“Come on~ Let’s be best friends!”
“N-No way! Like I’d be in the same class as a despair-grade flat-chest like you!”
“Oh? Trying to pass off as a ‘technically legal loli’ just because of your looks? If we’re judging by loli standards, you don’t even qualify~”
“Anyone who thinks that kind of fetish-fueled fantasy is actually real is a certified idiot!”
Arguments between idiots were always noisy and headache-inducing.
Syl sipped her tea quietly and sighed before gently interrupting the scene, which was moments away from becoming an emotional massacre—albeit unintentionally.
“Miss Tris, please don’t forget the task Lord Demon King assigned you.”
Although it was meant for Tris, Syl’s reminder jogged my memory instead.
“Ah right—Tris, did you bring the quest materials?”
“Yes, I did.”
She paused her squabble and pulled out a stack of items from her backpack—the materials adventurers had submitted to advance their alchemist class quests.
Soon, a little mountain formed on the ground.
“Well done. Looks like you actually did your job properly.”
“Um… Demon Lord, are we really okay with tricking them like this?”
Tris looked down guiltily at the pile of hard-earned materials, clearly sympathizing with the poor adventurers.
“No worries.”
I reached out and gave her a soft pat on the head, my voice gentle.
“After all, you were the one who did it. Has nothing to do with me.”
“Mm… I see… Wait—that’s so mean!”
“Relax, relax. We’re demons, remember? Good behavior isn’t in the job description. When dealing with enemies, underhanded tactics are fair game.”
I waved my hand casually to calm the on-the-verge-of-crying Tris.
“Oh, and Syl. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you staring at my hair again.”
“Reporting honestly, I wasn’t this time, Your Majesty,” Syl replied dutifully.
To be fair, she wasn’t staring at my hair at the moment—her eyes were fixed on the materials on the floor.
“…So that means you have been doing it before!”
Rather than deflecting embarrassment, I realized I had found one of her blind spots.
But Syl didn’t answer.
Instead, she furrowed her brows and pointed at a few bottles.
“Lava Potion, Scorching Heart Tonic… these are all fire-resistance-type recipes. Your Majesty, is there a special purpose for gathering these?”
Before I could reply, a certain someone just had to chime in.
“Awww, you prepared all this for me? How thoughtful, Demon Lord~”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“You knew I was coming back, so you asked Little Tris to bring snacks, right?”
“Don’t call me Little!” Tris snapped, clearly sensitive after earlier events.
Then it hit me—Satahia’s racial talent, [Flame Monarch], lets her absorb fire-element materials to grow stronger.
Too bad none of this was actually for the glutton.
“No, I didn’t even know you were coming back.”
“Well, you know now! I’m digging in!”
“Sure. Let Syl feed you.”
I gave Syl a look.
She nodded and stepped forward with silent menace.
“Eheheh—just kidding! No way I’d steal from Demon Lord-sama like that~”
Satahia retreated several steps at lightspeed.
“But if it’s not for me, then what is it for?”
“That’s a secret. You’ll find out soon enough.”
No way I was gonna tell them this was all prep for a future [Destruction-Grade Hidden Dungeon].
“Anyway. Syl, Tris—go submit the bat materials you’ve been collecting. Thanks for the hard work.”
This was still early-game, and I couldn’t afford to neglect our primary income.
So I’d left the hidden bat-related quest to them.
Once the two left the throne room, things finally quieted down—
As if.
“Demon Lord-sama, are you Team Bear or Team Blue-White?”
“I was just gonna eat one bite, seriously~”
“Dammit… why can’t we low-tiers at least unite instead of fighting each other…”
A certain flat-chested girl clutched her head in self-pity.
“You are not in the same tier as me! And don’t you have anything else to do?”
I rolled my eyes and curled my hand into a fist.
That’s when I remembered—I had given her a task.
“Didn’t I tell you to clean out the monsters near the Demon King’s Castle?”
“No manpower. No motivation.”
“Really now… wait, what about the squad I gave you?!”
A bad feeling hit me.
“They’re all dead.” Satahia spread her hands like it was no big deal.
“…What.”
“…What.”
“Ow ow ow! I did try my best, okay?! If you don’t believe me, check the energy records and materials I submitted!”
I stopped knocking on her head and opened the Heart of Herentis interface.
Sure enough, energy intake over the past few days had increased by about 300 units, excluding the Nest’s income.
Still, if she lost a full squad to get that amount, it wasn’t a good trade.
“Explain. There’s no way the monsters around here should pose a threat to someone with your rank.”
Perhaps sensing the execution-ready tone in my voice, Satahia quickly explained.
“The nearby mobs were a piece of cake, but things got nasty southeast of the castle. That’s Mistveil Forest—territory of a Dominion-rank monster, the Black Widow Queen.”
I opened the map.
Sure enough, the southeast region of the Mistveil Forest was marked with a Dominion-level boss icon: the Black Widow Queen. Level 25.
In theory, my Lord-class underling should overpower a Dominion, but this was early-game.
Satahia had just hit level 8.
The Queen was 25.
That kind of stat gap hurts.
Still…
“Losing your entire squad is a bit much, don’t you think?!”
I was starting to wonder if her last team also betrayed her because of this insane casualty rate.
“Couldn’t help it.” She scratched her head sheepishly.
“When I brought the troops into the forest, a barrier auto-triggered. The whole squad got split into groups of 50 and sent into dimensional pockets.”
“I personally crushed the mini-boss on my side, but the others weren’t so lucky. All of them got wiped.”
“Dimensional pockets? Groups of 50? Mini spider bosses…”
I paused, resting my chin on one finger as realization dawned.
“…Could this be… an Unlock-Type Special Dungeon?”
These dungeons were rare in my past life.
They required tons of participants and only opened during major events or milestones.
Usually, players had to collectively clear multiple waves of the dungeon to unlock the final colossal boss, and only after defeating it could the dungeon be considered “cleared.”
There’d be a performance rating system based on damage, healing, tanking, and other stats.
Rewards would scale with your rank.
I’d joined a few of those back in the day—and they were always the hype events of the game, with incredible loot.
But now?
Now one of those dungeons had spawned inside my territory.
This was not good news.
Clearing this kind of dungeon would cost thousands of troops.
How much energy would that even take…?
I clutched my head, wincing at the invisible debt.
“Forget it. This isn’t your fault. I’ll send you more minions.”
I waved a hand tiredly.
“For now, avoid Mistveil Forest. Go clean out monsters in the outer zones instead.”
“Roger that, Demon Lord-sama~”
Once Satahia left, I sat in silence, deep in thought… and still found no solutions.
“…Guess I’ll shelve Mistveil for now.”
Let’s tackle the Forest Ruins next instead.