I managed to score a hundred thousand gold for once. It was a far cry from the million gold Sitri had promised to lend me, but it was enough to get started on the dungeon construction. My plans were moving up.
Startup capital — the seed money for a business venture, so to speak. Returning it? Don't be ridiculous. I've never given back anything I've already received. If I've salivated over it, it's mine!
'But I really don't want to work...!'
When I want to have sex, I have sex. When I want to have fun, I have fun. When I feel like farming, I farm, and when I'm not in the mood, I just leave it to the monsters. Now that's paradise. No matter how good a hundred thousand gold sounds, walking out of paradise with my own two feet is absolutely absurd.
I said with utmost seriousness.
"How about I just take the money and play dumb?"
Lapis's eyes went cold. The look in them said, You're human garbage. Ugh.
So it was a no-go after all. Of course. The power players of the Demon Realm weren't stupid — they'd retaliate one way or another. Damn it.
"Why did you go ahead and act on your own without my permission in the first place?"
"If I hadn't acted first, Lord Dantalion would have dilly-dallied indefinitely. Besides, now that you've become the de facto leader of the Plains Faction, you can't avoid forging ties with the Demon Realm."
Lapis lowered her head.
"You're free to blame me all you like. But please hear me out first. Lord Dantalion. During Operation Minerva, you said something to me clearly... 'If the enemy stays passive, that's something to be grateful for. If they go on the defensive, all we have to do is go on the attack.'"
Operation Minerva. The scheme to draw Barbatos in and spark the 8th Crescent Alliance Army's uprising. Lapis and I had devised the stratagem together and given it that name — carrying the meaning that while all others slept, only I would take flight.
"Everything has unfolded exactly as Lord Dantalion wished. But what about you now? You've been living days of debauchery and lewdness, using rest as an excuse. You're just killing time with the excuse that you haven't scraped together enough funds yet."
Lapis jabbed a finger at me.
"The one being passive right now is none other than you, Lord Dantalion. Every faction on the continent is fighting tooth and nail. The Demon Lord's army on their end, the human forces on theirs — both sides are locked in the fiercest struggle they've ever seen."
My stomach dropped.
Lapis continued in a flat, monotone voice.
"The one who actually set all this in motion is holed up in his territory, spending what he calls peaceful days. In my eyes, that's not peace — it's the calm before the storm. You know this too, Lord Dantalion. Once the war ends and the continent has room to breathe, the powers of the Human Realm will inevitably turn their full hostility toward you. What exactly are you doing?"
"……."
I was lost for words.
I had planned my dungeon construction to prepare for the future. Even when the money didn't come in, I'd spent the past few months lazing about. Had I really been preparing for the future? I had won over the hearts of my territory's people and solidified my position as lord. But was that truly enough?
No.
No one knew the truth better than I did.
"Don't throw a tantrum, my lord. Your forces are still painfully thin. Without Lord Barbatos's trust, they'd crumble in an instant — that's how fragile your power is. You yourself once told me, Lord Dantalion, that it is you and you alone who decides the course of your life."
That was what I had said to Lapis a year ago. While trying to persuade her to join my side, I had told her exactly that when she refused, saying a lowly Succubus was of no use.
─ It's not you but me who decides my life, Lapis Lazuli!
Having declared that so boldly, look at the state I was in now. And how that must have looked through Lapis's eyes.
"Nothing is over yet, Lord Dantalion. Please, pull yourself together."
"……."
I fell silent.
It was a hundred times right. It had barely been a year since I was captured by Leaf's adventure party and nearly killed. Back then, I had trembled with fear and swore I would survive no matter what. Yet my resolve had gone soft after barely a single year. Had I grown arrogant because the schemes succeeded? Had I let my guard down, thinking a little rest wouldn't hurt?
Pathetic.
"You're right, Lapis."
Nothing is over yet.
"Those who looked down on us. The powerful who rule this world — we still have a long way to go before we can show them our strength. ……And of all people, I'm the one who forgot that. Even the heart can put on a little extra weight, it seems."
Lapis placed her right hand over her chest and bowed deeply.
"I overstepped my bounds and spoke out of turn. Please, punish me."
"Without you, I wouldn't be who I am now, and I won't be who I need to become."
With those words, I forgave Lapis and thanked her. Lapis bowed even deeper. No further conversation was needed.
A silence laden with unbearable heat flowed between us. Something was beginning. No — something was being set into motion. Even when I'd decided to use the Black Death, even when I'd resolved to cast the continent into hell, I had stood at the center of this very atmosphere.
That's right. I had always belonged to those who begin. Somewhere along the way, I had drifted away from it. And Lapis brought me back… The list of things I owe her just keeps growing.
What Lapis wants probably isn't words of gratitude. I know that. So from now on, I'll show her through action.
"You mentioned the powers of the Demon Realm? They paid a hundred thousand gold just to see my face. I'd disappoint them if I didn't live up to their expectations."
I stroked my chin.
"Lapis. Tell me who paid the most. Let's meet them in order."
"I expected you would say as much."
Lapis smiled faintly. It was such a thin smile you'd miss it if you weren't familiar with her face. She slipped a hand inside her robe and produced a parchment scroll.
"This is a list of those who have invested resources. Out of the twenty-six Grand Dukes currently existing in the Demon Realm, a total of twenty are included. You should meet them as a priority."
"Well done."
I praised her competence.
The Demon Realm contains twenty-six hells. Here, "hell" is not a mere metaphor — it simply refers to a territory. In other words, the Demon Realm is fundamentally composed of twenty-six territories.
The parchment Lapis handed me listed the names of each hell. It recorded the territories governed by those who had invested in me.
Black Rope Hell.
Screaming Hell.
Great Screaming Hell.
Scorching Hell.
Avici Hell.
The names of the remaining twenty territories trailed on in a neat list. The one who rules a hell is called a Grand Duke, and their title is derived from the name of their territory. For example, the Grand Duke who governs Scorching Hell would be called the Grand Duke of Scorching Heat.
Seventy-two Demon Lords based in the continent of the Human Realm. Twenty-six Grand Dukes ruling the Demon Realm. They form the supreme hierarchy that governs the Demonkin both in ideology and in practice.
There are many ways to become a Demon Lord. You could be one from birth, or you could live as an ordinary Demonkin and then, one day, suddenly become a Demon Lord. In short, there is no fixed principle. The way to become a Grand Duke, however, is only one.
Survival of the fittest.
The one who possesses overwhelming power becomes a Grand Duke. Your origin does not matter. Your status does not matter. In the merciless crucible of endless, infinite competition, you climb and climb again, and eventually you become a Grand Duke. The process naturally breeds betrayal, schemes, and shifting alliances.
Among the Demon Lords, there are rotten ones like Andromalius, ranked seventy-second in the hierarchy, who has no sense left in his head… but the Grand Dukes of Hell are different. They are pure elites. They have elevated to instinct the knowledge of when to bow their heads and when to land a blow to the back of someone's skull.
They have decided that now is the time to bow to me. Why? Not because I am powerful. Because they believe I have emerged as a central figure among the Demon Lord factions — Barbatos, Marbas, Sitri, and the rest.
A key figure of this caliber, who until now has had no ties to any Grand Duke. They calculated that whoever moves fastest to build a connection with Dantalion will gain leverage — and if Dantalion is won over, they can extend their influence over the Plains Faction, the Mountain Faction, and even the Neutral Faction. Was that the extent of their reasoning? They are quick to act, these Grand Dukes.
Lapis saw right through it.
She had almost certainly been stalling for time, keeping the Grand Dukes on edge. The Grand Dukes knew what she was doing, but there was nothing they could do about it. If they fell behind even one other Grand Duke, it could spell disaster. The more capable a power broker is, the more fiercely they guard against being outmaneuvered by a rival. This time, that very competence was turned against them. They tripped over their own feet.
As expected of Lapis. When it comes to anything involving money, Lapis possesses first-rate talent without question. Setting aside her eye for value, the sheer audacity of a lowborn Demonkin daring to exploit the most powerful figures in Hell — that takes extraordinary nerve.
"Maybe she was even looking out for me."
Lapis is no foolish workaholic. She believes you should rest when it's time to rest. Wasn't she the one who suggested I take a vacation to Niflheim when I was in the thick of my Demon Lord syndrome?
That was why she didn't utter a single word of complaint. She let me be, left me alone to rest.
But during that time, Lapis had been moving on my behalf behind the scenes. She granted me a brief respite, and in the meantime, she prepared everything that needed to be done. Once she judged that I had rested enough, only then did she come to press me today.
What an incredible woman.
I finished reading through the parchment piece by piece, then glanced over at Lapis. Her eyes, blue as lapis lazuli, were gazing straight at me.
"Is there something you'd curious about?"
She does more than simply point out what is wrong. She thinks in the most pragmatic terms possible. She gave me time to recover my stamina, then calculated precisely what it would take to convince me and moved accordingly. It is precisely because she acts with that kind of pragmatism that a lowborn Demonkin has risen to this height.
"No. Nothing in particular."
I smiled.
"I was just thinking how nice it is to have you by my side."
"......"
Lapis froze as if she'd been struck by a sudden blow.
Only for a moment. She replied with her usual composure.
"The document you need to review isn't just that single sheet. I've investigated the dispositions of each Grand Duke as well as the relationships between them. Among them, there are Grand Dukes who are close to the Plains Faction and Grand Dukes who are cooperative with the Mountain Faction. If you don't have a firm grasp of the political situation, it will be problematic."
"Oh dear. I'm dying, I'm dying."
I feigned groaning. Inside, though, I was grateful. These were things I naturally needed to know.
I spent the entire day reviewing the documents. Lapis's reports hit only the key points. There wasn't the slightest hint of self-congratulation — no showing off that she'd investigated this much or knew this much. She simply laid out the important matters in logical order.
"This is a bit odd. Even allowing for the Mountain Faction's dominance all this time, there are too many pro-Mountain Grand Dukes. Is there some special circumstance behind this?"
"Yes. The underlying reason is that the majority of the Grand Dukes are skeptical about conquering the Human Realm......"
On top of that, whenever I asked a question out of curiosity, she answered immediately. It would be hard to find anyone more capable than this.
Thanks to her, I mastered the Demon Realm's power structure in a single day. At one point Laura came in and listened to our conversation, but she quickly grew bored and collapsed onto the bed, fast asleep. Lapis and I kept the candle lit as we exchanged conversation deep into the night.
"Good."
I spoke around dawn.
"At this level, there doesn't seem to be anything lacking to carry out the plan."
"I think so too."
Ah, Lapis smiled faintly again. That smile alone was reason enough to live earnestly. That's what I thought.
"Well then, let's go receive the Grand Dukes of Hell."
By means and methods befitting "Dantalion," of course.