Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

57 – The Flame Hero and the Crimson Majin

「A Hero of the new age?」

The man was probably in his thirties. He’s tall, has his back as straight as can be and if we stood next to each other, I’d probably have to look up at him.

He always has a smile on his face and speaks calmly.

However, for some reason, he feels shady.

「Indeed. Of course, this is an activity that has received permission from the Adventurer Union. As for the false request to interview you for an article, I decided that it would be the simplest method of getting a chance to talk to you.」

To send out a work request without it first being allowed by the Adventurer Union is prohibited. His claim to be operating with the Adventurer Union’s permission is most likely true. Only a hopeless fool would spit out such falsehoods.

That said, whether or not an Adventurer’s Union-permitted request will be received is decided by the party or individual involved.

Surely, if we heard that this was actually about a work request, we would have turned a deaf ear.

「Ya think we’re gonna trust someone who would spit out a lie just to see our faces?」

Said Alba while glaring at the man.

In the room are two three-person sofas with a small table in between them. There are two single chairs covering the remaining two sides of the table.

The man sat alone in one of the three-person sofas, Alba, Lark, and I sat on the other sofa while the girls each sat in the single chairs.

「That is harsh. Had I not done that, we wouldn’t have been able to meet, no? You all just announced that you would all be re-training yourselves after the failure to Clear the Demon King Castle. It would look bad to the public if you were to accept work that is unrelated to Dungeons.」

「To come to us knowing all that must mean that you have something extremely good to tell us.」

「That is exactly right, Sir Lark.」

The man smiles broadly.

What was the name he gave us in the beginning? I think it was Fellow.

「We plan on rising up the ranks fair and square. I don’t know what conversation you had with the Union but we are currently polishing our skills so I believe you would have better luck with other parties.」

「Nay, Miss Lily. It is precisely because you all are in the spotlight right now that I wish for you to undertake this request. Moreover, this will benefit people like you.」

Those last few words were directed solely at Lily.

「That’s…what do you…」

Lily had a puzzled expression.

「Um, if you’re not gonna leave your seat, wouldn’t it be faster to just hear him out?」

The Frost Hero Bella said in a tired tone.

They all turned to look at me.

Indeed, it shouldn’t be a problem for us to leave now that we know that this isn’t an interview.

Just as I was about to decide to leave my seat.

「Oh that’s right. My proposal should also be able to clear the path for people with unfortunate Jobs such as Sir Lem.」

…this man…

Without touching upon the heart of the matter, he pulls at a person’s heartstrings. My interest is piqued, and I am urged to lend him an ear.

「…Tell me the brief version.」

Surely enough, Sir Fellow smiles broadly at my words.

「The top three positions in the Adventurer rankings have been unchanged. Before your steady rise, the rankings were unchanged up to the tenth rank, yes? That is how unwaveringly popular they had become. Even if someone was interested in seeing the latest Dungeon Clear video, they turn their eyes to the popular parties. Unless an Adventurer has an extremely good gimmick or a party is structured to match that of a popular party, it is impossible to acquire fans in this current state.」

That’s the truth.

But only because the Clears of the top ten ranked parties were always interesting.

「And that’s great. There’s something about being popular that just makes you popular. Nothing wrong with that. However, those who have been trying to build a reputation but don’t have what it takes to be popular, even if you have abilities that surpass all, will disappear into obscurity without ever seeing the light of day.」

We listened quietly, the man continued.

「For example, the unfortunate Jobs Black Sorcerer and White Sorcerer. In times of war, they were priceless treasures, but now, they are treated as incompetent. Why is that? It’s because parties are only limited to up to five members and they are lacking in visual appeal. Being able to lower the enemy’s abilities or raising your ally’s abilities were originally superb magics.」

Due to the Dungeon Clearing craze, they were the first two Jobs that were probably viewed differently.

If it wasn’t for the party limit, those two Jobs wouldn’t be a bother to their allies. If more of them were gathered, it would be more reassuring. Although that would require more people to protect them.

Since that isn’t possible, they have a very low priority and as a result, a perception that they were unnecessary had spread among the people.

「Take the Elves, for example, they are not the hostile species they once were and instead now choose to seclude themselves in the Sacred Forest with no contact with the outside world. They have a history of not interfering in battles. That’s why Elven Adventurers are shunned. They think that these once non-conflict-seeking people are only now participating because it is a fight in which their safety is assured.」

There was a situation like that in the past. Alba once insisted that Lily’s Avatar should have human ears.

In the end, she made everyone approve of her with her prowess but there was no shortage of cold remarks when she first joined the team.

「The most harshly handled race is the Demi-Humans who are called Monsters. If one does not closely resemble the norm, Humans, they are rejected when trying to apply as an Adventurer. In truth, the only races that are recognized are Elves, Dwarves, and animal-eared Demi-Humans. Majins, Dream Demons, Dragonkin, Birdmen, and countless Beastmen are said to simply not match the established look of the traditional Hero party.」

What he said is also true.

「However, this is an unavoidable aspect of the established setting. It’s the same reason that muscular men are not called for a Bikini Babe feature. It is not discrimination, it is the fact that it does not suit the thing that they are trying to create. Even so, is it not a sad state of affairs?」

Around that time, the man’s smile disappeared.

These were not words to keep up appearances, he truly feels a little sad about it.

「Is this all about preparing a place where those who desired to carry out activities as an Adventurer can do so through a means other than Dungeon Clearing?」

「Yes, yes exactly. Adventurers are just and Monsters are evil? Is there a need to be trapped in such an old-fashioned setting? No, there is not. I plan to provide a new form of entertainment!」

「How, for example?」

「I buy out a Dungeon and after repairing it, I turn it into a Combat Field. A field in which you could play something as simple as Capture the Point, or perhaps the current conventional style of fighting until one side is completely annihilated, or perhaps even a fight with a rule that allows you to revive as many times as needed until a special objective is achieved. By the way, participants will not be treated as the Hero party or Monsters, they will all be treated as Players instead. That way, there is no good or evil. I want to create game-like fights with the liberty of choosing anyone to be in your party.」[1. TL Note: He actually says “Jintori” which is a children’s game where they try to occupy the other’s home base, so I translated it as Capture the Point.]

Matches in which Demi-Humans and Humans can be mixed freely.

From what I’ve heard, it sounds like an interesting experiment.

「If I make full use of the Dungeon, a special area can be created that can increase the effectiveness of Black and White Sorcerers tenfold only when they stand in it. This is because their efficacy can be increased by the Magical Energy provided by the Dungeon. Currently, the Monster side is prohibited from utilizing the Magical Energy that is used to construct Dungeons for anything else, but if both sides are allowed to use it, balance can be maintained.」

I see, so for example, if it was a five vs. five match, having a Black Sorcerer or White Sorcerer has its benefits.

If there were more participants, they could include one in each team.

If their efficacy is ten times as good, they can’t be ignored. As an ally, they should apply pressure to the one on the enemy’s side.

「Tournament or one-on-one battles can be prepared for those that are bad at team sports. Speaking of ongoing projects, there is a Tag Tournament scheduled to happen in this town. It is a tournament where anyone can come together and compete, Adventurer and Monster alike. If more things like this happen, even outstandingly talented individuals who couldn’t shine in Dungeon Clears can gain popularity.」

And so he concludes.

「If this is realized, these will be officially recognized by the Adventurer Union. Which means that they can affect the rankings.

How would you like to participate in Magic Tool-only battles, Sir Alba?

What do you think of competing in archery matches, Miss Lily?

Would it not be a flashy spectacle to see how many attack spells you could withstand, Sir Lark?

Heroes are normally those that lead their allies, but they are also those that can individually take on powerful foes in the hour of need. Wouldn’t you like to be able to freely fight with your full strength from the very start of the battle, o Heroes?」

I see, I think I understand his way of thinking a little.

The top three ranked parties are already standing at the very pinnacle of the industry.

However, we still haven’t been able to break into the top three, yet we still strongly desire to be first ranked.

Recently, we garnered attention by attempting to Clear the most difficult Dungeon, the Demon King Castle, and the failure to do so has us interested in future trends.

And Sir Fellow here wishes to win us over.

More effective than simply calling people to join his cause, he can gather participants.

He offers benefits to us and also uses us to attract customers.

Just how much groundwork did he lay in order to make the Adventurer Union approve his project?

He is a man who speaks frivolously yet is unfathomable.

「What say you?」

「I would like to ask one question.」

「Go ahead.」

「What are you aiming to achieve?」

「…I’m sorry?」

For an instant, I saw his smile twitch unnaturally.

「To take things this far would require a certain amount of dedication, or rather, obsession.」

「By creating a new form of entertainment, the profits will be enormous-」

「That’s a lie. You came to persuade us. If money is the most important thing, wouldn’t you have mentioned it during your persuasion by now? Yet you have not touched upon that once since you began talking.」

「I merely thought that such things do not interest you all.」

「You may be right. However, I think it is you as well who has no interest in such things.」

「The intuition of a Hero?」

「Take it how you will. More importantly, are you going to answer my question?」

In the next moment, we all stood up immediately.

Because we all felt an immense amount of Magical Energy rising from him.

「Ah, no, please excuse me. My apologies, for it seems I got a little carried away with my emotions.」

…The pressure alone from the Magical Energy just now was extremely similar to that time with Lem…

Finding answers to my suspicions, I sat back down.

「But I must say, that was splendid. As expected from the fourth-ranked party, what a marvelous response.」

It seems he has no plans on offering an explanation regarding the Magical Energy.

He, once again, plasters a smile to his face and answers my question.

「My objective is merely「Fairness」. Truly, that is all.」

Fixated on one way of doing things, unfortunate Jobs were born.

Fixated on one setting, the good and evil theme from that setting has permeated across the general public.

So he’s saying he wishes to resolve that and remove the prejudices towards Jobs and species?

From what I heard, I do think it’s a wonderful sentiment, but…

「…To achieve your goal, wouldn’t the continuation of Dungeon Clears be a hindrance to you? As far as you are concerned, they are symbols of unfairness.」

「What marvelously keen insight you have, Miss Bella. Yes, eventually I plan to make Dungeon Clears a thing of the past.」

He said, like it was nothing special.

We were shocked at those words.

「In other words, you don’t plan to just introduce a new form of entertainment, but you want it to completely replace Dungeon Clears?」

「Do you mind keeping that a secret from the Union?」

Sir Fellow puts a finger to his lips as if shushing us.

Just because he said it doesn’t mean I’ll believe it.

Who would seriously believe that one man’s ambition can make Dungeon Clears disappear?

「So, what do you think? Not a bad idea, yes? I’m sure everyone thinks so. Sir Fenix, you’d be able to give your best friend a chance to play a role. Even as a third party, I can only imagine his humiliation and hardship. Please think about it. Think about everyone acknowledging his power, about everyone applauding his efforts. With you all lending me your strength, that future can become reality much faster.」

By cooperating with a man who wishes to abolish Dungeon Clears, there might come a future where Lem’s efforts take center stage?

…This man seems to have misunderstood something.

In my head, I have already come to an answer.