Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

77 – The Demon King’s Son and the Hero’s Brother’s Work Relationship, The Demon King Army’s Chief-of-Staff and One of the Big Four’s Student-Teacher Relationship

「Oho, how very interesting, indeed.」

In the reception room of the rental office rented for use during our time working in this town.

Just opposite the table that is sandwiched between two sofas sits Sir Philip.

I listened to the details of his discussion with great intent, happily rubbing my chin.

「So, could you do me this favor?」

「Yes, of course. It was said that you two siblings would participate together but I am grateful for this outcome as well. It is unfortunate that she cannot appear as the Silver Prince, but to partner with the Black Sorcerer Lem is absolutely splendid.」

The reason for his visit today was to report to me that his sister was to enter the Tournament with a Monster Avatar and to ask for my cooperation to hide her true identity and not let the information leak.

The audience won’t necessarily know the true forms of the Monsters but that’s not the case for the organizers. They will naturally confirm a person’s identity. Meticulous attention will be paid to the handling of such information but something like a Hero pretending to be Monster will probably slip out from a careless handler.

He has come to ask me to take special consideration that that situation does not happen.

「Lem, huh…I suppose him appearing after he disappeared without a trace after his withdrawal from the party would attract attention.」

「That, too, yes, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in action because he isn’t as incompetent as people say he is. Fenix isn’t the kind of man who would let a weak person into his party out of friendship in the first place. There aren’t many people these days who yearns for the No.1 rank as he does.」

It’s not the same as when one is a child.

Children who yearned to be Adventurers have all once daydreamed about being No.1.

But after identifying one’s Job, going through the Training Institution’s curriculum, and facing the reality of making your debut, it becomes impossible to utter such dreams.

It’s too far. It’s absurd to make that the objective. Choose a way of life that fits one’s stature. At least I’ll be ranked higher in that than others…or so one thinks as circumstances make them look at a more reasonably achievable dream.

This is adapting, not corrupting one’s dream.

There are people like Sir Philip who confronted his party’s marketability and succeeded.

「Do you…know Sir Fenix personally?」

「Yes, we’ve met.」

This is exactly what makes the Fenix party so valuable.

They tore a hole into the fixed top ten parties and secured a spot among them as 4th rank in merely six years.

They have been stagnant for a year, however, but that is due to the thick wall surrounding the top three.

「…It is true that Sir Lem was able to make use of some pretty unusual magic.」

「Oh? Do tell.」

Upon inquiry, what I heard was the use of Confusion.

Confusion makes it difficult to grasp one’s situation, but Sir Lem’s use of it was masterful.

It’s not quite the level of Black Sorcery but it is definitely on the furthest reaches of Black Magic.

There are no shortcuts to get this strong. It can only be achieved by training one’s magic for a long, long period of time.

He is only twenty years old, so normally it shouldn’t be enough time for him…

I see, so my father gave him the same training.

I don’t know how a child could have endured such training. That alone deserves praise.

The sad part is, due to there not being that many people who trained their Black Magic to that level in this day and age, it is hard to convey to Adventurers just how amazing they are.

As it stands, calling it「use of pretty unusual magic.」is a woefully unfortunate perception.

However, young Lem was most likely careful to not let his relationship with my father be discovered, so it is probably safer for it to be a misunderstanding.

「Is it a strong spell, sir? If you see a Black Sorcerer in a Dungeon, you can counter them by covering yourself with Magical Energy, so even if it was a small army, you would have to be taken by surprise in order to get affected.」

Ah, so that’s how he sees it.

He does not know about Sir Lem’s true abilities so he is naturally speaking using an Adventurer’s common sense.

I smile vaguely. I won’t point out the things that he didn’t say.

In consideration of the young man who chose to protect my father’s retirement life rather than display his true strength.

Is it because he is a kind young man? Or because my father was a loveable mentor…? No, the former, it is most definitely the former.

「All magic can fluctuate its potency depending on the conditions. Say you want to cause an explosion using the same amount of Magical Energy, if you prioritize the area of effect, its power will be weaker, if you prioritize its power, its area of effect will be narrower.」

「Ah, yes.」

「The basics of Black Magic is deciding whether to prioritize affecting an individual target or affecting the entire enemy team. In the Fenix party, he focused on the latter. All the Monsters always seem to be finished off within the range of Sir Lem’s area of effect.」

His shoulders jolted.

The videos don’t focus on it and it isn’t easy to understand the usefulness of Black Magic in a video.

He nodded, though few people would be immediately convinced by that.

「…If that’s the case, then his mental strength, Magical Energy, and Magical Energy management is nothing short of amazing, right? He is a Black Sorcerer, so it’s only natural that he has talent with Black Magic. Which reminds me, he said he was going to win and that he was confident in his efforts. Do you think that he might not be your average Black Sorcerer?」

His motive most likely isn’t to raise Sir Lem’s evaluation. What should I say?

「Yes, certainly not average. I wonder what would happen if a Black Sorcerer like that enters the Tag Tournament. Don’t you find it interesting? There will be only two targets within his area of effect.」

「I see, he can effectively concentrate the Magical Energy he normally applies on a large number of people. If he were to shave off the activation time and cast it instantaneously, even a Hero would waver for a moment.」

I believe a big reason he is so honest is that he is in front of me, his business partner.

As for me, I’d rather finish the discussion quickly than continue with someone who is bound by common sense and can’t think flexibly.

「In battle, a moment is quite long. Long enough to be the difference between victory and defeat. Well, I guess you don’t need me to tell you that.」

「Not at all, I shall take your advice to heart. I must be cautious of my enemy…my opponent. My sister’s desired fighting style is very aggressive. She favors big attacks which leave her wide open but if Sir Lem covers up those openings with proper timing, they’ll become quite a threat.」

This is a good opportunity to see Sir Lem fight. I want to see him fight a vigilant opponent, not an unwary one.

「I’m looking forward to it, Sir Philip.」

「Thank you.」

And then he left.

「…All things considered, he is a fascinating young man.」

Regarding Sir Lem. Thanks to Sir Philip’s information, I can surmise that Lemegeton is in the Beginner’s Dungeon.

I also know about the Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon’s recent comeback. I dare say they will make the repayment date.

However, it seems that my daughter isn’t settling this by lending them money, so a problem still remains.

Can they continue to draw in people?

I don’t think that can be solved by being an All Level Dungeon.

Although Sir Lem is still there, it would be enough to make a name for yourself as a Dungeon that annihilated the 99th ranked party.

Earning money from the Intermediate Level parties lured by the Clear prize at the present until you can reimburse the loan.

Then after reimbursing the loan, allude to the fact that the Dungeon is an All Level Dungeon in order to attract more customers.

To that end, they work on coaching the staff and securing the required personnel.

「He adapted to being a Monster quickly. No, I believe he has always seen it from both sides.」

As an Adventurer, how should I Clear this Dungeon?

As a Monster, how should I defend it?

Should I assume that he Cleared Dungeons while thinking from both viewpoints?

「If he is appearing as Lem then he cannot use my father’s power. It is true that Black Magic is rather plain. Just being an exceptional Black Sorcerer doesn’t have much of an impact. But I’m sure you have already taken that into consideration, Sir Lem. I eagerly await what sort of surprise you have in store.」

◇

「Whaaaaaa?! You’re entering the Tournament, Lem?!」

We’re in Thor’s room.

With the door still broken from Kei’s kick.

「I’m sorry for telling you after the fact. Also, I shall require a leave of absence on that day.」

「We-well, it looks like we can make the repayment date before that day, so it shouldn’t be a problem…」

The prize money for the newbie Adventurers is paid out of my pocket, but when they repair their damaged Avatars here, they end up giving back some of that cash prize.

In addition, the Avatars of the intermediate level challengers are completely destroyed, so they have to regenerate their Avatars rather than repair them which results in them paying the Dungeon a larger sum of money.

The Tag Tournament is also attracting a lot of attention as a deluge of interested participants come pouring in.

Under these circumstances, it seems that the preliminaries are starting soon.

The parties that came for the Tournament would kill time until it starts by challenging the Dungeon which helped us out a lot.

The Monsters, who were instructed by the Demon King Castle staff, were able to repel the challengers who thought they were lucky enough to be able to recover their lodging expenses by simply going through an Elementary Level Dungeon.

「Uhm…it appears that Kei is entering as well.」

「Oh is that so? With you?」

「That’s…well…y’see…」

「She’s going with me.」

Furcus appeared.

She was eating a round-shaped bun with dried fruits baked into it.

「With Furcus…」

「I won’t lose.」

With those few words, I was elated.

Mutually, we have our reasons to participate. As to the weight of those reasons, it doesn’t matter.

It’s a serious fight, so I can’t hold back. The last one standing wins. That’s all.

She might be the most troublesome opponent in the tournament because she knows my moves.

「I will win, Master Furcus.」

My mentor in magic is the Demon King. My mentor in the blade is one of the Big Four. I am truly blessed.

「That’s the spirit. But I will be the winner. My pupil.」