Fireworks

As always, the main street of the capital was bustling with a disorienting amount of foot traffic and carriages. Unlike the roads in the under-construction village of Rabbi, the streets of the capital were not wide by any means. Most settlements on the continent were designed to hold as many businesses and residents as they could within a limited space. In that sense, the remade village of Rabbi would be a huge exception to the norm.

Along the main street, a group of loan sharks had captured a pair of sisters, one of them now kicking the younger sister full force in the abdomen. The older sister, who had already tried to protect her sibling, was lying on the ground, beaten and broken. Pedestrians passed them by all the while, none of them willing to risk trouble for themselves.

“If you’re not going to pay up, we’re going to hold on to your little sis,” one of the loan sharks spat.

“W-Wait... Leave my sister alone! I’m the one who borrowed the money!”

“Our point exactly. You’ve got a job to do.”

She was at a loss for words thinking about the cruel prospects of her future.

“You’re going into the colosseum,” the loan shark added, much to her surprise. “That usually comes with pay, but you’re not seeing a single bronze coin of it. Got it?”

“Colosseum...” she muttered, her brows lifting in hope. She would be risking her life, of course, but she considered it a better alternative to strangers taking turns on her for nickels and dimes. With the overpopulation of prostitutes in the city, untrained women were often tossed to the colosseum for catfights. The Jack of All Trades constantly took people hostage over debts and set up various matches in the colosseum with them. Given that it was packed with spectators day in and day out, especially wealthy tourists flocking from neighboring nations for big events, the colosseum provided massive income for the company in the form of gambling.

“The first fight’s against another broad neck-deep in debt. Second one’s against a real colosseum fighter, and the third is against one of our beasts. If you make it through all three alive, I’ll tear up your contract then and there.”

“A fighter and a b-beast... You can’t be serious!”

“What’s that? You’re the one with the serious interest racked up.”

“O-Okay... Just don’t hurt my sister anymore!”

“Now that all depends on your attitude... If you beg on your knees, we might think about it.” The loan sharks burst into laughter. This scene was all too familiar on these streets.

Loans from the Company were jacked up with sky-high interest rates. Nonetheless, Jack made sure that they were forced to pile on even more debts. This was the tried and true tactic: he gave the newcomers into the city a relentless assault of luxury, trapping them in financial quicksand. Alas, it was only human nature: the taste of luxury was addictive.

“On the other hand, you want to tag in that hot mama of yours? She’s still got the goods.”

“Don’t you dare! My mother is sick!”

The men laughed even louder. Seeing this turn of events, this family seemed to have been set up for this fallout from the beginning. In fact, they had not gone into debt for a temporary taste of luxury. Their father, a seasoned fisherman, had damaged his boat and had acquired debt to fix it. Interest snowballed until the father was taken away to the colosseum, followed by their mother falling ill from the stress.

Pedestrians carried on, keeping their gazes downward. Traps were laid throughout the lavish cityscape, and many who walked the streets of the capital fell all the way down the ladder into the slums before they knew it. Furthermore, the fallen received no sympathy from the residents of the city, only looks of disdain for the foolish and gullible. “That’s what you call rock bottom,” they would always say, their looks too cold to be directed at fellow human beings. The Jack of All Trades had intentionally constructed a bottom-feeding class in the city to make the rest of the lot feel better about their lives in comparison.

The pair of final bosses traversed through the capital, drawing all eyes to them.

“Quite lavish, though the roads are narrow...”

“Be careful, Master.”

The crowds in the streets parted at Ren’s untouchably dignified aura, then promptly shook upon beholding the man behind her; whispered musings about a new higher-up in the Company or the invasion of a new syndicate buzzed through the populace.

“I’ll eventually bring Tahara to scope the place out.”

“Wonderful idea, Master.”

The Demon Lord’s casual comment would have struck the Jack of All Trades like a lightning bolt out of the blue, though he only meant to expose Tahara to different cities around the continent for reference.

“We can’t stick to the main street, Ren. We’re going over there,” the Demon Lord pointed towards the hut-lined slums.

“Into such a precarious sector?”

The Demon Lord would have never been eager to approach a slum like this, but he must have been reminded of the paladin, who worked tirelessly for the working class.

“We have to see what lies in the shadows...” the Demon Lord mumbled.

Ren’s expression softened ever so slightly. “You want to pay close attention to the poor,” she said.

“No, I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Of course you were, Master. With how kind you are.”

Pump the brakes! he thought, as he had never so much as considered solving poverty in foreign lands. He simply wanted to experience a glimpse of what the paladin saw in this world.

Weeb seemed to have piqued Ren’s interest too.

“He sounds compassionate like you, Master.”

“Don’t get it twisted, Ren. I’m no saint like that guy is. I’m only ever driven by my own will and objectives.”

“Is it your will then, Master, that you hold me with your great love?”

The Demon Lord halted his step. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

Ren stopped with him; their unapproachability created a gap in the crowd as if they were shooting a film.

“I always wanted to ask...why you showered me with so much love.”

“The subject has completely changed, Ren. It’s unrecognizable.”

“No, your love hasn’t changed in the slightest, Master. In fact, it feels stronger than ever now that we’re closer. Even now, I feel like my heart is bursting with it.”

“That’s not what I’m— The topic of our conversation has—”

“If it is your will to embrace with even greater love, I will accept it with great pleasure, Master. I am yours.”

“Stop it... I was only talking about investigating the slums. What are you talking about?!”

Despite the Demon Lord’s panic, Ren spread her arms and gave him a longing look. The crowd around them gave a hushed stir at her beauty.

“Master...”

“Wh-What now...? What is it?!”

“I love you.”

“Wh-What are you... There’s a time and place for...”

Passersby watched the impromptu soap opera with bated breath. A stunning girl that seemed to threaten to steal their souls with her looks alone had just proudly declared her love in the middle of the street. What’s more, the man she professed her love to was quite obviously a man of the underground.

“She just said that out in the open...”

“The girl’s a knockout... Killer outfit too!”

“That godfather must have blackmailed her. Poor thing...”

“Is he from the City States? How much did he pay for a stunner like that...?!”

The crowd began to voice their own opinions, which led to the Demon Lord hastily clearing his throat and straightening his back, but any semblance of his dignity had already been lost. The Demon Lord’s face contorted terribly at this public execution.

“Guess you don’t care about your little sister now, huh?!”

For better for some and for worse for others, the loan shark’s shout had reached the Demon Lord over the now-quiet crowd. With a glint in his eye, the Demon Lord began a brisk stride towards the source of the voice, where a most foolish endeavor was being performed.

“Bet you were looking forward to it,” the loan shark continued. “Beg for my big, fat lance.”

Another of the sharks laughed. “This guy packs a weapon down there.”

As if to put his erect spear on display, the man wiggled it back and forth, all the way up to the woman. Despite the tears in her eyes, she defiantly stared back at him; she was ready to do whatever it took to protect her sister and mother. Passersby averted their gaze, wanting no part of the heinous deed done in broad daylight.

Now, however, there was a man who threw a wrench in the status quo of Euritheis. “A pathetic twig. Is there a competition for the most unimpressive rod in town?”

This drew a drastic reaction from the loan sharks; not even a Trance addict would have picked a fight with the Jack of All Trades in this town. This allowed the sharks to assume that they were speaking to an ignoramus from the middle of nowhere.

“Who the hell’s this idiot? Where you at?!”

“Some hick that just came into the city? Better teach him a lesson.”

Much to their surprise, the man who parted through the crowd was someone who seemed born to rule in the shadows. Even the Jack of All Trades sharks were taken aback, especially by his attire.

“Th-Those clothes... You’re from the City States...!”

“From Gorgon... Bring it on!”

“You want to take on the Jack of All Trades...? We’ll show you what for!”

“We work for Spades, punk. You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into!”

The Demon Lord did not respond and frowned upon seeing the child fallen by their feet. She seemed unconscious, with marks of torture inflicted by the sharks. She reminded the Demon Lord of Aku, which only made his face sterner.

Encouraged by the Demon Lord’s silence, the sharks grew louder.

“Heh heh heh! He’s quiet as a mouse now that he’s heard we work for Spades!”

“Got the look but nothing else... Don’t tell me you’re backing out now, you Gorgon dog.”

“What’s this? Did you come to give us that cutie over there? I’ll give her a taste of my fat spear too.”

The self-proclaimed fat lancer shook his hips at Ren. Seeing this, the Demon Lord produced a bronze coin from his pocket and flicked it with his thumb. The coin nailed the “fat lance” and the man let out a hideous scream, foam frothing from his mouth. He shook violently, waterfalls of tears gushing from his eyes until he eventually fell silent.

The Demon Lord had no sympathy for the shark, whose tool of the trade might have been obliterated. He laughed mockingly. “No matter the time, the screams of scum like you are so irritating to hear...” The Demon Lord thought he would lean into Kunai’s character, partially because he thought that would betray some of the extreme faith and illusions Ren regarded him with.

“You b-bastard! So Gorgon wants war, huh?!”

“You’ll regret this... The Gorgon name don’t mean shit in our country!”

“Gorgon?” The Demon Lord scoffed. “I’ve never heard of any such name...”

The sharks twisted their faces, assuming the Demon Lord was going to keep the Gorgon name out of his mouth while he caused mayhem in Euri. The Company could demand restitution from Gorgon all they wanted, only to be explained that they employed no such character with a grin across their faces. This tactic would have been moot without a skillful agent with nothing to lose. In fact, if Jack of All Trades were to later demand answers from Gorgon, the sharks calculated, Gorgon would claim slander and use that to justify a full-on war.

“All of this talk of Jack and Spades... Apparently you haven’t realized you stand before a king.”

With a boasting sneer as if he had said something clever, the Demon Lord activated one of his Combat Skills, Intimidate. The Defense of each enemy dropped by 10%, a powerful pressure pulsing from him.

The pressure caused many of the onlookers to fall and the color to drain from the sharks, a natural reaction for anyone who was looking death in the face.

“So, which maggot is going to make me regret it...?”

As the Demon Lord took a step forward, the Company sharks took a step back. With another two steps, the sharks withdrew three steps. Just as the Demon Lord moved to take one more step, the sharks broke formation, scuttling and carrying Fat Lance with them, leaving behind the wounded sisters and the cackling Demon Lord (now also known as “King”).

Hah ha ha! The Demon Lord thought, Keep up the egomaniac act and Ren should snap out of it somewhat. He continued to laugh, too scared to actually check what Ren’s face looked like. Now cackling away in joy, he had no idea of the impending clash he’d caused with the Gorgon Company.

——Jack of All Trades Company Headquarters.

A man’s panting and the moaning of women echoed in a room within the headquarters. Within were Jack and his favorite prostitutes: two among them were actually men, as Jack was into both sides of the spectrum.

After the deed was done, Jack tossed the prostitutes out the door and lit his cigar. A well-timed knock came from the door, as if whoever was out there was waiting for Jack to finish his business.

Blowing out smoke, Jack simply muttered “come in,” sweat trickling down his steely body to indicate the ferocity of the deed he had just been engaged in. His body had been sculpted in battle, as Jack once climbed out of slavery all the way up to the champion of the colosseum with nothing to rely on but his fists. The smell of blood seemed to linger wherever he went. For instance, he had strangled or beaten countless prostitutes to death from getting carried away in bed.

“That newbie’s back from watch duty, Boss.”

“Got it.” Jack grabbed his jacket and left the room without turning back.

He had given orders to receive direct reports from the city gate. Jack was as sensitive to enemies on the outside as he was confident about eroding and ruling Euritheis from the inside out.

“Everyone’s here,” he remarked when he arrived at the room where his four henchmen, Ignatio, and the old general from Xenobia awaited him.

“I told you to go take a nap in the palace, mossback...”

“I’ve found my patience wanes with age. I’m afraid I can’t stay in the same place for too long,” the general casually replied.

Jack cinched his brow in frustration and the henchmen looked ready to throw insults at the old man, who seemed completely unbothered.

“Let’s hear it,” Jack simply said.

Straightening his back, the new recruit began making his report with a trembling voice. The henchmen listened intently at first but began to chuckle here and there, giving suspicious looks to the new recruit who had rattled on about the Emperor of Hell and the King of the Dead.

“You’re getting high on the job, newbie?”

“What the hell was Eyze doing?”

The henchmen continued to mutter their questions until the messenger mentioned a man wearing a suit, when the air in the room changed. The only people to wear suits in this world were from the City States.

Even Jack, who had remained silent thus far, crossed his arms and pondered aloud. “A guy from the City States...”

“Is Gorgon making a move?!”

“It’s too early to tell, don’t you think?”

“What’s the worst a couple of Gorgon’s men could do?”

Some more speculation continued until a group of Spades’s men ran into the room. They relayed how the man in a suit had started a fight with them on the street and scoffed at the mention of Jack of All Trades. The men who experienced the Demon Lord firsthand kept mentioning the Gorgon Company.

Jack asked, as if to double-check, “Gorgon, huh...? What did the guy say?”

“H-He kept sneering, claiming not to have heard of the Gorgon Company before.”

Hearing this, Jack’s expression shifted. Not even he had expected the Gorgon Company.

Likewise, his henchmen struggled to come up with a solution.

“Should we interrogate Gorgon, just in case?”

“You’ll just give them an excuse.”

“But if we don’t do anything, they’ll send in more agents.”

“Then our reputation goes kaput!”

They felt cornered. Now that they had missed the first move, they were forced to be on the defensive.

Jack finally uncrossed his arms and declared, “It’s time to send our idiots to them...” An eye for an eye, which was a natural course of action for them. If they didn’t retaliate, they would continue to face attack after attack. Making eloquent apologies and insincere statements like Suneo had done after the attack on their capital would do Jack of All Trades no good. If they didn’t deal with this issue now, they believed it would run the reputation of the Company to the ground, negatively affecting Jack’s rule over the country.

“What’s his name? What does he look like?” Jack asked.

Spades’s men mentioned the name King. It was an almost refreshing alias, but Jack assessed that it would have taken him some serious balls to declare himself that. He didn’t believe that a disposable pawn would call himself such a thing.

At this point, Ignatio gave a yawn and spoke for the first time during this gathering, “You know... I’m starting to think he’s the King from Heaven’s Ward.” While his tone was lethargic, the content of his remark was highly serious. Shock ran across each of the suits before they started nodding along.

“Damn it! That’s what he’s...!”

“That King, huh? He’s got guts, like they say he does.”

“Knocking on our door all alone... What a cute, reckless boy!”

“Heard he’s a monster on the battlefield. Swords or magic won’t do anything to him.”

There were numerous famous mercenary groups scattered through the war-torn Northern Nations, not only the Five Stars. Heaven’s Ward was one of the most infamous. They were often used as spearheads during full-on clashes, and everyone in the room had remembered that King, a valiant fighter with head-to-toe armor, belonged to Heaven’s Ward.

“Who is this King, Ignatio?”

“Stupid strong, for sure. When King’s on the other side, all of your fighters die left and right, so it’s never worth it.”

“Sounds annoying...” Jack grumbled. “Would he change sides for money or women? I can open up a chair on the sunny side of the government too.” As fearsome as King was supposed to be, he was still a mercenary; Jack considered giving him a high-ranking position in Euritheis or even knighthood.

“No... No, no, no... Mercenaries have a code. Even if King himself is cool with it, everyone at Heaven’s Ward wouldn’t let it happen. He’ll keep getting assassins crawling through his window for the rest of his life. So the only option we have left is to fight him off. Oopsie!”

Jack felt the urge to clobber Ignatio’s chuckling face, but didn’t forget to check. “What if we outbid whatever Gorgon’s paying him?”

“No-can-do-sville. If a mercenary turns for money, they’ll never be trusted again, costing them their career. For example, let’s say I flip to Gorgon because he gave me lots of cash. You’d never hire us again, would you?”

“Hmph. Bet your sorry ass on it.” Jack snarled, yet couldn’t help but agree with the assessment. Mercenaries may have had the stereotype of doing anything for money, but this wasn’t always the case in practice; most of them kept honest policies and clean records. No one would hire them if any ill rumor or image arose during their background check. Most mercenaries wore a fake smile for any nation they dealt with, secretly hoping for war season to last forever.

So, this sort of attack was completely asinine. Without the name of Gorgon on his back for protection, the only fate awaiting such an infiltrator was death. King, the monster of the battlefield, must have been one of the only ones capable of such a sting.

“Heaven’s Ward, huh... Looks like Gorgon’s all riled up.” Jack could feel his blood boil. This was far beyond the previous scuffles between two trading companies; this was a war between Euritheis and the City States. He knew that the two were destined to clash, but it was far sooner and bound to be deadlier than expected.

The general, who had remained silent until now, tauntingly said, “Perhaps your savage ways have incited their ire?”

“What...?”

“Stomping into foreign territory to forcibly retrieve goods you’ve already sold off... It’s your prerogative to trample over the weak and the weaponless, but how can you expect them not to hold a grudge?”

“You think that coward in Suneo has something to do with this?”

“Just an old man’s musing he came up with while taking that nap,” he said with plenty of sarcasm, shaking his shoulders from the humor of it.

Although he was frustrated, Jack finally thought he’d made sense of why the Heaven’s Ward had made such a bold move; it didn’t seem conducive to a mercenary’s philosophy to take on the entirety of Euritheis.

Ignatio chimed in with his nonchalant tone, “Gotcha, gotcha. Suneo was embarrassed, so they hired Heaven’s Ward and put up the front of the Gorgon Company to protect themselves from retaliation. Not bad!” He snapped his fingers in a show of respect for Suneo and Gorgon’s maneuver.

Jack, however, was not amused. Suneo might have approached Gorgon intending to protect themselves, but the Gorgon Company was practically drooling for a chance like this, where they could have a blank check in their pocket while they worked to eliminate their nemesis, Jack. If he stayed on the back foot, the famously strategic Gorgon Company would soon set up a stranglehold.

“Spades. Gather up everyone on your team who can handle themselves and get rid of this King! Send his head to Heaven’s Ward and give them a good idea of who they’re messing with!”

“Aye, Boss!”

“Hearts, take your reckless idiots and tear up Gorgon’s territory! Let them know it was us.”

“Oooh, big and flashy. I like it!”

“Clubs, you stay by the northern border and keep an eye on Milk! Diamonds, reinforce the headquarters’s defenses!”

“Aye, Boss!”

The suits hurried out of their seats as Jack commanded them.

Once the four of them had left, Jack puffed out a cloud of smoke with his cigar between his teeth. “You’ll regret this, Gorgon...!”

While he was taken aback by the surprise attack, Jack’s fighting spirit had been lit by the knowledge of their reliance on Heaven’s Ward. By nature, Jack was a fighter, and he was now ready to take out his foe with brute force.

“Shall I return to my nap?”

Jack answered the general’s question with the jerk of his chin in a gesture for the general to get out of his sight. Once the general left, Jack called over Ignatio and whispered in his ear, “Keep an eye on that mossback with some of your guys.”

“Really? I thought he was on our side.”

“A general gift-wrapped by that vixen. Who knows what he’s really here to do?” Jack even considered the possibility of the general setting the palace ablaze amidst the commotion. In fact, the general had been sent to him with five thousand soldiers in tow, but Jack had refused them all entry into the palace, save for three hundred of them. The remainder of the general’s army remained outside the city boundary with nothing to do.

“Patrol the city with the rest. If there’s anyone suspicious, throw them into the slammer.”

“Martial law, huh? Gotcha, gotcha!”

“I don’t need to remind you what happens if you screw this up, do I...?”

“Nopesies. I’m just going to work for my pay... Whoa!”

Jack had thrown a dagger at Ignatio, who had just barely managed to dodge it. In the meantime, Jack had already rushed close to him, his fist in the air. Ignatio returned by drawing his sword from his belt, blocking the punch head-on. A blast echoed through the room, and the floor below them cracked and cratered.

“Looks like you haven’t lost it...”

“What was that, some sort of test?!”

“Nah, just wanted to punch your stupid face.”

“That’s even worse! Come on!”

Ignatio hurried out of the room before giving Jack another chance to attack him.

So, the Jack of All Trades was steadily preparing their counterattack for the upcoming war.

Meanwhile, the Demon Lord, oblivious to any consequences of his actions, was en route to the residence of the two sisters he had saved, having given them each a Bottle of Water. Once he heard that the sisters lived in the slums, he figured this was the perfect opportunity to scope out the neighborhood. While the sisters had been profusely thanking the Demon Lord, he still seemed to be emulating Kunai through his cold responses.

To compensate, his secretary Ren was extracting various intel on the city. “So the Jack of All Trades holds even more influence than the rumors say.”

“Y-Yes... We’ve heard that not even the royal ministers can stand up to Jack.”

As their conversation continued, the Demon Lord kept glancing from here to there in the slums. There was a gloom about the neighborhood that betrayed the early time of day and filled the air with a particular stench. As they walked through the alleys, the residents watched Ren with a sinister grin before spotting the Demon Lord behind her and fleeing into darker alleys. Perhaps they mistook the Demon Lord to be a higher-up in the Company, or maybe they recognized his suit and sussed out a conflict in the making.

The slums have their own hierarchy as well... the Demon Lord mused as they progressed further. The more they walked, the worse the air seemed to become, as if the physical distance between a resident and the edge of the slums directly represented the difficulty for them to escape their situation. Even now, children were diving in the trash searching for anything useful, which reminded the Demon Lord of a documentary he had once seen on TV.

There were various characters in the slums, such as those handing off illicit drugs, those who had merchandise lined up on a tattered piece of fabric, children skulking to nick someone’s wallet, and those serving cheap drinks in a run-down hut.

“One mistake and you end up here. Another and you’ll tumble further down...” the Demon Lord muttered.

Ren answered with her clear voice, “Perhaps misfortune has no bottom.”

“Hmph. If they don’t like their circumstances, they can crawl out of it with their own two hands.” The Demon Lord chuckled, realizing how much he sounded like Luna. While he was far from superstitious, he could agree with some portions of Holylight’s doctrine and shared their sentiment. The fact that he would assist Luna even as he grumbled about her was because he acknowledged how far Luna had come with her own merit and respected her for it.

“Master, I believe he’s involved with the Jack of All Trades.”

The Demon Lord followed Ren’s gaze to find an unsavory-looking man collecting coins from the makeshift street vendors; his leather pouch was filled to the brim, indicating that he had collected a respectable sum.

“Hygiene fee for the week. Pay up two bronze medallions.”

“I-I can’t...this week...”

“We’re out here making sure you filth stay clean! You can’t pay?!”

As the man went threatening the residents of the slum, he used his fists liberally to encourage smooth payment. Despite the excuse of a hygiene fee, the entire place looked hardly swept. Ren glanced at the Demon Lord meaningfully, but the reply she received was cut-and-dry.

“Don’t say anything, Ren. They have their own rules here. No need for us to intervene.”

“Yes, Master...”

The man stopped his collection efforts as soon as he saw Ren and leapt up towards her. “A new girl in town, huh? With a face like yours, you don’t need to live on the—”

At this point, the man backed off in shock upon seeing the Demon Lord and his clothes.

“Wh-What the hell...?! What’s a guy from the City States doing here?!”

“Nothing in particular. Just taking a walk around the block.” The Demon Lord had answered honestly, but the man, of course, didn’t take it that way. With the City States sharing a border with Euri, they were long-lasting enemies that had often clashed. A member from said enemy nation just taking a walk was nothing short of a threat.

“One of Gorgon’s pawns, huh? Leave the chick and get lost. I’ll let you live.”

“Let’s say I do leave her with you. What happens to her?”

“What do you think, punk? This one’ll be big in any brothel— Whoa!”

The Demon Lord grabbed the man by his collar without a word and threw him like a baseball. The man’s body bounced across the ground and towards the entrance of the slums. The area went so silent that one could have heard a pin drop.

“I thought we weren’t going to say anything, Master.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t said a word to them.” With his usual twisting of semantics, the Demon Lord tossed the remaining leather pouch towards the man. As usual, the Demon Lord seemed to have no use for bronze medallions. The residents of the slum only gave a longing look at the pouch, keeping their distance for fear of retaliation.

“Let’s go,” the Demon Lord urged the sisters, without so much as a second glance towards the collector.

“Uh... Um... Are you sure you want to come to our house, Mister King?”

“That’s fine,” he answered, resisting the urge to demand to know who in the world “King” was supposed to be. However, he decided to leave it alone, as he couldn’t be bothered to correct them every time. Calling him “Demon Lord” wasn’t much better of a title here.

The younger sister, too, pleaded with the Demon Lord. “Mister King...” she said with a small, childlike lisp. “Please, help daddy and mommy...”

“I only came here to observe your lifestyle. If you want help, ask that Great Light of yours.”

“Mister King... Please, Mister King...”

“Who is this King, anyway?! Stop calling me that stupid name!” the Demon Lord finally blurted out. He meant no ill will towards the sisters, but having them repeatedly call him King sounded to him like an insult. He had gotten used to being called the Demon Lord, but this had crossed a line somehow.

“Master. Their mother is on her sickbed.”

“Ren. Only saving those within arm’s reach is nothing but a self-serving gesture.” While harsh, the Demon Lord had a point. What was the point of saving the one person to come across their path when thousands were starving and falling sick?

This was why the Demon Lord showed no interest in the likes of charity or volunteer work and why he felt inexplicably drawn to Weeb, who had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the poor. The Demon Lord had intended this as a harsh rejection, but Ren didn’t seem upset. In fact, she seemed more enlightened than ever. “You’re saying we’re going to save them all, Master...!”

Give me a break! the Demon Lord nearly shouted aloud from reflex alone, but happened to lose his words at how cute Ren looked with her arms crossed. Her pure aura threatened to engulf anyone who stood before her.

What’s with this devotion...? Does she think I’m some sort of saint? With a sigh, the Demon Lord pressed on, passing filthy shops and restaurants (serving who knew what in their pots). Some places were selling knickknacks on mats, while some featured women who could be seen leading men into the shadows of alleys by the sleeve.

“Oh, Mister King... This is our home.”

“Welcome, Mister King.”

I’m still being called King...!!!

A muscle twitched in the Demon Lord’s face, but he was Akira Ono, the king of the entire world, to Ren. She had no reason to deny the title. In fact, it only seemed natural to her that he should be addressed as such.

The home of the sisters was more of a hut, thrown together with scrap lumber and metal that they must have picked up off of the street, which was par for the course for residences in these alleys. Some of them even had thatched patches on the roof.

It looks like postwar Tokyo... the Demon Lord thought, recalling the black-and-white pictures of the time.

Upon entering, however, he found the hut to be more spacious than expected, with furniture and dining ware that they must have scavenged from the trash.

“I’ll examine their mother first, Master.” Ren stepped further into the hut, where intermittent coughing could be heard from the bedroom. The sisters nervously followed.

Ren was going to examine her with one of her Survival Skills, Medicine. This was an effective skill in the game that had a chance to completely heal all one’s own injuries on each turn of combat, but it did not allow them to heal others. The Demon Lord, completely ignorant of any medicinal knowledge, had never even tried to use the skill.

Looks emptier than I thought it would... The Demon Lord slumped back into a chair and brazenly appraised the place. The only impression this place gave him was the obvious one: poverty. He wondered what the paladin might have thought, but all he could imagine him doing was holding a soup kitchen. That was a practice held in modern-day Japan too. But what’s the use of just handing out food for a day? They’d be hungry again tomorrow... That wouldn’t cure the disease, only treat a symptom. Would it have been a waste? No, one free meal could go a long way for many people. What if I hired them to tend the new lands we’re acquiring, or maybe the wasteland of eastern Holylight? We’ll eventually set up quarries and mines where I’ll need working hands. If I set up forests with Area Construction, I’ll need people to fell and process lumber. Whatever the job is, I’ll always need more hands.

In contrast to Weeb, his thought process was devoid of any altruistic intentions and focused solely on how to use the downtrodden. He would not hesitate to do so if it led to his benefit, just as he had done with the Bunnies. So far, his self-centered actions had managed to save others from tragic situations, but noble ideologies played no part in his decision-making.

Soon, Ren returned with the sisters. “Master, it’s tuberculosis as far as I can tell. And both of the sisters are severely malnourished.”

Malnourishment’s really not a surprise, living in a place like this. Tuberculosis, though... Oh, right! The Demon Lord produced a vial from the scroll-shaped Item Folder: the Nine Interworld Nirvana Elixir. The Demon Lord was too afraid to drink it himself, so he was eager to hand it off to Ren.

“A cure-all designed by Yu. Give them this.”

“Yu made this...? I’m going to check its contents, Master.” Ren inspected the vial for a moment before performing a Taste Test without hesitation.

The Demon Lord could only chuckle at her complete lack of trust in Yu.

“It’s not poisonous...” she concluded.

“Yu would never give me poison. You can have some faith in her.”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Master.” Ren swiftly headed back into the bedroom.

The mother seemed to have taken the medicine, as excited voices followed:

“Mom...! You can stand!”

“Mommy woke up!”

“I don’t feel any pain... How is this possible...?”

Calling it a cure-all was no misnomer. The ridiculous item adapted to any ailment and instantly cured the user of it. The tuberculosis bacteria stood no chance against it.

Ren emerged from the bedroom again with a very subtle smile on her face. “Your compassion has expelled her ailment, Master.”

“I haven’t done anything. Yu was the one who made it.”

“Even so, you were the one who gave it to her. If that is not great compassion, Master, I don’t know what is.”

“Ren...! I’m hungry.” Tired of Ren’s relentless glorification of him, the Demon Lord produced the Advanced Food item and handed the glowing ball of light to Ren in a forceful attempt to change the subject.

“What would you prefer, Master?”

“Hot pot.”

“Hm... Let’s go with flying fish broth.”

Ren knew many ways to use food items through her Cooking skill. The Hot Pot Set was equipped with many minute details that allowed for a variety of flavors: miso, soy sauce, kimchi, tomato soup, curry, fondue, chicken, or pork broth. It became even more versatile when combined with the Advanced Chef skill.

The ball of light flashed in Ren’s hand, producing the Hot Pot Set and included dishware on the table. The Demon Lord’s lips curled at the nostalgic scent of flying fish broth. The aroma drew out the sisters from the bedroom with growling stomachs and confused expressions. Their hunger, however, seemed to overpower their curiosity.

“Serve the ladies first, Ren.”

“Yes, Master.”

Ren prepared a tray lined with three bowls, filling them each with the soup and some of the solid ingredients before carrying it all off to the bedroom. The sisters followed as if they were sleepwalking. A hot pot dish made from this Food had the incredible property of healing 100 Stamina, enough to absolutely suplex the malnourishment out of these girls.

The Demon Lord served himself a bowl and tossed in a piece of Chinese cabbage. The broth-soaked vegetable blossomed in his mouth, and he couldn’t help but grunt in approval. “It’s crazy good...!” He followed this up with shiitake mushrooms, cubed tofu, and fried tofu, conquering the hot pot piece by piece, his chopsticks never taking a moment’s rest. He crunched on sausages, inhaled pork slices, and stuffed his mouth with his burdock.

“I said I wanted real hot pot, but... Perfection.” With nonsensical muttering, the Demon Lord produced a bottle of beer he had snagged from the casino and poured the golden ale into a glass. “No better way to start a meal...” As the ice-cold brew washed down his throat, the Demon Lord let out a comical ahhh. He bore an undeniable resemblance to a father of two on a Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, more voices could be heard from the bedroom.

“I feel so much strength... What is this dish...?”

“It is all because of my master’s compassion.”

“I see strength in her eyes... It’s incredible... Mister King is incredible!”

“Thank you, Mister King!”

Stop! Calling! Me! King! Why won’t Ren correct them?!

The Demon Lord chomped down meatballs and scallions, knocking back beer after beer. Out of context, he just looked like an incredibly entitled slimeball slurping down food and drinking alone when he was a houseguest.

Ren eventually returned, gently took the beer bottle from the Demon Lord’s hand, and replaced it with a glass, apparently requesting to pour his drink for him. The Demon Lord held his glass with a disgruntled expression as Ren deftly poured the ale into it.

“The lady seems perfectly healed.”

“I see... Give the sisters the same thing. And don’t forget to eat some yourself.”

“You are exactly how I thought you’d be, Master.”

The Demon Lord bitterly knocked his glass back, downing it in one go. Ren’s fanatical trust in him seemed to only grow stronger. In earnest, he had no intention of saving anyone; he struggled to meet Ren’s expectant gaze.

“Ren, you’ve grown to develop this illusion about me. You’re dreaming if you think that’s who I am.”

“I don’t care if it’s an illusion or a dream... I love every part of you, Akira.”

What the hell is this conversation?! The Demon Lord stood from his chair to put a forceful end to the topic. He feared what else Ren would say if he continued the conversation.

“I’m going to get some fresh air. Show the sisters how to eat hot pot.”

With that, the Demon Lord rushed out of the hut and began to light his cigarette. Unfortunately, a man marked with spades and his henchmen came down the street—a team of Jack’s goons specialized in violence.

“There you are, King.”

“What’s up, King? Thought we wouldn’t be able to find you in the slums?”

The Demon Lord felt something snap as his hand slightly quivered.

“Bro, he’s shaking! And he calls himself King! The King of Cowards, more like!”

Little did Spades and his henchmen know, the man they called King was reaching a critical level of stress, approaching imminent explosion.

The air was tense once Spades and his men had come stomping through. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for the Jack of All Trades to perform executions in the slums, and the residents reacted like they expected another.

“Who screwed up this time...?”

“I saw it. The sisters down there took in a City States guy...”

“What the hell were they thinking?!”

“The guy in all black? A magnet for trouble...”

The bystanders spat out more curses, dreading their humble alleys becoming the battleground of some disastrous clash. They knew they could very well be wrapped up in it if it got serious enough to cause more casualties.

The elder of the slums, too, turned blue in the face upon seeing members of the Company’s troupe. “Not good. Lord Spades is here himself. We’re going to catch some heat too.”

“Wh-What do you mean ‘heat’...?”

“We’ll be punished for harboring someone from the City States. They’ll raise the hygiene fee, I’d expect...”

“Like we can afford that! Let’s get that bastard out of here ourselves!”

The residents of the slums flooded out into the streets with old lumber, metal pipes, and rusted knives in their hands. They had to prove their disassociation with the man in black, lest the Company blame them for anything that was about to happen.

Seeing the quick response from the locals, Spades snickered. “Thought you’d be safe here, King? Sorry to disappoint you.” He turned to the locals approaching him. “Whose side are you filth on?!”

The residents of the slums each desperately declared their allegiance. Falling into bad graces with the Company was a death sentence.

“We’d never protect anyone from the City States!”

“That’s right! Get the hell out of here!” they shouted at the Demon Lord.

Spade curled his lips again. With the entire slum on his side, the man in black had nowhere to run.

“If you just name-dropped Heaven’s Ward, you’d send them off with their tails between their legs. You’re in the wrong place, King. I don’t care if you’re Heaven’s Ward or Gorgon himself, I’ll take you on.”

The Demon Lord inhaled more smoke to quell his rage and shot a piercing glare at Spades before speaking with gravitas, “My name is—”

“You don’t get it, do you?! The Jack of All Trades ain’t reading your name tag, dumbass! There’s a scared little puppy under that armor, huh?!” Spades taunted, then began to cackle. He only saw a trembling King, either taken by surprise that the title of Heaven’s Ward didn’t do the trick or intimidated by the two-hundred-plus bruisers Spades had in tow.

“He keeps shaking, Boss.”

“The King of Loud Barks!”

“Yo, King! Better stop shaking and start begging for your life!”

The henchmen roared. As men who made their way through the world with violence, they knew that showing any weakness would spell the end for them. This necessitated that they ruthlessly tortured and beat down any weakened enemy. Once word got out that they tore apart a Heaven’s Ward higher-up, no one would ever defy the Company.

“I won’t repeat myself again. My name is—”

“Mister King, run!”

“Mister King!”

Damn it, you two...! The Demon Lord’s attempt at clearing his name had been interrupted by the sisters, who had left the hot pot to warn the Demon Lord in a display of their selfless kindness.

Spades, however, found these girls running into the scene of an impending street fight nothing short of hilarious. “What’s this?! The big bad King’s got fangirls?”

“Protected by girls...!”

“You sure he wasn’t supposed to be wearing a stuffed animal costume instead of armor?!”

“Bah ha ha! What is he, a local mascot?!”

As Spades and his party guffawed to their hearts’ content, a yellow aura emanated from the Demon Lord; his rage had reached a boiling point, and he resorted to force. The aura rapidly formed an enormous hammer in the air, stunning the sisters and sending Spades and his henchmen into a tizzy.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What the hell is that...?!”

“H-Hey! Magic Defense! Hurry... Do it, now!”

Several of the henchmen buffed their Magic Defense, while others raised their shields to the sky.

Paying them no mind, the Demon Lord unleashed the hammer as if to smite insects with lightning.

“When did I permit you scum to speak...? Obliterate.”

There was a deafening crash, followed by agonized screams from Spades’s team.

“Graaghhh! My arms! Damn it... Damn it!”

“M-My legs!”

The impact spread through the band of two hundred, triggering the Broken Bones debuff on them all, affecting various bones like their limbs, ribs, or spine, sending the entirety of them to the ground. The bone breaking, however, was merely a bonus effect of the skill. Its main threat was in its damage calculation: one-tenth of the target’s current HP. The more health the target had, the more devastating it became.

Exhaling a puff of smoke, the Demon Lord observed the collapsed men. “Finally, some peace and quiet...”

Assaulted with blinding agony, Spades kept asking himself how their array of defensive magic had no effect on the hammer. Despite his assumption, the Demon Lord’s attack was no magic and thus was completely unimpeded by their defensive spells. None of them had any countermeasures against the Demon Lord, who simply lived in a different world than them.

Many of the remaining residents of the slums, who had been shut in their huts from fear, timidly made their way onto the streets. They would have cheered in excitement if they could have, seeing the very symbols of their suffering groveling on the ground.

“The smallest dogs have the loudest barks...” the Demon Lord whispered importantly and basked in the cloud of smoke. That stroke of judgment befitted the title of king after all. “Let me inform you of one important detail. My name is—”

“Mister King, you’re amazing! Incredible!”

“Mister King! So cool, I wuv you!”

The sisters clung themselves to the Demon Lord, interrupting his attempt at correcting this misunderstanding yet again. While they meant well, they could not have expressed their gratitude at a worse time.

The members of the slums, who had been standing by with weapons in hand, dropped them in a domino effect, sinking to the ground.

With the pompous point of a finger, the Demon Lord summoned the elder. “Are you the leader of these parts?”

“F-Forgive us...! We had no idea how mighty a knight you were—”

“It doesn’t matter. Take this trash out to the main streets,” the Demon Lord ordered as he threw dozens of gold coins at the elder’s feet. He repeated this three times for good measure, creating a pile of gold that was extremely out of place here. “Divvy those up. And don’t forget to strip the trash of everything they’ve got. Make sure they’re buck naked before dumping them on the streets. Doodle on their faces if you want to.” The Demon Lord gave these specific and needlessly vindictive orders, which were well received by the locals.

These thugs had ruined their lives and taken loved ones from them, so the residents would have gladly slaughtered them all if they had the chance. They flocked to the pile of gold until their excitement culminated in cries.

“They’re real... Real gold coins! Long live the king!” The sentiment was echoed by the locals as they thrust their fists into the air.

“Take that, you Company bastards! Behold the power of our king!”

“King, Savior of the Slums!”

“King! We will serve you in defeating the Jack of All Trades!”

“Tell everyone you know! Our king has risen in arms!”

“King! King! King!”

The chanting flooded the entire slums, in an almost comical 180 degree pivot in attitude, but the Demon Lord found no humor in the situation. His title had been irreversibly solidified in Euritheis, which would come as a great surprise to the real King.

“Take out the trash already, before they start to smell.” With a flourish of his coat, the Demon Lord returned to the sisters’ hut.

He had simply done so to escape the situation, but the locals couldn’t help but become mesmerized. His demeanor, his otherworldly strength, the complete disregard for the Jack of All Trades, and tossing them gold coins as if they were pocket change. Who else could he have been? After all, a sinister Demon Lord was a king of sorts.

After his exit, the locals swarmed Spades and his men, stripping them from head to toe and dragging them out onto the main streets. With an opportunity to pay back their oppressors, they couldn’t have asked for a better job anywhere on the continent.

When the Demon Lord entered the hut, he found a smiling Ren and felt an eerie feeling; he had designed Ren to seldom express her emotions.

“You are the bringer of hope, Master.”

“It’s an illusion, Ren. How many times do I have to tell you...?”

“What I see out there is no illusion.”

The Demon Lord turned around and saw the residents of the slums, who had all hit rock bottom, now sharing smiles. The distinctive shade had cleared from their faces, making way for a more human expression on each of them.

“Listen to me, Ren. I simply swatted some bugs.”

“Your very existence is a beacon of hope for the powerless, Master. Just as you were to me.”

“I used violence and tossed them a few coins. You call that hope?”

“Some may call you the Master of Destruction... But I believe you would destroy any master of destruction.”

Who am I, Loresia?!

The Demon Lord kept the obscure reference to himself as he saw the mother of the sisters emerge from the back, who looked to only be about thirty years old herself.

“How are you feeling, Miss?”

“I can get up and move around... All thanks to you. I don’t know how to—”

“No need. Enjoy the hot pot. A family dinner. Take it from here, Ren.”

The Demon Lord went into the bedroom and lay on the mother’s bed. He spotted a family portrait atop the dresser. Mom, dad, and the two girls. They must have been a happy family... As the Demon Lord was met with an uncharacteristically sentimental spell, more joyful talking could be heard from the front room. On top of healing a ridiculous amount of Stamina, the hot pot was a delicious dish in its own right.

Someone once said that hunger is the best spice, and this dinner was shaping up to be one worthy of celebrating the mother’s health.

“Mom, isn’t this meat...?”

“It looks like it...”

“Mommy, what’s this white block?”

“It’s called tofu. Very nutritious.”

“M-Miss Ren, what is this star-shaped vegetable...?”

“Those are carrots.”

“C-Carrots...?! No way! How much did this dish cost?!”

Listening in on the family dinner, the Demon Lord closed his eyes, exhausted. It looked like dealing with the dungeon and the cargo would have to wait.

Little did he know that the spark he had caused in the slums had already begun to spread fires all over the place. When he would finally make his move, those flames would threaten to burn down the entire country.