The Punishment of A Demon General

I woke up to the hum of an engine. Opening my eyes, I could see that it appears I was dragged out and put in the middle once again while I was sleeping, not that I mind, though there's a bit of a problem with the soft thing pressing up against me.

Fluffy is sleeping while cuddling up to me, her arms have me in a death grip, her face pressed firmly cheek first against my breasts as she nooses. It looks like I've become a pillow...

Oh well, I like Fluffy, I'll tolerate it. Stroking her head, I watch the road ahead, long stretches of nothing fill my view. Human's generally only live in towns due to monsters and demons, so you won't really find much out here except maybe the occasional farm.

Of course, those aren't vulnerable either, I've attempted to attack one before back when I was suuuuper hungry. From what I know, they have subsidized guards that they exchange part of the crop harvest to the state to maintain defenses, since food is crucial.

Of course, farms still generally are located at least relatively close to towns to minimize travel, which means even if a force too large for the guards appear... They can flee to the town pretty quickly for backup.

Now, of course, I could easily just charm them all and go 'gimme', which I sometimes do to maintain food for my slaves at a cost effective price. It's just a pain in the ass to transport all the way home.

The heroine, thankfully, is in the front passenger seat. She isn't driving today, but it would have been really unpleasant to have her next to me the whole time, good feelings be damned. Still gonna kill her.

Finally, a town comes into sight after a few farms have been passed, the vehicle quickly parking aside one of the main roads in front of some sort of strange building. The heroine, Julia, and Killa who is sitting next to me, pop out, heading in.

Alone with a cute girl who is sleeping and I like? Temptation... But no, I don't know how long they'll be. I just watch the hustle and bustle of horse drawn wagons and the occasional car clattering, or vrooming by, the latter likely being less rich folk.

It's why we don't steal much in the way of cars from humans, the rich are a pain in the ass to deal with because they like bringing armies and stuff... Which for most demons results in a swift end, as nobody else wants to die for some brave idiot who decided to steal something.

And with the rarity of cars, comes the rarity of infrastructure in the demon lands to support said vehicles. Infrastructure is already kind of a secondary thought anyway, since it's everyone for themselves.

Why do I know all this? Unfortunately, Pride is a know-it-all and likes to 'teach us all lessons' as a method of showing his superiority over us flawed beings. I roll my eyes a bit to myself.

The three come back out, digging through the stuff in the back for a little bit, collecting it all into a fresh bag before heading back in.

I'm guessing this is the 'relief aid' that was being discussed about. Humans are weird. If the other person is weak, they should just die instead of groveling in front of the powerful.

At the very least the only benefit of human territory is the semi-paved roads, they help from getting lost. Occasionally demons will take some, but the Demon Lord has some very... Abstract ideas of war this time.

Previously, a lot of Demon Lords would go on a path of righteous conquest, purging the heretical who don't believe in the Demon God. Unfortunately for me, I ended up in a time where the Demon Lord is uh... Well, his plans are enigmatic at best.

I mean, why wouldn't you send every single Demon General to fight the heroine in a climactic triumphant battle, and completely crush the morale of humanity?!

Ugh, whatever. I continue petting my new slave, enjoying watching humans and occasionally other races wander around within the city, peddling wares, going to restaurants, working... Stuff like that.

... I just saw someone trip and three people stopped to help them up and check if they're okay. Humans are truly strange... And maybe the least bit interesting.

Finally, the three come back out, hopping into the humvee and getting ready to set out once again! I wonder when Fluffy will wake up?

As the town fades into the distance, replaced by farmlands, and eventually wilderness... I wonder a bit to myself, what would it have been like to be born human?

Would I be as powerful and beautiful as I am now? Or would I be one of the many pathetic dregs of humanity whose only goal is to scrape by a living while groveling under their superiors.

Perhaps an elf would be interesting too, I've always found their distinct architecture very pleasing to the eye, there's a reason my castle is build off of it. It still baffles me how I ever ended up affording a castle, though.

It was due to a loan from Greed, of course. Demon General Greeds are almost always in control of the banking system to ensure a stability that will not cause any sort of crash, to prevent currency from being devalued for their own sake.

Of course, there are plenty of Greeds who attempt to cause said crashes in an attempt to buy low sell high, but...

Meh, whatever. Anyway, I guess being born one of the beast-folk would be interesting as well. Having instinctual desires isn't too far off from being a demon, yet they are far more accepted into the world than one would think, despite their similarities.

Dwarves... Eh, take it or leave it. I don't like alcohol that much, and their food tastes kind of gross. They're also a lot of muscle in a short frame, where's my cute beauty?!

Funnily enough, the heroine's army of people back there are completely human. I have no idea why, but there's probably some complicated reason behind it. Racism, perhaps? That sounds funny.

Oooh, I could ask the heroine about it and make her awkwardly explain it! Hah! Perfect.

"Heeyy, heroine... Wanna tell me why your entire workforce is filled with humans?" I grin mischievously, looking at the back of her head before she turns to me.

"State law. Heroes and heroines are known for a lot of... Well, basically it's to prevent their harem from growing too fast, or depriving the main force with protective instincts or favoritism." What? What kind of law is that? I'm confused.

"Uh, how does... That work?" Now I'm just curious, a bit annoyed that she isn't reacting, but still curious.

"Basically we take less interest in humans than other races, so this is the only way to minimize the likelihood of turning half the army into a harem." She responds curtly.

Oh... Wait, why? I still don't get it honestly, but I feel like asking more questions would be unproductive, so I just return to my silence.

We pass through a couple more towns, the stops happening over and over again, finally arriving to what is presumably the last down as night is falling.

Fluffy had woken up at some point, but she seemed to be following the same thing as yesterday of 'I don't feel like talking', though this time I feel like it's because she seems especially dazed and happy today.

This town seems to have a lot of cat-folk and dog-folk? Interesting, I wonder why this town in particular has so many.

The architecture itself also seems to be a fair bit different from human dominated towns, though a few human styled buildings lie slewn about here and there.

I open my mouth to ask a question, but all four of them immediately hop out after parking, leaving me in silence.

I'm not lonely, okay?! I'm not! I take off my fabric shackles, laying down on the seat, not letting the warmth they had left from sitting escape, it can get pretty cold in here at night, not that it's too much of a bother to me, but being warm is still comfortable, alright?

Ughhhh... Time to be bored for hours again. I mourn the loss of my time as I poke around the leather seating, tugging it, pulling out cup holders, putting them back, pulling them out again, putting them back.

I look around briefly, making sure the heroine isn't coming... Before I crawl over the console, checking what's in the glove box curiously.

Papers... Napkins... Boring. Just as I try to pull back, the door opens to my side, causing me to jump and hit my head on the roof, causing me to clutch my head in pain. Ow!

"... I uh... I won't tell her." Fluffy says. Thank goodness it wasn't the heroine, and thank goodness Fluffy is a saint! Though, why is it her this time?

"The Lady Heroine asked me to take you somewhere interesting tonight, so... I don't really have any complaints about it, wanna go?" I beam towards Fluffy, my heart soaring. I get to go out! With Fluffy! Not the heroine!

Every fiber of my being cheers as she hands me a cloak, no more being woman-handled for this lady! I put it on without reserve, tugging it around my face tightly, excited. Appearances? Pshaw, I get to go do interesting things!

I follow her obediently, looking around properly at this strange town, the pavement feeling so firm under my feet, making me feel at ease. This isn't the first time I've been in a human town, but generally they're really... Difficult to maneuver yourself in. If there's even one holy mage in your vicinity they'll know and start raising hell everywhere to find you.

Honestly, I wonder what the heroine is doing about that? You'd think driving through each town would be making people go ballistic since there's a demon being detected... I don't get it, so whatever.

This is the first time a stroll has felt so 'casual' though, and it lets me focus on a lot of the interesting things. The eaves of the more dog/cat buildings curve up as they stick out. I actually know this one by myself! It's not a fact from Pride either!

The eaves of the houses stick out so far and curve because traditionally it would be used to catch rainwater whenever it would rain and store it. Roofs are culturally the pride of house ownership, more than anything else! Having a good roof indicates you're well off and that you have made your family flourish.

The rest of the outside details are far more simple, rounded windows with wooden cross-barring for reinforcement. Sometimes it can make it look like the house has a quaffed hair-do, and the windows are eyes, and the door is a mouth screaming in agony.

It's fun. The reason I know it is because some demons adopted that culture, so that it removes another resource to be competitive over. Not having to source water from nearby rivers which may belong to another demon who may or may not take kindly to you being there is super useful.

Honestly, this place makes me feel kind of nostalgic. A time when only survival was- wait, where did Fluffy go?

+A lost child! Quickly, go report yourself to the authorities!+

(No, I would die!)

+Psh, just use your cuteness to charm them.+

(No, I would die!)

+Fiiine... Anyway, to talk about something from earlier, it is true that it is law that only humans can join the heroine's forces, or serve as maids. Humans mostly summon humans, whether it's on purpose or accident, I dunno... But humans usually find other humans boring, and find other races interesting, so when you have a bunch of people applying to the army that just end up in the harem... Yeah.+

(You're one of the worst of them for fetishizing other races.)

+It causes a lot of dysfunction in the chain of command, can sow distrust and jealousy in the ranks, and all around just causes a whole lot of drama that isn't worth it. It's why I only add higher ranking members to my harem! That way it can be treated as a 'work your way up for a chance to win big!' for humans.+

Author's Note:

Poor Fluffy, she didn't know Ilvia would just unintentionally wander off while lost in thought.

Nobody can beat Ilvia's sense of direction if they are unprepared.

If you have your own Ilvia's, make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't run off!