'What do I do?'
I racked my brains desperately.
How could I escape from these adventurers?
Dantalion had been captured alive by the adventuring party. If things kept going like this, he'd be dragged to the nearest city and executed. The party would happily pocket the bounty. The city's mayor would hold a little festival and boast proudly that he'd slain a Demon Lord. Meanwhile, my head would be mounted on a spear and displayed in the city square.
Damn it.
They say even if you're carried off by a tiger, you'll survive as long as you keep your wits about you. Maybe that was true. I mean, there was a *possibility*.
But in that scenario, the one carried off by the tiger was a human. Not a rabbit! No matter how sharp a rabbit's wits might be, it would just die inside a tiger's den. Not even a sliver of a chance. Depressing…
'If only I had even Asmodeus, ranked 32nd. No, even Belial, ranked 68th, would do.'
My mouth tasted bitter.
The adventuring party that captured me was far from impressive. Looking at Leaf's outerwear reeked of poverty. The other adventurers were trying to look stylish in their own way, but an unmistakable stench of destitution radiated from them. Probably bottom-tier. A Rank F party, most likely.
If I had even twenty Goblins under my command, I could wipe out a party like this in no time. After all, I was a player who'd reached the pinnacle of Dungeon Attack. I knew adventurers' weaknesses better than anyone. But right now, I didn't have a single one of the Goblins that littered every back-alley hillside in the neighborhood. Without that, there was nothing I could do no matter how much I wanted to.
"Hey. That thing's dragging its feet way too slow even for a limp."
"It's crawling along on purpose to waste our time, I'm telling you."
Just then, the chatter among the adventurers died down. Had the conversation run dry? The momentary lull must have prompted them to turn me into their next topic, because they started running their mouths with deliberately nasty tones.
Leaf, the party leader, snickered.
"Your Majesty the Demon Lord. Thing is, my companions aren't exactly the patient type."
Bastards. They knew perfectly well my right leg was crippled, and they still pulled this.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll walk faster!"
I promptly bowed my head and apologized. Being weak was a crime.
Leaf grinned, satisfied.
"My, my. Quick with the answers, I like that. But you see, there's an occupational hazard to being an adventurer. My companions suspect the Demon Lord is deceiving us. They're wondering if you're stalling for time until the Demon Lord's subordinates arrive."
I made the most aggrieved expression of any homeless man at Seoul Station.
"There is absolutely no chance of that!"
If only I even had a single subordinate monster to my name, how wonderful that would be.
My thigh, scraped raw against the sharp cave floor, hurt like hell. Tears streamed down my face.
"I did have subordinates. Goblins, limps, orcs… they weren't much, but they were precious to me."
I tacked on a few convenient lies. Not that it would have mattered if I'd told the truth — they wouldn't have believed me either way.
"But before you arrived, three separate adventuring parties attacked me back to back! You're the fourth. My subordinates are all dead… hghk… they'd been with me for thirty years…"
"H-hey?"
Leaf's voice turned flustered.
"Don't tell me you're crying?"
"Snf… no, it's not…"
I spoke in a mournful tone, as though I were fighting back tears with everything I had. Tears rolled down my cold cheeks.
It was all a lie, but the misery was genuine. I'd been living like garbage, but there had been people dear to me. I'd had a daily life I genuinely cared about, in my own way.
And then I'd suddenly died in a traffic accident. Woke up with crippled legs. Took an arrow to the thigh. Worst of all, I had to grovel and beg before complete strangers — the humiliation of it was unbearable.
"Sob… Mother… hghk…"
Even my mother came to mind. She'd have believed her son was studying hard right up to the very end.
How would she feel learning I was dead? That on a hot day, her son had been studying diligently at a café and had met his end on the way home. That's probably how she'd picture it.
She was the one who'd encouraged me to study at the café. For all I knew, my mother might blame herself for her son's death. When nothing could be further from the truth. Even at the very moment of my dying, I'd burdened her with a lifetime of guilt. What a useless son.
"Sob……"
The sound of weeping echoed pitifully off the cave ceiling.
The adventurers, of all people, were the ones who panicked. Leaf put on an angry front.
"Hey, hey. Who the hell made him cry?"
"Come on, none of us knew he'd have it that rough."
The one who'd been blaming my slow pace fumbled for an excuse.
"I thought the dungeon had too few monsters — turns out, the other guys had already cleared everything out first."
"That poor guy's been left completely destitute in the blink of an eye. Tsk, tsk……"
"I guess even a Demon Lord is a living being. He's gotta have a mother."
The tension in the air softened.
That was when I heard a sound effect ring out in my head. A series of holographic windows popped up in front of my eyes.
"Leaf the Novice Adventurer's Affinity rises by 3."
"Danev the Novice Adventurer's Affinity rises by 1."
"Luke the Novice Adventurer's Affinity rises by 1."
My tears stopped dead.
Wait — there's an affinity system for males too?
This world was far more complex and nuanced than I'd imagined. What kind of humans were these — people who'd developed an affection for the Demon Lord, the very ruler of monsters, just because he'd shed a few sorrowful tears? I was so dumbfounded that, for a moment, I forgot my pain and stared at the notification windows.
Meanwhile, the adventurers were busy interpreting my gaze on my behalf.
"Just look at those eyes — the look of someone who's lost everything in the world."
"Well, if the dungeon's ruined, it's true the Demon Lord's had a rough go of it."
"Maybe it's because I've been surrounded by nothing but monsters until now, but the Demon Lord is more human than I expected."
The people were far too naive. Was it because the setting was medieval?
According to the game's lore, most adventurers were ordinary farmers. When noble exploitation grew unbearable, they figured they were going to die poor anyway, so they might as well swing a spear and take a shot at one last gamble. Among them, there were a handful of truly formidable mercenaries, but they were an extreme minority. Nearly every adventurer had simply traded a hoe for a spear because life had become unlivable.
Medieval humans were a curious breed — when they lacked any concept of human rights, they could be endlessly cruel, yet their emotions ran just as deep.
*Huh.*
Something suddenly clicked.
*Wait — if I play this right, I could use this to my advantage.*
My mind raced through the calculations. A good idea had taken shape. Let me say this once more: I knew exactly what the adventuring party's weaknesses were. I also knew what they feared most in their current situation.
The odds were fifty-fifty. It might work, it might not. But I was in no position to be picky. If things kept going the way they were, I'd end up beheaded in the town square. Whether I died this way or that way, at least this way I had nothing to lose.
I quickly slipped into character.
"I'm just glad I got to meet all of you. You didn't kill me on the spot even after seeing that I'm the Demon Lord."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
"You've been so considerate of my injuries, even supporting me like this... *hng.* In my two hundred years of life, I've never met adventurers as kind-hearted as you. If I was going to be captured, I'm grateful it was by decent people like you."
Of course, it was all a lie.
The moment they'd laid eyes on me, they'd unleashed a volley of arrows. The only reason they'd kept me alive wasn't out of pity — they wanted to loot the dungeon's treasury. But what did that matter? The truth could go either way.
I had to win their favor by any means necessary.
*How will this go?*
I waited nervously. I hadn't put on any act or said anything fabricated. I'd merely attached a favorable interpretation to their own actions. People always wanted to believe their actions could be cast in the best possible light.
At last, the adventurers responded.
"Well, it's not like we did anything special..."
"You cooperated with our words quite willingly, you know."
"Rookie adventurer Leaf's Affinity rises by 6."
"Rookie adventurer Deneb's Affinity rises by 4."
"Rookie adventurer Luke's Affinity rises by 6."
Besides them, a dozen or so other adventurers all gained Affinity as well.
'Yes!'
I clenched my fist triumphantly in my mind. Compared to the tiny increments earlier, this time the numbers had jumped up by a much bigger margin. I was starting to get a feel for it.
"I'm sorry for holding everyone up. Now then, let's head to the treasury right away."
I forced myself to sound cheerful. Not genuinely cheerful—cheerful enough that anyone watching would think, 'That kid is clearly trying way too hard to keep the mood up.'
The adventurers cleared their throats.
"Ahem. Hmph. It's not like we're in any particular rush."
"Well, yeah. The treasury's not going to get up and run away on us."
"Your feet must be sore too, so take it easy. There aren't any monsters left anyway, so what's the rush?"
They weren't all that terrifying after all. In short, they were beasts you could reason with.
And I knew better than anyone what adventurers—the most particular breed of beast—were weakest against.
"Oh, but..."
I furrowed my brow just slightly, speaking in a troubled tone.
"If we drag this out too long, another adventuring party might invade the dungeon. The monsters have all been wiped out, so they could make it straight to the Demon Lord's chamber without any trouble. Wouldn't that put all of you in a difficult position...?"
"What!"
The adventurers were startled.
The monsters in this dungeon cannot harm the Demon Lord. As long as they're holding me hostage, this adventuring party is safe from any threat posed by the monsters. But when the threat isn't monsters, but fellow humans, that's a different story entirely.
Adventuring parties sometimes cooperate over a dungeon, and sometimes compete. The dungeon's treasures, the bounty on the Demon Lord's head… to adventurers, these are nothing more than juicy prey.
These are people who left their hometowns solely to make money. Why would they care whether the one holding the coin purse is a monster or a human? If the situation called for it, they could turn into a bandit gang at any moment. That's just what adventurers are like.
In this world, the profession of "adventurer" has a bad reputation.
*'Aren't they just a bunch of would-be bandits roaming around to make money anyway?'*
That's what most people think. If you're human, you ought to be farming where you were born and raised. In keeping with the medieval setting, wanderers are treated harshly. But where there's smoke, there's fire — adventuring parties robbing other adventuring parties is not an uncommon occurrence.
The adventurers grimaced and talked amongst themselves.
"Damn it. I hadn't even thought about that."
"There's no guarantee another party will show up. There's no need to worry."
"You idiot! Three adventuring parties have come through recently alone. There's more than enough chance that word has spread and other bastards will come attacking."
The adventurers' expressions grew increasingly grim.
"So they'd exploit the opening left by a weakened dungeon… Is that it? That's entirely plausible."
"If what the Demon Lord said is true and there really isn't a single monster left, we'll have to dance for our lives against a fully intact adventuring party."
"Son of a bitch! Like hell I'm going to hand over a fully prepared meal to some other bastards!"
An elder with some experience tried to calm his companions down. Losing your composure inside a dungeon was never a wise move. But these farmers, who had thrown themselves into the dungeon in hopes of a sudden reversal of fortune, could hardly be calmed down.
"Everyone. It's possible that even at this very moment, another adventuring party is closing in on us."
I spoke with a voice so drenched in worry it practically dripped.
"How about we head to the treasure vault first? We can continue our discussion while walking."
"That makes sense."
"We should grab the treasure first! Yeah!"
The people chimed in agreement, saying it was the right call.
"The beginner adventuring party 'Well-Built Villagers' slightly lowers their guard toward you."
"Move fast, move fast! We don't have time to spare — not even as long as your pricks!"
"Our Well-Built men aren't the type to be caught napping with our eyes open!"
The adventurers each shouted their battle cries as they hurriedly set off down the path.
============================ Afterword ============================
ForSmile// Thank you for being the first to leave a comment. Personally, I also think it would be nice to get hit by the reincarnation truck once. (...)
KimJojak// Even if your lower body is overpowered, your right foot is already wrecked... Of course, once it's wrecked, you can still play(?) in your own way!
fewfqew// Thank you for the first coupon. I'll repay you with an entertaining story.