Volume 1 Chapter 17 (1/2)

The inside of the Demon Lord Palace was as splendid as one might judge by its exterior.

Its ceilings were high. It was also complete with all sorts of first-class furnishings.

When we went inside, we were greeted by maids.

These girls weren’t human, they were Succubi.

I wonder why there were Succubi here.

Maybe they were being employed here to make use of their transfer magic.

“Woah, Oto-san. That vase’s really awesome!”

“I’m bored. There’s nothing here worth researching.”

The fox-eared girl, Tenko, was excited to look at every single thing in here while the silver-haired prepubescent girl, Elder Dwarf, was suppressing a yawn.

They may act like so but they never, not for an instant, dropped down their guard nor have they forgotten to be wary of their surroundings.

Marcho’s scolding was effective.

After we’ve walked a while, a remarkably splendid and huge gate stood before us.

We went over to the reception desk in front of the gate and in there, we were given some explanation; I could only take along up to three of my monsters. And so, I summoned a Skeleton from my [Storage].

It was the smartest among the Skeletons; the top Skeleton I’ve been secretly referring to as Ske-san.

The Succubi were round-eyed.

Well, it was only natural. And so, with that in mind, I could predict the way things would develop after this.

We were allowed to bring in three monsters, and naturally, it was to be assumed that those three would be the Demon Lord’s [Monsters of the Covenant].

In other words, this was the chance to show off one’s most trusted and most powerful allies.

So if one were to bring along in there a Skeleton which anybody could buy for a mere 20 DP, they would be laughed at.

But that was fine to me.

“Tenko, Elder Dwarf, I want everyone in there to drop their guard around us so please bear with being made fun of.”

I requested such to the two.

Tenko gave me a yeah and then cheerfully nodded while Elder dwarf bobbed her head.

And so, we entered inside the room.

◇

The room was filled by passionate and beautiful music played by some humanoid monsters.

Food and drinks of the highest quality were served in abundance, each one to be relished.

The only ones in here were the Demon Lords and their subordinate monsters.

By the reactions of those around them, I generally knew whether they were a Demon Lord or a monster.

The Demon lords were very varied, ranging from those just like me to those who were beastmen and dragonewts.

However, what the Demon Lords all had in common was that they were all able to walk on two legs and could also use their hands for precise movements. In short, they were all humanoids.

I wonder, was this intended?

As I was thinking about it, all the Demon Lords shifted their focus onto me as soon as I took a step in.

After all, they could guess at the attribute the newcomer might have by looking at the monsters the newcomer had brought along.

They had to think of the approach they would take in trading for the newcomer’s medal depending on his attribute.

“Gyahahahahaha. That guy, he brought along something like a Skeleton.”

“His other monsters are around level 30 too; must be low rank monsters.”

“A Night fox and a Dwarf? Did he only owned B rank medals when he created them? And on top of that, he flopped.”

Half of the Demon Lords laughed at me.

The Night Fox and the Dwarf were both C rank monsters. The Demon Lords probably assumed I used two B rank medals on my [Synthesis], and then failed and only got C rank monsters.

These fellows were the small fries.

Demon Lords had the ability to see through a monster’s level. Rising in level would allow them to read an additional piece of information about the monster.

However, the higher the rank of the monster, the higher the level a Demon Lord had to be to be able to read any further information.

In other words, without being able to see through Tenko and Elder Dwarf’s powers, they have fallen for my bait which was the Skeleton. And if they looked down on me, they proved they were third-rate Demon Lords.

What I was afraid of were…

“Ohh, interesting.”

“What kind of trick could this be?”

“Things going to get amusing from now on.”

…the Demon Lords who could properly appraise Tenko and Elder Dwarf but chose to be cautious.

If those guys wouldn’t make contact with me, I would be outdone.

Casually, I looked around and saw that Marcho was deep in conversation with other Demon Lords.

She gave me a mean look and instantly returned to her conversation. I guess I wouldn’t receive any help from her and must strive on my own.

◇

I talked to various Demon Lords in the dance hall.

The small-fry Demon Lords who were looking down on me proposed deals between their imitation medals and my original medals.

They seemed to have decided that my medals were of lower value.

Although they took me lightly, I had also obtained some information.

On the other hand, while all the Demon Lords who were able to see through Tenko and Elder Dwarf’s powers were interested in me, they kept each other in check and wouldn’t readily come talk with me.

Just as when I thought it was getting irritating, an extraordinary kind of fool came.

“You, are you the one who brought along weak monsters? I pity you so this future great Demon Lord, Stolas-sama of the [Wind], shall give you some charity.”

She was a green haired young lady.

The moment she said [Wind], our surroundings riled up.

I recalled Marcho’s story about it. Among the four great elements, [Earth], [Fire], [Wind], and [Water]; only a Demon Lord having the [Wind] medal hasn’t appeared all this time.

On top of being powerful, the versatility of the four great elements were extremely high. And without any exception, they were all medals of A rank, making the owners of these medals the target of envy by many others.

That’s why it wasn’t amusing if even the girl born with the [Wind] attribute herself thought she was some kind of chosen individual.

“Charity?”

“Yes. I’ll give you my [Wind]. It’s only an imitation but it’s a B rank. So, make a slightly better monster.”

The girl threw her [Wind] imitation medal in the air and I caught it.

I was thankful for the imitation, no, the [Wind] medal I now held but my pride wouldn’t allow me to simply take it.

I was fine with strategically making them let their guard down but receiving charity was another issue.

“Thank you. Then, I’ll give you this.”

I threw to her the [Flame] imitation medal I had prepared for trading.

Considering [Flame], [Person], [Earth], and [Creation], all of which were A rank, would certainly be in demand, I had prepared imitations of them beforehand.

“What’s this?”

“An exchange. I’m also a Demon Lord born just this year so we’re rivals. Just me receiving things doesn’t sit well to me. These medals are of the same rank, right?”

Something I said got on the green-haired Demon Lord’s nerves and she went mad.

“Rivals? Someone like you who can make nothing but monsters of that quality dares to consider me, a Demon Lord having an A rank medal, to be his rival? Don’t make me laugh.”

“That quality? I should be asking you that instead. How could someone who brought along monsters “of that quality” make fun of mine? If they fought, yours wouldn’t last a minute.”

Stolas brought along three monsters.

A wind weasel, a winged horse, and an angel-like monster.

I could only see detailed information of D rank monsters and below so for these three, their levels were all I could determine.

However, one of them was just level 69.  The others were around the 60s. It was impossible for a monster that could grow to level up this much in this short of a timespan. Then, supposing that was the case, one of them would be an A rank monster and the other two would be B ranks. (Note: Procell here made a little jump in his explanation but remember that static level monsters are born with a level according to their rank.)