One of the elven capitol building’s many hallways.

While contemplating my next course of action, I found myself standing at a window and looking out it without much purpose in mind. Given my earlier… outburst, I had ended up losing track of Davna, but I was in no mood to search for her.

Well, to put it into concrete words, I was pondering how I should go about making contact with the Elven Council President and the chief of the drakonids.

“Cut off the head, and the body will follow”—it went to figure that that applied not only when trying to beat someone, but also when trying to forge an alliance.

I could make myself as well-liked as I pleased among the elves’ and the drakonids’ common populace, it would do no good if their leaders detested me, or even distrusted me.

As I was pondering this, I sensed a presence approach—I was not particularly probing my surroundings, so perhaps my new skills alerted me. I could probably train this, but in any case.

“Ah, Lord Astaroth~ What a pleasure to see you again~”

I did not turn to look at them, but I recognised this voice and sing-songy manner of speaking. The Elven Council President.

“It was you who sent in the children, yes? Good work.”

An absurdly arrogant attitude—as an experiment more than anything else.

“Any time, Lord Astaroth~”

Experiment successful. Elves—and thus probably the other three goddess-touched races, too—were ‘magical beings’. Either that, or the Elven Council President was simply easy to win over… Or perhaps a mixture? Well, I would find out whenever I got around to meeting dwarves or mermaids.

“As a token of my gratitude, I shall tell you something nice. Call the drakonid chief over, too. As for the location… Your office, perhaps.”

“As you wish, Lord Astaroth~”

The Elven Council President’s office was rather like what I expected.

A spacious room, with a gorgeous armchair in front of a hardwood desk. A sofa to receive guests with. Large windows that let in lots of light and thus lit up the beautifully decorated walls.

Incidentally, for some reason, I was in the armchair and the other two were on the sofa. I decided not to question it.

“Then, before I tell you this,” I said, “there are some things I must… confirm with you.”

I stood up and circled around the desk and then the sofa, placing myself behind the drakonid chief.

“What I am about to tell you,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder, “is between us and no one else. Do not tell anyone, now.”

Although my physical hand was obviously stopped by his shoulder, a metaphysical part of it extended much deeper, and reached far enough for me to gently caress his soul. Composed of countless little wires, I toyed and toyed until I found the one I was looking for. Given my skill's improved effect, this was not a very difficult task, just time-consuming.

With a small tug, I snapped it, then removed my hand.

“In addition,” I said, placing a hand on the Elven Council President’s shoulder much in the same way, “this information is—hear me, o mighty leaders—straight from the Akashic Records.”

This soul was many more times complicated, likely because the President had lived far longer than the chief, so I needed to buy some more time. “Thus, there can be no room for doubt that what I am about to say is entirely true.”

I found it.

After snapping that one, too, I continued my relaxed stroll around the room until I was back in the armchair.

“Do you two understand?”

“Ah… Yeah, gotcha,” the drakonid chief said, flexing his claws. It looked like he had noticed something, but no specifics.

“Of course, I shall keep this a secret,” the Elven Council President said, raising a finger to their lips.

“It brings me great pleasure to have your cooperation,” I said, making the politest smile I could make.

And thus, with the wires that represented their distrust towards me snapped in half, it was easy—child’s play, even, to convince the two of them to form an alliance with me.

[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7b5c0bd3-88fc-4efe-9e16-a3e11657ffe9/dds76ly-cf83b5ee-cab5-4226-82c4-186299608426.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdiNWMwYmQzLTg4ZmMtNGVmZS05ZTE2LWEzZTExNjU3ZmZlOVwvZGRzNzZseS1jZjgzYjVlZS1jYWI1LTQyMjYtODJjNC0xODYyOTk2MDg0MjYucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.hKghw-H6relZkvpS-okI1wgmGmGjY0soxDZ4IYoTWLQ]

And thus, with the alliance decided on and the terms to be decided later, I had returned to my guest room, but—

Not five minutes in and someone knocked on the door that had apparently been fixed already.

Upon my permission, the ones who entered were, rather to my surprise, all four of my demon generals along with the rest of my entourage.

“I told you lot to scram and enjoy yourselves,” I said, shaking my head. “What business have you with me?”

“In the end, the allure of spirit magic loses out to your evolved form, Master,” Tempest said, a research-mad spark in her eyes.

I pulled my wings away from her.

“We were worried, Master!” Davna said, rushing to my side.

So everyone knows, huh… Well, expecting Davna to keep a secret would be a little unrealistic.

“I could not poss’bly pass up an opp’rtunity t’ watch M’lor… Your Highness squirm about in emoti’nal d’stress.” She barely managed to stifle a small giggle.

You had that kind of sadistic streak? Well, as expected of a vampire…

I shook my head. “Tempest, I will not grant you permission to research me. Davna, your worries are appreciated but unneeded—I am alright. Charlotte… I know honesty is said to be a virtue, but there is such a thing as taking things too far.” I cleared my throat. “And then. The lot of you. Not a word of my outburst to anyone in the castle. In exchange, hmm… I shall buy you a souvenir. Anything you like from any of the stores. Charlotte, pick something out for Lilith, too.”

While we are at it, I may as well buy Lady Entropy something, too…

“... Your Highness, I can tell fr’m thy expressi’n that thy thoughts are elsewhere…”

“Nonsense, Charlotte. Move along, now. We are only staying one more night, so it would be advisable to pick something quickly.”

Asami, Nexu and Alpine left, whispering amongst each other about ‘gifts from the demon king’ even though everything they wore was already something I had given them. Navillus followed after, gurgling and bubbling, soon followed by Davna and Tempest. Nyx flew off through a wall with a big grin on her face.

“... Your Highness,” Charlotte said after confirming everyone else was gone.

“Speak.”

“I… Realise that I may have jested inappropriat’ly about thy emoti’nal d’stress, but…”

“But?”

“If thou ver’ly needs s’pport, I am—nay, we are here. We are all here for thee.”

Kind words wasted on a hypocritical, unreasonable, inhuman monstrosity.

Yet I could not stop myself from reaching out and mussing her hair, just a bit.

“... I will keep it in mind, Charlotte. Now, go forth. Join the rest. Make merry.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Charlotte said, an uncharacteristic genuine smile on her face.

“Hmm… Yet, this one feels too gaudy…”

Without being able to come to a real decision, I looked over the various pieces of jewellery displayed in the store. Necklaces, rings, bracelets—an unending variety, including earrings only elves could wear. The type which went over the ear, which was often present in fantasy fiction.

Well, I also had such ears, though, and so did Lady Entropy… Perhaps that could…

A little curious now, I brought a hand up to my ear, and reached a swift conclusion.

“About the same size, huh.”

“What might you be looking for, sir?”

The store clerk was so surprising that I almost dropped the earring I was holding. I put it back on the shelf anyway.

Did they just sneak up on me? To have so little presence that even I did not notice them… I should be scared, but I almost pity them.

With narrowed eyes, I cleared my throat. “Very well, then. I shall allow you to assist me.”

My scowl seemed to rouse the clerk’s recent memories, alerting them to the symbol around my eyes and the crown on my head. “Ah, yes,” they stammered out, suddenly taking a fair bit of distance.

“First of all, about the size of these things—”

“They’re all enchanted, so as long as the size is roughly correct, they should fit.”

“... Right.” From what I recalled, size-changing was a fairly basic enchantment that did not come with any particular attribute, so that should be fine. “In that case, get me two pairs of these.”

I held up a pair of earrings I liked the look of.

“Erm, with all due respect, sir, I do not believe one can assume they will fit based on looks, even given they are enchanted…”

Well, at least they were smart enough to figure out I was not buying two identical pairs for myself.

“I am not ‘assuming’ anything. If they will fit me, they will fit her.”

“... Would it be acceptable for me to ask why you know this, sir?”

“Tactile memory.”

Judging from the poor elf’s beet-red face, touching one’s ears was even more intimate for elves than for other races. I felt no need to correct any assumptions they might have been making, but…

“How long are you going to make me wait? Hurry it up.”

“Ah, y-yes!”

As good as the moment I took a step out of the store, I was approached—not by an elf or anything, but by Nyx.

“Oberon! I’ve chosen, so come buy it for me!” she said, brimming with enthusiasm. As often, her face was adorned by a mischievous grin.

“Hmph. You would do well to calm down, Nyx. It is not as though it is going to vanish.”

Well, I still followed her, though.

My conversation with Nyx was earning me a lot of stares—not the stares one would give a pitiful person talking to themselves, but stares reserved for someone who is doing something that should by all rights be impossible.

“Nyx, what is your reputation like around here?”

“Repu…?”

This is ‘dragon-like’ intelligence? Her status said ‘dragon-like intelligence’, right? Am I hallucinating?

“It is nothing,” I said, deciding I would ask someone else.

The store she took me to appeared to be one that specialised in artifacts. Not like the earrings I was wearing, now, either, proper artifacts meant to be used for their effects. The clerk greeted us with a polite expression, but otherwise just stayed behind the counter.

I was not very surprised that Tempest was there, as well, crouched down in front of a shelf. She seemed occupied, so I decided not to bother her and turned back to Nyx.

“Uh… Where was it again…”

I turned away from the idiot-spirit.

Given I had nothing to do, I decided I might as well take a look at the shop.

Shelves lined the walls, filled with magic items that appeared to be arranged in a thoroughly random fashion—at least, I could not discern any kind of logic from their placement. The price tags, placed haphazardly on the items, listed prices that were more than three times market price, and several of the items were caked in thick layers of dust.

Does this store… Actually intend to sell anything? Ever? At all?

With my rudimentary inspection out of the way, I approached the store clerk.

“You. Ny- The darkness spirit. What kind of reputation does she have?”

“Oh my, you were fortunate enough to form a contract with her? Congratulations, congratulations! The spirit is famous—or, well, infamous, really, for refusing to form a contract with even the strongest of elves. I do hope you’ll make a good contractor.”

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“Hmph. Who do you think I am? The word failure is not in my dictionary.”

“I am relieved to hear it. Ah, look, there she comes now!”

“Oberon, I found it!” Nyx said, making to pull at my sleeve.

Well, of course, she passed right through and grabbed onto my arm, instead. I followed her anyway.

A crystal of some kind. [Appraisal] told me it was, to put it simply, a crystal that would make any spirit that held it a tangible creature, essentially serving as a body of sorts. Anyone would be able to see the spirit, and it could no longer pass through walls and such.

Incidentally, it was a Rare-grade artifact.

“... What do you need something like this for?” I asked, raising an eyebrow even as I brought the thing to the clerk.

Well, after dusting it off, anyway.

“So people can see me sitting on your shoulder, Oberon!”

I noticed the clerk stiffen every time Nyx said ‘Oberon’, but decided not to pay it any mind and turned to Tempest. “I would like to avoid needlessly retracing my steps, so if possible—”

In one smooth motion, Tempest sprung to her feet, extended her hands in my direction and presented me an item. A staff, to be more precise.

[Appraisal] revealed it to be Rare-grade, just like the crystal. It decreased the mana cost of all wind-attribute magic cast using it.

“... Could you not make something with an effect like this yourself with no trouble?”

“Certainly, but I like the design.”

Visiting an artifact shop and then buying something for the design was… Very Tempest-like, I supposed.

I bought the—admittedly rather pretty—staff for her and left the store.

“Mister demon king!”

“One after another with you lot, huh… Hello there, Asami.”

“Uhm… P-please come with me!”

Without awaiting my response, she grabbed my sleeve and tugged me along.

Perhaps because of her Class, she was far stronger than a regular girl her age. Not to the point where she was stronger than I, or anything, but still impressively strong.

The store she took me to appeared to be one that specialised in enchanted equipment.

There, Nexu was already holding the items they wanted to buy—a set of three bracelets.

“Three…?”

“Here!”

As though from nowhere, Alpine appeared behind me. I was not quick enough to turn around, so it latched onto my back.

“Let go. You are heavy.”

A lie to make it let go. I noted once more that its body temperature was rather a bit lower than any normal body temperature, so I made a mental note to appraise it later, together with the children.

“Those bracelets for the three of you, yes?” I asked, turning my attention once more to Nexu.

“Yes.”

I appraised the bracelets as I paid for them.

All three of them were size-changing, and they were all Rare-grade and made of Mythril, but that was about where the similarities ended.

One of the bracelets, a ‘Spirit Bracelet’, carried Sylph’s holy symbol, and made communicating with spirits and using spirit magic easier. This one was clearly for Nexu, so I put it on his arm.

As for the other two, however…

A ‘Guard Bracelet’, which increased defensive parameters and the effects of defensive skills, and a ‘Bracelet of metal’, which made metal equipment easier to use and increased the effects of metal-related skills, like [Blacksmithing] or [Chain Manipulation].

“... Which of these two is for which of you?”

“The guard bracelet is mine!” Asami said, holding out her wrist to me.

I put on the bracelet, then turned to Alpine.

“I do not mind, per se, but why do you need this?” I asked, putting the bracelet on its arm.

“My instincts tell me it’ll be useful, sir!”

“Your instincts… Well, very well.”

It did possess that kind of skill, after all.

The three of them, after seeking my permission, once more disappeared to go sightseeing somewhere, so I decided to go search out my remaining three Demon Generals.

Unsurprisingly, following Charlotte’s mana reaction—another new application of [Aura of the Dark Prince]—lead me to a store that dealt in magical jewellery. Unlike the one I went to earlier, this one seemed to focus on both appearance and effect.

What was perhaps surprising was that Davna was also in this store.

“What an unusual combination.”

“Ah, Your Highness,” Charlotte said, looking up from the display case and curtsying as usual.

“Master!” Davna said, her trademark bright smile on her face.

I nodded. “Well? Find something interesting, you two?”

“I hes’tate yet b’tween two options,” Charlotte said, turning her eyes back to the display.

“I already picked something!” Davna said, tugging on my hand. She took me to a golden-looking amulet on a similarly golden chain.

“Hmm? Let us have a look…”

Name

Amulet of Conflagration

Rank

High Rare

Attribute

Fire

Effect

The user gains immunity to all fire. All fire-attribute attacks by the user will have their effects doubled. By channelling a small amount of mana into the amulet, the user may cloak themselves in flames. By channelling a large amount of mana into the amulet, the user may cause an explosion of fire with the wearer at its centre. The chain will grow and shrink to fit around the wearer’s neck.

Description

An orichalcum amulet created by a grand pyromancer of old. The red gemstone set in the centre houses great power. The chain will extend or retract, so it will fit anyone.

“...”

Completely absurd.

First off, there was the fact that it was High Rare—in other words, a rank higher than everything else up to this point, and only two ranks below the rings on my fingers.

The only rank inbetween was Ultra Rare.

But more than that, rather than ‘fire-attribute magic’, it said ‘fire-attribute attacks’. In other words, that included Davna’s firebreath, and likely even the amulet’s own attacks.

The only redeeming factor was exactly its high rarity—in other words, it contained a lot of mana, and would thus easily interfere with non-fire-attribute magic.

Upon closer inspection, the pricetag stated the thing was half-off.

Well, it is admirable you realised you need to get rid of it, but why is it in the forest at all? Why would anyone make something this absurd and then make it useable by anyone? What was your plan if a life-hating Red Dragon got its hands on this?

If anything, the fact that I was going to buy it was a saving grace, since Davna was relatively mild for a Red Dragon.

I shook my head, handed the store clerk their money and turned to Davna.

“Listen up and listen well, Davna. Do not use that in a forest. Or if there are allies or unrelated people around. Or buildings. Or anything else that could burn. In addition, be careful with… No, do not use any fire-attribute attacks while you are wearing that thing.”

In response to my array of restrictions, she let out a complaining whine. While it was certainly cute—

“I am not—nay, I cannot budge on this, Davna. That is a dangerous artifact.”

Well, I was still giving it to her in the end, though.

Still. I did not want her to turn into a life-hating Red Dragon. That would be…

“Fine, fiiine… I’ll be real careful, okay?”

“Your Highness, if thou art finished lect’ring Davna on the dangers o’ fire?”

“Ah, yes, I am finished. So you have chosen too, then?”

“Ver’ly. One for me and one for Lilith.”

A ring with a cross on it and a necklace with a pendant that appeared to be crafted from a magic stone.

Again, both Rare-grade. The necklace functioned as a mana reserve, as well as increasing the effects of all cast spells, while the ring allowed one to substitute mana in place of taking physical damage, as well as allowing one to heal mana instead of physical health from healing effects.

More importantly, though—

“What, is today the day of Mythril or something? You lot have got to have the most expensive taste in accessories I have ever seen.”

Yes, just like the children’s bracelets, these were made of Mythril.

“I do d’clare that there are no probl’ms with appreciat’ng the value o’ high-quality m’terials.” Charlotte extended her hand to me, palm down.

Well, I had expected the ring to be hers, anyway. Still—

I turned her hand up and placed the ring and necklace in her palm.

She looked at them a few seconds, then turned her gaze to me, almost…

Lonely.

“Doth thou not d’sire t’ ring me, Your Highness?”

“You of all people should know the implications of that sort of thing.”

“W-well… That may be so, but…”

“Charlotte.”

“Y-yes?”

“Are you misunderstanding something?”

“Wh-what art thou…”

“It is not like I do not value you, Charlotte.”

“B-but—!”

“And I do not mean that in a merely pragmatic way.”

“Wh…”

“Well, I will not say it is the same emotion I feel for Lady Entropy, for that would be a lie. But there are more possible bonds between people than lovers. Just because a bond is familial or friendly does not diminish its worth.”

“Your Highness…”

“Now then. I am off to see Navillus. Do ruminate over my words.”

“Thy will is th’ rightf’l way o’ the world, Your Highness.”

Unlike what I had expected, Navillus had made her way to an antiques store.

Deciding mentioning there was no food here would be both unnecessary and rude, I simply watched her for a while.

Eventually, she turned to me, holding—

“Ah, so you have decided you want a bracelet, as well?”

Although the ones the children had chosen were simple—function over form, so to speak, this one was plainly intended to look visually appealing. An unusual design with a band inside another band, connected by two pieces of metal.

Also unlike the children’s, this one was not Mythril, but gold, though it seemed to be more enchanted in return. Just like the amulet, a High Rare.

Corrosion resistance, for one, in addition to a number of other effects…

“Hmm. Well, I shall buy it for you. A promise is a promise, after all.”

And thus, the demon king and his entourage gained accessories and injected money into a future ally’s economy all while having a good time.