"We can't," Luke said as he crossed his arms.
"What do you mean we can't?" she demanded, looking ready to throttle him.
Luke raised an eyebrow and said, "We need the judge here."
It took her a moment to process what he was saying before her angry expression turned into a sheepish one. "Oh. Bring them out then."
Turning to 'Kayla', he said, "Can you check on the rest of the party and possibly track down the creator? I'm sure they know about her arrival, but it's possible that they would take their time getting here."
'Kayla' grimaced at the thought as she nodded. She quickly rushed off to find the others, leaving Luke and the harpy with a crowd slowly forming. He really hoped that the creator wouldn't pull a stunt, but he wasn't crossing his fingers. If they didn't show up, they might
Unfortunately, Luke wasn't the only one to hear Chris, as Ruth glared venomously at him. Chris flinched when he saw her glare and quickly hid behind Theodore to use as a shield. Theodore first scowled at Chris before scowling at the harpy. The two refused to break the stare off, which was good for Luke as it gave him time to think over the nine questions the creator had thrown at them.The first question had been how many women were in the previous demon king's harem. Even though he knew the answer was five, he didn't dare say it yet. The moment he did, it would cause Ruth to remember the competition. Then they would be fighting over who could answer as many questions as possible. It was best to answer as many as he could before she could fight back.The second question was going to be tricky since it was to name the other women in the harem that haven't been named. Luke assumed that the
That was the harpy's biggest mistake. If she had wanted to take someone hostage, she chose the worst one possible. The creator stared blankly down at the hand on their neck before looking at the back of Ruth's head. She hadn't noticed anything yet and probably assumed the look on Luke's face meant she had the advantage. However, before she could do anything, the creator grabbed her wrist.The sound of bones breaking filled the air, and many of the natives looked away as they couldn't bear the sight. Ruth's face scrunched up in confusion at everyone's reaction, and she looked in the direction the sound was coming from. Seeing that she no longer had the creator in her grasp, she looked down at her hand to see that it was broken.At first, she stared at her broken limb, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. How had her hand been broken? There was no way a weak human could have broken he
[Do you really intend to make Ruth a part of your harem? That doesn't seem like you. Didn't you say you detest the idea of a harem?]Luke had, and still did, to an extent. His feelings regarding harems had cooled a bit. It made sense to tie powerful women to himself, even if the method had certain implications for them. If he had been the same person who just started the second life, he would have been disturbed by his trail of thought. He assumed the change was a result of recent happenings."More importantly, you don't seem bothered by the idea," he muttered as the creator stared at them curiously.[It doesn't matter what I think, as I'm already dead. If you wish to covert them into your harem, you're free to do so.]Even if the demon king didn't give his permission, Luke was going to do it anyway and declared, "In c
Luke's expression didn't change in the slightest, but he was satisfied with the outcome. He got what he wanted and, as an added bonus, shocked the creator, who was watching them with raised eyebrows. On the other hand, everyone else was still reeling from what had just transpired. The harpy, who had been the previous demon king's lover, had chosen to become the new one's lover.The creator clapped their hands together and said, "Now that's settled. Are there any more challengers?"No one stepped forward. Luke expected as much. In fact, he would have been more suspicious if anyone did. After the display that just occurred, no one should want to challenge him. He did scan the crowd to see what those women's responses were, but they were already gone. They must have left as soon as Ruth accepted his offer, probably to decide what to do next."In that case, you're all free to leave," the creator said before walking towards Luke and Ruth, who was still on the ground. "You've really outdone
"You can't just drop that on us and ask if we have anything to say," Chris blurted out."Chris is right. This is a big deal we're talking about here," Bobby said."That's why I'm asking now since this changes things," Luke calmly said as he crossed his arms. "I want to hear whatever she has to say and if there are any suggestions."For several moments, it was silent before Tracy spoke up, "Honestly, I don't think we can do anything. This is way beyond us. The only person here who can do anything about it is you, and you seem to be doing quite well without our help."Luke didn't miss how there was a strange note in her tone. It sounded like she was frustrated, annoyed, and slightly resigned. He understood the first two, but he was unsure about the last one. Had she given up on trying? Well, considering everything that was happening, he supposed it made sense that she didn't think they could do anything against the creator."She's right," 'Kayla' said as she placed her hands on her hips
Luke immediately snapped out of it as he realized where his thoughts were going. While the demon king had said he would lose touch with his humanity, Luke was certain this was beyond what he had meant. It felt like something was pushing him in a certain direction, and his thoughts immediately turned to the creator. Was this their goal? Were they trying to cause a rift?[It is a big jump to assume they are doing anything.]"Are you certain they aren't?" he asked.The demon king remained silent as Luke thought it over. Luke had to admit that what the demon king said wasn't wrong. It was a huge assumption to make that the reason why he was thinking this way was solely the creator's fault. It did seem like he was pushing all the blame for his behavior on the creator. It was more likely a mix of the two.His behavior was the result of his fading humanity, and the creator was causing some interference. However, Luke had no clue how to fix it. There was nothing he could do about his humanity
Confused, Ruth stared at Tracy before saying, "What?"Violet nodded. "She's right. Even though we're a part of Luke's harem, he hasn't tried anything.""It's almost like he doesn't like women," Tracy said as she gave Luke a look.Luke raised an eyebrow as he said, "Just because I want to settle matters first instead of focusing my attention on women doesn't mean I don't like them.""Of course," Tracy said, though her tone made it clear she didn't believe him.Ruth glanced between the two of them, trying to decipher their relationship. They made it sound like the two women were part of his harem, but they certainly didn't act like they were. In her demon king's harem, women were constantly fighting for his attention and could be seen in his arms or lap. However, the two women were calm
"You've finally shown yourself," Takisha said as she kept her back to Laurel, who removed her hood."Not all of us can hide in the dark or transform into bats without being caught," Laurel dryly said as she observed the other women.She was surprised to see all of them had gathered together when they would normally be at each other's throats, but she supposed that this was a special case. Luke's face popped into her mind, causing her to grind her teeth. Things hadn't gone so well. She had desperately tried to find some way to bring back her beloved demon king. However, all she hit were dead ends."Now that all four of us are here, I believe it's time we start the meeting," the succubus said."Who made you the leader?" the vampire demanded as her eyes narrowed."Well, you're certainly