Chapter 2: Trying to be an Adventurer

The next morning—

Diablo opened his eyes, light streaming through the window.

An unfamiliar ceiling and unfamiliar walls.

Everything was made from old wood that had been polished to a shine.

He must have kicked the blanket off himself at some point, since it wasn’t covering him.

Sleeping on a bed that was nothing but straw with some sheets on it felt better than he had thought it would, but it was still rough. Thanks to his highly durable body, it didn’t trouble him that much.

The smell of straw lingered in the air, but what concerned him was the slight scent of compost that came with it.

The sheets were made out of some kind of material that was completely different from wool or linen. It was rough and scratchy.

This was another world, one that closely resembled the MMORPG Cross Reverie.

He hadn’t awoken to find it had all been a dream, and that another day back in the real world was about to start.

—I really have come to another world.

His head still fuzzy as he thought this, he squinted his eyes at the morning light.

Though it was coming from a hole small enough that you couldn’t even stick your head out of, it was enough to brighten the room that had been pitch black since the lantern and candles had gone out.

He wasn’t even sure when he had drifted off to sleep.

He was certain that his standoff with the guys from the Mage’s Association had not been a dream.

His memories as he returned were fuzzy at best. He remembered that he made it back to his room and collapsed on the bed...

It was almost strange how tired he had been.

—It’s probably because of everything that happened yesterday...

He hadn’t felt hungry or tired yesterday, but that was probably because of the excitement of having come to another world. As of right now, he felt that he would slip right back to sleep if he laid down.

And he had felt the most tired after using his magic last night.

It wasn’t because he had taken damage. He was mentally exhausted.

It must have been because of all the MP I used—thought Diablo.

There were no numbers to confirm it like in the game, but it felt like he had built up some fatigue from using his magic.

—I wonder what would happen if I ran out.

All that would happen in game was he would be unable to use magic; and based on how tired he felt using it here, he felt like he wouldn’t .

Running out would be dangerous.

From now on, he would have to be more careful about managing his MP than he had back in Cross Reverie.

Diablo had enough MP to fire off close to one hundred “Explosions.” Well, he did in the game, at least.

—How much MP do I have right now?

If he was feeling tired after only a few shots, then getting close to a hundred was looking impossible.

Either way, he would have to look into this.

Avoiding high-level spells that used a lot of MP seemed like the best course of action. Using spells above level 100 would not only crank up the damage, but the MP cost as well.

—If last night was any indication, I don’t think there will be too many times where I’ll need to use that kind of magic.

—I wonder why Adventurers in this world are all lower levels than in the game?

Diablo had been wondering about it since his encounter with Galluk.

It would probably be best to look into this as well.

—I still don’t have enough information yet.

First, he would ask Rem and Shera for more information about what was going on.

Now that he thought about it, even though he was sharing a room with two girls and one bed—something that would have never happened to him in real life—he had slept like a baby.

He was so tired last night that he had ended up hogging the bed to himself, which made him feel kind of bad. Where had the two girls slept last night?

—Oh, that’s right... If I die, then the enslavement magic is supposed to wear off.

Had he been a bit careless? No, it seemed like the two of them needed Diablo around for one reason or another. That especially went for Rem, who had a reason to trust him, at least. And Shera didn’t seem like the kind of person who would straight-up murder him in his sleep.

“Guess I’ll look for those two first...”

Diablo let out a short sigh, then went to prop himself up with his arms.

*Squish*

*Squishidy squish*

He felt something soft.

Diablo recoiled in surprise. Even pillows back in the real world didn’t feel like this.

It almost felt like it was alive, and it was warm, too.

—It couldn’t be...

An impossible thought crossed his mind.

“...OK, me, just calm down. It’s not like this is an anime or a manga or anything. It’s too soon to be jumping to conclusions like that just because I happen to be sharing a room with two girls, who I don’t happen to see right now.”

—Let’s try checking it out.

He turned his gaze to look.

For the *squish*—it was from Rem, the Pantherian girl, who was only wearing a thin black outfit.

As for the *squishidy squish*—that was Shera, her voluptuous body covered only with a loose fitting robe.

Though it was only on the outside of their clothes, Diablo’s right hand was on Rem’s chest, while his left was touching Shera’s.

He stopped breathing.

—Keep it together! Demon Lords don’t lose their cool!

He was suddenly sweating bullets.

As his mind was racing, he tried to figure out what to do next.

He would act proud and confident, just as a Demon Lord would!

—All right! Let’s get out of here quietly...

Truly a pitiful display on his part, but what was he supposed to do? Even though he called himself a Demon Lord, it was really just Demon Lord “roleplay.” He was not equipped to handle waking up sandwiched between two beautiful girls, hands on their chests, like it was a CG for some visual novel.

Diablo may have been a level 150 Sorcerer, but he had zero experience in skills for dealing with other people. And that went double for girls.

If he was going to make a great escape, he had to first take his hands off them.

—But he couldn’t do it.

It was as if he was being sucked in.

—What is this, some kind of adhesive?

—Is my heart refusing to let me take my hand away!?

He could feel the heat of the girls he was touching, how soft they were. The sweet scent they gave off was more than captivating enough to crush his will into pieces.

His fingers moved on their own.

He was starting to rub them, against his better judgment.

Rem was definitely about as moderate as she looked, with a bulge that was just barely sticking out. Maybe something on the verge of a bulge. Possibly the beginnings of a bulge? That was the feeling he was getting from it.

As for Shera... It was amazing. His fingers were actually sinking into it.

Despite the fact they were sinking, it also had an elasticity that pushed back against him.

Diablo was getting dizzy from its springiness, not to mention the volume that he could not fully grasp with his hand.

—Does this world not have underwear? Or do you take it off when you go to sleep?

He was getting an incredible amount of detail from where he was feeling, and there was no limit to the softness.

Only one piece of cloth.

This feeling... It must be because there was only one layer of clothing.

—Holy crap. I want to keep doing this forever.

Shera, who had been asleep, let out a yawn.

“Mm...fwah...”

Her body squirmed. Shera opened her eyes.

“Mmm... Huh? Diablo...?”

He went to take his hand off at lightspeed.

However, he wasn’t able to do it. Even in a situation like this!? Was this some kind of trap caused by magic!?

Shera tilted her head as she rubbed her eyes.

“Mm...mhm? For some reason, I feel a little...restless...”

She turned to look.

Diablo’s hand was gripping the right side of her chest.

Eyes wide, Shera turned to look at him.

While still grabbing her chest, Diablo opened his mouth.

“.........Ah.”

Not only had he been groping a girl’s chest while she was asleep, she had actually woken up. The Demon Lord had no idea what to say in response to this.

Shera was confused for a second, but had seemingly come to terms with her situation.

Her face became bright red right before his very eyes.

Right after that:

“I-I don’t think doing this is very good!”

Embarrassed, she glared at Diablo with upturned eyes.

“Ye...ah...”

If it wasn’t for his Demon Lord act, he wouldn’t be able to make conversation as his normal self. Which was what was happening now.

“Th-This kind of stuff is, um, you know... Something you do after getting to know each other better, and, erm... A-As long as you haven’t picked me as your master, then this is bad! OK!?”

“Y...eah...?”

He had heard that as “this is something you can do if you choose me as your Summoner.”

“Anyways, this kind of stuff is a no-go! It’s bad, bad, bad! It’s bad, OK!?”

“...Y-Yeah.”

“...N-No doing that anymore, OK?”

Shera pulled herself away, and Diablo’s hand was finally free of the sweet sensation it had been feeling... Though it was a somewhat reluctant farewell.

He was thankful from the bottom of his heart that Shera had forgiven him.

He was still unable to get back into his Demon Lord character, and wasn’t able to get the right words out to say anything back.

On Diablo’s right side, Rem was rubbing her eyes.

“...Mm...mh? It’s so noisy... What’s going on?”

“Uhm...”

“...Hm? It feels like there is something heavy...on my chest...?”

He had forgotten.

His left hand had been “busy” with Shera, and he had finally gotten it away from her—

But his right hand was still on Rem’s chest.

Even a high-level spell couldn’t have made Diablo as petrified as he was now.

Rem turned to look at her chest.

Silence.

Looking at his hand, her gaze followed along his arm, and then to his face.

Once more, she looked back to the hand, then to his face.

Her expression said it all.

He would have to say something here.

He would handle this with dignity and majesty, just like a Demon Lord would! Yes, dignity and majesty!

Diablo opened his mouth.

“Rem, stick out your chest out with pride! Even if it is just a little bulge, it is still your most valuable asset.”

—What the hell am I saying?

Rem’s high-pitched scream rang out in the early morning.

†

Back at the bar on the first floor of the inn—

Built with wood that had a glossy, smoky finish to it, this was where they had dined with Celes just yesterday.

Of course it operated as a bar in the evening, but you could also come here in the morning or lunchtime to grab a bite to eat.

Celes had managed to drive everyone away last night, but right now it was jam-packed with people.

Diablo, Rem, and Shera had somehow managed to grab a table and were sitting down for breakfast.

There were seven tables that could seat four people here, and a counter as well, but they had already been taken.

There were even people standing around and talking with each other, so it was pretty noisy.

—Everyone here’s a Demi.

Diablo tilted his head as he thought.

There were six races to choose from when first starting Cross Reverie:

Elf, Pantherian, Dwarf, Grasswalker, Demon, and Human.

All other races besides humans were called “Demi.”

According to Cross Reverie’s setting, some humans (usually aristocrats) would discriminate against Demis. The various troubles caused by this was used for several quests in the game.

There were many more types of Demis than humans, but humans were said to have made up half the population. Since they came with really good starting stats, there were lots of players who would go with Human as their race.

—The staff, even the customers here are all Demi... I wonder if it’s a coincidence?

Shera brought her face closer to his and started whispering.

“...Rem’s being pretty scary today.”

Rem was sitting in complete silence, stabbing her potatoes over and over again with her wooden fork... It was as if she had some kind of grudge against them.

Seems like she was still mad about what happened this morning.

Diablo, as he should, opened his mouth to apologize.

“Rem, about this morning...”

“...I’m not upset.”

The tone of her voice said otherwise.

“But, you know...”

“I am not upset. I’m not upset, so pick something else to talk about. Please.”

Stab, stab, stab.

Rem’s relentless fork assault was slowly turning the poor potato into a mashed potato.

She did seem like the type to seethe silently in anger.

That’s just the way that particular cookie crumbled, so he did as he was told and changed the topic.

“It seems that this inn only has Demis. I don’t see any Humans anywhere, why is that?”

“...Humans do not stay in Demi inns.”

Maybe it was because she was in the middle of murdering her potato, or maybe it was because she always said everything in a calm and collected tone of voice, but he had a hard time understanding what she meant.

“Hm... So there are inns for Demis in this world?”

Even if the game said that someone was “discriminated against” or “hated by many,” there was never any actual discrimination found in the game.

It was true that there were certain NPCs in quests who would talk like racists; but it should go without saying that everyone who played Cross Reverie was human. With all the roleplays he had come across, he had never seen anyone try to even pretend to discriminate against Demis.

It seemed there was a bigger gap between Humans and Demis in this world.

—Seems like it’d be smart to be wary of Humans here.

Being hurt for no reason was the very definition of discrimination.

It was probably a different story if you were a Demi with special circumstances, like Rem.

—So the soul of the Demon Lord Krebskulm is sealed inside her...

Diablo stared at the Pantherian girl.

Noticing this, Rem quickly covered her chest with her hands.

—It wasn’t like I was looking there, OK!? Well, I mean, I guess with everything that’s happened this morning, nothing I could say would have any sway. Of course she’d be on guard.

Putting that aside, he just remembered something Galluk said that had been bothering him. He had used the word “level.”

“Hey, you two. Do you use ’Levels’ as the way to measure your power here?”

Shera looked as if she had difficulty talking about it.

“Levels, levels... I don’t think that I, um...have one...?”

“...I am a level 40 Summoner.”

Slightly boasting as she said that, Rem’s mood seemed to have improved a bit.

Looks like they did use levels here after all.

But this was a world with no status windows, no EXP bars, and not even a little jingle for when you leveled up.

“What do you use as a basis to decide what your level is?”

“...If you are a Sorcerer, then the Mage’s Association determines that for you. They have a way to measure it there. I do not know how it works for other professions, but I would assume there would be someone who would measure it in the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Yeah! That’s it! That’s why I don’t have a level yet, it’s because I haven’t registered with the Adventurer’s Guild! When they go to measure me, I’m sure I’ll be, like, level 40 or 50 or something!”

Her ears were wiggling as she proclaimed this. Huh, so they actually move.

Rem’s black tail swished back and forth, as if it were brushing off what Shera had said.

“...No matter how you look at it, you are probably around level 10... Which would be sub-par.”

That would probably mean the average level of this world was in the twenties or so.

Shera puffed out her cheeks.

“That’s not true! I was level 40 according to the Guild back home!”

“...That was according to the Sorcerer’s test back in the land of Elves?”

“Um... Well... As an Archer...”

“...If you already know your level, then aren’t you already registered as an Adventurer? If you have already done that in a town, then you should not have to do it at another.”

“I wasn’t old enough to be an Adventurer then, but they still let me get tested. It was kinda like a chance to test my skills, since I was still a kid.”

“...You were level 40 as a child? Then I have no doubts about your skill as an Archer... But why do you want to be a Summoner?”

“Archers are loners, you know!? Summoners get all these cute Summons, right? Then I wouldn’t be lonely, even if it was in a dark forest in the middle of the night!”

“...So you wanted cute Summons. I see, I see... Then you won’t be needing Diablo, then. He isn’t even a Summon, after all.”

“I need them to be strong, too!”

It looked like they would be at each other’s throats any second now.

Diablo stepped in as a mediator, issuing a command.

“Once we are finished eating, we go to the Adventurer’s Guild!”

Excitedly, Shera bent forward.

“Yay! I gotta go get registered and start saving up! If Diablo’s with me, then I have nothing to worry about!”

“...Ignoring the dumb Elf over there, I was also thinking that I wanted to take Diablo to the Adventurer’s Guild. I am curious about his level.”

It’s true he kept saying he was level 150, but that was only in the game.

What would he be in this world?

He wasn’t weak, that much he was sure about. What he wanted to know was what level he would be according to this world’s system.

—Let’s finish breakfast and get going.

Diablo reached out with his fork for a potato that had not been mashed.

†

The Adventurer’s Guild was located in the western part of Faltra, not far from the inn they had stayed at.

It was a stone building with a triangular roof and a wooden door—just like every other building in town so far. However, with just one glance you could tell right away that this building was indeed the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was around four or five times bigger than all the other buildings.

The roof, windows, and doors were all made large, as if something that was several sizes bigger than the other residents of the town lived there.

Diablo and company passed through the massive doors, entering the Adventurer’s Guild proper.

The inside was like that of a bar.

There was a counter and rows of tables, also made of wood with a smoky polish like back at the inn. Just as you would expect from the impression it gave from the outside, it was incredibly spacious.

However, the inn had more of a sense of cleanliness to it. The dirtiness here stood out more, and there were even broken chairs lying around.

There were dark red stains on the wall that looked like dried blood, and the marks from swords that were carved into the counter were a bit intimidating.

The attitudes of the people inside were also different from the others in town. Just like in the game, they had an overwhelming presence to them.

There was:

A Human man, who glanced at them with sharp eyes;

A Pantherian girl, dressed in something that looked to be a dancer’s outfit that left plenty of skin exposed;

A child-like Grasswalker, who carried a gigantic sword on the back of his small body;

A calm-looking Demon youth who covered himself in white robes;

A Dwarf who was fully equipped with a sturdy set of armor.

—They didn’t look this dangerous back in the game!

Looks like a fight had broken out for some reason.

An Elf girl and a Dwarf were arguing with each other, which eventually came to blows.

Since everyone else had gotten up from their seats, he thought that maybe they were going to try and stop the fighting... But instead, they moved the tables out of the way to make some space and were egging them on.

The brawl had started.

It looked like they were fighting over who had accepted a quest first.

—What is this, a place for savages!?

Diablo was shocked.

There were Adventurer’s Guilds back in the game as well, but all that happened was an exchange of a few text boxes. Fights, the stink of alcohol, and beast-like war cries had nothing to do with it.

There was no scramble to grab quests, since everybody was able to accept the same ones.

But this is what it meant to be an Adventurer.

It was a term that would generally refer to all players in the game, but here...

It was a title that referred to those who, for various reasons, would fight and put their lives on the line in their work. If he had been by himself, he might have turned around and left because he was so scared.

He understood why Shera had not come to register by herself, despite her proficiency with a bow.

Seems like people had started to take notice of them.

They craned their necks as they looked.

“...What’s with that Demon?”

“I’ve never seen anyone with horns growin’ out their head, let alone a Demon. He’s not a Fallen, is he?”

“He’s with Miss Rem and the Elf girl with that weird name... Both of ’em should be pretty skilled, but...”

“Those are enslavement collars on them, right?”

“Who is that Demon, really?”

Thanks to the effects of the Distorted Crown, it seemed people thought his horns were actually real.

It was a piece of equipment he had not only chosen for its abilities, but also because it changed his appearance to give him something that looked like devil horns. He hadn’t really thought much about wearing it before.

But he had no idea that it would cause him to get these strange looks while in another world.

He couldn’t take them off now, though. A Demon Lord suddenly taking off his horns would totally kill the mood.

Ignoring the commotion around them, Rem pointed toward the staircase.

“...Let’s get going. It is a bit noisy here, but that is how it always is. The counter for Adventurer registrations is on the second floor.”

“Of course.”

Hiding the unrest inside of him, Diablo nodded.

Shera was clearly freaked out by the people fighting.

“Y-Yeah...”

The three of them headed toward the staircase.

†

“Wait, the Demon with the horns!”

It was the Human who had called out to stop them.

He had thick eyebrows, and looks that gave off a sense of strong determination.

He was tall and slim, and though his hair was short in the back, one long part of his bangs hung down in the front. He was covered fully in golden armor, and wore a longsword on his waist.

Rem knit her eyebrows.

“...Emile.”

“Blegh.”

Shera also wrinkled her forehead as she made a displeased face.

The young man called Emile swaggered over to them, blocking their way.

Taking a good hard look at Diablo’s face, he let out a snort.

“I don’t like your face.”

Diablo turned to Rem.

“What’s his problem?”

“...He is said to be the strongest Warrior in the Adventurer’s Guild. He is also the examiner for Warriors here.”

She said it with complete disinterest, as if she had been reading from an instruction manual.

Emile ran his fingers through his long bangs.

“But of course! I am the great Emile Bichelberger! At level 50, I am the pride of the Guild, known as the 《Superhuman Warrior》!”

—Well that was certainly a pompous and theatrical way of telling us his name.

Diablo’s hand drifted to his staff.

He had received countless challenges from people in the game who would announce themselves just like this. And he had destroyed them all.

—Hold up, just calm down. This isn’t the game, and this isn’t my dungeon. He might not even be a challenger.

If he tried to talk Emile up, then that would just hurt the image he had been working on with Rem and Shera. Thinking back to the incident with Galluk, it would be for the best if he didn’t go around incurring people’s wrath.

He would try to keep in mind not to provoke him as he dealt with him.

“Who gave you permission to stand before me and name yourself, brat?”

Not just Rem and Shera, but all the other Adventurers were frozen in shock.

An intrepid smile appeared on Emile’s face.

“Permission? Ha, right back at you! Just who gave you permission to do anything!? Listen up, Demon. I don’t know about you, but I actually LOVE women!”

“What?”

“I will never forgive you for sticking collars on poor Rem and Shera and parading them around! You must have some balls turning them into your slaves!”

The other Adventurers echoed their support for Emile with calls of, “Yeah, that’s right!” Looks like the fight from earlier had been settled already.

But they had it all wrong.

It might be easy to get the wrong idea because of his Demon Lord act, but Diablo was a pacifist at heart. He didn’t like going around causing trouble, and he didn’t want to butt heads with other people.

Most of all, he was bad with these kinds of people who basically proclaimed themselves to be in the right all the time, which meant he couldn’t disagree with them.

He would try talking as peacefully as possible to get this guy to let him go.

Diablo opened his mouth.

“Don’t make that much noise over putting collars on some girls, weaklings.”

Emile raised an eyebrow.

“Hmhmmm... So you’re saying that I should come at you with everything I have if I want to free them, aren’t you!”

—No! That’s completely wrong!

Now that he thought about it, whenever he finished talking while doing his Demon Lord act, that’s when he would start the fight against his challengers.

Maybe he just wasn’t that good at avoiding getting into trouble.

—But I can’t even get the words out if I don’t use my Demon Lord roleplay... Best I can manage is a few “Ah’s” and “Um’s.”

And if this guy was confident about fighting, he would just take that as Diablo being scared and laugh at him.

Well, that was that. Looks like it was time to give up trying to talk him out of it.

Diablo was a Sorcerer, and had no business with an examiner for Warriors. He went to go around Emile and head toward the staircase for the second floor.

He tried to, but Emile would not let him pass.

“Hold it! I won’t let you get away until you release the girls!”

Rem had a pained look on her face.

Shera looked like she was hesitating about something.

It would be embarrassing for them to have to reveal that the reason they had the collars on was because their own magic had failed, and they did not know a way to take them off. They had even needed to talk with Celes from the Mage’s Association to help them find a way to do so.

But there was no reason for them to tell this to the other Adventurers.

—If only Emile hadn’t gotten involved!

Now he knew why Rem and Shera had looked so unhappy when Emile called out to them. Basically, this guy was just plain annoying, and would go around sticking his nose into other people’s business.

Rem opened her mouth to speak.

“...Emile, these collars are actually—”

Diablo cut her off.

He did not want to shame them.

He didn’t want to make her say that they were slaves to a Demon who they barely knew anything about in front of the other Adventurers.

Diablo took up his staff.

“If you’re going to get in my way, then I’m going to have to destroy you here. No matter who you are.”

Emile unsheathed his sword.

“I’m going to have you take off those collars you forced on poor Rem and Shera! I am the protector of all girls, Emile Bichelberger! Know that I will never fall while in front of any woman!”

It was actually kind of nostalgic accepting a challenge from someone else.

Diablo unconsciously put some distance between himself and the swordsman. Putting himself at a range that was advantageous to him was as natural as breathing when he was battling with other people.

—Though it kind of looks like I’m afraid of him and just backing off...

If he was level 50, then this guy should be able to use a few good 《Martial Arts》 skills.

Martials Arts were special skills that Warriors and Archers were able to use. There were attacks used not just with swords, but with axes, spears, bows; even bare-handed attacks as well.

By using SP (Stamina Points), you were able to use these attacks. There were also defensive and movement skills as well.

Unlike HP and MP, SP would recover naturally over time, and at a very fast rate.

Diablo did not possess any Warrior skills.

But if he was able to get a handle on his opponent’s abilities, then it should be business as usual as he went to outmaneuver them.

If he could see the starting animations for the move, then he would know what attack was coming for him.

—“Sword Smite,” huh.

It was a sword technique where, after the user would lower their stance, they would close the distance between themselves and their opponent instantly, unleashing a powerful horizontal slash to mow them down.

Since Warriors could do just about nothing until they got closer, most Warrior players would use this technique first when fighting.

However, aside from maybe PvE, the side slash wasn’t for actually hitting an enemy.

An experienced player would use the charging range from Sword Smite to close the gap between them and their opponent, canceling the side slash into their next attack.

Warriors were meant to be played like a fighting game, where you read your opponent’s moves and got in close to attack.

Usually, he would protect himself from the charge by unleashing a barrage of spells. However...

—I’m guessing it’d be bad if I busted up the Adventurer’s Guild...

“Hmph... What a bother...”

“Here I come, Demon! I’m going to make you release those girls!”

Emile started his charge.

And then—

Diablo was stunned.

—He’s not canceling the slash!?

He took the blow using Tenma’s Staff.

Emile’s face showed surprise.

“Hoh, so you were able to take that, Sorcerer!”

“Did you underestimate me?”

“Don’t make light of me! I always give everything I have if it’s for the ladies!”

Saying that, Emile took a giant swing and brandished his sword over his head.

The next Martial Art he was going to use was a technique that was very powerful, but took a while until it activated: 《Alps Fall》.

Diablo groaned.

“How can this be...”

People in this world were not only low-leveled, but they lacked common gaming sense!

Using Alps Fall at point-blank range was just like asking someone, “Please punch me in the face.” Usually, you wouldn’t even see it unless someone made a mistake and pushed the wrong button or something.

This guy had severely slacked on his testing of the skill.

Using his staff like a cane, Diablo thrust it at the wide-open Emile.

He hadn’t learned any Martial Arts, so this was just a normal attack with his staff. However, it was an attack packed with the physical strength of someone who was level 150.

“Hmph!”

“Gah!?”

Emile was sent flying back.

All the air was driven from his body as he smashed into the wall. Crumpling to the ground, he was on his knees by the staircase to the second floor.

The Adventurers who had been watching fell silent.

—Was that too strong!?

However, Emile picked himself back up.

“GrrAHHH!! Making ME! Fall down while in front of WOMEN! Will never HAPPEN!!”

Surprisingly, he was a guy that had some willpower to him.

—Well, I guess that should be obvious for a level 50 Warrior.

As a Sorcerer, it seemed like he wasn’t able to dish out enough damage to knock someone unconscious with just a normal attack.

If he was going to come back at him with a flurry of consecutive attacks, then he would not have as many openings as before. It wouldn’t be possible for Diablo to win if he had to hold off using his magic for fear of damaging the building.

—Could you back off already, man?

Diablo let a sadistic smile creep across his face.

“Heh heh heh... I won’t be able to hold back on the next one.”

“Oh yeah? Well same here! I’m the Superhuman Warrior of the Adventurer’s Guild, Emile Bichelberger! For the sake of all oppressed women, I will take up my sword and fight until I die!”

“...Emile.”

Rem quietly called out to him.

“Don’t worry, Rem! I’m going to set you free from this heinous Demon right now!”

“...Please, just stop. Let me say this clearly: the reason I am wearing this collar is because of a failure of my own design.”

“Huh? ...Wh-What...are you talking about?”

“...I do not want to go into detail... But because Shera and I failed, we were the ones who received the collar that should have gone on our Summon instead.”

Rem bit her lip.

Shera’s cheeks were red, and looked like she was about to cry.

—So, she said it...

She had stepped in to make sure Diablo and Emile’s fight would not get any more intense.

“...He has promised to help us remove these collars.”

“Wh-What did you say!?”

“...We don’t know how to take off the collars ourselves, and we have Miss Celestine helping us search for a way to remove them.”

Emile’s voice was frail.

“Was I, maybe...”

“...Getting ahead of yourself, yes. Please put away your sword.”

A chill ran throughout the room.

After staying silent for awhile—Emile laughed.

“Heh... Ha ha ha! Great! So there weren’t any girls being forced to wear collars, then!”

—He wrapped everything up like it was the ending to some kind of touching story. What the hell.

He was beaming an invigorated smile.

“Hey, Demon! What’s your name?”

“Diablo.”

“My name is Emile Bichelberger! I’m an ally to all women, and an ally to those allied to women! So that means if you’re helping Rem and Shera to get those collars off, then I’m your ally too!”

“That so.”

“Sorry for trying to cut you down out of the blue like that! Anytime you need a Warrior’s power, feel free to ask the great Emile! That said, you weren’t so bad yourself!”

“Heh...”

Diablo let out a chuckle.

—He wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

Not only that, but unlike with Salamander, which Diablo had defeated with one shot, this guy was still raring to go. Looks like him being a level 50 Warrior wasn’t for nothing.

Emile stepped out of the way of the staircase.

“Sorry for getting in your way. You’re going to do your Adventurer registration, right? If you’re looking to be a Warrior, then I’ll rank you based off that last shot you got on me. Hmm... As a Warrior, I’d say you’re about level 40!”

There were murmurs from the crowd around them. Looks like being rated a level 40 Warrior was pretty substantial.

—Wait, are all these guys lower levels than that? This ain’t the first town of the game or anything, come on!

Diablo shook his head.

“I am a Sorcerer.”

“What!? That’s really too bad... Well, that’s just how it goes, I guess. Diablo, come find me after you finish your first job as an Adventurer! I’ll treat you something to celebrate!”

“Hmph, if I feel like it.”

Emile seeing them off, Diablo and company started up the staircase to the second floor.

Rem, who was right next to him, spoke out.

“...Emile is not a bad person, and his abilities are certainly the real deal.”

“But he’s pretty much a big idiot, right!” Shera chimed in.

“...That is true.”

He could tell exactly how Rem felt by the way she said that.

They had run into a bit of trouble they weren’t expecting, but they were finally on their way to do their Adventurer’s registration.

—He did say we’d celebrate once our first job was over. Let’s give it our best, then.

Just like when he had started Cross Reverie for the first time, his excitement levels were shooting through the roof.

†

Climbing the wide and rickety wooden staircase, they arrived at the second floor. It was just like Diablo remembered in the game.

The second floor was like a loft, and overlooked the bar on the first floor. Here, you could find the counter for the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was his first time seeing it, but he was still overcome with a sense of nostalgia.

The layout of the place was built kind of like what you would find at the bank or post office. Behind the wooden counter sat three girls who served as receptionists.

If this was the same as the game, then starting in order from right to left, they would introduce Adventurers to 《Beginner’s Quests》, 《Advanced Quests》, and 《Story Quests》.

The three girls all had the same face.

If they hadn’t been wearing different colored clothes, then you would not be able to tell them apart. From right to left, it went blue, yellow, then red. It was just like a traffic light.

Back in the game, they were made to be triplets as well.

The girls were all Dwarves.

Dwarf girls would always stay short, no matter how much they matured. However, unlike the childlike Grasswalkers, their chests were not held to the same restrictions. It was true what they said: “Big things come in small packages.”

They also had dog ears, and the tails to match. The three girls’ ears drooped down, just like a Labrador’s.

Diablo naturally came to stand in front of the receptionist in the yellow outfit.

Rem tugged on his sleeves.

“...That is the request counter for experienced Adventurers. Registration is done with the person in blue on the right.”

“I see. That was just a force of habit.”

Story quests weren’t added all that often, and it had been over two years since he had last taken on a Beginner quest.

—Man, this takes me back. It’s been so long since I’ve talked with Bleu here.

Players took to calling the receptionist on the right “Bleu.” Whenever someone finished all the Beginner quests, it was common for them to say, “I’ve graduated from Bleu!”

Coming this far made it feel like the second coming of his game. He was starting to get pumped up.

Diablo stood before the receptionist in blue clothing.

In the game, these girls would not even move in the slightest until you came to talk to them.

But in this world, they were actual, real, living beings.

Bleu started to panic a little, and when she went to gather up the documents she had spread out on the desk, she ended up dropping them on the floor.

“Awa, awawawawa...”

“I’ve come to register as an Adventurer.”

“Ah, Y-Y-Yesshir! Adventurer’s registration, yes! Welcome! I-I’ll do my best!”

Rem came from the side to vouch for him.

“...This person is an acquaintance of mine.”

“Oh! You know him, Rem? I see... Well, that should be fine then! Phew... I was wondering what I was going to do if he was a scary person.”

“...He is quite scary, though.”

Rem scratched the girl’s ears with her fingertips. Her face started to flush red.

Diablo cleared his throat.

“Hurry it up.”

In the game, this is the part where you would enter your name, pick your gender and race, choose a job class, then adjust your initial stats. However, he had most of those things taken care of already.

The game also had an event where they would tell you your level.

It was a rite of passage for all players to be told, “Looks like you’re still level 1... B-But you should be able to get stronger right away!”

Bleu started to explain while she picked up her documents.

“Well, if I could get your name—”

Shera stuck her face out from Diablo’s side.

“Finally, our Adventurer registration! Hey, can I go first? Pleeease?”

She looked positively over the moon about all this.

Her eyes were practically sparkling.

Besides his knowledge of the game, Diablo knew too little about this world. All he was sure of was that the higher his level, the better. Guess I’ll go after watching Shera first—he thought.

He nodded.

“I do not mind. Register yourself first.”

“Yay!”

Shera happily threw her hands in the air.

Looking at her carefree smile just made him want to give up on his own selfish ways.

This could be dangerous.

—Was I always an accommodating kind of guy? Nah, can’t be.

Diablo stood with Rem behind Shera, watching to see how the process worked.

The receptionist for Beginner quests, also known as “Bleu,” pulled out a piece of paper from the pile of documents she had scattered earlier.

“Well then, if you could please give me your name and the country you are from.”

She brought out a quill pen and ink pot.

Taking them, Shera started to write down some symbols.

—Even though I can understand what everyone’s saying, looks like I can’t read anything.

Diablo decided to himself that he would have Shera do his part of the paperwork for him, too.

Shera talked out loud as she filled in the necessary information.

“Okay! Let’s see... Shera L. Greenwood... Place of birth, the Kingdom of Greenwood...”

The receptionist made a strange face.

“...Miss Greenwood, from the Kingdom of Greenwood?”

“Yup!”

The worker tilted her head curiously.

—Does Shera really have ties that powerful?

Diablo and Rem reflexively exchanged glances.

Bleu went to check over the documents.

“Um, okay then... Yes, there don’t appear to be any problems here. Now I will measure your job class compatibility. If you have any particular class in mind that you would like to take, then please say so. If not, I will have you take all the tests for the Warrior, Archer, and Sorcerer classes.”

“Summoner!”

“All right, a Sorcerer it is then. After checking the specifics of the contract here, please give your signature and seal of blood in the bottom-right corner.”

“You need a seal of blood!?”

“Y-Yes. After all, it’s a contract stating you won’t sue the Adventurer’s Guild, even if you die...”

Bleu placed a small knife on top of the counter.

Diablo started to shake a little.

Shera, on the other hand, picked up the knife like it was nothing.

“Blood seals do kinda hurt, don’t they.”

She then proceeded to lightly cut her thumb.

After a bead of blood had formed from the wound, she pressed it against the bottom-right corner of the paper.

Sticking her cut thumb in her mouth, Shera turned around to face Diablo and Rem.

“All that’s left is the aptitude test! I’m definitely gonna get a higher level than you, Rem!”

“...That would be impossible.”

“Ah, fix the cut on my thumb! You must have a Summon that can do healing or something, right?”

“...Just put some spit on it.”

“Mean!”

They made a small ruckus.

—I get it now. I thought she never listened to other people because she wasn’t that bright... But maybe it was because of her upbringing?

Bleu began to speak to Diablo.

“U-Um... If you would like to, please go ahead and fill out the forms... I-If you are an acquaintance of Rem and Shera, taking the aptitude test at the same time should make things go faster, and, um... I-I’m sorry for saying something so forward!”

“No, you haven’t said anything wrong.”

Shera held out the pen to Diablo

“All right, your turn next!”

“Hmph, I am not partial to these kinds of trivial tasks. You do it.”

“What, really!? Yay! That makes me kind of like your Summoner, then!”

Rem was glaring at her, but didn’t start fighting over who would be Diablo’s secretary.

Bleu pointed to the paper.

“U-Um... The signature and blood seal can’t be done by a representative...”

“I know.”

—Though I really don’t like pain...

If he was dead then he wouldn’t be able to sue them, so he wished they would make an exception for him there.

Shera was quickly filling out the information on the new sheet of paper.

“Name, Diablo... What’s your last name?”

“I do not have such a thing. I am...an absolute and solitary existence. Do I need to have one?”

“What do you think?”

Bleu’s face turned into an expression of slight shock in response to Shera’s inquiry.

“N-No! Well... Demons have their own fair share of hardships... U-Um, it’s all right to leave the country of origin blank as well!”

It seemed like she was misunderstanding something. But it was a misunderstanding that worked out well for him, so he decided to just keep going like this.

His preferred class: “Sorcerer,” of course.

Shera moved away from the counter.

“Now all that’s left is your signature and your blood seal!”

“Hm.”

Before he did so, he made Shera read him the terms of the contract.

He wasn’t the kind of guy who would read every single detail of the Terms of Service when making an account or anything, but this was a world where things such as Enslavement Collars existed. He couldn’t be too careful.

The terms were mostly things about how the Guild took no responsibilities for death or injuries, and for members to follow the laws and regulations of the country or town before the Guild’s. Even listed was how stealing would disqualify you as an Adventurer.

—OK, doesn’t seem like anything unreasonable here.

Satisfied, he took up the pen and signed his name.

Since a signature was more of a symbol rather than something that used actual letters, he decided to write it out in cursive. Who would have thought his days of secretly practicing writing his character’s name would come in handy here!

Rem and Shera both looked on with interest at the unfamiliar looking signature.

“Now then...”

Diablo took the knife that was laying on the counter.

Doing this was just like getting a shot, and the more he hesitated, the more scared he was going to be. It’s not gonna hurt... It’s not gonna hurt... Even Shera made it look like it was nothing!

Squeezing his eyes shut, he dragged the blade across his thumb.

—It actually hurts a lot!!

Red blood gushed from his fingertip.

And I mean gushed.

—I made the cut too deep!

—Seems like when I go to hurt myself, the defense from my Curtain of Dark Clouds or magic barrier won’t activate.

—But now’s not the time to just leisurely think over this kind of stuff!

Blood was spilling onto the counter.

Rem and the others looked on in horror, their pupils shrinking to the size of peas.

It would be embarrassing to say he had cut himself more than he wanted. While he kept an expression on his face like he had meant to do this, blood still dribbling from his thumb, he pressed it down on the paper across from his signature. It looked more like a bloodstain than a seal.

There was still a stinging pain left over. However, his wound had already started to heal. The flow of blood was quickly stopping, and the deep cut he had made was closing itself up.

—This must be from the HP regen effect of the Distorted Crown.

Though it was in a place he never expected it to happen, he had managed to confirm another one of his equipment’s abilities.

“Will this do?”

Bleu’s face turned the same color as her uniform as she went to check Diablo’s registration form.

“...Y-Yes, no problems here... Probably... U-Um, since everyone has chosen Sorcerer, I’ll take you over here for the aptitude test and determine your levels.”

She guided Diablo and the others to a mirror off to the side of the counter, having them stand in front of it.

It was a full-length mirror.

—Was there even a mirror here back in the game?

He couldn’t remember anymore. At the very least, nothing like this had happened in-game.

The mirror was bordered with gold, giving it an ornate appearance.

The surface of the mirror looked cloudy, as if it had not been polished. It did not reflect much of the their appearances.

Shera blinked in surprise.

“What’s this?”

“...A mirror that measures the strength of your magic. This is how you use it.”

Standing directly in front of it, Rem reached out and touched the mirror with her fingers.

The surface of the mirror started to glow.

The cloudiness of the glass started to clear, and Rem’s reflection was shown. It was only her upper half, but it was a distinct and vivid image.

“...By sending a steady stream of magic into it, you change the clouded glass into that of a mirror.”

Bleu gave Rem a small round of applause.

“Just as you would expect from Rem! You are level 40 or above, without a doubt! It seems like your magic has gotten stronger from last time, too!”

“...Thank you.”

When Rem removed her hands, the cloudiness returned to the mirror.

Shera raised both her hands.

“Got it! Alllllrighty, I’m gonna do my best!”

She pressed her hands against the mirror.

While scrunching up her face, she made some grunting noises.

Shortly after—

The clouded mirror cleared, distinctly showing Shera’s face in its reflection.

The receptionist was astonished.

“Wow, that’s amazing! It looks so clear! U-Um, let’s see here... If it’s clear enough to be able to count the number of eyelashes on your face, then that counts as ‘Up to the chest’ on the scale. So your level is...30!”

“Thirty!? No way...”

Shera’s voice was tinged with disappointment.

From what he had heard so far, being level 30 was quite a favorable assessment.

—But Shera’s goal was to be above Rem, huh.

Rem stuck out her small chest.

“...You were foolish to think of surpassing me.”

“But, it’s because I haven’t even been on an adventure yet! I’m gonna pass you in no time flat!”

“...That won’t happen. You will have to look up to me for your whole life.”

Quietly, Rem let out a sigh of relief.

Though she wasn’t letting it show on her face, it seemed she had been worrying on the inside that Shera might have been judged a higher level than her.

†

It was Diablo’s turn next.

—What should I do to “send magic” into it?

He was able to use magic. But he didn’t have any idea about what to do to send it out.

Rem and Shera had already showed their true power, and he did feel that he wanted his level to be higher than theirs.

—What am I gonna do if they say I’m level 1? Try and play it off by saying, “Hmph, looks like the Guild can’t judge me...” or something?

Feigning calmness, he reached out toward the mirror, his heart pounding.

The clouded glass turned to thick darkness. It looked like he had opened a hole that led directly into the depths of Hades itself.

A black aura started to seep from the mirror.

—Hm? It seems like, maybe...this isn’t right?

Rem raised her voice in shock.

“...What’s happening!?”

“What!? What is this!? It’s kind of freaking me out!”

Even Shera’s voice was laced with panic.

Not just Bleu, but the other receptionists in yellow and red let out screams as well.

—This might be dangerous.

Diablo quickly took his hand off the mirror. As soon as he did, the black aura faded, and the mirror returned to normal.

He went to ask Bleu: “What kind of judgment would you give this?”

“...U-Uh, um... This is the first time, I have seen something like this... Uhmm?”

It seemed she had no knowledge about what just happened, and was at a loss for what to do.

“What was that just now!?”

From behind the counter, a door flew open, and out jumped a small girl.

She was a Grasswalker who had ears and a tail like that of a rabbit. Though she looked like a child, it was said that this race would never change in appearance, no matter how old they got.

Her outfit was severely lacking in material.

Though she had some cloth covering her chest, her shoulders and stomach were bare. The thin cloth that dangled from her waist couldn’t even be called a skirt, with almost all of her slender thighs exposed for the world to see.

Her hair was short and red.

She fixed her large, innocent eyes on Diablo.

Bleu began to give a flustered explanation.

“GM! Um, wh-when this person went to determine his level, the mirror...”

The GM, otherwise known as the Guildmaster, was the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, and was the most important person to be found there.

She was sizing up both Diablo and the mirror.

A smile crossed her face.

“Hi there. Did you do that just now?”

“So it seems.”

“I want to have a little chat with you in the back, would that be all right?”

When faced with that childlike smile, he felt like he would let his guard down at any time.

—But I’m talking with a Grasswalker, who also happens to be the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild of Faltra. I have to keep focused.

Diablo nodded.

“Very well.”

“...I will come as well.”

Rem stood on his right side.

Shera, in a slight panic, went to stand at his left.

“I-I’m coming too! If you want to talk with Diablo, you’re going to have to let me come too!”

“All right, then you two can come along, too. Could you follow me this way, then?”

The GM spun on her heel as she turned around. Bleu gave a small bow.

“U-Um, then please, go on in... Oh, come in through here...!!”

She lifted up a part of the counter and removed it.

It wasn’t a particularly amazing feature, but Diablo caught himself enjoying finding out about another detail of this world that was never mentioned in the game.

Diablo went through to the other side of the counter.

—There was never a moment in the game where you would go to the Guildmaster’s room. I’m kinda looking forward to this.

Passing by desks with paperwork stacked on top of them, they headed toward the back.

†

The Guildmaster’s office was about ten square meters big.

Just like everywhere else, the interior design of the room was all made of wood.

It was clean, as if she were expecting visitors at any time.

Diablo sat himself in one of the wooden chairs near the low wooden table for guests. Rem and Shera were on either side of him.

The GM was sitting behind a thick work desk that was a bit far away from Diablo and the others.

The chair seemed to be a bit tall for her, as she had to jump to get up on it.

“Hello, and thanks for taking the trouble to come here. I’m the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild of Faltra, Sylvie. Over there is the Summoner Rem, and...?”

Shera leaned forward.

“I’m Shera! And that’s my Summon, Diablo!”

Using her tail, Rem smacked Shera on the butt. It made a whapping sound as she did so.

“...Diablo has said that he is not a Summon... Also, you are not the one who had summoned him. You really are a dumb Elf who doesn’t listen to what other people say.”

“I’ll say it as many times as I have to! Diablo is a super amazing Summon that I called because I’m a genius!”

“Heh... A level 30 genius...” Rem snickered, covering her mouth with her hand.

Shera’s face turned bright red.

“That mirror just didn’t judge my actual talent, all right!”

“...I at least have to respect you for your self-confidence.”

“Yay! She respects me!”

Sylvie stared at them.

“Looks like you have some complicated history together, huh?”

“Don’t pay much attention to them. Besides, you have something you want to tell me, don’t you?”

Diablo went to move on to the main point.

Rem and Shera shut their mouths, and turned to look at Sylvie.

“I’m going to get right to the point. I don’t think we can take you in, Diablo.”

She looked fairly cheerful as she said that.

Diablo tilted his head to one side.

“I assume you’re going to give me a reason?”

“I don’t know if it’ll be enough to satisfy you, but yes. Not just here, but Adventurers who register at any Adventurer’s Guild are given a level which the Guild uses to determine what kinds of quests to give them... In your case, we don’t know your level.”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s the first time the mirror has ever done that. I’m fairly certain that you’re a high level, but I just don’t know how high that is. I can’t figure out what kind of quests I can trust you with.”

“I’m certain I can clear all the quests that have been posted publicly so far.”

“You sure sound confident! Nonetheless, you’re outside the norm by evaluation standards. It’s a bit of a tough call for a Guildmaster like myself.”

“Outside the norm, you say?”

That was disappointing for him to hear, since Diablo wanted to know what his level was in this world.

But as he thought about it, maybe that’s just how it was.

The town of Faltra marked the end of the beginning parts of the game. After you entered the domain of the Fallen to the west, that’s when the MMORPG Cross Reverie really got started.

Using the town as a foothold, you would slowly take control over Fallen territory and prevent the resurrection of the Demon Lord.

In order to do so, you would need to be level 80 or above, near the level cap for the various races of the game.

By completing an extra quest, “Surpass the Limits of Your Race,” you could raise your maximum level to 100.

—I’m not certain, but it might be because I’m already past the level cap so they can’t measure my level.

It was good and all to be a high level, but now it was a problem because he wasn’t able to get any work. He had no way to earn money.

—Maybe I’ll make potions and sell them.

Cross Reverie had something called “sub-classes” in it.

There was everything from Baker to Blacksmith, and even someone like Diablo wasn’t able to remember them all. That’s just how many there were. Everything known about sub-classes was posted on the strategy wiki, but there was still an enormous amount of information about them left unknown.

Diablo had chosen 《Combiner》 as his sub-class. As long as he had the materials, he could make items such as health potions.

Because of the effects of the Demon’s Lord Ring, he had no choice but to depend on healing items, which is why he settled on that particular sub-class.

The best healing items in the game could only be made by players. Because of this, buying them off of other people was expensive, and it wasn’t like they were available to buy whenever you wanted.

He might be able to make use of his Combiner skills and sell the potions he made... However.

Last night, he had made a promise to Rem to destroy the soul of the Demon Lord Krebskulm.

As of now, he was their greatest enemy.

Potion-makers had a lot on their plate, and if he wasn’t fighting, then his focus on and sense for battle would only weaken.

Not only that, but it was true that he really wanted to be an Adventurer for a living.

Diablo asked her: “So you’re saying that you’re not going to accept me as an Adventurer, is that it?”

Sylvie shook her head.

“I would be happy to have you here at the Faltra Adventurer’s Guild. I was more worried that you’d be the one who wouldn’t be satisfied staying here.”

“As long as there are quests to do and rewards for doing them, then I have no complaints.”

“That so? I’m probably a lot weaker than you. Are you going to be okay taking orders from me? Or are you thinking about switching places with me and becoming the new Guildmaster?”

He had never even thought of it.

In the game, the Adventurer’s Guild was a mediator that would offer quests for the players to do. Even if the Guildmaster was weak, it was impossible to even consider refusing to do quests.

In actuality, the head of the Adventurer’s Guild was said to be seeking to become the strongest there was.

—They do have a lot of rough-looking types here, after all.

Diablo thought back to the fight he saw on the first floor. Seemed like you would have to be strong if you wanted to keep people like that in line.

“I have no interest in the organization itself. You should be the one to take care of such trifling matters.”

“Ahaha, you sure are an interesting one. Then just one more thing: we don’t have much in the way of quests that match up to your true power.”

It was Faltra, so of course that would be the case.

After all, this was the town where you would finish the last of the Beginner quests to unlock the Advanced ones.

When you entered the domain of the Fallen, the Beginner’s quests would disappear and be replaced by 《EX 》 quests.

And since the story quests were only there to advance the plot, you would generally be suffering from a lack of money around here. In exchange, you were able to do things like advance to the next area or raise your level cap...

Diablo looked at Rem.

—But even now, it looks like I’m in the middle of taking on a story quest.

“There’s no need to worry about the level of the mission. I would assume that there are no quests in this area that would even be a challenge to me anymore.”

“Really? Well then... Looking forward to working with you!”

Sylvie ran up to him and stuck out her right hand.

He took her small hand in his.

“Hm.”

While he was still keeping up his arrogant attitude, on the inside he felt relieved.

—I didn’t know what was gonna happen after the mirror turned black, but I’m glad we seem to have gotten that all squared away.

With this, he was now an Adventurer!

†

“Hey, let’s go on a quest right away!”

Shera was getting all worked up, and Diablo felt the same way.

—I wonder how strong the monsters are around here?

He could barely contain his excitement.

Diablo and the others had returned to the counter to find a quest to accept.

Taking a casual glance back down at the first floor, Diablo saw a familiar figure.

—Is that Small Fry over there?

It was the guy from the Mage’s Association who had picked a fight with him last night: Galluk.

He was just leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, sending out stares of contempt at the Adventurers around him.

Galluk was not an Adventurer, so he probably wasn’t here to take on a quest.

—If that’s the case, maybe he was making a request.

The Mage’s Association from the game would frequently give quests to players.

For the most part, they would turn out to be fetch quests. For example, a good part of the quests would be something like: “I need you to hunt some 《Demonic Ligers》 and pick up three 《Dark Fangs》 from them for an experiment I’m doing.”

—Well, I guess it’s nothing for me to worry about.

Rem and Shera were already talking with the receptionist, Bleu.

“These are the current quests we have available.”

“...Since this is your first time accepting one, a Beginner level quest would probably be good.”

“Fine by me, but isn’t the pay really cheap!?”

The receptionist in red was discussing something with Sylvie. Seeming to have wrapped up their conversation, Sylvie called out to them.

“Heya, Diablo. I have a quest I want you to do for me right away.”

She produced a piece of paper and laid it on the counter.

—Still can’t read.

Diablo motioned for Rem to read it.

“...This is a quest to hunt a 《Madara Snake》 in the Man-Eating Forest. Is there anyone who would even think of asking someone to do this?”

Diablo tilted his head.

“Isn’t hunting monsters normal for quests?”

“...The monsters around that area are not the kind you can defeat with just a few Adventurers. Normally, you would hunt monsters around the Bridge of Ulug or Starfall Tower.”

“It’s because they keep doing that that their levels won’t go up.” Diablo shrugged his shoulders.

Not letting any emotion show on her face, Rem continued to talk in an indifferent tone of voice.

“...That’s just how it is. Nobody is as strong as you, after all. There will be nothing to show for if you die after challenging a powerful monster.”

“I see.”

“...Normally, nobody would take a quest like this... But if someone has requested it, then there may be a good reason for it.”

“U-Uh... There’s a bunch of strong monsters in the Man-Eating Forest, right?”

Shera’s voice was shaking.

Sylvie spoke: “It looks like the requester is the Mage’s Association. Seems like they need the eye from a Madara Snake for some kind of experiment they’re doing. The deadline is pretty short, and I don’t have the time to gather a bunch of strong people for it, so how about it? I won’t force you to take it...but what do you say, Mister Diablo? Wanna give it a shot?”

Diablo thought to himself, The Man-Eating Forest is set to be about level 60, so monsters around that level should show up there.

Supposing he was level 150, then this wouldn’t even count as a warm-up for him.

—The problem’s gonna be my MP.

He had to be cautious about what kind of effect shooting off consecutive magics would have on him.This would be a good chance for me to test it out.

If the monsters were level 60, then he would be able to deal with them all bare-handed.

If anything, rejecting this quest would put a dent on his Demon Lord act. He did not want them to think he was scared.

“Very well, I shall be the one to head out there.”

“Thanks! But be careful, OK? I feel like there’s something...fishy about this quest.”

“...Fishy?”

“Every once in a while, we get these quests that seem like they’re made to trap our Adventurers in some way. Of course, we usually don’t accept any suspicious requests, but I think that since the requester is the Mage’s Association, we should be able to trust it... But it still kinda bugs me a little.”

“Worry not. No matter what the plans of some insect may be, they will not be able to harm me in the slightest.”

“Ahaha... You sure are reliable.”

Putting aside his Demon Lord roleplay for a second—

—This does seem like a strange request. Gotta make sure to be careful.

After hearing what Sylvie had to say, the thought of Galluk leaving the Guild earlier crossed Diablo’s mind. He probably hated Diablo’s guts, even if it was unjustified.

—But after what happened last night, maybe he won’t try to pick fights with me anymore?

Rem raised her small hand.

“...I will go, too. Diablo is still unfamiliar with the area around here, so I am sure he will need a guide.”

There was no way Shera would be quiet after hearing that.

“I’m coming too! After all, I’m his Summoner! And—”

Just when it seemed like the normal pattern was going to happen, Sylvie interrupted.

“I’ll leave forming a party up to you, Diablo! The pay is just as it’s written there, no matter how many people you have coming with you. They’ve already paid for the quest up front, so we can pay you right away! Now, good luck on your first job!”

—I guess she must keep pretty busy, too.

“Leave it to me.”

Swishing his cape around, Diablo started to walk, while Rem and Shera trotted behind him to catch up.

—My first quest!

In his heart, the excitement he first felt when he started Cross Reverie came rushing back to him.

†

Leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, they headed toward the West gate of the town.

As always, Rem and Shera were concerned about the collars around their necks.

For Diablo, he felt almost no tiredness no matter how many hours he spent walking, but he did find the whole thing to be a pain.

“It would be convenient if we could use 《Teleport》 to get to the Man-Eating Forest, but is there a portal near there?”

Rem and Shera had blank looks on their faces.

—Huh? Did I say something bad?

“...U-Um...what is a ‘teleport?’”

“What? Being able to use a spell to warp you back to town is the basics of the basics, is it not? You should be able to find warp items fairly easily in the opening as well.”

It wasn’t just Shera with a weird look, who he knew the gears in her head spun a little slow, but even the usually wise Rem was wearing a curious look on her face.

Diablo could only think of one thing for it.

“Does this world not have teleporting in it? Hey, you two, maybe the name is different here, but do you know of any items that can instantly transport you from one place to another?”

“...According to the legends, it is said that Celestials were able to transport themselves from location to location. I have also heard that there is a ritual magic passed down in the Mage’s Association of the Royal Capital that achieves the same effect.”

“That’s just a rumor, right? If something that convenient existed, everyone would be using it! Even I would’ve been able to make it through the forest without having been so scared!”

“...An Elf is afraid of the forest?”

“Forests at night are different, okay!?”

—Teleporting... There’s another difference between here and the game.

If teleporting was talked about in legends and was said to be passed down at the Mage’s Association in the Royal Capital, then there was a good chance it existed in this world. However... It looked like it hadn’t spread to the general public yet.

At the very least, it didn’t seem like it was something Adventurers could easily use.

Thinking about it, if teleporting did exist, then the way people used it here would probably be completely different.

You could send troops and supplies in an instant, and sending orders would be even better than in our modern age of using phones and the Internet.

Getting to the Bridge of Ulug had taken three hours in this world when it took three minutes in the game.

Based on that, there might be a big difference in how teleporting worked as well, in terms of the distance you can teleport.

—Should I try it?

Curiosity started to get the better of him, but he managed to restrain himself. There was no reason to put himself through any dangerous experiments.

Even things like offensive magic demanded a high level of concentration. It wasn’t as easy as just clicking wherever you wanted with your mouse.

What if using teleportation magic required a high degree of control? It would be trouble if he messed up and warped himself inside a rock or something.

—Well, it’s not like I’m in a rush.

This wasn’t a game he was playing in his precious free time after school or work. This was another world.

If there was a place that took half a day to get to, then he should just take half a day to get there. It’s not like he ever felt tired, so there wasn’t a problem there.

Finishing his inner discourse on the finer points of teleporting, Diablo kept heading for the West gate.

†

Unlike last time, where he had been looking around at everything out of curiosity, it only took two and a half hours to pass through the Bridge of Ulug. It had taken them about a total of five hours to reach the forest after leaving the town.

This was partially because Shera was absolutely beside herself since it was their first quest; though on the inside, Diablo was just as eager as well.

According to the request, the Madara Snake was said to inhabit the swamp located near the entrance to the forest.

As they approached the area, the murky waters gave off the faint smell of something rotten.

If this were back in the game, it would give you a panoramic view of the forest and then play a small movie of the kinds of monsters you could expect to encounter.

The Man-Eating Forest—

The three of them stopped to look at the forest before them.

Trees blocked their vision, and going inside meant not being able to see more than a few meters in front of them.

The thick, overgrown foliage hid the sky from view, robbing Adventurers of their sense of direction.

This primeval forest untouched by human hands was home to countless wild beasts who would attack given the slightest opportunity.

This is the Man-Eating Forest. Once someone set foot inside, they wouldn’t come back.

—In the game, there was a map in the top-right corner, and if you looked around there was always a path to follow, so getting through wasn’t all that hard.

It seemed like it was made to be rather user-friendly in the game, in regards to navigating around it.

Shera approached the swamp, poking at clumps of bushes with her feet.

“Hey, so... Where is this ‘Madara Snake?’”

“...I will say it now, but it will not be in the bushes.”

“Oh, really?”

“...It is a snake with a body more than twenty meters long, so there is no way it would come out from some bushes. Its head is larger than your shoulders, so I would say it is probably inside the swamp itself.”

“Hieee!?”

Shera jumped back from the swamp.

Oh yeah, I guess it was a giant snake about that big—remembered Diablo.

He had forgotten the small details about level 60 monsters.

With a tense expression on her face, Rem surveyed their surroundings.

“...I am not sure of the specifics, but it is said to usually inhabit swamps, and will come out when it senses prey nearby.”

“I-Is that right?”

“...If you do not want to be swallowed whole, do not go too close to the swamp. I will scout out the situation with one of my Summons.”

I get it... So she’s going to use a Summon as a decoy. Even if it’s attacked, if she just undoes the spell it’ll turn back into a crystal.

Shera slightly tilted her head.

“Hey, so we’re supposed to be the only ones doing this quest, right?”

“...That should be obvious.”

“Then are there actually a lot of people who end up coming in and out of the Man-Eating Forest?”

“...What are you saying? This is the most dangerous area near Faltra. Unless you are someone who does not value your own life, you would never come here on purpose.”

“Really? But even if it isn’t hunting for Madara Snakes or anything, there’re still requests to come out here, right?”

“...Even if it was just to collect some berries, entering the Man-Eating Forest is extremely dangerous. There isn’t any requester who would ask for a quest no one would take. The only reason this one was taken is because Diablo was the one taking it.”

“Is that true?”

“...What are you trying to say?”

“Hm? Well, you know... It’s just that I can sense other people nearby. Seems like there’s quite a few of them out there.”

“What!?”

Rem looked at the forest. Diablo also turned his gaze toward it.

It was completely quiet.

There was almost no wind in the forest, so the trees here were not moving in the slightest. It was almost like a photograph.

—Is there actually some kind of presence out there?

Rem narrowed her eyes.

“...Are you sure?”

“There’s about ten of them up in the branches. They must be waiting to ambush a monster, right?”

“...I do not know whether you are an idiot, or a humongous idiot.”

“Why!?” Shera exclaimed with displeasure.

Diablo was starting to see where this conversation was going.

The group waiting in the forest wasn’t lying in wait for a monster.

“They’re waiting for us, then.”

“What, why!?”

Shera’s eyes were wide.

—Looks like it’s only her senses that are sharp.

Rem whispered to him: “...What should we do, Diablo? I think it would be all right to just leave... This is obviously a trap.”

There wasn’t anything wrong with turning back and telling the Guild that there was an ambush waiting for them.

But if he didn’t deal with this now, there was a good chance they would target Diablo and the others again.

—We were lucky that we sensed the ambush coming. Might as well take care of it.

“Shera, where are they now?”

“Over there, and there...”

Memorizing the places she pointed out, Diablo adjusted his aim so it would be slightly off from those areas.

If he was up against other people, he didn’t want to just suddenly take their lives.

It was important to talk these things out.

Diablo raised his staff.

“《Burst Rain》 !”

With a thunderous boom, the sphere of fire that had appeared in the sky burst open. This was a level 70 AoE spell. Fireballs about the size of fists rained down on the area Diablo had targeted.

“Uwah!?”

“What is this!?”

He heard the screams of men.

Several figures descended from the trees around them.

They wore green-colored light armor, and were holding bows.

Shera raised her voice. “Ah, Elves!”

The people who had been lying in wait in the treetops all seemed to be Elves.

—What does this mean?

He couldn’t think of a reason for the Elves to lay a trap for them.

At best, the only person who should hold a grudge against Diablo at the moment is Galluk. He couldn’t imagine Galluk asking a group of Elves for help in exacting his (unjustified) revenge.

“Tch, using a shady spell like that!”

One of the Elves, a fair-looking youth, had taken up his bow and pointed it at Diablo.

His body was slender yet tall, and he had the arms and legs to match. His hair was a dazzling blond that reached all the way down to his waist.

He wore a lightweight chest protector for armor, and an emerald green tunic under that. His pants were the same green color, making it an outfit that was perfect for blending him in with the forest.

He had a face so pretty that it could be mistaken for a girl’s at first glance. The small lump that was his Adam’s apple proved that he was a boy.

—But I’ve never seen him before in my life.

“Celsior!? What are you doing here!?” Shera shouted.

“Lady Shera! We heard that you had been captured by slave traders, and were dispatched here posthaste to save you!”

One after the other, the Elves took up their bows.

—I see, so they’re Shera’s acquaintances.

Diablo had come to terms with the situation.

There were ten of them, just as Shera had predicted.

“Hey, Shera, who are these people?”

“They’re, um...”

It looked like she had a hard time saying it.

The boy called Celsior raised his voice.

“So you’re the slave trader! I will have you return Lady Shera to us!”

“...Who are you saying this to? I am no slave trader.”

“Quiet! Then what would you call that thing wrapped around Lady Shera’s neck!? You’ve taken Lady Shera, a pure soul who knows nothing of the ways of the world, and turned her into your slave, haven’t you!?”

“That’s not even worth considering.”

“How could Lady Shera end up with you... No, no matter who it is, it isn’t right for anyone to put an Enslavement Collar on her!”

Celsior drew back his bowstring.

It seemed like Shera was quite an important person to him. He even called her “Lady Shera.”

It wasn’t unthinkable for him to lose his ability to think rationally after seeing her with an Enslavement Collar.

He already had an idea of who she was, but just to be sure, he decided to ask.

“And just what kind of person is Shera?”

“Such insolence! In the sovereign home of the Elves, the Kingdom of Greenwood, Lady Shera L. Greenwood is our noble princess!”

†

The Kingdom of Greenwood—

In the game’s setting, it was a country located deep within a forest, completely self-governed by Elves. Amongst the other Elven countries, it was said to be the oldest, largest, and most important of them all. It was established in-game as an isolated country.

There were quests that took you inside Greenwood, but the other Elf NPCs would mostly give you the cold shoulder. Since Elves were said to be the race closest to the Celestials, that pride gave them an air of exclusivity.

One of the game’s story quests was a request from the Kingdom of Greenwood. The title of that quest read, “Save the Elf Princess!”

Instead of a slave trader, the details stated the princess had been abducted by the Fallen.

—I see... So I guess you could say these Elves are in the middle of a quest to save their princess from me.

He was completely the bad guy here.

Diablo smiled.

He had decimated many an Adventurer while doing his Demon Lord role play, so playing the bad guy was letting him get fired up.

Besides, he also had something he had to ask them.

The quest Diablo and the others were on right now was a request from the Mage’s Association.

Did Celsior and the others deceive the Adventurer’s Guild by falsely using the name of the Mage’s Association to ask for the quest? Would they even do something like that in such a roundabout way? If they had found Shera in town, they could just try and take her back like Emile had done back at the Guild.

They had gone out of their way to call Diablo away from the town and out into the Man-Eating Forest, where they had been waiting to ambush them. The client for this quest also would know that this job was handed off to Diablo.

Comparing the information available to him, he came to a conclusion.

—Someone had come up with the ambush plan, put a request in for this quest, and then got Celsior and the others involved.

But who could that be...

—You know what, I feel like I already know.

Celsior called out to Diablo.

“Take that collar off of Lady Shera, slave trader!”

He understood his opponent’s personality. He was frank to the point of foolishness, but if he was doing what he was doing because he was worried about Shera, then it would be going overboard to kill him.

—It would be nice if we could talk this out...

Is what he thought, but because of his Demon Lord act he kept goading people.

But people are always able to learn. This time for sure, he would resolve this peacefully with his words!

Before he could speak up, however, Shera beat him to the punch.

“I don’t care about the royal family!”

Celsior wore a troubled expression on his face.

“Princess... The royal family is very worried about you. Please, even if just once, return back home.”

“The only thing my brother and the others are worrying about is a successor! They just want to force me to have a child!”

“It is a very important role.”

“I hate not being able to do what I want, and I won’t be forced to marry someone I don’t even want to! I’m never going back! I’m going to live on my own!”

“But aren’t you a slave right now!?”

“No! This is a collar that’s supposed to go on a Summon, but it got put on me by accident! I’m no one’s slave! Not Diablo’s, and not the Kingdom of Greenwood’s! I’m me!”

“By accident? It seems like you have your own reasons, but if the royal family were to see you now... There is no way they would be able to approve of it.”

“Even if they don’t approve, it doesn’t change how I feel!”

“You are much too powerless to be able to live on your own. We will be taking you back, even if it is by force.”

“You... You can’t...”

Shera stepped back, frightened.

Rem stepped in front of her.

“...Very well said... A good performance, considering it was you.”

“Ah, Rem!”

“...You cast aside your country and are trying to live on your own merits. I do not dislike that.”

She was grasping a Summon crystal in her hand.

—Shera did say that the reason she tried summoning a Demon Lord from another world was because she wanted power.

The power to live on her own.

The power to not be chained down by anything.

Diablo thought to himself—

—What level are these Elves?

If they were surprised by a spell like Burst Rain, then they must not be that knowledgeable about magic. But bow-users like them who could fire off powerful, rapid attacks from a distance were a Sorcerer’s natural enemy.

Shera was said to have evaluated as a level 40 Archer when she was just a child. Despite that, these people were good enough to be able to take her away by force.

—Would that make them level 60 or above, then?

It would probably be a good plan to hand Shera over to them and avoid being targeted by the Elves from now on.

In fact, the Kingdom of Greenwood might even owe him one if he did that.

—Even if I asked for a reward handsome enough that I would never have to want anything else to live sufficiently in this world, I’m pretty sure they’d give it to me.

Diablo smiled.

—But doing things like that would be boring, right!

“You are all fools.”

“Wh-What!? You’re calling us fools!? You damned slave trader!”

“You have all committed three grave mistakes. I will correct those mistakes, one at a time. First, I am not a slave trader, but a Sorcerer.”

“Mmh...!? Then, that rain of fire from earlier...”

“Next, Shera is not powerless. That is because... I am lending her my assistance.”

It was not just Shera who was staring at him, but Rem as well.

“Diablo, you’re going to be my Summon!?”

“...How could you.”

“Do not be mistaken, I am just ‘in the mood’ for it right now. I said it before, didn’t I? That depending on your goals, I would lend you my assistance.”

“Yeah! You did!”

“Having a whelp like him come before me and prattle on about ‘taking you by force’... It looks like I’m going to have to show him a bit of what real power is.”

“Th...Thank...you...!!”

Shera looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Though she had been firm with her words earlier, she must have been uneasy on the inside. Rem placed a hand on Shera’s shoulder.

“...It’s all right now.”

“Yeah...”

She nodded, her voice tearful.

Diablo let a cruel and arrogant smile creep across his face, just as a Demon Lord would.

“And the third error you fools have made... Is making me your enemy. Now, despair as I make you realize how powerless you truly are!”

If he made them realize how big the power gap between them was, then they probably wouldn’t come after them again.

—Although it might be hard to just scare them without killing them...

Facing Celsior and the others, he made a declaration: “I will annihilate you all!”

“If you are going to resist, then fall prey to our bows!”

The Elves drew their bows.

“Fire!”

They were well-trained. At Celsior’s command, ten arrows came speeding toward Diablo, all at the same time.

Shera and Rem were behind him, so there was no way he could dodge the arrows.

—I wasn’t gonna dodge them anyways, though.

Right before the arrows could strike him, they suddenly lost all their momentum.

This was due to the effects from his magic barrier and the damage reduction of the Ebony Abyss.

Most of the attacks didn’t even reach him.

Celsior and the others were in shock.

“What is this!?”

“Hmph... I thought you would be more serious than this.”

Seemed like anything deemed “the best” or “elite” in this world was around level 50.

There was panic in Celsior’s voice. “This can’t be... Even after taking our arrows, you’re still unharmed!?”

—I wonder if it’s more than just the level gap?

It seemed that their equipment was lacking in quality, too.

In the game, bow-users would use arrows that were reinforced by magic. If they were using enchanted arrows, then even if the physical damage was reduced by half, it would still be enough to harm Diablo.

He stared at the arrows on the ground.

Arrows were consumable items in Cross Reverie. In exchange for being able to unleash powerful attacks from afar, it was possible to run out of ammunition. You either had to buy them from shops or make them yourself by utilizing a sub-class skill.

And, obviously, depending on the quality of the arrow, the damage it would deal greatly differed.

These arrows were made of wood, and were about a meter in length. The arrowheads were triangular, while the ends were tipped with feathers.

—Looks just like the icon graphics they use for the stores in-game.

In order to stay in control as the Demon Lord, Diablo had to be able to determine the effects of his opponents’ arrows by seeing what they looked like.

These arrows were completely ordinary.

“What do you even do battle with? What can you defeat using these arrows?”

“Are you mocking us...!?”

“No, I’m asking you a question. You can only hunt beasts from the forest with these. You must not fight against the Fallen or monsters, am I right?”

“W-Well...that should be obvious...”

Celsior and the others looked a bit daunted.

I see—Diablo thought, nodding to himself.

—That’s why everyone in this world is low-leveled.

He remembered what Rem had said before:

“There will be nothing left if you die after challenging a powerful monster.”

It was just as she said.

In this world, if you die, it’s all over.

Unlike the game, where you would be kicked back to the last town you visited with a level down penalty, there was nothing to save you here.

If Cross Reverie was the kind of death game where, “If you die in the game, you die in real life,” then no one would go into the Man-Eating Forest.

Who would go training every day if finding the right hunting spot for you could take half a day for a one-way trip?

Not only that, but you would have to travel back on foot. There was no such thing as a “return home” spell here.

There would be no hints from the game devs on Twitter, and no being able to exchange information with other people on the strategy wiki.

If you wanted to survive, then you would do your best to avoid the crazy strong monsters and stick with hunting beasts from the forest.

You could survive with just a plain bow and arrow.

The same went for magic.

Rather than being an Elemental Sorcerer (where even though the spells were powerful, one mistake could lead to your death), it was much safer to be a Summoner who could use their Summons as a shield.

If your one and only life was riding on it, then you would choose the safest, easiest, and most comfortable choices for yourself.

It was just obvious.

Celsior nocked another arrow into his bow.

This new arrow was completely green. Its main feature was the arrowhead, which was cone-shaped like a drill. A swirling green wind was being released from the tip of the arrow, slightly fluttering Celsior’s hair.

“Hm, 《Tempest Arrows》... I see,” Diablo said with some admiration.

“How do you know that!?”

It was something that had been used against him many times back in the game.

These things were capable of nullifying his damage reducing effects. His challengers would often bring them as a countermeasure against his Ebony Abyss.

They were also effective against monsters who could only be damaged by magic, so it was a standard item for bow-users who were around level 50 or so.

“Not bad. You may actually be able to damage me if you are using Tempest Arrows.“

“Of course! These arrows are treasures we have received from his Majesty himself! These are the ultimate arrows, able to drill through everything and anything! I don’t know what kind of magic you’re using, but I’ll pierce through it, along with your wicked nature!”

He drew back the bowstring to its limit.

—To be honest, I really don’t wanna get hit by that.

It looked like Celsior was about level 50 or so.

He was taking his time in actually releasing the arrow, so he was probably using the Martial Arts 《Charge Shot》 to boost its power.

Tempest Arrows were sure to cause him some damage.

—I bet it’s gonna hurt, too.

But if Celsior couldn’t deal huge damage to Diablo, even after doing all this, then he would be sure to see the differences in their strength.

Diablo put on a fearless smile. On the inside, he felt like he was waiting to get a shot from the doctor.

Celsior yelled out: “Pierce through him!”

Leaving green trails in their wake, a multitude of Tempest Arrows came rushing toward him even faster than the arrows from before.

The other Elves also gave out cries of, “Go!” and “Pierce him!”

Rem and Shera were calling Diablo’s name.

But he did not evade.

The damage-reducing effects of the Ebony Abyss were ignored, and the speed of the arrows did not slow down in the slightest.

—I bet these things are going out through my back if they hit my skin.

Pain shot through his abdomen.

It wasn’t the sharp pain of being stabbed that he was expecting, but more like he had been punched by a fist.

“Guh...”

Dull thuds could be heard hitting the ground.

The green arrows had not pierced Diablo’s body, and had fallen to the ground.

The Elves were practically screaming, while Shera and Rem were so elated that they were embracing each other.

“...As I would expect of Diablo.”

“Thank goodness!!”

Celsior was shaking, his eyes wide open.

“...Why...? The arrows his Majesty gave us himself...aren’t working?”

“Hmph... It’s not the arrows that are at fault, but yourself.”

Celsior’s face distorted.

Huh... I really do start smiling when people are being driven into a corner—thought Diablo.

“Who... Who are you? Are you...actually a Sorcerer? Then...what was that talk about you being a slave trader?”

“I do not know who put that idea into your head, but I am no slave trader. I am also no ordinary Sorcerer.”

“...I thought so... Then, who are you?”

“Engrave this into your heart, along with the fear that comes with it. I am Diablo, a Demon Lord from another world.”

Aiming for the forest behind Celsior and the other Elves—he unleashed a Freezia.

The wind howled. The ice effect scattered and danced about. The chill brought on by the spell enveloped the Man-Eating Forest in ice. A beautiful frozen flower came into bloom.

The monsters who were nearby ran out of the forest in a panic, along with the other animals who were living there.

—It looks like the one who just ran away into the swamp was the Madara Snake. Guess there’s no need for it now, since this quest turned out to be a trap.

He could even hear beasts that were several meters away fleeing in terror.

It seemed they were more sensitive to danger than the people who lived in this world, as not one of them headed toward Diablo.

Celsior and the others collapsed on the ground as they watched these events unfold in front of them. Just by looking at them, Diablo could tell they had completely lost their will to fight.

He lowered Tenma’s Staff.

†

Something other than a wild beast also came tumbling out of the forest.

It was a man, wearing a robe.

His hands and feet were as thin as wires, and he wore a high-strung expression on his face. It was Galluk.

He started to yell angrily at Celsior and the other Elves, who had lost their fighting spirit.

“Hey! Weren’t you all supposed to be an elite Elf squad or something!? You didn’t even manage to get one arrow in him! I knew it, I should have expected this from Demis!”

—I knew it.

He had been wondering about it ever since he saw Galluk back at the Guild... He just couldn’t understand what had the guy so worked up.

It seemed like his “punishment” from before wasn’t enough. Communicating with others really was difficult.

Diablo, in character, made his voice show great displeasure.

“Small Fry... It seems like you’ve been spurring these Elves on.”

Galluk shrunk back.

It seemed he was still aware of the gap between their abilities.

“Uhh... Well, you see, I... They were searching for their princess, all I did was tell them she would be coming here...”

“They seem to be under the impression that I’m a slave trader.”

“Th-They thought that up all by themselves! Demis aren’t that bright, after all!”

—Everyone here but Galluk is a Demi, though. Can this guy not even think rationally anymore?

“Hmph... No matter, Small Fry. Do not try to get involved with me again. The next time you try to face me, I will not hesitate to blow you away!”

He made sure to emphasize his threat.

Galluk was trembling.

—It’d be nice if he would just stay quiet after that.

“A-Aren’t you the one at fault here!?”

Unexpectedly, Galluk argued back.

“Hmm?”

“I-I mean, Lady Rem is at fault here, too! You are special, so why are you hanging around with the likes of a Demon and an Elf!?”

Rem made a displeased face.

“...I am a Pantherian. I am also subject to the discrimination of Demis by Humans.”

“But Lady Celes approves of you! That means you are something like a Human!”

“...What an irksome conversation this is... And besides, you have no business in criticizing who I choose to associate with.”

“But you’re an important person to the Mage’s Association... No, to the entire world! You should be aware of that and show some self-restraint! You should only be around those who come from superior pedigrees, the ones who are guaranteed a bright future! You should be with Humans, like me!”

“...To be completely honest, not only would that be an annoyance, but it would also be completely revolting.”

“Gah!?”

Galluk recoiled.

Rem was glaring at him.

“...I cannot overlook your actions here. If you are going so far as to use the name of the Mage’s Association, then Celes must know about this too, I presume?”

“Urk... Ooooh... No... I’m... I’m not wrong here!!”

Galluk started to sprint away.

It might have been a bit of a problem if he had headed deeper into the Man-Eating Forest, but he managed to turn himself in the direction of the town. What a champ.

Rem apologized to Diablo and Shera.

“...It seems like I have gotten you involved in my own ordeals. I’m sorry.”

“Do not worry yourself.”

I was the one who made his grudge against me even worse—thought Diablo. But damn, I never thought he would end up being this much of a pain in the ass.

Thinking about what had happened, the best thing was that Galluk wouldn’t get involved with them anymore. Though the reason Diablo had done what he did before was because he thought that’s what would have happened in the first place.

—Dealing with other people really is tough.

Shera stood in front of Celsior, who sat dazed on the ground. She was at arm’s length for him, but it seemed that he no longer had the willpower to try and “take her back by force.”

“You OK? You can get back home, right? It seems like this forest is kind of dangerous, so be careful.”

“Ah...uhh...”

“And could you pass something along to my brother for me? I’m never coming back. I’m not some ‘thing’ that my brother owns—right now, I’m Diablo and Rem’s comrade!”

Without waiting for a response, Shera turned around and walked away.

Her cheeks were completely flushed.

Laughing, she said, “Let’s go back, I’m starving!”

“...When did we become comrades?” Rem said with a sigh.

“You said that you liked me, right?”

“...I did not. I only meant that I did not dislike your determination.”

“Oh? Are you getting embarrassed? Your cheeks are red!”

“Ngh... Stupid Shera!”

“What’s with you all of a sudden!?”

—I’m...her comrade?

Diablo froze up.

†

Diablo and the girls made their way back to the inn.

They had already made their report to the Adventurer’s Guild and then grabbed some dinner, so it was already nighttime.

Diablo was sitting in the flickering candlelight of the room.

He was so tired, all he wanted to do was lay down on the bed...

But since there was only one bed, here he was, sitting on the floor.

The only other person in the room was Shera.

She sat down on the bed, and every once in awhile, would glance over at him.

—What’s going on here?

He didn’t know what do when all alone with a girl.

—Now what?

Rem, who was always good to have around for these situations, had been called out by a messenger from the Mage’s Association, and had gone to see Celes.

Most likely, it was about the incident with Galluk.

Diablo and the others hadn’t mentioned his name when making their report, but since he was the one to make the request in the first place, the receptionist already knew who he was.

Since he had used the name of the Mage’s Association without permission, it was obvious for this to turn into a serious problem. Celes would probably have to make an apology as well.

The reason Rem had gone alone was because she was being considerate.

If Diablo had gone, then he would end up scaring people unnecessarily. The news about how he had sent Emile flying and being declared unable to be evaluated by Sylvie had already spread.

Not to mention the way he looked and spoke.

With a truly apologetic look on her face, Rem had said to him, “...If you were to come as well, then Celes would probably end up having to apologize more than needed, so I will go by myself.”

—Well, it’s true I’m pretty bad at talking with other people, so that actually really helps me out.

—But Shera’s acting kinda weird. Hurry up and come back soon, Rem...

Shera looked over at him again.

Unable to take it any longer, Diablo called out to her.

“Do you need something?”

“Hyah!? U-Uh, um... That snake was big, wasn’t it!”

“Hm?”

Thinking about it a little, he realized what she was talking about.

“Ah, the Madara Snake.”

“If this quest hadn’t been a trap, would we have fought that?”

“Rem would have used one of her Summons to lure it out, which is when I would finish it off with my magic. It wasn’t a bad plan. Well, I guess there was always the option to just freeze the area as well.”

The Freezia in the game didn’t have as large an AoE as it did here.

It could be because he was using his scientific knowledge as a base when he used magic here. That, or it was made to look much more reserved in the game.

By the time he had noticed, Shera had gotten off the bed and was coming toward him.

“Yeah! Your magic was really amazing, Diablo!”

“Well, of course... I’ve come to realize something about levels here. The people of this world live their lives doing their best not to die. They don’t put themselves through any unnecessary hardships, and live as safely as possible.”

“Isn’t that just normal?”

“Even if it meant dying, I always prioritized the most efficient and fastest way to level myself up. That’s the kind of world I came from.”

“Are you talking about the other world you lived in?”

“Yes. That’s why there’s such a level gap here. Judging from what happened with Freezia today, I don’t know if it’s the people who are weak here, or the monsters...”

“Oh, that spell you used this afternoon?”

“That’s right. Based on the reactions of the other animals back there, they are most likely much weaker than the ones I am familiar with.”

Shera had a mystified expression on her face.

“Do you not care about your own life?”

“I’m not thinking of throwing it away for no reason.”

“Hey... Does your stomach hurt?”

“What? I haven’t really eaten anything strange, but... Ah, are you worried about when I took those arrows earlier?”

“I mean, Celsior’s arrows were the treasures of the Greenwood royal family. I’ve heard that they’re supposed to be really special... You even made a face like they hurt a little, didn’t you?”

The others had also been surprised that none of the arrows pierced him.

It seems she had been concerned about him, even down to the expression on his face.

“My equipment has an effect that recovers HP... I mean, heals my wounds. It’s not a problem.”

“Really!? That’s amazing!”

It was true that he was plenty strong enough. The unease he had felt when he was first summoned was pretty much non-existent now.

“If you want to keep living in this world, then I would imagine it to be fine to keep hunting wild beasts and the like. But you would never be able to defeat the Demon Lord Krebskulm that way.”

Shera’s breath caught in her throat.

—As I thought, the Demon Lord’s name really is something to fear for the people of this world.

This was what he was thinking, but turned out to be slightly mistaken.

The expression on Shera’s face sank.

“So... Are you really going to choose Rem?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since last night, you’ve been looking only at her, you know?”

“...That was not my intention.”

“Rem’s always worrying about the Demon Lord Krebskulm, right? Even though we don’t know when or where he’ll be resurrected.”

“Y-Yeah.”

It was true that you would think it strange for someone to be so fixated on a Demon Lord that wasn’t even resurrected yet.

Shera didn’t know that the soul of the Demon Lord was sealed inside Rem.

“You’re thinking about defeating the Demon Lord too! So you really are going to pick Rem!?”

“H-Hey!?”

She clung to him, pushing him down.

Even if he wanted to run away, all that was behind him was the wall, and the door and windows were too far away.

Shera wore an earnest expression on her face.

“I need you, Diablo!”

“H-Hm...”

“I’ve kept quiet about it all this time, but... I-I’m... I’m the princess of an Elven country.”

—I knew that! We had this conversation just this afternoon, remember!? Were you really not paying attention to that!?

It was enough to make him worry about her future.

“Celsior said that earlier.”

“Oh, yeah... Did he? I guess he did! I don’t know if it’s because of that, but even though I’m an Elf, my chest is...you know...”

Embarrassed, Shera used her hands to push her chest together.

The two mounds were straining against the fabric of her clothes. Through the seams, he could see her soft-looking cleavage.

“Whoa... A-Are those a particular characteristic of the royal family?”

“I wonder? My mom wasn’t like this. They said it was rare, or something.”

“I see... That’s amazing.”

—I don’t even really know what I’m saying anymore.

“Even though I’m an Elf, because of these, people always look at me funny. All my brother would do is talk about having children...”

“Hold up. You’re supposed to make an heir...with your brother!?”

“That’s what he said. Royalty should marry with royalty to leave a thicker bloodline.”

“Because Elves are close to the Celestials?”

“Yeah, though I don’t really get it myself... But because of that, my brother was always saying stuff like, ‘You can raise the kids, Shera,’ and ‘I want at least three children.’”

“He said that to his actual little sister...”

—If this happened back in Japan, this shit would be taken to court.

“Isn’t it awful!?”

“So, you didn’t like that, which is why you left.”

“That’s half the reason. The other half is because I wanted to know what I could do on my own, and how far I could get.”

“Seems you’re still on your way.”

Shera nodded.

“Yeah, but... If you weren’t here, Diablo, they would have taken me back...”

Celsior and the others were anything but weak.

If Shera had been by herself, they would have caught her easily.

Shera faltered.

“Thank you for today.”

“Y-Yeah...”

He could feel her shaking as she embraced him, like a child that was being comforted by their parent.

As Diablo laid down on the floor, he could feel her chest being pushed up against him. It was warm.

“But...if you choose Rem...then, I...”

“Are we not comrades? Didn’t you say that before?”

“I did... But...”

“Hm?”

“You just made a scary face and didn’t say anything... Rem was smiling, though...”

—That was because no one has ever called me their comrade before; my brain stopped working!

—I was happy.

...If he could just be honest and say it like that, then he wouldn’t have this much trouble communicating with others.

It was embarrassing... And what would happen to his Demon Lord act? Could he be happy about being called a comrade, and still preserve his solemn, majestic demeanor?

But making Shera feel uneasy wasn’t good.

He hadn’t chosen Rem yet, and he had no intention of leaving Shera, either. How should he communicate that to her?

—First of all, it’d be good to get her off of me.

Shera’s supple chest had been pressed up against him the whole time, and the smell of citrus coming from her had been tickling his nose.

Her soft hair brushed against Diablo’s hands.

—Like hell I can think normally in a situation like this!

He went to push her back, so he could get himself off the floor—

But at the worst possible timing, Shera lifted herself up.

“Ah, sorry for being on top of you the whole—”

*Squish*

Diablo ended up pushing her two melons instead.

Wait, this wasn’t right.

—I was trying to push Shera off so I could get up... Well, technically I’m kind of pushing her now, but I was going for her shoulders...

That’s right, he was just trying to push her shoulders.

Shera’s face turned completely red.

“Ah... Uwah...!?”

“Y-You! Listen well!”

“Yes!?”

“I am a Demon Lord! I have no such thing as comrades!”

It would have been great to take his hands off as he said this...

This morning he had felt them from above. While that had been quite the amazing experience, this time was from below. Her chest was fighting against gravity, making the sensation feel twice— No, three times as powerful. It was overwhelming.

—My fingers are being buried in her chest, even though it’s only the outside of her clothes!

“Fwah!”

The soft moan Shera let out reverberated in his brain.

—Not good, not good! We were talking about being comrades!

“I-I have not chosen Rem! Understand!?”

“Really!?”

“Of course! Do not think that a Demon Lord would bend to your wills so easily!”

As he said this, he was toying with her chest.

The sensations would change as he moved his fingers.

Shera twitched and shuddered in reaction to this.

She wasn’t getting angry with him like she had this morning.

“Ah...ngh...no...”

“Um... Because I am a Demon Lord and all...”

“Ngh...fwah...no...! It feels...weird when you touch there...so you can’t...!”

“I-It feels weird!?”

“Yeah...”

He felt something grinding against his lower body.

Looking down while still grasping her chest, Diablo saw that Shera was starting to move her waist.

She was moving her hips, rubbing up against him.

“Uwoh!?”

“Hyah...! D-Don’t...be so rough...”

“Ah! Did that hurt!?”

He had meant to be as soft as possible, but it was true that he was level 150 right now. He had to be extra careful when it came to dealing with any sensitive parts.

—But wait, isn’t this wrong? After all, isn’t it kind of bad to even be stimulating sensitive parts in the first place?

Shera wiped away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes with her fingers.

“No, it didn’t hurt... I was just a little surprised is all... H-Hey, Diablo... Do you like boobs, too?”

“Wha!?”

“I mean, whenever you look at me, you’re always looking at my boobs, right?”

“Uh, well... That’s because they stand out so much...”

—She totally knew the whole time!

“At first, I was a little worried about it... But if it’s you, Diablo...”

“Wha-wha-whaaaa!?”

“If... If you don’t make it hurt...then it’s fine...”

“!?!?!?”

His throat having dried up, all he could do was make a weak noise as air passed through it.

Shera was staring directly at him.

“Ehehe... They’re bigger than Rem’s, right?”

“Well, yeah...”

“The bigger they are, the more you want to touch them, right? If it’s you, then it’s okay!”

“Well...that’s...”

“Ah... Mm...”

—Isn’t this kinda bad?

But even as he thought that, his reasoning just wouldn’t work. All he could do was touch, squeeze, and fondle her voluminous chest.

While listening to Shera’s sweet moans, he felt something stiffen under his hands.

“Is this...?”

He softly pinched it from over her clothes.

The muscles along Shera’s back contracted.

“Nnhaaaaaaa!!“

Her body jolted, as if she had been electrified.

He could feel her body heat rising, emanating to him through her hips.

She was staring at Diablo, eyes glistening.

“Hey... Diablo...”

“Wh-What?“

At that instant, he felt a frigid stare boring into him.

It was a presence more terrifying than he had felt from any of the beasts of the Man-Eating Forest.

Slowly, Diablo turned his eyes around in their sockets.

In the corner of his vision, he saw the door had been thrown wide open.

“Ah...ha...”

A sense of intimidation overwhelmed him. It was enough that he could not even use his Demon Lord act.

With a dreamy look on her face, Shera turned to look.

“Oh, it’s Rem~“

Standing in the open doorway, for some reason wearing glove protectors with spikes sticking out of them, was Rem.

“...It’s fine...after all...I’m small, aren’t I!”

—So she’s been listening since that part...

Afterward, the two of them apologized to Rem in earnest.