Chapter 108: Handsomer Than You
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 108: Handsomer Than You
As I mentioned before, we took a good rest for two days.
Although I didn’t know where Diane had gone, Narupa, after hearing the situation, said she had taken measures so we could move freely in and out of the Magic Tower.
“Are you really going to have her skip the banquet too? Will the Dean be okay with that?”
“Hmm, well. If you’re asking about courtesy toward the other party, the Dean should be the one walking on eggshells around us.”
When I expressed concern about etiquette, Narupa gave a rather nonsensical reply.
As I stared at her in confusion, she simply shrugged.
“You’ll see. Besides, we’re going to enter the banquet hall separately.”
“What? Is this some kind of scheme by the Magic Tower?”
“It’s been negotiated. They had no choice but to agree. But don’t misunderstand. This only happened because the Dean practically begged for it.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“It might be unpleasant, but it won’t be dangerous.”
Narupa approached and caressed my cheek.
“You’ll be able to see right through him, Oppa. Since I’ve lived here for so long, I can’t distinguish things perfectly anymore.”
“Narupa?”
“Just don’t go wild the moment you see him. He’s someone you can actually talk to.”
As she continued with her riddles, Rune stretched her back.
With a series of pops from her joints, Rune stretched languidly.
“Narupa, I hate riddles. You keep giving them to me saying I need to develop my thinking skills, but if you’re going to tell me anyway, sooner is better, right?”
“Don’t worry, Rune. It’s just that Oppa needs to make the judgment, so I can’t speak out of turn.”
“Then it’s simple.”
Rune raised her index finger and asked Narupa.
“Should I bring my weapon or not?”
“Don’t bring it.”
Narupa answered brightly.
“If you need it, I’ll summon it for you.”
That smile—it perfectly resembled Bisharen Diberuper’s.
Specifically, the smile he wore right before causing trouble.
* * *
In the center of the Dean’s office, a banquet table for two had been set.
The Dean repeatedly wiped his sweaty palms on a napkin.
“Whew…”
He was nervous, which was unlike him.
But he had every reason to be.
If things went south, he could be obliterated on the spot.
“The guest is entering.”
The door opened along with Adrian’s voice.
“Welcome!”
He stood up hurriedly to greet the guest, but the guest didn’t move an inch.
Or so it seemed.
Kiiiiiiiiiiing—!
“Ugh?!”
As a ringing sound pierced his ears, he hurriedly threw himself flat on the floor just as a massive shockwave swept over him.
Crash!
“What are you doing?!”
“No, I was wondering why Narupa made me promise so many times.”
Cracking his neck from side to side, Alto’s expression went cold.
To Liras, this was a danger signal.
It was the expressionless face Alto wore right before a hunt.
“Wait! Bertrand! I-I clearly stated this was a negotiation!”
“Negotiation, my foot. You expect me to believe the words of a damn Demon?”
“Yes, I am a Demon. One of the Four Heavenly Kings, no less. But we have something in common!”
“What? Common ground? What could you and I possibly have in common? You better answer carefully unless you want to see your own internal organs with your own eyes.”
This was bad.
His desperate attempt to calm Alto down had only provoked him further.
But it was fine.
If it was Alto Bertrand, he would surely empathize with the next answer and sit quietly at the negotiating table.
He was confident.
Thus, Liras shouted with pride.
“We’re both ugly!”
Alto shot back reflexively.
“I’m handsomer than you!”
“And here I thought we were kindred spirits!”
Liras was hurt!
“You’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings who slaughtered my comrades! You think that ‘kindred spirit’ crap is going to work on me?”
“I never caused casualties except in self-defense! A-hey! Think about it. I never acted out or persisted. I always retreated immediately!”
“You tried to invade the Royal Capital so persistently, and now you’re playing innocent?”
“There was a reason for that. A valid reason! I can explain.”
“Phew. If it weren’t for Narupa, you would have been ripped in half already.”
“While that’s physically impossible, please just listen. My friend of the heart.”
“I’m telling you, man, I might not be a masterpiece, but I’m still better looking than you!”
Tears of sorrow welled up in Liras’s eyes.
* * *
To cut to the chase, I eventually sat down at the negotiating table.
Liras let out his characteristic chuckle while watching my reaction.
“Mwahaha… I’m glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up.”
“What misunderstanding, you bastard? You were just acting out of your own greed while trying to stay safe!”
“Hieek!”
When I raised my foot, he flinched and recoiled in his chair. Why was he so pathetic to look at?
No, wait.
The fact that I was letting a Demon King’s Heavenly King live without beating him to a pulp was already incredible treatment on my part.
“Let’s summarize the situation.”
In short, it was this.
“You’ve been an ugly guy since before the war, and you had a great desire for love?”
“Who would truly love an ugly man like us?”
“This bastard is grouping me in again.”
“Honestly, in this day and age where looks are so high-standard, aren’t you and I in the same boat?”
“Then I guess I should just kill you so I can occupy the bottom of the barrel alone?”
“Hieek! Still, we’ve both worried and been hurt because of our looks all the same!”
“……”
“……”
“That’s true.”
“Gasp!”
He’s unnecessarily invoking a sense of camaraderie.
Does he want to die?
“Anyway, so you didn’t care about the war or anything; you just wandered around looking for a woman who would love you.”
“But no one would. They wouldn’t even let me speak to them just because I was ugly.”
He told me about his history of being rejected by women, and even I found it hard to listen without tearing up.
For instance, there was a woman he visited early one day after a good day’s earnings while hiding his identity as a human, only to find her with another man.
Or the woman who diligently sold flowers; he watched her for days and then bought them all, only to see her smile brightly and offer them to a handsome man before they went into a lodging house together.
Um, for the record, this guy Liras was a virgin until relatively recently.
…Yeah, that part is similar to me.
“So you decided adult women were a no-go, and you tried to invade the Royal Capital several times with a plan to kidnap beautiful girls, raise them, and then confess?”
“I intended to show them my sincerity as a man during their growing years.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“That’s how lonely I was! I only craved love! True love! But then, at some point, people started calling me ‘Liras of Greed’ and labeled me one of the Four Heavenly Kings!”
“That’s because you made widows out of all the women who were married to the men you ‘challenged’ to win them over!”
“How else was I supposed to marry a woman whose husband was still alive?!”
“Find a woman who doesn’t have a husband!”
“I tried that, but they were all ignorant fools, so I changed my target demographic so I could educate them myself!”
“Why were you targeting married women in the first place?”
“I thought that since they’d experienced marriage, they would realize that looks aren’t everything.”
This guy is a total lunatic.
In the end, a Demon is a Demon.
“So you created a clone to stand on the battlefield while you took over the Magic Tower and played Dean?”
“In the process, I gained two women who truly love me. Mwahahahaha…”
“Then why did a guy like you get hit with the Curse of the Magic Stone Crystals? You’re the one who created the Magic Tower Dungeon.”
“When the Demon King died, the explosion she caused in her final struggle affected my clone. That impact hit me directly, twisting the internal balance of my mana, causing magic stones to sprout from my skin like inflammation and pus.”
“You should have just died.”
“I couldn’t die and leave the women I love behind. At the very least, once the two of them pass away in my arms, I intend to go quietly after them.”
Silone and Adrian.
They were the subjects of the rumors among the Magic Tower trainees regarding the ‘Path of Possibility’ below the 3rd floor.
Silone and Adrian, who were perennial underachievers, heard the rumors spread by Liras, dug around the dungeon below the 3rd floor, found the passage leading to the Dean’s office, and received direct tutoring from him, becoming more than capable mages.
And, as a side effect, they fell in love with each other.
“They fell in love?”
“I taught them with all my heart, and as I focused on teaching, I gained a certain composure in how I treated them. It seems that was effective, mwahahahaha…”
“How could such a tragedy happen…!”
“Tragedy?! It is true love that I have confirmed multiple times! Do not insult it!”
“You bastard, what gives you the right to yell?”
“Agh! Hieek! I heard you have four wives yourself! You know the feeling of being loved and giving love! Hieek!”
His squawking was annoying, but I let go of his collar for now.
Something sticky was already rubbing off on my hands; I guess this becomes a magic stone once it hardens.
“Lord Alto! Please believe me. I have no ulterior motives! I just want to spend the rest of my life peacefully with the people I love!”
Liras knelt and bowed his head.
“Please, stop the dungeon conquest here and just wait until I finish my life!”
“How long do you think that’ll take?”
“I want to live as long as possible, but I’ll end it at the appropriate time!”
“How do I know you won’t stab me in the back?”
“If a child is born, I will send them to your territory, Hus, as a hostage!”
This guy, acting like he’s doing me a favor.
A half-human, half-demon child—who knows how they’d be treated even in the Magic Tower?
He’s likely aiming to secure their safety by placing them under my command as a Demon Hunter.
However, if I were to force the dungeon conquest, it would mean a final battle with Liras.
I could clear it alone, but there are too many risk factors, like how I was pointlessly separated from my party members during the fierce battle with Barion.
I don’t want anyone other than myself to get hurt.
That is my honest feeling.
“You of all people should understand! The desire to protect and be with the person you love! Other than that, nothing else matters.”
And Liras pierced right through my thoughts as if he had read them.
The man was a master of magic.
If things went sour, he might choose to take the entire Magic Tower down with him.
Hmm.
The deeper my concern, the more my brow furrowed.
What did Narupa say?
She told me not to go wild immediately, right?
Which means…
It’s okay to go wild later?
“Fine. However, supply the magic stones exactly as my second wife, Narupa, desires. If you reject our terms even once, the agreement is off.”
“Understood.”
“And give me a certificate stating that the Magic Tower is effectively cleared. You need to stamp it with your seal and send it to the Kingdom.”
“Good, very good! A wise choice. Once we sign the agreement and exchange what we need, I will issue a quest so you can go straight to the Duchy.”
“The Duchy? Why there?”
When I asked back, Liras wore a blank expression.
“Are you not going?”
“I’ll go eventually, but not right away.”
“Huh?”
“Why? What is it?”
Liras smirked.
He struck the same annoying pose he used to use back when he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Villen has awakened in the Duchy and is running rampant. Did you not know?”
“What? How can you be so sure? I heard you don’t know much about outside affairs.”
“Sensing a massive demonic energy is a different matter entirely from knowing outside news. He’s possessed some priestess and is creating chaos through a social movement. That movement was… the Black Rose Movement, I believe?”
Oh, damn it.
Krima!!!!!