Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: I Am the Real Devil! #3
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The woman in the basement was freed.
She lightly stretched her body, which had been stiff for so long.
"Overheard your conversation upstairs. You're here to meet the demon Balder, right?"
"How do you know Balder?"
Grrrrr-.
Nimble growled in anger.
The woman's head shrank back.
"...I've met Balder before too! The only demon you can meet around here is Balder anyway. By the way, my name is Stella."
She reached out to me.
"Stella, if you want to live, don't even breathe."
I stuffed the woman into the Black Satchel.
Afterward, I climbed the stairs and paid a visit to Master Estelle.
Master was mixing unidentified solutions.
The smell was peculiar.
"Master, I fed the bait as instructed."
"Ohhh? But no matter how much I think about it, nothing specific comes to mind about demons. Come back next time and ask again."
She sent me on an errand and gave me nothing in return.
I got baited.
At this point, I was glad I'd rescued Stella from my Black Satchel.
"Ahem, then this disciple will take his leave."
I stealthily backed away and slipped out of Master Estelle's lab.
Nothing beats the thrill of stealing something and getting away!
"Okay, back to the strategy room!"
It was still early dawn.
I pulled Stella out of the Black Satchel.
She looked around and was overjoyed.
"Escape? I really escaped? Ahh! Thank you, God!"
Stella jumped up and down.
I'd taken all the risks to bust her out.
Yet the thanks went to some god she'd never even seen. Felt weird.
What a freeloader.
If there's a real 'god' in this world, it'd have pointy ears like Erda for sure.
"So, Balder's weakness?"
Nimble grabbed Stella's shoulder.
Stella's expression turned serious.
"Demon Balder has one weakness. The contract."
"The contract?"
"Demons are often bound by rules and regulations."
Contract as a weakness?
It didn't quite click.
"Anyway! Thank you so much for saving me! I'm off to find my sister!"
Whoosh-!
Stella hugged me and dashed off.
She ran barefoot like a pro.
"Did you meet Estelle?"
The next morning.
Hermit asked me with a plastic toothbrush shoved in her mouth.
"How'd you know?"
"You've got magic traces on you."
I figured it meant I reeked of that perfume only mages could smell.
Anyway, I told everyone about the demon's weakness I'd learned.
"Contract's the weakness? What does that even mean?"
Hammer tilted his head.
Felix furrowed his brow too.
"Means don't sign any contract documents carelessly."
Makes sense.
Anyway, we all decided to head into the demon's house together.
'Whatever, just don't sign any contracts.'
'Never sign anything recklessly.'
Fwoosh-!
As I reached for the blazing magic door, my body hair felt singed.
Like a mild burn.
But the air hitting my skin was freezing cold.
Haaa- my breath fogged up.
Looking around, a vast plain stretched out under a wide-open sky.
"Is this the summit of the high mountain 'High Mountain'?"
Hammer stood beside me, admiring the view.
But Hermit preferred the mansion over the mountain scenery.
"Look at that! The demon's mansion!"
At the tip of Hermit's finger.
A grand mansion built entirely of pitch-black marble.
Like the White House painted black into a Black House.
That's when I noticed the statues in the garden.
A statue of a nude woman.
Holding two axes, she looked just like an Amazon warrior from myth.
Her toned muscles reminded me of Instructor Roze, and the inscription read:
「Northern Female Warrior Garoro Lv.17」
「1421 – 1440」
「Do Not Touch」
"Don't touch?"
Looking was fine, then?
I peered deeper into the statue.
Then, tears like sparkling mercury streamed down from the statue-?
"Whoa! The statue's crying!"
"That's what it means to become one of Balder's collectibles."
Nimble gnashed her teeth.
These statues littered the garden everywhere.
All Balder's collectibles.
'They're alive?'
Turned to stone while still alive.
Just imagining it gave me the creeps.
Then the mansion's front gate swung wide open.
A man in a black suit emerged from within.
"Welcome! I am the Count of Hell, Balder. I've been waiting for you all to come."
Snap-.
Balder held up one finger.
"Just keep this one thing. Don't touch or steal my belongings! Can you sign this pledge?"
Swoosh-.
The air felt different.
My party members exchanged glances.
They all sensed it.
Sign that paper, and we're done for.
As cold sweat dripped, the demon count chuckled.
"Heh, no need for signatures between us! But watch those gargoyle statues. They're my mansion's guardians. They miss nothing and go berserk at the slightest gap."
We arrived at the central hearth in the mansion.
My eyes widened at the piles of coins on the red carpet.
"For capturing the vampire alive. 300 million Ether."
300 million-!
My blood boiled at the massive sum.
Fuck!
I'm rich!
"Then, could you sign the reward receipt?"
Balder held out paper and pen again.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
"Uh... can I read it carefully, check for legal issues, and sign later?"
As I barely squeezed out the words, Balder laughed heartily.
"Of course! Take your time with the receipt. Enjoy the feast I've prepared first."
Snap-.
The demon count snapped his fingers, and bronze mannequins lumbered in.
They set up a table and laid out food.
The mannequins dripped silver tears.
Chilling sight.
"All these your collectibles too?"
"Hoh, interested in my collection? I'll show you around while the food's being prepared."
Balder seemed itching to flaunt his wealth.
We were led to his "Collectibles Showcase."
A massive safe filled the wall, flanked by rows of statues.
"Coronair!"
I spotted Coronair and jumped.
The vampire Coronair.
Frozen in a shocked pose like a statue.
Balder shouted.
"Don't touch it!"
"Pardon?"
"Unlike the garden ones, these aren't fully set yet! Touch them, and the magic unravels, ruining the poses I worked hard to capture."
"...Ahhh...!?"
Suddenly Nimble yelped loudly.
I turned to see her trembling at a bronze mannequin.
It had beast ears like Nimble's.
Felix recognized it too.
"...Daisy?"
The demon count Balder tilted his head.
"Something wrong?"
"You...!"
Grrrr- I could feel Nimble's fur bristling under her deep hood.
Hammer stepped in, covering Nimble's mouth and shouting.
"No! Nothing wrong!"
Good thing Hammer intervened.
Balder was serious about collecting, amassing monsters as a monster hunter.
If Nimble's druid identity got exposed here?
Who knows what would happen.
Count Balder chuckled.
"That girl's a remnant of a nearly extinct tribe. Nothing more precious than taxidermying dying races for display."
"...How'd you catch her?"
I cautiously asked, glancing at Nimble.
The demon count Balder replied proudly.
"We'll talk over dinner."
And so the feast began.
The fruits and meats on the table looked delicious.
Gold plates and forks were stylish.
The gem-encrusted cups were veritable art.
'Fuck, stealing and selling these would fetch a fortune!'
That's when I realized with a start.
I'd subconsciously slipped a gold fork into my pocket.
'Crazy, old habits die hard!'
I flinched and eyed the gargoyle statue.
...But the gargoyle didn't move...!?
'He said not to get caught stealing by those bastards, right?'
'Then just don't get caught!'
I'd pierced the core of this mansion's rules!
"Where's the bathroom?"
"Out in the hall."
Pretending to head to the bathroom, I slipped into the hall.
Then went to the "Collectibles Showcase."
Room lined with countless bronze dolls.
Huge safe in the center.
Maybe I could crack that too if I'm clever?
Roll roll-.
But the gargoyles' stone eyes were locked on me, the only moving thing in the room.
So I used "Subtle Touch" to lightly poke Coronair's butt.
Coronair soon exhaled roughly.
"Ugh, that fucking Balder bastard!"
The magic hardening Coronair's body into bronze unraveled.
As he thrashed, I felt the gargoyles' eyes shift to him.
'Heh, just as I thought!'
Plenty of gargoyles still.
Needed more chaos to divert their eyes.
So I freed all the hardening statues.
"Fr...freedom!"
"Let's escape this hellhole!"
"I get you're happy, but don't touch anything! If the gargoyles rampage, Balder will come!"
The people buzzed to life, gargoyle eyes darting frantically.
I seized the gap and placed my hand on the safe.
「Hell's Safe - Lock Difficulty 30」
─Crazy, lock difficulty 30!
That's imperial palace lock level?
'What the hell's inside to justify that!'
Click, whoooosh-.
The iron door swung outward.
My expectations peaked, imagining gold and treasures galore.
"...What the fuck?"
My face twisted in disgust.
No gold bars, no coins—just stacks of paper.
"All that effort for this shitty paper?"
As I scowled, Coronair yelled like it was his chance.
"...Those are the original contracts!"
"Cont...contract originals! Mine's gotta be there too!"
"My contract!"
"Hey, just burn them all!"
People lunged into the safe like starving hyenas.
In the chaos, the gargoyles' eyes glowed red.
「Gargoyle – Ka Lv.17」
「Gargoyle - Go Lv.17」
Rumble-.
Gargoyles stirred with dull thuds.
Shit, we're screwed—then an axe blade embedded in a gargoyle's head.
"Evil demon Balder, taste Garoro's axe!"
"Rip Balder's throat!"
"Can't move for 100 years!"
Crowds burst through doors, charging the gargoyles.
Seeing the Amazon-like big sis, they must be the garden collectibles.
In that moment, I knew instinctively.
Every collectible in the house had turned human again—.
'Fuck, didn't plan on this much chaos?'
'No choice, use the uproar to bail!'
Squeeze. Someone grabbed my side.
Nimble's sister, Daisy.
"...Thank you for saving us! You came to rescue us, right?"
Coronair chimed in.
"You sneaky bastard! So this was your scheme!"
"...Scheme?"
"Using me as bait to get invited to Balder's! Then picking his safe with your lockpicking to free the slaves!"
"Me?"
"Balder can turn contract-breakers into bronze dolls! Absorb or control their power!"
Which meant now, with all dolls freed, was when Balder was weakest.
"Hero, I, Garoro of the tundra, offer my axe to your cause today!"
"Don't know who you are, but unite our strength to survive!"
"Battle ready—!"
The freed warriors gripped their weapons.
Their breaths ragged, eyes bloodshot.