Hey, You Can Be a Demon Duke Too!

Tae-hyun steadily built up his reputation. From Bomb Spears to Holy Clubs!

'No, wait. What are they even going to use a Holy Club for...?'

It was a single-use item!

"Oink... oink oink. I... I think I made a mistake!"

"...?!?!"

Leveled up is good, but Bulbul-i, what on earth are you doing right now?!

Clearing quests was all well and good, but Tae-hyun was terrified of what Bulbul-i would become once he grew up. Just how evil of a dragon was he going to be?!

"Kyaho?" Bulbul-i tilted his head innocently.

'He still looks like an angel, though.'

"..."

Carbanog was incredibly blunt, but he wasn't wrong. Red Dragons were the most hot-tempered and impatient of all dragons!

"Sigh. It can't be helped."

"What's wrong?"

"From now on, we must only show Bulbul-i good words and good behavior."

"..."

"Tae-hyun, don't you think that's a bit too much to ask?"

It was a task of such extreme difficulty that even Lee Da-bi answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Oink. What do I have to do for you to send me back to the Demon Realm?"

"My boy. You've finally figured out the rules."

Tae-hyun smiled warmly at Goladon, who had finally grasped the Archisus-style rules. Confronting rude demons, punishing them, and reforming them—wasn't this the true mission given to the Apostle of Archisus?

'At this rate, the demons might flock to me in droves later to present a letter of appreciation.'

"You didn't just come out to the human world on your own. Who helped you get out?"

"Oink. Duke Adad sent me."

Demon Duke Adad! One of the Demon Dukes currently colluding with Ice Duke Furneus, constantly eyeing Tae-hyun for an opportunity. They had already clashed once in the Demon Realm, and since Tae-hyun had utterly crushed the army Adad summoned, the grudge was already heavily stacked.

Between Ice Duke Furneus, who lost his castle, and Demon Duke Adad, who lost his subordinates and army, who was angrier? Even Carbanog couldn't answer this difficult question.

'As expected, Adad sent him.' Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.

Honestly, this was an unfair fight. Of course, so far, only Adad had suffered losses, with his subordinates destroyed or captured. But Adad was still alive and kicking in his own territory, capable of recovering his losses immediately. If he kept sending subordinates to the continent, Tae-hyun would have to keep defending. An unfavorable position!

'Ah. Do I have to go to the Demon Realm? I still have to clear my quests.'

He had to clear the Apostle of Archisus class quest and the kingdom-related quests... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He couldn't go to the Demon Realm right now! Receiving help from another Duke, Gusirek, was also something that required going to the Demon Realm first.

"By any chance, do you have any complaints about Adad?" Tae-hyun asked casually.

He was already loaded with all kinds of slander and lies. A scheme to torment Adad somehow! Of course, the opponent was a loyal subordinate, so he wouldn't fall for it immediately.

'If I can just sow a seed of doubt, it's a success.'

"Oink. Duke Adad is arrogant, tyrannical, and torments his subordinates a lot."

"..."

Complaints poured out the moment he asked! Tae-hyun had forgotten. Demons were naturally this kind of creature!

"Goladon. Do you know how I knew in advance that you would appear here?"

"Oink. I don't know."

"Adad told me himself."

"Oink. Don't talk nonsense. No matter how stupid Duke Adad is, he wouldn't tell Archisus something like that."

"..."

Goladon was surprisingly smart. But Tae-hyun didn't stop.

"Do you know where Lalgrgal, whom you served, went?"

"Oink. I don't know."

"Adad was enraged by his continuous failures and locked him up in a dark, deep, and hungry place. That's where Lalgrgal is trapped."

"Oink?!" Goladon looked shocked. Adad, who claimed he didn't know where Lalgrgal was, had done such a thing?

"Oink. I can't believe it!"

"Look at this. This is an item Lalgrgal trusted me with." Tae-hyun pulled out [Lalgrgal's Poison].

It was the item he secured when Lalgrgal poisoned the nobles and royalty of the Erangs Kingdom.

"Oink...!"

"Do you see? Adad is going to try to kill you next. You're already out of his favor."

"Oink...! How dare he do this! Before I could even betray him first!"

"..."

The sense of betrayal felt by demons was indeed unique. Tae-hyun nodded and said,

"Shall I tell you a good way?"

"Oink. Tell me! I will listen closely!"

"First, go back and pretend to be loyal. Then, find an opportunity and feed [the poison] to Adad."

"Oink... isn't that too dangerous?"

"Goladon. Not just anyone can be a Demon Duke. You have to be able to do dangerous things like that to become a Demon Duke. You can do it too!"

Hey, you can be a Demon Duke too! Carbanog was amazed at how Tae-hyun was inspiring positive dreams and hopes in a demon.

"Goladon. Do you know what this staff is?" Tae-hyun pulled out [the Staff of the Demon King].

The legendary Staff of the Demon King, rumored to have belonged to the Demon King who once tried to rule the Demon Realm! It was an insane item that any demon would go crazy for.

...Of course, it was a fake.

"Oink...?! No way!"

"Yes, that's right! This is indeed that [Staff of the Demon King]."

"Oink, let me touch it..."

"Ah-ah." Tae-hyun quickly put the staff back. Since it was a fake, he couldn't show it for too long.

"Goladon. If you want this staff, make it happen. Got it? Go feed him the poison secretly, and then contact me!"

"Oink. Understood! I'll try!"

"Oh, right. Goladon. Before you go, let me ask a favor."

"Oink?"

"Could you lend me a few pounds of meat from your body?"

"..."

Goladon's face turned dead serious for the first time.

"Oink. Just how much are you taking?!"

"No, I just touched you once and so many items dropped. It's a misunderstanding."

Even if Goladon hated it, there was no way to avoid it. The fierce Garuda warriors were standing by. Tae-hyun skillfully "borrowed" Goladon's meat. And of course, thanks to the effects of Archisus, he took several times more!

"It was a good hunt!"

"Yes. I'm glad you're satisfied with this."

Seeing that the Garuda warriors seemed satisfied, Tae-hyun felt relieved. They wouldn't bother him for a while, right?

'Wait, these bastards?'

I told them to stay quiet, and they brought more quests?

"!"

Fortunately, the quest to find the descendant of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander did appear! They actually took care of him!

'...But who is the Garuda Princess?'

"It was really fun!"

"I learned so much today. Thank you!"

"I'll definitely brag to my friends! I'll cheer for you in the Pan-On tournament too!"

"As expected of Kim Tae-hyun. That's exactly what I thought. Truly magnificent!"

"?"

"???"

The rankers praising Tae-hyun turned their heads. An oddball had slipped into their midst.

"Chao. Why are you still here?"

"Yeah. You're still here. Get lost already."

"We don't need your food. We're full."

Instant nagging! Chao felt a surge of anger but held it back. He absolutely needed the ingredients Tae-hyun had obtained from Goladon. In times like this, he had to flatter him!

Actually, the original plan was a bit different.

"Kim Tae-hyun. You caught Goladon, but that's just the beginning. To extract the desired byproducts from a high-level monster, you need an extremely high Cooking skill. Without it, you won't get proper ingredients, or their grade will be low. But don't worry. There happens to be an outstanding chef right here..."

"Guildmaster. I think Kim Tae-hyun just obtained the meat normally."

"..."

There was one thing Chao was missing. Kim Tae-hyun's Cooking skill was also high!

"Why on earth does a combat class guy have such a high Cooking skill?!"

"Didn't he raise it by cooking to treat his territory's players? What goes around comes around..."

"Are you teasing me right now?"

"N-No way."

"Kim Tae-hyun. I will buy that meat at a very high price. I'll offer a price you'll never regret..."

"Guildmaster. Kim Tae-hyun is flying away on his mount right now."

"...Hey! Hey!!! You punk! You're not trying to steal my quest, are you??? Come back! I know you can hear me! Come back!"

"Guildmaster. If he actually comes back, aren't we all going to die?"

"..."

Erangs Kingdom. The princes were fighting fiercely, but many places were still peaceful.

Chao hadn't given him the exact location, but finding it was easy.

'This is the place.'

All he had to do was follow the crowd of chefs!

"Excuse me, where is the place to receive that suspicious cooking quest?"

"Ah, those crazy bastards?"

"..."

"..."

Did we come to the wrong place? Ryu Da-young asked cautiously from behind.

"Isn't that a strange quest?"

"What are you talking about, sister? Don't say such nonsense. Player Kim Tae-hyun never makes mistakes. Even if it looks like a mistake, it's all calculated."

"..."

Tae-hyun flinched. 'No... I make mistakes too...!'

Standing next to them, Lee Se-yeon bit her lip hard to hold back her laughter. When Ryu Tae-su sang praises of Kim Tae-hyun during the season, she wanted to smack the back of his head because he was so annoying, but seeing the situation now, it was incredibly hilarious.

'Kim Tae-hyun is feeling burdened!'

It was her first time seeing Tae-hyun look like that. That alone made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bringing Ryu Tae-su along completely worth it.