"Pardon me, but Dantalion — are you an idiot?"
"……I'm sorry."
My shoulders were trembling. Before me stood a single young woman radiating a dark crimson aura that practically screamed, "I can't believe this." Ever since she'd burst in right after I'd chased the old Goblin away, she'd been in a terrible mood.
"I distinctly told you not to use honorifics with demons."
"S-sorry."
I apologized immediately and without condition. For some reason, my courage always wilted whenever I stood in front of Lapis. Was it because relationships between people are decided in an instant based on first impressions? Since I'd shown an un-Demon-Lord-like clumsy side from the very first meeting, I found it impossible to put on a front with Lapis no matter how convincingly I could act the part of an imposing figure now.
Lapis let out a small sigh. My shoulders shrank even further.
"Lord Torkel — no, Torkel is a legendary executive of the Kunkuska Trading Company. He was born as a low-ranking Goblin, yet became a Grand Magus and lived for nearly a thousand years. He could easily be called a living monster."
"That wrinkled old geezer was really that impressive?"
"……."
"Please, continue!"
Whoa — I almost heard a sharp stinging sound effect. What kind of girl had eyes that sharp? Kid, you're going to have trouble making friends at this rate. Then again, Lapis already didn't have any. So this girl, who was ostracized among the demons, began lecturing me on just how foolishly I had acted and what kind of relationship I ought to build with the Kunkuska Trading Company going forward for my own benefit.
I diligently fed her nagging in through my right ear and let it out through my left. The key at a time like this was to maintain eye contact and nod once every seven seconds to show that I was being absolutely sincere. Four seconds was too short, and ten was too long. You had to nod at roughly seven-second intervals for the other person to be fooled. Good grief — if I ever made it back to my original world, I might have to become an actor.
Come to think of it — Lapis's Affinity had passed 20, hadn't it?
Once Affinity crossed 20, the other person's psychological state began to appear in their Status Window. I suddenly found myself curious about Lapis's stats. Personally, I considered Lapis to be a remarkably capable demon. The girl who had returned a thousand gold into twenty thousand — what kind of stats would she show?
'Status Window.'
Ding!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Lapis Lazuli
Race: Half Succubus Affiliation: Kunkuska Trading Company
Alignment: Neutral (-10)
Level: 23 Fame: 122
Job: Merchant (A-), Witch (B), Swordswoman (D)
Command: 55 Combat: 32 Intelligence: 53
Politics: 72 Charm: 50 Technique: 2
Affinity: 31
Current Psychology: 'This person is completely ignorant of politics.'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
An exclamation escaped my lips without thinking.
"……Unreal."
"Therefore, as your standing has improved, you should negotiate with higher-ranking individuals... Dantalion, are you listening to me? I'd like to think you're not ignoring or dismissing the earnest advice I'm giving you right now?"
Of course! Absolutely! I nodded enthusiastically.
Lapis's skeptical gaze stuck to my face like glue. Useless. My mug had already surpassed the level where even the thickest-skinned scoundrels would weep and call me a shameless bastard. An act like this was a piece of cake. Lapis tilted her head a couple of times, then resumed her nagging. Man, this quiet, stoic girl sure had a lot to say today.
'Still, what incredible stats.'
It exceeded my expectations. Three stats in the fifties, and Politics had even broken past the seventy mark. Despite the negative modifiers, having an A-rank job and a B-rank job on top of that was nothing short of impressive. Judging by a Dungeon Attack gamer's standards, she was comparable to a capable mid-ranking minister in most kingdoms. Maybe not quite a prime minister, but she could easily hold the post of Foreign Minister.
'To think they're letting a talent like this rot as a lowly clerk. Tsk, even demon society has accumulated its share of rotten old guard.'
Demons prided themselves on strict meritocracy. Respect and honor followed those with ability. Individual strength and the honor granted by society — those were the twin pillars that drove the demon world. But at some point, honor began to matter more than ability... During a Dungeon Attack scenario, some Demon Lord had once confided as much. I'd come to think that even demons had their own share of serious problems.
"Fine, fine."
I waved my hand dismissive]y. I'd already figured out roughly what Lapis was trying to say.
"In other words, you're saying I should do business with people who are both high in status and skilled."
"That's right. At the very least, you shouldn't antagonize someone like that. But Master Dantalion, you harbored pointless resentment toward Thorkel..."
"Lapis Lazuli."
She snapped her mouth shut. I gazed at her with a faint smile.
"...I'm sorry. I overstepped."
"I'm not trying to blame you. I'm not so foolish as to reject someone who speaks honestly for my own good. The weak have their own ways of surviving in this world. Don't they?"
"......"
The weak.
That label applied to me — a half-baked Demon Lord — as much as it did to Lapis, the half-Succubus. We were both similar in that we lived half-lives. I hadn't chosen to become a Demon Lord. Lapis hadn't chosen to be born a half-Succubus, either.
To have something thrust upon you as your identity without ever wanting it — to have the entire direction of your life determined by that alone. We were alike in so many ways. That must be why I'd grown fond of Lapis, whether I realized it or not. I kept a faint smile on my face and spoke.
"Lapis. I am weak. I'm a bipolar patient and an absolute coward. That's precisely why I've thought deeply about what the weak need most to survive. Should I cling to the strong and try to get by that way? If it means immediate survival, it wouldn't be the worst option. But the reason the strong allow the weak to parasite off them is because the weak have some value to exploit. The moment that value disappears, the weak are finished."
Go do business with executives going forward. Good advice. But the executives of the trading company had only shown up because I'd pitched the blockbuster venture known as Black Hub. It was painfully obvious that once I could no longer propose ventures like that, the executives would abandon me without a second thought.
"That won't work. No matter how much time passes, I can't escape the position of the weak. I'll just keep taking a passive role until the very end. Lapis, the weak have a top strategy, a middle strategy, and a bottom strategy. The bottom strategy is clinging to the strong to eke out your survival. The middle strategy is for the weak to form alliances with other weak people they can trust. The top strategy is to seize on the fatal weakness of the strong and use them for your own ends."
I had no top strategy. I didn't know any weaknesses of the Kunkuska Trading Company. The bottom strategy was also impossible. There was no guarantee the Kunkuska Trading Company would support me to the end. Therefore—
"I intend to use the middle strategy."
"An alliance with the weak, you mean. But with whom......?"
"You."
I pointed at her with my fingertip and looked straight into her lapis-lazuli-blue eyes.
Lapis was silent for a long while before she finally spoke.
"You mean me?"
"Exactly. Lapis Lazuli. You are the talent I need."
"I'm sorry. I can't quite grasp what Lord Dantalion means."
Her expressionless face visibly clouded with confusion.
"I'm nothing more than a low-ranking employee. As I mentioned before, my social standing isn't exactly stellar either. I'm grateful that you trust me, Lord Dantalion. I, too, wish to assist you and secure a higher position within the Kunkuska Trading Company."
She spoke as though she were reciting the words to herself.
But that's all there is to it, Lapis continued.
"If it became known that the Demon Lord harbors affection for a societal reject and minority like myself, it would bode well for no one. To demonkind, the Demon Lord must remain an exalted and pristine sovereign — a flawless mirror that captures and reflects their aspirations, dreams, and subconscious desires. I am nothing more than red rust on that mirror, a blemish on Lord Dantalion's image."
Lapis's emotions came through with vivid clarity. It was an resignation so ancient it seemed infinite. What had once been a sticky tangle of despair, vengeance, victim mentality, and wounds had long since calcified and hardened, crouching within her like a boulder. Everyone carries such a weight. Everyone has no choice but to trudge through life with their own rock on their back. But even rocks weather and shatter eventually. That is what I believe. And I wanted to become her wind.
"No. What I need is you. A girl like you has to stand by my side."
I spoke without hesitation.
"Who answered my call when I had no one to turn to? You. Who decided to stay by my side even with a hundred-year promise hanging over her head? You. Who brought me profit when no one else believed a word I said? You. Who now offers counsel that goes against her own self-interest for my success? Lapis Lazuli — it's you."
"I can't accept that. In the long run, for your life, Lord Dantalion, I would never—"
"How can you be so sure about that? When did I ever say any such thing?"
Lapis pressed her pale pink lips together.
My voice brimmed with confidence.
"The one who decides how I live is not you — it's me, Lapis Lazuli! Don't you dare presume to plan out my life on my own behalf."
The weakest Demon Lord.
For someone like me to survive, I cannot align myself with the existing powers that be. They already have seventy other Demon Lords besides me. If a latecomer like me tried to squeeze in now, I'd gain nothing and simply be used. Then I will forge an alliance with those who have been cast aside by society. I will persuade them — make them my comrades, my subordinates. Even if I'm a coward. Even if I have the worst stats imaginable — I will survive by weaponizing the hopes and grievances of countless weaklings.
That was the grand strategy I had desperately conceived.
The best course of action for defending the Dungeon.
That very first step is you, Lapis.
"……."
Lapis was silent. It wasn't deliberate silence. Her small lips parted, then closed again, over and over. She wanted to say something, but the words and sentences simply wouldn't come.
That was when it happened.
—Adventurers have invaded the dungeon!
A notification window appeared before my eyes. It indicated that fifteen F-rank adventurers had just passed through the dungeon entrance.
I smiled.
"The enemy has come knocking."
Perfect timing.
In my mind, I called upon the golem squad and the fairy squad. The emotions of over a dozen monsters surged back to me like a tidal wave. The thrill of battle, the resolve to fight for their master, the ecstasy of slaughtering humans. My mind was painted in vivid color in an instant.
"Lapis, follow me. I'll show you a war of the weak."
I advanced alongside my monster squad. There was no need to wait in the courtyard of the Demon Lord's Castle. The squad soon ran headlong into the adventurer party. The adventurers were caught off guard by the sheer number of golems — more than they had anticipated. They were skilled and bold enough to form a tight battle line and fight back without gaps. But their spears and swords struck the thick wall of golems and clattered away, powerless.
"Golems in formation! I've never even heard of something like this!"
"Shit! Which bastard said this place was nothing but a neighborhood back hill?!"
When the adventurers thrust their spears and swung their swords, narrow openings briefly appeared. I seized that exact moment and ordered the fairy squad to unleash their magic. The sound of wind being finely shredded swept past in an instant. Wind Cuts tore mercilessly through the adventurers' forearms and thighs. Screams echoed through the cave.
"Uaaaah!"
"Magic — damn it, it's magic!"
"You son of a bitch, Luke! Don't you run! I told you not to retreat! Shit!"
The wounds themselves were shallow. If they had responded calmly, they could have minimized the damage. But I never allowed even the bare minimum of time it would take for them to regain their composure. The golems' stone fists rained down on the adventurers' heads like a torrential downpour. One whose forearm had been cut by a Wind Cut dropped his shield. The price was devastating. A golem's punch crushed an adventurer's rib cage entirely. Blood sprayed in every direction.
—You have defeated the Lux Village Adventurer Party. Bonus experience has been awarded for a total party kill.
─ Congratulations! Your dungeon level has increased.
─ As your dungeon has reached level 2, you can now build additional facilities within it.
Once the front line was breached, the rest was simple. The adventurer party was annihilated in an instant. The two who tried to flee were also shredded by the fairy unit's volley fire. I stood among the fifteen corpses strewn across the ground. The monsters' triumphant emotions washed over me, unfiltered. They were merely silencing themselves for a moment, for me, their master.
Lapis murmured from beside me.
"With only the lowest-grade monsters, and without taking any damage…"
"I am weak. But I am not foolish."
I extended my right hand.
"Lapis. Let's show them the pride of the weak."
Her blue eyes looked at my hand. She raised her right hand. She hesitated for just a moment. I didn't rush her, waiting in silence. Then, Lapis carefully took my hand. The warmth of her palm transferred to mine.
"The Affinity of the lower demon Lapis Lazuli has increased by 20! The other party now 'trusts' you."
"Your Affinity has reached 50. If you persuade the other party, you can recruit them as an ally."
"I look forward to working with you… Lord Dantalion."
"As do I."
In that instant, the monsters, who had been silent, all erupted in a unified roar. The sound of their cheers reverberated through the cavern. That day was perhaps the first true victory I had achieved since falling into this world.