"That [Creation] Demon Lord is interesting, isn’t he? He’s more than what I imagined."
Through one of the quadruplet demons, [Evil] Demon Lord’s real collaborator had watched the [War] in almost its entirety.
The other three of the quadruplet demons served under the Demon Lords in [Steel]’s alliance as a ans of communication. Despite that though, information had unknowingly and continuously been leaked to [Evil] and this collaborator.
When [Evil]’s crystal broke, the feed was interrupted but the amount of information the collaborator had received had been more than enough.
From the start, this collaborator was a Demon Lord that expected more out of [Creation] than anyone else but even his expectations were surpassed. He knew that Procell had 3 S ranks monsters naly a Celestial Fox, an Elder Dwarf, and an Ancient Elf. He also knew that Procell had a powerful weapon no one had ever seen before.
Moreover, this collaborator had heard from rumors that Procell had another, even more powerful trump card that was able to repel even the Byakko that was a long-serving warrior feared by many Demon Lords in the battlefield.
Obviously, this power was strange for a just recently born Demon Lord to have. If left as he was, the collaborator believed without any doubt that Procell would soon reign supre as the strongest Demon Lord.
In light of this, the collaborator raised his guard. He was the only one to do so though. All the other Demon Lords knew through their connections about the fact that Procell faced three Demon Lords that were lent that strong A rank monsters—the Orihalcum Gargoyle, the Arch Demon, and the Byakko—in this war and still won in the end.
Their information wasn’t as detailed as the collaborator’s but this still proved how the span of a Demon Lord’s connections was extrely important. The more influential a Demon Lord was, the wider the network he had.
"Whether I crush him or make use of him, I can’t dilly-dally. After all, that guy also looks like he’s serious."
The owner of the Byakko ca to the collaborator’s mind.
He was a prudent and yet daring individual that was very shrewd and popular even among Demon Lords. For that Demon Lord to be so interested in [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the collaborator knew he could not waste any mont.
Thus, he thought up of a countless number of strategies. These strategies were made not just to go up against [Creation] Demon Lord but also to thwart other Demon Lords aiming for [Creation].
"First, so harassnt. It will also be as a kind of farewell gift to [Evil] who helped ."
He thought of [Evil] as nothing but a disposable pawn and yet still murmured such a shaless thing. And thus, he began the harassnt of young, talented individuals.
◇
~Procell’s point of view~
"It sure is great that the dals I can make have increased but it’s rather hard to use."
I was alone in my room in Avalon as I grumbled.
By breaking another Demon Lord’s crystal, one would be able to make that defeated Demon Lord’s original dal. That was extrely wonderful and yet...
"It doesn’t an that the number of original dals I can make in a month has increased, only that the kinds of dals I can make have increased."
Don’t get wrong, I’m really happy I got them since my [Creation] could only be used in Synthesis with at least one other original dal. Additionally, until now, I didn’t have any way for to obtain original dals—aside from [Creation]—on my own. So, the fact that I was now able to use [Creation] in Synthesis and reliably make a monster once every two months was a huge step forward for .
That said...
"I still have [Ti] and [Water]. I want to use those first. So it’s fine if I only make [Creation] for a while. The new dals are all B rank dals so there’s not much charm in making those for the ti being."
I had two A rank dals at the mont but had completely ran out of [Creation]. Also, the last ti I had made a [Creation] dal was in the middle of the [War] I had just won so the next one wouldn’t be until after a month. For the mont, these dals would be like pearls thrown before swine, treasures given to soone that could not make use of them.
I then slowly stretched my body. Today, I was not accompanied by Kuina and the others who usually did so. I asked to be alone since I wanted to refine so future policies while slogging through my city administration office work.
For now until I officially beco independent, which was 9 months from now, I was safe from wars with old Demon Lords. As for fellow new Demon Lords, since I had won over three Demon Lords in a single war, another challenge was unlikely and that gave a peace of mind.
What I should be thinking from now was what to do when I finally beco independent. To not be crushed by the old Demon Lords, I should increase my fighting force as well as make my city flourish. Also, if possible, I would like to have an alliance with strong Demon Lords.
The previous war made bitterly recognize the importance of an alliance. However, if I were to be in an alliance, I wouldn’t be let to be the only one to benefit from it, the others would demand they too must profit.
".........this is making my head hurt. I should go take a break for now."
When I noticed it, the sun had already set; quite the right ti to have dinner.
Even though a Demon Lord—who fed on human emotions—didn’t have to eat als, I found the act of eating als enjoyable as a form of amusent.
Thus, I left my room and headed toward the tavern within the city.
◇
There were currently two taverns in Avalon. The first one was a store whose only saving grace was its cheapness. It was popular among adventurers and farrs and was therefore always crowded. The other one offered expensive but good food and alcohol. The ambiance there was also calming.
I headed for the latter store.
It gained high points from not only for the chefs’ skills but also for actively offering food that made use of ingredients that was procured from Avalon such as our wheats and the potatoes. Furthermore, by making use of my influence as the head of the city, I was able to enjoy their line-up of choice alcohol acquired from various places.
As such, I visited this store quite often.
Upon entering the store, I noticed that the tables were fairly occupied. A few were adventurers but most of the custors were those affiliated with shops that did business within the city.
"Procell-sama, welco. Thank you for choosing to dine with us."
The shopkeeper, a dandy middle-aged person, courteously greeted so.
"The food is delicious here after all. Give strong alcohol. I’ll leave the choice of food on you."
"Certainly."
As per usual, I left the choice of food on the shopkeeper’s recomndation and only stated the kind of alcohol I wanted.
This way, I could eat the most delicious food they could make from that day’s highest quality ingredients. The quality of ingredients procured from other villages and cities tended to vary so what the most delicious cuisine today might not be so tomorrow.
When the shopkeeper gave instructions to the kitchen, fragrant aroma soon filled the air.
What ca out of the kitchen was the alcohol along with three dishes.
The first one was a potato gratin. It was an oven-baked dish that featured thinly-sliced potatoes that were harvested from Avalon, ample amounts of cheese and tomatoes, and so minced at. As a side note, dairy farms had begun appearing in the city; after the fresh milk first appeared on the market, the dairy products in the city all at once beca better.
The second dish was a white stew made with duck at. It was a superb cuisine made from ticulously boiling ducks over long periods of ti. The ducks were gotten by this city’s hunters from the forest, by the way.
The last one was a side salad that made skillful use of wild greens. It looked fresh and appetizing.
As for the strong alcohol, it was amber colored like a whiskey. Its smoky scent was irresistible.
"For today as well, your als seem delicious."
"Yes, we were able to get our hands on so incredibly good ingredients today. It even made the chef scream."
And so, I began to eat.
For the potato gratin, the syrupy cheese exquisitely suited the sourness of the tomatoes. The juicy minced at contrasted well with the flaky potatoes. It was outstanding.
The white stew made with duck at was out of this world. There were a sufficient amount of duck bones in the stock so its flavor had properly integrated into it. The more I chew on the duck at, the more the flavor cos out from it.
And when I poured and drank the strong alcohol, it was just the best.
I felt really glad that I was able to occasionally eat these kind of food. Had I not made a city and only holed myself up within a proper dungeon, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy these things.
Humans had weak strength and hearts but they were beings with many useful points about them.
I decided to have so of the food wrapped and give them to the girls. They have to taste this, I thought.
As I was thinking of such, I heard the voices of people I knew coming from a table further in.
"Please cheer up, Wight-sama!"
One voice belonged to a Dwarf Smith. To be more specific it was the Dwarf Smith that was Rorono’s top apprentice as well as the one that served as the adjutant for the defensive forces in the last [War].
She was a fairly pretty girl with brown skin and silver hair.
"M’lady, I’m sorry you have to see in such a miserable state but without drinking, I won’t be able to go on."
There was one other voice I heard and it belonged to Wight who was previously a skeletal monster but was now a Siegwurm, a black dragon of death, due to [Rebirth].
He vigorously drank from his glass. The contents of his glass was similar to mine: fairly strong alcohol.
By the way, the shopkeeper wasn’t surprised even if there was a dragonewt here since this city was publicly announced to be a city for demi-humans that were being persecuted elsewhere. Various races coexisted here so a dragonewt wasn’t so surprising.
"I’ll fill you another glass."
"Thanks, m’lady."
At a frightening speed, Wight emptied his drink. If he was a human, he probably would have collapsed a long ti ago.
He was distracted enough to not have noticed when I entered this tavern. He was supposed to be making preparations for his wedding and should have been at the peak of happiness... did sothing happen?
"Drink until you drop and you’ll forget your worries. I will look after you so don’t worry."
"......I’ll take you up on your offer, then. For your usually proud-looking superior to act so miserably, are you disillusioned by , m’lady?"
"Not in the slightest! If anything, knowing that Wight-san has this weak side to him has made like... Ahem, made know you better."
"Fufu, m’lady is so very kind. Then, for today only, please accompany in my complaining and drinking."
"Yes, ok! And I don’t mind even if it’s every day!"
It seed sothing painful did happen to Wight and the Dwarf Smith was there to console him. I wanted to ask him directly what the problem was but that seed a bit too...
As I was thinking so, he slamd his glass against the table.
"A reptilian is physiologically too much, she says. How can Ske-san say that when I love her so much!?"
Pfft.
Upon knowing of the reason why he was so frustrated, I unintentionally gagged.
It would seem that because he beca a dragonewt through [Rebirth], Ske-san broke up with him. I might have caused him his troubles, I thought, I’ll send over so superb alcohol to him next ti.
"That’s horrible, isn’t it?"
"Yes, it is. But then again, I understand where Ske-san is coming from. The barriers between races are wide. It might be wrong of to condemn her so. As expected, being together with soone of the sa race is the best."
"Not at all!!"
The Dwarf Smith stood and shouted so, attracting the attention of their surroundings. When she realized this, her face reddened and she apologized before sitting down again.
"What’s most important isn’t the race but one’s attraction to another. Even if the other person is of another race, soone beautiful on the inside will always be the best for . Whether he be just bones or a dragonewt, as long as he’s lovely to , I want to be with him!"
Upon hearing her words, Wight smiled gently.
"You are such a lovely girl, aren’t you? I hope soone as lovely as you are appears soon."
".........I feel complicated about that but I’m happy to be called lovely by you, Wight-san."
The Dwarf Smith then enthusiastically poured alcohol onto his glass.
Nevertheless, Wight was amazing in a way.
"That guy, just how dense can he be to not notice the Dwarf Smith’s affection."
Oh well, it must be because he’s heartbroken that his vision has beco narrow. They themselves look content so I’ll leave it be.
I wasn’t an uncouth boss who would ddle in his subordinates’ romance.
And so, I gave the two a last look, paid my bill, and then left the tavern.
◇
I returned to my house and resud my work.
After a while, the letters arrived.
Recently the number of cities and villages I’ve been in contact with had increased and so too did the number of letters.
Among those letters was one letter that was within a very fine envelope.
I peered inside it and grinned.
"So it has co."
It was a letter from the neighboring city’s feudal lord.
The contents of the letter was just as one could imagine.
Basically, this city was located outside of any national border and instead was within the dominion of monsters. The city was therefore not under the rule of any country.
However, such a reason didn’t matter to a country or its leaders. If there was a tasty fruit dangling before them, they would want that fruit. That was all the reason they needed and nothing more.
"Now then, how shall I respond?"
I began to consider which counterasures that I had thought up from the start I should use. I wanted it to go as peaceful as possible but if the other party wasn’t so inclined, it would rain blood.
If they wanted to pay so tax, I would gladly do so. However, should they covet the city itself, then...
I was a peace-lover but by no ans was I a conscientious objector.
I at least understood that peace was the ultimate luxury and was paid for in blood.
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