kscans

Chapter 372 - Demon King and Raven

"Mikan-chan, you have quite a lot of potential. Shall we conquer the world together?"

"Hmm, that sounds fun, but I promised to play with all the demons, so maybe next time."

After the battle in the Great Forest of the Undead had concluded, Lunaria invited Mikan to their headquarters and was entertaining her. The two of them were now sitting at a table, happily eating shortcake together.

Noat had been the most valuable player in the recent battle, but the moment the fighting ended, Alvie had whisked her away. He had heard her much improved singing and said he would treat her at his base to celebrate and ask her the reason for it, essentially kidnapping her.

It was worrying since Noat's memories had returned, but they decided not to retrieve her, judging that Noat in her usual state would probably just assume she had said something strange while half asleep. Part of their reasoning was the expectation that Mist and the others, who had gone along, would provide support.

That had been the situation before Hayato logged out.

Now, having finished his work at the cafe and the preparations for the next day, Hayato had logged back in. At some point, Lunaria and Mikan had apparently become good friends and were enjoying their conversation. What they were saying was rather alarming, though.

Lately, being surrounded by only acquaintances, it was easy to forget, but Lunaria had social anxiety. Normally, it would take much more time for her to warm up to someone, but perhaps because their mental ages were close, or maybe their personalities just clicked, they had become friends in no time at all.

"I'm the Demon Lord, so let's make you the Demon King, Mikan-chan."

"Okay, from now on I'll call myself Demon King Mikan. Kneel before me."

Though it was virtual reality, he questioned whether it was right to let a small child take on such a title. But for some reason, Mikan's secretary, a female demon butler, was clapping her hands in delight, so he decided it must not be a problem.

If there was a problem, it would be Benitsuru, who was watching Lunaria and the others from the entrance to the room, half hidden.

Hayato approached and spoke to her.

"Benny-chan, what are you doing?"

"Hayacchi, you've got to listen. It's like, I feel like my friend has been stolen. Is this a rebellion? Is it a rebellion? Is it okay if I go berserk?"

"I don't think 'rebellion' means what you think it means. Also, please don't go berserk."

From Benitsuru's perspective, it probably felt like Mikan had taken Lunaria from her. But Mikan was around ten years old, so thinking she had been stolen was the real mistake.

"Lunaria-san has social anxiety, but she gets really attached to people she befriends. But it's okay. There's no way Lunaria-san would ever neglect you, Benny-chan. Instead of watching from over here, why don't you go talk with them?"

"It takes courage to walk into a nice scene like that, you know. Should I just barge in shouting 'Hellooo'?"

"Yeah, you'll be fine. Benny-chan, you're good at counter-attacking, so if you match her pace you can do it."

Hayato offered some careless advice to Benitsuru, whose swordsmanship specialized in counter-attacks.

Of course, Benitsuru saw right through his casual remark, and her half-lidded eyes gave him an exasperated look.

"Hayacchi, no matter how you put it, that's--"

"Benny-chan."

Lunaria spotted Benitsuru and called out to her.

"L, Lunacchi…"

Looking slightly embarrassed, Benitsuru approached Lunaria's group, saying, "H, hellooo."

"Mikan-chan, this is Benny-chan. She's the princess of the Eastern Country."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Demon King Mikan Barway. It's a pleasure."

Mikan got down from her chair and bowed her head with a little peck.

"Ah, u, um. I'm Benitsuru Azuma. You can call me Benny-chan."

Even Benitsuru, who was usually the picture of innocence and naivety, seemed awkward in her words and actions, as if she didn't know how to interact with a child even younger than herself.

There were very few children in this virtual reality to begin with. Among those Hayato knew, Ruth, who was with Mist and the others, had been the youngest, but Mikan was even younger.

Since this virtual reality was a place where talented individuals had been gathered, there were basically no young children other than their family members. Hayato believed there were likely no children who had come to this virtual reality on their own merit.

In Mikan's case, her life had been in danger, so she fled here with her secretary.

While they were adrift in space, her physical growth had been halted by cryosleep, but several years had passed during the test play on the spaceship, so she must have been even younger back then. She might just be the youngest person here.

As Hayato was thinking this over and watching Mikan and the others, Lunaria puffed out her chest.

"Believe it or not, Benny-chan is my very best friend, so please be nice to her, Mikan-chan."

Best friend. At Lunaria's words, Benitsuru froze solid. But her face, perhaps out of joy, broke into a huge grin. Then she started wiggling her body back and forth.

Mikan, who had been watching this curiously, smiled and looked up at Benitsuru.

"Then, Benny-oneechan, please be friends with me too."

At Mikan's words, Benitsuru's body jolted. And then she froze again, this time with a completely blank expression.

Lunaria peered into Benitsuru's face curiously and waved a hand in front of her eyes, which made Benitsuru's mouth move just a little.

"...make her mine."

"Hm? Benny-chan? Did you say something?"

At Lunaria's question, Benitsuru's eyes flew wide open. Then she swept Mikan up in a hug.

"I'm making Mikan-chan my little sister. She called me 'oneechan,' so it's decided. I'll issue a proclamation in the Eastern Country."

Benitsuru's declaration left the onlookers stunned, but Lunaria alone stood up smoothly and drew Arondight.

"I always knew the day would come when it would come to this with you, Benny-chan. I will prove that I am Mikan-chan's only big sister...!"

"I thought so too, Lunacchi. Then I'll show you the secret arts of the Azuma-ryu sword style. I'll let you taste the secret of the sword that is said to kill any who witness it, or something...!"

"Both of you, please don't go berserk."

"Oh! A fight! Let me in on it!"

"You'll just make things more complicated, Cecil, so stay over there."

Hayato stepped in between the two, and the one.

A few minutes later, it was settled that they would both be Mikan's sisters.

Or rather, it was settled that she would be everyone's little sister. The battle over who would be her sister had gotten complicated when Mikan's female demon secretary and Rosalie's group joined in. Incidentally, Rosalie and her companions doted on Mikan so much that they even made her original design outfits.

From Mikan's perspective, Hayato was recognized as the person who makes her sweets, so his title was fixed as "Hayato-oniichan." Adrian, despite their long acquaintance, was for some reason treated like a subordinate and remained as such, but they said that in its own way, it was a sign of trust.

Although the situation had been precarious in many ways, it was resolved through discussion. Hayato, having seen it through, was a bit tired, but decided to prepare for the next day and began his weapon maintenance and blacksmithing skill grinding in his room.

The headquarters of the clan Rampage was located near the Imperial Capital. Ox had started playing the game after the "Treasure Hunting" event, which was later revealed to be run by the Foundation. Normally, it would be impossible to build a base so close to a city, but the clan that preceded Rampage had existed since the game's launch. That was because Ox's real-life subordinates, Miliara and Heath, had been playing this game from the very beginning. However, they only came to be known as a major clan after Ox became the clan leader. Before that, they were at best a D-rank clan in Clan Wars, and their name was different. When Ox became leader, he changed the clan name to Rampage, so although the clan itself was established shortly after the game's launch, it is recognized as a new, major clan.

In a room within that headquarters, Ox had invited some guests. One was Nestor, the clan leader of Bounty Hunter. The other was Loana, the clan leader of the information gathering clan Raven. The three of them sat around a circular table. Loana was dressed in all black with goggles, and no one had ever seen her face. However, it was known that she was female. Loana spoke up. Her voice was muffled by the black garb covering her face, but it was unmistakably a woman's voice.

"So, what information do you want?"

"Are there any clans in the former Demon Lord's army that are likely to betray us? Preferably a major or semi-major one."

Ox said it as if it were nothing, but Nestor was surprised. Loana's expression was hidden, but she didn't seem surprised.

"Normally I'd charge you, but since you're a first-time customer, this one's free."

"I appreciate it."

"There are no clans that will betray the former Demon Lord's army. This isn't just a game, it's an event where you can earn prize money. Betraying them is pointless because you won't get any money. There might be people who simply want to win, but if that's the case, there's even less reason for them to betray the current former Demon Lord's army."

The faction one supports is fixed and cannot be changed midway. The prize money is split among the clans belonging to the winning faction, so even if they betrayed them, they wouldn't get any money. There might be a possibility if real-world money was involved, but considering the current momentum, Loana was saying there was no merit in betraying the former Demon Lord's army.

"You're right about that, but…"

"But why now? Is there something on your mind?"

"I'll tell you if you promise not to sell the information."

"If a verbal promise is enough."

Ox thought for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

"There's a possibility that Parsha of Despair Angel has betrayed us."

Nestor was shocked. "You've got to be kidding me."

Even Ox had been speechless when he first heard it. He couldn't believe it when an NPC named Nanagi contacted him via voice chat. But Nanagi had also said this.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. Amanda, the new Demon Lord, seems convinced, so tomorrow she plans to call out this Parsha person and defeat her first. Be prepared for that."

If you defeat a clan leader, that clan and its allies disappear from the battlefield. The idea was to make the dangerous element drop out with their entire clan right at the start. It was probably the right course of action, but Ox, who was skeptical about Parsha's betrayal, was reluctant. He had asked them to wait until he had proof, but they wouldn't listen. Despite the other party being an NPC, he had forgotten that and tried to negotiate, and what's more, he felt like he had lost the argument, so Ox was a little dejected.

It had been that much of a shock to Ox, but Loana merely shifted slightly. Furthermore, she seemed to be thinking calmly.

"A 'possibility' means it's not confirmed, right?"

"An NPC from the New Demon Lord's Army brought me that information. I asked for the reason, but they wouldn't tell me. But apparently, after Parsha and her group chased an NPC from the other side, I think it was Noat, they made contact with Hayato. A lot seems to have happened then. They said it's almost certain, but I used the word 'possibility' because I want to believe she didn't betray us."

Nestor said in an exasperated voice, "It's Hayato again?" before cursing. It was a common understanding on the New Demon Lord's side that nothing good ever came from Hayato getting involved. He would be a reliable ally, but as an enemy, he was nothing short of a nuisance.

Ox sighed and then spoke.

"I also suggested we feed Parsha false information and let her run for a while, but that was rejected. Apparently, the Demon Lord is coming tomorrow, and according to the NPC, the plan is to defeat Parsha immediately."

"That's a pretty aggressive Demon Lord. Completely different from the previous one."

Ox nodded at Loana's words.

"That's it. This is business, but I want information on the Demon Lord on the old Demon Lord's side. We found out this time that she's weak to ghost-type monsters, but since they have NPCs like Alvie and Noat, we can't use that. I want to know her other weaknesses. Can you investigate?"

"I'd like to say information costs money, but I heard something interesting, so this is on the house too. Her biggest weakness is centipedes."

"Centipedes?"

"Apparently, she hates bugs with a lot of legs. This is something you could find out easily by gathering information from NPCs in the Demon Country, though."

"I see, centipedes. I hear there aren't many people who tame insect-types, but I'll try looking."

"If the battleground is around Abaddon, there should have been a rare centipede monster there. You can just MPK like you did today."

"That's another option."

Although they lost in the end, that strategy wasn't bad. If they could lure them well, they could wear down the enemy. What was unexpected was that the enemy ended the battle so quickly. He had thought it would become a war of attrition, a quagmire, but the enemy Demon Lord immediately destroyed their clan stone. He had expected them to come with the same strategy of prolonging the battle to wear down their equipment, but it was safe to say Ox's guess was off. And to make matters worse, it could be said that the enemy's morale had risen considerably because of it. In the end, they only lost two territories, but their side was already filled with a sense of defeat. He had hoped that the Demon Lord's participation tomorrow would raise their morale even a little.

There were many other things to do and think about, Ox sighed.

Watching him, Loana asked, "Is it alright if I say something?"

"Ah, sorry. Do you know another weakness?"

"It's not that, I just have something I want to ask out of curiosity."

"Curiosity? What is it?"

"I was just wondering why you want to win so badly."

In Nestor's case, his clan's name itself is Bounty Hunter, so his reason for wanting to win is the prize money. This is simple and easy to understand.

"I get Bounty Hunter, but I didn't think Rampage had that much of a reason to be obsessed with winning."

"It's simple. I just don't like Rauxal on the other side. That's a personal reason, but there are also a lot of people in the major clans who look down on our clan. The leaders themselves aren't so bad, but my main reason is to show those people up."

"Is that all?"

"I think that's reason enough. I don't care what they think of me, but I won't forgive anyone who looks down on my subordinates."

"Oh? The model of a good boss, are you?"

"Taking time off work to play games together doesn't make me a good boss. In any case, if Parsha has betrayed us, the future looks tough. I'll rely on Raven for information gathering, but it's tough to lose combat power."

That's why he had wanted to negotiate with any clans that might switch sides, but the former Demon Lord's army had momentum, so just as Loana said, there were no such clans.

Loana crossed her arms and grunted.

"Our clan joined the New Demon Lord's Army to gather information on the battlefield, but should we participate more actively?"

"That would be a great help, but…"

"I thought Raven only had a few members, right? Will you be a factor in battle?"

Nestor voiced his doubt. Ox had the same question. Raven was a small elite group. To prevent the information they gathered from leaking out, they kept it secret even among their own members, to the point of using in-game currency for transactions. And he had never heard that they were skilled in combat.

"There are many ways to fight. We're good at fights that don't happen during combat."

"Fights that don't happen during combat?"

"Let's just say we're good at sabotage. If you master treasure hunting skills, you can do a lot of things. We sometimes go to the deepest floors of dungeons alone to gather information. Compared to that, sneaking into a base is easy."

"Treasure hunting skills, huh."

Treasure hunting skills include stealing, lockpicking, and disarming traps, but there are also combat-oriented skills like poison, stealth, and trap setting. It's faster to fight monsters normally than to use those skills, so few people level them for combat, but when it comes to player versus player battles, the story changes. Ox had heard that there had been clans that had succeeded in Clan Wars with such skills.

"And my skill value recently hit 200, so I can do some interesting things now."

"Can I count on you?"

"I'll be taking money, though. Oh, and just so there's no misunderstanding, I mean in-game currency."

"Of course. Then I'll also handle providing items. If there's anything you need, write it on a piece of paper and give it to me."

"It's a deal. Then I guess I'll get started right away."

"Right now? It's a late hour for a woman, you know."

It was already past eleven in the evening. For some, this was when the real fun began, but Ox didn't want to recommend a job from this hour to Loana, a woman. He had a policy of not letting his subordinate Miliara work overtime late into the night either.

Loana, being treated as a woman, seemed embarrassed and scratched her cheek through the cloth before giving a deliberate cough.

"Sabotage is something you do under the cover of darkness. I can't manage Daedalus's base with all those dangerous NPCs, but I'll do some damage to the other major clans, so you can look forward to it."

"I see. I'm asking you to do this, but don't overdo it, okay?"

"There's not much to overdo in a virtual reality game, so don't worry. Well then, see you tomorrow."

Loana said so, then stood up and left the room. Ox and Nestor, who saw her off, placed their hopes in Loana and began their meeting again to decide what to do tomorrow.