were shocked by the intense aura that the Queen was showing. They did not think that she would become this angry from knowing that she had a talent for 'poem'. Even more so for Mira, who didn't know about this until she involuntarily heard it from Alex's own mouth, and now she was facing execution for just knowing.
"Waitwaitwait, your majesty. I didn't mean to know your secret! It was purely accidental that my skill also showed your talent!" Alex tried to weasel his way out.
"Y-yes, your majesty! There's nothing wrong with having the talent for a poem! In fact, that is a talent that only a sophisticated person like you would have!" Mira tried to appease the Queen's anger.
"No excuse," was the only thing that the Queen said.
Before the Queen could eradicate them both, the massive doors of the throne room burst open, revealing the large lady knight whom Mira and Alex (mostly Mira) had passed earlier.
"Your Majesty! The heroes' army is approaching!"