The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"do not want!"

Gray: "..."

It's impossible to reason with a stupid dog like that, so Gray decided not to argue with her.

The most pressing issue is how to explain the sudden high fever in the dog Zeta.

Although Gray's Demon Lord physique meant that Zeta's body temperature wouldn't burn him before it melted, Gray didn't think that the temperature rise would endanger his life. After all, there were no strange magical fluctuations, and excluding any tampering (magic, curses, etc.), Zeta's magical power was far less violent than during battle, so it shouldn't be considered a dangerous magical rampage.

But Zeta looks really uncomfortable right now, so we definitely need to solve this problem as soon as possible.

Gray quickly asked, "Zeta, do you know why you suddenly have a fever?"

"do not know!"

Gray was quite exasperated by the answer, which came without any thought.

Although Gray also felt that, given the dog's intelligence, it was highly unlikely that it would know the cause of the fever.

"Ok?"

Gray suddenly jolted, as if he had been subjected to some kind of shock.

Indeed, Zeta the dog's tongue was quite mischievous, already pressed against Gray's face, leaving behind wet saliva.

Wild animals typically smear their prey with saliva before eating.

This is because the saliva of wild animals can lubricate food, making it easier for them to swallow.

Gray inexplicably thought of this scenario.

But how could Zeta, the dog, suddenly want to eat him?

"Zeta? What are you doing? Your face is covered in drool."

The sticky feeling made Gray a little uncomfortable, but he wouldn't scold Zeta the dog for it.

"The boss smells really good, so Zeta wants to lick him."

Zeta, the dog, whose face had turned bright red from the fever, showed a hint of infatuation.

Then, not only the tongue, but also the hands and feet started to get restless.

"So hot……"

Because of the heat, he had to remove his armor, which revealed a large expanse of white skin to Gray.

Perhaps it's because humans find it extremely difficult to feel lust towards animals; no other Shadow Servant, Gray, would have reacted this way...

Surprisingly, Gray didn't have any ulterior motives at first. Instead, he said helplessly, "You finally remembered the basic common sense of putting on clothes when it's cold and taking off your armor when it's hot?"

Do you now realize the common sense that two people huddled together will get hotter?

Unfortunately, Zeta the dog didn't think of the common sense in the second half of the sentence.

It seems that Zeta isn't planning to let Gray go. Although it's hot, it's not too uncomfortable. Gray can work on solving the overheating problem while he's under the effects of the debuff.

"Why are you touching me like that? I told you it'll make me even hotter!"

Gray raised his voice a little, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Zeta the dog.

There are two main ways to increase temperature: doing work and heat transfer.

Aren't we trying to find a way to cool down Zeta the dog right now?

Why is Gray, who isn't feeling unwell, constantly watering her to cool her down? On the contrary, Zeta, the dog who is feeling unwell, is doing things that are completely opposite to cooling her down.

"Fine, who's hotter, you or me..."

Gray said helplessly.

Just a little weird.

Zeta the dog's actions are basically based on instinct. Even if she's stupid, her instincts will tell her how to dissipate heat the most, right?

But her behavior only made her fever worse.

"Wait, Zeta?"

Gray gradually sensed that something was wrong.

If Zeta the dog was acting correctly based on instinct...

Wasn't her instinct to crave the release of heat?

That makes sense when you think about it that way.

But if it wasn't trying to cool down, then what is Zeta's instinct... craving?

The word "appetite" was immediately dismissed by Gray.

Although there is behavior like smearing saliva, which is very similar to the behavior of wild animals before eating, it is definitely not appetite.

Zeta's appetite is nowhere near that exaggerated, and when he has an attack, the physiological phenomenon is not a fever all over his body.

What other possibilities are there?

Gray pondered that this should be analyzed based on Zeta the dog's behavior.

Zeta the dog pounced on him, clinging to him tightly, its tongue and limbs moving restlessly.

These actions, compared to appetite and other random things, somehow seem...so erotic?

Upon thinking of the word "erotic," Gray's body seemed to instantly become aware of something.

Zeta, the dog in front of me who looks like a pet, somehow appears quite handsome...

Thinking about it this way, Zeta's figure is actually quite good; his two most prominent features are only inferior to a certain pink-haired succubus among the Ten Shadows.

Perhaps it's the "big bear, no brain" rule, but the dog Zeta is much more voluptuous than the catgirl Aita, who is also a demi-human...

Wait... what nonsense am I thinking...?

Just when Gray finally managed to shake off his distracting thoughts, Zeta's increasingly lewd behavior slowly pulled him back to the right track.

Gray already has some clues about Zeta's situation; all he needs to do now is confirm them.

"Zeta, although you don't know why you have a fever, you still remember what happened before the fever started, right?"

Zeta the dog seemed engrossed in her question and didn't answer Gray, so Gray had to stop her while repeating the question again.

After being thwarted and failing to outmatch Gray with brute force, Zeta the dog finally began to answer obediently:

"After Zeta ate (which could be considered a late-night snack at this time), he encountered a pink-haired succubus. The pink-haired succubus gave Zeta a cup of something... 'tea'? Then the pink-haired succubus called Zeta to the boss's place, and he started to have a fever on the way there..."

After hearing Zeta's story, the case was finally solved.

"Kappa!!!!!!!!!!"

Gray roared at the sky.

This was clearly the work of the pink-haired succubus, and now Gray roughly understood what she had done.

That suspicious "tea" could never be real tea. Considering Kappa's nature, it must have contained an aphrodisiac.

In other words, the truth about Zeta the dog, nicknamed "Hot-Tempered Princess," is that it's in heat like an animal.

No wonder I'm so hot all over and haven't tried to cool down. The problem isn't whether my body is hot or not, but that my sexual desire isn't being satisfied.

Regarding Kappa's motives, Gray could only say that he couldn't understand why she would do such a thing, only that the pink-haired succubus really wanted to do it.

After understanding, Gray realized that it wouldn't be life-threatening, but if Zeta's heat wasn't relieved, he would continue to suffer until the effects of the "unknown substance" added by Kappa ended.

If we don't help, things will probably stabilize on their own, but dealing with Zeta, who's basically irrational...

Escape is possible.

but……

"Lord Shadow Demon, the effects of this medicine will not wear off over time."

The telepathic message, seemingly from nowhere, blocked Gray's escape route.