I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

"Coward..."

The blond image stood opposite Asa's powerless frame, glaring deeply at her as she hissed.

Disdain and desperation played on the strangler's face, and her lips parted to form words that the dreamer feared to hear.

"Why...? Why do you get to enjoy peace while we suffer tyranny?"

Why?

Why?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

The words danced in her dreams, causing her brain to melt and her entire dream to collapse. She simply couldn't take it anymore.

*

*

*

"ARGHHHH!!!" Asa screamed as she woke from her sleep.

She huffed heavily, staring right and left to see her neighbors stir in their sleep—a few others popped their eyes open before returning to their sweet dreams.

Nothing about what Asa just saw could be described as sweet, or a dream.

"The same nightmare again..." She whispered underneath her breath.

Sweat dripped from her skin despite the atmosphere being cool enough to banish any form of heat.

Asa shuddered, even though the temperature wasn't freezing. No, this discomfort came from her mind.

"How much longer can I ignore it? I can't..."

In the end, Asa knew the only thing she could do to make it stop. The thought had crossed her mind several times, but she had tried her hardest to ignore it.

However, as was made painfully obvious by her predicament, she couldn't keep it up any longer.

"I have no choice..." Asa muttered, her face showing pain while her eyes showed a tinge of hope.

"... I'll have to tell the Hero."

**************

"Haaa... I'm quite jobless today. Should I take a walk?"

The bright morning sun greeted me with its brilliance as I opened the drapes of the window and bathed in the magnificent sunlight.

Soon enough, every denizen in Dulum would enjoy this kind of pleasure—so long as I solved out bankruptcy problem quickly.

'The most guaranteed way would be to resort to another form of marketing. Maybe I can employ selling Magic Items it Runes. If I utilize my knowledge well, I can very well monetize it.'

The problem with that, however, was time.

'It takes time to establish the proper connections with merchants, and also develop a well-organized trading structure...'

There was also the fact that I had to study the market and ensure I didn't run some folks out of business.

Besides, it was nearly winter, and the most essential stuff to sell at this period was food. That was why I wanted to really venture into that trade.

Unfortunately...

"Stop thinking about all that depressing stuff, Sam! Take a walk instead!" I cheered myself up by slapping my cheeks.

'O-ow... why do people do this? It actually hurts.'

Yeah, I probably put too much strength into my hands. Considering how delicate my body currently was, I had to be mindful of the damage I took.

'My life depends on it!'

I concluded on taking my walk, so after freshening up in my nice bathroom, I wore a decent attire and exited my comfortable abode.

"GREETINGS, MASTER!"

As expected, I was greeted by the unanimous response of my direct subordinates—of course, other than the ones belonging to the settlement.

I awkwardly watched as they bowed their heads and gave me their usual humble greeting. What made me so nervous wasn't the fact that I wasn't used to such a treatment.

No, it was a separate matter entirely.

"You may raise your heads." I spoke in my usual, composed tone.

These subordinates of mine obeyed. All five of them raised their heads and looked at me—each having respective expressions locked on their face.

Heshu. Hogun. Adu. Pierrus. Kiko.

All five Demon Generals were kneeling before me, bound as my subordinates thanks to the Slave Contract that existed between us.

Their expressions ranged from indifference, to pure rage. I could easily tell that none of them were exactly happy to serve me—except maybe Hogun?

This was the kind of vibe that made me uncomfortable. Because this actually felt like enslaving them against their will—which I was actually doing.

'I'm sorry, you guys. It's either this or death... and I can't waste valuable resources. I'm so sorry.' I nearly cried internally.

What made the situation even more awkward than normal was that each of these Demon Generals was stronger than me.

It was simply by sheer misunderstanding and manipulation that I was able to get them to willfully accept the Slave Contract.

One of then was a particularly tough nut to crack.

'I did kill his father, and there's that mentality he has about Demon superiority...'

However, even if he was the only one shooting me a murderous glare among the five, I was happy to have a gifted Demon like him on my team.

He had his uses, after all.

"Rise to your feet. Hmm? Where's Lucy?" I asked them.

"She decided to quickly patrol the area." Hogun spoke firmly, completely going silent after he was done.

An eerie air surrounded us, making the situation even more awkward than before.

"Is that so? Haha..."

All of the Demon Generals normally gave me the cold shoulder, so I was somewhat used to it...

... Somewhat

Even though it had been two weeks since everything went down, they weren't very fond of me and the people of Dulum.

We were once enemies, after all.

'The only thing that has changed is their situation.' I sighed internally.

I killed their boss, killed their subordinates, and forced them to become traitors of their own kind.

I, at the very least, made them keep most of their autonomy—which included their expressions and reactions toward me. Of course, they had to obey my commands, answer me truthfully, and act in the benefit of my policies.

"Alright, then. Let's wait for her. After that, I'd like to supervise the ongoing construction."