Became the Emperor of the Demon Realm Empire Chapter 20

Became the Emperor of the Demon Realm Empire

Chapter 20: Uncle, I love you

The Abyssal Gap, Tartarus.

Once the largest magic stone mining site on the demon continent, developed by the Dungeon Merchant Guild at the cost of immense capital and manpower.  

Currently, Tartarus accounts for 45% of the world’s magic stone production.

Its estimated reserves exceed 70% of the global supply, and that number continues to rise.  

However, the Dungeon Merchant Guild, which once monopolized Tartarus, was completely purged. 

The emperor, who founded the Demon Empire, seized full control of Tartarus immediately upon his coronation.  

A treasure island that might hold more value than the emperor’s palace itself.  

The emperor entrusted the entire management and supervision of Tartarus to the Lord of the End.  

Thus, all criminals and some rebels across the demon continent were granted the honor of laboring here.  

“……Hey, you hear about that?”  

“Yeah. They say there’s a monster among the new arrivals this time.”  

Deep underground in Tartarus.  

The prisoners, their tongues itching for gossip, whispered among themselves, ready to take a beating from the overseers.  

Conversation among inmates was taboo in the labor camp.  

It was a measure to prevent escapes and revolts, but also because an unknown ancient race still undiscovered slumbered in the depths of Tartarus.  

Often referred to as ‘Primordial Demonic Beasts’ , these entities were incomparably stronger than surface monsters. 

A single misstep could lead to annihilation.  

That was why all mining operations were done manually, without any explosives.  

Of course, no major incidents had occurred since the emperor’s reign.  

“I heard he got a 2,000-year sentence.”  

“We’re all criminals here, but that’s next-level. Basically a life sentence, isn’t it?”  

“Must’ve committed treason against His Majesty the Emperor. Whoever it is, they’re clearly insane. I wouldn’t even associate with them.”  

Prisoners nearing their release dates shuddered.  

After all, in their final years, even a falling leaf could be dangerous.  

When the overseer appeared, they shut their mouths and swung their pickaxes with renewed vigor.  

“That’s it for today! Everyone, move out!”  

“Whew, another day survived.”  

“Where are you headed now?”  

“Where else? The sewing workshop.”  

“Oh, you signed up for the hobby club too? I joined the art class this time.”  

“I’m in the reading group.”  

The long-term inmates laughed heartily as they ascended to the surface and headed to the lecture halls.  

Then, a sweet melody drifted from somewhere.  

♪♬~  

Familiar with the sound, the prisoners turned their heads toward the source, ready to sneer as usual.  

An orc ballerina in dancewear practiced graceful movements on a lonely stage, moving to the music.  

“Pfft—ha! That orc woman’s still at it.”  

“Guess she still can’t get any students.”  

“Obviously. What demon would embarrass themselves by joining a ballet class?”  

They snickered among themselves.  

Just as they were about to part ways and enter their respective classrooms—  

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!  

Applause erupted as the music ended. 

From the dimly lit audience seats, someone was giving a standing ovation.  

“Truly, your dance is worthy of the Orc God’s love.”  

“……Who are you?”  

“I am Warchief Kalzit of the orcs.”  

“……”  

“You are truly beautiful. May I ask your name?”  

A bald orc with one missing tusk offered a flower to the ballet instructor.  

The orc woman shyly accepted it.  

“You see all kinds of things in your final years…”  

The prisoners stood dumbfounded, staring at the bizarre scene for a long time.  

***  

“Meow. Meow meow.”  

“Lady Hilde! You’re doing great!”  

The vast grasslands under the blue sky.  

Sonia watched Hilde play with a ball, her eyes welling up with emotion.  

This was the moment her efforts bore fruit.  

“Just a little more, and I’ll give you some treats!”  

“Meow meow meow meow.”  

Reacting to the word treats, Hilde kicked a skull into the air with her hind legs.  

She then leaped up and smashed it down with a Nyan-Nyan Punch. 

The skull traced a destructive arc before landing perfectly in the goal.  

A score.  

“Clap, clap, clap! Good job~”  

When Sonia waved the treats from afar, Hilde’s tail shot up as she scampered over.  

Meanwhile, the skull rolling on the ground grimaced in displeasure.  

“…To think I, the emperor’s right hand and Grand Duke of the Empire, would be reduced to a plaything. That old hag and that bastard Bomin-dae—I’ll never forgive them.”  

Now effectively a ‘Dullahan’, Endymion crawled on his knees, searching for his skull in the grass.  

Feeling pity, Sonia almost picked it up for him but hesitated. Hilde, having lost interest, was already slinking back into her cat house.  

“H-Hilde! No! You have to exercise more!”  

“Fck off, meow.”  

“If you keep sleeping like this, your butt will sag… Huh?”  

Sonia’s eyes widened.  

For the briefest moment, it sounded like the cat had spoken.  

Her face paled as if she’d seen a ghost, and she frantically tapped Endymion’s spine.  

“E-Endymion! Did you hear that just now?!”  

“Stop tapping my back.”  

“No! Hilde just talked!”  

“I heard nothing. More importantly, do you know how it feels to be an undead who can’t vomit despite the nausea?”  

Leaving Endymion to his skull hunt, Sonia clutched her head in confusion.  

‘I could’ve sworn I heard something… Was I imagining it?’  

After a moment of internal debate, she nodded to herself.  

Well, I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Must’ve been hearing things.  

“Anyway, Lady Hilde! Come out now!”  

“……”  

“I won’t bring treats next time!”  

Despite Sonia’s threat, Hilde remained curled up, indifferent.  

Unable to tell if the cat was ignoring her or genuinely didn’t understand, Sonia felt her soul withering.  

Then Endymion suddenly approached and whispered:  

“Miss Sonia. Try that.”  

“Huh?”  

“That thing.”  

“……”  

Having reattached his skull, Endymion murmured with a devilish grin.  

“Hilde seems to like it when you do that dance.”  

“How do you know that?”  

“Just a hunch. I’ve spent enough time with His Majesty to understand Hilde well, don’t you think?”  

Lately, Sonia had racked her brain to bond with Hilde, testing over 100 methods based on her plans.  

Barking like a dog.  

Crawling like a worm.  

Running on her hands.  

Planting garlic (which the emperor loved) in the garden…  

Hilde ignored most of them, but there was one performance that caught her attention.  

“What’s the hold-up? Show us.”  

“……”  

But Sonia hesitated, too embarrassed.  

It was a ridiculous act she could only attempt if absolutely no one was watching.  

‘Well… Endymion already saw it once, and he didn’t laugh…’  

Steeling herself, Sonia suddenly shouted:  

“Lady Hilde! Watch closely!”  

“……”  

She turned around, stuck out her butt, and began swaying it side to side.  

“……?”  

When there was no reaction, she even tried writing letters with her hips.  

“Meow~”  

True to Endymion’s words, it worked.  

Encouraged, Sonia started spinning her hips in circles—up, down, left, right.  

“Huff… huff…! Ah! This is fun!”  

After about 10 spins, she suddenly felt something was off.  

‘Huh? Shouldn’t she be rubbing against me by now?’  

When she turned around, Hilde was no longer in the cat house.  

As Sonia stood confused, Endymion made a strange noise.  

“Kkh… kkh…!”  

“……?”  

“Pfft—HAHAHA! Ah, I almost died holding that in.”  

Endymion chuckled to himself, the remnants of laughter still shaking his shoulders.  

Sonia’s face flushed faintly.  

“…Sir Endymion. You said it wasn’t funny earlier.”  

“You really lack self-awareness, don’t you? That was a performance too good to keep to yourself.”  

“……”  

“Right, brother?”  

“…Huh?”  

Sonia whirled around.  

On a distant hill, lying beside Hilde with his belly exposed, the emperor’s blue eyes were fixed on her.  

“Seems dancing is trending in the empire lately.”  

As the emperor approached, Sonia was too mortified to lift her head. 

She wanted to bury her face in one of the holes she’d dug for planting seeds.  

Then the emperor spoke.  

“…You planted garlic?”  

“Y-Yes! Since they don’t grow garlic in the demon realm, I asked Lady Cecilia for seeds!”  

“Cecilia did…?”  

The emperor stood frozen for a moment before nodding.  

Meanwhile, Sonia desperately fanned her burning cheeks.  

“Ah, a flower bloomed here.”  

The emperor plucked a purple flower resembling a dandelion from the garlic patch and stored it in a spatial rift.  

‘Cecilia will like this as a gift.’  

Looking satisfied, he gave Hilde’s belly a few rubs before standing.  

“Imperial meeting. Follow me.”  

With that, the emperor strode ahead, Endymion silently trailing behind.  

Still dazed, Sonia hurried after them, touched that the emperor had come to fetch her personally.  

Then—  

[ Uncle. I love you. ]  

“……?”  

The emperor stopped and turned.  

Endymion and Sonia, who had also halted, exchanged puzzled looks.  

“Did you two hear something just now?”  

“Huh? I didn’t…”  

“Apologies. That was me passing gas.”  

While Sonia marveled at Endymion’s biological functions, the emperor stared at Hilde, who was watching him from the cat house.  

“……Must’ve misheard.”  

With that, he turned and resumed walking.