Chapter 78
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78
“Of course, they aren’t always sold through that process. Quite a few customers prefer to come here themselves to find a robust monster.”
The merchant, keeping a close eye on Melju’s reaction, added the comment subtly. He wasn’t lying. Even the fiercest monster would inevitably weaken once shackled. If one still had too much energy, they simply had to restrict its body until it could barely walk.
Melju, catching the merchant’s drift, nodded.
She had been endlessly pondering the reconstruction of the Demon King Castle. In the past, she had inherited the entire Demon King’s army from her father, the previous Demon King. But now, she had to build a new army from scratch.
What kind of monsters should she recruit? That, too, was a problem she had to solve.
“I’ll look around.”
“Please, take your time.”
The merchant stepped back a few paces, following Melju at a respectful distance.
The iron cages appeared to be scattered about haphazardly, but they were arranged in a certain order. Generally, the larger monsters were on the left, and the smaller ones were on the right. And while it wasn't a strict rule, monsters of giant species tended to be stronger.
Melju walked slowly, starting from the left and observing the monsters in their cages. The first thing that caught her eye was a massive pile of collapsed stones.
A Golem… It’s quite a high-ranking species, yet it was captured by humans.
Feeling a pang of pity for its miserable, mana-drained state, she quickened her pace. In the very next cage was a Harpy twice the size of an average one. It must have been the leader of its flock, but with its wings torn to shreds, it would never fly again.
A winged beast that could not fly was utterly useless. She moved her gaze to the next cage.
This time, the growl of a beast tickled Melju’s ears. As soon as it spotted her, the monster began to shake its iron cage violently.
“…A Lycanthrope.”
Her brisk pace came to a sudden halt. As if captivated by a beautiful work of art, Melju looked up at the Lycanthrope.
It was, without a doubt, the ultimate monster.
They were a race that possessed strength, intelligence, and loyalty in equal measure. In the past, even when the Demon King’s army had suffered repeated defeats, the division led by the Lycanthropes was the only one to consistently achieve victory. They were born to be military commanders.
The young Demon King’s eyes lit up with greed. The giant, gray-furred figure looked down at her, its eyes still burning with a fierce glint, boiling with Touki (Fighting Spirit).
“How much for that monster?!”
It was more than qualified to be recruited as an officer in her new army. Believing she’d stumbled upon an unexpected jackpot, Melju let out an excited exclamation before she could stop herself.
“Lycanthropes are extremely dangerous monsters. Capturing this one cost the lives of four B-rank subjugation squad members. Are you certain?”
“You only need to tell me the price. Quickly.”
At her urging, the merchant pulled a piece of parchment from his belt. Imbued with luminescent magic, it glowed brightly even in the shadows. After writing down the price, the merchant handed the parchment to Melju.
「Selling Price: 250 Ounces」
“…Of course, the currency is.”
“You know the market. You must be joking. There’s no way that’s in silver.”
The merchant smiled, seeming to enjoy her flustered reaction. Gritting her teeth, Melju felt a wave of humiliation wash over her.
At most, her current funds amounted to 500 ounces of gold. But since she couldn’t easily exchange the holy gold coins of Astupena for their full value, she only had about 300 ounces of readily usable gold.
She could afford it, but the travel money Rene had given her was her entire fortune.
Furthermore, she couldn’t pour all the funds meant for rebuilding the Demon King Castle into a single monster.
“…On closer inspection, it looks rather scrawny. I don’t like it.”
Muttering a flimsy excuse that fooled no one, Melju quickened her pace. She saw quite a few other tempting monsters, but every single one of them seemed to scream, “I’m expensive!”
While 500 ounces of gold was a large sum, it was nothing when she had to build the very foundations of the Demon King Castle from scratch. It was not an amount she could afford to squander.
From Ogre Lords to Wyverns—every time she was forced to pass by a desirable monster because of its price, all sorts of thoughts swirled in her head.
What if I just kill that human and take the monsters…
The thought crossed her mind, but this was the “Mercenary City.” If she caused a scene here, she would be subdued in an instant.
Once you’ve given up on the best, the second-best never feels satisfying. Having forced herself to walk past the premium specimens, the other monsters failed to catch her eye. After looking through all the caged creatures, Melju cleared her throat to compose herself.
“I’ll return when you have better stock.”
Spouting words she didn’t mean, she cleared her throat again. She was prepared to strike the merchant down if he complained, but he merely nodded indifferently, as if he had no ulterior motives.
I’ve spent more time here than I thought. Just as she was about to turn away, a small monster caught her eye.
A splash of black that stood out even in the shadows.
It was a black dog-like monster, sitting in a section she had rushed past once her initial excitement had faded.
“Oh.”
She couldn’t help but notice it, as it had been staring at her incessantly with sharp, red eyes. It hadn’t barked once the entire time, yet its eyes were far from lifeless.
Curious, Melju called the merchant back. He hurried over at her sudden call but hesitated when he saw the black dog she was pointing at.
“…I don’t know much about that one myself.”
The answer she received was disappointingly simple. Since he truly didn’t know and had no interest in the creature, his response lacked any real enthusiasm.
“I heard they found it while capturing monsters after a dungeon subjugation, but its mother was nowhere to be seen. It’s definitely a monster, but it doesn’t attack people or bark. It just sits there, so we brought it along.”
If Melju’s guess was correct, it wasn’t that the black monster lacked hostility toward humans. It was just listless.
…He said its mother couldn’t be found?
“Poor thing.”
Approaching the iron cage, Melju squatted down. Startled, the merchant tried to stop her, but she raised a hand to hold him back.
Melju offered the back of her hand to the cage. The small dog monster slowly stood and approached her. A wet tongue slipped past its sharp teeth and licked her skin.
“Customer, I won’t be held responsible if you get hurt or catch a disease. It might look like an ordinary dog, but that thing is a monster. It’s dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hold you responsible.”
He said even the merchant doesn’t know what it is.
Indeed, its fur was so pitch-black that it was hard to identify its species.
In front of her, the small dog monster wagged its tail continuously. Perhaps it recognizes the presence of a Demon King? The thought made Melju chuckle.
“Do you know who I am? What a clever fellow.”
A brief hesitation followed.
Just as a look of weariness began to creep onto the merchant’s face, Melju turned her head and asked him.
“How much are you selling this monster for?”
* * *
“From now on, your name is 2 Ounce.”
The dog monster wagged its tail happily, as if delighted by everything. Melju patted its head.
Perhaps deciding that keeping a suspicious monster around was more trouble than it was worth, the merchant sold it for a low price without much negotiation. Still, showing his meticulous nature, he had called over two mages from his merchant guild to cast a triple-layered binding magic on the beast.
Of course, Melju unraveled one of those layers the moment they stepped out onto the street.
“Are you wagging your tail because you know you’ve completely ruined my plans?”
In truth, she had spotted a cake shop while wandering the streets earlier. After two months of freeloading in the Primordial Core without a single decent meal, Melju’s craving for sweets was at an all-time high. According to her original plan, she would have been gorging herself on cake until the stars came out.
But what Melju was eating now was not cake, but a few chunks of stale bread.
“…It’s so dry, it’s hard to swallow.”
Since she had spent two ounces of gold on the black dog monster, she couldn’t bring herself to increase her expenses any further.
Ugh. When I become a wealthy Demon King, I’ll buy and eat tons of cake.
Steeling her resolve, she tore off a piece of bread with her slender hands and offered it to the dog monster. Watching the creature wag its tail and gobble it down, she wondered if it wasn’t just dog-like, but an actual dog.
Night fell faster in Knecht than elsewhere. She had dismissed it as a local joke—something about the cold making the sun set early—but it was true. The sun sank a full thirty minutes sooner than elsewhere, quickly dyeing the sky a deep indigo.
Melju called for the carriage driver again. Guided by the constellations, they arrived at a vast grassland. Sensing a mana-radiating presence in the distance, Melju completely erased the driver’s memory with mind-control magic and sent him back to the city.
In the middle of the grassland stood a gatekeeper disguised as a beast. As Melju approached while releasing her mana, the beast transformed into a demon in a neat suit.
“Near the cliff of the mountain right behind us, there is an abandoned monastery built a century ago. Several Demon Kings have already arrived.”
After verifying Melju’s identity, the gatekeeper placed a hand on his stomach and bowed politely. However, as this was a banquet of Demon Kings, each was limited to two escorts. This rule applied without exception, even to the most formidable among them.
She could hardly bring along a dog monster she had bought less than half a day ago and claim it was her officer.
Placing the remaining bread on the ground, Melju patted the dog monster’s head and back, comforting it.
“Now, stay here quietly. I’ll finish this as quickly as possible and return. The humans nearby are generally strong, so if you see them, don’t fight—just run away.”
As if it understood her, the dog monster stuck out its tongue and panted. “And you may consider it an honor, for you are the very first soldier of my new Demon King’s army,” Melju added, before suddenly remembering something.
“On second thought, ‘2 Ounce’ is a rather thoughtless name. From now on, your name is Sir Swald. Or perhaps… Swald the Dog?”
Being a black, four-legged beast, didn’t it look exactly like him? If only its eyes were gold, it would have been perfect… Melju smiled innocently as her thoughts reached this point.
Since he was someone she could no longer see, borrowing his name for a little while should be fine.
Melju finished her monologue and stood up. She cast flight magic and flew toward the cliff, following the gatekeeper’s guidance.
Contrary to its shabby exterior, the monastery on the cliff concealed a luxurious underground facility. Only after the monster guarding the entrance and the gatekeeper who guided Melju exchanged passwords did the massive doors swing open.
Bright light from inside flooded Melju’s vision. Countless flames placed along the edges of the room flickered beautifully.
The festivities were just getting started.
Melju took her first step inside.
The gazes of the Demon Kings already enjoying the banquet turned toward her in unison.
Dozens of eyes locked onto her.
Every single one of them belonged to a Demon King.
Time inside the banquet hall seemed to stand still.
In an instant, a chilling pressure paralyzed her. The anxiety that had been festering in her heart spread through her veins like a drop of blood in water.
But it was only for a moment. The Demon Kings stared for a brief second before turning away, resuming their banquet as if she weren’t there.
The frozen moment passed. Only Melju remained standing, dazed and unable to shake off the lingering traces of their gazes.
She heard the heavy doors scrape shut behind her. Finally snapping out of it, she stepped into the banquet hall. Aside from a lack of drunken, chaotic brawls, the Demon Kings’ banquet wasn’t so different from a human one.
Many Demon Kings were already laughing, chatting, and completely wasted.
Such a sight did not feel out of place.
There was no rule that a secret banquet of Demon Kings couldn’t be vulgar. In fact, Judeca had built its long history in exactly this manner. Most of the words exchanged over clinking glasses were displays of power, admissions of weakness, whispered secrets, and brazen boasts.
That was how they all naturally exchanged information, formed alliances, and established rivalries.
“…”
Slipping into a corner, Melju picked up a glass that had been set out and warily observed her surroundings.
Groups had already formed everywhere, making it difficult to find a place to fit in.