Volume 2 - CH 1.02

Part 2

The Feudal Lord’s mansion——

Further in the center of the Central District, in the most central part of the town, there was a noticeably large estate.

The walls were made of brick and it even had three floors.

The doors and window frames that were here and there all had exquisite reliefs carved into them, and even the walls that surrounded the building had designs on them. It was an elegant estate.

At the left and right of the main entrance, armored guards were standing.

When Sylvie called out to them, the group was immediately shown into the gate.

A butler came out from the estate and respectfully lowered his head.

Led by him, they went through the beautifully maintained garden, passed through the entrance hall, and walked down a long corridor.

On the floor, a deep red carpet was laid out.

If this were a talk about the game, this red color was only used in dwellings of “really important Humans” such as high-grade nobles or royalty.

Since an event where one would meet with the Feudal Lord of Faltra City was still not implemented in the game, this was Diablo’s first time coming here.

At most, he held an image of something like a town mayor or something, but it seems that the Feudal Lord was a character of a much more amazing status.

The butler that guided Diablo’s group knocked on a door and informed the person behind it.

「Galford-sama, I have brought the Adventurer’s Guild Guildmaster and her party.」

For some reason, Diablo felt an excitement and nervousness like he was about to rush into a boss’s room.

A composed and heavy voice was raised from the other side of the door.

「Come and enter.」

There was a solemnity that made one straighten their back just by listening to it.

After the butler gave a notice with an 「Excuse me」, he opened the door and then stepped to the side.

It was a spacious room that had a red carpet laid out.

On the wall in front of them, there was a window with glass fit into it. This was the first time that he had seen glass that was this large and distortionless in this world.

And then, on the walls to the left and right, there were doors. Other than those, the rest of the walls only had artistically designed bookshelves.

On the bookshelves that nearly reaching the ceiling, various sized books were lined up.

Going by the pattern of the MMORPG Cross Reverie, the doors to the left and right were places where the small fry monsters that protect the boss would come out from.

——Well, if I think about it normally, they’re probably the bedroom or the reference room.

At the center of the room, there was an extravagant long table and six chairs were arranged.

And then, there was a large desk for official duties.

With his back to the wall that had the Lifelia Kingdom’s flag hanging upon it——A Human man that was in the prime of his life was standing.

He wore a white military uniform.

Since this world’s culture level was about the middle period of the Middle Ages, soap powder was expensive and something like bleach didn’t exist. White clothing was a high-class item, and for him to use a military uniform that was easy to get dirty, it was unthinkable for him to use it other than for special people.

He kept his black hair short like military personnel, and he had wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and his brow.

The glint in his eyes were sharp enough to seem like they would make a Demonic Beast run away.

「Fumu……Has it been finished?」

——Just what had been finished? Diablo has no idea.

With an “Ahaha”, Sylvie made a strained laugh.

「For the time being, I had Diablo-san undertake the quest.」

The Feudal Lord narrowed his eyes.

「So he undertook it. In that case, he should promptly resolve the problem. I don’t mind if the report to me is done after the mission has been completed.」

In other words, his “Has it been finished?” was a question that meant “Has the war been stopped?”.

If it were in the game, he would have gotten through as an “NPC with those kinds of lines” but the people of this world thought and were alive.

——Just how short-tempered is this guy?

Having made such a difficult commission, the feeling of asking if it had been resolved when not even half the day has passed was something that Diablo could not understand.

Sylvie talked as if to try and calm the situation down.

「Well……This is a quest with a high degree of difficulty after all. We were wondering if we could get some information.」

「Uh-huh, though I don’t think that we’ll make you wait that long, you know? Probably……Uhm……Oh right, shouldn’t we do some self-introductions?」

Sylvie looked like she was talking extremely carefully.

And the Feudal Lord was oppressive.

Diablo didn’t know how great he was, but he probably didn’t need to be dealt with like this. Diablo knew that the Feudal Lord clearly looked down on Adventurers.

It was irritating.

However, because his intimidating air was too strong, if Diablo were to relax his attention, he felt like he would avert his eyes.

——It’ll be bad if I show a timid attitude.

If he were to be judged as “not worthy of being afraid of” by this Feudal Lord, he might be challenged to a fight right here. He needed to make the Feudal Lord think “it’s disadvantageous to oppose him”.

Diablo glared at the Feudal Lord.

The other party opened his mouth first.

「Good grief……So Adventurers don’t even know the name of the Feudal Lord……」

「They just came to Faltra City a few days ago.」

「Remember it well……I am Lieutenant General Chester Ray Galford. I have been entrusted with Fortress City Faltra by His Majesty the King.」

「Hmph……So you’re the Feudal Lord that stood idly by and watched even though Demonic Beings appeared in the town.」

A few days ago, when the Demonic Being Gregor appeared, the one that came running and crushed him was Diablo.

Galford bit his molars to the point that sounded like he made a *Giri* sound.

「……It just meant that the situation was settled before I received the report. I don’t think that it caused any particular problem though?」

「That was fortunate for you then.」

While concealing how frightened he was on the inside, Diablo expressed a smile on his mouth.

He had no recollection of Galford’s name. Perhaps, he may have remembered the settings of Cross Reverie but didn’t remember the names of NPCs that had no events.

As if to calm the atmosphere down, Rem courteously did a self-introduction.

「I am called Rem Galeu. I am a level 40 Adventurer and a Summoner. Ah, um, it’s not like this person has any ill intent but……」

Raising one hand, Galford interrupted her words.

「I am aware that Adventurers do not know of etiquette.」

「……Excuse me.」

「Rem Galeu-kun, it would be best if you re-think your place of employment…… I’ve heard that the Magician’s Guild has invited you to join them. You can’t possibly do something like being an Adventurer forever.」

「……Th, that’s true but……Right now, I also have my own plans.」

Even though the Guildmaster was right before his eyes let alone a regular Adventurer, that was a surprising manner of speaking.

Sylvie wryly smiled.

「How relentless.」

「My subordinates have done an investigative report on you people. It would seem that some small problems had occurred.」

「…….Problems, you say?」

「Like how you intimidated a guard at Fort Bridge Ulg, or how you destroyed stone paving and buildings in the southern streets using magic……I can’t get my hopes up for an Adventurer that does such irreproachable conduct.」

「There were, reasons for that!」

It wasn’t just Rem, even Shera refuted it.

「That’s right! Diablo isn’t in the wrong for that!」

「There’s one thing I’ll ask……You’ve been calling yourself a “Demon King of another world”, correct? Is that true?」

A provocative question was asked. The Demon King role play that was deeply ingrained into his body unconsciously exploded.

「Kukuku……I don’t mind showing you proof that I can turn you to cinders, you know?」

Diablo glared back.

——Ooooohhhhh ssshhhiiiittt!!

That just now was said to the wrong person! Since those words with atmosphere were said, he unconsciously rode along with it!

Panicking, Rem and Shera jumped at him.

They grabbed both his hands.

「H, hold on a second, Diablo!」

「That’s right! Although ashes are no good, cinders are also no good, you know!?」

「Achaa……」

Sylvie’s face went pale. It looked like she would collapse at any moment.

Galford slowly closed the gap between them.

——Will things turn into a fight at this rate!?

Could he win if it were one-on-one?

However, it would be troublesome if he were to call in soldiers……Did they have no choice but to run away?

A cold sweat went down along his spine. Nevertheless, Diablo stuck with his arrogant looking smile.

The other party came right before his eyes.

「As long as the commission is achieved, I won’t mind even if it was the Demon King that did it. Are you beneficial to my dominion? Or are you harmful? That’s all I am interested in.」

「Hmph……Since you’ve caught my interest, I’ll only lend a hand. Don’t be mistaken and think that you’ve subdued me.」

「Fumu……As I thought, there are many eccentric ones among those that are called Adventurers.」

Diablo felt irritation from those words that seemed to ridicule all Adventurers let alone him.

In other words, he was arbitrarily determined to be a painful guy that would self-proclaim himself as a “Demon King of another world”.

Well yeah, he certainly was self-proclaimed though? But, would they believe him if he were to say that he was “a Player that was summoned as his game character”?

His desire to be a shut-in was bubbling up.

He wanted to shut himself away in his room and play online games throughout the day. If it were like that, he wouldn’t have to talk with this kind of forceful adult.

——No, this is where I need to endure.

In order to protect Shera, it would be better to not oppose this Feudal Lord. To see through that kind of situation, this might be the way to cope with it.

Elves 「Return the princess!」

Diablo 「I refuse!」

Feudal Lord 「As if I’d listen to what the Elves said. But because I value my soldiers, I’ll leave it to you.」

There was only one development that could happen from hereafter.

Elves 「In that case, it’s war!」

It was a headache inducing story that was nothing but trouble.

Rem breathed a sigh.

「……Avoiding war, is it……At the very least, we should negotiate with them to see if there is a “treasure” that the Greenwood Kingdom could assent to in place of Shera……」

Shera proudly puffed out her chest.

「Nfufu! They say that I am “the Elves’ most valuable asset” after all! I don’t think that there are many things that could be my replacement!」

「On second thought, let’s return her, this stupid Elf. For the sake of peace.」

「What, what!? Why did you get mad all of a sudden!?」

Rem breathed a sigh for a second time.

Galford asked a question as if to ascertain something.

「Well then, Princess Shera won’t be handed over. Your group will take measures to avoid the war with the Greenwood Kingdom. The reward will be paid through the Adventurer’s Guild——Is it alright with things like this?」

「Hmph……From the beginning, Shera was my possession. There is no act for others to take the stage.」

「I leave it to you.」

Oh that’s right——with that, Galford continued his words.

He turned his eyes towards the door on his right side.

「That’s all that I need to tell you as the Feudal Lord but……Including the aforementioned, there is a person that was dispatched from the Royal Capital. I shall introduce you to them.」