0.0000001% Demon King - 0DK Chapter 43: The Third Box (2)

“…Hello.”

The slender man greeted awkwardly. Karos waved his hand.

“Hello. You survived?”

“Thanks to you.”

Karos clapped his hands as he looked at the slender man with calm eyes.

“I don’t want to waste time. Let’s get straight to the point. Why do you think I saved you?”

The rugged man swallowed. The slender man replied without changing his expression.

“Because you have a use for us. Unlike you, we are humans.”

“Correct.”

Karos nodded.

“So, what will you do?”

“…What choice do we have?”

The slender man gave a bitter smile.

“We’ve discussed it already. We don’t want to die just yet.”

If the Demon King saved them, it was clearly for a purpose. If they didn’t cooperate, their future would be no different than before they were saved by the Demon King.

“We don’t intend to waste our lives. Besides, you seem… different from the usual Demon Kings.”

The slender man glanced at the village.

“So, it’s fine. Demon King. Use us as you wish.”

“Good.”

Karos nodded his chin.

“Bathesia.”

“Yeah, yeah. Aren’t you overworking me?”

Bathesia appeared, cutting through the air, causing the mercenaries to reflexively step back.

Bathesia was one of the Four Lords, and her face was well-known to them.

“…I saw you in the Holy Land, but it’s still hard to believe.”

The slender man muttered, incredulous.

“Why is one of the four Sovereigns here?”

“Use your head. Figure it out. Now, Bathesia.”

“Got it.”

She spread her hand, releasing magic that surrounded Karos and the mercenaries.

“You will be my subordinates, follow my commands, and uphold my will. Do you accept?”

“…We accept.”

The rugged man answered. The magic seeped into their bodies.

“You are now my subordinates. You cannot go against my will and must follow most of my commands.”

As Karos spoke, the mercenaries’ faces fell. The slender man chuckled bitterly.

“Many bad things have happened, but this is the worst. Becoming the Demon King’s lackeys.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to use you as disposable pawns. Now, get ready.”

“Ready for what?”

Karos replied as if it were obvious.

“You guys. You haven’t fought properly yet, have you?”

Only the rugged man had stepped up to fight Sinclair, and he had been subdued in a few moves, never showing his true skills.

“To use you, I need to know your abilities.”

“Prepare yourselves, boys.”

Bathesia made a tiny fist. The mercenaries’ faces turned pale.

“If you don’t want to die, run with all your might.”

Bathesia smiled. Magic gathered, and the mercenaries screamed.

*** ***

“Aaaaah!”

The rugged man screamed as he ran. Behind him, Bathesia laughed, spreading her magic.

“Come on! Dodge well! You’re the last one!”

“Spare me!”

The rugged man narrowly dodged the waves of magic. Bathesia laughed and unleashed more power.

“Kyaaaa!”

“What’s all this noise?”

Irina approached, laughing.

“So this is what you were up to.”

“They’re new human subordinates, so I need to know their abilities. It’s especially important for you to know.”

“I understand.”

These were more valuable to Irina than to Karos. She watched the rugged man dodge magic with a serious expression.

“So, how are they? Useful?”

“Very.”

Even though Bathesia was holding back, the rugged man had lasted ten minutes. The other mercenaries had lasted over a minute.

“Honestly, I don’t know why they are considered low-rank. Combined, they could reach high-rank.”

“That much?”

Irina was surprised. High-rank mercenaries were skilled enough to be well-known in the world.

“Bringing them along was quite a win. Prepare to use them. It’s better to act quickly.”

“…You knew.”

Irina gave a bitter smile, and Karos responded nonchalantly.

“Of course. This place is an attractive target, and they’ll be coming soon, right?”

Humans were fighting demons. But that didn’t mean humans weren’t fighting each other.

The current emperor was strong. If he wanted, he could dismantle the feudal system and bring everyone under his rule.

But he didn’t, and instead, he encouraged fights between territories. As long as there was a reasonable pretext, he left it to the discretion of each territory.

As a result, small and large conflicts continued within the empire, and Irina’s territory was among the weakest.

“You just inherited the title of nobility. Plus, you’re a woman. Your foundation is weak. No one supports you.”

“You’re right. It won’t be long before the neighboring territory invades.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t help.”

Karos lacked the strength to help, and Bathesia and Sinclair couldn’t show themselves publicly.

They were too well-known, and their presence would spread rumors throughout the empire. Karos had no intention of sending them out, no matter how bad the situation.

Although they had survived, there was a real possibility they could lose the territory.

“But now we have them.”

Karos muttered, looking at the rugged man running desperately.

They were mercenaries. Their power was within the realm of human understanding.

Although they were recognized faces from being captured by the Sun God, the main target was always Karos. Few remembered the supporting mercenaries.

“They’ll be a great asset in the territorial war. Prepare their roles.”

“I understand. I’m not as foolish as my brother. By the way, when does this end?”

“Kyaaaa!”

The rugged man fell, smoke coming out of his body. He twitched on the ground, now a charcoal black.

“Is he alive?”

“I told her to control her strength. He won’t be dead.”

“Then call a healer. Ah, but before that.”

Irina turned.

“What about the Hero?”

“…No problems.”

“There was a hesitation in your words.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“That’s a relief.”

Irina clicked her tongue.

“How did she end up with you?”

“I don’t know.”

Sinclair said she would watch him, but that seemed like a surface reason. There must be another motive, but Karos couldn’t guess it.

“Still, it doesn’t seem like she’ll cause trouble, so it’s fine…”

“Demon King!”

A tearful voice echoed. Soccu flew towards Karos, crying.

“Please save me!”

“…Looks like there is trouble.”

“Damn it.”

Karos ground his teeth.

*

“So.”

Karos pressed his forehead. Recently, his headaches had been worsening.

“You tried to hug Soccu because the room was too small?”

“That’s right.”

Sinclair replied with an embarrassed face.

“I originally wanted to hug the slimes, but they seemed like they would die if I got close. Your secretary seems to avoid me. So I tried to hug Soccu, who likes me, but…”

“Hiiik!”

Soccu trembled and hid behind Karos. Karos clicked his tongue.

“That damn divine power.”

“Um…”

“Soccu and the slimes are weak. Just approaching them is enough to hurt them. That’s why we gave you a separate room, remember?”

“I, I regret it. But…”

Sinclair fidgeted with her fingers. Karos, guessing her thoughts, clicked his tongue.

“This is a problem too.”

Because of her upbringing in the Holy Land, Sinclair yearned for human warmth. Specifically, she wanted to hold someone. That was likely why she fought with Bathesia.

When they returned to the Holy Land, hugging Karos had sufficed, but here, it wasn’t possible.

“So…”

Sinclair hesitantly raised her head.

“If you stay with me, it might be okay…”

“No!”

“Absolutely not.”

“Not happening.”

The immediate responses caused Sinclair to droop her head in disappointment.

“Ugh…”

“We’ll address this later.”

Sinclair’s obsession was severe, so they couldn’t ignore it. But there was something more urgent to handle now.

“We need to expand the cave.”

“It is quite cramped right now.”

It was already small, but with Bathesia and Sinclair added, there was no space left. Bathesia let out a sigh.

“So, back to the demon realm?”

“Looks like it.”

“The demon realm…”

Sinclair murmured with a peculiar expression.

“The place where demons live.”

“But first, let’s take care of this.”

“What?”

“What do you think?”

Karos stroked the slime on his lap.

“This.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh.”

Sinclair tilted her head in confusion. Bathesia, realizing, nodded.

“Right, there’s that.”

“Lillis, how many points do we have?”

“10,032 points.”

“…That many?”

Karos was surprised by the number.

“We got almost ten thousand points at once?”

“That’s how they judged your actions as the Demon King.”

“Hmm. I think I understand.”

He realized how the points were earned.

“Points are awarded for actions befitting a Demon King.”

When they took over the goblin colony with Bathesia. When they subdued Irina and gained control of the village. And when they escaped the Sun God with Sinclair.

All these actions were as the Demon King and each time he had earned a high score.

“Thinking of it that way, ten thousand points make sense.”

He had indirectly brought down the Sun God and subdued a Hero. Such achievements as a Demon King were rare even for Bathesia.

“Then, let’s use them.”

Karos stood up.

*** ***

“My head hurts.”

In the rainbow-hued space, Bathesia grimaced. Karos muttered curses.

“This damned space.”

“Wow! We’re here again!”

Unlike them, Soccu flew happily. She loved this space.

“Hmm.”

Sinclair, who followed them, looked around with interest.

“Interesting. This place doesn’t seem to be made of demonic energy.”

“…How did you get in here?”

This place was the Demon King’s ability. Only his subordinates could enter. Sinclair hadn’t made a contract as a subordinate.

Sinclair replied nonchalantly.

“I could come in, so I did.”

“I see.”

Karos shook his head.

“Fine. The Great Demon King must have messed with it again.”

“Demon King…”

“Quiet.”

Karos dismissed Lillis’s earnest words.

“Is this your power? I heard each Demon King has a special ability.”

Sinclair murmured with anticipation.

“What is your ability? You summoned a Twin-Headed Ogre, so is it summoning?”

“Gacha.”

“…What?”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Karos said irritably.

“Gacha. It’s gacha.”