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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The day after I got the information from the Sage in the dungeon, I went to see the Demon Lord again.
Not only had I been unable to greet him properly yesterday due to the circumstances, but I also wanted to share the information I had gleaned from the Sage.
Normally, the Sage wouldn’t have been fooled by such wordplay, but after being imprisoned for so long, her judgment seemed to have been clouded, and she was surprisingly easy to trick.
I went to his office early in the morning and knocked. I heard movement inside.
I stepped back and straightened my clothes, assuming it would be Seneca, the chief steward.
Creak
But to my surprise, the one who opened the door was a creepy scarecrow with a crow mask.
Mephisto, the Haunted Scarecrow.
The first of the Four Heavenly Kings the Hero’s party had encountered, and the first I had defeated.
A mysterious being who freely used dark magic to borrow power from otherworldly entities, commanding ghosts and zombies as his minions.
He stared at me through the eyeholes of his crow mask.
I didn’t know if the crude scribbles on the white cloth could be called eyes, but I felt his gaze.
“Welcome, Kaldrash, or… should I call you Patrasche now?”
Just like with Dorothea, we had a history.
If I had been wearing my mask, he might not have recognized me, but with my bare face, my identity was obvious.
Well, the Demon Lord had likely informed the Four Heavenly Kings in advance, just as he had with Walter.
“Uh, um. Call me whatever you like.”
I replied awkwardly, unsure how to act around Mephisto, with whom I had once fought for my life.
Mephisto chuckled and stepped aside.
“It’s a strange turn of events. To think I’d be on the same side as the arrogant Mad Mage.”
You and me both.
I swallowed my thoughts and entered the office.
“Welcome.”
The Demon Lord was at his desk, working on today’s paperwork.
Seeing him working so diligently so early in the morning made me feel a strange sense of pity, but I had my own problems to worry about.
“Seneca isn’t here today.”
I said, sitting down on the sofa. The Demon Lord looked up and pushed up his glasses.
“His grandson was born, so I gave him a week off. There are other servants, so he doesn’t need to be tied to me.”
“I see.”
I helped myself to the tea on the table.
The Demon Lord was a tea enthusiast, so there was always a wide variety of tea leaves available.
I filled the teapot with water, added some tea leaves, and was in the middle of brewing the tea with a simple fire spell when the Demon Lord stood up from his desk.
“So, what brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Ah, I have something important to discuss.”
I was about to speak, but I noticed Mephisto standing behind me and turned around.
Mephisto, leaning against the wall with a nonchalant air, said,
“Don’t mind me. I’m just an ordinary scarecrow.”
Hardly.
I was about to ask him to leave when the Demon Lord added,
“Whatever I know, the Four Heavenly Kings will know as well. So, speak freely.”
“In that case…”
I told the Demon Lord about what had happened in the dungeon.
Since Vanessa, the one in charge of the dungeon, didn’t seem to know the details, I assumed the Demon Lord didn’t either.
The Demon Lord stroked his beard, intrigued.
“A divine descent… a truly unexpected method of murder.”
“I believe the Goddess of Courage was desperate. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have descended to the mortal realm in a follower’s body to kill the Hero she had chosen.”
“It’s a decisive piece of evidence that supports your theory that a new Hero won’t appear as long as the current one is alive.”
The Demon Lord nodded gravely.
“So, Kaldrash, to continue our conversation from yesterday, how do you plan to form the independent unit to assassinate the human king? You said you needed time to think about the members.”
“Ah, I’ve already chosen them.”
I cleared my throat and listed the essential qualifications for the elite unit that would infiltrate human territory.
“We need to assassinate King Oscar with a small unit and travel a long distance. So, ordinary demons won’t do. Therefore, I believe the best candidates are myself, Dorothea, and Vanessa.”
The Demon Lord tilted his head.
“You’re taking Vanessa, the Captain of the Guard, on an assassination mission?”
“Yes. While she usually just patrols, she’s still a Sword Master. She’ll be an excellent tank. And since she’s always in armor, with just her head showing, she looks human enough. Infiltrating the kingdom shouldn’t be too difficult.”
The Demon Lord, seemingly finding my logic plausible, agreed.
“If that’s the case, then she must cooperate. I’ll inform Vanessa in advance.”
“And Dorothea, while a witch, looks human enough and specializes in wide-area magic. She’ll be the team’s damage dealer.”
“And you?”
I replied confidently,
“I’m the final piece of the puzzle, the one who will infiltrate the royal castle of Oz.”
“The puzzle?”
“The humans likely know the Hero is dead by now. If I were the Goddess, I would have immediately issued an oracle and chosen a new Hero. But they only know about the Hero’s death. They don’t know if the rest of his companions, like me, the Sage, and the Warrior, are still alive.”
The Demon Lord gasped slightly, then said,
“You’re going to exploit the lack of information.”
“Yes. And we still have a card up our sleeves.”
“You mean the Hero’s remaining companions? If so…”
I quickly corrected the Demon Lord before he could misunderstand.
“No, I mean the Hero’s equipment.”
“Ah.”
I poured the brewed tea into two cups and, savoring the aroma, said,
“If the Goddess’s oracle represents the Hero’s legitimacy, then his equipment represents his power. The divine artifacts known as the Trinity.”
The sword, the shield, and the circlet.
Cheat items that elevated the already gifted Hero to an even higher level.
The late Hero, Artorius, had been a Sword Expert, but with the power of the Trinity, he had wielded the power of a Sword Master.
If he had trained diligently, he might have been a match for the Demon Lord himself. Theoretically, at least.
“If I bring them, they’ll welcome me with open arms, even if they suspect me. The Trinity is of utmost importance to the Hero.”
The Demon Lord, who had been listening intently, finally agreed after a long silence.
“Alright. For such a purpose, I can lend you Vanessa.”
“Thank you!”
I bowed deeply.
“But I can’t allow you to take all three of the Hero’s artifacts. What if, by some accident, they fall back into human hands? That would be an irreversible loss. So, I can only allow you to take one of the three.”
“In that case… I’ll take the circlet.”
The sword granted great power, the circlet infinite mana, and the shield could deflect most magical attacks.
The circlet or the shield would be the least regrettable to lose, but they were still incredibly rare and powerful artifacts.
The Demon Lord agreed and said he would have it prepared before my departure.
I thanked him and, having finished my tea, was about to leave when the Demon Lord asked,
“By the way, what will you name your unit?”
The Demon Lord’s direct foreign legion.
A fancy name for a shell of a unit, with me as its only member.
But now, it was finally getting official members.
Various cool names flashed through my mind, but I remembered my master’s words and refrained.
‘Your naming sense is terrible. Keep it simple.’
It was sound advice.
I scratched my cheek and asked the Demon Lord,
“How about the Demon Assassination Squad?”
The Demon Lord chuckled.
“Your naming sense is terrible.”
I couldn’t argue with my superior.
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