The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 16

“Then, good luck to you all!”

Mori, who was acting like a Trojan horse, clung to us and whispered.

“Kikik… Aren’t they total losers?”

I expected the security to be lax, but not this much.

“Watch your mouth, Mori.”

“Bill, how can humans be so simple? They trust their own rules too much. What’s this little pass for?”

Well, I don’t agree with Mori’s words. It’s ridiculous to expect the level of system boundaries in this remote place.

“You shouldn’t underestimate them too much. Lucifer told me not to make even a speck of mistake in serving Faust.”

“I know, I know. I’m just excited to go out after a long time. Why don’t you have some fun?”

“I don’t have that much time.”

Yeah, I’m not here to play.

“Faust, the village is quiet, isn’t it?”

“It’s the usual atmosphere. It’s a rural village.”

“I see. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen humans so lively.”

“…Do you like humans?”

“The opposite. I hate and despise them. If it wasn’t for the mission, I would have killed them all…”

Humans committed terrible crimes until they took over most of the Solaria continent. The dark elves were among the victims of those crimes.

It’s not only the demons who hate them on this continent.

“Find a place to stay.”

“Yes.”

“Bill, that place looks good.”

They look like a perfect trio of adventurers, but one is a demon and the other two are classified as monsters.

Squeak…

“Are you with those two from earlier? Upstairs.”

Nod.

Bill and Mori were waiting at the door.

“Stay down. I’ll call you later.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Swoosh…

After they went down, I touched the table in the room for no reason.

I asked for a room with a table to talk, and they understood and found a suitable room.

‘He’s smart.’

Of course, Bill’s side.

Mori was a bit too free-spirited to worry about.

‘It’s the personality of a doppelganger, after all.’

Anyway.

Before I talked to the guys downstairs, I had to sort out my thoughts and tasks.

There were three main reasons why I came to Riudira, the closest village to the dungeon.

First, to establish a basis for intelligence activities.

After clearing the first episode, contrary to what I expected, no other messages appeared except for the dungeon defense message.

‘The episode guide didn’t show up.’

In the mobile game Lemegeton, the user could press a button to start the adventurer’s invasion.

Although they were being attacked, the decision was actually in the hands of the dungeon owner, the user.

‘But reality is different.’

Adventurers raid the dungeon at unexpected times, in unexpected sizes. I realized that right after the first raid. This way, the initiative goes to the adventurers.

‘That can’t happen. Never.’

At any moment, the initiative must be with this Faust.

In that sense, it was natural that I started building an intelligence network as soon as the intelligence function was opened.

‘I have to get the information myself for now.’

The system is not perfect.

That means, the story can go in a different direction than what I knew, and I can face a crisis in an unexpected place.

If it weren’t for Mori, the doppelganger, and Bill, the dark elf assassin, I might have come here alone.

Bill’s disguise was amazing. He changed my hair and eyebrows from black to blond in the blink of an eye.

If I had kept the black hair, the symbol of the demons, I wouldn’t have passed the security even with a pass.

To blend in with human society, you have to be like them. Talk like them, act like them. Could the greenskin I left in the dungeon pass the security I passed? Never.

Anyway,

The basics of intelligence are information collection and manipulation. It sounds plausible, but this intelligence activity needs to get out of the early stages of the game.

‘In the early stages, I just collect gossip or spread bad rumors in the village.’

But I can’t be complacent. The biggest difference between the game and reality is, maybe, that the result is infinitely amplified depending on my effort.

That’s why I sent out one of the few four-star monsters in the dungeon to the outside instead of using it for defense.

“Mori, come up.”

They must be listening to me wherever they are.

Knock knock…

“Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

Squeak…

He pushed the paper he had been scribbling on the table.

“Hmm?”

“It’s a mission. Take over this place by any means necessary.”

“A simple map and a group name, huh?”

“They’re rookies. Half of them are thieves and half of them are vagrants. They’re not worth much, but I expect them to provide the hands and ears we need. If you have the skills, you can easily take over them.”

“…”

…Huh?

Why is he reacting like that?

…I see.

He’s rebellious.

“Hmm… How do you know this information… Can I be curious?”

A flippant attitude.

How should I respond, hmm.

‘Oh, I have that.’

One of Faust’s abilities seemed very appropriate for this situation. The problem is how to use it… It shouldn’t be too hard. I naturally unleashed the energy as if I knew how to do it from the beginning.

Swoosh…

Grrr…

“Ugh…”

No whining.

“…Mori.”

“…Yes.”

“From this moment on, I will not allow any questions from you.”

Bang…

He was eroded by the energy, and Mori barely answered with his head on the floor.

“Yes… Ah, I understand.”

“Contact me through Bill.”

Swoosh…

He handed him another piece of paper.

“I won’t be in touch for a while. I wrote down the basic rules of conduct.”

Gulp…

“Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes! Then…”

“Leave.”

Squeak…

I trust Mori to do his job well. He’s a four-star monster, after all. He may seem like a wimp to Faust, but a four-star monster is not a common creature.

“That’s that…”

He used the power that made Mori, who had been arrogant all along, kneel.

[Check Faust’s strength: the quality of a ruler.]

[Faust can use his innate magic to intimidate others.]

[Tip: Faust can use the dignity of a ruler to create favorable situations for negotiation and governance.]

In fact, this strength of the ruler’s quality was a controversial topic among the users, because it was a very passive power in the game.

‘It was just something I used when I had choices or intimacy work. The effect was hard to feel.’

The result of actually using it was.

‘It’s not bad. I think there are a lot of places I can use it.’

Well then, one of the reasons I came here is solved.

‘Now for the second one.’

The second reason I came to Riudira was related to a problem I had been thinking about for a while.

‘I’m not getting enough magic stones and other materials.’

The difference between the game and reality was evident everywhere. The early concept of Lemegeton, before various features were added, was that Faust, who was aiming for the Demon King’s throne, ran the dungeon and steadily crushed the adventurer parties to grow.

Of course, the users could melt their fatigue and invite intruders to the dungeon as soon as they logged in.

‘But, reality is not like that.’

It’s only possible in the game that adventurers endlessly pour into the dungeon.

Most of the adventurers who enter the dungeon die. Of course, someone will question what’s going on in the vicinity, and dozens of adventurer parties will be prevented from leaving.

If the number of adventurer parties looking for the dungeon decreases drastically compared to the game? Of course, there will be a gap in resource supply.

‘…It’s more harsh than no-charge.’

This causes a shortage of magic stones and resources. So I need to find another way to get magic stones.

Thud…

What I just put on the table was part of the luggage left by the annihilated Troia party. I only brought things that were small and light.

In other words, spoils.

One of the methods I focused on to fill the shortage of magic stones was this.

Loot.

It’s garbage that has no use for me in the dungeon, but it’s different for humans. Expensive jewels or emergency money that party members secretly twisted will surely have a high value in human society.

“Bill.”

“Did you call me?”

“Come in.”

“Okay.”

Squeak…

Like before, he handed him a piece of paper on the table.

“It’s a name.”

“Find this guy. He’s the loot dealer of Riudira. He deals with a lot of cheap stuff, but for now, we have to go through him.”

“If it’s a trade with humans… Won’t our identity be exposed?”

“Only until we can act independently. Soon…”

“Soon…?”

“…You’ll find out when the time comes.”

“I understand.”

Unlike Mori, Bill followed my words obediently. After that, he delivered the same rules of conduct as he did to Mori, and then let him go.

They’ll be fine without me worrying.

“Well, then… Let’s check out the other reason I came to Riudira.”

* * *

He pretended to have a grand reason, but this reason was personal unlike the previous ones.

The method of verification was not that hard either.

“Hahaha! So, that inspiration got killed by Karl Kurso?”

“Hey, lower your voice.”

“Who’s listening here? Right, bro?”

The drunken guy rudely talked to me who was sitting nearby.

“Don’t mind me.”

“See, it’s fine.”

“Ahem… Anyway, as I said. They say Karl Kurso showed up in Ludein.”

“…Are you sure?”

The man who was laughing until now asked with a serious expression as the name Karl Kurso was mentioned again.

“Why would I lie? That vicious murderer is so notorious.”

“That… he mutilated the eyes of the corpses…”

“Yeah, he did it with something sharp.”

“Damn… He deserves to die. Let’s see… Then maybe he’s here too…”

“No matter what, would he be that idle? Ludein and this place are quite far apart. There must be some personnel dispatched from the system because of the bounty hunter, right?”

“Well, even the greatest murderer wouldn’t come to this remote place…”

Squeak…

The drunkards’ talk reached my ears as I left the seat.

“Look at that, he’s uncomfortable.”

“Hmm… Was he really uncomfortable?”

Whoo…

The night wind was cold.

The beer was bitter and I could taste the barley.

It was tasteless.

I decided to think that way.

I didn’t have enough mental leeway to enjoy the entertainment here.

Another reason I came here was to check how much freedom Faust had.

“Currently… it seems like there’s not much restriction.”

If there’s no restriction on external activities, I could abandon the dungeon and hide for survival.

‘If I can solve this heart disease.’

I barely survived a near-death crisis by resonating with the dungeon core of the abandoned dungeon, the Rotten Root.

Now that things have gone this way, the dungeon is Faust, and Faust is the dungeon.

So the mission to protect the dungeon is like an absolute principle.

‘So far, the activity is… Riudira?’

Faust of Lemegeton was not that free.

As long as he was a demon, his free activity was only up to the nearby village until the episode surged.

Besides, as he got farther away from the dungeon core, he seemed to show symptoms of heart disease, so he had to be careful.

Well, I haven’t tested it yet, but if I think a little loosely, it might not be impossible to go to the nearby big city…

‘Assuming that my identity is not exposed.’

Besides, sporadic events can happen, so it’s not something to think about deeply.

It was the same in Lemegeton. When the users who enjoyed intelligence activities crossed the line and acted for a long time, events that revealed the identity of the demons or the pursuers occurred.

At that time… I barely rescued him from almost dying and passed it off with a scene of waking up in the dungeon, but if that situation happened in reality, I would die without a chance…

“Well, for now… I have to focus on the most important thing.”

The last and most important reason I came to Riudira for intelligence activities.

‘Karl Kurso.’

Episode 1, the investigation of the final boss.