Demon Dukes

The Demon Dukes, or Dukes of Darkness, are the heads of four demonic noble houses and key characters in the overarching plot of the anime and especially the Manga. Roughly corresponding with the four classical elements, (Fire, water, earth, air) they each rule their own duchy in the lands of magical species and theoretically serve and protect the Demon King above all else. In practice though, they act with great independence and have vary greatly in terms of culture, presence in the story, and even loyalty to their theoretical master. These differences only become greater as Genzo Shibata is summoned as the hero, casts aside his formal quest, and unwittingly befriends members of the noble houses on his new mission to take the Demon King as a pet.

It is possible for a human to gain access to the Demon King if all four of the dukes (or their heirs) deem them worthy, something that Genzou makes his mission. His progress towards this goal becomes a growing source of consternation for the demon dukes and their family members who have befriended him.

Since the story arc about the four families predominately plays out in the manga as opposed to the anime, this article primarily focuses on the manga continuity.

## House of Fafnir

The House of Fafnir is the first of the Demon Duke families introduced to the audience, in the form of Hanako. A proud, militaristic family of dragons, they rule a duchy populated almost entirely by fellow dragonkin. Their current presumed head, Hanako's father, is strict, physically imposing even in his humanoid form, and fixated on the traditional rules and prerogatives of a noble household. When he learns of Hanako's whereabouts and that she produced a magic orb, he finds Genzou's shop to confront him and take him back home to assess this strange man. Upon realizing that Genzou is one of the fabled heroes periodically summoned into their world, he devises a plan to defeat, humiliate, and ultimately force him onto their side by having him face the captain of his guard in an arena specifically enchanted to disable a hero's magic. So certain is Hanako's father that this will work that he accepts whatever conditions Genzou asks (ranging from Hanako being free to choose her own spouse to her parents going to live at the store), but the plan spectacularly fails when Genzou defeats his opponent anyway in the arena.

Fortunately for them, Genzou abruptly drops some his more absurd demands, and merely walks away with Hanako still at his side and the Fafnir family's grudging, bewildered respect.

## House of Fenrir

A family of noble wolf-men, the House of Fenrir is (in the manga anyway) the second of the Demon Duke families directly introduced to the audience. Readers only meet two of its members - the young wolf-girl Felicia (or Fubuki, as the main cast calls her), and her older brother. An educated guess would state that their father is the current head and duke, since Fubuki mentions that he always eats first before anyone else. In practice, the older brother is the primary voice of the family's "official" positions.

Of the demon duke households, the house of Fenrir appears to be the most hostile to humanity and most loyal to the Demon King. Just before age ten, members may enter a coming of age ritual where they must enter human territory and kill a hunter. This is what first brought Fubuki to the human town of Cluster, where Genzou's pet shop is located, and when she decides that not all humans are bad and abandons her original mission, her brother comes down and accuses her of fraternizing with their sworn enemies and berates her failure of the Fenrir trial. Despite the main cast's best efforts, the brother takes Fubuki back with him.

## House of Hydra

Ruling a large swath of coastal land in the land of magical species, the House of Hydra is currently ruled by the Duchess Amandine, a half woman, half octopus like being who hides her strong tentacles beneath a long dress. Unlike the dragon-only Fafnir duchy, her domain is multi-species, although the economy depends heavily on fishing and maritime activities. The Hydra family also appears to be the most open to human interaction. The Duchess herself is good friends with Genzou and spends more time in human lands in disguise than she does in her own territory.

Of the four families, the Hydra family is supposedly the most "intellectual" of them, a trait Amanda (according to herself) fully embodies. When a massive sea beast began rampaging off her lands' coast, she opts not to risk her own subjects lives but instead tries to enlist human beast hunters to do the work for her, hence why she first traveled to Cluster.

Despite her aquatic nature, Amanda has partial descent from a more terrestrial species known as the lolis, indicating some level of hybridization.

## House of Draculia

The fourth and final Demonic noble family, House Draculia is a family of noble elder vampires, the strongest subclass of such beings of the night. As of the time of the manga's events, it's current head is the recently enthroned duchess, Draculia Joanna Joannasco Adorian Uljika. Ironically, despite only being introduced late in the manga, Joanna is the only current duke to have appeared in the anime. Their portrayals of her, though semi-linked, are highly different. In the Anime, Joanna, then just the heir to father's seat, is a powerful but petty young vampire fixated on revenge against Hanako for defeat in a tournament. By the time of the manga though, it would appear that she had matured somewhat since formally ascending to power. The only true scene of her begins with her reading through a stack of administrative reports with her attendant, and remarking that she has moved on from petty revenge and instead wants to focus on being the best ruler she can be.

Although she makes a visual cameo midway through the manga, her first (and only) appearance as a named character comes when Genzou and his friends are trying to deduce who might have cursed him to reduce his furry libido. Carmilla, who for a variety of reasons is not loyal to Joanna, puts forward her name as a suspect, and when characters can only vaguely recall even meeting her despite Carmilla's insistence that they did (as they did in the Anime), Carmilla convinces them that the natural explanation is that Joanna additionally cursed the entire cast with an amnesia spell. So, Genzou and his friends storm Joanna's palace, corner her, and force a confession out of her and "make" her lift the curse. Ultimately, it turns out that Princess Altena herself was the culprit, and that Joanna was innocent and only gave a false confession to make Genzou go away.