The cabin was so large and splendid that it could have been mistaken for a ballroom, but there was no place for Rupia to join.
Rupia waited for Kan while sipping the drink that Rain had brought, sitting at a corner table.
It was the same for Rain, who didn’t know anyone either.
Until just a few months ago, Rain hadn’t even been listed at the Monster Broker’s office, and this place still felt unfamiliar and undeserved.
“Well, while the general is coming, should we play a card game? I have one with me…”
Rain awkwardly started talking, glancing at the almost silent Rupia.
Fortunately, Rupia showed interest.
“Ca, card game…?”
“Ah, yes! It’s a game called Thief Catcher…”
Thus began their modest game of Thief Catcher.
It was a sight that was completely out of place in the elegant and refined atmosphere around them.
Since their spot was in a corner, there weren’t many eyes on them, but the curious glances were clearly present.
“What the hell are they doing?”
The Demon King, who had been sipping fine wine, sneered and muttered.
At his words, some of the monsters and demon kings around them turned their attention.
“A wolf and a little demon king, playing cards together.”
“How fitting this sight is. Hoo-hoo.”
Mocking whispers echoed, but Rupia paid no attention and focused solely on the cards.
“Ho-oh, ho-ho-oh…!”
Her small hands trembled as she held the Joker.
Even with beads of sweat forming faintly, her gaze stayed locked on the cards.
Meanwhile, it was Rain who reacted sensitively to the mocking gazes and gossip.
Her face turned red up to her ears, and her pointed ears twitched nervously from side to side.
“Ugh, Kan, please come soon…!”
Rain desperately hoped in her mind.
Finally, as if her wish had been granted, the door to the cabin opened, and Kan returned.
“Ah, finally you came…!”
With both the Demon King of Enchantment, Damon, and the S-rank top monster, Lauro, at his side.
“Eh.”
Rain’s tail, which had been twitching frantically, suddenly froze in mid-air.
At the same time, the mocking whispers from around them faded away, like the silence of a dead mouse.
Lauro and Damon both lowered themselves before Rupia almost simultaneously. Their voices carried an inexplicable tension.
“I apologize for not greeting you properly earlier. I am Lauro of the Reaper family, and I greet you, Rupia Demon King…”
“I am Damon, the 3rd Legion Commander of the Balotus Demon Army, and I greet you, Rupia Demon King.”
Before them, Rupia couldn’t close her mouth in surprise, becoming a stunned chick.
“…Hey, look at that.”
The massive Demon King, Drak, who had horns as large as a dragon’s, gestured with his chin as he put down his cards.
From the other side, the bespectacled Demon King, Aishi, coughed weakly and spoke in a faint voice.
“I don’t think it’s right to overturn the game just because it’s unfavorable. I’m not buying it.”
Aishi was not naive enough to be deceived in a game where one of the Demon King’s territories was at stake.
“That’s not it, you fool. You see that, and you’re still saying that?”
As Drak’s voice grew harsh, Aishi reluctantly rolled her eyes and looked over.
She also knew very well that both Damon and Lauro, the strongest S-rank monsters, had almost simultaneously bowed their heads.
The opponent was a little-known young Demon King.
It was indeed an interesting situation.
“I know Damon’s ambitions well. He often flirted with me even in front of others. But he has never once bowed his head.”
“Hmm, the rumors were true. Damon’s dungeon was taken by Kan, the Death Knight, and the Demon Army was merged, they say.”
This was a rumor spread in high society by a Demon King named Jordi. Aishi had thought it was nonsense fueled by grudge, but it turned out to be true.
“That’s one thing, but Lauro is also a problem. She acted arrogantly, saying she’d never serve under any Demon King, yet here she is.”
Lauro’s personality, unlike that of a typical monster, was already well-known among Demon Kings.
She had even rejected a proposal from Drak, the second-ranking Demon King. No matter how strong the Demon King, she never bent.
Now, this same Lauro was bowing to a little-known Demon King.
And in front of her, the young Demon King Rupia looked down at the scene, as if it were perfectly normal.
“Dammit, I can’t stand this anymore.”
“…Well, what are you going to do?”
“Damon and Lauro never had this, so there’s no way I should be treated lower than those scumbag Demon Kings. There are too many eyes on us, I have to step in and regain some lost face.”
“Maybe there’s something they trust. Perhaps it’s the Death Knight protecting them from behind…”
The rumors about Death Knight Kan were already famous in the Demon World.
The legendary Swordmaster, Kyleen, had once crossed swords with him in the middle of the Empire. And he had even called a dragon. It was said that he survived the encounter, turning it into an epic hero tale.
However, Drak paid no attention to that.
“In that case, I can’t forgive him even more. He’s just a fool acting tough, relying on one monster.”
Aishi shook her head and thought to herself.
“His speech doesn’t even sound like a Demon King, more like an underworld monster thug.”
In fact, the guards Drak had brought were three succubi who didn’t seem likely to be of much help in a fight.
It was clear to everyone that they weren’t there for protection.
However, it also showed Drak’s overwhelming confidence in his own strength.
“I can’t stand weaklings running amok.”
Drak stood up from his seat and glared at the Demon King lounging on the sofa in the prime seat.
On either side of her, two Death Knights, once generals in the kingdom, radiated an aura that made them untouchable.
The top-ranked Demon King, Beal, also known as the Demon King of Domination, looked at Drak with her dark and murky eyes, then shifted her gaze to the distant young Demon King, Rupia.
Beal knew Rupia. She shrugged lightly, as if giving her approval.
It was Aishi who was taken aback.
“Uh, uh, wait a minute. Show your cards before you leave. I can’t sleep if I don’t see them, it would be unfair.”
“Fuck, you eat all of it.”
Drak tossed the cards at Aishi and stomped towards Rupia.
Rupia and Rain had been playing Thief Catcher together until I arrived.
Somehow, it felt like an unspeakable sense of pity. Even Rupia seemed to be enjoying herself.
“Lo, look here, General! I won! I have the Joker in my hand…!”
“The one holding the Joker at the end loses, my lord.”
“Eh.”
Rupia made a face like a beaver whose house had just collapsed, alternately staring at me and Rain.
Behind her, Lauro cautiously interrupted.
“Um, since I’ve greeted you, may I leave now? Kan… sir? I have another appointment…”
“Do as you wish. Next time, make sure to greet me.”
Lauro bent her waist instead of answering.
I didn’t expect the effect of the earlier education on the deck to work this well.
Next to her, Damon fidgeted with his fingers and looked at me with a flushed face.
“As I said earlier, Damon, you will enter Sky Island today as my lord’s guard. Don’t go anywhere, stay here.”
“Yes, I understand, Kan sir…”
Lauro’s attitude was as obedient as Damon’s.
Compared to when we first met, it was safe to say they had become completely different people.
“Well, then I’ll take my leave…!”
As Lauro adjusted her skull-patterned robe and quickly turned around, something as big as a wall pushed her back.
It wasn’t a wall, but a massive demon.
Lauro immediately recognized the opponent, and her eyes widened slightly.
“Wow, I didn’t expect this. A flower that wouldn’t bow even for hundreds of thousands of gold, who would have known it would bend like a reed so easily?”
“…Drak, sir?”
Lauro muttered in surprise, but Drak responded with a sneer.
“You mean I’m below that scumbag Demon King? You were acting so arrogant, I thought you might be stubborn, but I guess I was right. Lauro.”
His voice was loud, as if he wanted all the other Demon Kings and monsters to hear it.
Drak immediately turned to Damon.
A faint hint of fear appeared on his face.
“Damon, I told you a long time ago to come under me. Are you really serving that little brat? You’re even using honorifics for that bonehead?”
“…Ugh!”
Drak’s massive hand playfully rubbed Damon’s chest.
Damon flinched and stepped back to cover himself. Drak smiled smugly at the sight.
It was my turn next.
Rain, whose tail was raised threateningly, was completely ignored by him.
“Bones, you were acting so cocky with Lauro and Damon at your side. Monsters should act like monsters. Kyleen? Dragons? In front of my power, they’re nothing.”
I silently stared at Drak. I didn’t know why he was provoking me, but he was openly disregarding Rupia.
His intentions were clear.
In front of everyone, the Demon King whose subordinates were trampled and ignored would undoubtedly face a similar fate.
Additionally, it seemed like he was trying to crush me, Rupia’s strongest card, as thoroughly as possible.
“…I don’t like his eye sockets. Why don’t I slice him like I did with Rodon?”
I probably wouldn’t. I remembered the hardship Rupia went through that day.
There was no justification for it either. While I had been insulted, he hadn’t touched Rupia.
When I remained silent, Drak whispered, a victorious smile on his face, against my skull.
“Remember, this isn’t Sky Island. Sometimes, accidents happen on airships.”
It wasn’t Sky Island, where magic couldn’t be used.
It meant that my swordsmanship could not challenge the Demon King’s power here.
As Drak prepared to leave, having completely dominated the atmosphere and turned us into a laughingstock…
“Honestly, I think you’re the scumbag…!”
The squeezed-out voice echoed through the cabin. All eyes slowly turned toward that direction.
Even I was speechless for a moment, wondering if I had misheard. But then I remembered.
Before we boarded the airship, I had made a request to Rupia: never lose the authority of the Demon King.
She was now keeping that promise.
“You gorilla…!”
Rupia clenched her trembling hand as if an earthquake had struck, and shouted boldly.
The last part was nearly silent.