Chapter 487: Cliché (1) |
“You did well, Miss Lonovera. Your acting was outstanding. I wanted to give you 110 points out of a hundred when you said—we’re your fear, enemy, and your nightmare,” I complimented.
- Y-You’re embarrassing me. I didn’t do anything. It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. I simply carried out the task you assigned to me. You even wrote the script for me,” Lonovera said.
“It’s the least I can do. Hahaha. Your skills are the reason you managed to deliver it well. I really want to open my heart up and show you just how honored I am for being able to work with you,” I told her.
- No, I should be the one thanking you for giving a demon like me such a big role. Hehe. Here, have a drink and try this as well. Say ah.
“Haha. Even if you don’t take care of me, I can eat it myself, Miss Lonovera,” I said.
- A-Are you embarrassed?
“Yes, but it’s not because of this. I’m embarrassed because you keep thanking me. It’s true that I gave you that role, but it’s all because you’re the best candidate for the role. I have no other intentions behind it. I was pleasantly surprised when you called Benigoa a scum—I almost jumped out of my seat,” I replied.
- Hehehe. I’m thankful that you gave me the opportunity to insult Benigoa in front of the people of the continent. I’m sure you already know, but I don’t really look like a demon, so I don’t have much influence in the real world. But thanks to this, I’m sure that my name will spread even just a bit, and that makes me feel happy. Pretending to torture Benigoa’s Second Coming was also exciting.
“Hahaha. Even if it isn’t because of me, I’m sure you would’ve become a great demon that is capable of instilling fear into the continent someday. You just haven’t had the chance to show your talents. There are also fewer disgusting humans capable of summoning demons. Once this incident has been taken care of, I’ll do my best to create an institution that officially trains black mages,” I explained.
“I feel the same. No matter how much I think about it, it’s perfect,” I agreed.
- Your acting about how you’re suffering behind me was exceptional. I’d expect nothing less from the person whose soul is so disgusting to the extent of impressing Belial. B-By the way, when are you planning on ascending here?
“I-I don’t have any plans of ascending there just yet. Belial said he would prepare many things for me, but he said that it would take about 2,000 years. Anyway, why are you asking?”
- I-It’s nothing.
- Lonovera must be interested in you, Father Lee Ki-Young.
“Mr. Ballitos, you’re going too far. How could a high priest of the 27th Legion be interested in a lowly mortal like me? I’m grateful, but I’m worried that you’ve made Miss Lonovera feel uncomfortable,” I commented.
- Hahaha. How could we call you a lowly mortal? You possess a pathetic mortal fleshly body right now, but you’ll end up being our comrade down the road. I may even end up serving you. Based on your achievements so far, I’m sure you’ll be within the top 500 and with more achievements, you’ll be in the top 100.
‘So why do you keep treating me like your co-worker? You guys…’
“Ahem.”
- If you do end up ascending here later, please don’t forget Ballitos—
“How could I forget your name, Mr. Ballitos?” I interrupted.
- I’m sure it’s not enough, but this is my gift. Please think of it as a display of my appreciation.
“You didn’t have to…” I commented.
- I’m not sure if you’ll like it, but please take a look. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
- My gift is not enough as well, but I prepared something.
“Ah, Miss Rimoura. I’m really embarrassed to see you do this,” I said.
- Please accept it. I want to show how grateful I am to you.
“I feel bad because I feel like I’ve been on the receiving end all this while. It would be nice if I could give you all something, but sadly, my life revolves here rather than where you live…” I told them.
- Don’t worry too much. The fact that you’re with the 27th Legion is a really big favor to us.
- Rimoura is right. Hahaha.
“I’m truly grateful for your praise. Hahaha,” I laughed.
‘This is heaven. Heaven.’
The entire Blue Guild was definitely busy right now, so I feel kind of bad for them.
However, I was definitely in heaven right now.
Many different delicacies and drinks I had never seen before were laid out in front of me, and I couldn’t help but think that we were having a luxurious feast. The chairs were really comfortable as well despite their hideous look.
The way the maids massaged my shoulders and legs made me feel like I was in a professional massage salon. I knew I would receive great treatment, but the treatment I was receiving was better than I initially thought.
Lonovera started feeding me personally, and I could tell that she was in a good mood because of the big role I just gave her. And what about the gifts behind me? Those treasures couldn’t be found on the continent, so they were basically priceless.
‘I can take those treasures and just tell the members that I got it them as loot…’
I even thought that it wouldn’t be so bad to go to hell. I had no idea what Benigoa and Elune were going to offer me, but rather than enjoying a boring ascetic life, I thought it would be better to live the rest of my life as an amazing demon.
Benigoa had never given me anything other than responsibilities, while Belial gave me delicious drinks and treasures, so I obviously preferred Belial.
Of course, it was still too early to think about where I would go. However, unless Benigoa swore to live the rest of her days as my slave and treat me like a noble—actually, even if she offered to do that, it could be more beneficial to join Belial.
‘There’s no point thinking about the far future…’
I had to handle the ongoing situation first. We had dinner after the beautiful introduction video. Rimoura’s expression bothered me a bit because she was staring hatefully at Lonovera, who was sitting next to me.
Rimoura looked kind of jealous of Lonovera’s role, and she seemed worried that I might abandon her. Of course, I could understand why she was worried, but I still hadn’t decided on who would take on what role.
‘You were chosen by Belial, so don’t worry, Rimoura. Unfortunately, she still won’t believe me even after I told her that.’
She was basically filled with doubts and suspicion. It felt like I was watching actresses waging a war of nerves in real time. Whenever Lonovera fed me food, Rimoura would fill my empty cup, and they weren’t the only ones doing this.
The male demons would do the same. Of course, their methods were different from the two, but I was sure that they were aware that this was their golden opportunity because the number of gifts I was receiving kept on increasing.
‘I’ve already made up my mind.’
The ones who would get to live, the ones who would die, the ones who would be abandoned, and the ones who would go up in rank—I had already categorized them.
Belial manipulated the list, but I didn’t really think that it was a bad idea. However, removing the bad apples from the renowned soft-liner 27th Legion still required a ton of work.
‘Belial is pretty reasonable…’
Between those who knew how to take care of hens that laid golden eggs and those who were dumb enough to kill those hens—between the two of them, it was obvious which side would receive more benefits.
I thought about it hard and long, but the hard-liners seemed like they wanted to make it big as soon as possible. I was technically managing the continent right now, so I preferred the soft-liners.
‘As long as I’m helpful…’
A few minutes ago, I told myself that I would think about the future once the ongoing situation was done. However, I started thinking that there was a huge chance that I might start working with Belial two thousand years later.
Therefore, it wouldn’t hurt to leave a good impression.
I looked at the other end of the table and saw someone drinking by himself. He seemed dissatisfied with the situation, and anyone could tell that he didn’t fit in with the 27th Legion.
He was a very muscular large-framed man. He had six horns and four eyes. He was definitely a warrior, considering that he had a large ax next to him as if it was his lover.
The perverted Lonovera had a thin tail, which kept on swinging back and forth. She also had tiny wings on her head. Meanwhile, the tentacle woman, Rimoura, looked just as beautiful as a goddess.
They exuded a different air compared to Ballitos, who was emitting his virtuous aura like he was trying to show off that he was unique among the demons of the 27th Legion.
‘Donovan, demon rank 1,256.’
They would provide the members of the Blue Guild with valuable Experience Points.
‘He’s a Semi-Mythic demon, but…’
It was possible. Rimoura or Lonovera would actually be a bit more of a difficult opponent than him. Naturally, I thought about how the Blue Guild would struggle to fight strategically rather than using brute force. It would be difficult for them to do so, even if Jung Ha-Yan, Kim Hyun-Sung, Cha Hee-Ra, and Elena were present at the same time.
However, I had a feeling that they would win.
‘I’m the only one who’s always thinking of you guys…’
Of course, there were times when I broke their hearts, but this was all for the sake of the guild’s bigger picture. I was worried that the canvas might rip because the picture I was trying to draw was too big.
Fortunately, things were still going according to plan.
‘It’ll take about a week until the Federation recovery plan goes into action.’
The guild members should have already watched the magic hologram, so I was sure that they were anxious right now. Based on my understanding of the members, I was confident that they had decided to speed things up by two days.
Considering the Federation’s response time, it would definitely take more than a week for them to respond.
In other words, they had to do something extreme to speed things up.
Of course, there was still a limit to that despite the extreme measures that they might take.
I looked around and cleared my throat. Everyone promptly stared at me.
They probably realized that I had something to say.
“Ahem, ahem…”
- Is there something you would like to say?
“It’s more like I have a message I need to deliver. Anyway, I’ll be holding a brief interview tomorrow.”
- Ah…
“It’s about time for me to officially announce the roles… I would have done it earlier, but Belial said that he wanted everyone to have a fair chance. Therefore, I needed ample time to prepare. I apologize for the delay,” I continued.
‘Belial really owes me one…’
“The weight of each role is different, but please keep in mind that every role is important,” I added.
- Of course. Every role is important. S-So can you tell us which roles we can apply for?
“I think it’ll take a bit too long for me to tell you all the roles here, but the most important roles are the Four Heavenly Kings. You should think of it as an important role that allows you to stand the closest to Belial to support him any time,” I replied.
- The Four Heavenly Kings…!
- T-The Four Heavenly Kings…!
‘So they really like this kind of thing...’
It was a bit of a classic, but the Four Heavenly Kings couldn’t be taken out in the advent of the demon king.
There was a reason why cliches were effective.
“Ah, before anything else, please record another video today, Miss Lonovera. Please make it a bit more violent this time. Hahaha,” I requested.
- It would be my honor!
Of course, rescuing the princess who was abducted by the demon king was a cliche considered one of the classics.
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