Chapter 60

Chapter 60

I Became a Prisoner Trainer in the Dungeon.

Episode 60: Negotiation (2)

I decided to go to the negotiation myself.

[Can you hear me?]

The voice of Chief Steward Akamondu was transmitted through the necklace I was wearing.

[All your conversations and actions will be visible to us through that necklace.]

“Yes.”

The bomb necklace didn’t just serve as a bomb.

[We won’t say anything, but all your voices will be transmitted to us as they are, even the scenes visible through the necklace.]

A miniature camera with recording capabilities.

Even with a bomb attached.

[What do you feel?]

“I feel that magic is truly amazing.”

[……Indeed.]

Chief Steward Akamondu let out a dry laugh.

[There are other executives here. Some are eager to watch your actions, and some haven’t come here at all.]

I couldn’t hear the voices of the other executives.

[And even the Vampire Princess herself is watching.]

But if I considered that this negotiation was practically being shown to the entire vampire legion, I needed to work even harder.

[Just crossing that dimensional gate will take you straight to Baron Gilberte’s territory.]

I scanned left and right.

In case adventurers might pop out from the other side, the succubi were standing guard to protect me, and even Lilith was on standby to use magic.

[Are you ready?]

“All possible preparations are complete.”

Especially the ‘save point’.

Before coming here, before putting on my suit, I quickly made a save point with Eris.

“I will show the rest with actions.”

[Good. …Huh?]

Chief Steward Akamondu was talking to someone.

[Indeed…. The commander of the Third Legion is saying. Are you going to go out with just the name ‘Azazel’?]

I didn’t know who the commander of the Third Legion was.

But the fact that they knew my name was encouraging.

“Is there something wrong with my name?”

[There’s only a name.]

“Isn’t it true that for a demon, a name alone can clearly reveal their existence?”

[That’s also true, but the opponent is human, and we all have family names. We just use our given names because we value the self more than the family name.]

“……I didn’t know that.”

I didn’t know that demons also had their own family names.

Come to think of it, a family name was something inherited from ancestors.

“Indeed. If I use a family name, it seems I can exert pressure even on a noble baron.”

[That’s right. So, about that… what was it? Ahem.]

Chief Steward Akamondu suddenly cleared his throat.

[How about using your… former family name?]

“……?”

I suddenly wondered what he meant, but I was not oblivious.

“Chief Steward, my family name was discarded the moment I knelt before the Vampire Princess. I am no longer my former self.”

Since my family name from my modern life was also a family name, it was not wrong.

‘He’s trying to take care of me this much.’

Chief Steward Akamondu was trying to portray me as being of noble origin.

If it was revealed later that I was of commoner origin, it would have political repercussions for him, but he still defended me in front of the other executives.

“But if I really need a family name, may I humbly request a family name that I can call myself in front of humans?”

[……Hmm. You’re suddenly asking the most important thing.]

As if he didn’t expect this answer, there was a moment of silence.

[That… oh, the Vampire Princess has spoken.]

“The Vampire Princess…?”

[She said you should decide your own family name.]

“…….”

Something very significant, political, and complex seems to have flashed through my mind.

Family name.

If I took a name given by any executive, it meant I’d be associated with that executive.

But if she said I should decide it myself, it was the same as the Vampire Princess giving me the autonomy to create my own family name.

“Understood. Thank you.”

I nodded lightly and stepped forward.

At the same time, in a room of the dungeon in the outer forest of Baron Gilberte’s territory.

“…….”

Baron Gilberte, along with a dozen knights, scanned the rather large common area of the dungeon, looking at the gray mist.

There were no monsters.

They had already been cleared by the knights.

The only things there were a table and two chairs in the center.

A makeshift table and chairs made of wood, not what nobles would use.

Baron Gilberte was displeased with the very idea of sitting on such a chair, but he wasn’t someone who would spend a lot of money on something that was going to be “broken” anyway.

Consideration for the other party?

If there were such consideration, the other party would sit on even these chairs.

In the first place, the other party was a demon.

There was no way a demon would sit properly on these chairs, and even if they did, they’d probably break the chair with a “thump.”

They might even sit on the table like a low stool.

Just setting up this table was merely a formality to show.

If the legion on the other side really wanted to talk, they should at least send a demon.

He couldn’t accurately guess which legion it was, but if it was a specific legion, he hoped it was the Vampire Legion or the Demon Legion.

At least negotiating with magical beasts or undead was problematic in many ways.

“What ridiculous thoughts am I having?”

Tick-tock.

It was time.

While lost in thought, the appointed time had already arrived.

Whoosh.

The dimensional gate sparkled.

It was clear that something was crossing over from the other side of the dungeon, and the knights behind him aimed their swords at the gate.

Thump.

Shoes emerged.

Baron Gilberte immediately recognized that they were no ordinary shoes.

Rustle.

It was a black suit, but the texture of the suit clearly indicated that it was a much more elaborate item than what he was wearing.

And the face.

Though wearing a mask, the unidentified figure held his head high and scanned left and right.

“Demon.”

Baron Gilberte calmly pointed forward.

“Do you wish to negotiate?”

“…….”

The demon walked towards the chair with leisurely steps.

Undeterred by the threat of the knights aiming their swords at him, he calmly sat facing the baron.

“Who are you?”

“Before I introduce myself.”

The voice emanating from inside the mask was somewhat similar to a human voice.

“Are you Baron Gilberte?”

Such natural informality.

It was utterly rude, but Baron Gilberte quickly scanned the demon up and down.

“That’s right.”

A vintage suit.

It had a classic feel, but it was clothing that would probably fetch a high price.

At the very least, he wasn’t a mere subordinate.

The blood-red magic stone embedded in the necklace around his neck alone appeared to be a high-grade magic stone with exquisite craftsmanship.

“I see. As I’ve heard, you look manly. Heh heh.”

But he wasn’t deceived.

Demons were originally beings who only spoke words pleasing to humans.

“Are the subordinates around you trustworthy?”

“What?”

“Are they the kind who are qualified to hear the stories that come out of this place?”

The masked demon pointed around.

The knights frowned, and so did Baron Gilberte.

“Are you trying to sow discord between me and my knights?”

“Sow discord? Did it sound like that? How strange. ‘Previous’ humans were different.”

“…Previous?”

Baron Gilberte felt a chill run down his spine.

Could this demon have negotiated with humans before?

“Well, it’s a thing of the past, so there’s no need to mention it now. So, do you intend to respond to the negotiation?”

“……Jake Gilberte. My half-brother.”

Baron Gilberte asked.

“What happened to him?”

“He’s alive.”

“…….”

“But, if you wish, he can become ‘the deceased’.”

“…….”

Suddenly, Baron Gilberte recalled the letters he had carefully kept in his lordship’s office.

“…Knights.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Everyone except Sir Philip, step back.”

“Yes?!”

“We can’t do that!”

All the knights except the one called Philip raised their voices.

“Who knows what this person might do…!”

“My, my. I thought knights were supposed to be loyal to their lord, but are knights refusing their lord’s orders?”

Baron Gilberte almost wanted to applaud the demon’s words.

Of course, the underlying reason was that the knights were worried about Jake Gilberte, whom they were close to.

Therefore, they shouldn’t hear the specifics of the negotiation.

Only a knight who could be trusted to keep the contents secret or lie to his colleagues should remain.

Fortunately, Sir Philip was “his man” and capable of both.

Thump, thump.

The knights left the room.

They all looked at the masked demon, tilting their heads in puzzlement, but they didn’t sheathe their swords.

Thump.

After the last knight left the room, the masked demon placed his hands neatly on the table.

“Then, shall we have a more intimate conversation?”

“Wait.”

Baron Gilberte raised his hand to stop the demon’s words.

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

“Yes. I am Blake Gilberte. The head of the Gilberte baronial family and the half-brother of Jake Gilberte, whom you are holding hostage. …Who are you?”

“If I were to introduce myself….”

Suddenly.

“Dantalion.”

Baron Gilberte felt as if the eyes inside the mask were curving into crescents.

“Azazel Dantalion. The 37th head of the great Dantalion clan, and one who serves the lord of our great legion.”

“…….”

“And at the same time, one who has been granted full authority from my lord regarding the negotiation with you.”

The masked demon, Azazel Dantalion, fiddled with his red necklace and continued.

“Depending on what you desire, I am the one who can either save Jake Gilberte, kill him, or lock him away forever in our legion’s dungeon.”

“……!”

“What do you desire?”

Even though he knew that the devil’s whispers had to be sweet to seduce people.

“A benevolent lord who wants to kill his half-brother but can’t kill him directly, wants to abandon him but can’t abandon him, and wants to save him at all costs despite unavoidable reasons?”

“…….”

“If you wish, I can make it happen.”

A demon.

A devil who whispered sweet temptations.

“I, Azazel Dantalion, will.”