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Inside the palace—
The atmosphere was gradually getting lively.
Whatever anyone was thinking, when they were around Minato, they were all just a bunch of close sisters.
Everyone agreed on that.
Erika quickly pieced together the situation.
This world did have some supernatural power, but compared to where they came from, it wasn't all that strong.
Still, she didn't dare let her guard down.
The way Esdeath and the others were looking at Minato—honestly, they probably wanted to eat him alive.
This King of hers really was sinful beyond redemption.
"All preparations are complete," Minato's voice echoed, drawing everyone's attention.
He stood atop a massive magic circle and beckoned the girls over with a wave.
"So it's finally starting, huh?"Esdeath strode in with those long legs of hers, taking the lead into the magic circle.
At the same time, she took off her outer robe. Her ice-blue hair flowed down freely as she gave Minato a sultry look.
White, huh. Not bad.
Minato stroked his chin, secretly nodding in approval.
"Y-You..."
Erika's face turned red. "Didn't you say before, we just had to step into the circle?"
Minato had already explained roughly how the rank-up process would work.
"I know, I know," Esdeath said with a smile, pulling her hair to the side. "It's just... too hot today."
Hot?
Hearing the wind howling outside, Erika's face twitched.
Could you at least try to lie better?
Utaha Kasumigaoka suddenly chimed in, "Now that you mention it, it is summer, isn't it?"
Without missing a beat, she stepped into the circle too and took off her top.
And then... she stripped down until she was only wearing black stockings.
Embarrassed? After that night, there was no such thing anymore.
"..." ×N
Silence fell over the room.
You two!
Why is each of you trying to outdo the other?
Do you have to take it this far?
It's getting hard for the rest of us to keep up!
And seriously, Miss Kasumigaoka, you don't even need a rank-up, do you?
After a brief silence...
Finally, someone else moved toward the circle.
Before long, the inside of the circle was glowing with all kinds of lights.
The scene... was actually kind of beautiful.
Minato just calmly watched. He wasn't gonna miss a view like this.
"This is seriously... messed up," Artoria muttered, covering the eyes of Rin and Sakura Tohsaka.
This was supposed to be a formal rank-up ceremony.
So how the hell did it end up like this?
Normally she'd let it slide.
But c'mon, there were kids here.
With a helpless sigh, Artoria led the two little ones to the corner of the formation.
"Sigh... totally hopeless."
Erika finally let out a breath and stepped into the circle too.
"Looks like everyone's ready."
Minato nodded, satisfied, and began activating the magic circle.
Lights flared to life.
Countless mysterious runes started swirling around Esdeath and the others, flowing into the places where their "pieces" were stored.
"Ughh…"
"Nnnghh…"
All sorts of increasingly heavy breathing mixed together into something that sounded like a weird symphony. Minato's eyes sparkled.
Esdeath and the others felt their whole bodies heat up—it reminded them of the moment they first turned into demons.
Some of them even collapsed to their knees, soaked in sweat, their innerwear clinging to them in a way that gave off a strange, alluring vibe.
Kasumigaoka looked around in confusion.
Wait—why wasn't she feeling anything?
Oh right, she didn't need a rank-up.
But no way she was getting left out of this.
She immediately pretended her legs had gone weak, falling flat on her back. Her black stockings subtly shifted as she did.
Erika was completely stunned, her whole face now flushed pink.
T-This is...
She didn't even know how to react anymore.
The whole blessing ceremony had already been pretty over-the-top.
But now? This was on a whole other level.
That woman was clearly trying to take her down with her.
But soon enough—
Erika's body started heating up too, and she no longer had time to overthink things.
"Are they... okay?"
Nanalia looked over at Irisviel, face red.
They were the only two here who hadn't turned into demons yet.
"They look just fine to me," Irisviel said with a smile. "Don't worry—after this ceremony, I'm sure Lord Minato will turn us into demons too."
"Wha—?"
Liliyas turned even redder.
Turn into demons?
Become one of them?
Just imagining it made her feel like she was in serious trouble.
Meanwhile—
Mine and Sheele were sneaking around nearby.
"S-So shameless..." Mine muttered, bright red and flustered.
"But... they're Lord Demon's companions," Sheele whispered back, cheeks glowing. "According to Leone, this is totally normal for them."
"B-But still..."
Looking into Sheele's eyes, Mine couldn't say anything more.
She was right.
They didn't even have the right to question it.
After all, they weren't even part of his group.
Thinking about that made both of their eyes dim a little.
These past few weeks, the Empire had been improving under good leadership.
They were growing closer to Najenda and the others too—but there was always this tiny sense of distance.
And that's because... they weren't Lord Demon's companions.
"Maybe... we should just give in to that guy?"
Mine muttered, face red. "I mean, if you really think about it, becoming his companion might not be such a bad thing."
Now that the Empire was at peace—
She needed new goals.
Eternal youth. Immortality. Stuff no human could resist.
And Minato? He was good-looking, and aside from being kind of a perv, he was really dependable.
"Okay. Let's do it," Sheele replied with a gentle smile.
Truthfully, her heart had been swayed a long time ago.
After all, with Leone always going on and on about "Lord Demon this" and "Lord Demon that," she eventually got swept up in it herself.
And right at that moment—
The magic circle reached its most critical point.
Minato kept his eyes locked on every single one of his companions, not blinking for even a second, in case something went wrong.
Sure, he had a lot of wings...
But he didn't want to lose a single one.
Luckily—
Everything went smoothly.
Under his watchful eye, each one of them began to change. As their ranks rose to "Queen," their auras started to shift—quietly, but powerfully.
"....."