Dungeon Defense (WN)

Deceiving Gamigin was nothing more than a concurrent task for me.

It honestly wasn’t anything impressive. I was simply teaching a good life lesson to an amateur dater. The sight of me disemboweling myself will probably remain as a trauma for her. Blood, broken glass on the ground, and pained groans…….

From now on, she will probably never try to dominate her future partners because of this trauma. In this regard, I’ve become a great benefactor for all of Gamigin’s future partners. People say that being too nice will only cause inconveniences, but look at me being this nice.

“You’re up?”

Gamigin was acting as usual when I woke up. At a glance, nothing about her had changed. Should I say that this was as expected of her? Her mental state should be extremely unstable right now, but she was good at hiding it. Her mask was perfect.

I also acted like usual.

“Ugh……!”

However, when eating breakfast, I contorted my face and abruptly grabbed my stomach as if it were in pain while I was eating soup. Gamigin dropped her silver spoon in surprise. Her face became pale.

“It’s nothing.”

I put on an awkward smile which made it seem like I was forcing myself to smile.

“I’m all right, Miss Gamigin.”

That was it.

Gamigin couldn’t put her mask back on throughout the entire day. The mask she had created so desperately had fallen apart with little effort.

At lunchtime, there were surprisingly no knives placed on the table among the silverware. This was rather interesting. It seems any sort of knife-like object reminded her of her trauma now. At this rate, she’s going to have a hard time if she goes to war in the future. Hahaha.

I’ll tell Barbatos about this later.

Barbatos is someone who understands my personality fully. There was nothing to hide. Barbatos was also someone who hated humans so much that she would often say things like wanting to make children kill their own parents. In a way, we were mutually equal.

“Tsk tsk.”

Barbatos clicked her tongue from her side of the crystal ball.

“Who knew that the day I would pity Gamigin would ever arrive. You live and learn.”

“Right? How could she have lived for that long and never had a proper relationship before? Sheesh.”

“……Well, yeah. That’s not what I was feeling sympathetic about.”

Barbatos took a puff out of her long pipe.

“Let me ask you something. Do you not feel bad about tricking Gamigin?”

“Hm? Why? The person who gets tricked is at fault.”

“…….”

At that moment, the expression on Barbatos’ face crinkled up so much that I couldn’t possibly describe it with words alone.

I was just being honest. The number of humans that Gamigin slaughtered easily went over ten thousand, so what was so wrong about giving that sort of villain a little trauma?

The person who gets tricked is at fault.

* * *

Keuncuska Firm HQ.

This building was always brimming with customers as there were no products the firm didn’t deal in, whether they were from the demon world or the human continent, and they accepted all customers indiscriminately. Small merchants were making a fuss as they were doing whatever they could to bargain with the staff members of the firm.

The entrance was made out of marble in the style of the ancient republic. Beyond it was a tall, gothic-style structure that looked as if it were built recently. It was magnificent enough to claim the title as the best in the demon world.

This place was my main objective for visiting Niflheim. In order to meet Ivar Lodbrok and see her real body.

However, there was an issue.

Getting here was easy enough after pleasantly leaving Gamigin’s villa, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to meet Ivar Lodbrok. I had forgotten the magic orb I used to directly contact Ivar back at my Demon Lord Castle.

“Ah, I don’t really feel like going all the way back to my Demon Lord Castle after coming all the way here…….”

I was troubled.

It’d be great if there was a reception desk somewhere, but all I could see was a sea of merchants. I was too unfamiliar with the layout of the building. It was silly if you think that I was unfamiliar with the headquarters of the firm that I had traded with hundreds of times now.

I can’t do anything about it now.

I decided to stop and ask one of the staff members.

“Hey, you. Let me ask you something. Where do I have to go to meet Ivar Lodbrok?”

“What?”

The staff member gave me a weird look.

“……Ha, is this guy retarded?”

He let out a snort before continuing on his way.

Well, I wasn’t offended. He probably didn’t know that I’m a Demon Lord. Different from Barbatos and Paimon, my face isn’t that known to the public. ‘There’s a man going out with several female Demon Lords,’ this is the most that people know about me.

I didn’t let this bother me as I stopped another person.

“You there. I don’t know the layout of the building that well. Do you perhaps know where Ivar Lodbrok is?”

“The exit is that way.”

The staff member politely pointed outside the building. She walked away with quick, short steps.

Mm.

“Ivar Lodbrok? You aren’t talking about our chief, right?”

“How can a perfectly normal-looking man go so insane? Keke.”

“Why are you bothering me with this bullshit when I’m busy!”

The same thing happened dozens of times.

The staff members either cursed at me or ignored me whenever I approached them. It wasn’t like I didn’t understand them. To them, Ivar Lodbrok wasn’t simply the CEO of the firm they worked for. He was the God of the business world who had been reigning for hundreds of years.

It’d be like a tourist going to the Vatican and asking ‘Where do I have to go to meet the pope?’. People would probably give them weird gazes. It was the same here. Except, understanding with my head was a separate matter from progressing the situation.

I was standing in the center of the busy marketplace like a solitary island.

“……What should I do?”

Should I show the horn on the back of my head to prove that I’m a Demon Lord? No, I still have my dignity as a Demon Lord……. Moreover, not only do I only have one horn, but it’s also rather small for a Demon Lord.

Among Demon Lords, your horn size was comparable to a dick measuring contest between men. You were respected the larger it was and ignored the smaller it was. My horn was so small that it was almost invisible under my hair.

“I don’t really want to show it…….”

It was hopeless.

I continued to ask for directions while hoping that I’ll luckily find a nice person. However, far from being nice, there were only sharp-tempered assholes here. One of them even called the guards to chase me out, saying that I was a crazy person.

3 orc guards came up to me.

“Guest, you cannot act like this here.”

The orc who appeared to have the higher position growled in a rather refined tone despite his looks. His toned body made it obvious that it’d be dangerous to mess with him.

“Listen here. I really received an invitation from Ivar Lodbrok. I’m a Demon Lord.”

“Jeez, it seems this rude customer won’t listen with just words. Guide him outside.”

“Hah…….”

I scratched my head.

“It probably won’t matter if I say this to you guys, but you’ll regret this soon. I’m serious.”

“Huhu.”

The orc guard laughed while showing his teeth.

“I’d regret it if I don’t make a rude customer like you leave. Well, I don’t like violence. Let’s proceed peacefully so we don’t have any bitter feelings toward each other afterward.”

“Mm.”

If I wanted to, I could use my power as a Demon Lord to force them to listen. But I don’t like making a scene. There’s something Barbatos would always say to me whenever she had the chance, and that was to please keep my dignity.

My body is no longer mine alone. It’s funny, but that’s the truth. I’m the lover of Barbatos, Sitri, and Gamigin……. If my reputation goes down, then theirs will as well.

What would happen if a rumor got around saying that a Demon Lord mercilessly used his controlling power over the good people in the middle of a market hall? Niflheim consists of demons with a composed society. They aren’t just a bunch of savage monsters. It might be different on the battlefield, but doing it thoughtlessly in a place like this would only sully the names of Demon Lords.

“Fine. I’ll walk out on my own two feet.”

“Don’t come back.”

I ended up sitting helplessly next to the fountain in front of the HQ building.

I absentmindedly watched the sun set behind the city.

A light gust blew through the city. The laundry lines that were set out like spiderwebs between buildings fluttered.

Articles of clothing and blankets fluttered in the wind as if they were coincidentally caught on the lines after flying through the air. They all swayed in the same direction like a bunch of leaves on a tree branch.

Those who have never stepped on air before and, even if they did, most likely did for only a moment before stepping foot on new land, were talking, working, and returning home. I heard a young girl’s voice from somewhere.

“Apples! Freshly picked apples for sale!”

Another voice shouted.

“No, even if it were really big.”

A large cloud went over the city. A long shadow was cast over the city spires, expansive rooftops, and streets made of stone. The cloud soon passed the city. People were momentarily sad about the loss of the cool shade, but that was it. They returned their eyes back to the things that attracted their attention around them. The one thing that was clear was the fact that no one paid any interest in the man sitting quietly next to the fountain.

It was after about 3 hours that a rather extravagant carriage came to a stop in front of me.

A man hastily exited the carriage.

“Well, if it isn’t Sir Dantalian!”

The man expressed his friendliness by taking my hands in his.

Rank 68 Demon Lord Belial. Ever since Barbatos saved him when his Demon Lord Castle was about to get captured by the human army, he would act kindly to me since I happened to be Barbatos’ lover.

“Ah, Sir Belial. It has been a while.”

I smiled slightly.

Referentially, there was also a time when I suspected that this guy was the culprit who supported Riff’s party from behind. Although I had forgotten about that since there was no proof.

“I never imagined that I would meet you here on the street like this. No, may I ask for what reason you are here sitting calmly on the floor?”

“Haha. I was actually chased out from the firm.”

“Pardon me?”

Belial’s eyes opened wide in shock.

“You were chased out?”

“I came here because I have an appointment with the chief of Keuncuska, but the staff members must have failed to realize that I’m a Demon Lord as they refused to let me see him. It is troubling. I promised I would get here before evening…….”

Belial let out a weird gasp.

“Couldn’t you have used your Demon Lord authority?”contemporary romance

“There were too many people around. I was afraid that bad rumors might begin to circulate if I were to use it.”

“That’s true……. Huh. That’s a turn-up for the books.”

In the end, I was able to arrive at the reception desk with Belial’s help. This desk was meant specifically for welcoming VIP guests. It was on the complete opposite side of where I was, so I wasn’t able to find it.

“Thank you very much, Sir Belial.”

“Think nothing of it……haha.”

Belial left after guiding me here.

The old man soon came down once I told the receptionist to notify Ivar Lodbrok of my presence. It was Ivar Lodbrok’s clone. He was accompanied by subordinates on both his sides as if he were some mafia member. He bowed deeply the moment he saw me.

“I greet the O Great Being!”

I waved my hand.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re working hard. I’ll allow you to skip the pleasantries.”

“My apologies, Your Highness, but I thought you would arrive sooner…….”

Ivar Lodbrok spoke in a slightly perplexed tone.

We didn’t set an exact meeting time, but we did say that we would be meeting today. The other party was probably waiting all day. It definitely wasn’t polite to keep them waiting. Especially when the person in question was the chief of Keuncuska.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

“I actually arrived three or four hours ago.”

“Pardon me? Why did Your Highness not come up?”

“I was chased out.”

Ivar Lodbrok made the same expression Belial did earlier.

“My apologies, but this humble one is struggling to understand…….”

“People failed to realize I’m a Demon Lord, so I was chased out by the guards.”

“…….”

The temperature around us instantly dropped to below freezing.

“I revealed that I’m a Demon Lord, but they insulted me and said I was a rude customer.”

Ivar Lodbrok’s expression became ghastly pale as if he had just witnessed the end of the world.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This was a fun chapter. Nothing too big, but it makes you look forward to see how Ivar will try to amend the situation. On another unrelated note, next chapter has a chance of being a day late because I have to go to like a pre-wedding dinner tomorrow. Basically, our family is going to have a meal at the wedding hall where my brother is going to get married to ‘test the food’. It doesn’t sound like much, but it might end up taking up my whole day depending on how long people talk for… God I hope it doesn’t last long.

In any case, if the next chapter comes out a bit late, it’s because of that. I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

done.co