Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

110 – Requirements for Newcomers, Floor by Floor

There is no unifying concept for the Demon King Castle as a whole.

Because of that, each stratum has its own clear set of rules.

It could be a special characteristic, a tendency or even a sense of unity.

Like a stratum of only werewolves or vampires, or a stratum of only aquatic Monsters or a collection of military types, or a stratum that’s hard for parties with low Resist filled with Dream Demons, or a stratum where you cannot proceed unless you solve challenges called trials or tests.

There is completely no one in the stratum I am in charge of, the tenth stratum, aside from me.

It’s called the Realm of Monsters but I got through it last time by summoning a large number of allies.

「…em.」

There is nothing wrong with a swordsman who desires an excellent blade, or a craftsman who fusses over his tools.

So there’s no problem with wanting a high-performance Magic Tool for Dungeon Clears or defenses.

Magic Tools are not tools that can make anyone strong in the first place. Alba’s Magic Sword cannot be easily handled by an amateur, the same applies to Furcus’ armor and spear. Once you obtain a Magic Tool that can simply increase your power, you have to amass a considerable amount of training in order to make use of such power freely.

Even this ring. If I run out of Magical Energy, it just becomes a fashion accessory.

Normally, that isn’t an issue…

…but I don’t have enough Magical Energy.

「…Lem.」

Kei and Thor, who are participating as temporary employees, and the Big Four, who can reappear on any Stratum, are fine but I cannot borrow the strength of the other members if I can’t summon.

However, in order to form the Avatar of the target summons, I have to bear the burden of the required Magical Energy to do it.

A Raid Battle has several rules that differ from normal Clears.

Any Adventurer who is eliminated in the raid battle cannot come back and participate in the following strata.

In a normal Clear, you can come back the next time the party continues the Clear, provided that the party isn’t attempting one stratum after another on the same day. But you can’t do that in a raid.

On the Monster side, Monster deployment cannot be changed from stratum to stratum once the Raid Battle has started, all the way till the end.

This means I can’t deploy the Werewolf Chief Marchosias’ subordinates and the Hellhounds on the tenth stratum like I did last time.

With the exception of my summons and the leader designated Monsters who can reappear once.

That being the case…although I’m not sure if that’s entirely true, the Adventurer side has a few relief measures. Adventurers no longer have a limit on how many times they can use a Repair Potion, and one person can be revived for every two Floor Bosses they defeat, which overrides the aforementioned rule of defeated Adventurers who cannot come back.

「Chief of staff…!」

A loud, sweet voice pulls me back to reality.

「Hm? Oh, Cashew.」

She had a rare, angry look on her face, complete with puffed up cheeks.

「I called you so many times!」

「Sorry. I was thinking.」

I casually poke her cheek while apologizing, and all the air went out of them.

She was embarrassed for a moment and then immediately looked worried.

「Is it…about the newcomers?」

We were in the office allotted for the Chief of Staff.

While I’m not yet used to this high-class looking wooden desk, I’m quite fond of this comfortable chair.

Spread out atop that desk are the resumes sent by those hoping to work in the tenth stratum.

「That too, I suppose.」

As long as I can’t solve my Magical Energy issue, I can’t rely on the ring.

No, I just can’t use it like I did last time, and it would definitely be impossible to summon him.

But now is not the time to think about that.

I should focus on the work in front of me.

「However, it’s not quite as easy as just reading what’s written on a piece of paper, huh….」

◇

The other day.

「I have decided to recruit Monsters. For each stratum, if you have any specific desires, tell either me or Agares later. Now is fine too.」

Said her Highness during the meeting.

At that time, all of the Floor Bosses were gathered.

The meeting room was also a different room from last time.

「I was thinking after seeing the movements of the Hellhounds lead by the Lord Chief of Staff,  having someone who can split them into groups and lead them could be more effective at repelling the enemy. A Beast Master would be a good candidate.」

Said the Floor boss of the first stratum, the Watchdog of Hell Naberius.

He is basically a dog man. Walking on two legs, with fur all over his body. The only difference with regular people is the fact that he has three heads.

Basically, the head in the middle seems to be in charge of communication.

Incidentally, when he’s out as a Monster, all three of his heads wear sunglasses.

「I would like if…no, I would prefer their Avatars be damaged without eliminating them. I would welcome any Hunters or Craftsman who specialize in setting traps if there are any. If I may be so bold as to make this request.」

It was the Spirit Commanding General Kimaris.

Currently the oldest staff member of the Demon King Castle. About forty or so. Since Majin’s don’t look that much different from Normals except for them growing horns, it isn’t hard to tell his age from his appearance.

Wavy black hair with a hint of purple, and a black pair of horns growing from the sides of his head.

He is basically a knight, and his sword skills are also excellent, perhaps having an Aptitude for it. At least enough to defeat the Frost Hero Bella, even though she had just left the Training Institution.

However, when the Necromancer side of him comes out strongly, he becomes, how should I put it, an avid collector.

Necromancers manipulate the corpses of the dead. Of course, such acts are illegal in this day and age, so this Job is only helpful to Monsters.

It steals the Avatars that have received enough damage to put them on the brink of being defeated and puts them under his control.

「As long as they are a Vampire with a reasonable amount of blood manipulation and regeneration skills, I don’t require anything else. I shall educate them after they’ve been hired.」

Says the Floor Boss of the third stratum, the Vampire Queen Carmilla, also Milla, while smiling widely.

To me and Cashew, she is the kindly Milla, but to the other Monsters, she is famous for playing a sadistic character.

Having been treated coldly in her previous job just because she is a young woman, she respects and adores her Highness, who appreciates her true abilities.

Her subordinates are loyal, but I also think they fear her. Well, there are many ways to do things.

I can confirm that there is fear but there is no anger or hatred. She’s perceived as a scary person, but not a bad person. If that’s the case, it’s not my place to interject.

When our eyes met, Milla looked happy.

I also spontaneously smile back.

「I would like to request for male Werewolves, your Highness! Of course, if their soul is manly, then their sex matters not!」

It was the Floor Boss of the fourth stratum, the Chief of the Werewolves Marchosias.

His short cut, silver hair feels somewhat refreshing. His red eyes seem to be burning, and his tall stature feels more reliable than intimidating. He has the masculine facial features of a Normal but Werewolves are able to switch between a Human appearance and a wolf-like appearance.

He calls his subordinates brothers and trains them with guts, and in the tenth stratum, he landed a blow on Fenix, so his approach to battle is not that of a thoughtless person.

A fiery hot soul, with a calm mind. A strong man who only wishes to serve as the Floor Boss of the Demon King Castle, an all-around nice guy.

「Here here, only cute Dream Demons need apply~」

The one who answered cheerfully was the fifth stratum Floor Boss, the Demon of Love Sitri.

The fifth stratum was originally scaled like a cafe but it seems to be under remodeling until the commencement of the raid battle. She seems to be making it wider.

「People who can use Water Magic would help a lot.」

The Floor Boss of the sixth stratum is the Ruler of the Waters Vepal, a beautiful mermaid.

Long golden hair with tinges of blue, and scales that all sparkle like gemstones.

Her upper half is only covered by a seashell-like designed swimsuit while the rest of her is freely exposed white skin.

It is said that she is able to change her bottom half to that of a person, but no one has ever seen her walk on two legs.

She normally moves around in a device that is a combination of a cart and a bathtub. She is submerged in the bathtub while her subordinates wheel her around.

「I thank you, but the seventh stratum has no need for additional personnel.」

The Floor Boss of the seventh stratum, the Eloquent Thrush Lord Caim, has a rather unique appearance. His head is that of a regular birdman, but for some reason…he wears a bird costume.

He loves giving quizzes and speaking while spinning his cane around.

「…People who are strong, in both mind and body.」

That was the Floor Boss of the eighth stratum, the Reaper Knight Furcus.

It seems my esteemed swordmaster is awake for today’s meeting. I was worried because she’s generally asleep.

「Hmm. What say you, Chief of Staff?」

The Floor Boss of the ninth stratum, the Time Demon Agares, looks my way.

With silver swept-back hair, he is a Majin with a pair of goat-like horns growing out from the edges of his exposed forehead.

There are only Majins on his stratum. If the eighth stratum is a stratum of pure military might, then the ninth is a stratum of magic warfare.

If he were to hire new people, they would have to be Majin.

When I noticed, everyone’s eyes were on me.

「Uhm…someone who’s eager…I guess?」

At that instant, I thought time had stopped.

But of course, it didn’t. It was simply an illusion caused by every single person in the room being flabbergasted at the same time.

「Yeah! I understand, Lord Chief of Staff! What’s important is the mind, before ability, right?!」

Marchosias nodded repeatedly, astonished.

「Lord Chief of Staff paves the path to victory with his own ability. Thus, it is not ability he seeks, but spirit, yes?」

Neberius as well folds his arms in understanding.

「I am sure that the Chief of Staff, who is not particular about race, will not set any conditions that would restrict them.」

Even Kimaris.

Milla looked troubled, Sitri seemed happy, and Caim laughed joyfully.

「Very well, but heed this, Lem. You will get a veritable flood of applicants this way. Since there are no conditions, after all.」

It is as her Highness says.

It’s true that if you just say that you welcome people who are eager, it’s just a common invitation.  

「Then how about…those who have the mettle to defeat a Hero…?」

The Demon King Luci looked at me with her big round eyes, blinking, but soon gave a little chuckle.

「…Fu, that’s fine. So the applicants shall gather under you in order to overthrow Heroes?」

The meeting ended after discussing a few more things. After everyone had left the room.

At her Highness’s orders, I remained in the room.

I was alone with her Highness.

Agares wanted to attend but her Highness kicked him out.

「The Realm of Monsters, huh? Different people fighting together without discrimination, the realm of the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff. Is it for this reason that you set restrictions on neither race nor Job?」

「…It would be nice if a Black Sorcerer could become a hero, and win over heroes. That’s what I think. It’s not easy for anyone to say that, but I don’t want to reject those who have the same thoughts and have worked hard for that purpose at the first stage.」

「Haha, You’re a big shot because you can bark that out in a raid battle, even when you yourself are short on Magical Energy. Or perhaps you’re just a complete idiot? Either way, I never tire of watching you.」

「…Thank you very much. So is it fine?」

「We shall see. Oops, I almost forgot the main question.」

The smile disappeared from her Highness’s face.

「What would you do if I told you…that there was a way to rapidly accumulate Magical Energy.」

「…」

「However, it is a tough path. Neither that man nor I were able to learn it. I dare say…no more than three people have mastered it in these modern times. One of them is grandfather. I am proposing this to you because you are a Human who has inherited grandfather’s horn.」

A method that not even Fellow nor her Highness were able to learn.

An ability that even those with the Aptitude of a Demon King were not able to acquire.

Or perhaps it is not talent that is required.

The details remain a mystery.

My answer is obvious.

「I’ll do it.」

◇

The training to learn that method will be done after the interviews.

I have been preparing as much as I could, thinking about what to do if I am unable to acquire it…what should I do?

No, not now, focus. I have to focus on the task at hand.

「As I thought, I won’t know until I meet them face-to-face.」

Incidentally, even though Milla said「Please hire the people you believe you need. And I am not saying that you can’t choose women…fufufu.」, there are actually quite a lot of female applicants.

I think for a moment that it’s not like her, but then I reconsider.

Milla has never interfered with my victory or that of my allies.

She’s just trying to prevent me from getting a little closer to women…

「Chief of Staff, it’s time.」

Led by my secretary, I leave the room and head to the interview room.