Volume 10 prologue (2/2)

He said so in almost one breath and then offered his hand.

When I grabbed it, his other hand joined in. Like that, he shook our hands in an exaggerated manner.

”Wooah, I'm so happy. I'm never going to wash these hands again.”

”No, that would be unsanitary. Please wash them. Also, could you let go now?”

”Ah! Sorry. I was just so happy.”

Belial let go and took a few steps back.

No matter how I look at it, he's just too restless.

”Please sit. Now, let's talk, shall we?”

”Yes! Let's talk about a lot. But I gotta say, I thought I wasn't even going to make it pass the front door. Thank goodness.”

”I wouldn't dare. Mythological Fox, could you please bring out some tea and snacks for Kuina and me? Actually, bring out some for Belial as well.”

”Right away, Procell-sama”

Surprisingly, Belial has already finished his cookies.

To come to an unfamiliar Demon Lord's place and then wolf down the food the other party served, it seemed like Belial had quite a bold personality. That, or a reckless and foolish one.

It didn't take long before the Mythological Fox returned with the tea and some roll cakes.

The moment his second set of snacks arrived, Belial jumped on it and immediately covered his mouth with the cake's cream.

…and so did Kuina who was beside me.

I guess these two have the same mental age.

”Ahem. Well then, [Despair] Demon Lord Belial, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

I had already heard beforehand that his intention was to form an alliance, but I still asked so that I could see his facial expressions and hear his tone while he answered. Hopefully, I could figure out his true intentions from those.

”Procell-sama, I admire you and I wish to fight alongside you! You're only in your first year, yet you're already making numerous legends. And recently, you've even crushed in a direct confrontation the [Pig] Demon Lord who could be considered the second strongest among the young Demon Lords! I'm excited to see how much stronger you'll become, Procell-sama! I'm sure you'll one day become the strongest Demon Lord. Just imagining myself to be there by side, I, I…”

He was fiercely excited.

He seemed to have realized it himself though, and then tried to calm down.

”But you're older than me, aren't you? Don't you feel any reluctance in having someone younger than you take the leading role?”

”None whatsoever. Rather, because it's you, I'm excited for what the future might hold for me. Besides, even though I'm already a little over a hundred years old, I still consider myself young like you, you know. One hundred years is nothing. So, with those in mind, I think I'm a rightful candidate to be added in your faction!”

He said so with a smile devoid of malice. I didn't notice any, at least.

”I see. Let me think on it.”

This was tough.

Had he said something that seemed calculating and self-serving, I might have agreed to his proposition. Instead, he cited his reason for proposing this alliance to be his admiration of me. How am I supposed to decide based on that!?

”Uhm, Procell-sama, you don't have to reach a conclusion today. I think I myself wouldn't be able to give an immediate answer on such an important matter like this. I'll be happy to visit and ask as many times as it takes. Also, if it you think it'll help you trust me, I would be happy to welcome you to my dungeon. I'll entertain you to the best of my abilities!”

”…I'll think about it.”

”Yes, please. Meanwhile, I'll work hard on earning your trust. Also, here is a token of my admiration for you, Procell-sama.”

While saying that, he slipped a coin into my hand.

Of course, I immediately checked what it was.

”It's my [Despair] medal. Well, an imitation of it. Look forward to receiving an original copy after we've formally formed an alliance. My medal's an A rank medal, so even an imitation should prove useful.”

”Are you sure about this?”

The problem with giving away an imitation medal wasn't so much as the DP cost to produce it, rather it was the fact that one was also giving away information about their original medals and about themselves.

And that wasn't even taking my [Creation] medal into account. During a Synthesis using my medal, before choosing the monster, I could see data about all the possible monsters that could be born from the medals used. I not only knew what the medals did, I also knew the strengths and weaknesses of some of the monsters that could be born from it. Long story short, I had more information than normal and thus could make more potent countermeasures.

”Definitely. Let it be a sign of my good faith. Well then, I don't want to overstay my welcome, so I'll take my leave now.”

[Despair] Demon Lord Belial said so, smiled, and then stood up.

I was thankful that our meeting was going to end peacefully, but it was also completely anti-climactic.

”Thanks for your visit today.”

”The pleasure's all mine. I look forward to seeing you again. Oh, also, if you want to contact me, perhaps for another meeting, just send a letter to this human city and it'll reach me.”

”I see. I'll contact you as soon as possible. I too look forward to another meeting with you.”

We then both smiled at each other.

From then on, I escorted Belial up until the exit.

Wait a minute, didn't this guy mention to the Mythological Fox earlier that he wanted to tour around Avalon? Bah, whatever. If he's serious about becoming my ally, he'll have plenty of chances later.

When he was no longer within eyesight, Kuina spoke.

Meanwhile, I was exhausted. That guy was like a storm.

”Oto-san, he seems like a good guy”

”Yeah. He's not what I expected.”

”…but Kuina doesn't like him. Something's strange about him. Kuina can't quite put a finger on it, but about him gives me the chills, makes my tail furs stand on end.”

She said so while tilting her head.

Something about him gives her the chills? I better make note of that.

As for what to do next, I figured I should first visit the [Beast] dungeon and ask Marcho about him.

After that, I was going to visit Duke's house. I still needed to reward him for his role in the [War] as well as properly congratulate him on becoming a true [Dragon Emperor]. I had a present prepared for him that I was sure he was going to like.