"My lord!"
Hakurou bowed deeply, gratitude in his voice. "Thank you for your mercy…"
"Are you going to name me?" Kaede asked, not out of refusal but concern for Damien's foundation.
Her situation differed from Hakurou's.
Before receiving his name, Hakurou was a B+ rank majin, requiring only a few thousand magicules for naming.
The basic requirement for naming was to break through a major rank.
From B-rank to A-rank, A-rank to Special A-rank, Special A-rank to Demon Lord Seed (200,000 EP).
But Kaede, despite her current depleted magicules, had once surpassed 100,000 EP after inheriting the Tengu's God of the Mountain power.
To heal her, Damien would need to expend at least 200,000 magicules, elevating her from a few thousand to Demon Lord Seed status in one go.
Two hundred thousand magicules wasn't something to give lightly.
Kaede assumed Damien, in his youthful vigor, didn't grasp the risks.
But seeing Hakurou and the women around him unfazed, she realized Damien was serious.
"You're Hakurou's wife, which makes you, in a sense, my subordinate." Damien said.
In this world, there was a custom that a married woman belonged to her husband's family.
Previously, Kaede had to stay to raise Momiji, unable to join Hakurou.
Now things were different.
Momiji was independent, and it was time for Kaede to be with her beloved.
"This…"
Kaede couldn't refute Damien's logic. "Thank you for your recognition."
She and Hakurou were truly in love.
So, regardless of the rest of the Tengu, Kaede herself could accept Damien's reasoning.
"But my abilities are limited. Even with your aid, I can't offer much." Kaede said. "Rather than wasting magicules on me, it's better to let the Sword Savant serve you more effectively."
"It's not about strength or ability." Damien replied, shaking his head. "How could I, with the power to help, watch my subordinate's family suffer in bed?"
"You!"
Kaede was genuinely moved by his words.
Not for her abilities, nor for the Tengu.
He was saving her out of respect for Hakurou, no other reason.
"But… Mother's condition requires far more than 200,000 magicules." Momiji said, her body trembling with excitement and guilt.
Kaede's name came from her parents, now long gone, so Damien could rename her.
Momiji, named by Kaede, posed a challenge.
To overwrite Kaede's name, Damien would need to rename all majin named under her as well.
"I know. So it's not just Kaede-san, but Momiji-chan too." Damien said. "I'll perform the naming ceremony for both!"
This naming wouldn't change their names but would overlay them.
Damien's will and power would be etched onto their true names, establishing a soul corridor.
Naming required mutual consent.
Unilateral demands or forced naming wouldn't work.
For the named majin, accepting Damien's naming meant pledging eternal loyalty, unable to betray him.
Magicules were the essence of a majin's being.
Granting magicules was akin to giving flesh and blood.
It was no different from being reborn through a parent.
This bond made naming an unbreakable oath between majin hierarchies.
"Can you really do it?"
Momiji loved her mother dearly.
If Damien could save her, she'd serve him without complaint, even if it meant giving everything.
"If your magicules had exceeded 200,000, it would indeed be a strain for me." Damien said with a smile. "But now? It's just right."
In the original story, Momiji debuted with magicules rivaling Lion King Carrion.
To push her further would require nearly 800,000 magicules to break the million mark.
Add Kaede's 200,000, and that's a million magicules.
Spending a million magicules on a newcomer like Momiji would never fly with Rimuru's group.
In the future, maybe, but at that point, Momiji had no achievements, and the Tengu joined as allies, not subjects.
Rimuru, kind as he was, wouldn't have offered to heal Kaede's foundation.
"Your 100,000, plus Kaede-san's 200,000... 300,000 magicules. I can manage that." Damien said.
Seeing his confidence, Kaede and Momiji glanced at Hakurou.
Hakurou had no words, only bowing deeply to Damien, tears welling in his eyes.
To serve a lord like Damien in this life... he could die without regrets!
'Well…' Benimaru thought, moved. 'Lord Damien's kindness is a debt we can never repay.'
"Let's begin." Damien said, ignoring Benimaru's musings. "Oh, and Hakurou, it's time for you to level up too."
"Otherwise, being the weakest in the family would look bad."
"Thank you, my lord."
What more could they say? Their family owed Damien a debt they'd repay for the rest of their lives.
The Tengu?
What Tengu?
This was Lord Damien gracing his Sacred Mountain!
Three hundred thousand magicules.
The Tengu's God of the Mountain power was roughly that much.
To demand their submission, he offered them the equivalent of a God of the Mountain's might upfront.
If that didn't inspire loyalty unto death, what would?
Unless they were utterly ungrateful, they'd follow Damien with all their might.
Boom!!!
Under Damien's power, Hakurou, Kaede, and Momiji's magicules surged, instantly meeting the breakthrough threshold.
[Kaede]
[Race: Kunitsu]
[Magicules: 200,000 EP (Special A-rank Demon Lord Seed)]
[Unique Skill: God's Favored]
[Hakurou]
[Race: Oni]
[Magicules: 200,000 EP (Special A-rank Demon Lord Seed)]
[Unique Skill: Martial Master]
[Momiji]
[Race: Kunitsu]
[Magicules: 200,000 EP (Special A-rank Demon Lord Seed)]
[Unique Skill: Monkey Princess]
Their combined magicules increased by roughly 500,000.
The namer gained 15% of the magicules back, equating to 75,000 EP for Damien.
***
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