NOVEL WEB Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Days went by as efforts were made to initiate plans ahead of the internal administration and the conquest of the 69th floor.
Time did not wait for those living busy lives and raced diligently and swiftly. Five fragrant blossoms passed, and five cold spells came and went.
It had been five years since the day a drastic change occurred on the 72nd floor. Although time had passed, a child still wandered through the garden, their white hair fluttering in the breeze.
It seemed they had been much smaller before, but as a child growing differently every day, the little Demon Lord had now grown considerable in height.
“Your Majesty!”
“Hmm?”
It was Seere von Debata.
Now twelve years old, the child had not only grown taller but also had two long horns growing from atop their head. While their round impression had slightly sharpened, hints of their childlike nature still shone through.
“Nahun said to go somewhere,”
“Teacher?”
Where could they be going?
“Let’s go.”
However, since it was the teacher who suggested it, Seere happily followed the maid, Cecili, who had called for them. Following Cecili’s swaying fox tail, a special place awaited them in the garden where Seere’s beloved teacher sat.
“Teacher!”
“Oh, Seere.”
It was Nahun. He greeted Seere with a smile. Although she had grown taller, to Nahun, she still looked like a small child and was much shorter than him.
As Seere approached his side, Nahun lightly ruffled her hair and said,
“Today, let’s go out for a bit.”
“Pardon? Where to?”
“Today, we have an outdoor class.”
At the mention of outdoor class, Seere beamed.
“Are you taking me to another interesting place?”
“Interesting?… I’m not sure how fun it will be, but it’s definitely a class you should take an interest in.”
A class she should take an interest in. When Nahun said this, it usually pertained to matters about responsibilities that Seere would eventually have to undertake.
Seere rolled her eyes thoughtfully. Then Nahun feigned a serious expression and said,
“You need to learn.”
The perceptive teacher quickly noticed that Seere found it somewhat bothersome. With no other choice, Seere nodded.
“Okay….”
“Do you happen to know what day it is today?”
“Pardon? Hmm….”
Seere shook her head after some contemplation. Not knowing what she didn’t know was nothing to be ashamed of, a lesson she had learned from Nahun.
“Today marks the end of exclusive sales of our weapons trade. This includes the three-year term plus an additional two years.”
“…Ah.”
“And that’s why they contacted me today. They want to negotiate again.”
“What will you do?”
“What should we do?”
Nahun posed the question to Seere. When they discussed business, Nahun often threw questions instead of simply teaching the answers so that Seere could think for herself.
Through this, Seere, who had initially been insightful for her age, had developed an impressive perspective and depth of thought that was hard to believe for a twelve-year-old.
And above all, Seere did not dislike these lessons from Nahun. If anything, she enjoyed them. Because….
‘I’m happy I can talk with my teacher.’
She could leisurely converse with Nahun. Seere sported a still youthful smile as she spoke.
“Do we really need to negotiate?”
“Why is that?”
“The weapons from the 70th floor have already begun to gain fame throughout the Demon World. We don’t have to rely on a few distribution routes anymore. If we release the exclusivity, many merchants will reach out to distribute our goods.”
Weapons produced on the 70th floor via merchants, including Bernet, quickly gained fame through word of mouth. They boasted excellent quality coupled with a relatively swift production speed, along with a wide range of production.
All powers that cared even slightly about their own soldiers’ weapons showed interest and purchased these weapons. This was true not only for other Demon Lords but for many others as well.
“And now, some merchants have begun to voice dissatisfaction about us supplying our weapons exclusively to certain factions. Wouldn’t maintaining the exclusivity be a poor choice?”
Rumor had it that Dantalion had unknowingly been enraged upon hearing of these weapons circulating since the 69th floor. Thus, it seemed reasonable to release the exclusivity and distribute the weapons to other merchants.
“What a great insight.”
“Hehe….”
Seere’s childish delight at Nahun’s praise was evident. Yet, it was clear that Seere was increasingly becoming someone worthy of a Demon Lord. Nahun was pleased with that transformation and shared his own opinion.
“It’s better not to maintain exclusivity, as you think.”
“Right?”
“But we should differentiate the distribution amounts.”
Understanding Nahun’s statement, Seere inferred the reason.
“…To maintain the trust built with existing merchants?”
“Correct. The new ones will easily understand as well. They’ll be aware that they lack credit with us.”
“Well then, I think we could notify them via letter. Why the need to go out?”
“But there are other transactions.”
“Ah….”
Aside from the weapons trade, there was one more business that the 72nd floor headed—human slavery supply.
Although not as many humans had invaded the Demon World as before, there were still some individuals seeking quick riches or attempting to rescue previously captured humans.
Whenever that happened, Nahun would supply some as slaves and negotiate with human nations to extort money. The leaders of the human nations had naturally begun closing portals leading to the Demon World, but Nahun had devised a clever countermeasure.
‘We will breach the portal ourselves.’
At first, Cain looked at him as if he were speaking nonsense, but Nahun had managed to counter that thought easily.
Since they were already blocking the portal from their side, breaching the portal would not significantly increase the number of humans entering.
Moreover, humans were completely unaware that they might be breaching the portal intentionally, eliminating the possibility of retaliation. Finally, he cited that the human world could not move.
Upon hearing Nahun’s last reason, Cain had showed an expression of disbelief, and Nahun explained further.
‘The movements between the largest human empire and the Northern Alliance have not been peaceful recently.’
This information was gathered from interrogating captured humans. The reason Nahun was able to interrogate at that precise moment was because a specific event occurred in the game during this period.
“Recently, the human world has been thrown into turmoil due to the Northern War. Consequently, the guards of the portals leading to the Demon World have weakened, and I believe humans have been crossing over to the 72nd floor much more frequently.”
“Yes, I know that.”
The Northern War. A war that erupted between the most formidable force in the human world—the Empire—and the Northern Alliance. The starting point of the incident was due to the baseless rumor that the emergence of portals leading to the Demon World was somehow linked to the Empire.
Although such foolish rumors did not start a war between two dominant forces, it did lead to rising conflicts between the two groups, ultimately culminating in war.
It was akin to an ‘Opportunity Chance to Favor a Faction’ event presented to users playing the game, allowing them to play without the bothersome element of the human world for a while.
As the influx of humans surged, so did the supply of potential slaves, and with the human world raucous for a while, their exclusion was in order. Of course, though the damage to the 72nd floor increased due to the rising invasion of humans, the loss was minimal compared to the gains.
Nahun found it truly gratifying that this event had materialized into reality.
“Thus, it’s time for the slave business to expand a little. Negotiations related to this also need to be made.”
Nodding.
Observing Seere nodding, Nahun added one more thing.
“And the most significant reason is separate.”
“Pardon?”
“What did I say when I initially planned this business?”
Seere tilted her head. Nahun immediately provided the answer.
“I said I have information that would undermine Dantalion’s credibility.”
“Ah, yes. I remember.”
“It’s time to leak that information to the merchants.”
“Then today’s negotiations….”
“Exactly.”
Nahun smiled widely.
“With the foundation laid for the conquest of the 69th floor, it’s time to start.”
#
Nahun headed toward the 70th floor with Seere. There, he met someone he needed to see.
“You’ve arrived.”
“You surprised me by calling me out suddenly.”
It was Citri. While she had been showing her face to Nahun occasionally and still trained diligently, she had recently been busier due to the considerable advances made on the 70th floor.
“Hello, Citri.”
“Oh, hello, Seere. I feel like I haven’t seen you for a while; you’ve grown so much in that time.”
“Is that so? Thank you.”
And there was another reason Citri hadn’t visited the 72nd floor frequently. It was because of this child, Seere von Debata, who always stuck close to Nahun. Recently, when Seere looked at Citri, there were times when her gaze was unnaturally intimidating.
If it had only happened once or twice, she might have thought it was a misunderstanding, but those instances were quite frequent. Especially when she often acted playfully around Nahun.
‘It’s terrifying… that kid.’
Although she still smiled cheerfully like a twelve-year-old, it felt as though there was a massive serpent lurking beneath.
Perceiving Citri’s stiff expression due to her unsettling feeling, Nahun might have misinterpreted it, as he spoke to her.
“You should come down more often. Then I would have informed you in advance.”
“…Aren’t you aware of how busy I am?”
“So when will you strike me?”
“I can stand now!!”
As she had stated, Citri had developed enough to rise on her own even within Nahun’s magical influence. Of course, walking was still beyond her capabilities, so it would take more time for her to hit Nahun.
Citri lamented her situation inwardly and asked why she was called.
“So why did you summon me?”
“The exclusive rights for the weapon trade end today.”
“Oh, today was the day?”
Citri had only lent her name to the business, being completely oblivious to the ongoing processes. She had simply been enjoying her earnings and the weapons provided to her.
“So we need to re-negotiate. Since it’s still a business bearing Your Majesty’s name, Your Majesty should also attend.”
“Of course.”
“Then don’t just sit there sulking in annoyance and let’s go.”
“Seriously, you….”
Citri let out a sigh and gestured to lead the way.
“Alright, as the figurehead, you must fulfill your role; otherwise, I won’t receive anything.”
“You’ve understood this precisely. What a rarity for you.”
“…If you keep this up, you might really die later.”
Nahun, Seere, and Citri moved toward their meeting place. It was Nahun’s suggestion to have the meeting in another location rather than in the main hall of the 70th floor’s Demon King Castle.
‘I hope Dantalion doesn’t notice that we’re meeting.’
After hearing Nahun’s instructions, Bernet and the merchants had prepared a rarely exposed meeting place and were heading there.
“Oh, welcome.”
Bernet and the merchants had already come out to greet them. They courteously greeted Citri and Seere and then spoke to Nahun.
“Shall we head inside?”
“Let’s.”
Nahun, Seere, and Citri, seated in the designated area arranged by Bernet, faced the merchants across from them. The height of their seats was notably lower than where the merchants sat.
‘Not bad.’
This was certainly a position serving two Demon Lords, indicating that they had smartly arranged the seating accordingly. Nahun addressed Bernet.
“There’s no need to drag this on; let’s keep it simple.”
“Understood.”
“I believe you’ve had enough interests provided during the five years. There will be no extensions on any additional transactions.”
“We acknowledge that.”
Nahun had anticipated some delay regarding the slave trade, but he was pleasantly surprised by the merchants’ quick acceptance. This made the discussion faster.
“So what I’m proposing is… let’s talk about this after you see it first.”
Nahun presented a piece of paper to them, and Bernet took it as the representative to read. Upon reading the item, Bernet’s eyes widened, and he looked at Nahun.
“Lord Nahun, this is…?”
“Spread the rumors. In return, I will supply you with more weapons and slaves than before.”
Recently, with the expansion of the 70th floor’s forge, the production capacity had significantly increased. Consequently, conditions were favorable for trading with other merchants while maintaining the supply volume for the merchants currently engaged in business.
Naturally, not only Bernet but all the merchants felt that Nahun’s conditions were attractive. However, a different problem arose.
“Lord Nahun… Is this information true?”
“It is true.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Bernet.”
Bernet flinched, startled. Nahun’s eyes had become icy, creating a tremendous sense of pressure. Without realizing it, Bernet looked down.
“I thought we had built enough trust between us. Was I mistaken?”
“…No, that’s not the case. I have always deeply trusted you, Lord Nahun, and Your Majesty Seere, as well as Your Majesty Citri.”
“Then trust me and spread it. I do not pass false information.”
Bernet began to ponder deeply. If he spread the information provided by Nahun as rumors, there was a significant chance he would turn one Demon Lord against him. Nevertheless, it made no sense to cut ties with Nahun.
At that moment, Seere, who had quietly been observing the situation, spoke up.
“Teacher, is there really a need to wait like this? We can find another merchant to deal with.”
“!”
Surprised by Seere’s words, Bernet looked at Nahun, who smiled slightly.
“Even so, it’s better to give it to someone I can trust rather than breaking the trust built over time.”
While it sounded like Nahun was defending Bernet, there was undoubtedly a different meaning behind it. The experienced merchant, Bernet, immediately caught on.
‘If I refuse these conditions…, he’ll abandon me and look for a new partner.’
Bernet folded the paper and bowed his head.
“I will comply.”
“Good. And I have one more request.”
“Pardon?”
At Bernet’s inquiry, Nahun lifted the corners of his lips slightly and made a request that was difficult to grasp.
“I would like you to procure some swords sold on the 69th floor.”
“That’s not difficult. But… why do you need them?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
As Nahun stated firmly, Bernet didn’t inquire further and lowered his head.
“Understood. Should I procure a sufficient amount?”
“About ten swords will suffice.”
“I will quickly arrange to have them sent.”
Since the request was not difficult, Bernet gladly agreed. Nahun smiled contentedly as he spoke.
“I look forward to our continued business.”