"I dare not claim to be a big shot; I am just a humble servant who, during official business, assists His Excellency the Demon God," Grien said with a polite smile, then extended his right hand to Luo Yan, "You must be Luo Yan. Speaking of which, I am actually your senior."
"Greetings, Senior!" Luo Yan saluted respectfully.
Though establishing a connection wasn't that simple, sweet-talking never hurt.
Noticing the commotion at the entrance of the cafeteria, many students who were dining cast interested glances in their direction.
They had all heard a thing or two, rumors of a third-year student voluntarily applying to become a Demon King and even receiving the principal's recommendation. Having just become a Demon King, he was assigned a tricky Flame Crystal.
Everyone was waiting to laugh at the grandstanding individual's inevitable misfortune.
It was said that some had made private bets, wagering on how many days he would survive in office.
Hardly anyone had faith in the young Demon King.
Even within the cabinet that had ultimately agreed, many regarded this as yet another failed attempt by the conservative forces.
Grien thought the same.
However, although he wasn't optimistic about Luo Yan, he was intrigued by this junior, personally recommended by Principal Ai Wen.
So, as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Demon King Management Department, he took it upon himself to deliver the assignment letter, a task that was usually relegated to the lower-level staff.
To be honest.
When he first saw Luo Yan, he was disappointed, and his disappointment didn't lessen no matter how many more times he looked.
No matter how he looked at him, the kid was just an ordinary Undead Mage... with merely the strength of bronze rank at that.
Or was there...
Perhaps a hidden story behind it all?
Without letting the disappointment show on his face, Grien retained his proper smile and said in a pleasant voice.
"It is admirable how young and talented you are, junior. I remember when I just graduated, I spent years in the Logistics Department's Resource Management Division as a clerk. As for the Demon King, that was something we dunces could only look up to, not even daring to dream of it."
The words were seventy percent courtesy, twenty percent flattery, and the remaining ten percent probing.
Of course, Luo Yan could discern this, but had no interest in exposing it; he simply smiled modestly.
"Senior jests. I am of humble abilities and shallow learning, it is purely by good fortune that I have been entrusted with such an important task. With the generous support of my elders, I will strive not to disappoint everyone."
Grien looked at Luo Yan with surprise for a couple more seconds.
Luck, sure.
He had thought the guy would say misfortune.
It seemed that this poor junior had no idea what he was getting into—
No, that couldn't be right.
Even if Luo Yan knew nothing, the renowned Principal Ai Wen couldn't also be clueless, could he?
A three-part look of pity turned into one of suspicion, and Grien suddenly found that he couldn't quite see through his junior before him.
Should he invest a bit?
Or wait and see...
Undecided, Grien opted to simply observe for a while, as they would have plenty of interactions in the future.
"Haha, don't be so formal... ah, this place is still as lively as ever, brings back memories."
Grien calmly stepped aside for one of the squawking, darting dishes and Little Demon underclassmen, maintaining his smile as he watched Luo Yan continue to speak.
"This isn't the best place to discuss matters, may we step aside to talk?"
"Sure."
Luo Yan had just finished eating, so he followed the Demon senior to the cafeteria's downstairs lounge and took a quiet corner to sit down.
Senior Grien murmured a Spell, drew with his index finger in the air, and an envelope sealed with a red emblem emerged from the rift, falling onto the table.
Unsurprisingly, this was his appointment letter.
Luo Yan reached out to take it, his index finger touching the menacing Demon God emblem, faintly feeling the residual warmth on the seal.
The appointment letter must have been delivered right after being written.
"Let's get down to business," Grien said, watching Luo Yan open the envelope. He corrected the expression on his face and spoke, "Your appointment letter has now been delivered. Since the core of the Demon King Territory has been destroyed, the teleportation formation deployed in the maze could extinguish at any moment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs hopes you can set out as soon as possible, before the complete disappearance of the teleportation formation."
"Understood," Luo Yan nodded, then inquired, "What about my troops? Am I meeting them there, or are we setting out together—"
"Unfortunately, there's no such thing."
Grien shook his head.
Watching the senior's gesture, Luo Yan froze in place.
"There's no...?"
"That's exactly what I'm getting at. The fact is... since Mr. Reggie Dragon botched things up, we've essentially lost the Demon King Territory deep within human territory," Grien said with a serious expression, looking at Luo Yan and continuing, "If we were to suddenly send a force over there now, what do you think would happen?"
Of course, it would mean sending a force over.
But Luo Yan sensed that wasn't what he meant and, after pondering for a while, said.
"Do you mean... the Ryan Kingdom would deploy a force of corresponding strength?"
"Exactly."
Grien nodded in approval and added.
"The teleportation circle's capability is ultimately limited, especially since we've lost the aforementioned Demon King Territory. No matter how many troops we prepare on our side, if the enemy adds just one more straw on top of our limit, they would have an overwhelming advantage against our reinforcements."
Indeed.
This wasn't one of Paradox Interactive's games where you could switch allegiance or use a washtub to sneak across.
Luo Yan nodded, showing his understanding, but then saw Grien change the subject.