.9 – The Demon King Army Chief of Staff Receives a Very Convenient Item
「I look forward to working with you.」
Milla made a flabbergasted face to my words.
She probably didn't expect me to respond so quickly… No.
Her face gradually began to take on the color of joy.
It was as if her mind went white from the sheer happiness she experienced for a moment, and then eventually returned back to reality.
「R-Really?」
Milla asked to make sure out of unease.
「Yes, we'll be coworkers from now on. Um… since you'd be my senior, maybe I should be calling you something other than Milla.」
As I nodded, Milla's eyes looked like they were about to burst out in tears at any moment.
Huh?
I began to panic. Did I say something wrong?
「I-I'm sorry… I know I'm the one I that asked you, but I really didn't think you'd do it… I'm so, so happy.」
I guess she was just crying out of joy… Well, no, she never actually started crying, but her eyes looked pretty watery.
But still, it felt kind of odd to have her be so happy over my decision.
「Also, just call me Milla. When we're on duty, you can call me Carmilla.」
Milla made a blooming smile with her eyes still bleary.
She was so incredibly charming that I ended up putting my hand to my chest because it felt like my heart stopped beating.
Oh, thank goodness. It didn't stop.
「Very good! You've made the correct decision, Lem. No… Lemegeton!」
The Demon King shouted with energy.
She sat in her seat with her arms crossed while nodding to the two of us satisfyingly.
「Leme-what? Leme… geton?」
「I've been thinking about it ever since Carmilla brought you to my attention. It's customary for the Demon King to give dungeon names to new members.」
「Oh, so that's what it is. So my dungeon name is, um… Lemegeton?」
「Has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say? Considering that you'll be leading the monsters from now on, it fits you well.」
Just like how Milla was Carmilla, the dungeon name included part of my real name.
「Thank you very much. But, um… won't people figure it out? The name still has 'Lem' in it, and I'd still be a Black Sorcerer.」
「There's no need for worry! I'll have you pretend to be a Majin, after all. We can stick some horns onto your Avatar. This normally wouldn't be allowed, but you're someone that survived Grandfather's training as his disciple, so I don't want to hear any complaints.」
Now that dungeon clearing has become a form of entertainment, there have been numerous systems developed and utilized in order to make it as safe as possible.
The most important ones would be the Avatar system and the ability to retreat.
To put it simply, both dungeon clearing and defense takes place using clones made out of magic. The real body interacts with special equipment that allows it to be spiritually linked to the clone.
It takes much time, magical energy, and money to make the clones, but they're just as strong as the real body.
There's no issue with making the skin complexion a little better or changing the hairstyle, but any modifications that would compromise the clone's likeness to the user are not allowed. Those are the regulations.
The clones are called Avatars, and the Demon King was planning on putting horns on my monster Avatar so that it would look like a Majin.
This would still be within regulations. It's not like putting horns on someone would make them look like a completely different person, it's the same thing as changing your hairstyle a little bit. On the other hand, Demi-Human adventurers are able to remove certain physical traits from their Avatar, such as the animal ears or tails.
That subject actually came up when the Hunter Lily first joined Fenix's party. She ended up in an argument with Alba over whether or not she should hide her elf ears.
Alba said that she should hide them, while Lily was adamant in keeping them. In the end, Fenix and I agreed with Lily and that was pretty much that.
Elves look nearly identical to humans, and since they're usually exceptionally beautiful as well, they're a race that's been garnering popularity as of recent years. There are more and more elven adventurers every year, as well.
But there were some viewers that insisted only on watching humans fight, which was probably what Alba was concerned over.
But even with a Black Sorcerer and an elf, we became the 4th ranked party in the world.
But Alba still wasn't satisfied.
Why am I even talking about him, though? Forget him.
「You should put on a mask, too. Even though it'd be a waste to hide that face of yours.」
Milla spoke to me.
「A waste? His face is nothing worth showing off.」
「Your Majesty?」
「…W-Well, I suppose he could be considered attractive, everyone has their own taste, so even if I might not exactly agree, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that would find him pleasing to look at.」
Milla's cold smile instantly made Luci start backtracking.
「Don't threaten the Demon King, vampire. That's the second time.」
I was slightly startled.
The Majin male who had been silent this whole time suddenly spoke out.
His silver hair was brushed back with a pair of goat-like horns coming out of his exposed forehead. Wearing a tailcoat, the man appeared to be in his later 20's.
「Oh, you were here, Agares? I didn't notice you.」
Milla made an emotionless smile to the man she called Agares.
「Even if we monsters might find delight in submitting to Her Majesty's threats, under no means should the monsters be the ones doing the threatening.」
He sounds like someone that's really uptight on upholding the pecking order… Wait, didn't he say something weird just now?
Um, what did he say exactly? It was…
My thoughts were cut short as the man got up and greeted me with a bow.
「I apologize for the late introduction. I am one of the Demon King Castle's Big Four, the Time Demon Agares. Congratulations on taking the position of Chief of Staff.」
Oh, right. That stuff all felt like it was just decided on the spot, so I almost forgot about it, but the Chief of Staff was essentially the Demon King's right-hand man.
Meaning I'd be in a higher position than the Big Four.
But still, considering that a human that was wandering the streets as a Black Sorcerer that got chased out of his party just suddenly waltzed in here and became his superior, he was being surprisingly polite to me.
「Oh? Didn't you have doubts over Lem's capabilities?」
As Milla spoke with cynicism, Agares turned to her once again.
「Unlike you, I haven't experienced the effects of the Chief of Staff's magic. I knew you had been obsessed with him even before he cleared any stratum of the Demon King Castle, so it was only natural that I'd be skeptical over whether or not you were letting your personal feelings affect your reports.」
「…I-It's true that I watched Lem's dungeon capture videos even before that, but I don't believe I've ever told you that before. How is it that you're so well informed about my private life? It's honestly a bit unsettling.」
While her face still had maintained her cold demeanor, it was growing a bit red.
So she was telling the truth when she said she was my fan.
I found himself feeling happy over it again.
It was also kind of fresh seeing Milla talk to a coworker.
「Sorry, Carmilla. I told him.」
「…Your Majesty.」
「I said sorry!」
「Vampire, it's disrespectful to glare at Her Majesty like that. Being able to be on the receiving end of Her Majesty's glares might be one of the greatest rewards we could possibly receive, but it should never be the other way around.」
Yeah, he really is the type of guy that'd do anything to uphold the social hierarchy.
But… I can't help but be a bit put off from his choice of words.
It almost sounds perverse in a way…
「Quiet, you lolicon demon. Try not to get arrested, it'd be a problem if we got a scandal on our hands.」
「Hmph, how idiotic. I consider myself to be the guardian of those with the hearts of children. The lives of the young are supreme, but they must not be touched. That is the creed all true guardians follow. I'd prefer if you didn't lump me in with those cretins who subject their indecent desires upon those angelic children.」
「Don't give me that 'guardian' nonsense, you're the guy that gets off from getting stepped on and glared at. Watch yourself around him, Your Majesty. If he ever asks to massage you or anything like, do not let him go through with it no matter what.」
「Enough of your blasphemy! I respect Her Majesty from the bottom of my heart. I'd never make such a deplorable request… Ahh, Your Majesty! Please do not look at me with such scornful eyes! I would never do anything to hurt you! …If it's not any trouble, could you make that glare of yours a little harsher?」
「Don't you think you should just go die somewhere? Lem, not all monsters are this perverted, so don't worry. Also, I'm simply just a fan of Lem's. It's not like I have posters of him all over my room, or collect private candid photos of him online, or post stuff like 'Why is the editing staff so incompetent as to not show Lem more' on forums or anything like that, so I'd appreciate if you didn't make any misunderstandings, understood?」
I-I see.
Agares simply had a fondness for children and a few slightly odd inclinations.
And Milla was a completely average run-of-the-mill fan.
I understood.
The trick to getting by in the world is to avoid touching aspects that are better left untouched.
「U-Um, I get what the two of you are trying to say, so do you think I could hear what Her Majesty has left to say for me?」
Instead of trying to solve their argument, I asked for them to just stop.
They complied without difficulty.
「I apologize, Chief of Staff.」
「I-I'm sorry, Lem… Urgh, how embarrassing…」
Agares lowered his head and sat back into his seat. Milla hid her red face with both hands.
「Nicely done, Lemegeton. Now that's my Chief of Staff.」
Feeling like I was praised for something that wasn't praiseworthy, I made a wry smile.
「Not at all. Anyway, going back to what we were talking about, I'd be hiding my identity with horns, a mask, and an outfit, right?」
「Hmm. Even with your horns and your face hidden, there still remain ties left to your identity as your Job as Black Sorcerer and your name. I think there should at least be one more thing to divert attention from those aspects.」
Oh, good. I was about to mention that, too.
「I'll give you this ring.」
She then threw something to me. Well, I guess it was a ring.
Upon catching it, I saw that it was made out of animal bones.
「What's this?」
「It's a past king's clavicle.」
「Huh?」
「I'm kidding.」
「Oh, okay…」
I felt like this was going over my head a bit.
「This is a ring that is capable of summoning those you have made a contract with. By having you and the person you want to enter a contract with pour your magic into the ring at the same time and speak the proper oath, you'll be able to summon them whenever you want.」
…Isn't that actually something pretty impressive?
You can only record up to 72 people, so be careful. Also, limit the people you enter a contract with to only my subordinates, for now.」
In other words, I was able to choose up to 72 monsters to summon whenever I wanted.
I see, so I can call on them to chase off any adventurers.
With this, I'll be able to have people from all kinds of races achieve victory, meaning I'll be able to grant hope to more and more races.
It was an item that would greatly serve the hero of the monsters, as well as being something that would further set Lem apart from his human identity.
Now that I had this, even if I cast a bit Black Magic here and there, people wouldn't necessarily connect Lem to Lemegeton.
I grasped the ring tightly.
「Thank you very much, I'll treasure it.」