Chapter 1. Scoring a Rookie Adventurer (1)
Chapter 1. Scoring a Rookie Adventurer (1)
There was nothing strange about hating one's own kind.
Plenty of humans were misanthropes who despised their own race. Some loathed the society humans had built, while others, burning with a personal vendetta, felt compelled to turn against humanity as a whole.
These people banded together to form the Anti-Human Coalition, an organization operating directly under the Demon King's army. And I, too, had been silently carrying out the orders of that coalition's commanding officer — all in the name of humanity's annihilation.
'Wait... fired? Why in the world would you suddenly...'
And yet, that loyalty had been worth precisely nothing, considering how I was being treated now.
Sure, it was a dead-end position I'd been shoved into, but wasn't this just a little too arbitrary?
'You're asking because you don't know? Well, of course — someone as stupid as you isn't going to get anything but fired from a secretary position.'
'...Would you at least explain the reason?'
I'd thought they would at least offer a proper explanation.
'The reason? Try thinking about it with that dumb head of yours.'
'No, you've just notified me of my dismissal — at the very least, if you don't explain the grounds for it...'
'Ah, shut up, shut up. It's already been decided, so why are you still running your mouth? All the procedures are complete — this conversation is over! You're not my secretary anymore, so don't even think about nagging me further.'
Well, well. I'd been wondering what prompted this goddamn nonsense, and it turned out she couldn't stand having someone talk back to her.
This was the same woman who skipped out on her duties every chance she got, exploited her subordinates for personal errands, and whose every so-called plan of operation was complete garbage. And now here she was, having gone through all the proper procedures just to fire the last bulwark standing between her and her own self-destructive excesses.
There wasn't much to think about. The woman was simply an airhead.
'To be honest, the fact that I tolerated it this long was an extraordinary act of generosity on my part. Anyone else would have committed offenses worthy of the guillotine ages ago, so shouldn't you count yourself lucky you're only getting fired?'
Generosity? No, the nutrients meant for her brain must have all gone straight to her tits instead, you blockheaded bitch.
'Still, you must have had your own reasons for joining the Demon King's army. It'd be a shame to leave just like this, wouldn't it? So let me extend you one final act of mercy.'
The one saving grace was that her trademark vanity had at least spared me from being completely expelled from the Demon King's army.
I was only removed from the secretary position, so in practical terms, it amounted to a demotion.
'Dave, from now on, you'll infiltrate the main stronghold of the humans and gather intelligence. Who knows — if you slip in among the humans and bring back some critical information, I might even consider reinstating you?'
Ah, yes. I'm practically moved to tears by that empty platitude of consolation.
But what could someone like me — with no real backing — do except follow orders?
That was how I ended up infiltrating that loathsome human society, and now I found myself stepping into a tavern in the royal capital, a place where adventurers typically gathered.
Human though they might be, I was still a member of the Demon King's army.
Without any established identity prepared in advance, the only reliable method of infiltration was to start from the lowest rank of adventurer — a position anyone could attain — and work my way up.
"Look over there. Someone put up a party recruitment notice."
Right. First things first: clear quests and raise my adventurer rank.
No sooner had I pinned the notice to the board than a handful of adventurers began eyeing the paper I'd posted.
"What's this? He's just looking to get hired as a porter."
"'Cannot use swordsmanship or magic, but possess decent physical strength. Also capable of all manner of menial labor — please work me like a dog~' Seriously, putting up a notice like that... what is this, the slave trade?"
"Eh, he's just trying to scrape by. Gotta cut him some slack. Not that I'll be hiring him, though."
Those worthless bastards, running their mouths without knowing a damn thing about my circumstances.
But I didn't let it get to me or go charging at them.
For an infiltration mission, it was far better to be seen as a hopeless weakling than to draw attention.
I'd join some suitably trash-tier party, let them use me up and throw me away, gradually climb the ranks, then hand over a few pieces of the kingdom's confidential intelligence. That ought to settle things well enough.
"Um... excuse me."
I'd been sipping cheap barley beer while sketching out this rough plan — but not for long.
Someone clutching my recruitment notice approached the table where I sat.
"I heard you're looking to form a party. Would it be all right if we talked?"
Well now. I hadn't expected to find a party this quickly.
But even if I was aiming for trash-tier, I still needed to size people up before choosing. Setting my mug on the table, I swiftly scanned the newcomer.
Leather armor and iron guards — new, but nothing crafted from quality materials.
Her hair was cropped short in a sleek silver, but aside from that, there wasn't a trace of makeup or a single accessory to be seen.
A plain, understated vanguard-type adventurer. That was the most fitting way to describe the person who'd approached me.
"Um..."
"Ah, my apologies. I zoned out for a moment there."
I offered a wry smile, drained the last of my beer, and quietly faced her.
"You've come to recruit me for your party, right?"
"Ah, yes. I, um, saw your party recruitment notice — it looks like you've only just become an adventurer, and as it happens, I'm a rookie who started adventuring recently myself. So I've been looking for someone to grow alongside me..."
"Haha, what an incredible coincidence. I put up a notice, and the very first person I meet is in the same boat as me."
A rookie adventurer, and mutual growth for the time being.
This was exactly the kind of candidate I'd been hoping for.
Good. For the near future, I'd stick with this woman, raise my rank, and lay the groundwork for intelligence gathering.
"There are a lot of eyes here, which makes it a bit uncomfortable. Could we discuss the details somewhere quieter — just the two of us?"
But before any of that, there was something I needed to do first if I wanted things to go smoothly.
"Just... the two of us, you mean?"
"As it happens, I'm staying at the inn attached to this tavern. Let's have a proper conversation in my room."
A suspicious proposition, if there ever was one.
But coaxing someone into it wasn't difficult.
Even before the infiltration began, I'd made sure to groom my appearance carefully to make a favorable impression.
And the emotional labor of wearing a warm, pleasant smile — well, I'd been trained to the point of nausea while serving under that godforsaken woman.
-A low hum.
On top of that, a pulse laced with a touch of mana.
"Ah, yes. That... sounds good, actually."
The woman, exposed to that pulse, swayed slightly and answered my suggestion in a voice that had gone a little slack.
Her eyes had turned somewhat vacant too.
She wasn't completely out of it, but this was more than sufficient. Deciding as much, I quietly made my way toward the inn room I'd reserved.
We crossed paths with a few adventurers on the way, but I didn't get the sense anyone was looking at me strangely.
New acquaintances using a private room to discuss business wasn't unusual, and more to the point, no one would ever imagine that complete strangers would be doing 'that kind of thing.'
"This is it. Go on in first."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for having me."
The human woman stepped into the room I'd guided her to without the slightest hesitation.
I followed her inside and quietly fastened the latch.
Good. That made this room a perfectly sealed space.
"Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Serika. And you?"
"Dave."
"Ah, yes. Dave! It's very nice to meet you. I hope we can become good..."
-Smack!
I slapped the human woman — Serika — across the face without a moment's delay.
She let out a faint, bewildered "Huh?" and crumpled to the floor, clearly unable to process what had just happened.
The moment she looked up at me with those dazed eyes, I extended the hand I'd struck her with and spoke.
"Who told you you could call me by name?"
"Wha... what?"
"From now on, you address me as 'Master.'"
-A resonant pulse.
The moment the pulse radiating from my fingertips intensified.
Exposed to it, Serika's eyes gradually clouded over, and soon the strength visibly drained from her body.
"...Yes... yes..."
Good. Situation resolved.
Seated on the bed, I quietly beckoned her with my fingers and spoke.
"Then, as your new Master, here is my first command. Take off everything you're wearing and stand before me."
Words no one would ever say to a woman they'd just met. Words no one should ever say.
A situation where screaming and thrashing in alarm would have been perfectly natural.
"...Yes..."
Yet Serika obediently complied. With clumsy, fumbling motions, she began removing each piece of armor from her body, one by one.
Creak, clunk.
The scrape of armor joints. After that came the soft rustle of fabric sliding down.
"I... I've taken it... off."
Soon she stood before me in nothing but her undergarments.
Her eyes remained unfocused and clouded, but her cheeks were flushed bright red with shame.
Even with her will subdued, she was clearly unaccustomed to this situation — the embarrassment she felt on an unconscious level had surfaced outwardly.
"Not bad."
She seemed entirely unaware that her awkward, pathetic display was stoking the sadistic desires of the one who now controlled her.