Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 3

## Chapter 3 – No. 25. Taking a Walk # 1

No. 25 got down on all fours like a dog and began to lick the Demon Lord’s feet. A subtle scent, completely devoid of any sweat, tickled the tip of his nose.

While savoring the scent, No. 25’s mouth didn’t rest. He meticulously ran his tongue between the Demon Lord’s toes, and sometimes, he greedily licked the entire instep. Shame was absent from No. 25’s mind. Instead, his head was filled only with thoughts of how to satisfy his master.

Why? Because if he failed to satisfy her, he would either be kicked out or killed, one of the two.

Desperately carrying out the Demon Lord’s orders, No. 25 discovered that he was getting aroused while licking her feet.

No, this wouldn’t do. If he let this obscene thing rise in front of the Demon Lord, he would surely die.

But the soft skin that made him forget he was even licking toes, the fragrant scent, caused No. 25’s member to slowly become engorged without any regard for the situation.

When he sucked on her clean big toe, the Demon Lord’s body twitched.

Then, for the first time, she uttered a sound of pleasure.

“Hng… not bad. Good, this is enough.”

At the word “enough,” No. 25 slightly raised his head, then carefully retreated backward.

His slightly lowered upper body was meant to conceal his fully erect manhood.

The Demon Lord’s eyes began to scan No. 25 again. It was a gaze that made him feel as if he were stripped naked. But fearing that even such inner feelings might be exposed, No. 25 accepted the Demon Lord’s gaze in a neither-here-nor-there posture, keeping his upper body lowered while straightening his body as much as possible.

The Demon Lord’s gaze, slowly descending, fixed on No. 25’s genitals.

“Stand straight.”

He couldn’t refuse the command. With a trembling body, No. 25 barely managed to maintain an attention stance, and his manhood, erect enough to lift his skirt, was revealed before the Demon Lord. No. 25 felt that his life was ending here. There was no room for excuses. A slave who gets aroused while licking his master’s feet.

“You… can’t control your lust?”

But contrary to No. 25’s expectations, the Demon Lord cleared her throat once and then asked in a rather gentle tone.

“I’m sorry…”

The only words No. 25 could utter were “I’m sorry.” From his childhood until now, the only words a slave who had lived confined in a small iron cage could say were “I’m sorry.” That was all. Even that was just a single phrase he had somehow learned in order to survive.

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s a natural phenomenon.”

The Demon Lord nodded slightly, as if satisfied, and asked No. 25 for the first time.

“What’s your name?”

“No. 25, ma’am.”

“That’s not a name, it’s a slave number, isn’t it?”

“It is my name…”

In his life, the only thing he owned was this name. Denying his name was no different from denying his very existence.

Even amidst the fear, No. 25 barely managed to maintain his conviction.

Fortunately, the Demon Lord didn’t ask any further about it.

“Is that so? You’re a peculiar one. Then I’ll call you No. 25 for the time being. If you ever want to receive a real name from me, let me know.”

The Demon Lord rested her chin on her hand, hmm – and crossed her legs, tapping her toes. The Demon Lord still didn’t send No. 25 back to his place. Keeping him about two steps away from her, she simply gazed at him as if looking at a prized possession.

“I haven’t told you my name.”

The Demon Lord paused for a moment, slightly raised the corners of her lips, and declared as if making an announcement.

“My name is Aser Olbers, and as you can see, I am the Demon Lord of the 7th District. Remember well the name of the one who will be your master from now on.”

After finishing her words, Aser tapped her feet again and gave No. 25 a simple order.

“Come here once more.”

No. 25 was Aser’s doll. A doll made of flesh and blood that moved according to her commands.

As he stood before Aser and lowered his head deeply, Aser grabbed No. 25’s chin and lifted his head straight.

Turning his chin from side to side, Aser slowly observed No. 25’s face and smiled, revealing her white teeth, as if satisfied.

“Not bad at all. I have a good eye for people.”

What was she saying was “not bad”? No. 25 couldn’t understand Aser’s words. However, he could instinctively sense that he hadn’t given her a bad impression.

Aser jumped up from her seat, grabbed No. 25’s hand, and headed somewhere.

At the sudden touch, a dark sense of unease began to sprout again in No. 25’s once peaceful mind.

Where are we going? Torture, perhaps? The slaughterhouse? Maybe the bath was to improve the taste of the meat?

The place Aser took No. 25 was a large dining hall.

The table was laden with foods that No. 25 had never seen in his life.

“Let’s eat.”

At Aser’s words, No. 25 lowered his head and was looking under the table for the food bowl allocated to him. Aser, who was watching this with a puzzled expression, grabbed No. 25 by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

“What are you looking for so intently?”

“Ah… my food bowl…”

As he carefully opened his mouth, Aser stared blankly at No. 25’s eyes as if she couldn’t understand for a moment. When he ate in that iron cage, they always gave him leftovers in a dog bowl.

No. 25 naturally thought that would be the case here as well, and he was about to wait under the table for the leftover food to fall.

Aser frowned for a fleeting moment, as if she understood the whole situation.

“Don’t worry about that kind of thing. From now on, your place is here.”

Aser said that and carefully placed No. 25 next to her.

No. 25 couldn’t eat the food placed before him and kept swallowing saliva. Looking around, the others were already eating with familiar expressions. The fact that the servants were eating before the Demon Lord had even picked up her spoon added to No. 25’s confusion.

“Eat. The chef showed off his skills because a new member was coming.”

Was the food in front of him really allocated to him? The food placed before No. 25 felt like a dream. Meat was something that was only occasionally given out as scraps when the ogre was in a very good mood, and he never thought he would see it in its proper form like this.

As No. 25 was about to eat with his hands, he looked at the people around him and carefully picked up the cutlery placed before him. The knife and fork, which he was using for the first time, were unfamiliar, and he kept splattering food everywhere or getting it on his clothes.

Each time, No. 25, who was intimidated by the thought of being scolded, was not scolded by Aser, but was gently admonished in a soft voice.

“It seems you’re not used to it? You’ll be using it often from now on, so it’s better to learn.”

Eating without being scolded was the first time since he was kidnapped by the slave trader. Wasn’t eating always an obligation that had to be completed as quickly as possible in the midst of suffering? No. 25 was already shedding tears.

Aser was quite taken aback when she saw No. 25 suddenly shedding tears. A slave crying while eating was a first in her Demon Lord life. Aser hurriedly received a handkerchief from the maid next to her and began to wipe away No. 25’s tears.

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t the food suit your taste?”

“Ah, no… I don’t really know…”

“I don’t really know.” That was neither No. 25’s true feelings nor a lie. Clearly, something was welling up in his heart, but he had no idea how to explain this feeling. That’s why he glossed over it with the words “I don’t really know.”

“I see. How about we go for a walk after we finish eating? I’d like to show you around the territory.”

No. 25 nodded vigorously. A walk was something he couldn’t even dream of when he was trapped in his small world.

After finishing his tear-soaked meal, No. 25 waited endlessly for Aser in the small room at the end of the hallway that had been assigned to him.

When the ogre said he would come later when he was still trapped in the iron cage, only vague fear welled up, but it was different now. Was it okay for only him to be this happy, leaving behind his other family members? Even such thoughts were slowly creeping in.

But those happy thoughts were soon shattered.

What Aser, who had said they would go for a walk, was holding in her hand was a dog collar.