The negotiation was successful.
The damage was a bit, no, quite substantial.
The grand plan I had been setting up.
Taking hair loss prevention medication → gaining weight → decreased libido → increased demand for potency enhancers → secretly selling them to raise slush funds!
There was no scientific basis, but I was happily spinning my wheels of delusion.
To have my crucial slush fund pocket so ruthlessly taken away like this.
Special-gacha-machine.
Please forgive your unworthy master.
I’ll scrape together whatever I can and come to see you soon……………!
“Master Jooin, why are you crying?”
“No, sniff, it’s nothing…………….”
A real man doesn’t cry………….
Lucia, who had swept clean my magic pouch that functions almost like my smartphone, leaving not a single coin behind, turned to look at me.
“Hmm, I feel like I’m the one at a loss here.”
No, what kind of nonsense… are you saying?
I gave you the treasure!
I gave you the potency enhancers!
I gave you everything!
You didn’t even leave me a single copper coin, no sense of morality! Boo-hoo!
“Gasp.”
Maybe I let my emotions show on my face.
Lucia instantly teleported beside me again.
“Oh!”
Then she gently pushed Rumi aside.
And whispered in my ear.
“Since you’re here, you’ll probably get involved with other heroes in the future, right? I can forgive that. But if I hear rumors that your first wasn’t our daughter….”
She opened her palm, then clenched it tightly, crunch.
For a moment, I hallucinated a walnut being crushed in front of my eyes.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Behave yourself.”
Then she patted my shoulder, smirked, and poof teleported back to her original spot.
……..Is this open-mindedness or conservatism?
Suddenly, my youth has been mortgaged to Rumi.
It’s a pity for her mother, and for me too, but.
We’re not in that kind of relationship.
Our Rumi is a good dog.
She’s a fool who only knows how to play and gather her friends.
I couldn’t say that to her face, of course.
So I forced a smile and nodded.
SD Ari with the expression of someone who’d lost their country.
Johanna and Saha sighing in relief.
Tina and Renatel, who were staring blankly with subtle expressions, returned to their mother-daughter reunion scene.
Suddenly, I poked Tina’s side.
“Meow!”
She’s already picked up the speech.
Is there a demon who thinks she’s a cat beastman?
Beep beep, pshhh.
“Tina. If this is the case………… there’s probably nothing left for Neb, right?”
“Umm. Probably!”
I’m already feeling depressed.
We cleared the 20th floor, but there’s no place to squeeze bribes from……………?
No.
Positive thinking is always important.
The glass is half empty. X.
The glass is half full. O.
I only have enough money to last today. X.
I still have enough money to last today. O.
……?
Something feels off, but.
Anyway, with the power of positivity.
There’s a saying that even a dry rag will yield water if you wring it hard enough.
***
Fully armed with positivity and self-reliance.
Surprisingly, we cleared the 20th floor with ease.
Neb, who had poured all her strength into the 19th floor, was unexpectedly eliminated on the 20th.
It felt like a North Mountain ending.
“……Sigh.”
And finally, we arrived at the 10th zone.
Still dazed by Lucia’s betrayal.
I found Neb with a blank expression.
Come to think of it, she’s just a kid too.
She looks about the same age as Tina.
Similar height too.
If only she weren’t a level 90 boss monster.
I could’ve used my secret technique, the Tina lift-and-drop move, to subdue her.
With that regret, I took in her oddly modern outfit and finalized my first impression.
“Nebuuuuu!”
Suddenly, Tina leaped and clung to Neb.
With an overly cheerful voice and expression.
Could it be betrayal?
Rebound, it’s a rebound!
“Annoying, hot, get away, idiot.”
“Gah.”
Neb used the momentum of Tina’s leap to spin around and toss her aside.
Unbelievable strength from such a small frame.
If I had tried my secret lift-and-drop move, my back would’ve snapped in half.
But she didn’t seem to have any intent to harm.
Tina, who hit the wall headfirst, whimpered and teared up, but her health didn’t drop.
Well, I should respect that non-violence.
I’m a fan of non-violence too.
The world is love and peace.
“If you hand over the conversion contract peacefully, there will be no bloodshed.”
Quoting the great leader Gandhi, who stands at the forefront of non-violence, I kindly urged her to surrender.
“Seems bothersome…………….”
Neb frowned, looking indifferent.
“Master Jooin, should I bite her?”
“Now, now, Rumi. Wait.”
Rumi growled, as if saying, “How dare you ignore Master Jooin’s offer! Unforgivable!”
We are a hero party that loves peace.
Violence is the last resort.
“Look. Ellis and Arachne aren’t here with us, right? They’re relaxing in the village. There’s no need for them to climb the tower with us now.”
I only conveyed the truth, without a single lie.
The minor details I left out were.
They’re comfortably stirring alchemy pots in the village, and comfortably spinning spider silk.
And that they won’t need to climb the tower for now, but from the 21st floor onward, they’ll have to join us.
Minor details, right?
Not lying is the minimum courtesy between people.
Since they’re demons, even if I hide a bit of the truth, I can stand tall without shame before the goddess.
I’m an atheist, though.
“Hmm……..”
Perhaps my 100% truthful persuasion was starting to work.
Neb, after tossing Tina aside again, began to ponder.
“Should we just finish her off, Ark?”
“Even Saha, you shouldn’t say that.”
There must be some curse in the air of the Great Forest.
They were clearly kind and beautiful heroes.
Why have they all turned into violence-loving fools?
“By the way, what’s your relationship with Tina?”
Before Neb could answer my question.
Tina, committing her third betrayal, shouted loudly.
“She’s my school friend!”
“……I’m not friends with that idiot.”
“Meow! I’m dizzyyy.”
Come to think of it, Ellis also called Tina her senior.
They’re probably not like princesses of the demon world or something, right?
They’re not from some private demon high school only for princesses, are they?
Eh, that’s too much of a stretch.
In the end.
After offering:
Private single-room accommodation.
Meals and snacks provided.
Vacation days.
Salary.
Flexible working hours.
And all sorts of special conditions.
[5★ ‘Sloth Demon’ Neb Conversion Contract]
Finally, I was able to acquire Alchemy Slave No. 2 and the mascot No. 2 of the Farming Squad.
Of course, when the company is busy, we can’t take vacations, and we will always be busy.
And as for salaries, it’s natural that they might be delayed if the company is struggling, or something like that.
That’s just the way the world works.
Perhaps our shop is…………… the most fragile among small and medium-sized businesses.
“Please take care of me from now on, Neb. Be friends with Tina.”
“Kyyaang!”
“……So annoying……”
We’re from the same region and around the same age, so we should get along well.
It seems Tina really wanted more friends.
Even though it’s already the eighth time she’s been blown away, she stubbornly clings on.
I was watching that scene fondly when…
[Hidden Trait ‘Devil Fetish’ LV.2 Increased]
An unwelcome, unwanted status window popped up.
I waved my hand to dismiss it.
Hmm.
Nuuuung.
***
The first thing Neb did after moving into the guild house was…
“The bed is too hard………….”
Boldly, she complained about the most valuable perk of the company’s welfare system—the ‘one room per person’ setup.
This was the moment for Johanna, the discipline officer, to step in and give her a stern scolding.
“That’s true. The pillow is a bit old too.”
Excuse me.
Snack thief?
“Hmm, but Neb has been called a genius a lot, right? I agree with that too.”
Drug offender, even you……………!
And after that…
“The wooden bathtub is uncomfortable. The private bathroom is also too small…….”
“Ugh, spider webs…………. Arachne?”
“No. It’s not…………”
“The food……… is tasty. But the tableware is old.”
Miss Neb Kim continued to relentlessly fill the suggestion box with complaints.
Wait. You’re the Sloth Demon.
You hate anything bothersome.
You’re supposed to hate even pointing things out…………!
What’s even more infuriating is…
“Yeah, yeah. That’s a bit of a problem.”
“True.”
“Rumi agrees too, woof!”
Even the loyal members of the thief group.
They joined in on the new recruit’s outrageous behavior.
I find myself thinking almost every day.
Is this adventurer party really okay?
So, I chanted a healing spell for the heroes.
“We have no money.”
In most cases of unreasonable demands.
Reciting this healing spell could usually suppress them.
“Lies! Tina saw it! There was a chest full of gold coins!”
That deputy manager brat. How dare you betray me…………!
The heroes’ gazes turned icy cold as they looked at me.
I’m sorry.
Special-Gacha-Machine.
I’ll definitely come to see you next time…………….
With tears of blood, I declared surrender.
The heroes, having switched to autonomous robbery mode, kindly led me to the store.
“Yay! I’ll use it well!”
“We’ll be back, Ark.”
They stole half of the gold coins.
And not even for legitimate company expenses, but for personal pocket money extortion……………!
I truly felt the emotions of a doting parent in a martial arts novel that day.
And that was the end of the 20th floor.
The Great Forest, service ended.