episode_0066

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“It’s too quiet.”

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As the ceremony neared its end, we confidently went down to the basement without killing anyone.

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There was also a gatekeeper demon who guarded the door as if it were his own bedroom, but since he was only a small child barely over level 20, there was no need to use magic.

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Considering Felt’s level at this time in the original game, the gatekeepers were quite powerful enemies, but that’s the story of the original game.

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I easily took it down with a few swings of the staff I brought from Lang’s warehouse.

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First of all, since I have acquired a close-range job called Forest Knight, I can deal with enemies of the same level with a club.

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It was good to go down to the basement after dealing with the gatekeeper, but I couldn’t see the devil and devil worshipers who were supposed to be on the stairs leading down to the basement.

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I stopped for a moment and looked around, and I saw trash that looked like butts.

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When I lifted the butt and looked at it closely, I realized that it was not an ordinary cigarette butt, but a drug rolled up like a cigarette.

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Perhaps he was trying to overcome his fear with medicine.

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It didn’t look like the ceremony had been moved to another location, so we continued down.

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Sarah said she wouldn’t have time to move somewhere else now, so it was definitely down here.

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“… Why is there a basement like this in the main building?”

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“Well, maybe it was some kind of shelter? They may have been planning to house the residents here in case of war or a horde of monsters attacking the royal capital.”

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“Acceptance? Did you care about the citizens?”

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“At least, it must have been made with that in mind in the past.”

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The history of the Academy is an institution so old that it can be said to be similar to the history of the kingdom, so it may be a remnant of an era when this country has not yet decayed.

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Or, it may have been intended to be used as a shelter for noble students in times of emergency.

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Anyway, I don’t know how the devil worshipers knew about this place, but judging by its size and everything else, it is the perfect place to summon a devil.

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“It’s a bit ironic that a place like this is used as a base for devil worshippers, but… . This is also the trend of the times, so what can we do?”

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“… The flow of the times. Does a person’s mind change so easily over time?”

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“Hundreds of years have passed. But there is one thing that hasn’t changed even after all these years. Sarah, do you know what that is?”

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“… What is that?”

“It is my sense of mission to achieve 100% in the illustrated book!”

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“Ha… .”

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After continuing to go downstairs while chatting like a joke, we finally arrived at the bottom floor.

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Upon reaching the bottom floor, the first thing that struck me was a door with a fancy decoration.

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The architect who designed the basement probably designed it as a shelter or something similar, but the black door with various decorations created an eerie atmosphere, perhaps because there were devil worshipers behind it.

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It was a door that had the feeling that if there were a gate to hell, it would be like this.

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“Do you need to prepare your mind?”

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“No way.”

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Sarah laughed as if she was asking who she was saying such things to.

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It was a funny thing to ask Sarah, who was half a devil, such a question in front of devil worshipers.

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When I opened the door, which was as heavy as a weight had been hung inside, the first thing I felt was the terrible fishy smell seeping through the cracks in the door that made me frown.

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It didn’t take long to realize that it was the stench of blood.

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It is a den of devil worshipers.

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Since they were probably in the middle of a ritual, it wasn’t strange at all to smell like this.

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It was so dark beyond the door that I could see through the gap in the door, so I couldn’t see even an inch in front of me.

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I had no choice but to take a lantern out of my inventory and shine it in front of me, only then did I realize that blood that had not yet solidified was all over the floor.

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“… It’s like blood that just flowed.”

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Judging by the fact that the door was closed, it appears that all the sacrifices needed for the ritual have been supplied, but it looks like something went wrong inside.

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It was a familiar scene in its own way, as it was a scene that had been seen several times in the original work.

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“They don’t know if they have more than they can afford, and they end up like this because they are greedy. I think I understand why these guys have degenerated into devil worshipers.”

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Sera glanced sideways at the blood on the floor and clicked her tongue.

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When we turned our heads away from Sarah and tried to light the room with the lantern, eight red eyes glared at us from across the room as if to stop us.

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“Maybe that’s it?”

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“It will be right.”

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“… It’s rude to do that with the devil right in front of you.”

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When I lifted the lantern to illuminate the room, what I saw was a huge spider that seemed to be several meters long.

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The spider demon’s entire body is covered in a smooth exoskeleton, and its exoskeleton is made up of white and black, giving the impression that it is wearing a tuxedo.

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For now, they are just watching us quietly, but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.

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The opponent is a high-ranking devil who is presumed to have a title.

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Because he has an outstanding intellect appropriate for his status, unlike low-level demons like gremlins, you don’t know what he’s thinking inside.

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“Did you kill the guys here?”

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“Yes. Since he did not know the value and wanted to make a contract with a small person, he demanded that he pay the appropriate amount of tribute.”

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And this is the result.

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The leader of the devil worshipers was blinded by this devil’s power and immediately agreed to his request, but unfortunately he did not pay enough tribute.

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The demon summoned by offering Tyrone’s body as an offering was a higher-ranking demon several levels higher than he had assumed.

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“The contractor who summoned me attempted to cover the tribute by offering his own men. However, even if they offered low-quality meat whose soul was pledged to another devil, there was no way they could cover the tribute.”

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However, that does not mean that the decision to enter into a contract was not made late.

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In the end, the devil laughed out loud, saying that the last thing he sacrificed was himself.

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“Of course, even if I pay tribute, I have no intention of becoming a subordinate of such low-level bastards. Of course you are different. Because you have enough power to make a contract with me. Especially the person behind you.”

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When I glanced back at Sarah, she hesitated a little, perhaps because she was embarrassed at being suddenly singled out.

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“… What is it?”

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“I don’t know why, but I feel the power of our king in you. Did your mother have intercourse with the devil?”

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Our eyes simultaneously turned to the spider demon as we couldn’t just ignore it.

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“Do you know what kind of devil’s blood Sera has?”

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“Yes, of course I know. If it were someone else, there would be no way for them to know the bloodline of the lord they serve, right?”

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“… Even if I ask you to teach me, you won’t tell me, right?”

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“Of course. Because I serve Him, not my lineage or family, I will not suffer any loss even if I am of His bloodline.”

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Of course, it is different if there is an order, he added, adding that it is probably a good thing for now.

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“Then what would you do? Personally, I hope the young lady will sign the contract.”

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“I will make a contract. What do you want as a tribute?”

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“For human sacrifice, 10 level 30 warriors. When it comes to goods, I want something equivalent.”

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“… … .”

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10 level 30 warriors.

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It was cheap considering it was an offering for a demon over level 50, but it couldn’t be prepared right away.

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The royal capital is a place where powerful people flock, so finding it itself will not be difficult, but if you are at that level, you will usually belong to a certain faction.

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There were some things that were burdensome to mess with carelessly, but more than anything, it wasn’t something that could be prepared right away.

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‘… Chungin is.’

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I might accept it, but I’m quite reluctant to sacrifice a familiar to the devil.

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There would be a lot of backlash, and more than anything, I don’t want to do that.

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Therefore, the options were naturally narrowed down to one.

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“Spider Demon. Do you like honey?”

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“Do you mean honey?”

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The spider demon tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the intention for a moment, but then nodded.

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“Yes, I tend to like it. But please don’t misunderstand. Just because I look like a spider doesn’t mean I have spider-like habits.”

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“Do spiders like honey?”

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“Well. I’m not sure, but it’s rich in nutrients, so wouldn’t you like it if you fed it? I think the story leaked a little more than that. Huh… .”

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What on earth did the spider demon do? He cleared his throat slightly and continued speaking.

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“If you are preparing honey as an offering, you will need to prepare several tens of tons. This is honey worth as much as 10 level 30 warriors.”

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“I don’t have it, but I don’t think I need to pay that much.”

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I took out the honey that restores mana from my inventory and handed it to the spider demon.

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The spider demon must have recognized its value at a glance, so he took the honey in silence, his legs shaking slightly in embarrassment.

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“… This is.”

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“It’s honey that restores mana. In addition to this, there is honey that restores vitality and honey that restores poison or paralysis.”

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“… Recently, a subordinate offered me honey similar to this. They offered it to me, saying it was honey with special powers made by Fairy.”

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The spider demon tore off the bottle cap with its sharp legs, licked the honey off the tip of its legs, and said:

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“It tastes like honey.”

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“I guess it’s the honey we paid as tribute. How much do you think the honey that contains this mana or the honey that restores vitality is worth?”

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“… Considering its scarcity and market value, it would be difficult to find an item of this much value. However, if you ask me if this is worth 10 first-class knights, I am reluctant to answer.”

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The spider demon said that and waited for me with a look on his face that seemed to tell me to refute it.

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Is this really the time for bargaining?

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“It all depends on what you think. It’s just ordinary honey now, but depending on how it’s processed, it could become an ingredient for a great potion. There must be several demons in the demon world who have mastered alchemy, right? Aren’t they definitely covetous?”

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“Maybe so. However, as I am not an expert, I cannot judge what potential they will see in this honey.”

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“Don’t try to diminish its value by saying things like that. On the other hand, it might be of great value, right? In comparison, what about the soul of a warrior?”

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It’s rare to find a level 30 warrior, but it doesn’t mean you can’t find one if you set your mind to looking for one.

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If you were to ask whether it was rare because the majority of nobles already had warriors of that caliber under their command, it was definitely not the case.

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“Souls without bodies do not grow, so unless something serious happens, the value of souls will not increase. So to speak, the soul has high lows, but low highs.”

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“… … .”

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“On the other hand, this honey is not comparable to the knight’s soul, but it has a decent low point and the high point is so high that it cannot be compared to the soul. Moreover, I am currently the only stable supplier of this honey.”

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It is possible to obtain it from the wild, but because many factors must overlap, collecting it from the wild is not a very realistic method.

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Currently, I am the only person in the world who can provide this honey in a stable manner.

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“Isn’t that kind of honey as good as the souls of knights spread far and wide?”

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“… great. I lost. I was thinking of whacking him a little, but he’s not an easy person.”

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The condition thus decided was to offer ten pieces each of honey that restores mana and honey that restores vitality every month for a year.

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“After one year, the contract will be completed and I will serve you as my master until the day she dies.”

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“… Yes.”

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When the contract was established with the above conditions, a dark mana was exchanged between Sera and the spider demon.

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This may have created some kind of connection between the two.

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“Prince, Count of Hell. From this moment on, I will serve Lady Sarah.”

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As the spider demon bowed his head politely, Sera nodded silently with a determined expression.

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Signed a contract with Prince.

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With this, it was time to finally solve one of the riddles that Sarah had had for her entire life.

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“Prince. Who is the devil who made up half of me? What is your master’s name?”

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“… With my humble body, I am afraid to even mention His name. Lady Hana asks a question, and I have no choice but to answer despite my fear. He is the one who boasts the highest power in the demon world, leading 66 legions in the east.”

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The first lord of Hell.

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The Grand Duke of Hell.

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Prince spoke quietly, reciting a terrifying tinnitus whose power could be guessed just by hearing it.

“His name is Baal. You are my lord and the giver of life.”