Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 215 - This Is So Reassuring

Chapter 215: This Is So Reassuring

 

The interior of the tavern “Secret Whisper” consisted of several private rooms.

Each room was equipped with mystical devices that completely soundproofed it and prevented eavesdropping.

In other words, it was the perfect place for all kinds of sinister and evil conspiracies to begin.

“This place has an amazing atmosphere.”

We had rented an expensive room using Mek’s name to get a discount.

Bartimir continuously nodded in approval while crunching on the complimentary potato chips.

“It really is impressive.”

Chewing the potato chip my demon daughter had placed in my mouth, I looked around the room as well.

A dim interior illuminated only by a single magic-stone lamp hanging from the ceiling.

Monster skulls mounted along the walls at regular intervals.

“Doesn’t this seriously feel like the hideout of some evil organization?”

“It resembles the headquarters of a secret society.”

Wriggle!

The Serene One was delighted and made the troublesome request that I remodel our home like this….

“Marlin would absolutely never allow it.”

“Allow what?”

“Lord Lriria wishes for my house to be decorated like this.”

“Oh, I’m all for it. While we’re at it, why don’t you move out of that rental house and buy a proper home? Then decorate it just like this!”

That was a tempting suggestion.

The Cultist Town was considered an undesirable neighborhood, so property prices were incredibly cheap. If I squeezed just a little money out of the Young Master, we’d easily be able to afford a magnificent mansion.

“Then once we buy a new house, shall we start with my room and gradually remodel the entire place little by little without Marlin noticing?”

“I love it! I want to live there too!”

“I’ll bribe Abel. That alone should put us halfway to success. Ufufufu….”

“Ehehehe….”

[Why are you and Bartimir less mature than Marlin…?]

“But this place doesn’t really feel infused with many negative concepts….”

“That’s probably because they’ve only created the atmosphere.”

If this had truly been a breeding ground for every imaginable crime and atrocity, Chairman Blackbeak certainly wouldn’t have left it alone.

During working hours, there wasn’t anyone more competent than that crowfolk.

“Besides, the citizens of District Five simply aren’t suited to all sorts of shady, sinister crimes. Most of them still retain the lifestyle they had back on the Eastern Continent, so they’re far too laid-back to spread evil.”

Even being a villain required diligence.

Just look at Conspirator he’d spent years carefully weaving schemes to win the Guild War.

“I’m here.”

After waiting for a while, a dog beastman with an intimidating presence entered the dark room.

The third member of House Lee… Pierre.

His eyes gleamed brightly from the darkness beyond the reach of the magic-stone lamp.

“Welcome. Please, have a seat.”

Pierre sat across from me.

In the gentle lighting, the outlaw beastman’s face revealed almost none of the murderous intent lurking within him. Only an extreme calmness remained.

It was undoubtedly the influence of his trait, [Frozen Heart].

There was something about him that reminded me of myself back when I still worked at the company.

‘That was around the time I created it.’

As an ordinary new office worker trying to live like a “normal person,” I’d struggled for quite some time suppressing my violently unruly true nature.

After all, working at a company had drastically reduced the amount of adversity in my life.

If not for Manager Choi, the evil spirit regularly providing me with “hardship,” I probably wouldn’t have endured.

“You truly worked hard during the tournament.”

Leaning slightly forward, I began speaking.

“Thanks to my friend Lord Pierre eliminating Adrian and almost the entire Nobles of the Night Expedition, winning the tournament became much easier.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Friends are supposed to help each other.”

Crackle!

The Exalted One instructed us to engage in “dangerously intimate physical contact that slightly crosses the line between friends.”

As an exemplary cultist, I naturally tried to obey the Evil God’s wishes.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the right time. Bartimir was sitting right beside me.

“My friend Lord Pierre, this is Sir Bartimir, a member of my expedition.”

I gently touched the demon chewing on potato chips beneath the chin.

“You’ve already met, haven’t you? Back when you came to plunder [Cherry Cherry Hill]. As you can plainly see, he’s an exceptionally kind-hearted demon.”

“Hmm….”

Pierre’s indifferent gaze shifted toward Bartimir.

He silently observed him for a moment before speaking calmly.

“You’re certainly no ordinary person. It’s a pleasure.”

“……”

The smile disappeared from Bartimir’s face.

He casually draped an arm over my shoulder before replying.

“Just a warning. If you direct killing intent at me one more time, I’m beating you up.”

Demons could visually perceive negative concepts.

So Bartimir had undoubtedly seen it in real time… the intense bursts of killing intent that intermittently leaked from Pierre.

“My apologies. It wasn’t intentional.”

The outlaw beastman immediately raised both hands.

“No… more accurately, I’m sorry for letting my true feelings show. It’s something like an incurable illness. Even I can’t fully control it.”

He didn’t appear interested in competing with her.

Except during those occasional moments when he impulsively committed murder, Pierre always maintained a calm and cultured demeanor.

Just like I once had.

“…Really?”

Hearing Pierre’s sincere apology, Bartimir’s expression softened.

“Alright. If it’s an illness, then it can’t be helped.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Nah. Feel free to have killing intent next time too.”

As long as someone wasn’t directing unjustified hostility toward him, Bartimir opened his heart even to an outlaw.

That was the influence of his trait, [Pure Soul].

Whether for better or worse, he was a demon completely free of inner pretenses.

“Sir Bartimir truly is a wonderful person.”

Thanks to that, even Pierre smiled faintly. A warm atmosphere began filling the room.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I quickly spoke up.

“Since we’ve all met like this, why don’t you two become friends as well?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Nor do I.”

“Wonderful. Then from this moment onward, you two are friends!”

I pulled both of their hands together.

“Let’s get along.”

“Likewise.”

Bartimir vigorously shook his hand.

Pierre didn’t pull away either, quietly returning the rather forceful handshake.

A demon dark mage wrapped head to toe in the bandages [Devotee].

A bloodthirsty dog beastman beast tamer who constantly radiated murderous intent.

The soft lighting illuminated the two as they smiled faintly at each other.

[Personal Opinion — This looks exactly like a gathering of lunatics….]

Swipe. Swipe.

I immediately erased that outrageous slander from before my eyes.

Lunatics? That was far too harsh toward such a kind-hearted demon and a beastman who always lived righteously except during his occasional acts of plundering.

“Is this the place?”

At that moment, the final participant of the House Lee gathering arrived.

The utterly expressionless dragonkin, Fafnir, sat beside Pierre and placed both hands upon the table.

“Let’s skip pointless introductions and get straight to the main topic. I’m a busy man.”

“…What’s with this guy?”

Bartimir frowned.

“You’re the one who showed up late, and you don’t even apologize. You’re acting like you’re the leader or something.”

“Our demon friend is correct. You are not the leader of this group.”

“Are you planning to waste time with pointless criticism? If so, I’ll just leave.”

Fafnir immediately stood up again.

Neither the demon nor the beastman looked especially bothered by it.

Moments like this called for me… the cheerful mood-maker.

“Now, now, what’s the matter?”

I hurried over and wrapped myself around Fafnir’s arm.

“Don’t be so cold. Stay and chat a little longer.”

“Golden Crow, I didn’t accept this invitation to exchange meaningless conversation.”

“Ah, then perhaps you’d like to admire my extremely valuable collarbone instead?”

“……”

The dragonkin narrowed his eyes.

I slightly pulled my clothes aside to genuinely show him my collarbone.

Fafnir’s lips slowly curved upward.

“Forget that. As promised, I’d rather eat you.”

“Ah! Right here? How bold….”

Covering my blushing face, I bashfully twisted my body before rolling up one sleeve.

“Then please accept my arm as an advance payment.”

Crackle!

Using [Black Lightning Blossom], I separated my right arm below the elbow and handed it to him.

“…Thank you.”

His voice trembled slightly as he accepted it.

He bit into my arm and quietly sat down.

Crunch. Crunch.

The eating noises were somewhat loud, but perhaps because we were in company, he still maintained proper table manners.

Watching him, Bartimir and Pierre each commented.

“Hmm. It’s still less disgusting than the Demon King’s way of consuming positive concepts.”

“My Lulu and Lili are also very fond of human arms. Friend, could you give me about ten spare arms sometime? Fresh human limbs are surprisingly difficult to acquire.”

“It’s nice that none of you are making a fuss. People are always so noisy that it’s difficult to enjoy a proper meal in crowded places.”

I looked around at the members of House Lee one by one before nodding.

“This is truly such a warm and harmonious gathering.”

What an incredibly reassuring lineup.

 

***

 

“Your order has arrived.”

A gloomy waiter wearing a mask to match the tavern’s theme set down our beer and sausage appetizers before disappearing like a phantom.

“Please, help yourselves. This one’s on me.”

At Truthy’s insistence, I drank milk instead of beer as I finally brought up the real purpose of today’s gathering.

“All of you are going to shake Pletica’s exploration world in the future.”

“Are you saying that as a cultist of Twisted Truth?”

“Exactly. Lord Lidni has already seen even the truths of the infinite future.”

[:)]

“That’s why I’d like us to maintain an ongoing cooperative relationship.”

“You intend to expand the alliance you formed with me?”

“Exactly.”

An alliance that surpassed the Copy Alliance… the Lee Alliance.

I was certain that although it would eventually collapse, it would achieve results beyond imagination for quite some time.

“Our objective is to overthrow the Silence Alliance.”

I glanced toward Pierre before continuing.

“Depending on your perspective, you may also think of it as reforming the Silence Alliance. Feel free to interpret it however you like. If you prefer, you can even call it ‘The Silence Alliance Is Mean! Bad Silence Alliance!'”

Fafnir raised a hand.

“Why should I participate in something like that?”

“Oh, come now. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Overthrowing the Silence Alliance.

My objective and Pierre’s objective overlapped with Fafnir’s in one important respect.

“You ultimately want to conquer the underworld first, don’t you?”

“……”

The criminal underworld of Pletica.

Even among the countless organizations operating in the shadows across every district, the struggle for dominance was fierce.

At present, the one worthy of being called the King of the Underworld… the leader of the Silence Alliance… was that person who was absolutely not the eldest child of House Brites.

“…The three of you do seem useful.”

The dragonkin, who loved eating human flesh yet hadn’t touched a single drop of beer, crossed his arms.

“Golden Crow. You should know exactly who leads the Silence Alliance. Even so, you’re willing to oppose that person?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

Fafnir nodded before opening his eyes fully.

“Golden Crow, are there any more people you intend to recruit?”

“…There is.”

The eldest… the berserker Ymir… was already dead.

Unfortunately, he’d passed away before I ever had the chance to properly speak with him.

Which meant only one member of House Lee remained.

The second child… Balthazar.

“However… that person has a bit of a problem, so recruiting him won’t be easy.”

Pierre and Fafnir could somehow work together.

Balthazar… would be much more difficult.

“I see. So you’re saying the four of us will bring down the Silence Alliance.”

“For the time being, yes.”

“Ha! I like this more and more. Very well… let’s do it.”

“An excellent decision.”

Clapping my hands, I stood and extended one of them.

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to do this!”

Bartimir immediately stacked his bandaged hand on top of mine.

“This suits us perfectly.”

Pierre placed his scar-covered hand atop Bartimir’s.

“These sorts of formalities are occasionally necessary.”

Fafnir laid his bloodstained hand over Pierre’s.

Everyone’s resolve had become one.

Smiling like a proper cultist, I whispered,

“Ufufufu… Together, we’ll conquer Pletica’s underworld.”

“I’ll get to consume tons of negative concepts.”

“We’ll be able to eliminate every worthless outlaw.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Thus, the Lee Alliance, formed to oppose the Silence Alliance, was born.

“But what should we call ourselves? And shouldn’t we appoint a leader?”

“Actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss.”

Taking advantage of the momentum, I decided to offer them an extremely honorable opportunity.

“Would any of you be interested… in working under the Demon King?”