47 Chapter 8 (4): How NOT to keep a low profile, part 2

Chapter 8 (4): How NOT to keep a low profile, part 2

"... maybe 'The Demon Lord's Harem' would be a good name?" (Ryuu)

For several seconds, everyone nearby stopped breathing or moving even a single muscle. Iroh snapped out of it first, and he walked closer to me.

"I... uh, one thing... I'm asking this way so nobody overhears, so... you said that everyone in the party will marry the Demon Lord, but you also said that you were going to marry the heir to Lars a while back. I also know that one member of your party is the aforementioned heir to Lars... with a bit of logical deduction, one could figure out that you're probably the Demon Lord herself, right? Unless you are going to be one of her wives while being married to another of her wives, which... I don't see how that would really work, honestly" (Iroh)

"I'm going to have to tell you to keep that deduction to yourself, but yes, my name is Miryuu Maou" (Ryuu)

"Very well... So, forgive me for saying this, but... 'Nobody much' my ass" (Iroh)

"Why should I have to forgive you for saying that? I said it the way I did so that you would have exactly that reaction when you learned the truth" (Ryuu)

"You... I hate you, you know that? Well, not really. I actually hate myself now... See, you made me feel like a fucking schlemiel for the way I'd been treating you, so... I'm sorry for any disre-" (Iroh)

As he spoke, he began to bow in an apologetic manner, which I stopped by grabbing his horns and lifting his head up somewhat forcefully. He winced, of course, but he stayed looking at me when I released him.

"Please, don't be like that. I rather prefer people who are informal and act casually around me like you were doing. You did nothing wrong, because you didn't know and couldn't be expected to know what I was hiding from everyone... Also, Schlemiel? Do you have rabbitkin blood, or what? That's a term whose use is mostly associated with their culture, from what I know" (Ryuu)

"Well, yes, actually. I learned that from my grandmother, who's half rabbitkin, half demon. By the way, the other names for that type of halfbreed are 'battle bunnies' and 'night rabbits'... and succubi" (Iroh)

I laughed, Iroh hung his head, and the rest of the people nearby started to move and breathe again. A few seconds later, one of them spoke in a slightly disdainful manner.

"That's a pretty bold claim... though, with the fact that you caught one demon general and killed another, I guess that you have the kind of strength that would get the Demon Lord to notice you" (Adventurer)

After a few more minutes of talking, the guildmaster, along with a few A and S ranks and the rest of my party, arrived at the scene. With their arrival, the other adventurers seemed to relax, and after a quick discussion, my party was determined to have committed not a single crime besides creating noises over the limit for how loud they could be. The designated request was marked as illegal, and thus, we didn't have to do it, yet we still got the completion reward (though it didn't get put on our records) and the one making the request was subject to an investigation. The two generals, one living, one dead, were both taken to Lars's place, at which point he took them to the palace for the guards and inquisitors to deal with them, with oversight by Lars.

After that, we went back to the guild to take the request to defeat that hydra, and on the way, I brought up the matter of our lack of a party name.

"Well, I have no ideas. We don't really have any defining similarities, besides being an all-female party... well, there are some things that we might not want to be public knowledge as well" (Char)

"I'm with you on that one... we could go with something simple relating to our lack of males, but..." (Mae)

"I... got nothing... as well" (Elise)

"Perhaps something about Ver, or rather, the eleventh divine beast?" (Haru)

"Oh, that's a good idea" (Char)

"There are already several parties like that, including 'Searchers of the Eleventh' and 'Divine Beast's Guardians' so we'd just blend into the crowd too much for my liking" (Tuare)

"And I'm not a fan of being the focal point of the party, when it should be Ryuu" (Ver)

"In that case, how about something like 'The Demon Lord's Harem'?" (Ryuu)

"That would antagonize many people in the human lands, and would also make us stand out in a bad way here, I think" (Haru)

"True, but some in the human lands would think it's just a joke. In addition, if we do a lot of good deeds with that name, we might make humans have a more favorable opinion of demons" (Ryuu)

"Hmm... well, I guess that's a fair point. I'm fine with it" (Char)

"Same here" (Elise)

"Eh, why not? Oh, I know! We should get matching rings to symbolize our all being engaged to the same person! I mean, we should do that in any case, now that I think about it" (Ver)

"If you're all fine with it, I see no problem" (Mae)

"Count me in. Who cares about some people disliking the name? If they attack us over it, we'd still be fine, after all. In fact, if we just disable our attackers without hurting them much at all, we might change their minds about us in that way too" (Tuare)

"Oh, fine. The main problem I have with it right now is in regards to what people would think if my identity got exposed, but that would happen in a few years in any case. However... the guild might have a problem with it, as our deeds could reflect badly on the name of the Demon Lord" (Haru)

"Well, if we got a written statement with my seal, saying that it's fine for our party to use my name, it should be perfectly fine, right? I'll write one now" (Ryuu)

I did exactly that, and then we went into the guild to register our party name.

"Hello, what can I help you with today?" (Receptionist)

"We'd like to register a name for our party, as it wouldn't do for a party made entirely of B and A ranks to be nameless, right?" (Ryuu)

"That sounds fine. The first registration is free, but it will be 3 large silver coins per person to change the name in the future, understood? If so, what would you like the name to be?" (Receptionist)

"We'd like our party to be known as 'The Demon Lord's Harem'... Uh... something wrong?" (Ryuu)

As soon as I'd said the name, the receptionist froze, and silence spread like a wave throughout the building, broken by a few whispers here and there. It was what I'd expected, though the scale was a bit larger than I'd thought it'd be.

"Did she just say... The Demon Lord's harem? That's too much, even as a joke. I must've misheard" (Male A)

"I heard that too... I thought jester's day is next month?" (Male B)

"For them to say something like that... Like, I don't even recognize those girls..." (Female A)

"They're all B ranks, lead by an A rank. Thing is, I heard they're from the human lands. Why would they sign their death warrants with that name? Do they not plan on going back?" (Male C)

"Uh... I'm going to need to talk to the guildmaster... just a moment..." (Receptionist)

She fled upstairs, and a few seconds later, the guildmaster came down in her place.

"I'm sorry, but that name is going to have to change. We can't have any blame for tarnishing the name of the Demon Lord - not that I'm saying that you would do anything to do so, but... just in case... After all, having someone claim to be the lover of the Demon Lord is... it's just..." (Guildmaster)

"It's just the truth. If the only problem with the name is that you're worried about liability in the case that we do anything to besmirch the name of the Demon Lord, then there's no problem there" (Ryuu)

I handed him what I'd just written and put my seal onto, and he read it quickly. He looked at us, blinked, read it again, and repeated the process a few more times before he believed what his eyes were telling him.

"Eh? I... if... well... I... I guess... with this, there's no problem... Can... can I have your cards?" (Guildmaster)

"Wait... does that mean... she's actually backed by the Demon Lord? Or even one of her lovers?" (Male B)

"But they're from the human lands..." (Male C)

"Actually, you're only half right. Ryuu was born around here, Tuare is Lars's daughter, and Elise is from the high elf village in the forest of mist and dreams. Verene is from a group that wanders without care for any borders, and yes, the other three are from the human lands. Even so, it doesn't mean that they couldn't have met the Demon Lord and fallen in love or anything like that" (Iroh)

"Technically, save for Tuare, nobody in the party first met Miryuu in the demon lands, instead, all of the meetings took place in the human lands. And yes, I can hear all of you murmuring" (Ryuu)

Soon after that, we got our cards back, the name of our party displayed for all to see, and we took the request for the hydra subjugation. About four hours later, we were back, and we sold the materials from it as the quest was getting marked as completed.

After another week or so in the capital, we left as guards for a merchant heading towards the border, passed through a few other towns mostly uneventfully, and reached the border just fine... I'm joking, a lot of things happened at several of the towns we passed through. Ver dealt with, or rather, tamed, a small pack of wyverns that was harassing one town to the brink of collapse, another was struggling with a bandit problem (by the time we left, it actually had become 'had a bandit problem' in the past tense) and then, some form of the following happened at most of the rest.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" (Receptionist)

"We're here to mark the completion of a request and to sell some materials" (Ryuu)

"May I see your cards?" (Receptionist)

"Here you go" (Ryuu)

"Eh? Your party name... The Demon Lord's Harem?" (Receptionist)

And then adventurers picked fights with us, backed away in fear, or a few other things like that, as rumors spread quickly, to the point that it became impossible to eat or sleep anywhere... not because they wouldn't let us, but because they wouldn't let us pay for it. Once, we got arrested for impersonation of royalty, but that was quickly cleared up, unlike the last two times... Anyways, after repeating that every few days for three months, we reached the border in a different location to where we'd first crossed. The border guards on the demon side were fine with the name, and so we passed through easily... however, on the human's side...

"Oh, a group of adventurers... cards, please" (Border Guard)

"Here you go" (Ryuu)

"Looks fi... ne... care to explain the party name?" (Border Guard)