Chapter Two: A Devil Steps on Stage (Part 1)

The ceiling broke and fell.

A large rock landed right in front of my face.

“What……!”

I quickly gained my senses.

Instinctively, I took a step back, however, with a thud, my back b.u.mped against something. It was a wall.

Carefully looking around myself, I realized I was in a pitch black cavern.

I had gone to see a stalact.i.te cave before during a school trip before. From what I could see, the ceiling now was 2-3 times higher than that cave. It was so high up that I could just barely see the top. I couldn’t possibly imagine how faraway the dark mouth of the cave was.

“……”

I killed my breath.

Why was I hear?

How did I get here?

A loud siren rang in my head. My conscience instantly went cold. Whenever I found myself in an unpredicted situation my head would cool down in order to compose myself.

It was because of the trauma I had experienced when I was young.

I had been kidnapped three times in my life. The memory from those times forced open my skull and poured in ice-cold water, as if telling me to stay on my toes.

‘Do not scream’, that’ll only irritate the kidnappers.

‘Talk to yourself quietly’, you can confirm your situation this way.

Behavior procedures prepared like a manual.

Like a special forces unit listening to orders while facing terrorists, my conscience more than gladly followed the guidelines carved into my memory.

“……I was sitting in my room a moment ago…… and using the computer. It was 7PM. Drank 2 cans of beer. For dinner I had cup ramen……”

Little by little, my breathing became calmer.

There was no problem with my memory.

It at least meant that this wasn’t a drug induced kidnapping.

⌈There were no drugs.⌋

With just this the situation was reasonably favorable. It meant that the kidnapper had the intent to talk with me.

That’s why the kidnapping when I was in my third year of elementary school was serious. The motive then was to plainly obtain my body. I had to unconditionally keep my mouth shut. No reason whatsoever……

“Okay. Next……”

I checked my senses.

In order; vision, scent, hearing, taste, and touch.

Without rushing, I had to make sure my senses were working properly.

“The location appears to be a cave. Definitely a cave. It’s very dark. Doesn’t seem like my vision got worse. Rock, paper, scissor……”

I moved my fingers to make the shapes.

I could see the forms properly.

Good. My vision was fine.

The problem was scent.

“……!”

A foul nauseating smell.

The smell of blood vibrated around me.

I wonder if it was because I had suddenly found myself in an unfamiliar environment, but I wasn’t paying attention to the smell until now. Now that I’ve realized it, the revolting smell was so intense that it felt like it got past my nostril’s and shook my very brain.

“This is……”

It was a scent I had smelled three or four times in my life.

A scent which I never wanted to smell again. The smell of blood and intestines.

Corpses were spread throughout the cave.

There were human corpses that were swollen as if they were drowned, bodies with slit throats, and even bodies with limbs bent in the wrong direction.

“Eugh…… euuk……”

If this cave was one of those art exhibitions, then the curator would undoubtedly be an absurdly perverted s.a.d.i.s.t. As if triumphantly displaying that humans could die in this many ways. The fact that the cave was dark was the only solace since the corpses were comparatively hard to see.

“Is this place supposed to be the mystery of the human body…… d.a.m.n it.”

I had to get out of here quickly.

I put my right foot forward and— fell just like that.

My ankle was broken.

The entire bone was broken. It wasn’t something like an adorable sprain.

“s.h.i.t.”

I unintentionally let out a curse. I had to conclude that I couldn’t run or walk. The pain wasn’t ordinary. If the kidnapper approached now then it was impossible to escape. Perhaps they broke my ankle on purpose. Keeping safety measures. This was probably why they didn’t use drugs.

“Haa.”

I sat down in defeat.

I was regretfully checkmated.

Why did they kidnap someone like me, I couldn’t understand.

“…… I left all the fortune to my siblings. If it was two months ago then maybe, but there’s no point of kidnapping me right now.”

Surely they don’t mean to take me as hostage and threaten my siblings.

Foolish. I don’t know about someone else, but the person currently leading our household was my second half little sister. She could manage the household with composure, although not as good as I did. You’ll get hurt if you underestimate my sibling just because she’s young.

“Hooo……”

I could only sigh when thinking about who the culprit was.

There were plenty of people spread across the world who could want revenge against me. There were also surprisingly a lot of fellows who still had a grudge against my father as well, but wanted to let it out on me instead. That’s why I wanted to wipe my hands clean of everything.

It was then that I heard a hurried voice coming from the other side of the cave.

“I found him!”

“The Demon Lord is here!”

Demon Lord.

It was a name that had absolutely no connections with me.

For some reason the voice was directed towards where I was.

I’m confused. I had been called a devil a considerable amount of times in my life, but this was the first time I had been called a Demon Lord. It might be a type of secret code.

“Stay right there!”

“We’ll kill you if you move!”

The people came in like wolves.

The men were holding edged weapons like knives and axes. There’s no way I couldn’t be bewildered by this. I shot up both my arms.

“I surrender!”

“Get down you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

Without warning, the other man grabbed my head and slammed it to the ground. They were violent with me even though I told them that I surrendered.

“Ack……”

A rock that was lying on the ground sharply stabbed against my cheek.

“Keep your d.a.m.n face down! Stay like that till we say otherwise!”

I almost let out a shout of pain, but I was able to hold it back.

Loud noises irritated kidnappers. During a kidnapping, even if you’re in pain you must not scream.

3rd year of Elementary school, I didn’t know anything and kept on wailing. After being beat until five of my teeth were broken, I had learned to be silent.

Silently.

Politely.

It may seem stupid, but this was the proper att.i.tude to have towards a kidnapper.

“I caught him! Riff of Jalsen, has captured the Demon Lord!”

“Ooh. Our great and handsome captain, Riff. You aren’t planning to take all the bounty on your own, are you?”

The men started chatting in excitement.

I held my breath and listened to their conversation.

“Of course not. I’ll share with everyone equally. Keke.”

“Look at this. This Demon Lord looks just like a caterpillar.”

“Looks good with his head on the ground. Let’s kill him already.”

“What do you mean, kill him? There are things we still haven’t asked him yet.”

Someone kicked my side.

It wasn’t a genuine hit but more done jokingly, regardless that alone was pretty painful.

“—but just in case, we should break him.”

“Friends! Let us beat the Demon Lord into a reasonably sized pulp.”

Merciless violence showered down upon me.

Ten people were kicking me. I desperately held back my screams. More than 5 minutes had pa.s.sed before the kicking started to subside.

“Good good. That’s enough.”

“Guys. Our handsome boss said to stop.”

“Keke.”

The violence finally stopped.

While I was breathing roughly, one of the men spoke to me as a representative.

“Well now, honorable Demon Lord. There’s one thing that we wish to ask you. Where’s all the money in this castle. To tell you the truth, us village folk are in real need of money.”

As expected, I was kidnapped for money.

Wait, but they’ve been keep using words that I’m not familiar with. This was something that I had to confirm. There was a chance that they were mistaking me for someone else.

“What do you mean by ‘Demon Lord’……?”

When I opened my mouth, I let out a groan. My lips were torn.

“Good. Very good.”

The man insinuated.

“Despite being hit so much, you’re still able to display such a nature. An excellent stance. Keke. I don’t hate that kind of thing, your honorable Demon Lord.”

With a rough hand the man grabbed my hair.

“Ack……”

I was forced to raise my face.

I made eye contact with the man in front of me.

The man had bent his body forward and was looking down at me. His entire face was covered in a brown beard. A darkish mushroom that grew in a public bathroom that hadn’t been cleaned for over 5 years, that was what his beard looked like. In simpler words, frighteningly dirty.

“But my friends here don’t have as much patience as me.”

“……what can I help you with?”

“Your honor. We don’t desire to use pointless violence.”

That’s convincing.

“Instead of wasting each other’s energy, let us trade. Tell us where the treasury is and we will not kill your honor immediately. We won’t cut your arms or legs off. And, of course, we won’t cut your precious horn off, either. Think carefully. In truth, we’re the ones at a lost in this trade.”

“Yeah, at a great lost!”

They broke out into laughter.

It was laughter of people who had a rough birth.

I waited for the mood to settle before speaking again. Always courteously. Making sure to not irritate their mood.

I asked a question.

“I’m sorry, but what do you mean by horn?”

“Aah? What are you asking.”

The man placed his hand on the back of my head.

“This. I’m talking about this.”

The man had grabbed something on my head. My head that should only have hair. There, something long was attached all the way to my skull.

I felt the back of my head.

There was certainly something hard there.

The shape was, as the man had said, in the shape of a horn.

“…………”

This.

What could this creation be.

I gazed forward with blank eyes.

Don’t tell me.

Before I was kidnapped, no, before I lost conscience. I was responding to a game survey on my computer.

When I opened my eyes in this cavern I had heard a faint voice…… I’m certain it whispered ‘The tutorial shall now begin’. I ignored it because I thought it was some nonsense from my dream.

The man had called me Demon Lord. There was something like a horn actually attached to the back of my head……

Game. Tutorial. Demon Lord.

These three words pointed at one possibility.

Fortunately or unfortunately, my mind quickly came to a conclusion.

“Now. Your honor, Demon Lord Dantalian. We’ll ask you only one more time.”

I couldn’t accept the answer.

The common sense, experience, and knowledge I had gained throughout my entire life completely denied the conclusion. However, as if laughing at my escape from reality, an alarm rang.

—Tirring~

White words appeared in mid-air.

[1. Accept adventurer captain Riff’s offer.]

[2. Decline adventurer captain Riff’s offer.]

“……”

I was at a lost for words.

Undeniable proof had presented itself right before me.

“Will you accept our offer? Or will you just die here. Wow. You can’t get choices as clean as this. Keke. Hurry and pick, oh honorable Demon Lord.”

The man gave an ill-tempered laugh. It was certain that the man couldn’t see the floating words.

Is it like that

Is it like that

…… is it like that.

My monologue continued and echoed in my drifting away conscience.

Like an actor who forgot his lines on stage and kept repeating his last spoken line.

I bit my lips. The taste of blood spread throughout my mouth. The vividly raw taste brought my conscience back to reality. In front of me was a barbaric man with a broad grin on his face.

Willing or not—

I’m a Demon Lord in the world of .

My head went cold.

As if time was flowing slowly.

“Mr. Demon Lord’s response is a bit slow.”

I gazed at the man who had just spoke.

It wasn’t only this man who had skipped shaving. The other people around us also had beards. It might be normal for these men to not shave.

‘Their outfits are old.’

‘Way too old.’

‘To be precise, I’d say about 400 years old.’

Around the time Henry the IV of France fought lively against the Roman Catholics, perhaps. The clothes looked similar to the one’s worn by the people during the French Wars of Religion. They were outfits that should have been sent straight to the museum, but no matter how you looked at these men they didn’t look like they worked at a museum. (TL note: Obviously)

“Are you really planning to not answer?”

Situations that couldn’t be understood until now were starting to be explained by a.s.sumptions. For example, as if a mysterious phenomenon was finally explained by the laws of physics.

“Oi, your honor Dantalian.”

Demon Lord Dantalian.

These people have been calling me Dantalian.

That was the name of the Demon Lord who showed up in .

There are a total of 72 Demon Lords who appear in that game. Amongst them, Dantalian was ranked 71st. He was that close to last place. Correspondingly, his level was also miserably low. In the first place, he was like a trash mob made for beginners.

Even a person playing computer games for the first time could beat him on the first run.

If I had to compare it with another game, then he was like a rabbit in the beginner field. As long as you knew how to click your mouse then you could defeat the rabbit. Dantalian was the same.

…… I should also add.

After the first run, Dantalian doesn’t appear at all in the game. He was removed in case that players got annoyed.

Imagine telling a level 20 warrior to ‘Go back to the beginner field and hunt a rabbit’. It’d be boring. Dantalian was a rabbit that you didn’t feel like fighting again.

And if I’m correct, I’m currently possessing that Dantalian.

“……”

There was a bitter taste in my mouth.

How do I get out of the evil hands of these adventurers.

I’m currently captured by humans. If this goes on I’ll probably get my head cut off or be taken to the city and executed. No matter how much I strained my brain I could only think of BAD ENDS.

Even if I proclaimed ‘I’m not Dantalian!’, I’d be grateful if I even got a sneer in response.

I couldn’t rely on Demon Lord Dantalian’s ability.

Let me rephrase that.

I could only rely on my own ability in order to overcome this obstacle.

“If you’re testing my patience right now……”

“The treasury is in Minlakdong.” (TL note: He’ll explain what this is in a short bit)

▯Adventurer, Cowardly Looter, Riff Hoffman

Empire Calender: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4

Dantalian’s Demon Lord Castle

Looter Riff.

That was my nickname.

Despite being an adventurer, I didn’t hunt demons, but instead, looted other adventurers. That’s how I go the nickname. Well, let them call me whatever they want.

The people who honestly hunt demons are the fools, aren’t they?

The one’s who live skillfully in the world are the ones who benefits.

Using common sense, people who fought monsters like orcs and goblins are idiots. I’m saying this very seriously and sincerely.

To live a not sincere life and become a corpse, or to live a sincere life and become a cowardly looter. If I had to choose between the two, then of course I’d choose the latter. Will I still choose the latter if I die and become reincarnated? I won’t ever die.

Keke.

Regardless, light was finally shining down on my looter career.

Half a month ago, I obtained the map of Demon Lord Dantalian’s Castle. I was lucky. There was a girl too pretty to be rotting away in some lowly village. I was going to a.s.sault her a little bit, but, while presenting me this map, she pleaded, “I’ll give you this, so please spare me.”. She was a girl with beautiful red hair.

Hm? Of course a.s.saulting a virgin is wrong.

But I really like doing bad things.

I told you already.

I’m a looter.

I don’t only loot the pockets of dead adventurers, but the virginity of all the young women in the world as well. Personally, I’d preferred to be called ‘Virginity Looter’. Something like ‘The Looter of Virginities’ sounds like a cool t.i.tle. It’s good because it sounds romantic.

Thanks to this map, I was able to gather a bunch of random adventurers. Dantalian was one of the weakest Demon Lords and there was most likely no monsters in the castle. As long as we knew where to find him, then it’d be easy to capture him.

We used an artifact that detected magical energy to search inside of the cavern. We wandered the dark cave for about four hours, but our efforts weren’t in vain. We were able to capture the Demon Lord Dantalian. Amazing! The map was real!

“Look at this. This Demon Lord looks just like a caterpillar.”

My comrades were chuckling while holding the Demon Lord down.

“Looks good with his head on the ground. Let’s kill him already.”

“What do you mean, kill him!?”

I gave the person who spoke a vulgar look. You could gain a higher reward if you captured the Demon Lord alive. Also there was something we still hadn’t asked him yet. Where the treasure was.

Gain whatever information we could get. That was common sense.

First things first, we beat the Demon Lord up and then asked him where the treasury was.

But this Demon Lord, his reaction was strange.

He’d suddenly stare at an empty s.p.a.ce and he’d narrow his brows and lower his chin as if he was in deep thought. What is this? Is he an idiot? I vaguely thought Demon Lords were supposed to be ghastly tyrants, but what is this small fry.

Well, since he was a small fry someone like me could capture him. I have no complaints. I love small fries. I’d gladly decline Demon Lords like Barbatos or Paimon.

“Mr. Demon Lord’s response is a bit slow. Are you really planning to not answer?”

I snickered and tapped the Demon Lord’s cheek.”

“Oi, your honor Dantalian.”

It was then.

“……”

It was for a mere moment, but the Demon Lord had a dreadfully spine chilling gaze.

I blinked a couple of times and after doing so, the same minor small fry-looking Demon Lord was in front of me again.

Huh?

The atmosphere changed for a brief moment.

…… was I seeing things?

Oh well. Treasure. Treasure was more important.

Chapter Two (Part 2)

Chapter Two: A Devil Steps on Stage (Part 2)

▯Weakest Demon Lord, Rank 71st, Dantalian

Empire Calendar: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4

Dantalian’s Demon Lord Castle

“The treasury is in Minlakdong.”

The other party furrowed their eyebrows.

“Mayirock…… what?”

“Minlakdong. It’s at the Minlakdong.”

I told them the location of the treasury for the second time.

Honestly, I just said the name of whatever neighborhood that came to mind.

How was I supposed to know where the treasury of the Demon Lord’s castle was?

And if I sincerely answered, ‘I don’t know where it is’, I’d probably get a blade flying my way. For now, I had to say whatever I could in order to gain their interest.

I had to carefully pay attention to the men’s reactions.

“Millak, Mooirakkutoung…… the d.a.m.n p.r.o.nunciation is strange!”

“Do you not know of it? Here, I’ll write it down.”

Offering to write it down, I lowered my body and wrote on the cavern floor.

I didn’t have any writing utensils, but I did shed a lot of blood. Dipping my finger in my own blood, I smoothly wrote the word.

민락동

民樂洞

First line in Korean. Second line in Chinese characters.

I slightly turned my line of sight to see their reaction.

“Hey, bring the torch closer.”

“I have no idea…… were there letters like this?”

They faced each other and started talking.

“None of us here even know how to read.”

“Yeah, but the shape is completely different.”

Okay.

I generally understood the principle of the language.

I currently heard everything they said in Korean. However, when I wrote the words, they couldn’t understand.

In conclusion, just because I heard everything in Korean didn’t mean they also heard in Korean as well.

There were two possibilities.

One, the p.r.o.nunciation was the same but the letters were different. Or two, both the p.r.o.nunciation and letters were different but for some reason only I perceived everything in Korean.

Which one was the answer.

I decided to test it immediately.

“It’s natural for this to be unfamiliar to you gentlemen. This is ancient demon language. In order to fully secure the treasury, I had specifically used ancient demon language to magically seal the treasure.”

“Magic?”

“Yes. The vault will not open to those who do not understand the language.”

The men made a commotion.

The answer was revealed by that conversation.

We were currently talking in a language completely different from Korean, in terms of both p.r.o.nunciation and letters.

How do I know this? Because I had spoken in foreign languages just now.

First sentence in English, second sentence in German, third sentence in Chinese, and fourth sentence in j.a.panese. And yet, these men understood me fully.

I don’t know by what principle, but the conversation was automatically being translated.

“Mr. Demon Lord. Do we, uh, need to understand that ancient demon language thing to open the vault?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Hmmm.”

The man narrowed his brows.

— Right now this person was trying to kill me.

He promised to spare my life if I told him the location of the secret vault, but that was a big fat lie. You could tell someone was lying shamelessly by their face.

So accordingly, I had to give them a reason to keep me alive.

“Alright, honorable Demon Lord. I like this fair trade.”

The man fell for my lie nicely.

“I think we can be good friends. So, where’s this Mooirakkutoung, exactly?” (TL note: These guys are p.r.o.nouncing it incorrectly)

“There’s a secret pa.s.sage where I was originally at.”

“The Demon Lord’s quarters? There was nothing there when we checked.”

“That’s not so. In my quarters, it will only recognize me and open…… There’s a secret pa.s.sage that only opens when I place my hand on it.”

“A magical device. Okay.”

The man grabbed my arm and forced me up.

A horrible pain spread from my right ankle. I couldn’t hold back my scream this time.

“Aaack!”

“Oh. Your leg is messed up.”

The man clicked his tongue.

“New guy! You support his honor, Dantalian.”

“Roger that, captain.”

A young man, who I a.s.sumed to be the new guy, came over to support me. He had a dagger attached to his belt. The adventurer group captain then shouted.

“Let’s get moving boys!”

The group of ten adventurers moved forward through the cave.

These men seemed to know where the Demon Lord’s quarter was. I was lucky since I had no idea where it could possibly be.

If they had told me to lead them to my quarters, I’d probably have died on the spot.

A bell rang with a ‘Tirring~’ sound.

[1. Accept adventurer captain Riff’s offer.]

[2. Decline adventurer captain Riff’s offer.]

The first choice shined brightly and then new words rose up. The choice wasn’t selected because I thought of selecting it, but rather, it was selected by my actual actions.

[Overcame the crisis with cunning eloquence.]

[Warning. Actions taken during the tutorial will henceforth affect your stats.]

I got pa.s.sed the crisis.

In other words, it meant that if I didn’t lie to them then I really would have been in a fatal situation. The unnecessary remark sent a chilld down my spine.

These people were not joking around.

To live or to die. That was the question.

I barely got pa.s.ssed the first obstacle.

By any means, I had to stay alive.

♦

The adventurer group continued to walk through the cavern.

“How about just killing him now……”

“Yeah. We aren’t some group of thieves. Instead of wasting time searching for a hidden vault, we could end it here neatly……”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I agree with the captain. Nothing bad about getting a bit more money……”

I could hear the adventurers talking up ahead.

I don’t care if you’re going to discuss whether I live or die, but could you at least speak in a voice that I couldn’t hear. It’s not that hard.

They have no manners.

“Hey. Even if his leg is sprained, isn’t he a bit too slow?”

“Like I said. He’s probably stalling.”

They went as far as to flat out make sarcastic remarks.

The level of these adventurers that had captured me weren’t very good.

They radiated poorness. The blade of their weapons were jagged. It was proof that they didn’t properly maintain their gear. In the game’s standard, they’d be ranked F. The lowest adventurer group. They were around that level.

They’d get wiped by around 20 goblins.

…Although, not being able to put under command those goblins that are spread almost everywhere, was Demon Lord Dantalian’s level.

“Your honor, Demon Lord. My comrades are a bit impatient.”

The man called Riff, informed me with a snicker.

I lowered my head.

“I apologize. I’ll try harder to walk faster.”

“A nice and fast response. That’s good.”

He was talking to me like I was inferior.

I had now decided. I will definitely destroy that proud face of his. I’ll drag this man’s face in the mud.

I won’t go easy on him even if he begs for mercy later. Look forward to it, Riff.

“Us adventurers have an occupational disease. It seems they’re suspicious that your honor is trying to trick us. That you’re stalling for time to do something to us.”

“That’s impossible.”

I immediately replied.

There was no gain from telling them the truth.

Now, time to start the performance.

“I used to have subordinates as well. Goblins, imps, orcs…… nothing special, but they were still my precious subordinates. However, before you gentlemen, groups of adventurers had a.s.saulted this castle three times in a row.”

The edge of my eye became wet.

I had the ability to cry on command. It required a little trick. It was a special move that my little sisters had taught me.

“You gentlemen are the fourth to arrive at my castle. My subordinates are all already dead. Even the little ones that have been with me for over 30 years. All of them……”

“H-Huh?”

Riff panicked.

“Surely, your honor, you aren’t crying now, are you?”

“N-No. Cry? I would never.”

I spoke like a child who was desperately trying to hold back his tears.

“It’s just that amongst them, there was a nanny who had taken care of me since I was a mere infant. Yes. She looked like an orc. That’s because she was an orc. But she took care of me sincerely. I even called her ‘mother’. A week ago, she was pierced in the chest with a spear by an adventurer and died……”

Pitiful crying echoed throughout the cave.

“Well. That, what should I say. That’s quite unfortunate. You have my condolences.”

“She held me until the very end. Even after being stabbed, even after shedding so much blood, she continued to hold me tightly to protect me from the falling arrows. Everyone, I can not forget the emotions I went through during that time no matter how hard I try……”

“……”

“She had wrapped both of her arms around me. I couldn’t see a thing, but with a thud, her body shook. Thud thud, her body kept shaking. I didn’t know what was happening at first, however, I soon found out that it was because of the arrows. Each time an arrow fell, her body would shudder. Despite that……”

Let a tear fall here once.

My act was about to reach its climax.

“Despite all that, she was looking down at me and smiling! Yes, she smiled till the very end. I wasn’t sane. I thought I was going crazy. The most precious person in the world to me was dying in front of my very eyes…… dying to protect me, she was even smiling…… What was I supposed to say!?”

I covered my face with my hands.

Weak crying leaked from between my fingers.

“I asked if it hurt. If she was in pain, but do you know what she told me in response?”

“……”

“‘I’m alright, young master’.”

The air was dead silent.

The adventurers had been captivated by my story at some point and were now quiet.

My father had trained me to be an actor since I was a child.

I went through a test at one point. Go to any cafe and talk on the phone.

In truth, no sound came from the phone, but I pretended to argue with my girlfriend.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.’

‘I’ll do better from now on.’

Improvised acting.

At first, the reaction from the other cafe customers was annoyance.

They were simply relaxing in a cafe and then suddenly some high school student appeared and started talking loudly on his phone. Regardless, as time past, their expressions slowly shifted. Their emotions changed.

It was sympathy.

They had experience the same thing before. They had pleaded to a loved one at a point in their life. Feeling empathy, they finally started to treat me with pity.

This was the reaction of modern people who had already experienced all kinds of stimulating romance dramas and movies.

The people of this world, who at best have only listened to the self bragging of a wandering poet, I’m sorry to say, but they were no match for me.

The fineness facial muscles

to the most detailed nuance.

Using this at my own will, I preformed pa.s.sionately.

“It’s okay, she said…… and she died.”

“……”

“Now I have nothing left. I did have two goblins, but I made them leave. I don’t need them…… That’s why it’s okay to not be suspicious of me. There’s really nothing left here.”

I covered my face once again and sobbed.

My acting, which could have made a French actor cry, ended here.

In this depressing atmosphere, the adventurers had started to whisper to one another.

“Hey hey. Who made the honorable Demon Lord cry?”

“I didn’t know he had such circ.u.mstances either.”

“I was wondering why there were no guards. Other parties had already wiped this place clean.”

“So he suddenly lost everything. Tsk tsk……”

As predicted, sympathy fell upon me.

There was something I didn’t predict that happened too. It was the white notice that rose up in mid-air.

[Your devilish eloquence has captivated the people.]

[Adventurer Riff’s affection went up by 2.]

[Adventurer Dail’s affection went up by 1.]

There was an affection system as well, huh.

That made things easier.

“I am grateful to have met you all, though.”

I smiled faintly.

Giving off an atmosphere as if I had seen the sorrows and joys of life was the point.

“You didn’t kill a Demon Lord like me immediately. You showed consideration to me who was seriously injured, and are even supporting me like this. This is the first time I’ve met adventurers as gentle as you all in the entirety of my life…… I had really thought that all adventurers were villainous people like the ones who had murdered my nanny!”

That was a lie.

A flat out lie.

I knew you men were going to kill me as soon as you saw me. You probably only sheathed your weapons because you wanted the money from the treasury. A villain, as described.

However, no human could dislike being flattered. The adventurers awkwardly scratched their beards.

“No, we didn’t really do that much……”

“It’s because your honor cooperated so willingly.”

[Adventurer Riff’s affection went up by 4.]

[Adventurer Dail’s affection went up by 3.]

The other 8 adventurer’s affection went up as well.

Did their wariness go down? Compared to earlier, the amount of points that went up rose. My acting got through to them properly.

With a tear drenched face, I grinned broadly.

“I apologize for delaying everyone. Now, let us resume towards the vault.”

“……”

It wasn’t a smile out of happiness, but a forced smile to match other people. I emphasized that feeling. In order to plant the seed of guilt into them.

One of the adventurers coughed into his hand.

“Ehem. That, uh, there’s no reason for us to deliberately hurry.”

“That’s right. The vault isn’t going to grow legs and run away.”

“Since his honor’s foot hurts so much, let’s go slowly. He did say all the other demons were gone.”

The atmosphere became soft.

There was a saying that says the scariest animal on Earth were humans, but I think opposite. Humans were animals that I could feel most rea.s.sured with.

I can not trick a bear. If I encountered a wild warthog, the least a weakling like me could do was get killed.

But humans.

Humans could be deceived.

Through a performance, you could play with the hearts of others.

‘Son.’

‘You’re more of a Devil than I am.’

My father was right.

I did not want to admit it, but I had the inborn talent to deceive people.

Personally, I didn’t think it was a desirable skill. It was more appealing to sincerely gain people’s trust than through lies.

That was why I avoided using deception unless I felt like my life was in danger. Something like being good at lying, it wasn’t a skill worth bragging about.

It was the same now.

“Ah, but.”

If these adventurers had not threaten my life.

If they had approached me with a bit more politeness.

I would not have had to bare my fangs.

“Everyone— if we take too much time, other adventurer parties may arrive.”

“What?”

“As you all know, there is not even a single goblin left in my castle. As much as it is an empty castle, other adventurers will probably come for the treasure vault as well. This may trouble you all……”

The adventures gave each other unsettled looks.

There were no monsters in this castle. Even if there were some left, these men could use me, the Demon Lord, as a hostage to drive them back. However, there was something more dangerous than monster.

Other humans.

Adventurers competed against other adventurers rigorously. Treasure hidden in the Demon Lord’s castle. The bounty on the Demon Lord’s head…… anyone would want to get their hands on these. Even if they had to kill other humans.

In , the hero didn’t fight only demons. There were many adventurer parties that attacked in attempt to take the hero’s wealth. They only claimed to be adventurers, but they were no different to a group of thieves.

“d.a.m.n it. I didn’t consider that.”

“There’s no certainty that other adventurers will come.”

The men started to frown. They had taken in seriously my lie.

“Dumba.s.s. Did you not hear that this place was a.s.saulted 3 times already? Other wolves, who’ve heard the rumor will come.”

“Not good. This is not good…… We just caught the Demon Lord and you’re now telling me to risk my life to fight other lively adventurers? Don’t joke with me.”

“s.h.i.t. Like we’d hand him over to a bunch of dogs.”

These were adventurers, who had just left their hometowns for the first time to get rich quick. They couldn’t contain their excitement when they were presented the opportunity to turn their lives around.

“Everyone.”

I spoke in a calm voice. Their gaze naturally collected onto me.

“At this moment, other adventurers may already be approaching. How about making our way to the vault first? There’s not a lot of time. We can discuss things while moving.”

The men glanced at each other once more and nodded all together.

“His honor is right. Let’s take the treasure first. Yeah!”

“Let’s get a move on! We don’t have the right to show our faces in Jalsen without a few scratches or two.”

With loud voices, the adventurers resumed their march.

Good.

This was enough for now.

I gave them an agreeable suggestion. Their guard against Demon Lord Dantalian may not be completely gone, but at least they don’t see me as an ‘enemy’ now. Their affection continued to rise. That was a good sign……

“New guy, carry his honor on your back. That’ll be faster.”

“Roger that, captain!”

The man lifted me up promptly.

“Ah, thank you very much.”

“What do you eat normally to be so light? You look fine on the outside but it’s like your insides are empty.”

As if I weighed nothing, the man walked with light steps. I suddenly ended up getting a piggy back ride, but this was much better than forcing myself to walk.

I guess you could say that I got pa.s.sed the second obstacle.

I was required to open the treasure vault, hence giving them a reason to keep me alive. Furthermore, I was able to raise their affection towards me, giving them the false impression that I was on their side. It was favorable. However, there were still two problems remaining.

The first problem was that I had no idea if a treasury existed at all. As soon as they find out that I lied, regardless of affection points or whatever, they’ll murder me.

The other problem was getting rid of the adventurers. If I couldn’t solve these two problems then my fate will always lead to death.

‘Base status’

I moved my lips slightly and whispered.

Nothing happened.

Without being discouraged, I kept experimenting.

‘Dungeon status, dungeon situation…… Mm. Not this either, huh.’

I currently had the ability to access the game system.

It was merely an a.s.sumption, but I should be able to use the other status windows than just affection points. For example, being able to see the map of the castle. I was aiming for that.

My prediction was soon confirmed.

‘Demon Lord Castle Status.’

With a ‘tirring~’, a sound rang in my head.

White words appeared before me.

Dantalian’s Demon Lord Castle

Type: Cave

t.i.tle: None

Rank: F

Special Effect: None

Military Force: None

Citizens: None

Wealth: 100 Libra

※The castle is in ruins. Neighborhood kids refer to this place as a fun playground. This place is in danger of being conquered at any moment. Urgently open the ‘Employment Tab’ and hire forces.

Is that so. At the very most, this was it.

I was hoping that perhaps even a little amount of forces remained, but there really was nothing left. This really was nothing more than a kiddy playground.

I was grateful that I had any wealth at all.

‘Libra’ was the name of the common currency in . There was a time I was bored and decided to compare currencies. In Korean money, 1 libra was 500,000 won(TL note: 433USD).

Right now I had 100 libra.

In other words, I was given about 50,000,000won(TL note: 43335 USD).

How far could I get with this.

After searching through all kinds of functions in the game, I finally found what I wanted.

‘Employment Tab’. (TL note: Someone obviously didn’t read the way bottom line of the first status window)

A half transparent list appeared before me.

(TL note: Sorry for the bad quality. Couldn’t really figure out how to put up a proper table here)

……

So weak.

And d.a.m.n expensive.

No matter how you looked at it, 200,000 won for a slime was overcharging. In this day and age, you could buy two fair cows with 200,000 won. Not calves, but cows. How could a useless slime be twice the price of a cow used for farm work?

Most likely, the price went up because of the game difficulty.

‘Tsk. This messes up my plan……’

At first, I was thinking of pouring my wealth into hiring a unit of monsters. Even if I spent all my money and hired 8 goblin deserters, the chances of them winning against the adventurers was uncertain.

No, these men might be more pathetic than I think. Was it worth testing out?

‘Status’.

I muttered in my mind while staring at an adventurer.

[You do not have sufficient affection with this person.]

[Only the simplest stats will be viewable.]

With the same ‘tirring~’ sound from before, a window appeared above the adventurer’s head.

I a.s.sumably needed more affection points to see more precise information.

Name: Riff Hoffman

Stamina: E

Attack: E

Defense: E

Affection: 6

“Uhg”

I unintentionally let out a groan.

A little bit stronger than a goblin.

He was certainly weak, but that small difference was a big matter to me. The other adventurers had about the same stats. Even if I hired 8 goblins, they were far off from being able to overwhelm these adventurers.

What to do.

There was no certainty in winning or losing. Should I leave it to fate and take a gamble? To risk my life on a gamble. That wasn’t my style. I preferred to raise my chances in winning before going into a fight.

As I was in deep thought.

“We’re almost there!”

An adventurer shouted.

We were almost at the Demon Lord’s room.

“Hah. Why is this cave so big?”

“This is your first time coming to a Demon Lord’s Castle. This is nothing. Normally these castles are full of traps, so you have to tread incredibly slowly.”

The adventurers were chatting rowdily.

There wasn’t much time left. I had to make a decision soon.

Should I make it up by numbers and hire a lot of slimes or fairies? Or, should I hire the strongest golem and attack them by surprise? No. Both sides were far away from being ‘certain victory’. If I allow myself to get in danger……

……Okay. This was the best option.

“Alright! Let’s go in.”

The adventurers poured into the room.

I bit my lips forcefully. Skin tore and blood flowed into my mouth.

If I had to rate my chances, then 70%. It was pathetically low for something that had my life on the line. Regardless, this was the utmost best.

I thought I was free once my father had died. I ran away hoping that I could live a peaceful life.

I got this far and you’re telling me that my life was in danger again? To fall into a strange world and to tell me to die without a single clue on what’s going on just because I had become a Demon Lord? Don’t make me laugh!

Who cares if I’m a Demon Lord or something. If there was a fellow that was trying to end my idle life, then I’ll face them with no mercy. I will live no matter what……

♦

The Demon Lord’s room was a miserable wreck.

“Is there really treasure here?”

This place had most likely been plundered many times already. Be it the bed or the chairs, the wooden furniture were toppled over. It was hard to believe that there was a treasure vault in this mess.

The captain, Riff, spoke.

“Your honor. Hurry up and open up that Mooirakkutoung or whatever.”

I nodded.

“Yes. Do not worry. I know that…… ack!”

I fell over while getting off the new guy’s back. I had twisted my ankle on purpose.

The adventurers reacted in panic.

“Ouch, are you okay?”

“Hey! Support him properly!”

“I-I’m okay. I’m alright.”

I stood up by myself with trembling legs. The core point of acting was to obtain sympathy. If I borrowed another person’s shoulder here, there’s the danger that they might see me as an annoying wounded person.

I went to a wall while limping.

“Everyone, it is here.”

“Ah? All I see is a wall.”

“There’s a carving here only visible to Demon Lords. If you place your hand on the carving and recite a specific spell, then the vault will open.”

I lied without missing a beat.

The adventurers had intrigued expressions on their faces.

“Oh. Magic, huh.”

Beginner adventurers were ignorant in regards to magic, like these adventurers who originally used to be simple farmers or lumberjacks until now. The majority of these men most likely haven’t seen proper magic in their entire life. If I told them it was magic, then they’d simply nod and say “Is that so.”.

I made a request while displaying a pained face.

“Everyone. I’m sorry, but please move 10 steps away from me.”

“Why?”

“Only a Demon Lord can release the magic on the vault. It will never unlock if even one outsider is nearby. If a mistake were to happen, a defense mechanism could occur and you may be hurt.”

“A defense mechanism, you say……”

“Worst case scenario, the treasure could be sealed forever.”

The adventurer’s face immediately turned grave.

As if I had just threatened to take their treasure away from these humans turned money grubbers, the effect was instant. Following my instructions, all 10 men stood in a line and backed off.

One step. Another step.

The adventurers spoke after taking exactly 10 steps.

“How is that. 10 steps, just like you asked.”

“……”

These adventurers were sincere in useless places.

I was in awe, but expression wise, I continued to smile firmly.

“That’s exactly 10 steps. No more and no less. There is a good chance that you all will not be affected by the magic at that range. Well done.”

The adventurers grinned broadly.

“This is nothing.”

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist.”

I think they wholeheartedly believed that.

I’m struck with wonder whenever I meet humans as self-confident as these guys. Humans, with this kind of brain, were able to be separated from h.o.m.o sapiens sapiens.

Wouldn’t this be considered a kind of miracle?

I turned my back towards them and faced the wall.

“I shall now begin casting the spell. Everyone, please be silent!”

Obviously, there was no carving on the wall. The fact that the treasury was here was a blatant lie, like I’ve been saying.

But there was something I did believe in.

‘Demon Lord Castle’s Wealth.’

White words appeared on the smooth wall.

Demon Lord Castle’s Wealth

Withdrawal Amount: x.x.x Libra

Total Balance: 100 Libra

※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.

This was one of the game functions I found earlier.

Thanks to the Demon Lord’s right, I could withdraw funds wherever and whenever I wanted. It’d all be over if I took out a bunch of coins here.

However, it’d be troubling to simply hand over the money.

A small performance.

Add some spice and gift-wrapping.

Taking in a deep breath— as seriously as I could, I shouted.

“Mahabanyabaramildashimgyeong……!”

…… ……

…… I honestly did shout this seriously.

It was back when I wrote Minlakdong on the ground. The conversations were certainly being translated, but the adventurers could not exactly p.r.o.nounce the word ‘Minlakdong’. Hence, all the conversations weren’t being translated cleanly.

“Gwanjajaebosal Hengshimbanyabaramildashi Jogyeonohoengaegoeng Doilchaegoaek, Sarija, Saekbeuligoen Goengbeulisaek Saekjeukshigeong Geongjeukshisaek Soosanghaengshik Yeokbooyeoshi……” (TL note: If you’re genuinely curious as to what he’s chanting, it’s the famous ‘Heart Sutra‘ in Manayana Buddhism. Don’t expect me to translate it because even professional translators are struggling to do so.)

For example, words that couldn’t be translated into this world’s language; chemical formulas like H2O or professional terms like ‘Deformation‘, could not be translated. Furthermore, words that I perceived as proper nouns weren’t translated either. This was the reason why the adventurers had no idea what Minlakdong meant. Things like Mahabanyabaramildashimgyeon were the same.

Despite the fact that Minlak had the meaning of ‘citizen happiness’, it was not converted. Even banyabalamildashimgyeon could be interpreted, but it wasn’t to these men.

The reason behind this was because I wasn’t saying these words with the meaning in mind.

Thus.

“T-That’s the demon language?”

“I have no idea what he’s saying but it sounds menacing.”

“I feel like something is making my heart tremble……”

To the adventurers, it would really seem like I was shouting an unknown incantation.

“Beobgoensang Beulsaenbeulmyeol Beulgeuboojeong Boojeunbeulgam Shigo Geongjeongmoosaek……”

While I used my mouth to keep chanting, I used my eyes to earnestly stare at the window.

I had to slowly time when to take the money out.

Demon Lord Castle’s Wealth

Withdrawal Amount: 79 Libra

Total Balance: 21 Libra

※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.

I decided to take out about 8/10 of all I had.

It’d probably be suspicious if I withdrew a solid amount of 80, so I purposely set it to 79.

“Ajaeajae Baraajae Baraseunajae Moji Sabaha—!”

I lifted my arms up and yelled gloriously.

As I said the last line of the incantation, I thought the word ‘withdraw’ in my mind.

Then, silver coins formed in mid-air and fell.

“S-Silver! It’s silver!”

“How much is all that!?”

“It really was magic!”

5 silver coins equalled 1 gold coin. In total, 395 silver coins rained down. The average farmer in made around 15 silver a year.

Meaning, this was a jackpot for the adventurers.

“Oh! Ooooooh……!”

Silver coins were forming a heaping pile on the floor.

80% of my entire fortune was pulled out in an instant.

Their bodies were probably burning up from seeing so much money rain in front of them.

“Hey. You guys haven’t forgotten that we’re splitting this up equally for each of us, right?”

“Of course. Whoever tries to change their word now, I’ll kill you!”

The adventurers stared at the silver with bloodshot eyes.

The smell of greed flowed from their mouths.

Demon Lord Castle’s Wealth

Withdrawal Amount: xx Libra

Total Balance: 21 Libra

※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.

The final coin dropped.

Like a bunch of wolves, the adventurers tried to rush forward.

What impatient men.

Aiming for when they took their first step— I raised my hand quickly.

“Do not approach yet! You’ll be cursed!”

“C-Curse?”

Hearing the disturbing word, they came to a halt.

I fell to my knees

and as if I was under some intense pain, I started to groan.

“Gaaaah……!”

I contorted my face as much as I could.

Foam overflowed from my mouth.

The adventurers were startled by the sudden situation.

“W-What’s going on!? What’s going on, your honor!?”

“It’s black magic! He’s been cursed by black magic!”

The men stumbled back in fear.

In order to make my performance seem more real, I collided my already broken ankle on the ground. Pain vibrated through me. An agonizing scream ruptured from my lungs.

“Aack— Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

I cried out while grabbing my eye sockets. While doing so, I took a glimpse at the adventurers from between my fingers. Their faces were pale. There were even some men trying to make a run for it. My greatest performance was working.

“Oh G.o.d. That’s terrible……”

“Just what’s happening? Are you okay!?”

One of the braver adventureres tried to approach me, but I hurried prevented him from doing so.

“S-Stay back! This is the consequence for using black magic…… If you get close, aaagh, you could be affected as well…… kuh, gaah!”

“Hiiih!”

The man stopped promptly.

The adventurers had watched silver coins appear out of thin air. To them this was magic. They could do nothing but believe that whatever I told them was magic was true.

The adventurers started to mutter to each other.

“By any chance. Did he tell us to take 10 steps back…… for our sake?”

“It was his chance to get rid of us……”

Yes.

This was the response I wanted.

If my plan was going to work, I had to raise their affection rate towards me as high as possible. And what would leave the strongest impression on someone?

When someone sacrifices oneself to save them.

Like right now.

“Huaaaaaaak!”

I writhed in pain more intensely.

“W-Wait. He’ll die at this rate! Are you sure we shouldn’t stop him!?”

“You idiot, did you not hear him say it was black magic? Have you not heard the stories of people dying by some weird curse!?”

“Dail is right. The only thing we can do is…… regrettably, wait here patiently.”

“d.a.m.n it.”

Some of the adventurers cursed angrily.

At this point, notice windows popped up continuously.

[Your devilish performance has captivated the people.]

[Adventurer Riff’s affection went up by 15.]

[Adventurer Dail’s affection went up by 13.]

[Adventurer Zed’s affection went up by 19.]

Perfect.

As intended, a sharp increase in affection.

With my nails, I ripped some skin off of my face. Red blood spurted out. It was incredibly painful, however this was light compared to the weight of my life. My screams continued on for a while.

Moments later.

I let out a ragged breath.

“It’s, okay now…… You can collect the coins now…… it’s fine.”

“Mm.”

“E-Ehem.”

They’re att.i.tude had completely changed.

The wolves that desperately wanted to swallow up the coins earlier were nowhere to be seen now. The adventurers were all afraid that the coins might still be cursed.

“You go first and check.”

“No no. You know the saying ‘respect your elders’, the oldest should go.”

The men presented the chance to go first to one another, but never taking it themselves.

Having enough, the party leader stood forward.

“Screw it! You’re all cowards! I don’t know why you have anything down there. I should probably chop it off with my axe. You were all confident in conquering a Demon Lord’s Castle, but look at you all now!”

The leader of this party, Riff, roared.

“And Dail, you one-eyed person. You’ve been with me for 2 years now. What are you doing hiding with those greenhorns!”

“Well, this is my first time witnessing black magic.”

“Oh, look at you still making excuses. What’s a fellow, who’s a senior, doing cowering like a newbie!”

“Then you go first.”

“Yeah. The captain should go first.”

The other men nodded in agreement.

Riff twitched his nose.

“I was going to even if you didn’t tell me, you cowards.”

Riff walked proudly towards the pile of silver.

The adventurers whispered to one another while watching their captain march.

“He’s being prideful again.”

“He’s got his nose bent plenty of times while acting proud, too.”

“What’d you say!?”