The Author's POV

The room's atmosphere became oppressive, suffocating all those within.

The butler on the side and another demon present in the room brandished their weapons and pointed them toward the human seated opposite the Duchess.

Under the pressure that surrounded them, perspiration began to form on the sides of their faces. This was despite the fact that they were all within the Duke realm.

Priscilla wasn't in a much better state, and her eyes shook under the tremendous pressure.

"P-prince rank…h.how is this possible?"

There was an undisguised shock in her voice. Never did she imagine that the hooded figure would turn out to be a Prince ranked entity. An entity that stood at the very peak of existence.

'No, although it's close to Prince rank, it's still just a little bit off...'

It was still far superior to her strength.

A bone-chilling voice echoed throughout the room as his mouth parted open.

"…Your misunderstanding started from the very moment you thought I cared about such matters."

Hearing the voice, shivers ran down her back. The gaze with which he looked at her made her feel insignificant.

Just a couple of words from him, and everything changed. Originally, she was planning on using the information to have him join her side. In her eyes, he was an existence that she could make use of.

Plus, since they had already settled their debt, they owed each other nothing.

...It was a pity that she had kicked an iron plate.

He wasn't someone who could be controlled. Priscilla came to understand this the hard way.

She took a deep breath while gripping the armrest of her chair tightly. By the second breath, her gaze became calm again, and she met his eyes.

"Alright, then. Let me hear what you're here for."

She accepted the situation rather quickly. She didn't have much of a choice. With her grandfather, not present due to the matters regarding the World Decree, she had no way to get out of the situation.

She'd gain nothing from fighting against them.

"Good. It looks like you're easy to talk to."

The human smiled. The tension that had been suffocating the room dissipated almost as rapidly as it had arisen, and as soon as it did, she experienced an immediate sense of relief.

He then crossed his legs.

"I won't waste much of your time. I want to cooperate with you."

"Cooperate?"

"Yes. Cooperate."

He put further emphasis on the word 'cooperate', as if trying to show that he wasn't trying to take advantage of her.

'Tsk, let's hear this out.'

Of course, Priscilla didn't really put much thought into his words. She was a demon, and she naturally understood that there was no such thing as true 'cooperation'. One side always tended to lose out, and given what had happened before, she didn't believe for one second that he was actually going to propose a fair deal.

"The cooperation is rather simple."

The man grasped the edges of his hood, slowly lowering it to reveal his face. Jet black hair, deep blue eyes, and pale skin. In that moment, Priscilla finally managed to see what lay behind the hood.

'As expected, he's a human.'

shock. It

He continued.

exchange for helping you, I want

"Helping me?

had to take a moment to digest his words. An odd look then spread

exactly are

he had the strength similar to that of a Prince ranked demon, he was by no means capable of fighting against seven other Prince ranked demons. He was

worry about my

was a smile that exuded self-assurance, and for some reason that Priscilla was

Somewhat.

infectious, she was not the type of person

her and leaned forward, pressing her elbows against her thighs while keeping her hands

What exactly

"Nectar."

a simple word. Yet, the moment that those words escaped from his mouth, Priscilla's face underwent

'...As expected.'

the same nectar that

nectar is

"…This fucking."

and she let slip her true personality. She leaned against the

probed a little

much do

"Enough for four people."

"…Aooo."

be capable of producing such a sound. However, at that precise moment,

been in her normal state of mind, she would've been too embarrassed to speak. But

rob me at this point! Do you

her mouth at the beginning of each of her

for one person, but three more people?

Nectar.

more precise―World Nectar―was something that was almost as rare as the purest devil fruit that could be

though it didn't have the same effects as the devil fruit, it still had the amazing ability to make one's

material was extremely valuable to demons,

the room. He didn't finally

"Are you done?"

his tone a little

it

"Good."

His smile made Priscilla feel mildly irritated, but she

He continued.

I'm also very well aware of how much the upcoming

and Priscilla felt her breath

rest, and in

"That, but…"

"But, what?"

"But."

unable to refute. Muttering another 'but' her mouth promptly shut, and her back

and if his words are true, then

though she didn't have it.

what her grandfather

won't kill me,

she found a way

capability of achieving what he had

and the others

A risk.