Chapter 22 : Should I Not Pursue A Meeting In The Demon King’s Castle? (1)

“It really wasn’t an easy opponent.”

“Who was it, exactly?”

“I don’t know either.”

That’s a lie.

Tania Helios.

The emperor of the Helios Empire, who has ruled for decades without interruption.

There’s no need to even mention her power or influence.

She has the highest magical power in this world.

Of course, that’s excluding me.

I’m naturally not part of the comparison.

After all, I’ve already collected and consumed thousands of “Blue Roses” as Irene, which endlessly boost magical capacity day and night.

There’s no way the magical stats of an emperor, arbitrarily set by a developer, could ever compete with mine.

That said, if you asked whether Tania was a prominent character in the game…

“Well, that’s not quite the case.”

Tania was practically stuck in the Throne Room.

The Throne Room is an area you can only access after reaching the highest level in Lios Fantasy.

In fact, less than 10% of players had ever seen Tania’s face in person.

Moreover, Lios Fantasy is a game centered around the Hero Guild.

Because of that, the developers didn’t even bother to flesh out the empire in much detail.

As a result, the empire accidentally became one of the most mysterious and unexplored areas in the game.

Even I know next to nothing beyond the bits of information NPCs have mentioned.

“But Tania’s still pretty famous.”

At least her appearance, voice, and personality were revealed.

Because of that, Tania unexpectedly amassed a significant fan base.

“There were more than a few players who rushed to max level just to see Tania.”

Reflecting this popularity, posts like these frequently appeared in the Hero Guild community:

[Why isn’t Tania a heroine in this game?]

[Author: I’mStrongerThanYou]

(Pictures of Tania from various angles attached)

Have you guys seen this character modeling?

No joke, they clearly put way more effort into her than Elian.

And yet, they didn’t make her a heroine and just left her as a max-level bonus?

Are they insane?

If the developers are reading this, start working on a Tania heroine DLC right now.

I’m holding my breath until you do.

Huff!

[Upvotes: 37][Downvotes: 9]

[This person is reportedly dead. Please remove the post.]

[It says “Elian” here, though?]

[The fact is, the Redemption Saint is a better heroine. Period.]

[What’s so great about the Redemption Saint? She only has two lines of dialogue. LOL.]

[Softies, leave immediately.]

[But isn’t it fine to just stick with Elian and Luna as the normal picks?]

[Luna fans are smiling.]

It’s true—Tania’s combination of traits makes her a natural fan favorite.

She has a petite build but an imposing voice.

She’s also the emperor of the most powerful empire and the strongest person in the world.

Unlike the rotten image typically associated with empires these days, she was kind and diligent, always thinking of her people.

Even her limited dialogue and rare appearances added an air of mystery.

The emperor was a flawless character—perfect in every sense.

Yes, it was. That’s past tense.

“You seemed to be having quite the conversation earlier. Was that really someone you’ve never met before?”

Perhaps it was because the perception-disrupting magic was so strong, but Luna kept asking about Tania’s identity.

Of course, I couldn’t just spill the truth.

I made up a suitable excuse.

“They were actually just a troublesome fan. You saw how they told me to start streaming earlier, right?”

Luna, seemingly without any doubt, gave my shoulders a few pats to encourage me.

Her massage wasn’t helpful at all, but watching Luna try so hard to comfort me made me feel better somehow.

With a clearer head, I went over the situation again.

‘The emperor… was that really her personality?’

I wouldn’t say I know the emperor inside and out to the point of calling myself an expert.

But I’d always thought she was a flawless character.

Turns out, that wasn’t true at all.

She’s definitely got a screw loose somewhere.

There’s no other explanation for her showing up and telling me to start streaming—of all things—while holding the title of emperor!

Sure, the Hero Guild is a civilian organization, so that might slide under tacit approval.

But the relationship between the empire and the Demon King’s castle is practically at the level of a state and a terrorist group.

And yet, it’s hard to say she came to me with malicious intent, just to make me stream.

[Remaining gold for Irene: 3,000,000]

Tania had handed me a mission.

Looking back to that moment…

“Stay here for a while. I have something to discuss with this one.”

“Sorry, Luna. I’ll be right back. It seems important.”

“Hm, alright.”

Luna, though clearly skeptical, let the two of us go.

I’m sure her suspicion stemmed from Tania’s overly formal tone.

But she didn’t follow us.

When we arrived in a secluded alley, Tania was the first to speak.

“With someone of your skill, I imagine you’ve already seen through my identity.”

“You’re quite sharp, Tania.”

Tania’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure, clearing her throat a few times.

“Pay it no mind. It’s just been so long since someone addressed me by name.”

“But I’m not even from the empire. And on top of that, I’m a villain. Do I really need to bother being polite?”

To be honest, I didn’t feel particularly positive toward the emperor at this moment.

I’d been having fun with Luna, and then she suddenly showed up and interrupted us.

I expected her to snap back at my sharp tone, but instead, she smiled.

“As expected of you. Feel free to speak informally to me, if you’d like.”

The emperor’s smile was even more beautiful than I expected.

Especially at this time of day, with the sunset just beginning to paint the sky.

The crimson hues seemed to complement her perfectly.

‘Is she an emperor purely because of her looks or something?’

Just as such idle thoughts crossed my mind—

“I am aware that I’ve interrupted your time. For that, I offer my apologies. However, there is something I urgently need to tell you,”

she said.

“You want me to stream?”

The emperor coughed a few more times, clearly flustered.

“That’s not it! Well, I won’t entirely deny it, but that’s not the main point. Anyway, are you aware of the event currently being held by the Hero Guild?”

“You mean the one where they’re doubling—or no, tripling—the rewards for subjugation?”

The emperor nodded.

“Are you also aware that the Empire’s radical faction is participating in that event?”

“That’s news to me.”

“Then I assume it’s also your first time hearing that they intend to subjugate you.”

“They’re planning to subjugate me?”

What in the world was she talking about?

First of all, who even are the radical faction?

Questions swirled in my mind, but I nodded anyway.

Regardless of whether it’s the radical faction or not, I already knew there were bound to be people opposing me.

Even just from browsing the community, it was clear.

Most people held a positive view of me, but not everyone was on my side.

In fact, there were plenty of individuals who hated me, the Demon King’s castle executive who pretended to be friendly with the citizens, and wanted to take me down.

Of course, that part’s unfair.

I’ve never tried to pretend to be friendly with the citizens!

I always go around declaring myself as a villain!

‘Even if that’s not the case, there are those who’d want to subjugate me just for the fame that comes with my name.’

Thankfully, the Demon King’s castle is currently inaccessible.

If it weren’t, I’d probably be spending sleepless nights just trying to defend myself.

“Still, you didn’t come all this way just to tell me that, did you?”

“As expected, your insight never fails to impress.”

The emperor pulled out a device.

It was a Hero Guild terminal, equipped with community access and streaming features.

Wait, is the emperor seriously watching streams? So she wasn’t just bluffing when she told me to stream?

As I pondered this, an alert sounded from my own terminal.

[Tania has transferred 3,000,000G to your account!]

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who had sent it.

It was obviously the emperor standing in front of me.

“Do you think I’ll take a contract killing job just because of this?”

“Quite the opposite. I’d like you to spare the radicals.”

I was stunned.

I didn’t know much about the Empire’s radical faction, but weren’t they the ones opposing the emperor?

And yet, she was asking me to spare them instead of taking them out.

Coming from someone as cautious as her, it was baffling.

The fact that she was making such a request to someone she had just met was incomprehensible.

I was curious and wanted to ask why, but

“Whatever choice you make, I won’t hate you,”

she said.

“That’s not the point. I want to know your reas—”

“I won’t hate you,”

she repeated, completely shutting down my question.

In the end, I accepted the gold.

I wasn’t planning on killing anyone who came after me anyway, so I might as well take the money and fulfill the emperor’s request.

It was still baffling, but I figured the emperor probably had her reasons.

There wasn’t much point in overthinking it.

I’m the boss here, after all.

“Don’t think this is enough to fully pay me, though,”

I said.

“Of course not. Use me however you like,”

the emperor replied with a sly smile.

She seemed as though she had been hoping for that exact response.

Seriously, what’s with her?

‘Well, it’s gold I’ve been given, but…’

Honestly, it didn’t mean much.

I’d probably end up handing all of it over to Luna anyway.

Even if Luna insisted I didn’t have to pay her back, I had no real use for it myself.

Sure, I could try to buy some broadcast equipment with it, but as a Demon King’s castle executive, I wasn’t sure anyone would even sell it to me.

So, let’s just leave it at gaining some information and earning the emperor’s trust.

To make sure I didn’t forget, I repeated the name I had heard earlier in my mind.

‘Selina.’

“Strengthen the traps near the entrance, Lumineel,”

I called out.

“On it!”

“Make sure you understand—if that section of the wall collapses, Zone 2 is going to be wrecked as well!”

“I’ll reinforce it!”

“And clear out the chandelier in Zone 3. If it falls, the heroes will take advantage of it.”

“That was my masterpiece…”

Preparations at the Demon King’s castle were tight and chaotic.

After all, today was the day of the Hero Guild’s subjugation event, and our castle was the prime target for the largest number of heroes.

I did everything I could to assist with the preparations.

How do I know it’s the main target?

There’s too much objective evidence to ignore.

[Unnamed Demon King’s Castle] – [Danger Level: 6]

[Interest: 6,384]

“Look at this, Irene! The interest level skyrocketed again!”

“I know. I’ve been watching it too.”

When I first arrived, the interest level was around 2,000.

Now, it has tripled.

Which meant it was obvious what would happen the moment the event started.

I was incredibly grateful to the Hero Guild for limiting the subjugation event to one party per attempt.

If it weren’t for that, we’d be dealing with an entire army instead of small hero parties.

Anyway, the one thing I focused on while reinforcing the Demon King’s castle was sustainability.

Heroes were going to pour in all day long, wave after wave.

Obviously, Lumineel wouldn’t be able to keep repairing everything non-stop.

So, I made it as seamless as possible.

Even if parts of the castle were destroyed, everything else would still function as intended.

Before I knew it, our once-cozy ruin had turned into a terrifying Demon King’s fortress.

“Irene, how much time is left until the event starts?”

Lumineel asked.

Of course, I had to answer.

“Three.”

“Three hours? Whew. At least we’ve got some time!”

“Two…”

“??”

“One… The event’s started now.”

As if to announce the start of the event, the sound of dazzling fireworks erupted from my terminal.

[Someone has challenged the Unnamed Demon King’s Castle!]

Then another notification popped up.

[You’ve received a message!]

[Leon: GIVE ME BACK MY TERMINAL RIGHT NOW!!]