After the incident with the Demon Lord was resolved, the restless demons finally settled back into their routines, returning to their posts...
And slacking off.
Although they were supposed to be the antagonists, most of the demons in this world, especially the top officers in the Demon Lord's army, were incredibly laid-back. They had no ambition to destroy humanity or annihilate the world.
On the contrary, some opened shops in human towns, trying hard to lose money, while others stayed out of worldly affairs and focused solely on their magic research.
Some beast-human hybrids constantly schemed to physically merge with the new Demon Lord (quite literally), while others were busy sneaking food from the Demon Lord's castle pantry—unintentionally poisoning it with toxic slime...
In short, it was a bunch of slackers who did whatever they wanted and occasionally backstabbed the Demon Lord!
Luckily, Zyhark had been immersed in the ways of unreliable comrades for a long time, so he didn't completely lose hope in life.
After all, this was a rare chance to summon powerful allies, so how could he give up before even starting?
Wait, summoning allies?
Sitting on the throne, Zyhark suddenly had a sinking feeling.
If the initial version summoned a disaster like Aqua, then an upgraded cheat version would be even worse…
Forget it, forget it. No point in thinking about it.
If he kept worrying, he'd really want to grab a bucket and flee!
Knock knock.
Just at that moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Excuse me, Demon Lord-sama, are you there?"
It was Wiz's voice.
"Come in."
Zyhark straightened up slightly, no longer slouching on the throne in a lazy posture.
Upon receiving the Demon Lord's permission, Wiz exerted a little more force and slowly pushed the heavy door open.
Moonlight poured through the crack, dispelling some of the room's gloomy atmosphere.
Wiz carefully stepped in, bathed in the moonlight, and after walking to Zyhark, gave a simple bow.
"Is there something you need, Wiz?" Zyhark asked.
"Demon Lord-sama, about the business tips you mentioned earlier..."
Wiz got straight to the point.
As the owner of a magic item shop that only lost more money the harder she worked, she genuinely wanted to figure out where she was going wrong, and realize her grand dream of making lots of money.
"Oh, that matter."
Zyhark understood. "Actually, there's no special trick. If you want to run a successful business, the first thing you need to understand is what your customers need."
Wiz tilted her head in confusion.
After thinking about it carefully, she tentatively asked, "Affordable, practical items? Enthusiastic customer service?"
"Neither. Those are just minor details."
"Huh?"
"You need to think long-term. In the human world, there aren't just ordinary citizens and adventurers. There's also a certain profession—thieves."
"Demon Lord-sama, I'm not sure I understand your point," Wiz said, completely puzzled.
"Let me give you an example. I used to run a Sea Restaurant, and pirates often came to dine for free. Some of them were even notorious criminals with high bounties."
Hearing this, Wiz furrowed her brows tightly.
If her shop was regularly harassed by lawless thieves who didn't pay for what they bought...
Just imagining the scene gave her a headache.
"In that case, weren't you constantly troubled? How did you still make money?"
Seeing how innocent the officer of the Demon Lord's army was, Zyhark sighed helplessly:
"That's exactly how I made tons of money!"
"Think about it—don't thieves have far more treasure than ordinary people? If you make them suffer a bit, they'll obediently pay for a glass of purified water priced at hundreds of thousands of beli!"
"If you're lucky and capture one of those wanted criminals, you can even exchange them for a huge bounty. This business is foolproof!"
So, that's how you made a profit—by using such a devious—er, clever tactic!
No wonder you became the Demon Lord of the castle!!
Understanding the reasoning behind it, Wiz's mouth twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but offer a moment of silent tribute for the pirates who had fallen into Zyhark's schemes.
Then again, since they were all bad guys, there wasn't much of a moral dilemma, right?
Yes! When she returned to Axel City, she would give this business strategy a try!
She silently made note of this special method for getting rich.
"Thank you so much for your guidance, Demon Lord-sama. I feel incredibly inspired!"
Wiz bowed deeply once again, full of gratitude.
The resulting movement in her chest was, indeed, impressive.
"Ahem."
Zyhark quickly averted his gaze and coughed lightly, saying, "Such a valuable business secret deserves more than just a verbal thank you, don't you think?"
Wiz thought for a moment, realizing that this indeed seemed a bit unfair. She then asked, "Demon Lord-sama, is there anything you need me to do?"
Zyhark didn't rush to answer. Instead, he stood up and slowly walked over to Wiz, staring intently into her timid eyes.
Just as Wiz's cheeks began to flush from embarrassment, Zyhark reached out and grasped her pale hand.
"Try to drain me."
"Wh-What?! Drain you?! To be honest, I-I'm not really into that kind of thing..."
Wiz fumbled with her words, flustered from the sudden handholding.
"Don't liches drain the life force and magic power of their enemies? I want to test a theory I have."
"…So that's what you meant by 'drain'!"
Wiz's rapidly beating heart began to calm, and her flushed cheeks returned to their usual color.
Clearly, she had misunderstood the situation earlier.
Taking a deep breath, Wiz's expression grew serious.
Having witnessed Zyhark single-handedly take on the entire elite Demon Lord army, she wasn't worried that her magic would actually drain him dry.
In her mind, Zyhark was no longer just a human.
At least, not an ordinary human!
A soft hum echoed.
Their joined hands began to glow faintly purple as Wiz activated her life-draining ability, a skill all liches excelled in.
However, just as she began to feel the life force flowing into her, something seemed off.
It was slow, far too slow.
Even disregarding magic power, given Zyhark's displayed combat ability, the life force she should be absorbing ought to be flooding into her like a tidal wave.
But now, forget a flood—if she didn't concentrate hard, she wouldn't even notice any energy entering her!
It felt as if she were trying to drain a lifeless stone!
Seeing Wiz's puzzled expression, Zyhark successfully reached a conclusion:
Haki really could block the magic curses of this world!
Back during the battle against the Demon Lord's army, Zyhark had already been hit by the Death Curse of the Headless Knight.
This was an unavoidable curse, one that usually only a high priest's purification could dispel, yet it had little effect on him.
Because of this, the Headless Knight was so shocked that he practically became a meme!
Of course, the reason Zyhark could nullify the Headless Knight's and Wiz's magic wasn't just because of Haki, but also because his Haki had been honed to an extremely strong level.
On the other hand, if Meowth had been in Wiz's place, he might've lost a good portion of his life force!
"Demon Lord-sama, are you toying with me?" Wiz asked, noticing the faint smile on Zyhark's face. Her eyes turned slightly resentful.
Though she'd always seen herself as a human despite being a lich, being looked down on like this was still a major blow to her pride.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to show off my strength," Zyhark apologized sincerely. "Like I said earlier, I was just testing a theory."
"Then can you let go of my hand now?" Wiz's expression grew even more complicated.
"Let's wait a little longer."
Zyhark wasn't ready to end his, uh, experiment so soon. Cough, cough.
Narrowing his eyes, he quietly activated his Devour skill.
The life-draining power of a lich was very similar to his Devour ability. If he could enhance his Devour through this kind of exchange, his overall strength would reach new heights!
After all, whether in a duel or a group fight, it was an unstoppable trump card!
"Demon Lord-sama, are you truly a human without magic power?" Wiz could no longer keep calm, her mouth agape.
Though the absorption was faint, her energy was indeed being drained back!
Driven by an inexplicable sense of competitiveness, Wiz increased the intensity of her life-draining magic.
And so, the two began a mutual draining match right in the Demon Lord's hall.
It wasn't until Zyhark had gathered enough information that he finally let go of her hand. Only then did Wiz let out a heavy sigh of relief.
If this had gone on any longer, she wasn't sure she could've held on!
Pervert Demon Lord!
As she left the hall, the lich silently branded Zyhark with that label in her heart.
She had barely stepped outside when the sound of clashing armor echoed through the dim hallway.
Summoned by the Demon Lord, the Headless Knight, Beldia, ran into Wiz as they crossed paths.
Before Wiz could greet him, Beldia struck a perfect bowling pose.
Judging his strength carefully, he threw his own head right at Wiz...
The steel helmeted head slid across the floor and stopped precisely beneath her skirt!
"Huff huff, hoo hoo!"
His eyes, hidden beneath the helmet, glowed a bright crimson, shining with excitement at what he had seen.
"Oh dear! So sorry, Wiz, my hand slipped~"
The perverted knight shamelessly offered his excuse.
Ah, I forgot to mention at the start of the chapter—this oddball Demon Lord's army also has a deeply hidden pervert among its ranks!
Compared to the theory-loving Brook of the Four Emperors, this seemingly upright and chivalrous knight was an action-driven pervert...
"It's... it's fine."
Wiz, being the timid type, didn't explode with Conqueror's Haki like Nami. Instead, she quietly shifted her foot and lightly kicked his disgusting head away.
The headless knight, content with his success, didn't press his luck further. He calmly walked over, picked up his head, and walked toward the Demon Lord's hall.
Standing at the entrance, he adjusted his breath before knocking on the door.
"Demon Lord-sama, it's me, Beldia. Do you have any orders for me?"
…
Switching perspectives, we now focus on the hero's team.
After three days of back-breaking work under Aqua's supervision, Meowth and the others had finally saved enough money to cover their registration fees.
Dragging their exhausted bodies, they made their way to the Adventurer's Guild.
During the past three days, word of their exploits had spread throughout the town.
So, the moment they stepped inside, several adventurers immediately recognized them.
"They're here! That perverted undead scoundrel!"
"Everyone, stay away from that guy! Don't make eye contact with those perverted eyes, or you'll bring bad luck upon yourself!"
The female adventurers scrambled to move their chairs further away.
Some of the more rugged ones even spat on the ground in disdain.
"Hey! Even if he's just a skeleton, you've got to admire his determination to pursue his dream to the very end. Come over here, I'll buy you a drink!"
"Even though he has no eyes, I can feel it—his gaze swept over all the women in the room the moment he walked in!"
"What unshakable willpower!"
In contrast, the male adventurers cheered with excitement.
Besides Brook, the adorable and well-behaved Kanna, the muscular King and Escanor, the bipedal pet cat (damn it, I'm a Pokémon!!), and the rare beauty with red and white hair, all drew a great deal of attention.
Under everyone's gaze, the group approached the guild's reception desk.
The one in charge was the same stunning blonde, Luna.
"Have you gathered enough for the registration fees?"
Luna greeted them with her signature warm smile.
"It's been a while, Miss Luna. Although this might be sudden, could you—"
Brook didn't get to finish his sentence before getting knocked out with a Hellsend chop from Uta, her sharp teeth gleaming as she hit him.
"You perverted skeleton! Are you trying to make our reputation even worse?!"
After spending this time together, Uta had gone from struggling to fit in to completely blending into the team, treating everyone as her trusted companions.
As a result, her naturally feisty personality had fully come to the surface.
"Sumimasen! Gomenasai!" Brook apologized profusely, clutching the bump that had formed on his skull.
Such an absurd scene amazed the adventurers around them.
"That's right, here's all our registration fees, meow!"
With reluctance in her eyes, Aqua watched as Meowth placed a bag of Eris coins on the counter.
—Due to his short stature, Meowth had to stand on King's shoulders.
"The amount is correct. Please follow me."
After counting the money, Luna led the group to a complicated-looking magic-powered crystal.
"All you need to do is place your hand on the crystal ball inside, and it will automatically generate an adventurer card with your basic stats."
"An adventurer card is your unique identifier. It's used for skill allocation and identification, so make sure to keep it safe."
After a brief explanation of the rules, the group eagerly prepared for their evaluations, curious to see their stats.
"So, it's basically a talent test?"
With calm, steady steps, Escanor was the first to approach. His body radiated intense heat as his hand pressed down on the crystal ball.
The crystal trembled slightly.
Then, it erupted in an incredibly bright light!
(End of Chapter)
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