The Price of Ambition

After commissioning the factory manager to produce clothing and black pantyhose, I returned to the entrance of Las Village via the portal. It was too late to head all the way to Gremory’s Dungeon, so I had to listen to the reports right there in front of the portal.

"You've worked hard, Papa." Meari greeted me alongside Lime. Since I had taken Eila and Ryun on the expedition, Meari and Lime had been running the dungeon together.

"Any trouble overnight?"

"No. The stud-hunters were taking turns standing guard at the Las Village watchtower, but unfortunately, there were no adventurers. It’s a shame, really—if there were, we’d have more orcs."

"Adventurers don't show up every single day, so it can't be helped. Besides, after Luna beat the hell out of those forty last time, they’ve barely been coming around."

Since adventurers didn't visit in a predictable, daily quota, there was nothing to be done. I had to be grateful that nothing had gone wrong while I was away.

"Everything is fine in our dungeon, but what about Gremory’s? Did anything come out of there?"

"Papa, it’s only been a day. The entrance is blocked, and no demons have opened a portal to Master Gremory’s dungeon. Plus, you know what state her dungeon is in right now."

"I know, I know. It’s just packed with Level 1 trash."

A chicken coop. Since I’d sent a massive number of male prisoners there, it was time for the Harpy swarm to emerge. I had returned from Las Vegas to Las Village specifically to check on that.

"Did it turn out well?"

"We got 30 Harpy Angel eggs. The rest are just regular Harpies."

"That’s a decent haul. Any humans resisting?"

"There were, but not anymore. Most of them did as you said, but a few resisted until the very end. Harsus and Rastuzard ate them up nicely."

I had intended to let them have one last release before they died, but to think there were those who would abandon that mercy and willingly choose to become ghoul feed.

"How many?"

"Hmm... about a quarter? And there are only 50 people left alive now."

"Why?"

"They were squeezed to death. Especially the prisoners sent to the Andras section. You know those holes we made in the walls for the Andras to stick their heads through? They really loved using those. Oh, and Papa, what should we do with the Andras eggs?"

Since the male prisoners had sown their seeds into the female Andras, the seeding had taken place. They would only produce more Andras, but was increasing their numbers actually a good thing?

"...No, it’ll be a great propaganda tool to establish the identity of Las Vegas. Meari, you can distinguish the eggs now, right? The 1-stars and the 2-stars."

"That’s a piece of cake now."

"Then collect the adult Andras eggs separately. They might be bird-brained and a bit lacking in intelligence, but they’re perfect as residents of Las Vegas."

What better symbol for Las Vegas—a city where humans, demons, and demi-humans alike can freely and harmoniously shout 'Las! Las!'—than the Andras?

Thinking of that, I called out the Andras from our dungeon.

"What?"

Andras had grown steadily, reaching Level 35. I toyed with the black-winged garment of the Andras, who was now indistinguishable from a human, and gave her an order.

"Las Vegas needs a face. Do you have any interest in stepping out in front of the humans?"

"Hmm..."

At my words, Andras fell into deep thought. While her self-esteem had grown through the synthesis, she had originally been a 1-star Harpy dispatched to a backwater dungeon like mine by the Demon King’s army, so she still lacked confidence.

"Maybe after I gain a bit more experience, but for now... I don't know. Hmm... how about after I can take down two demi-human Andras by myself?"

"Even Ryun and Lime can't take them down alone; you're setting your goals higher than I expected."

"At least that much is necessary so I don't look pathetic in front of the humans. Didn't you think so too, Master?"

"Of course."

An average 3-star at max level, around Level 55, would be enough to hold her own anywhere.

"Meari, focus on Andras’s growth. Las Vegas needs a symbol."

"Got it. So, I should consider Andras effectively dispatched to the human world, right?"

"Yes. I need to operate an air unit in the human world."

"An air unit?"

Meari tilted her head, looking confused for a moment. But to protect Las Vegas, we needed not only to improve the quality of the Las Army but also to utilize our advantages as demons.

"Tell Gremory. Hatch all the adult Andras and Harpy Angels and send them to Las Vegas. The gender of the adult Andras doesn't... well, actually, it does. Don't send the males. Only send the females."

Harpy Angels were all female, but the probability for adult Andras was 50/50. While there wasn't a huge difference in combat power, the male Andras needed to fulfill their role as studs.

"Tell the male Andras to sow their seeds into the Harpies. Got it?"

"I suppose that's better than hatching from humans or orcs."

"Is that all?"

I brought up the fantastic probability that occurred when a male Andras met a Harpy.

Unlike with humans or orcs, Andras was the only one capable of pulling a 4-star entity out of Harpies in one go. I had wondered about initiating infinite seeding against Harpy Angels since the probability was high, but according to Gremory, even if the labels or probabilities differed, they were the same species, so the difference between Harpies and Harpy Angels was only 0.0X%.

"If any are born, manage them specially. They seem quite sensitive to stress, probably because they're bird-brained. Don't let them ejaculate more than 5 times a day."

"Why?"

"They'll die from exhaustion."

"I'll supervise them thoroughly."

The instructions for the chicken coop were finished. Now, I had to pack my luggage and subordinates and leave for Las Vegas.

"Then I leave the rest to you, Meari. Give my regards to Gremory’s main body."

"...She was really sharpening her knives after receiving the memories from the clone. What on earth did you do to her?"

"Kids don't need to know."

Until Gremory reincarnated, I planned to enjoy myself with the clone for a while longer.

"Tell her if she ever gets a craving for Cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste), she can come find me."

"I don't know what Cheonggukjang is, but I think Master Gremory would hate it."

"She’ll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like it now."

I had delivered a full-length lecture in the shower about why Gremory is Cheonggukjang, so there was no way she didn't know. And she (the clone) hadn't been able to refute it either.

"Right. Then I'm heading back now. You lot, follow me."

I pointed to the ten orcs lined up behind Meari. They were as green as fresh recruits who had just finished boot camp, yet their military discipline was sharp. They were third-generation orcs, born from the eggs left behind by Arthur and his brothers before they left the dungeon, having burned their souls to leave their seed. Since there were no new female adventurers to introduce yet, I planned to take them to Las Vegas.

"From now on, you will follow me to Las ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Vegas. Your main duties are... yes, patrol and labor. Of course, don't forget combat training. For now, just follow me and do as I say. First, start by moving the luggage."

"""Yes, Legion Commander!!"""

I didn't know who had already trained them, but their discipline was rock solid. I didn't intend to force such an atmosphere, but it wasn't bad. I had my subordinates each carry a piece of luggage. The boxes they lifted were filled with the remains of gargoyles.

"Meari, if anything happens, make sure to evacuate to Gremory’s dungeon. Got it?"

"Yes. Papa, if anything happens, run to the portal immediately."

We wished each other safety. Until the day the Las Army conquered the world, I prayed that my family, at least, would never die. Even if it meant driving countless subordinates to their deaths for that ambition.

'Stay cold-blooded.'

If I was going to take down the Demon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠King and seize his throne anyway, I had decided to willingly become a devil.

Whoosh.

Crossing through the portal, the factory manager was waiting for me right in front of it. He was waiting with silk-like fabric in his hands.

"Oh, you've arrived. I think I can make the items you mentioned. The workers' hands are still clumsy, so I think I'll have to make them myself..."

"There's no need to be a devil to my own subordinates and residents."

"Pardon?"

"Just a resolution, a resolution."

Except for the residents who helped me like this, I decided to be cold-blooded only to my enemies.

"For now, proceed with the work. Work hard from 9 to 12, and take a 1-hour lunch break. And after 6 o'clock, stop all work. Do you understand?"

"......Pardon?"

The factory manager raised his voice, his mouth agape in disbelief.

"Stop work at 6 o'clock?"

"Would you rather work overtime?"

"Are you telling us to work only 8 hours a day? You must be joking."

"...I'm thinking of having you work five days a week and rest for two?"

"Haha, your jokes are going too far. ......Are you serious? You want us to work only 40 hours a week?"

It seemed I had picked a crooked factory manager. No matter how much I decided to become a devil, I had no intention of grafting that hellish overtime culture of 'Hell Joseon' onto my legion.

"Just do as I say for now. I'll assign you as much as you can handle, so don't get scared and try to offer up your lunch hours or force the kids to work extra."

"But... the efficiency..."

"Efficiency is my problem to worry about. You just do as I say."

"Ah, I understand. I apologize."

The factory manager apologized and backed down. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I handed him the fabric and ordered him to keep weaving. After he left, I had the orc subordinates set down the luggage in the middle of the plaza.

"As soon as a battle breaks out later, use these stones to throw them. I'll explain the combat details later, so for now, let's go collect the human corpses with me."

"Collect... corpses, sir?"

"Yes. We're going to clean up the corpses of the humans your seniors fought so hard to kill."

I headed toward the main gate of Las Vegas. While I was spending a night of madness, the Slime Dragons had been diligently moving the human corpses outside the walls. Four squads, starting from Arthur, Agravain, Gareth, and Lancelot, had been collecting corpses since dawn. They stripped them of any useful equipment and laid the blood-stained clothes neatly outside the wooden fence as shrouds. I had to find the corpse of that man buried in the mountain of bodies. So, I rolled up my robe sleeves and joined the collection site myself.

"Legion Commander, I apologize. We haven't found him yet."

Gareth bowed his head and apologized. It wasn't a matter to apologize for at all, but he seemed sorry that he hadn't found him yet even though I had come myself.

"It's fine. We have plenty of time anyway. You lot come over here and help too. First, neatly organize this mountain of corpses. Be careful not to let blood splatter while moving them."

In the overnight hours, flies were already starting to swarm the bodies. It was only natural since half a day had passed, but I had to take the necessary measures quickly. I carefully lifted one corpse. Looking at the face, it was the guy whose ankle I had cut off with an axe.

"Put them on the boards first. Then grab the ropes tied to the boards and drag them. Move them neatly as you see. The most important objective is to find an old man who looks like this."

I drew a mustache with my hand. It was a strange-looking mustache, and at least it wouldn't have been burned off when he died, so I should be able to find him quickly if I saw his face.

"To the one who finds him, I will personally grant an opportunity to face a ★★★ monster or human. Of course, that's assuming such an existence exists later—"

"Legion Commander, I found him!"

A beautiful voice was shouting from afar. It was Lancelot, and I had the subordinates wait in place before rushing toward her.

"Is it this guy?"

"Yes. You found him well."

The knight with his eyes closed was undoubtedly the man I had personally fed bread to. I lifted his corpse with ease and handed the subordinates over to Lancelot.

"They're fresh recruits. You take care of them."

"Yes! Hehe, I'll whip them into shape."

She said she would whip them into shape, but Lancelot would manage her subordinates well enough. I carried the knight's corpse toward the plaza.

"......."

The mage who had targeted me was still alive. Despite being used by dozens of orcs, the mage was glaring at me with a complex expression. Hatred for me and a craving for pleasure. The mage had already become a slave to pleasure.

"What a pity. If you weren't a mage, I would have sent you to Gremory’s dungeon."

I raised the sword I had prepared in advance, and the mage's head flew off with a look of astonishment still on his face.

"Phew...."

With this, I had the corpses of the knight and the mage. Just as I had hunted down four young men to satisfy Lime’s evolution conditions, I needed to satisfy the evolution conditions for someone else this time. Harsus and Rastuzard. The time for evolution had arrived.

Even if they were 'Undead Trash,' if they were backed by orcs and elves, they would be able to play a sufficient role.

"Well, fuck, 'Undead Trash' has to be better than bird-brains and camel monsters."

I carried the corpses of the knight and the mage and crossed through the portal.