It's been a week since I freed my older sister, and today she left for the Abyss through some kind of portal. It was so strange spending this time with her because she actively ignored me.

At the very least, though, she took good care of Eclipsya and taught her a few things. Now it's my turn to prepare to leave, so I have to have a talk with Zephyra about her clear dislike for Lycoris.

I also need to deal with Amiya since she's still down in the prison, doing nothing but wasting resources like a burden. She's in a special room that looks normal. I decided I'll deal with Amiya first and then with Zephyra.

So, I'm heading down there to resolve this. I'm thinking about what to do with Amiya, but as I'm passing through the prison, one person immediately catches my attention, making me stop.

"..." I look at the person in the cell. The castle's cells hold the most "problematic" prisoners found during the war, and the person behind the bars looks back at me.

"Hi, Pandora..." she says. I hadn't imagined she would be here.

"Fake Akari..." It's that Akari clone who was leading the academy. I thought she had run away after the kingdom fell, but it seems she's here.

"How did you end up here?" I ask, and she gives me a smile.

"Fake Akari? That's a bit... mean... I surrendered, obviously. They reached the academy and killed almost everyone. All that was left for me was to surrender," she says with a broken smile.

"..."

"Didn't you desire freedom?" I ask, remembering our last conversation. She was clearly supposed to be free and wanted to leave after my plans were concluded.

"...Yes, but our deal was still in effect. The kingdom hadn't fallen yet at that point, so I couldn't leave... I was supposed to stay at the academy, and that's when they invaded and found me," she says as I lean against the prison bars.

"...What happened to Celeste? Is she alive? She was relatively talented among humans. If she's alive, I think I'll turn her into a demon," I ask, remembering her. Even though she was inconvenient, she was still someone I knew directly.

"She was killed... a woman named Calypso killed her. She was also the one who captured me... Celeste even tried to fight, but she stood no chance of winning... But she was still a powerful noble. Her pride wouldn't let her surrender or run away." When she says that, I just nod.

'What a pity... she would have made a good demon... with her light magic, she had the potential to even become a commander or general of a small army.'

"I see... It's a shame, I suppose, but it was a war, so her death was inevitable if she resisted. I should even commend her for not giving up and fighting to the death. So tell me, Akari, have they told you what you'll be used for?" I ask as she stares into my eyes.

"A slave. They said they're going to send me to a factory to provide milk, though they didn't explain more than that. They just said that since I surrendered, I was assigned to help with that and that my body would be useful." When she says this, I feel slightly disappointed.

'...What a waste of intellect... perhaps...'

"Fake Akari, how about I propose something to you?" When I say this, she looks interested.

"What would it be?"

"Fake Akari, the real Akari has fallen far. Now she's just a whore who lives for sex with Velvet. Honestly, nothing remains of that strong woman who tried to stay neutral... Well, she found her happiness with the girl she loved, so I guess it's fine."

"But Akari was useful. I even had plans to ask Akari for help with some things because of her knowledge, but since she's more of a prostitute than a headmistress now, she's lost a lot of her actual utility."

"Although I still have Velvet to ask for advice, I'd prefer not to intrude on their lives, so Akari and Velvet probably can't help me much with what I want."

"However, it's also a fact that this is a waste. Akari was still the strongest human mage with a high intellect. You inherited most of her memories, right? How about becoming a teacher at my kingdom's academy?"

"If you become a teacher, you'll be freed from prison. You'll be able to live your life with 'freedom' to a certain extent, you'll be paid adequately, and although you won't be headmistress anymore, I think a position as a teacher is suitable," I say honestly.

"Why are you saving me?" she asks suspiciously, and I give a malicious smile.

"Because you're more useful as a teacher than as a milk cow. You have far more to offer by teaching demons than being stuck in a factory producing milk with your tits."

"This is called business. You understand, don't you? It's not like I hate you, and since I don't hate you, I can offer you benefits in exchange for a positive return... but if you don't accept, this conversation ends here. I won't force you to choose."

"However, I can affirm that either of the two choices is acceptable. If you choose to live in the factory, you'll be bound to tentacles, fucked with aphrodisiacs while your milk is drained without rest, which is very pleasurable. So for some girls, it's a paradise."

"And if you choose to be a teacher, you gain partial freedom to build your life as you wish. The biggest difference between one choice and the other is how much freedom you'll have, since as a milk producer your freedom will be zero, and you'll have no rest because you'll be a slave."

"..."

"I can be a teacher?... Alright... I prefer that... I choose to be a teacher. A life spent only producing milk seems profane, vile, and unpleasant, regardless of how pleasurable it is," she says, and I nod.

"Excellent choice, Fake Akari. I'll have the servants come to release you later. Now I have to deal with Amiya," I say, leaving her there and continuing downstairs.

'Amiya...' I think about Amiya. She is a true "anomaly"—the only hero I actively don't make suffer. All those I hate I left in eternal torment, but Amiya escapes that.

'I don't want to be Amiya's babysitter, but I have a contract with the Stars, so I can't just get rid of her... She's not fit to be a teacher, and putting her as Shogo's slave isn't suitable...' I arrive at a door sealed with magic; this is Amiya's room, with a red and black, ominous door.

"..." I open the door and enter without warning. What I see immediately is Amiya and those two dragon maids in a very awkward situation. Amiya is only in her underwear and seemed to be changing? But something doesn't seem right about the 'changing' part.

"...I don't want to know what you were trying to do. I only came here because I have to deal with you," I say, ignoring everything in the messy room.

"P-Pandora, I—"

"Quiet, Amiya." I immediately silence her, having no patience to deal with this. Since I'll be spending a long time in the Abyss soon, I won't have time to deal with her.

"Amiya, frankly, you're utterly useless," I say with mockery and disdain as I approach her. The two white dragon maids bow on the floor with obvious fear.

"You're in an unpleasant gray zone. I can't kill you, torturing you is pointless, but you also don't give me anything useful... You know what that means?" I ask as she trembles, avoiding my gaze.

"..."

"Tell me, Amiya. What can you do for me? What can you provide that's useful?" She doesn't answer for a while, until she seems to have an idea.

"I-I can help with the use of magic!! The Stars said they can help with knowledge! They tell me what to do and I do it!!" she says, and I think about what she just said.

'The Stars themselves?... I'm sure the Stars just told her what to say...' This is interesting. Amiya's magic, however strange, is undeniably powerful.

"Great. Then you will pass on knowledge to my servants and help them with it. You want to live here safely, don't you? Then be useful. I'll have you properly released."

"You'll have to give at least 2 to 4 hours of lessons per day to selected servants, helping them understand the magic of the Stars, magical contracts, and the physical adjustments you went through. Your magical girl outfits are something interesting," I say, and she looks hopeful.

'Although this was already what I wanted, having the Stars cooperating makes everything better.' I'm mainly interested in the magical girl outfit. She normally has a specific power per outfit, which is interesting.

Because it means she can use powers she normally couldn't. I, as the Demon King, can use any type, but most people can't use just any kind of power.

"T-Thank you for the chance..." she says, and I just nod without much interest. I'll leave it to the servants.

The only reason I'm doing this is because it might be useful. Besides, in an emergency, Amiya can be used as a weapon by my kingdom, since she is very strong.

"Now I have to go. I only came here for that..." I start to leave the room. I'm going to see Zephyra now. I still need to have a conversation with her, and she's much better now than before.

Although it's more of an act, she is "fine," but this "fine" is just a pretense of normality. She still can't eat normal food, she still clearly dislikes Lycoris, and she still prefers to be only near me.